DIY Weighted Vests for Anxiety, ADHD, Autism, Sensory Issues & More

With Back-to-School, that means many of us are looking for new ways to help our kids deal with challenges brought on by anxiety, ADHD, autism, sensory issues and more.  In our family, we have one child with a severe form of social anxiety called selective mutism and another child with ADHD.  As we've been working with professionals over the last year to help each of them, I've been struck by how many strategies can help both of them.

First of all, though, a few disclaimers.  Please don't take anything I say as medical advice.  If your child is struggling with any of these issues, please make sure you're working with a professional(s) and check with them before starting new therapies.  Fairfield World providing me with Poly-Pellets and compensated me for writing this post, but all ideas and opinions are 100% my own.  This post contains affiliate links that help support my blog and keep bringing you new ideas.

My 7-year-old struggles a lot with social anxiety at school.  Last year, there were quite a few days when she insisted on wearing her winter jacket through her whole school day.  It would get hot and the sleeves were bulky and could get in the way, but it helped her feel safe.  I wanted to find a way to help her get the same feeling without all the bulk.  I've been considering trying weighted vests for my kiddos for a while, and this month when Fairfield asked us to use their weighted Poly-Pellets in a challenge project, I decided it was time to make them a reality...and they're surprisingly easy to make.

12 Projects to Make and Wear - Weekly Link-Up Block Party

• 15-Minute T-Shirt Dress Pattern from Pieces by Polly 
• DIY Polka Dot Shoes from The Life of a Craft Crazed Mom 
• DIY Polka Dot Shorts from Kaysi at Keeping It Simple
• I'm SO Tired shirt from Our Thrifty Ideas 
• Grown-Up Snow White Shirt from Marissa at RaeGun Ramblings 
• Secret Garden Dress Pattern Hack from SewsNBows 
• Frozen Queen Elsa Doggie Dress from Crafting is the Cure for my Insanity 
• Free Beanie Hat Pattern from Jenny and Teddy 
• Birthday Dress from Howling at the Moon 
• Very Hungry Caterpillar Onesie from Cup of Delight 
• Not Your Mama's Cut-Offs from Making the World Cuter 
• One Shoulder Maxi Dress Tutorial from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom

It's time for another Block Party hosted by Making the World Cuter | Rae Gun Ramblings | Keeping It Simple Crafts | Pieces By Polly  

  Polly here from Pieces by Polly as your host for this week.  

I've been busy getting the kids ready to start back for their first day of school tomorrow, but I have managed to get a few projects blogged lately. 15-Minute T-shirt Dress Pattern - Hogwarts Quilt with Crest - Hiking Themed Cake

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15-Minute T-Shirt Dress Pattern - FREE Pattern- Elephant and Piggie Version

One of the best things about blogging (for me at least) is that I've got all my old patterns and projects saved in one place, so they're easy to go back and find....which came in handy this week in making Becca a new T-shirt Dress. 

Even since our school librarian introduced us to Mo Willems and the Elephant and Piggie books (affiliate link), we've been huge fans.  (We love The Pigeon books as well.)  The Elephant and Piggie books are rather like graphic novels, for early readers and are so funny that they pull the most reluctant readers in.  For some reason they're a bit harder to run across in thrift stores and such (probably because no one wants to get rid of them), so we've ordered most of ours online (affiliate link) or request them from our library.

My sister knows we are fans because we've shared the books with her kids.  So when we were thrift store shopping a few weeks ago, she noticed this Elephant and Piggie shirt for me, I knew immediately it would make the perfect Kindergarten dress for Miss Becca.

Super Fast and Easy DIY Harry Potter Robe from a T-Shirt in 15 Minutes - DIY Harry Potter Costume

If you need a wizard robe as part of your own little one's Harry Potter, then this is for you.  You can make an awesome wizard robe out of a T-shirt in about 15 minutes.  If you're interested in other accessories and parts of the costumes you see in these pictures, be sure to check out the tutorials linked at the bottom of this post.  I sell Hogwarts House Scarves here.

I was frantically trying to finish up our family's Harry Potter themed costume and folding laundry trying to find the kids' black pants and socks to go with their costumes.  While folding a T-shirt it hit me...perfect starting place for a wizard robe, and honestly I liked the hang better than the "real" robe I'd made for my oldest.

Here's what you'll need:
Oversize T-shirt
Large black button (optional)
Black thread
Scissors
Pins
Iron-on Hogwarts patch  {You can buy one here (affiliate link) or make your own.}  I'll have a tutorial for making your own up soon.
Sewing machine  (although if you don't have a sewing machine, there's so little sewing you could do it by hand or even use a glue gun.)

If you want to make a doll version, they're made the same way.  You can see my tutorial for an 18-in doll Hogwarts Robe here.

I-Spy Skirt

This is a little skirt I made for Becca's birthday.  She asked for an I-Spy Cake, so I thought this would be something she'd enjoy for a long time that would go with her theme.

So far every time I've participated in an I-Spy swap, I sign up for double spots...that way I've got plenty of extras to make hospital quilts from and if there are squares I just really, really love, I can put one in a quilt and put one in something like this.  I tried to remember some of Becca's most favorite squares from when she was sorting through them with me...or squares that just seemed especially girly.

(If you like the snitch necklace she's wearing, you can see more details about it here.)

Becca just turned 4, but she's really more of a small 3T size.  The skirt is big enough that will will fit her for a long time...so you can kinda use that to judge how big to make one of your own.

Here's what you'll need to make your own. 
44 4'' I-Spy Squares
1 1/2'' wide elastic long enough to go around your child's waist plus 1/2 an inch.
Thread, scissors, sewing machine, etc...ya know all the stuff you normally need to sew.

Here's how I did it...

Comfy Newborn Cuffed Pants - Free Printable Pattern

I've got a baby shower to go to this evening.  For years, I've used my old standby of burp clothes as my go-to baby shower gift.  I decided I'd branch out a little this time and make my favorite newborn church outfit, which includes my favorite Comfy Newborn Cuffed Pants.

(You can click here for the template to make your own Tiny Guy Tie Onesie.)

I made several pairs of these pants for Anson and LOVED them.  I love cuffed knit pants on newborns because they're so comfy.  The cuff keeps the pants from sliding up those skinny newborn legs (or sliding way down past their feet) and also offers a place for those tiny baby socks to cling to.

I had a problem when I went to make a new pair as a baby gift for a friend because I never blogged about it and I couldn't find the pattern I made anywhere!  Then I discovered I had a pair already cut out, so I was able to remake the pattern, and I'm posting it this time so I'll be able to find it next time I need it.

Continue Reading for Free Pattern and Instructions.

Apron from a Dress

We've been doing 12 Days of Christmas for a teenage girl this year.  It's been a fun challenge to figure out what kinds of things a teenager would enjoy that also doesn't break the bank.

I'd heard she likes to cook, so I thought of making her a fun apron.  I had researched a number of fun patterns online.  Then I remembered this dress that I'd just picked up at the thrift store.  I'd bought it because it was made out of quilt-grade 100% cotton fabric...and I just planned to cut it up for the fabric.  Then I decided to try turning it into an apron and see how it went.

Fast & Easy Quiet Book Made from Baby Clothes

Last week I was cleaning out a cupboard to make room for Christmas decorations and realized I'd never posted about the quiet books I made clear back around the time Anson was born.

Now I should preface this by saying that no recent baby gifts were harmed in the making of this book.  These are all clothes that were used and well loved by my older kids...and there are plenty more where thee came from.

Our family is on a never ending quest to find ways to help our kids get through Sacrament Meeting at church while being quiet and reverent.  I wish I could say these quiet books were a panacea and now our kids behave perfectly...but I can't.  The kids do enjoy them though, and we try to rotate them through other activities so they don't get to play with them every week.

I love seeing all sorts of quiet books show up on Pinterest and blogs.  There are so many fun ones out there...but they really can be a lot of work.  I also know from personal experience that any pieces not attached to the book will be lost within a week or two...at least that's the way it works at our house.

Then I was inspired by this idea from Forty Two Roads to make a quiet book out of baby clothes.  There are some crafts which you should be warned ahead of time can be really addictive.  Cutting out I-Spy squares is one of them.  Well, turning baby clothes into a quiet book is another one.  I'd just planned on making one book and then before I knew it I had enough pages to put together three quiet books.

What you'll need:

1. Baby clothes with an assortment of closures.  I found 0-6 month sizes worked best to fit on the page, but you can always cut larger clothes down.
2. Scrap fabric or felt for the back of each page.  I used felt with scrap fabric on top, so it would be a little stiff.  Each page is 12 1/2 inches square...because that was the size of my square quilting ruler.
3. Other fun odds and ends to embellish with...ribbon, buttons, knit scraps, yarn, whatever you can think of.  Let your creativity run with it.
4. Needle, thread, sewing machine, etc. 
5. All the printable flash cards I used came from here.