Flosstyle

Practical PDF Sewing Patterns

in 52 Week Sewing Challange· 52 Week Sewing Challenge - 2020· Flosstyle Patterns· Free Downloads· Freebies· One Yard Tote· Upcycle

Sewing Challenge 2020 – Week 12

This weeks challenge: Scrap Busting
Accepted/Rejected: Accepted

I love appliques for scrap busting, they use such tiny pieces of fabric that I can find a use for even my smallest scraps. I have been working on some appliques patterns getting them ready for release and the dog I made this week is one of those so no pattern available yet.

The One Yard Tote is perfect for adding appliques to and is a super quick sew, perfect for a last minute gift. The One Yard Tote is a free pattern too which makes it even better.

I love being able to upcycle when I’m sewing, so the inside of this one yard tote is made from and old quilt cover that I got from an Op Shop last year for $3. I’ve lost count of the things I have made with it already and there is still so much of it left in my cupboard waiting to be turned into other new creations.

Happy Sewing
xx Gail

in Freebies· Printable· Sew For kids

Super Fun Games to Play with Bean Bags with a Free Printable

Bean Bags are a super versatile toy and the number of ways to play with them is limited only by your imagination. I have put together a list of our favourites and created a free printable booklet (you can find the link at the bottom of the post) so you can have them all in one handy place. It’s also perfect to add to add as part of a gift.

Free printable booklet full of games to play with bean bags. Perfect to add to a gift of handmade bean bags for a birthday present.

Want to play the games but don’t have any bean bags? Head over to the Make Your Own Bean Bags Tutorial.

Bean Bag Games

Target Toss:
Scatter the printable targets on the ground, with lowest points closest to the throwing line. Take turns tossing bean bags and trying to land on the targets.
Increase the challenge by placing the targets inside objects such as a bucket or pot.

Walk the Line:
For this activity you will need a piece of rope, lay the rope in a straight line on the ground. Balance a bean bag on your head and try to walk along the rope without it falling off.
Ideas to make it harder are to balance a second bean bag on top of the first, pick up an object along the way, add turns or waves to the rope line or try a heel to toe walk.

Walk the Line Bean Bag Game, part of the free printable booklet at flosstyle.com

Fill the Bucket:
Place a pile of bean bags on one side of the yard and a bucket on the other, move all the bean bags to the bucket one at a time. You can make this a race with more than one child by giving them each a bucket to fill and see who gets the most. Or for one child change the way they have to get to the bucket each time eg. crawl, hop, jump, walk backwards etc.

Juggling:
Start with one bean bag and toss it up and catch with the other hand. Once this can be done add a second bean bag and toss both to the other hand at the same time. Then add the third bean bag, for this to work your riming needs to be spot on, you will need to be catching with one hand, while tossing with the other and have one bean bag still in the air ready to catch.

Free printable Bean Bag Games: Try and hit the targets to get the most points

Tossing:
Start by tossing the bean bag into the air and then catching it, once you can do this easily try some of these ideas; toss the bean bag higher into the air, try to toss and catch the bean bag with only one hand, toss with one had and catch with the other or add a clap after tossing the bean bag and before catching, see how many claps you can add and still catch the bean bag.
Ultimate challenge: Try throwing up the bean bag and then catch it on the back of your hand. Throw it up from the back of the hand, and catch again. Can you toss it from the back of one hand to the other hand? And then back again?

Jumping Beans:
Scatter the bean bags on the floor. Pick up one and toss it into the air. With the same hand, pick up another bag and transfer it to your other hand. Repeat until you have all bean bags in one hand, and catch the thrown beanbag in the other.

Read to start playing? Download the printable booklet. You can fold the pages together to make a booklet or cut each on out and punch a hole in the corner and tie together with string or ribbon.

Bean Bag Games Free Printable from flosstyle.com

in Freebies· Sew For kids· Sewing with Kids· Tutorials

Free Bean Bag Tutorial

We have been invited to a birthday party later this month and I wanted to sew something for the birthday boy that he could play with.

Bean bags are the perfect classic toy for kids of almost all ages. They are simple and open ended toys that can be used in so many different ways. They can not only be used for stacking, tossing and catching, this colourful collection can also be used for educational play such as colour recognition, matching, and counting.

Before I had even finished sewing these Parker was trying to run away with them, so I decided to make him his own set while I was at it.

I used heat transfer vinyl (HTV) to make the letters and numbers on my bean bags. You can cut these from HTV and iron on or make fabric appliques.

You could also try using fabrics with different textures, such as minky, satin, cord etc to turn the bean bags into sensory toys.

You will need:

-Fabric
-Filling (Rice, Plastic Pellets, Corn etc)

How to make them:

I used 6″ squares for the large bean bags and 4″ squares for the smaller ones. (You can use smaller or larger squares to suit you)

Cut 2 matching squares for each of bean bags you’d like to make. (I chose a plain colour for one side and character print for the other.)

-If you are applying HTV or applique do that before sewing squares together.
-Place 2 squares right sides together and sew around the edges leaving a gap big enough to turn and fill.
-Snip the corners and turn out, use a chopstick to push out corners
-Top stitch the 3 sides of the bean bag that don’t have the gap on them.
-Fill the bag with filling of your choice and top stitch that side to close the bean bag.

Free Bean Bags Tutorial. Great for presents and educational play.

Each bean bag seam is double stitched to provide extra security against breakage. You should check your bean bags regularly for wear and loose stitching. If you have used an organic filling such as rice, be sure to store your bean bags where they won’t get wet.

You can find some great games to play with your bean bags and a free printable booklet which is great to add when giving these as a present by clicking the link.

Another great idea for a handmade present is the Ultimate Bucket Hat. You can find a complete tutorial on how to sew it here.

Happy Sewing
x Gail