Pattern & How to make a cushion for a Tripp Trapp

As promised I have made a how to for making your own Tripp Trapp Cushion. This pattern and instructions are for personal use only.

Firstly my free Tripp Trapp Cushion pattern is here for you to download and print out. It prints to 6 A4 pages, only after I painstakingly copied it onto A4 paper with my son's textas and scanned it did I realize it would be tricky to print 2 of those pages as they are full bleed. hmm bear with me and I will fix that soon, but for now it wouldn't be too hard to get around with adjusting print settings and adding selvages back in.

Now for the Instructions:

Cut out all pieces on the fold, you will require .75 of a meter of your chosen fabric and .3 of a meter of 1cm thick foam available from Clark Rubber. Take care to add in the selvages to the seat base and back pieces as marked, these were omitted to fit it to an A4 page for printing.

Finish the non-seam edge of the 4 overlap pieces as marked. Finish the sides of the top seat back piece (the smallest one)

Attach the hook and loop tape to the seat back pieces. Use the hook & loop tape to attach the 2 seat back pieces and stay stitch them together at the top.

Stack in order the seat base foam, one fabric seat base piece (faced upwards) the two seat base overlaps, (faced downwards) and then finally the remaining seat base fabric piece.

Pin & sew closed all flat edges, leaving the curved (back) side completely open. Be sure to catch all layers in your seam, avoid Trim the corners.

Turn and press flat.

 Fold the curved overlap piece over so the right sides are facing together and sew closed. The original Stokke Cushion has a serged seam here.

The turn back over so the seam is hidden and you can call it done at this point. Although the marked top stitching is optional but will assist in keeping the cushion flat.

If you intend to use the babyset put the marked buttonhole in for the strap. I have put this on the pattern, but personally I would fit it to the chair at that point to ensure it was in the right location.

For the seat back cushion lay the foam, one fabric piece facing upwards, the already finished overlap pieces facing upward and then the remaining piece facing downward.

Pin and sew around all edges except the flat bottom. The slit between the armrests and seat back are very difficult with an overlocker. For this cushion I used my sewing machines zig zag on those areas. Sew this as a open ended rectangle around 15mm wide. Trim the corners, cut the Y shapes to assist turning.

Turn and again the original Stokke cushion has an exposed serged seam along the bottom.

If you don't have an over-locker, (or like me yours breaks a $#&%* needle on the corners of the armrests moments earlier and it's now dinner time) use a tight stitch width and wide zig zag close to the edge and trim it neatly.

Then put the vertical top stitching to separate the backrest and armrests.

Sew on the hook & loop tape to the marked areas.

Take care to make sure the hook tape on the top piece reaches it over the top part of the chairs seat back to comfortably meet the middle loop peice. (The curved pocket is for the babyset backrest, you don't use this hook & loop tape when it is on)

The hook tape at the bottom is only attached on the lower long side on the Stokke cushion. This allows it to come forward to get around the lower bar of the seat back.

And TA DA your done, it's not hard at all, just fiddly and requires a bit of careful aligning of the pieces.

How to draft a pram liner pattern

As promised here is a new How To on drafting a pram liner pattern and sewing the liner. I have used a Maclaren Quest for this, but made liners for lots of different prams in this way. My previously posted Mountain Buggy & Baby Jogger City Mini liners are made in this same way.

 Materials
.5 meter Easy Trace or Kwik Trace (available from Spotlight)
a ball point pen
.5 meter of fabric for each side.*
.4 meter of 1cm thick foam (available from Clark Rubber)

* if you choose a pattern which is one directional you may need to increase this accordingly.

It is usually much easier to get a good fit for your liner by removing the seat of the pram, (this also gives you a great opportunity to give it a good wash. ) Once off lay it out as flat as possible, fold any folds outwards. Lay the Easy trace over and pin it down, by pushing pins into the seams, this will avoid doing any damage to your pram fabrics. 

Then using a ball point pen (which won't bleed through) trace the seam lines,  buttonholes for straps and any important folds, by top stitching them on your liner will seat much neater. Be sure to minimize movement so it is as even as possible. 

When complete put your pram fabrics aside, neaten the lines and add a 15mm selvage around the edge.

Once you've traced the seat it is time to neaten it all up. It is important that it is symmetrical and that it matches the seat. Fold it in half (and hopefully!) it should be close.

Clean up the lines, straightening them, adjust the button holes etc. Referring back to the seat as much as needed. When it's done cut out your pattern and your ready to sew!

Cut the foam and each fabric piece out. Take care that the fabric is in the right direction.











Lay the foam on the bottom and both pieces of fabric right sides together on top.

Sew around the edges leaving a 5" gap, ideally at the top as this section is usually covered by the hood.

Turn the liner the right way again, check the edge seams to make sure they are neat and even. Press.

Hand stitch close the opening.

Sew around the liner 5mm from the edge to give a neat look and structure.

Refer back to your pattern and mark the button holes and fold lines for the seat back etc with pins.

Before you sew anything be sure to use a ruler to check they are evenly spaced, or the liner will slant and also hold it against the (reassembled) pram to make sure the holes will line up.

Then sew your buttonholes and top stictching.

And Voila!!! You are done!

Another BJCM liner

I made a friend another BJCM liner and matching nappy clutch, it doesn't look as nice on my blue, but I think it will look lovely on her Sand BJCM.





UPDATE

I was recently asked for the measurements of this liner, so thought I'd also post them here:

From the bottom of seat back to the top of seat back: 20"
From back of seat base to front of seat base: 10"
From front of seat base to bottom of footwell: 8.5"

Width at top of seat base: 14"
Width at bottom of seat back/back of seat base: 11"
Width at front of seat base: 13"

Shoulder straps are 4.5" apart & buttonholes 1.5" wide.
Shoulder straps are: 8.5", 9.75", 11.25" & 12.5" above the bottom of the seat back.

Side straps are 1.25" wide, they are 6.25" apart and 2" above the bottom of the seat back.

The fold strap buttonholes are 1.5" wide, 6.75" apart & 1" forward from the back of the seat base back.

The crotch strap is 2.5" wide and 3.5" forward from the seat base back.

Baby Jogger City Mini Liner

Since deciding to take my Baby Jogger City Mini to Sydney in May I thought it was finally time to make the liner I have been promising it since it joined the family. I have a whole new love of the Baby Jogger City Mini again now, as does Finn who keeps pointing at things on the liner.

I will post a tutorial for making a liner soon, I have changed my method slightly and like it much more. The BJCM one is slightly different because of the fold strap, but it was pretty simple really, the strap can unscrew on side and can be unthreaded, (which allows you to wash the seat also) then you just need 2 button holes to allow the strap to go through.

When I was done and fitting it back on, and congratulating myself on how well the fabric suited a holiday when I realized we're going in May and it will be cold so I made it a footmuff based on the zips and buttons. This is my first footmuff and I love it.

Tripp Trapp Cushion

My son and I adore the Tripp Trapp, the only part of this fantastic chair that disappoints is the cushion. We even forked out for the 'Premium' one because it had laminated fabric thinking it would be easier to keep clean, which it is compared to our other Stokke one which is linen, the major property of which seems to be an amazing ability to absorb any food consumed nearby.

So essentially to keep the chair clean you either need several cushions or to use it without one at all. Enter my new TT cushion, sporting some new and very cute $3.99/meter Ikea fabric, with foam the whole thing cost less than $9 and took an afternoon; good deal compared to $90 for a Stokke one. ;)

I plan on making more so will try to do a tute with another but really it is quite easy. Using Easytrace I copied the Stokke cushions, the key to the construction is that the front seam of the seat base & bottom seam of the seat back are over-locked closed after sewn together.

Amy Butler's Cuddle Kitty

While trying to stay up to get my hubbie from a very late flight I made Amy Butler's cuddle kitty which is a free pattern from her new book, Little Stitches for Little Ones. I am pretty happy with it, although the pattern needs some proof-reading, the cutting instructions are all wrong, asking you to cut a second unnecessary set of paws and ears. I also assembled it in a different order to the pattern.

Otherwise it was quite good, the odd shape isn't entirely the pattern, I was tired and started overlocking and stupidly left the cutter down on the feet... oh well it is very cute none the less:

Pram Liners are done!!

Ages ago I posted a pattern I drafted for the Phil & Teds' Sport, it took me all this time to get around to making it up, and now I finally can share the finished project:

To construct it I:

Cut backrest and square seat, of each from the fabric, ripstop nylon, wadding and 2 types of padded interfacing; one super stiff and one fluffy (trying to recreate some stuff called Timtex which has been discontinued here). (You only need .3 of a meter for each layer)

Then for the backrest part I layered the Fabric with the right side facing the Nylon and stacked that on top of the interfacing's & wadding and over-locked 3 sides.

I used the open edge to turn the fabric right side out (over the padding so it looks like the finished product), then repeated this for the seat part.Then I over-locked the 2 parts (backrest & seat) together by pinning the fabric (right sides together), wadding and interfacing together and stitching (leaving the nylon free) on the open end and then hand stitched together the nylon to make a smooth seam on the back. I pretty much stuck to the measurements I posted last time, but I did end up shortening the seat a little.

Finally I used my sewing machine to add the button holes for the straps, the slits each all have to be at least 3cm wide to fit the buckles through (found that out the hard way). I measured up the heights as I went so it sat flat, for the backrest the depths were all 1.5" from the edge, and 1.5" wide. The center hole on the seat is 2" wide and completely centered. And that was it, hope that helps!

(Sorry for the imperial measurements, the pram seems to conform more to imperial than metric, which is weird for a NZ pram.. they are metric aren't they?)

Now I have to get myself in gear and make the weekender up as a nappy bag in the matching fabric!

Cheers,
Jocelyn.

Nappy storage

I don't like nappy boxes, well I specifically don't like Huggies Nappy boxes because I am not a fan of Winnie the Pooh. I saw these storage baskets by JcarolineCreative and thought they were the perfect soultion.

Here is my rendition:

I made a few modifications, firstly I didn't bother with the label. Also Timtex is sadly no longer available in Australia and we don't have a suitable substitute so I have used a stiff interfacing, but it really pales in comparison and it is floppy when empty unfortunately. Finally I changed the dimensions to hold a large box of Huggies Nappies perfectly. I also cut up a Huggies box for a for the base rather than buying plastic for the base considering I see it moving very little in it's life.

It was a pretty easy and cheap project, it took about 4 hours and only 60cm at 112 wide for each of fabric, interfacing and lining which came to $25. I intend to make a second which I don't think will cause me too many headaches. But I am not sure if I need to have 216 Nappies at my finger tips at any one time really, but I am sure it will come in handy for storing some kind of baby related gear.

Now for some action shots... note the change table too, it is the Cariboo Classic which I am in love with.

9 hours later

I have curtains up. Geeze I am tired now curtains are a surprisingly tiring thing to make. I used gathering tape and bought hooks (which I am using to attach the lining) but the rings that came with the rod are way too thick for the hooks and it didn't sit well. Luckily I had left the ends opened and just threaded it, I'm pretty happy- they are very puffy, but they have 3 pass lining and once I have proper tie backs I think they'll be quite nice.

Cot action

This Silky Oak cot is from 1945, my Grandparents bought it for my uncle & my dad. He then used it for my 2 sisters and I in the 70's. It's next vacation was masquerading as a settee in my parents entryway or a decade or 2 before my 2 little Nephews slept in it. (Excuse the mobile phone picture)



When my sister and her husband inherited it they did a little work on it, replaced the mattress and replaced the stretchy metal base with slats and tightened things up. I am just not sure it's safe enough. Choice has a guide which it does meet. (although only for what Choice calls the 'upper position') I am a little worried about the latch and the top of the cot as a catching hazard. Here's a picture:

I think Simplicity 3795 is pretty good for bedding. I love the box pleated valance out of the dots and will definitely make that and the sheets in the Spring leaves fabric. I think the pillow would be good for a chair in the nursery too.

The rest ranges from optional to strong dislike. I am tempted by the bumper, but probably won't because of safety. If I don't make the BBBB and have fabric left over may make the quilt. But not the net, I hate the flowers too and the round toy thing, don't know what that's about!

Patterns

I have a lot of big dreams for what I want to make for the nursery, I hope I get it all done!

Firstly after seeing this very talented mum's efforts I ordered the Amy Butler Weekender pattern which arrived today! My plan is to make it as a Nappy bag. I love it so, though am terrified of the challenge having read countless blogs and craftster posts telling of it's difficulty.

But I love how it looks, I'm going to use the dots I posted last week with chocolate piping and the leaves as the lining.

Of course I would be incredibly uncool if I didn't have a matching change mat for my nappy bag so enter the Change Mat from McCall's 5339. I intend to make it in the Spring Leaves Fabric with plastic over the seat. Maybe with the dots on the back - I am not sure about that yet though.

I also got enough of the Spring Leaves to make a Pram Liner, but won't do anything about that untill we've chosen and bought the pram.

Fabric

Save for amenity's divine Woods Organic Crib Package at $392 with postage I am struggling to find suitable bedlinen for the cot.

So I have been looking online and in stores for something suitable Retro Depot have some great nature themed and Japanese fabrics which are so lovely, but I wanted something that felt as good as it looks which is hard when shopping online.

Enter yesterday's surprise find:



They are both from Japan - man Japanese design is rocking at the moment. I plan to turn the dots ($14.95/mtr) into the valance and use the 'spring leaves' ($12.95/mtr) for the sheets. I am so excited!

In fact I loved them both so much I indulged my 'to make the theme work I need to keep the fabric constant' thoughts and made a second trip to buy heaps more today.

A pram of ones own

We have a pram, I have been lusting after the Phil & Teds Sport for some time and have found one at quite a bargain.

I am very enthusiastic about pram liners, I have been trying to find instructions for them to no avail. I am yet to make them but this afternoon drafted a pattern for them. I can't wait to get started on them!

Happy sewing, 

Jocelyn

Naked Windows

Lincraft had a massive sale today and had 50% off all furnishing fabrics, bad timing for the bank with my nearest and dearest away on a business trip. As as with any fabric mission I have been on I didn't end up with what I went in for and instead bought fabric for the Nursery.


And here it is, a Sage coloured fake silk with pleated lines. I specifically didn't want a childish fabric but instead something that blended with the general natural feel I was going for but was elegant. It is normally $21/meter. I also picked up some 3 pass lining with a 2.36 drop with tape.

I'm not 100% sold on it as yet, I am alternating adoring it and wondering what I was thinking. Although considering they were both 50% I am quite pleased with buying both fabric and lining for
$ 74.34.

Still need to get the tape, hooks and curtain rod, but for now I feel happy with my first evidence of progress on this project.

Burp Cloths

Starting with these Burp Cloths, they are inspired by Burp Armor, which are lovely organic burp cloths, but at US$27 a pop they aren't really practical for me unfortunately. Cue my weekend project..

Burp Cloths How to

Cost: $5.92 (each)
Time: about 90 mins (each)



Materials
(makes 4 cloths)
0.6 mtrs corduroy for backing
1.2 mtrs low pill fleece
(optional) 0.3 mtrs quilting cotton for bias binding, or 180cm purchased binding.

The shape is three circles 21cm in diameter touching with the gaps smoothed over. Basically like this. The cloth should be about 55cm long.

I started with cutting a newspaper pattern based on the above diagram. Then get cutting! For each burp cloth you need 1 layer of Corduroy & 2 layers of fleece.

Once cut layer the two fleece sides, fluffy side out, then corduroy, ridged side facing out on the other side. Smooth out and pin. Like so:

Then I overlocked around the edges (my first overlocking ever!! My darling husband & beautiful mother gave me one for Christmas and I have been too scared to start until today, it's easier than it seemed, only took 4 months to pluck the courage.)

It then is technically finished, but I wanted to add some of the leaves fabric I love so much so made some Bias tape from it.

Using 30cm of it I cut a few 3.5cm bias strips. Then folded a 1/4 in on each side before folding in half again and pressing. Hey presto I have Bias Tape! Then pinned the tape around the edges of the cloth:

and... TA DA!!! (my bias tape is a little dodgy on this one, I was getting tired and may unpick and redo it, but still it's a very nice burp cloth.)