Easy Draft Excluder Tutorial - Suitable For Beginners And Kids!

We rustled up a couple of these the other day, super easy and even the kids can make them!

What you need:
Fleece or felt 70cm x 50cm
felt scraps for the spikes
2 buttons for eyes
Ribbon for the tongue 10cm
Stuffing
Sewing notions


1. Cut out the fleece, it doesn't have to be perfect, if it is a bit wonky, it will have more character! Fleece is good to use because it doesn't fray, making it easy to work with for kids.
2. Cut triangles from the felt scraps to make the spikes, roughly 8cm x12cm
3. Pin the triangles along the top edge, pointing downward.
4. Fold over the fabric and pin together. Sew along one short edge and the long edge.
5. Turn right side out.
6. Stuff.
7. Cut a "v" in one end of the ribbon, pop in the open end and sew up the gap.
8. Sew on the button eyes.
9. Place in front of a draft door.

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Make A Christmas Tree - tutorial

One of Eric's challenges was to make a tree to add to our genkan forest. This one involved sewing, Ebi-kun is getting quite handy with the needle and thread these days…

Here is a quick tutorial…

Start with two identical triangles of felt, outs were 10cm x 12cm

Next, sew on lots of sequins, you could use buttons instead or French knots if you are all out of sequins and buttons! We only sewed them to one side but you could do both.

Taa-daa…

Place the two triangles together and stitch all around the edge, start from the bottom and make sure you leave a space to stuff it.

Add a bit of stuffing to the tree then poke a lolly pop stick in the hole, you could use a short pencil instead. Stitch up the gap.

This step was a bit tricky, we used a PET bottle lid as the base and filled it with glue, you need to hold the tree in place as you fill with glue. An extra hand is helpful here!

Once it is full dry it is done…

The tree to the right is a polystyrene cone, covered with felt and the sequins are held in place with sewing pins. A great fine motor skills activity for younger kids who can't yet do the sewing.

Easy Kindle Case Tutorial

 pin me please!

Yes, I finally did it, I went and got myself one of those new fangled reading devices. So far I am really liking it, I really like the fact that it is lighter than most of my reading material and Ebi-kun is liking it too, which may pose as a problem at some stage.

Of course, after buying it, I realized that I needed a cover too. I had a look at various designs and decided that what I wanted was a protective pouch rather than something that stays on the kindle as you read it. I had a dig through my stash and found some lovely thick felt and some scraps of sparkly orange that was left over from Ebi-kun's Space Bedroom makeover.

This case was super easy to make, took me, maybe 15 minutes to sew it up, at the most.

What you need:

Thick felt (3mm)

Non fray fabric for the flap, or contrasting felt

Ribbon or tape

Co-ordinating thread

The actual measurements are for a kindle paperwhite but you might have a different model. If you are using a kindle fire, I believe they are thicker so you will need to add some extra*, use your best judgement!

1. Measure the width of your device then add 3cm* (11.5cm + 3cm =14.5cm)

2. Measure the height of your device and add 2.5cm* (16.5cm + 2.5cm = 19cm)

3. Cut 2x pieces that are your new width x new height from your felt

4. Cut 1x 30cm x 10cm from your felt

5. Cut 1x 32cm x 12cm from you contrast fabric or felt

6. Cut your ribbon or tape the final width + 2cm (14.5cm + 2cm = 16.5cm)

Let's sew!

First the flap. Place the two flap pieces together and sew completely round the edge. Now trim off the excess contrast fabric or felt.

Take the back piece of the cover and sew the flap to it, the bottom of the flap should be about 6cm from the base of the cover, it is not an exact science, whatever looks good! Sew from the top edge of the cover, down the side of the flap, along the bottom and back up the other side. DON'T sew along the top, this will be a pocket for your cable.

Now align the front and back cover, pin to keep in place. If you like, you can round the bottom corners or just leave them square, decide before you sew.

Also pin the tape or ribbon in place, about 9cm from the top. Tuck the ends between the front and back pieces. Sew around the edges.

Trim any loose ends and you are done!

Pop your kindle in side and head off to the coffee shop.

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