I, and volunteers around the country, let out a great squeal of excitement the other day when we learned that there is now such a thing as Girl Scout fabric.
Because obviously I don't live and breathe Girl Scouts enough--I also have to WEAR IT!!!
Which is about right, because I'm the kind of person who really just wants to spend my free time doing something along the lines of wearing Harry Potter jammy pants (which I own) and a Harry Potter shirt (which I own), watching Harry Potter on DVD (obviously), while flipping through the books (so I can compare them to the movies of course!).
Give me a chance to run a Girl Scout troop meeting while eating Girl Scout cookies and wearing jammy pants and a... I don't know, poncho?... made from Girl Scout fabric, and I am all. In!
Anyway... I don't actually have any Girl Scout fabric in my hands right now, because what I am actually doing is living and breathing the Nutcracker instead, but soon, my Friends. Soon Thanksgiving break will come, which means that Nutcracker rehearsals will be on hiatus and all I'll have to do is keep practicing my French braiding (Syd is wearing a wig this year, and has to have her hair French braided and pinned to her skull underneath it), so I will have LOADS of time to finally drive that whole ten minutes from my house to Joann's and buy myself some Girl Scout fabric.
ALL of the Girl Scout fabric.
The only thing that I know for sure right now that I'm making is jammy pants for me and the girls, because of course, so this long list that you're about to read is just me brainstorming other cute things that I think would be even cuter when sewn with Girl Scout fabric:
- fleece blanket with trim. This fleece blanket would definitely be simple enough for a kid to sew, but the addition of the trim would add a lot of interest. A Girl Scout green trim would be especially cute.
- tote bag. I could definitely use a couple of tote bags to carry around all of my Girl Scout meeting supplies. The simple lines of this one would let the fabric print take center stage (I write, just a few yards from a literal center stage, as Syd dances the Mother Ginger dance in a rehearsal room three flights up)
- bucket bag. This roomier bag that you can close completely would make a good choice for the kids to carry their own stuff to troop meetings, or on overnights.
- circle skirt. The fabric is a little spendy, considering that I already own plenty of cotton fabric, and it couldn't be part of either kid's uniform (I've already sewn the kid who wears skirts a Girl Scout uniform skirt, reversible with a prettier print on the other side because who can get excited about a khaki skirt?), but I do think that a simple circle skirt, made with one of the cotton prints, would look really sweet when paired with a camp T-shirt.
- quilt. I wouldn't make a quilt just out of Girl Scout fabric (although maybe I should squirrel some away, or even start assembling blocks, for the Girl Scout T-shirt quilt that I'm planning to make both of my girls when they're older?), but I really like this method for using up smaller scraps of fabric in quilts.
- headband. This would be the PERFECT thing to make with the fabric! The kids could wear it with their uniforms, but it wouldn't be so branded that they couldn't wear it with their everyday clothes, as well.
- zippered pouch. Depending on the size, the kids could use this to carry their cash while selling cookies, or it could hold their SWAPS at events.
- sun hat. My favorite hat pattern is on Creativebug, but since I can't link to that one, this one is a close second. My original idea for sun hats had been a Girl Scout color on one side and a fun print on the other, but both kids understandably rebelled at having yet one more khaki accessory. But if one side was a fun GIRL SCOUT print, it would totally work!
- messenger bag. All of the girls in my troop could really use a small messenger bag like this one, just big enough to hold their water bottle and their notebook and pencil.
- pajama shorts. These would be cute summer pajama bottoms, especially for Girl Scout camp. If you wanted to make a complete pair of pajamas, you could take a white shirt and applique a trefoil or your girl's initial on in the same print.
- pillowcase. This would be another cute item to take to Girl Scout camp--make pajamas, the fleece blanket, and the pillowcase, and your kid will be totally decked out! Notice that I'm not linking my favorite burrito pillow method, because this particular tutorial is better if you want to fussy cut your fabric, which you would.
- water bottle sling. I still like the idea of the slightly larger messenger bag better, because I like the girls in my troop to also bring their notebooks and pencils on field trips, but for hiking, a kid could just throw her water bottle sling over her shoulder and be all set!
- pajama pants. I deeply want to make jammy pants for me and both girls out of fleece, but this pattern would work with cotton or flannel, too.
- bean bag checkers. This fabric checkers set would be another opportunity to fussy cut and show off the cute Girl Scout prints. The whole set would be something fun to bring out on troop camping trips. Because you HAVE to play checkers when you're camping!
- bandanna quilt. You'd have to modify this tutorial, because bandannas don't need hemming, but this would still be a pretty simple project to sew, and the four big pieces mean that it wouldn't have a lot of prep work, either.
- pennant. Instead of felt for the background, you could use a Girl Scout print with interfacing behind it. Put each girl's name on it in felt, and I could imagine it being a cute souvenir for them to carry in a parade, or to plant in front of their tent while camping or at camp.
- bean bags. You can do all sorts of games with a set of bean bags, so this would be a good permanent addition to a Daisy or Brownie troop.
- lunchbox napkins. I've sewn a couple of these for the kids to use when they take a packed lunch somewhere. They're easy to sew, and would be a good teaching element/party favor for a meeting dedicated to the Junior Social Butterfly badge.
- one-seam skirt. Syd has made this exact skirt as a birthday gift for another little girl before, so I know a kid can sew it! You can use one cut of fabric to make two identical skirts, actually, so a whole troop of girls could learn to sew by sewing their own Girl Scout skirts.
- apron. There are cooking badges at all levels of Girl Scouts, so girls of any age could use their own aprons. For Cadettes and up, though, you probably need to find a bigger pattern, as this particular one looks like it's designed for younger kids.
- Geranium dress. This is a dress pattern for kids; I think the clean lines would show off a special print nicely.
- ouch pouch. This is a little bag that can hold a small first aid kit--the tute uses quilting cotton and shows you how to piece a little red cross onto the front. As Juniors, both of my girls made backpack first aid kits as part of their First Aid badge, and this would have been so cute to put them in. Actually, they still carry those first aid kits, so maybe I could just surprise them with new packaging...
- fabric-covered notebook. Even non-sewers could show off their cute fabric this way, and it would help the girls identify which notebook they're supposed to be bringing to meetings.
Have any other ideas for things to make with the Girl Scout fabric? I'm still brainstorming, so let me know!
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