Bratz lending a hand

A couple of months ago I discovered my daughter's dolls had a bit of creative talent (click here to see what I mean!), so when they offered to help me with my sewing tasks this week I jumped at the chance!! So without further ado, I'll hand over to them.....

 
 

Ok Girls! Mum said she needed to either fix this or make a new set of hanging pockets to put on the back of the car seat, for the girls to put their toys and books in for when they go camping!

OOOOHHHH! And would you just look at the fabric she's got sitting up here! This was her latest find from the charity shop! Wouldn't it just be perfect girls??

Fantastic, so we've got the material for the front, here's some plain pink for the back, and a roll of stiffening to hold its shape!  We're ready to start!

So first we need to cut out the front part. 

We'll use the old one for size, just cut around that one!

(We cut 45cm by 65cm in case you don't have one to cut around!)

These scissors are a little too big for me - but don't worry! I"ll manage....somehow....

Next cut a piece of stiffening the same size:

And a backing piece also the same size:

You're right, these scissors are tricky!

Hey! You've lost a foot!!??

Ohhh, Give me that back - why don't you do it then?

Now cut some pockets out from whichever material you prefer - we of course believe you can never have too many Bratz!!!  Make them whatever size you like - some big, some small, you never know what the girls will want to stuff in these pockets!

Ok, now I think we should give the material a bit of an iron before we stitch it!

Ok then, get ready to catch it when I push - but watch out it's heavy - and hot!!

WHAT????

Nothing like a bit of teamwork to get things done!

Now it's time for sewing! 

Double turn over the top of each pocket and topstitch:

Now you're ready to place and pin your pockets to the main fabric:

Place them all first, to make sure they fit where you want them, then pin them along the sides and bottom, turning each edge under like this:

Once you've got them all pinned on, you're ready to stitch them in place:

Topstitch each pocket close to the edge along the sides and the bottom.

To make the pockets more secure, stitch a triangle on each top edge. This should help prevent the pockets ripping when the girls tug on them as they put their things in and out!

Now we're getting there! The pockets are done! We're doing a pretty good job so far aren't we girls??

Now for the bit that hangs the pockets up.  We'll just cut off that part from the old one and use that:

Watch her hair!!! 

Ok, now pin this part to the pocket section and stitch securely in place like so:

Of course if you don't have an old one to use, you can just attach a strap like this one:

Now to put it all together.

With the pockets facing right side up, lay first the backing fabric, then the stiffening on top like so:

Then pin all around, leaving a gap to turn it out through:

Stitch the three layers together, then trim the corner and edges.

Turn the whole thing right side out through the gap you left, then fold the edges of the gap over and pin.

Then topstitch around the whole finished piece!

All done girls!  Let's go put it in the car to see how it looks!!

Mmm, I obviously didn't think this one through too well!

HELP!!!

This is great!! It works!

Mmm!  But it's not FOR us! Go and put something else in the pockets!

Oh alright!  How's this?

Perfect! Good job girls! 

Now who fancies a spin?? I'm sure if we work together we can figure this car out..

Then again, maybe not!  Perhaps we should quit while we're ahead!

Hopefully this has helped Mum a; bit in her Round Tuit project for this week!

Have a great week.

Love from the Bratz girls!