I've seen fabric covers for balloons on a few different websites now, and I thought this would be a fun thing to make for my son, and more to have in our present box for other small people.
Some of the blogs I looked at which have free patterns for balloon cover include:
[Update January 2013: i have since made balls to each of these patterns. See my post about it here.]
Then I googled "how many hexagons to make a sphere", learnt that you can't make a sphere-like form with only hexagons, and ended up browsing polyhedra on wikipedia; in particular the images labelled "net". They lay out all the individual pieces as you would need to make a full solid form. (Look up polyhedron and dodecahedron on Wikipedia, you can see some funky shapes!)
I decided to give pentagons a go, making a "dodecahedron". That's 12 pentagons sewed together, with 30 edges. If I've understood the mathematical formulas on Wikipedia correctly, the approximate radius of your sphere will be 1.3 times the length on the side of your pentagon.If you figure out how wide you want the ball to end up (maybe you want to put 25cm balloons inside, like me, or make one about 18cm for 20cm ballooons), take that diameter and divide it by 2.6. So for a sphere approximately 22cm wide, I should need pentagons with sides roughly 8.5 cm, plus seam allowance. I did a Google image search for Pentagon and found this.
And more Wikipedia research tells me that I need the diagonals, (aka the width of the image) to be about 13.75 cm. If you want to do this with different figures, you can take the length of your pentagon sides and multiply by 1.6.
I've inserted my pentagon image into a Word document, adjusted it so each pentagon (the largest, outside one) is 13.75 cm wide, and copied it 12 times. Printed out, they are about 13.75 cm across, with sides of about 8.5 cm. Now to cut them out, use them as paper patterns, cut out fabric including seam allowance outside that, and sew them all together.
An observance at this point, they seem HUGE! Wonder if my maths is wrong, or my perception.
Anyway, now I have (another) nice little TV project for a few evenings. Or many evenings. I'll let you know how it goes...
Welcome to the Every Tower, which is anything but an Ivory Tower.
Monday, 4 June 2012
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
I spy charms: ready to post
This is it! All our swap charms are in, and they are ready to be posted. We haven't shared pictures so the participants will get a surprise when they open their mail. I might share some of my favourites once the packages have arrived. 
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Toddler hanging board
Whilst on his mission to empty every drawer in our house, my 14 month old son found a keyring. Since then, this has been a favourite treasure, carried from room to room as he experiments with where he can find to hang it. We have venetian blinds inside our double-glazed french windows and the little knobs for winding the blind cords on are at a perfect height for him (the blind cords are now all kept well out of his reach). The cupboard knobs on our bathroom vanity are a good spot, and the drawer handles on the chest of drawers in the hall. Slightly less predictable are the controls on the washing machine, but the keyring hangs there quite nicely, if he gets the balance right.
Yesterday he and I made a hanging board with lots of hooks and catches, for him to experiment and play with. It's all made from things we had lying around.
2. Recapture those hooks and knobs that your child has claimed and carried away.
3. Place the hooks approximately where you want to have them on the board. Mark with pencil the centre of the board at each point where you have placed a hook.
4. Get out your drill bits and check which size you need for each of your hooks or knobs or screws. The drill bit should be about the same size as the centre of the screw on your hook, so if you hold them up with the drill bit in front, you can see the flanges of the screw sticking out on either side. Get your pencil back from your toddler and write down the size you need for each hole, in order, on a piece of paper.
5. Decide how you're going to attach/hang/fasten your board. See below for more info. If necessary, mark the back of your board where you need to drill.
6. Head outside with your drill, drill bits and hooks. Drill each spot you've marked with the size drill bit you wrote on your paper. Be careful not to go all the way through (it doesn't matter to the project, but you might damage your drill or whatever you're resting the wood on).
7. If you're using strapping to hold up your board, this would be a good time to staple the strapping on the back.
8. Screw in your hooks. I needed to use pliers to get mine all the way in. Rescue your plants from the toddler who may be trying to dig them up with a screwdriver.
9. Fix your fasteners to the back, and any protective wadding you need (see below).
10. Let your child loose with their new hanging board! Have your camera handy for the smiles. :)
If hanging with a hook:
1. Mark on the back of your board where your hook should be attached and check that it is not too close to any of the screws coming in from the front of the board. If necessary, move hooks on the front up or down.
2. When drilling for the front, also drill the back holes.
3. Screw your hook to the back.
4. Hang your board!
If using strapping:
1. Find strapping or webbing long enough to go around the cupboard or place where you want to use your board. Fit an adjuster so you can pull the strap tight.
2. Using a staple-gun, attach the webbing to the top and bottom of your board.
3. Glue felt over your staples (I used a hot glue gun.)
4. Strap your board where you want to use it!
If anyone else makes their toddler a hanging board and comes up with another way to hold it up, I'd love to hear about it in the comments!
Yesterday he and I made a hanging board with lots of hooks and catches, for him to experiment and play with. It's all made from things we had lying around.
Here's directions for making a similar one:
1. Find one length of wood, and a bunch of miscellaneous hooks and knobs.2. Recapture those hooks and knobs that your child has claimed and carried away.
3. Place the hooks approximately where you want to have them on the board. Mark with pencil the centre of the board at each point where you have placed a hook.
4. Get out your drill bits and check which size you need for each of your hooks or knobs or screws. The drill bit should be about the same size as the centre of the screw on your hook, so if you hold them up with the drill bit in front, you can see the flanges of the screw sticking out on either side. Get your pencil back from your toddler and write down the size you need for each hole, in order, on a piece of paper.
5. Decide how you're going to attach/hang/fasten your board. See below for more info. If necessary, mark the back of your board where you need to drill.
6. Head outside with your drill, drill bits and hooks. Drill each spot you've marked with the size drill bit you wrote on your paper. Be careful not to go all the way through (it doesn't matter to the project, but you might damage your drill or whatever you're resting the wood on).
7. If you're using strapping to hold up your board, this would be a good time to staple the strapping on the back.
8. Screw in your hooks. I needed to use pliers to get mine all the way in. Rescue your plants from the toddler who may be trying to dig them up with a screwdriver.
9. Fix your fasteners to the back, and any protective wadding you need (see below).
10. Let your child loose with their new hanging board! Have your camera handy for the smiles. :)
How to attach/hang/fasten your board
I started with a big hook on the back of our board, to hang over the top of our low cupboards. But this caused several problems. There is an overhang on our cupboard benchtop that the hook didn't fit under. And there was no way to hold in the bottom, so my son was banging the board (and the sharp edged hook) on the cupboards as he tried to get the keyring off the hooks. So I took the hook off and staple-gunned a strap with an adjuster to the top and bottom of the board. Then I glued felt over the staples. This fits around a cupboard door that is closed with a child lock, so he can't pull the cupboard door open and the door is protected from scratches.If hanging with a hook:
1. Mark on the back of your board where your hook should be attached and check that it is not too close to any of the screws coming in from the front of the board. If necessary, move hooks on the front up or down.
2. When drilling for the front, also drill the back holes.
3. Screw your hook to the back.
4. Hang your board!
If using strapping:
1. Find strapping or webbing long enough to go around the cupboard or place where you want to use your board. Fit an adjuster so you can pull the strap tight.
2. Using a staple-gun, attach the webbing to the top and bottom of your board.
3. Glue felt over your staples (I used a hot glue gun.)
4. Strap your board where you want to use it!
If anyone else makes their toddler a hanging board and comes up with another way to hold it up, I'd love to hear about it in the comments!
Friday, 27 April 2012
Taggy turtle
[Spoiler warning: If you're in my I-spy swap and don't want to see any of the fabrics before your package arrives in the mail, look away now! This project uses the scrappy bits left over after I cut my charms.]
Yesterday I was
I was planning on sewing a taggy snuggle blanket for a friend's baby, so it became a taggy turtle instead!
As normal, I'm incapable of following a pattern without adapting it somehow. I shrunk this a little from the original, cut the shell pieces in half (because the scraps I was using were only that big, and it worked well for adding my tags), switched out the feet for ribbon tags and added small ribbon tags along the seams.
I think he's gorgeous, and I hope his new owners will too.
Monday, 23 April 2012
Packages in the mail
Today the postman brought me three packages! I like getting packages. These had I-spy charms in them.
Now I have 10 of the 16 batches for this swap. There's still a few weeks until the charms are due, so I might have to be patient for the others. Something I'm never very good at.
We've decided not to post pictures of our fabrics, so we each get a surprise when our packages come in the mail. So I'm not going to show what I've received until the other swappers have received their charms.
Now I have 10 of the 16 batches for this swap. There's still a few weeks until the charms are due, so I might have to be patient for the others. Something I'm never very good at.
We've decided not to post pictures of our fabrics, so we each get a surprise when our packages come in the mail. So I'm not going to show what I've received until the other swappers have received their charms.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Pinafore or crossover apron
I saw this image on Pinterest. Can anyone help me with either a) where this image comes from, or b) where I can find a pattern for a similar adult crossover back apron?
Hmmm. Answered part of my own question: the image is from here: Pip-Squeak Chapeau etc. And a possible pattern here: Simplicity Pattern 5201 or here: Scalloped Apron Pattern from Candle on the Hill.
But with everything out here on the net, still think there must be a free pattern on a blog somewhere! I love this: Smashed Peas and Carrots' Little Girl's Crossover Pinafore, but I don't think that's going to fit me!
Hmmm. Answered part of my own question: the image is from here: Pip-Squeak Chapeau etc. And a possible pattern here: Simplicity Pattern 5201 or here: Scalloped Apron Pattern from Candle on the Hill.
But with everything out here on the net, still think there must be a free pattern on a blog somewhere! I love this: Smashed Peas and Carrots' Little Girl's Crossover Pinafore, but I don't think that's going to fit me!
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Some stash fillers and their present/project bag
Yesterday I went to a birthday party for a friend and as I know she's a knitter, I gave her two balls of yarn and some needles. Everyone can use more fancy yarn in their stash!
The yarn was one ball of "Plassard Pastorale" in colour 09 and one ball of "Plassard Oh La La" in colour 112. Both are dark reds, purples, browns and pinks, and the Pastorale has some yellow and green through it. (It seems that the Pastorale is an old line that is no longer available. Guess they were selling off the last of their stock at my local yarn shop -LYS).
Oh La La is a type of netting yarn. It knits up into really funky ruffles eg:here.
The needles are Clover bamboo, 5.5mm and 23cm long. I love working with these short needles if my project fits, because they take so much less elbow room! And the Clover bamboo needles are lovely on my hands.
Then I had to find something to present this in. Now I love a fancy parcel but I have a fundamental objection to wrapping paper. I do admit to resorting to it when I don't have the time, the money or even the personal motivation to fix anything else, but in principle I think the concept of gift wrapping paper is seriously unenvironmentally friendly. Most wrapping paper looks like it is not made from recycled materials and will be hard to recycle, it rarely seems to end up in the recycling bin, and it serves no useful purpose. It is use of materials purely for a fleeting, cosmetic purpose. So wasteful.
Consequently, I often try to sew fabric bags or wraps that can be regifted or repurposed. I know friends and family have stashes of my bags now (that they always seem to strategically use for their own closest family members, so they rarely make it back to me so I can reuse them! Hmph.) Apparently I've also inspired others to sew bags; my sister in law's mother now has a supply of christmas bags too!
Back to yesterday's parcel: I decided that I wanted to sew a little present bag, that could also be used as a project bag for a work-in-progress or WIP. Looking through my fabric stash, I couldn't find any lightweight fabric that I felt suited this friend. But then I remembered that I have a box full of samples from a store where I worked that sold upholstery fabric. When the range changed, I was allowed to take the old pages from the sample book. Perfect! And so I made this:
How did i do it?
I picked out some dark orange squares, and found an embroidered band that I bought years ago in a market in Ecuador. I've not yet found anything to use these bands on, and I have a few in my stash.
I cut the paper off the edge of the sample rectangles, and rounded the two bottom corners. I folded down the top edges, and used my machine's hemming stitch to sew them down as discretely as possible. I straight stitched the band to the rectangles, right sides together, and overlapped the ends of the band at one side. I zigzagged the fabric edge to stop it fraying.
Then, because it gaped open and I wanted it a little more closed as I handed it over, I sewed a ribbon loop to one top edge, and sewed the middle of a piece ribbon to the other. One end of the ribbon goes through the loop, and tie it in a bow. Da da!
Simple but I think it was very effective. :)
The yarn was one ball of "Plassard Pastorale" in colour 09 and one ball of "Plassard Oh La La" in colour 112. Both are dark reds, purples, browns and pinks, and the Pastorale has some yellow and green through it. (It seems that the Pastorale is an old line that is no longer available. Guess they were selling off the last of their stock at my local yarn shop -LYS).
Oh La La is a type of netting yarn. It knits up into really funky ruffles eg:here.
The needles are Clover bamboo, 5.5mm and 23cm long. I love working with these short needles if my project fits, because they take so much less elbow room! And the Clover bamboo needles are lovely on my hands.
Then I had to find something to present this in. Now I love a fancy parcel but I have a fundamental objection to wrapping paper. I do admit to resorting to it when I don't have the time, the money or even the personal motivation to fix anything else, but in principle I think the concept of gift wrapping paper is seriously unenvironmentally friendly. Most wrapping paper looks like it is not made from recycled materials and will be hard to recycle, it rarely seems to end up in the recycling bin, and it serves no useful purpose. It is use of materials purely for a fleeting, cosmetic purpose. So wasteful.
Consequently, I often try to sew fabric bags or wraps that can be regifted or repurposed. I know friends and family have stashes of my bags now (that they always seem to strategically use for their own closest family members, so they rarely make it back to me so I can reuse them! Hmph.) Apparently I've also inspired others to sew bags; my sister in law's mother now has a supply of christmas bags too!
Back to yesterday's parcel: I decided that I wanted to sew a little present bag, that could also be used as a project bag for a work-in-progress or WIP. Looking through my fabric stash, I couldn't find any lightweight fabric that I felt suited this friend. But then I remembered that I have a box full of samples from a store where I worked that sold upholstery fabric. When the range changed, I was allowed to take the old pages from the sample book. Perfect! And so I made this:
How did i do it?
I picked out some dark orange squares, and found an embroidered band that I bought years ago in a market in Ecuador. I've not yet found anything to use these bands on, and I have a few in my stash.
I cut the paper off the edge of the sample rectangles, and rounded the two bottom corners. I folded down the top edges, and used my machine's hemming stitch to sew them down as discretely as possible. I straight stitched the band to the rectangles, right sides together, and overlapped the ends of the band at one side. I zigzagged the fabric edge to stop it fraying.
Then, because it gaped open and I wanted it a little more closed as I handed it over, I sewed a ribbon loop to one top edge, and sewed the middle of a piece ribbon to the other. One end of the ribbon goes through the loop, and tie it in a bow. Da da!
Simple but I think it was very effective. :)
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