Tutorial - My Melody Pillow cum Blanket

Promised some mummies that I will write a step by step guide on how to sew the pillow cum blanket.  So here's for the My Melody.  Happy sewing!

Materials :

Pink fleece  (1.5m)
White fleece / knit (0.3m) 
Black fleece (small piece)
Orange fleece (small piece)
Jacket zips  ( 2 x 24")
Polyfiber




The above materials should yield :

Head  (2 pieces)
Face (1 piece)
Eyes ( 2 pieces)
Mouth ( 1 piece)
Ear ( 1 piece)



Steps :

1)  Sketch and cut the outline of the head of My Melody on a piece of paper.  (I made mine about 22cm width).  Pin it on the pink fleece and cut accordingly.  (You will need 2 pieces for the head).

2)  Sketch and cut the outline for the face.  Place on top of the head piece and adjust accordingly.  Once you are satisfied with the size and shape, pin on the white fleece and cut accordingly.  (You can still adjust the size and shape while sewing)

Left : Cutting the head piece
Right : Pinning the face piece onto the head

3)  Cut the eyes and mouth using the black fleece and the nose with the orange fleece.

4)  Place the face piece on the head and pin in place.  Arrange the eyes, nose and mouth and pin in place.  Adjust the placement of the facial features according to your desire.  

The face with eyes, nose and mouth in place

5) Set the sewing machine to the edge finishing stitch (Stitch no. 10 for NV50).   Install the right sewing foot (G foot). 

Note :  Stitch no. 10 is usually used for serging when there is no proper serger.  Refer here for how the G foot and stitch look like.





6) Begin sewing the face, followed by the eyes, nose and mouth.  (Use white thread for face, black thread for eyes and mouth, orange / pink thread for nose). 

7)  Cut a piece of rectangular pink fleece.  Pin it as the left ear.  Sew in place using the same stitch (no. 10).  Before completing the stitching, insert a little polyfiber into the left ear to make it fluffy.  Once the desired fluffiness is achieved, sew to close all opening.

Left :  Sewing the left ear
Top right : Sewing the eye
Bottom right : Inserting the polyfiber into the left ear

8) Cut a piece of pink fleece to the size 1m x 1m.  This will be the blanket.

(Sorry, no picture from here onwards as I met with a little accident and did not manage to take any picture as I sew).

9) Place the sewn head piece on the upper middle of the blanket with the face facing up.  The right side of the blanket should also be facing up.

10) Place the other head piece (without the face) at the bottom middle.

10) Open up the jacket zip.  Pin one side of the jacket zip to the face and blanket piece, starting from the left jaw of the My Melody.  Pin the other side of the jacket zip to the other head piece (without the face).  (The zipper should start at the jaw and ends at the top of the head).  Repeat for the right side of the face.

Tip :  It would be helpful to randomly pin all over both head pieces in place as you may find that you will need to remove some pins while sewing.  The extra pins will ensure that the pieces will not run out of place as fleece is very stretchy.

11)  Install the zipper foot to the sewing machine and sew the zips in place.

12) Cut 2 pieces of orange fleece in the shape of a flower and one round piece of pink fleece for the middle part.  Sew the round pink fleece onto one of the flower piece using the edge finishing stitch (Stitch no. 10).

13) With the right side of both flower pieces facing each other, sew along the edge using normal straight stitch, leaving behind an opening of about 5cm.

14) Turn the flower piece inside out.  Insert a little polyfiber into the flower piece through the opening.  Hand sew to close the opening.  Then, hand sewn the flower piece onto the My Melody.

The end result : as a blanket

Fleece does not fray easily, thus there is no need for finishing at the blanket piece.  However, one can always handsewn some decorative finishing to the edge to make it more appealing.  Yarn would be a good choice for this.

The blanket can be turned into a pillow by zipping up the jacket zips.  First, fold the pillow into half at the chin of the My Melody. Attach the jacket zips together.  As you pull along the zipper, stuff the blanket fabric in between both head pieces.  Once both zippers are fully pulled, all the blanket fabric will be contained inside and it has now turned into a pillow!

Stuffing the blanket in between both head pieces while pulling the zipper up

Blanket turned into pillow

My Melody Pillow cum Blanket

This is the second in my 'pillow cum blanket series'.  Sewn a My Melody design this time.  My elder girl has declared that the doraemon belongs to her while this one belongs to 'mei mei' (younger sister).  It is just as well as 'mei mei' is more feminine and prefers nothing, but anything in pink.

Breastmilk Teething Biscuits

My breastfeeding journey this time round has been smooth sailing so far.  My boy is on breastmilk exclusively, unlike his twin sisters of whom I needed to supplement with formula milk.  My bm supply was low back then, plus, there were 2 mouths to feed.  After ensuring my boy has enough bm for the day plus storage, the expressed breastmilk I have this time is enough for me to turn them into soaps.  Hb's 15 year old niece even requested for my ebm saying she needs all the 'power' to score As in PMR.  However, I suspected that the real reason she wanted it is because she heard that breast milk is able to help teenagers grow taller. 

Today I did something new that utilises bm as well :   breastmilk teething biscuits.

I get the idea of making my own teething biscuits from a post in the MC group.  A mummy was asking about homemade teething biscuits few weeks ago.  My boy is ready to bite anything that he can grab these days thus, teething biscuits would come in timely.

Ingredients :

1 cup    flour

1 cup   organic baby cereals

3tbsp   vegetable oil

4oz      chilled expressed breastmilk (ebm)

Method :

1) Mix flour, cereals and oil together.

2) Add in ebm a little at a time and stir well.

3) Keep adding ebm and mix till the dough just separated from the bowl.

4) Scoop the dough into a piping bag and pipe about 4cm each onto a tray lined with baking sheets.

5) Flatten the piped dough a little and bake in preheated oven at 215 degree celcius for 10 - 12 mins.

6) Let cooled and store in air tight container.

Took a bite myself once the biscuits are done.  They take on the taste of breastmilk.  Come to think of it, this is the first time I consume my own bm.   Having exposed to high temperature, the antibodies in the ebm would have degraded.  However, one can still benefit from other compounds contained in the ebm.  The biscuits are crunchy at the outside and soft at the inside.  Care must be taken when feeding little ones with any type of biscuits, not just homemade teething biscuits.  Never leave a child who has just started solids unattended when they are munching something.

Doraemon Pillow cum Blanket

It always fascinate me how things tend to be 2 in 1 or 3 in 1 or even multiples in 1 these days.  For instance, we have thumb drive cum pen, lighter cum torchlight, tablets cum phone, etc.  Something my sis owns caught my eyes the other day when she came for a visit, a 2 in 1 thingy : pillow cum blanket.  It seems to be very functional and space saving. Plus, it is nice too.  I imagine my girls will go wild if I sew them something like this in characters that they like.

The first character that came to my mind when I decided to sew this pillow cum blanket is the doraemon.  My sisters and I have always been a fan of doraemon.  This robotic cat is just so cute and  I wouldn't mind having it as a friend or companion.  I can always benefit something from that magical pocket of his. 

The first challenge in sewing this pillow cum blanket is on getting the right material.  Fleece would be nice, just that it is very difficult to find fleece here in Malaysia.  Flannel is too hard while cottons and linens are just as hard.  When someone pointed out that there is fleece in Kamdar, I found myself sprinted to the Mid Valley branch right away to check it out.  Sure enough there are some materials there that are quite similar to fleece, but not quite.  The uncles there told me that those are synthetic fleece and that they are sold till while stock last only and will not be restocked.  I reckoned that I shouldn't waste the opportunity and bought 1.5m each in pink, black, orange and blue as I already had in mind what other characters I am going to sew next after the doraemon.

The pillow cum blanket is very easy to sew.  The challenge in on getting a perfect round after stitching the zippers, which I used jacket zips.   The end result is not bad, although far from perfect. 

The girls adore the doraemon.  It created quite some hoo hah in the MC group too.   Almost immediately after I posted the pictures in Facebook, both my sisters demanded that I sew one for each of them.   Some mummies even sent me messages to ask for quotes and to place order.  Just too bad that I won't be taking orders, at least for now.     The most I can do is to put up a tutorial on how to make it.  Will do so one of these days, so, stay tuned!

DIY Lantern for Mid Autumn Festival

The mid autumn festival, also known as the mooncake festival, falls on the 15th day of the eight month of the lunar calendar.  It is on this night that the moon is said to be brightest and of a perfect round.  I cannot say for sure that it is indeed a perfect round, but generally I think the chinese like round or circle a lot as it symbolises the union or 'being together'. 

As a child, I used to play lanterns with my siblings.  Those were the days where the lanterns were made of glass papers and candles are used to light them up.  As the years passed, the candles are ditched.  Small battery operated light bulbs are used instead of candles and the lantern itself is being made of plastics. This went on for years and the traditional lanterns are missing from the shops.  However, the traditional lanterns seemed to be making a big come back this year.  It brings back a lot of memories just to look at those lanterns that we used to play when we were young.   There is one particular design that I don't seem to see it anywhere though, that is the 'flower basket' or in cantonese 'far lam'.   I have thus, decided to make one on my own.

Materials :

Glass paper (colors of your choice)
Crepe paper (colors of your choice)
Wire
Thread
Glue
Colors (for painting)

Method :

1) Wrap a piece of wire over a round tin to make a circle.  Twist the end of the wire to hold the circle in place.  Make 6 of such circles. (Note : Remember to trim the end of the wires so that they won't punch a hole at the glass paper later.)

2) Align 2 of the circles and tape the point where they touch to hold them in place.  Repeat so that you get 4 circles touching each other, side by side.

3) Align 1 circle on top and at the bottom of (2).  Hold them in place with tapes.

4) Cut 4 pieces of glass paper in circles, slightly larger than the circles of the wires. 

5) Glue the glass paper over the body of the lantern.  (Tip :  the glass paper tears easily. However, once it is wet with glue, it doesn't tear as easy).  Repeat so that all four sides of the lantern are covered with the glass paper.  Let the glue dry before painting with motifs of your own preference.

6)  Cut the crepe paper in 8 x 8xm sizes.  Align into a stack of at least 15 layers.  Wrap a piece of wire at the middle of the crepe paper and secure in place.  Bring the layers up one by one and trim into a flower shape.  Attach the flower at the top of the lantern.  Repeat  for all 4 corners of the lantern.

7) Wrap the bottom of a candle with a piece of wire and secure it at the bottom of the lantern.  (Note : wrapping the candle is just to gauge the size of candle holder.  The candle can be replaced easily when it burns out)

8) Cut a piece of 30 x 50cm crepe paper vertically to make the 'tail' of the lantern.  Be careful to leave a 3cm space uncut.  Glue the uncut end of the 'tail' to the bottom of the lantern.

9)  Attach all 4 corners of the top of the lantern with thread and tie a knot once you find that the lantern is balanced.  Attach the end to a piece of stick for you to hold the lantern.  The lantern is now done!

My girls are delighted with the lantern.  Probably because they have never played with one before.   But it does look nice with the candle lighted although a lot of caution needs to be exercised when little kids play with it as it is after all, fire.  Hopefully in the years to come, my girls will remember that mummy made them a lantern.

Mango Jelly Mooncake

I seemed to be in a 'mooncake making' marathon lately.  Having tried making the snow skin as well as the traditional baked mooncake, I am putting my hands in making the jelly version.  Bought the book 'Fashionable Jelly Mooncake' by Wong Sip Moi in City Baker in Dataran Sumway.  Cost only RM10, very cheap.

There are many types of jelly mooncakes featured in the book.  However, I have decided to modify one of the recipe to suit my taste.  Here are the modified recipe :

(This recipe yields 4 normal size mooncakes)


Ingredients :

A
1 tsp       agar-agar powder
10g         castor sugar
50mL     coconut milk
200mL   water

B
30g        sweet potato (steamed and mashed).


C
1/2 tsp + 1/4tsp     agar-agar powder
250mL    mango juice


D
1.2 tbsp        agar-agar powder
30g               castor sugar
1/8tsp           salt
100mL         coconut milk
350mL         water
1 - 2 drops   pink (or green) coloring



Method :

1)  Bring A to boil.  Add in B and mix well.  Turn off heat and pour into small cups.  Unmould and trim edges after it has set.

2)  Bring D to boil.  Strain and divide into 2 parts.  Pour the 1st part into the mooncake mould.  Let it set a little.  Put (1) in after it has set a little.

3) Bring C to boil.  Strain and pour into (2).  Let it set a little.

4) Pour the 2nd part of D into (3).

5) Let the mooncakes cool and set.  Keep chilled.

The sweet potato is used as mocked egg yolks.  However, I decided to use the japanese sweet potatoes, which are purple in color instead of orange as I already have them at home.  I did not add any sugar into ingredient C as the mango juice that I used is already sweetened.  All the sugar used is reduced by more than half from the original recipe.  This resulted in a not too sweet jelly mooncake.  The mango juice also added in a little sour taste which I like. 

Mixed Herbs Bread with Breadmaker

Another recipe from the 'Bread Machine Cookbook' by Jacqueline Bellefontaine.  The original recipe calls for onion, garlic and fresh rosemary.  I changed it to onion, garlic and mixed herbs instead.


Ingredients :

2 tbsp     olive oil
1            small onion, chopped
3            cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp       brown sugar
1 tsp       mixed herbs
240mL   water
1 1/2tsp  salt
450g       bread flour
1tsp        instant yeast


Method :

1)  Heat the oil in a small frying pan.  Add in the chopped onions.  Stir till the onions soften.
2)  Add in the garlic and sugar.  Continue to cook till the onions just turned golden.
3)  Add in the mixed herbs and remove from heat.
4)  Put the water into the bread pan.  Add in the onion mixture and salt.
5)  Add in the bread flour to cover the liquid.  Sprinkle with yeast.
6)  Fit the breadpan into the breadmaker.
7)  Set the setting to Basic, medium crust and press start.
8)  Remove the bread to cool in wire rack after the cycle has completed

The aroma of the mixed herbs filled my house when the bread is baking.  The bread turned out soft and fluffy.  It is delightful to serve with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.   Very Italian..

Lotus Paste Moon Cake

Seems like I am in a mooncake making marathon these two days.  The snow skin mooncakes that I made earlier were a hit, which brings me to making the baked version today.  The recipe is adapted from Christine's Recipes.



Ingredients :


100g         plain flour
60g           golden syrup
1/2 tsp      alkaline water
28g           vegetable oil ( I used palm oil)
420g         lotus paste  (roll into 7 balls of 60g each)
1 egg yolk + 2tbsp egg whites (for egg wash)


 Method :

1)  Combine golden syrup, alkaline water and vegetable oil.
2)  Add in sifted flour.  Mix well but do not over mixed.  Knead lightly, cover and let it rest for 1 hour.
3)  Roll the dough into balls of 30g each. 

4)  Flatten the dough and place a portion of lotus paste in it.  Wrap to cover the lotus paste.
5)  Roll to smoothen the surface and press with the moon cake mould.
6)  Bake in pre heated oven at 180 degree Celcius for 10 - 12 mins.
7)  Egg wash the surface and remove from oven 5 mins later.
8)  Let the mooncake cool, cover and store for at least 2 days before consuming.

The ratio of the skin to filling is ideally to be 1:3 for the mooncake to have a thin skin.  However, being a beginner in mooncake making, I find it a bit tough to handle, thus, ended up with slightly thicker skin.  Should one wish to make mooncake with yolks, it should be noted that the weight of the yolk should be taken off the weight of the lotus paste filling.

The use of alkaline water in mooncake making is to neutralise the acidity of the golden syrup.  It also contributes to the browning of the mooncake's skin.  Once cooked, the mooncakes should be left for at least 2 days before consuming so that the 'return oil' process can take place.  This is a process where the mooncake gains the oil, giving it a nice shiny surface.

Every year, without fail, I will buy at least 4 mooncakes of pure lotus paste for own consumption.  Now that I can make them myself, looks like I will give it a pass this year and the years to come.   Considering the prices of mooncakes are getting ridiculously high these days, making them on our own is a real saver not to mention that it is a skill and knowledge that will last us a lifetime.

Shorts for Little Boy

I have encountered numerous unsuccessful attempts when I first started to sew.   Not willing to discard any of those, I ended up with a drawer full of reusable fabrics, hence giving me the idea of sewing a pair of shorts for my little boy.

There are three different types of prints that make up this pair of shorts.  At a glance, the shorts looks kinda strange.  However, it is fun when we have looked beyond that. 

Mini Snow Skin Moon Cake

Moon cake festival or the Mid Autumn festival is just around the corner.  There are galores of mooncakes selling everywhere, from the conventional pure lotus to those fancy ones filled with durians, cheese, chocolates, etc.  I have always been a fan of the traditional baked mooncake filled with pure lotus.  No egg yolks for me.  I don't like the taste of egg yolks. Similarly, I do not like the snow skin type of moon cake.  However, I know that most kids like them, due to it being served chilled.  So, in order to please my girls, I debuted my mooncake making with the snow skin type. 

Ingredients:

A)  Skin

45 g      glutinous rice flour

45 g      rice flour

25 g      wheat flour (plain flour)

40g       castor sugar

190 ml  low fat milk

30 ml    condensed milk

40ml     pandan juice (juice filtered from blended pandan leaves)

25 ml    oil

2 to 3 drops of pandan paste / pandan essence, optional

2 Tbsp   cooked glutinous rice flour  (microwave at High for 1 min or fry without oil till just browning)

B) Filling

300 g        cooked red beans  (mashed, filtered from its skin)

60 g          caster sugar

80 ml        water

70 ml        oil

1/8 tsp      salt

1½ Tbsp   wheat flour

Note : red beans filling can be substituted with others such as lotus paste (which I am also using), mung beans paste, etc.

Method :


1)  Combine sifted glutinous rice flour, rice flour, wheat flour and sugar.

2)  Mix milk, condensed milk, pandan juice and oil together. Pour into the flour mixture and stir to combine.   Drain through a fine sieve into a large and shallow pan, making sure there is no flour lumps.

3)  Steam the batter in a wok over medium-high heat, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from wok and let cool.

4)  Lightly knead the dough by hand until smooth. Cut dough into balls of 20g each.

5) Divide red bean paste into balls of 30 g each. Roll each into round shape.

6) Wrap each red bean ball with a dough portion. Roll and lightly coat with cooked glutinous rice flour. Shake off any excess flour.

7)  Place into a mooncake mould. Press to print the pattern.

8)  Store the mooncakes in air tight containers.  Serve them chilled.

I have a few moulds : doraemon, doraemi, flower, mickey mouse and kitty.  The doraemon and flower mould yield the nicest print.  The kitty and mickey mouse prints however, were less obvious while the doraemi is a bit difficult to shape.  

The doraemon and doraemi moulds are actually cookie cutters while the rest are authentic mooncake moulds.  The authentic ones have flowery edges, typical of conventional mooncakes.   The cookie cutters served just as well although it comes in various shapes and does not reflect the round shape of a moon.  Kids like them though.

Ideally, the skin should be very thin.  This is a bit tricky to master for a novice like me although I tried very hard to make it thinnest possible.  Once completed, I cut one of the mooncakes just to see how thick is the skin.  I was very happy to see that it is not as thick as I thought it to be although there are lots of rooms for improvement. 

The mooncakes were left to chill in the fridge for 2 hours before I finally succumbed to my desire to get a bit just to see how it taste.  Surprisingly, I find it to be very nice although as mentioned earlier, I do not like snow skin mooncakes.

Wearing Mum's Creations

The Star 5 September 2012

Star 2