Snappy Toddler Top

I've been in the mood to just follow someone else's steps and not have to design from scratch, so I started the Snappy Toddler Top pattern from Prudent Baby...months ago.  It was one of those projects that I just had to put away for a little bit before I could make any progress.



First, always read the comments (if available) before starting a project.  The many people who have gone before you probably have something good to know.  I didn't.  I just dove right in and found myself very angry with the snap installation process.  If I got them to line up right then hammering, even gently and on a soft surface, inevitably bent the snap and made it un-usable.  When the instructions said to "simply line up and hammer in place" - they lied.  So I completely ruined my first set of yoke pieces with trial and error on snaps.  It was okay though...

My first set of yoke pieces didn't come out very smooth.  I'm still new to the machine I'm using and sewing all the small curves of the yoke on this machine certainly had a learning curve (pun intended).  So having to make a second set of yoke pieces ended up being a good thing because the second set came out much smoother.

And I now read all the comments and even collected advice from friends about snaps.  I put the whole thing to the side for a bit while I worked on other projects.  I waited for a sale and then I purchased a pair of snap pliers.  (Great snap tutorial at Sew, Mama, Sew.)  Taking a cue from the comments, I installed the snaps last.  Success!

Of course, since it took me two months from start to finish, I already need to let out the bottom hem so it's not too short!

Lil' Hoot chose the fabric and thanks to Jessica for having sent it along to my stash!  

Doll Stroller Make Over

I found Grace a little doll stroller for a few bucks at a garage sale, but...the seat was icky - slick, stained, odd fabric.  Yuck.  So I knew I'd have to make a new one but it looked simple enough.

I started with this:



Then I ripped it all apart and made the pattern pieces:



And, eventually, I ended up with this:


And a very, very happy Lil' Hoot:


I said "eventually" because I forgot to mark where the pieces should be sewn back together and gave myself a little fit until I saw an online tutorial for an almost identical stroller seat and had a realization. Also, I wanted to make this from things I had in my closet already - no running to the store or spending more money on it. So I used stash fabric, ribbon and bias tape instead of canvas webbing and re-used the same buckle. The dolls really aren't picky and neither is Lil' Hoot. I have a feeling it will rip out before too long though since my tiny toddler refuses to believe the stroller is only for dolls.