Sew Simple Tabi Socks with this Quick and Easy Way to Make Toe Socks

Sew Simple Tabi Socks with this Quick and Easy Way to Make Toe SocksIf you’ve ever admired Japanese Tabi socks or just fancied wearing socks with your toe shoes or sandals then this is the tutorial for you! Japanese Tabi style socks are not only stylish they’re also  super quick and simple to sew, all you need is a regular pair of socks to alter! I whipped up several pairs of these recently when the kids were wearing flip flops as part of a costume and given that it was the end of November I didn’t want their toes freezing off. Cosplay considerations aside they’re also an extremely fun and practical sock design so give them a go today and sew simple Tabi socks with this quick and easy way to make toe socks.

 

What You’ll Need (this has to be one of the shortest lists I’ve ever written for a tutorial)

A pair of socks

Scissors

Matching Thread

 

That’s literally all that’s required, I suppose you also need a pair of feet to measure them on but you’re bound to have all the materials required at home right now.

Step 1

Put your pair of socks onto the recipient’s feet and mark (using a pencil or tailors chalk) a line between the big toe and the rest of the toes.

Step 2

Remove the socks, and carefully cut along your line using scissors.

Step 3

Turn the socks inside out and stitch close to the edge (just like in the pic) using either a sewing machine or by hand.

Step 4

Turn the socks back out the right way, pop on the recipient’s feet and feel smug at your speedy and stylish accomplishment.

Sew Simple Tabi Socks with this Quick and Easy Way to Make Toe Socks

Step 5

Make all your socks into toe socks and wear them with all your flip flops! Or just so you can waggle your toes around the house while feeling all toasty and warm!

Delicious Chocolate Summer Treats with Cadbury’s

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

Chocolate Party

Chocolate Party

I have gone unabashedly Chocolate mad this weekend, this is a semi natural state as far as I am concerned. I love everything from White Chocolate to Dark, Forestero beans to Criollo, basically I like to eat it and eat it often. Not all my Chocolate is eaten in bar form, I think it’s great to get creative and try out new ideas when you can. When I saw the Cadbury’s shop from Collective Bias I jumped at the chance to join in.

Cadbury's Chocolate

Cadbury's Chocolate

I shopped for my supplies at Asda, where I was mesmerised by the sheer selection. There were huge varieties of Chocolate cakes, Chocolate desserts, Chocolate bars and all of it Cadbury’s. I stuck to my list (almost) and came away managing not to eat any prematurely. To see my shopping trip take a look here.

I had so many ideas (inventions) for this post that I couldn’t decide on one single Chocolate creation, so I made three and planned a little Chocolate party for our family. If my husband and I were excited, the children were ecstatic! From the sophisticated and sublime to the downright silly, I had a go at creating it all!

Lavender Chocolate Deco Roll

Lavender Chocolate Deco Roll

Lavender Chocolate Deco Roll

First up was my sophisticated creation the ‘Lavender Chocolate Deco Roll’. I adore Lavender cake and I’ve always wanted to make a Deco Roll so it made sense to try and combine both ideas, thankfully it worked!

If you’ve never seen a Deco Roll before, they are Swiss rolls with pictures piped right into the cake. Take a look around the web to see some truly astounding creations. I believe they are Japanese in origin and add a level of creativity and whimsy that is otherwise severely lacking from your standard Swiss roll. You’ll probably see that many of the recipes are in Japanese, which causes a slight problem unless your happen to speak that language. I managed to find a brilliant tutorial/recipe on YouTube. Basically you make an egg yolk batter which is coloured and then piped onto a silicone baking sheet in your chosen design (I drew Lavender sprigs). This is baked for just 1.5mins, before making the cake batter which is spread over the top. The end result…wonderfully decorative Swiss rolls.

Flat Deco Roll

Flat Cooked Deco Roll (with Lavender sprigs design)

Deco Roll Filling

Deco Roll Filling

For my variation, the Cake Batter had some cocoa added. Then I cut some fresh lavender from the garden and sprinkled it over whipped cream with sugar for the filling. Next I added grated Cadbury’s Bournville before rolling up. The Deco Roll needs to be in the fridge for at least a day to firm up. I know I made this and I don’t want to sound big headed, but this cake rocked!Deco Swiss Roll

Strawberries and Cream Lego Ice Cream

Strawberries and Cream Lego Ice Cream

Strawberries & Cream Lego Ice-Cream

I’m a bit silly when it comes to ice cream, I’ll try chucking anything in there! With that in mind I set about creating my latest idea, Strawberries and Cream Lego Ice Cream. I melted down the brand new Limited Edition Cadbury’s Strawberries and Cream Chocolate and poured into moulds. This smelled absolutely divine, never mind the taste (which was wonderful), it also set brilliantly. These would look great on a cake if you don’t fancy making ice cream 🙂

Chocolate Lego

Chocolate Lego

I used my trusty ice cream maker, of course it can be made without one but it takes more time. Then I placed the Lego blocks and Lego men into the ice cream and mixed before placing into the freezer for a couple of hours. This is the funniest and tastiest summer ice cream I’ve made, the kids routed through and squealed everytime they found a man or brick, great fun for a summer afternoon.Lego Ice Cream

Chocolate Roses in Chocolate Pots with Chocolate Soil

Chocolate Roses in Chocolate Pots with Chocolate Soil

Chocolate Roses in Chocolate Flowerpots with Chocolate Soil

Finally I had another new idea, Chocolate Roses in pots 🙂 I am so chuffed with how these turned out. New ideas are always nerve wracking, so I was over the moon with the end result. First I painted the inside of some silicone pots with melted Cadbury’s Bournville. I built up several layers to give the pots a good thickness before leaving to set.

Chocolate Soil

Chocolate Soil

While these were drying I made a quick batch of Brownies (using Bournville Cocoa of course). I filled the set choc flower pots with the brownies, making sure to crumble some up on the top so it resembled soil. Mmmmmm….. tasty, tasty soil!

Then I made a batch of Dairy Milk Modelling Chocolate. Modelling chocolate is really fun to work with and fairly easy to make (but expensive to buy). Essentially you are adding something like liquid glucose or golden syrup to melted chocolate, I found this easy to follow tutorial on a site called Cakes Decor. Once mixed and cool you end up with a pliable chocolate that bends to your whim, although it can melt and set quickly so don’t make too much at once.

I made mine into Chocolate Roses. They are deceptively easy to make, cut several thin circles of modelling chocolate, roll one up tightly to make the rose centre. Thin the edges of your remaining circles and layer them around the sides. Pinch off any excess at the back and then push some wire in for your stem. I left them to set and then placed them into the chocolate flower pots.

Chocolate Roses

Chocolate Roses

As you might imagine we all had an amazing time sampling these Chocolate creations, I think I might have to make Chocolate Parties a regular event! When else could you eat a flower pot, rose or Lego man without a trip to the local hospital!

Fat Quarter Clutch Bag Tutorial

A little while ago I fell in love with a gorgeous Japanese print fabric. But when I enquired at the store they only had fat quarters left and none on the roll. Unable to resist the print, I bought it anyway. Aside from quilting there is one project that fat quarters are perfect for and that’s making Clutch Bags! I loved my new bag so much I decided to share this tutorial with you all. Incidentally it took far less than a fat quarter to complete (as I lined in a plain black fabric) so I now have a make up bag as well (two bags out of one piece of fabric is not bad going 🙂 ).

What You’ll Need

Fat Quarter of gorgeous fabric

Lining fabric (unless you are also lining with your fat quarter)

Wadding

Thread

Velcro or Poppers

Metal Handbag Clip

Step 1

Lay out your fat quarter and cut 2 pieces sized 29cm x 18 cm, one for the back and one for the front. Then cut a piece 29cm x 13cm for the front flap. You could have a completely square flap, but if you’d like to add a bit more shape cut off two corners on one of the longer sides. Tip. It’s easiest if you fold the flap piece in half and cut the two corners off in one go. With the remaining fabric cut a small piece 13cm x 4cm to make the loop needed to attach the wrist strap.

Step 2

We’ll start with the easiest piece, the small loop for the wrist strap. Fold the small rectangle in half (right sides of fabric on the outside). Iron and then fold the sides into the middle again. Iron and edge stitch along the folded edges. Fold in half ready to be sewn into the bag later on.

Step 3

Sew the front and back bag pieces together on the wrong side of the fabric and along the longest lengths to make a long rectangle. Then attach the flap piece to one of the rectangles, making sure the two cut off corners are at one end.

Iron the seams open and  use this piece as a pattern for cutting out the lining fabric and wadding.

Step 4

Lay the three pieces on top of each other. The lining and main fabric are right sides together and then the wadding is placed on top. Now pick up the loop you made earlier and tuck it inside the three pieces of fabric so that only the ends are protruding. This needs to be placed at the top edge of the middle piece of the outside fabric.

Step 5

Pin and sew all the way around the edge, making sure to leave a 3cm gap on the shorter straight edge, this enables the bag to be turned the right way out. Trim the edge of the wadding back to the stitching. Trim all the corners to make turning easier, but make sure you don’t cut through your stitching.

Step 6

Turn the bag the right way out and ease the corners out using the end of a spoon or knitting needle. Iron the entire piece and then edge stitch or hand stitch the open gap closed.

Step 7

To make nice crisp folds sew through all the layers along the two seams on the outside piece of fabric. To make the flap sit more comfortably when the bag is finished, sew diagonally several times across the flap piece.

Step 8

Now fold the bottom straight edge of your bag up to meet the line of stitching at the base of the flap. Pin the edges and edge stitch to create the body of the bag. To strengthen sew backwards and forwards a few times at the top and bottom of your seams.

Step 9

Sew on either two large poppers or pieces of velcro to the bag and flap to keep them closed when in use.To make the wrist strap cut a piece of the lining fabric 26cm x 6cm. Fold in half lengthways and then fold the two sides into the middle and iron. Don’t sew at this point, thread through the end of the metal hangbag clip and then sew a seam across the short edge. Then sew along the long edge to close, moving the clasp around as you go. You could of course either omit the wrist strap or sew it on permanently, but I like having the option of either.All you need to do now is take your lovely new bag out for a test drive 🙂