My little guy LOVES his Handy Manny Toolset he received for Christmas in 2008. He plays with them constantly, along with his Black & Decker Toolset and Home Depot Tool Bench!
The Handy Manny Toolset came with a toolbelt (I tried to get him to put the belt on, but now that he has a new one, he refuses. Gotta love them 2 year olds!). Why, oh why, did they not make spots for all of the tools? This drives him nuts! Finally I decided to take matters into my own hands and make him a toolbelt inspired by Tuesdays Order whom linked up her childs toolbelt a few weeks ago to What are little boys made of?.
My son and I made a trip to the fabric store and as I was looking for canvas he spotted this monster flannel and said – Mama, my toolbelt! So needless to say, we got that fabric and I had to figure out how to make the toolbelt, where the fabric matters whether it is up or down and you can see the back! So here’s a tutorial for you in case you are using a patterned fabric.
1. Measure your childs hips (front hip to front hip) to see how big you want your pouch. My son measured 8 inches, so I cut my fabric 10 inches wide to give a little extra room and to allow for seams.
2. Decide how deep you want your pocket (I measured the tools, doubled that and then added 2 inches for the top fold (to come later), so my fabric was 15″ tall.
3. Fold over the two long sides of your fabric (about 1/4″ ) and iron. Sew down both sides, you can zig zag over if you like.
4. At the bottom of your fabric (if you have a pattern where it matters which way is up, you want your pattern to be upside down – see image) fold up 1/4″ and sew as close to the edge as you can. Now using the stitch you just created as a guide, sew down again to make a finished look.
5. At the top of your fabric, fold up 1/4″ and sew.
6. Set your pouch fabric aside and get out your belt fabric. Cut out a 2″ strip (my strip was 2″ x 45″). Fold and iron down the middle. Unfold and fold in one half to meet into the middle and iron. Do the same for the other side, now fold in half and iron again. Sew along the edge. Zig zag stitch up the ends.
7. Fold the belt in half and iron to mark the half way point.
8. Find the half way point on your pouch along the top and line the two points up. Fold the top of your fabric down over the belt (about 1″) and pin. Sew along the top (catching the belt) and then sew along the bottom of the fold to finish the belt “pocket”.
9. Now we are going to finish the pouch. Fold the bottom up to meet the bottom stitch of the belt pocket. Sew up the sides, and then zig zag stitch the edges. (I didn’t make a perfect cut when I cut my monster fabric so my edges didn’t line up perfectly on the right, so make sure to make a nice square cut in the first place!).
10. I didn’t get a picture, but you can see in the final picture that I sewed three lines up the pouch to make three different pockets.
11. I added some ribbon loops to hold some more tools on the belt. I zig zag stitched the ends of the ribbon and the sewed them into a loop on the belt. One I added velcro to hold his saw.
Your done and all under an hour! Tie on your little guy and watch him as he hits the floor, walls, and furniture as he “fixes” everything around the house!
So neat! Gotta make one!!! Thanks!!
Very sweet. Great idea!
Also my baby loves Manny! He plays a lot with his tools. Beautiful your belt, thanks for the idea.
Way cute – my little boy would love his own tool belt! I am having a link party tomorrow (Tuesday) and I’d love to see you there! http://www.craftedition.blogspot.com
oh how my little one would love this… it fabulous!
we have a Friday Fun Finds party- if you’re interested, we’d love it if you’d link to this!
This is so cute! I love the fabric.
I would love it if you joined my “Saturday is Crafty Day” party on April 24th! Stop by my blog for details.
Adorable! Great job and super stinkin cute! I bet any little handy man would love it!
I copied your idea and I’ve also sewn a tool belt, but not as beautiful as yours …
http://pollon72.blogspot.com/2010/04/cintura-porta-attrezzi.html
That looks great. Oh course he needs a spot for everything; it’s like they design toys with out testing them out! Thanks for sharing with Made it Monday! Jules
Love this!! My little guy loves tools and would love one of these! Thanks for linking @Creative Itch’s “Sew Cute Tuesday”!!
Wow, way to go. I bet he is loving his monster tool belt!
Thank you for linking this to A Little Craft Therapy with Life in the Pitts.
This turned out darling! Thanks for sharing!
I love this idea! Also I wanted to let you know I gave you the Sunshine Award on my blog http://tonia-thenotsocraftycrafts.blogspot.com/2010/04/hello-sunshine.html
Super cute! Looks easy to make, I may have to try it! Link it up to Mad Skills Monday at SuperStinkyBoys!
Blessings,
Ginger
SSB
http://superstinkyboys.blogspot.com
Very cute!! Great tute! : )
You totally rock…. How very cute..
Thanks for joining Get Your Craft on Thursday! Please join me next week for another great party!
Kim, I so want one of these for Kai. And what a great deal you got on the tools! Thanks so much for linking up to Tot Tuesdays this week! I am hosting my first giveaway which ends on Tuesday. I hope you’ll stop by. Have a great week! ☺
Love this – I bookmarked it to make for my son! It’ll be perfect!!
Thanks for linking at Lucky Star Lane!
So cute!!
Thanks for linking up to Saturday is Crafty Day! I hope to see you back next week!
My son has the same little set of tools! I am featuring this as part of a toolbelt roundup on my blog:) http://bisforboycreations.blogspot.com/2011/03/fabulous-friday-finds-toolbelt-roundup.html
This is an excellent idea! My son is three and is always playing with all of his assorted tools. For his birthday he got a adult Stanley brand toolbox. But we couldn’t find him a kid belt anywhere! It never dawned on me to make him one!! Thanks so much!!