Sew Cute! : Shawl Tutorial

That fall fashion fever is right around the corner and I for one am ready for it’s arrival.

I’ve always loved fantasy/medieval style clothing, so I decided to make a bunch of cozy, fantasy style clothing to last me throughout the colder months. Those chilly months have always been my favorite for fashion - all the layers and soft fabrics are to die for!

Ever wanted to wear a blanket all day? Same, that’s why I made this soft shawl. It’s made out of the same material as a blanket, but it’s more socially acceptable than wearing your pjs all day. This blanket-in-disguise is stylish and won’t get you weird looks from the neighbors (unless you take photoshoots in your front yard like I did).

Tutorial:

Now let's get to it! First pick out a soft material, not too thick, but enough to keep you warm. Measure from the top of the shoulders to your wrists (when rested at your hips), you might need someone to help you. Then measure around your shoulders, add another 12-15 inches, depending on how “flowy” you want your shawl.

(Remember to add an inch or two for your seam allowance depending on the thickness & weave of your fabric!)

Cut out a rectangle from those dimensions. Fold the fabric in half (bringing together the two shorter sides) to find the center. Mark the center line in chalk because this will be needed later on, but we don't want the mark to be permanent. Now measure from your wrist to right under the collarbone, use that measurement to mark both ends of your fabric (measuring from bottom to top). Now use the original measurement for your shoulders (this time without the added inches) and use the mark we made earlier to center your (shoulder width) measurement at the top of the fabric. 

The corners should look like the photo below. 

Mark out a line connecting the two points on both upper corners.

Cut down the lines to cut the (upper) corners off. You’ll need two of these pieces, so either do it all again, or trace and cut.

For the collar, measure around your neck, be sure to give plenty of space so you can breathe, as for the height of the collar, it’s up to your preferred length. We chose about a 2 inch height for the collar, but instead of cutting out two 2 inch tall pieces of fabric we cut out a 4 inch tall piece (this is without the seam allowance) and folded it in half.

Sewing:

Start with your two larger pieces and face the desired outer sides toward each other, we’ll be sewing them inside-out and flip them later. Sew along all the edges except for the top (shortest) one, do the same with the sides of the collar (be sure to sew this inside-out as well). Flip both and lie the collar out beside the top of the fabric, pin the fabric in folds until the top of the shawl is the same size as the collar.

Now lay the collar on the top of the shawl, sew across being wary of pins and folds.

Almost there, now just look in the mirror and check to see where you would like to put your button (be sure to snag a piece of chalk to mark it), I like overlapping the flaps for a cozy look. Once you're done adding your button you’ll have a cute shawl like the ones below.

Have sewing tips? What kinds of designs would you like to see in upcoming posts? 

Chat with us in the comments below, we love hearing from our readers!

Toddlers: Getting them to take medicine

Having a toddler can be rough, but any experienced mother will tell you, having a sick toddler is much worse. It's not so bad if your little one simply increases his crankitude by a few notches. The worst part is that helpless feeling you get when they are so sick that they can't even grump at you. Add that to the reduced sleep you'll be getting, the throw-up you'll be cleaning, and that ever-lingering worry to check your child's temperature - and you've got a recipe for disaster.

The last thing a worried, sleep-deprived momma (or dad) needs is to finally get some medicine for their kid, only to have said kid spew the medicine everywhere and start shrieking like they're being paid for it. Sadly, this happens all too often and there are a few good reasons why.

1. Medicine usually doesn't taste good. We know it, don't think that they don't know it too!

2. Medicine usually only comes around when you aren't feeling well. In a child's mind, Medicine = Bad.

3. Kicking and screaming is the natural defense mechanism of the toddler. If they don't like what's happening, expect them to use it.

Here are some tips to make sure that liquid goes where it's supposed to (and not all over your shirt).

First of all, medicine does usually have a flavoring to it, but we all know the taste. It's nothing you'd drink for fun, and your child is going to notice the slight bitterness right away. There are two different ways to go about taking medicine. The easy way, and the hard way. It usually ends up coming down to the hard way, but let me fill you in on the easy way in case any of you out there have easy-going kids. See video demonstrations of both ways here:

The Easy Way:

Sit down with your child on their level and snuggle them for a minute. Tell him or her you want them to feel better and that you went and got something just for them from the doctor. Show your little one the bottle of medicine and the dropper it goes in. Open the bottle and look inside. Try not to say anything like "mmm smells yummy!" because you know it isn't yummy, and if they don't know it yet they are going to know soon, and they won't trust you as much when you say it about other things (like asparagus). Go ahead and touch your finger to a drop of the medicine and put it in your mouth. Say something like "Wow, that makes me feel better. It makes my cough/puke/headache/tummyache go away!"

Now put some into the dropper. Put your child on your lap. Wrap your arm around his or her waist, tucking the arms to the side. With your child's legs and your legs dangling down towards the ground, ankle-cross your legs around theirs to prevent them from kicking you if they get upset. This might be the point that you want another adult nearby just in case. Even though your child is complying so far, they will almost definitely spit the medicine out after it hits the side of their tongue - it's just a natural reaction to the bitter taste. Tuck the dropper into your child's cheek (they can't spit it out from there), tip their head back slightly and start talking about anything other than the medicine. "Remember the time we went to the zoo? That was fun wasn't it? We saw a lot of animals there." Very slowly push the medicine in, stopping every few seconds to allow time for them to swallow. If they begin to cry or fuss, gently tell them that they will feel better after taking the medicine. If they begin to kick and scream, switch to the hold in The Hard Way. If they finish taking all the medicine however, count yourself lucky and give them a big hug for doing so well.

The Hard Way:

Put your child sideways on your lap, with his or her legs dangling between yours. Gently cross your legs in such a way that your child's legs are trapped between your own. This will keep you from getting kicked if your child starts to scream. Now tuck their arm that is closest to you under your armpit, as if you were hugging them. Extend your "hugging" arm around to their side and hold their other arm firmly against them. Tilt your child back slightly, so they are leaning back into your cradling-hold. With your free hand, place the dropper into the side of their cheek - again, the side of the cheek is the only place they can't spit it out from - and squeeze the medicine into their mouth slowly. Going too fast can cause choking, and you don't need that on top of everything else. Stop every few seconds to make sure that the child has time to swallow. If your child seems truly frantic from taking the medicine, stop and calm them before proceeding. Taking medication is never a fun event, but it should never turn into a traumatic one. When your child has finished taking all of their medication, make sure to give them a big hug. Your little guy or gal deserves it.

Make sure to give your child a drink (to wash out the taste) and a treat afterwards. If they are keeping food down, give them a little snack. If they aren't keeping food down, give them a popsicle if you have one, or a sticker or other small toy. Spend some time coloring with them or reading a few books, or some other favorite pastime. Let them see that the medicine-taking event doesn't have to be unpleasant.

To make it easier on yourself the next time you need to give medication, start giving your child a daily vitamin. Make a sticker chart in a place that they can reach and let them put a sticker up each time they take it without fuss. Spend time with them or even just give them a hug whenever the vitamin-taking time arrives. If your child sees that medicine can be used for health, that is what they will associate with it, and hopefully the next time they need to take it they won't devolve into a being that reminds you of a Mini-Hulk minus the green color.

Hopefully the medicine does the job fast and you can catch a few much-needed minutes of rest while your little guy or gal does the same.

Garlic As An Antibiotic?

Last month, I went through one of the most dreadful experiences a nursing mother faces: I got mastitis.

If you just cringed a little, you're a mom who has not only had mastitis, but can still pretty firmly remember how terrible it is. Unfortunately for me, I was unable to head to the doctor this time because of a mistake my insurance company made, leaving me without coverage for several days.

Although I had read about garlic as an antibiotic before, many of those posts are written on sites that already promote tons of natural remedies, and I wanted to hear about an experience from a neutral standpoint before I went chasing after ingredients for a 'miracle cure'.

After going through my cupboards to see what I had on hand, I decided that it couldn't hurt to try a few of the easier remedies. To my great surprise, everything I tried worked. I'm not sure if it was the combination of everything together, or one home-treatment in particular, but it worked. It wasn't an instant cure-all, mind you... but it got me up and out of bed and I began to feel better by the hour.

I would always recommend going to your doctor first to see what they think, since mastitis can be very serious if left untreated... but if you don't have any other choice you can try the following to relieve your symptoms and possibly get rid of your mastitis altogether.

A disclaimer before you go trying everything you read: I'm not a doctor. I don't have all the facts or answers. Please be aware before you try any alternative methods (whether on my site or someone else's) it's always best to get a physician's opinion of it first. This is just what worked for me, and your results may be much different from mine.

• Chop up some garlic cloves into 7 or 8 small pieces. Toss them back as if they were medicine and flush them down with a good amount of water. Eat a small piece every 2 minutes for as long as you can stand it. (Eating 3-5 whole cloves in all is said to be best.)

• Every hour, take a Vitamin C tablet and then drink a tall glass of water. Vitamin C is non-soluble, so it will pass right through your system if you keep drinking water. This is called 'mega-dosing' and it appears to work, but I would warn against it if you have kidney problems or choose to skip drinking the water. (Seriously, drink the water. I had a migraine afterwards because I didn't drink enough. Pretend you're a fish and drink water until you feel like you're going to float away.)

• Massage the painful area while nursing your child.

• Sleep.

• Drink water, nurse, sleep some more, then repeat the entire process over again.

This is what worked for me, and in less than 12 hours after beginning to try this method, I was feeling well enough to come back out of my room and sit up and do some laundry. I will just say this: I was very skeptical at the beginning that this would actually work, but I'm not skeptical anymore!

I feel that this method is one of those things that works better 'sooner rather than later', so if you feel like you are coming down with a mastitis infection and want to try a home remedy, do it soon.

Have you ever tried garlic to get rid of an infection? How did it work for you? Chat with me in the comments below, I love hearing from my readers!

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Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post and, as always, my opinions are purely my own. And as I stated earlier in this post: I am not a doctor and this post is relating my personal experience only. Always speak with a licensed physician before making any changes or decisions regarding your healthcare.