crafty to do's

The Last Felt Flower

2010-11-15T18:07:00.001-08:00

The Last Felt Flower

A couple of weeks ago I showed you how to make a fun felt flower on the autumn bloom belt. Well, today I wanted to show you one more take on that flower. I switched up a couple of things and I wanted to share it with you. So, here's the last felt flower tutorial. Then there will be no more. I don't want to beat a dead horse. (Okay I'm probably not beating a dead horse to you, but I feel like I've done a lot of felt stuff since my sister and I did a lot of it on our headbands. Maybe I'm just talking to a dead horse...no that sounds worse. Forget the dead horse. Let's move on. I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to have this many sentences between one set of parentheses anyhow.)

The flower making process is almost identical to the flowers on the autumn bloom belt, but I used pinking shears to cut the strip first.

Then I made my slits occur in the corners the pinking shears created. See? It makes for a really fine, consistent flower. Then I rolled the flower as I did on the other tutorial.

Lastly, I cut leaves from a large grograin ribbon and melted the edges so they wouldn't fray and so they'd look cool.

I like to use the same color felt as my base so that any of it shows, you won't really notice. I glued the leaves down and then the flower. Then I trimmed away the extra felt of the base.

I love the versatility of a good flower. It can go on a headband, on a shirt as a pin, on a bag, on a belt, or pretty much anywhere you need it. This light blue one kind of has a fun winter feel to it.

Sidenote: If you don't have a strip of felt as long as you need to make the size flower you want you can always piece together a few different strips and you'd never notice. Just a tip.

Thanks for dropping by. Tomorrow I have a post that a lot of you have asked about. My sister is going to show you how to give a little guy a good haircut. See you then!

Scrunch Fabric Flower Pom Pom Headband Tutorial

2010-11-15T18:06:00.001-08:00

Scrunch Fabric Flower Pom Pom Headband Tutorial

{NOsew step-by-step instructions}

Ready to learn how to make your very own Flower Pom headband?!

Here's what you'll need:

About 20-30 circles cut out of the fabric of your choice {about 1.5 inch circles}

Elastic Headband {purchased at Target}

Hot glue and glue gun

Scissors

Felt

Let's get started!

Cut out one felt circle in the size you want your pom pom to be.

Take one of your fabric circles and scrunch from the middle.

Add glue to the end of the scrunched portion.

Place glue-side down on the center of the felt circle.

Continue to add the scrunched fabric circles around the center one.

...and add some more.

and some more...

and more...

Until voila! You have a full and fluffy pom pom!

Now flip over your pom and grab your elastic headband.

And glue your headband to the center of the pom.

Then apply the second felt circle on top of the headband to cover the band.

And now you have a fun pom headband!

Stay tuned for more fun tutorials on HEADBAND WEEK at Little Miss Momma! And come back on Friday to link up to our first linky party EVER, for all things headband related!

Happy Headbanding!

I will be linking this project up to these fab link parties!

Rose Barrettes

2010-11-15T18:05:00.001-08:00

Molly's Sketchbook: Rose Barrettes

With Valentine's Day coming up I designed these little girl's barrettes in celebration of the rose. I liked the idea that they could add a little Valentine's spirit to any outfit, and also to be used long after the big day. --Molly

Materials

One Wool Felt Bundle in Spice
Embroidery Thread to match the felt
8 snap clip barrettes, available at most drug stores, or online here
One Rose Barrette Pattern available for free download here, printed and cut out

Cutting

Cut out all of the pieces from the Rose Barrette Pattern. You will have:

one rosebud strip in color A
one 1st tier petal piece in color A
one 2nd tier petal piece in color A
one barrette top in color B
one barrette bottom (with a small slit cut as marked) in color B

Making the Rosebud

Roll the rosebud strip tightly, lining up the straight edge, starting from the smaller end to form a little rosebud shape as shown above.

Thread a length of embroidery thread that matches the color of the rose. Turn the rosebud upside down and sew across the bottom, through all of the layers, bisecting the circle of the bottom. Pull this stitch taut and take another stitch through the same area.

Turn the rosebud 90-degrees and take another stitch through all the layers perpendicular to the first set of stitches.

Pull this stitch tight and take another stitch in the same place. Tie a knot and cut the embroidery thread.

You will have a pretty little rosebud.

Adding the Petals

Place the finished rosebud in the center of the 1st tier petal piece.

Tack the 1st tier petal piece to the back of the rosebud with a few stitches.

Stitch the adjacent petals of the 1st tier petal piece to one another as shown above. As you stitch them together sew through the side of the rosebud piece and at the same time tacking the two pieces together.

Sew all the adjacent petals together in this manner.

Repeat this process for the 2nd tier petal piece.

The rose is now finished! These are beautiful on their own and could be attached to flower wire for a pretty bouquet or sewn to anything you please.

Preparing the Barrette

Slip the small part of the barrette into the slit of the barrett bottom piece as shown above.

Meanwhile, sew the rose onto the wide end of the barrette top piece.

Finishing the Barrette

Place the two barrette pieces wrong sides together and sew them to one another with a small running stitch around the perimeter of the barrette. When you come to a petal sew through a bit of the petal, not all the way through the width felt but just a little tack to keep the petal down.

Continue sewing around the perimeter as shown above.

Once you get all the way around tie a little knot and hide the threads tail in between the two layers.

Turn the barrette to the right side and trim the rose's petals to your liking.

Repeat this for all of the barrettes and have a happy Valentines Day!

purl bee January 23, 2010 Email Article Print Article75 Comments

Patchwork Star

2010-11-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

http://linaloo.typepad.com/photos/patchwork_star_tutorial/little-star-1.html

You will need:
Fabric scraps for the front
Larger piece for the backing
Diamond template (not included but my diamond was approx 2.5 inches wide and 3.5 inches long)
String or ribbon for hanging
Buttons
Stuffing for filling
Using your diamond template, cut 5 diamonds of varying fabrics and 1 square (big enough to cover the star) for the backing.

Join the diamonds

Using 1/4 inch seam allowance, join two diamonds, right sides facing, being sure to leave a 1/4 inch gap at the end - this will be the centre of the star.
Repeat, so that you have two sets of diamonds joined together.

Piecing the star

Press the seams open and join the last diamond to one of the sets. To complete the star shape with the final seam, pivot carefully to join the last diamond, being sure to catch the centre of the star.

Pieced star

Here's what it looks like pieced together. No matter if the centre is not completely perfect, we'll be using a button for decoration in the centre!

Backing

Next, grab your fabric for the backing and some ribbon or string for the loop. Tie the loop or ribbon to the desired length and place on the backing fabric.
Note: I am a lazy sewist, I do not cut my backing until after I have sewn it to the star, thus eliminating laborious cutting. Just make sure you have enough fabric to sew around your pieced star!

Positioning the loop

Place the star on the backing fabric, right hand sides facing with the loop firmly in place in between the two layers at one point of the star. I keep a little bit sticking out of the top, just to make absolutely sure it doesn't slip out!

Assembling the star

Right sides facing, sew around the edge of the pieced star (around 3mm from the edge) leaving an opening for turning inside out and stuffing. Trim close to the edge.
A couple of pointers here, make sure you secure the opening by backstitching each edge of the opening and keep your stitch length relatively short. As you may notice, I didn't cut the backing fabric to the shape of star, I skip this step as its just easier to trim the square afterwards!

Turn the star right side out, poking the corners out using a chopstick and stuff through the opening with filling of your choice.
Handstitch the opening closed with a whip stitch.
Attach your favourite vintage buttons on either side in the centre and....

Here you have the perfect little decoration or pin cushion!

car playmat

2010-10-18T07:48:00.001-07:00

Oscar's car playmat

My piece de resistance, Oscar's car playmat:

This project was truly a labor of love. It took over 50 hours to complete, and at least 10 years off my life. But ... the final product was worth it. Hopefully Oscar and siblings will play with this for years to come, and someday he will appreciate the effort that went into it.

The playmat measures about 3x4 feet, and is almost entirely appliqued. The road is painted with black acrylic paint, and then sewn around the edges to give it a crisp look and to make it more cohesive with the rest of the playmat.

I designed all of the buildings myself, except of course for the gas station and car wash, which I copied from theFiskar's Car Activity Mat (they were too cute to resist). For the gas pump hose, I substituted the shoelace with a elastic hairband. The car wash strips are leather trim.

The playmat includes all of our favorite places around town, like Grandma and Grandpa's house, complete with their fruit trees:

Chicken Little, our local toy store:

The courthouse, which also double's as daddy's work:

Crushcakes Cupcakery and Trader Joe's:

In-N-Out burger:

and a school with the ever-important playground:

Other buildings include the train station, fire department, additional houses, our church, and of course we couldn't leave off the beach. We also have traffic signs, cross walks, parking spaces and a post box.

Some of the buildings, like the courthouse and In-N-Out, look true to life. I took liberties with others, like Crushcakes and all of the houses, to make them more festive. If I made this mat look just like Santa Barbara, almost every building would be stucco with a red tile roof.

The playmat is backed with Riley Blake White Map from the Wheels collection.

All in all, a very satisfying project and a very happy birthday boy!

POSTER DIY PROJECT

2010-10-04T13:04:00.001-07:00

DIY WITH BOOKHOU: POSTER DIY PROJECT

this is a quick project that you can do to create a poster image size painting from a small image. I decided to do a portrait, but this will work for any image.

what you need:
-a photograph (preferably on 8.5 x 11 in. size paper)
-large piece of paper (bristol board) 20 x 24 in. and up
-pencil
-ruler
-eraser
-brush
-black ink (or paint)

step 1
I decided to use my daughter's photo - I chose this photo because of her expression. In Photoshop I took the colour photo and turned it to a black and white image - in the Photoshop program you go to filter - artistic - cut out. This will give you the image that I got from my photo. If you don't have Photoshop you can use a free onine photo editor like picnik.com or one could find a stock image on the internet.

step 2
take the image print out and draw a grid on the photo using the pencil and ruler.

step 3
do the same on the large piece of paper (to figure out what size square grid to put on the large image I divided 8 into 20 and got 2.5 - by doing this I was able to maximize my paper usage - if you don't do this you might have left over squares - which you could easily trip off) - try not to make your pencil lines too dark or else when you erase them they will still be noticeable.

step 4
start drawing!
the grid is a method used to enlarge images
follow each grid on the photo and how it corresponds to the larger sheet - it's good to look at each image in the grid squares as shapes and not think too much of the whole picture - if it helps for the more complicated shapes like the eyes you can divide the square to smaller ones - this will help you with more exact drawing.

step 5
continue throughout the drawing till the entire image is complete.

step 6
finished drawing

step 7
take the black ink and proceed to fill in the drawing - you can also use paint.

last step
take the eraser and erase all the pencil lines on the poster.

give it a try and enjoy!

felt flower pillow cover

2010-09-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

tutorial here.

Quilted Placemats Tutorial

2010-09-14T12:00:00.001-07:00

Quilted Placemats Tutorial

These placemats are just so much fun to make!
I hope you'll sew up some too!

Here is the tutorial for making a single
placemat and a potholder made in a very
similar way. As usual, seam allowance is 0.25"
unless otherwise noted. Here we go!

Cut out 26 pieces of fabric pieces, each measuring
1.5" x 3.5". I cut out 4 pieces from 6 different
fabric and 2 pieces from the interesting fabric.

Lay out the pieces of fabric to come up
with 2 sets of panels made with 13 pieces.

Sew them together.

Fun!

Press seams open.

Now it's nicely flat!
Repeat the same process for the
other 13 pieces.

Cut out 13.5" x 13.5" square from white Kona.

Sew the patchwork panels to the sides.

Press seam open again.

Cut out a piece of cotton batting a bit larger
than the top panel, then cut out a piece
from the same Kona white even larger than
the cotton batting.

Use quilter's basting spray to make
the sandwich nicely attached to each other.
(It's not necessary to use this spray,
but it will make quilting process
about ten times easier.

Now using a water-soluble pen,
draw one line like this in the
center of the placemat.

Just one line should be good enough ;)

Quilting time ;)
I like to start from here to secure the edges.

Then I saw very close to the edge
on the side. I repeat the same process
for the other side.

Then start quilting from the very middle
where you drew a line.

From there, go towards left and right
making parallel quilting lines.

After quilting all the way to the
sides, trim excess.

It looks much better now ;)

Now let's make a binding tape.
You can purchase already-made one
from a local craft store, but if you'd
rather make it on your own, then follow me :D
Cut out 4 strips measuring 20" x 2" each.

Now we'll sew the strips together.
Draw a diagonal line at the edge of one strip.

Sew along the line.

Trim the excess. Repeat the same process
to create one long binding tape.

Press seam open.

Press to make a fold at one end.

Now fold the tape in half and press.

Yay! It's time to attach the binding
onto the placemat. We'll start from the end
that is folded. Align the raw edge of
the tape to the edge of the placemat and
start sewing.

When you are about a few inches from a corner,
stop there and use a ruler and a pencil to
draw a line at 0.25" from the edge.

Stop at the line and back-stitch.

Now fold the tape like this.

And fold like this, making a folded triangle inside.

Then sew from the very top edge.
Do this for the rest of corners too.

When you are almost done with sewing the
bias tape on to the placemat, make sure to
sew about 0.25" on top of the part that you
started then trim excess.
It should look like this now.

I really like the look of binding tape
attached by hand, so I prefer hand-sewing
in this process. You might need to sew it
on using a machine if you are working on
last minute gifts because hand-sewing could
take some time, although it's fun.

Just like this, as I go along, I make sure
to cover up the stitching line.

This is how the corner on the back should look like.

Then you're done :D Hooray!!

Do you happen to feel like making a little
version of it? Maybe a potholder?

I cut out 6 pieces of fabric measuring 2.5" x 1.5"
each and one piece of Kona white of 6.5" square.
I used pretty much the same method throughout
except that I added a little string and
replaced cotton batting with heat-resistant batting.
(I needed 4 strips of pieces measuring 2" x 9"
to make a binding tape for this.)

I like this as much as those placemats :D

Thank you so much for reading such a long post!
I hope you'll make something using this tute
and share your creations in the flickr pool!
Now I can't wait to see yours!!

Have a great crafty day!

Flat Emelie and Matt

2010-09-14T11:59:00.001-07:00

Flat Emelie and Matt

When I was a young girl, I loved playing with paper dolls. Now that I have two kids of my own now, I have noticed that my daughter, too, loves to play with paper dolls. The only bad thing about them is they get torn up so quickly and easily by her little brother. How can you enjoy the wonders of paper dolls and all their wonderful clothing options without them getting torn up? FABRIC... fabric doesn't tear or give you paper cuts. Fabric has all kinds of possibilities for a clothing wardrobe. That's IT! I give you... Flat Emelie and Matt... I hope you enjoy!

1 Layer Cake {featured is Whimsy by Fig Tree & Co.}

1/2 yard Bella Solid in Natural

2 yards Fusible Fleece

2 yards 1 1/2" Sew-On Velcro

1 yard 7/8" Grosgrain ribbon

Coodinating Thread

Sewline mechanical pencil trio

Sewline fabric glue pen

20" coordinating Jumbo Ric Rac

Making the flat dolls:

Print out the templates located at the end of the Printer Friendly Version.

Cut out all the clothing and doll pieces and tape the body pieces together to form your complete doll template for the boy and girl.

Cut out 2 pieces of fusible fleece and bella solid fabric for each doll.

Fuse the fusible fleece to the wrong side of each of the pieces of bella solid fabric. You should have two fused pieces of fabric for each doll.

Using a fabric pencil {I prefer to use a sewline ceramic pencil... nice smooth lines}, trace around the each doll on the right side of the fused fabric. You only need to trace on one piece of fabric for each doll.

PLEASE NOTE: ALL VELCRO PIECES USED ON THIS SECTION ARE TO BE THE FEMALE SIDE {SOFT SIDE OF VELCRO}
Lay a piece of 1 1/2" velcro across the undie parts of the dolls. Using your fabric pencil, trace the undie lines onto the female {soft side} of the velcro. All the undies and socks on the dolls should be made from the soft side of the velcro.

Place your pieces on the fabric doll to get proper fitting.

For the larger undie sections, simply place two pieces of velcro side by side as shown.

Now layer all your pieces together...
1. lay down your blank fused fabric piece, fused side up
2. lay down your traced fused fabric piece, fused side down
3. position the velcro pieces in place for undies.

Pin all pieces together.

Using an 1/8" seam, stitch around the inside of the sketched areas. On the velcro, make sure you stitch around each pieces to reinforce it.

Cut out your doll just inside of the sketched lines so you don't have any pencil lines showing.

Making and attaching the hair for your flat dolls:
From your layer cake, select 1 slice that you want to use for the hair of your dolls. If you want different colored hair for each doll, then select a slice for each color. You can get two hair pieces on each slice of layer cake.

Just like you did for the doll, fuse a piece of fusible fleece to the wrong side of each of the fabric pieces used for the hair. I cut a layer cake slice up into fours creating 4 5" squares. Place the hair piece onto the right side of the fabric and trace around the template using your fabric pencil.

Match up the back side of your hair piece and the front side (the piece you traced on) with the two fusible pieces facing each other.

Using an 1/8" seam allowance, stitch around the inside of the drawn line. Cut out the hair just inside the pencil line to form your hair piece.

Place your hair piece on your finished doll and pin in place.

Stitch the hair piece onto the dolls head. I created hair waves and lines when stitching it to the head so it looked like the stitches were suppose to be there. Just make sure your hair lines you create catch the back side of the head so the hair stays in place.

Making the clothes:
Select layer cake pieces for each of the clothing pieces you wish to make. I found that if I cut my layer cake in half first, then I was not wasting a lot of fabric by fusing the entire thing. It was much easier to work in these sections.

Iron on a section of fusible fleece to fit the clothing item you wish to make. The clothing will be made just like you did the doll and the hair, however instead of stitching directly to the doll, you will add the male side (rough side) of the velcro to the back side of the pieces so you can easily remove each particle of clothing on the dolls.

For the smaller pieces of clothing such as the shirts, skirt and shorts, I just fused a piece of fleece to a 5" x 10" piece of fabric (half a layer cake slice). Then I folded the piece in half as shown to create the front and back of the clothing item.

On the front side of the fabric, trace around the clothing item you wish to make using your fabric pencil. The dotted lines of the clothing pieces resemble the stitch detail.

Flip your folded piece of fused fabric over to the back side and position a piece of male sided velcro (rough side) so that when sewn, it should be on the middle back so it will attach easily to the doll when playing. Pin in place.

This is what your 5" x 10" piece of fused fabric should look like when unfolded.

While the fused fabric is unfolded, add any of the clothing details such as the pocket. On the velcro side, stitch the velcro in place. Stitching the velcro on before stitching the two sides together will keep your clothing look nice and clean without a bunch of extra stitching lines that are not necessary.

Fold your piece of fused fabric back together with the right sides of the fabric facing out. Using a 1/8" seam allowance, stitch around the inside of the pencil lines and add any other clothing details such as the hem of the shirt.

This is what the back side should look like.

Cut out the item along the sketched line.

Your doll now has a piece of clothing that you can put on.
Repeat these steps to create a whole wardrobe for your flat dolls.

For the shoes, I simply cut the shoes out of one side of fused fabric and then cut a piece of the male side {rough side} of velcro in the same shape as the shoe.

Then stitch around them to attach the velcro to the shoe while creating the stitch detail on them. For the tennis shoes, I used a zig zag stitch for the tread of the shoe.

Your dolls now have a complete wardrobe that you can always add to by creating new pieces of clothing out of different fabric choices. They may end up with a larger clothing selection than you. :)

Making the flats bag:
You will need three pieces of layer cake for this bag along with a 10" by width of fabric of lining. I used the bella solid that matches the dolls body.

Cut one piece of layer cake in half. Cut 2 pieces of ric-rac, 10" each. Lay out your pieces and ric-rac the way you want your bag to be made. I used a solid piece of layer cake for the front of the bag and a dottie coordinate for the back side.

From the fusible fleece, cut out a strip that measures 10" by the width of fabric.

Starting at one end of the fleece, fuse a full piece of layer cake.

Lay your ric-rac across the top edge of your layer cake so that the layer cake edge sits in the center of the ric-rac.

Position one half of the layer cake piece you cut right side down, aligning the edges of the layer cake squares and in the center of the ric-rac and pin in place.

Using a 1/4"seam stitch together.

Fold the 5" x 10" piece up and iron to the fusible fleece. Trim the back down to 10" x 14 1/4"

Repeat these steps for the front of the bag. You should now have a front and a back of the bag that measure 10" x 14 1/4" each.

Using the letters attached in the Printer Friendly Version, cut out the same way you did for all the clothing. You do not need a back for these letters as they will be stitched down on to the front of the bag.

Position the letters where you want them to go on the front of the bag. Using the Sewline fabric glue pen, apply some glue to the fusible fleece part of the letters. Paste in place. This was the first time I used this glue pen and it is AWESOME for small jobs like this. No pins required.

Stitch your letters onto the front of the bag. I used several straight stitches to attach... I liked the way it gave it that artsy, juvenile look to it.

Cut two pieces of grosgrain ribbon, 18" each. Measure over 2 1/2" on each side and pin the ends of the ribbon in place. Make sure your ribbon does not get twisted when pinning.

Using a 1/8" seam allowance, baste your handle ends in place to the top of the bag front and back.

Topstitch your ric-rac seam in place on the top section of the front and back pieces of your bag.

With right sides together, stitch your front and back pieces of the bag together using a 1/4" seam on the sides and bottom. Do not stitch the top opening closed... leave open. Make sure you catch your ribbon handles in the side seams.

At the bottom corners of your bag, cut away a 1" square from each corner.

Match the side and bottom seams together and pin in place for both bottom corners. Stitch across the end using a 1/4" seam. Leave your bag facing inside out.

Do the same for your lining fabric.
Cut 2 pieces of lining fabric 9 3/4" x 14".
With right sides together, stitch a 1/4" seam on the sides and bottom of the bag, leaving a 3" opening at the center of the bottom for turning your bag when attached to the exterior. Cut a 1" square from each corner of the bag as done with the bag exterior and match the side and bottom seams together and stitch together as shown above with the exterior of the bag. Flip the bag lining right side out.

Slip the lining inside the exterior of the bag as shown. Your lining and bag exterior should be right sides together. Match up the side seams and pin in place. Using a 1/2" seam allowance, stitch all around the top of the bag. I backstitched over the ribbon handle ends to help reinforce them.

Flip your bag right side out through the 3" opening left at the bottom of the lining.

Your bag should now look like this.

At the bottom of the lining where there is the opening, fold the raw edges in 1/4" and topstitch closed using a 1/8" seam allowance.

Push the lining inside the bag and get it all straight. Iron and topstitch the top of the bag to keep the lining in place and to finish off the bag.

One cute little bag to hold all your flat dolls and clothing.

A bag, 2 flat dolls and a very large wardrobe for your flats and a very excited little girl.

Enjoy!

Summer fun {custom bleached shirt}

2010-09-14T11:58:00.001-07:00

Summer fun {custom bleached shirt}

from here: http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2010/06/11/summer-fun-custom-bleached-shirt/

Thanks for all the comments on my trip to Seattle and odd way of entertaining myself in the airport. For those wondering the SkyBridge we were on was a more remote one that only led to a few gates. For that reason it was basically empty unless a plane landed. I sat my camera on the ground – with no one around. I did also sit it on the SkyWalk. Those things are meant to speed you up when you are walking. If you are standing still they move rather slowly so I had plenty of time to take timer pictures without reaching the end.

Here’s another outdoor summer activity.

My disclaimer: This requires very attentive adult supervision and responsible kids that are obedient and good listeners.

Supplies:

Bleach

Water Guns

Water bottle that can do a light mist spray

Solid color t-shirt (I got mine at Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off…costing me $1.50 each. Score.)

Freezer paper

Rubber gloves (for you and the kids)

Using freezer paper cut out your letter or design. Iron the paper securely onto the shirts. Hang the shirts outside with a piece of cardboard on the inside.

Put on rubber gloves. Fill the water bottle and water guns with bleach. Using the fine mist setting on the water bottle spray around the letter. Then let the kids use the water guns to squirt more bleach randomly on the shirt front and back. This is where the adult supervision is crucial…you don’t want them shooting the gun at anything but the shirts. In the sun it doesn’t take long (just a minute or two) for the bleach to start changing the shirt color. Once it is as light as you want, rinse the shirt…then wash it. You can buy chemicals that further stop the bleaching process, but they cost more than your $1.50 shirt. You don’t want to leave the bleach on too long or it will begin eating the shirt. My friend tried this with a hot pink shirt and it came out super cute.

He should be wearing a rubber glove…the cheap water guns leak a little.

It is Big Brother’s current favorite shirt. It reminds me of the 80s, but 80s is back in style – right? If you notice on the “h” I didn’t get the freezer paper ironed on securely enough. I kind of like the effect it made. The brown parts of the shirt had the bleach on the least amount of time, the gray parts the longest. (yes he got a haircut in between the day we bleached the shirts and the day I took these pics)

Biggest Brother was hanging around when I was trying to get a picture of the shirt. He decided to try to leap over the cooler. Can you guess how that ended up for him?

And after all that fun of making your own shirt, you can curl up on the couch with your legos…snuggling Luke Skywalker & his lightsaber…for a summer nap.

In other news…next week I am going to be a part of the Blogger’s Guide to Summer at Blessed Little Nest. There will be several posts each day and giveaways each day. Some of my very favorite bloggers will be guest posting during the week too…be sure to check it out….just don’t enter any of the giveaways I would kind of like to win them all!

It has been a while since I posted any diy projects…next week I will be posting one….

UPDATE 6.16.10: My friend Jamie emailed me the day I originally posted this. The night before I posted this, she had done a similar thing to a onesie for a gift. It is so cute! I asked her if I could share it with you! Thanks Jamie!

Posted in be creative {DIY}

Re-Purposing: T-Shirt into Dress

2010-09-14T11:56:00.001-07:00

from here: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/05/re-purposing-t-shirt-into-dress.html

Re-Purposing: T-Shirt into Dress

Does your little girl have an old T-shirt?

One that is too short?

Stained on the belly?

Has a rip right through the fabric?

No worries......turn it into a sweet pleated dress.

With a nice big pleated waist line...

And a nice chunky bow to cinch it all in.

And yes, this dress is perfect for dancing...

and flapping like a bird...

Or just plain 'ol being a kid...

If interested, I bought this fabric at 'The Fabric Store'.
(Riley Blake Designs Umbrella Tops in White here.)
Perfect for this time of year.

Ready to make your own?

First, grab an old knit Tshirt and decide where you want the top of the waist line to hit your little girl. Place a pin there and measure down about 2 inches. Then cut the shirt off there.

***Don't throw the rest of the shirt away....I'll show you how to use it on a different project.

Then cut two large rectangles for the skirt section of the dress. My two pieces were 33 inches wide x 25 inches long. The front of my shirt was 11 inches across, so I tripled that and cut a piece that was 33 inches wide. For the length, I decided that I needed the bottom part of the dress to be 21 inches long from the top of the pleats, down to the bottom of the dress. And then I needed an extra 2 inches at the top and 2 inches at the bottom......so that's 25 inches long all together.

Make sure to cut 2 of these pieces.

I decided to make french seams on this dress for the side seams. (But you can always just do a side seam and then zig-zag on the inside, to keep it from fraying. French seams always look nicer though.)

To do this, place your two pieces together with wrong sides together, then sew these two pieces together along the side (25 inch side in my case) using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Then flip the fabric the other way and enclose the raw edges of that seam (iron first to help it lay flat) and sew a 1/2 inch seam allowance with the right sides together.

Then open it back up. Those raw edges are nice and enclosed......no loose strings or edges. Do the same thing with the other side.....attaching the other side pieces together with a nice french seam. Iron both side seams open and flat.

Now turn the skirt section inside out and then fold over the top of the skirt section a 1/4 inch, then another 1/4 inch and sew into place. Then fold the top down 1 1/2 inches and iron flat.

Then, turn it right side out and start making pleats along the front piece of the skirt. Use pins to keep the pleats in place. And keep the top edge of the fabric (where the fold is) lined up and even.

Here's the top view of those pleats.

Here is the view from the back side. Nice and neat.

You're going to have to play around with the size of your pleats. But by cutting out a piece of fabric that was 3 times as wide as the final width, that should give you enough fabric to play with and make the skirt kind of full. Once the front section (from side seam to side seam) is the same width as your shirt, you're done.

And once the front matches up, do the same to the back.

Then make a seam 3/4 of an inch from the top of the pleats.....securing all of the pleats in place.

Then pin the bottom section of the dress to the shirt, 2 inches from the bottom of the shirt (because earlier you made sure to keep an extra 2 inches to the length of the tshirt, right?) Pin all the way around the shirt, attaching the pleated section to the shirt.

Then sew right on top of that seam, attaching the pleated section to the dress.

Now you're going to make a tube that will be used for you tie. The dress I made fits about a 4T size and I wanted the tie to be about 1 3/4 inches wide...........then ended up being about 73 inches long. So I cut a piece of fabric that was 4 x 74 inches (and had to actually sew two pieces of fabric together to get a piece that was that long). Then I made the tube just like this tutorial here. Then I ironed it flat.

Next, I placed the center of the tie right on top of that seam that attached the pleat section to the shirt.

And I pinned the tie in place and sewed right along the top of the tie, very close to the edge. I only sewed from one side seam of the dress to the other side seam.

Then I made sure the pleats were laying flat and pinned the bottom of the tie down to the dress. Make sure to include the bottom of the shirt (that's in the inside) while you pin, so that it will be included in your seam.

Then I sewed along the sides and the bottom of the tie, securing the tie to the dress.

Then I tucked in the raw edges of the ends of the ties towards the inside, about a 1/4 inch........and sewed them shut. Nice and simple.

Lastly, I folded the bottom edge under a 1/2 inch and then another inch, sewed it in place, then ironed it flat. (But make sure to try it on your little girl to see how long you'd like it.....then hem the dress.)

And that's it.

A new look for that old wrecked Tshirt.

One that is perfect for hopping and dancing......

summer scarf

2010-04-29T06:46:00.000-07:00

tutorial here.

mother's day poppies

2010-04-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

tutorial here.

DIY Mother's Day Corsage: Felt Dahlia Flower Brooch

2010-04-26T13:42:00.001-07:00

This Mother's Day, make something beautiful for Mom. Credit: Megan Reardon

Wondering about what to make Mom for Mother's Day? I've been thinking about traditional gifts like flower corsages and lockets, and I decided to combine the two. This felt dahlia pin has a secret pocket in the back that can hold a picture or message for your favorite mom.

You'll need:
- scissors
- Fabri-tac adhesive
- two sheets craft felt, one for the flower and one in a contrasting color for the back
- needle and thread
- brooch pin (available in the beading section of craft stores)
- a bit of thin cardboard (a cereal box from your recycling bin will be perfect for this)

Credit: Megan Reardon

Also helpful, if you have them:
- pinking sheers
- a rotary cutter, mat and ruler
- a sewing machine

Credit: Megan Reardon

We'll be cutting out a bunch individual petals, and above I show what I think is the most efficient way to divide up your sheet of felt. First cut a 3.25 inch diameter circle from your flower color felt. (Do this first to make sure you don't leave yourself too small a scrap at the end.) Then cut three 1.5 inch strips, two 1.25 inch strips and one 1 inch strip of felt. In the contrasting color (here, the green), cut a 2 inch diameter circle and a 1.25 inch square. Cut a small indent into the square.

Finally, cut a 2 inch diameter circle from your cardboard.

Credit: Megan Reardon

Now cut your flower color strips into 1.5, 1.25 and 1 inch squares respectively. If you need more petals you can use the bit of leftover felt to cut more squares. I ended up needing fifteen 1.5 inch petals, thirteen 1.25 inch petals and nine 1 inch petals, you might find you need more or fewer to fill in the flower. To form the petals cut each square into a rounded petal shape, with a wide base and a pointed tip as shown above. Put dots of glue in the lower corners and fold each side over so that they meet in the middle.

Credit:: Megan Reardon

This is the most frustrating part of the project -- the glue can take a while to set and if you don't hold the petal shapes in place they will pop open. I found this to be true for both the wool felt and the polyester felt I tested. I made a few versions using felt from various sources and found the higher quality wool felt to be a bit thicker, which meant that it took longer to set, but the colors were richer so I was willing to wait. I used a heavy stainless steel skillet to hold my folded petals down while they dried, as shown above. Luckily, the Fabri-tac adhesive won't bond to the metal of the skillet, so you don't have to worry about petals stuck to your pan.

Credit: Megan Reardon

While the petals are setting you can prepare the back of the flower. Glue the cardboard circle to the center of the 3.25 inch flower color felt circle. Then dab glue on the overhanging part of the felt and fold it over the edges of the cardboard, wrapping it around to the back. You might need to put a saucepan on top to weigh it down while it sets. This will be the base for the petals, and the folded edges on the back will be covered by your contrasting felt circle at the very end.

Now grab your contrasting felt square and circle. Position the square at the bottom of the circle and stitch it around three sides to make a small pocket that opens to the side, leaving enough room at the top of the circle to attach the pin. You can put a few small dabs of glue on the pin before you hand stitch it into place at the top of the circle. I used contrasting thread that matched my flower, but you can use whatever thread color you'd like.

Credit: Megan Reardon

When the petals are set, it's time to glue them to the flower color base. Glue the 1.5 inch petals around the edge of the base, positioning them in about 1/4 inch. As you work be sure to snug the base of the petals as close together side by side as you can; the more you can fit on the base, the more dramatic the results. Next, glue a row of the 1.25 inch petals about 1/4 inch further in towards the center of your pin. Do the same with the 1 inch petals, leaving about a 1 inch circle in the middle.

Credit: Megan Reardon

To finish the center of the flower cut a 1 inch circle from the remaining flower color felt using the pinking sheers, or cut a wavy edge with scissors. Also use the pinking sheers to cut a thin strip from the felt; you can cut two strips if you think you'll need them. Glue down the small circle in the center of your flower to cover the ends of the smallest petals. Then curl the thin strip into a tight spiral and glue that to the very center.

Credit: Megan Reardon

All that is left to do is to glue the contrasting colored backing to the back of the flower, covering the back of the cardboard, and find a picture -- or write a little note -- small enough to slip into the secret pocket. Then wrap it up and present it to Mom!

felt food tutorials

2010-04-05T06:05:00.000-07:00

too many cute things

felt cupcake and frosting

felt cinnamon roll
felt bluseberry muffin and liner

reusable produce bags

2010-04-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

tutorial here.

fabric rings

2010-04-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

tutorial here.

fabric wall art

2010-04-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

tutorial here.

dress garland

2010-03-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

here

diy: onesie to dress tutorial

2010-03-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

http://racheldenbow.blogspot.com/2010/03/diy-onesie-to-dress-tutorial.html

Stylish Baby Nursery: Collapsible Storage Baskets

2010-03-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

FROM HERE

Stylish Baby Nursery: Collapsible Storage Baskets

Editor: Liz Johnson

Wednesday, 12 August 2009 03:00

These clever storage baskets are not only cute and handy, they're also a secret recycling project. The sides and bottoms of each basket are stiffened with recycled cardboard! But wait ... they have another hidden talent: they collapse and fold flat to store.

In the nursery, use them for creams, diapers, wash cloths and other diaper changing accessories. You could fill a whole shelf set with bright and beautiful baskets. And yet, why let the nursery have all the fun? We bet you have a lot of cardboard just waiting to be recycled. I see bread baskets and mail baskets and gift baskets ... oh my!

Our sample was made for a baby girl's nursery, using the stunning Patty Young Andalucia collection. For information on where to buy, read Stylish Baby Nursery: Designing with Bold Colors & Patterns. This article also includes suggestions for creating an alternate fabric palette that would work well for a boy's nursery.

Sewing Tools You Need

Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome ThreadBanger TB-30)

Fabric and Other Supplies

Fabric for outer box covering (Fabric A) - ½ yard of 45" wide fabric PER BOX: we used Patty Young's Andalucia in Petal Flora (box 1) and Earth Mod Blooms (box 2)
Fabric for inside lining (Fabric B) - ¼ yard of 45" wide fabric PER BOX: we used Patty Young's Andalucia in Petal Jester (box 1) and Kiwi Jester (box 2)
Scraps for binding – you will need two strips per box, each strip is 1¾" x WOF (width of fabric). You can use either a contrasting fabric or a matching fabric: we used Patty Young's Anadalucia in Petal Jester (box 1) and Petal Floral (box 2)
Chipboard, cardboard, or any heavy weight card stock (for box sides)
All purpose thread in colors to match fabrics
Leather machine needle (in addition to your regular needle)
See-through ruler
Chalk pencil
Scissors or rotary cutter and cutting mat
Iron and ironing board
Straight pins

We're going to use a leather machine needle in this project - even though our supplies don't call for leather. A leather needle is a super sharp, heavy-duty needle for sewing through difficult materials. Leather is one example; we're using it for this project to sew through the cardboard that makes the sides of the boxes.

Getting Started

Using your see-through ruler and chalk pencil, cut a 7¼" x 9½" piece of fabric from Fabric A. Then, cut a strip from Fabric A that measures 6½" x 33". These pieces will form the bottom and outside walls of the box.
Cut two strips from Fabric B that each measure 1¾" x WOF (width of fabric). We'll use this fabric for the binding of the box – the fabric around the top and bottom edges of the box.
From Fabric B, sut one 7½" x 9½" piece and one 6½" x 33" strip. These will cover bottom cardboard insert and the inside walls.
From the cardboard, cut pieces as follows:
Four pieces that measure 6" x 3¼"
Two pieces that measure 6" x 8¾"
One piece that measures, 6½" x 8½"

At Your Sewing Machine

Creating the "walls"

Fold the 6½" x 33" piece of Fabric A (outer fabric) in half, with right sides together, and stitch up the 6½" side, using a ½" seam allowance. Turn right side out and press seam open.
Using the 6½" x 33" piece of Fabric B (inner fabric), repeat step one.
Place the sewn Fabric B piece inside the sewn Fabric A piece, placing them WRONG sides together and matching up the seam lines.
Pin the bottoms of the two pieces together, and stitch around the bottom, using a ½" seam.
Stitch down the existing vertical seam line created by the inner and outer fabrics. (This is the seam that was created when you sewed the fabrics into the "box" - you should have lined these seam lines up in step 3.)
This vertical seam will create a starting point to measure the other vertical seams around the box. With your chalk pencil, mark additional seam lines at the following intervals: 9", 3½", 3½", 9", and 3½". (In other words, you mark 9" from the first seam line, then 3½" from that newly drawn mark, then 3½" from that new one, etc, until you end up back at the starting line.)
Stitch a vertical seam along each drawn mark. You should now have a total of six sewn vertical seam lines that join the outer fabric and the inner fabric with the wrong sides together. These vertical seam lines have created "capsules" where we will insert the cardboard to make the box stand up. Quite smart, no?

Creating and attaching the bottom of the box

With the wrong side facing up and the edges of the fabric inside the box, pin the 7½" x 9½" piece of Fabric A to the "walls" you just made. This creates the box bottom.
Align the corners of this bottom piece with the vertical seams on the wall, line up your raw edges, and match long sides to long sides and short sides to short sides. The raw edges of the fabric should extend to the outside of the box, and when you look into the box you should see the wrong side of the bottom fabric.
Stitch all around, using a ½" seam. After attaching, carefully trim the seam allowance to ¼" – we will be absorbing this raw edge into the binding in the steps below, so we want to reduce the bulk as much as possible.

Creating binding and attaching to bottom

Next we will create the binding for the bottom of the box. Find on of your 1¾" x WOF strips and trim to 1¾" x 34" (this is the perimeter of the box plus 2" for a tail we'll use to finish our binding neatly). Fold the strip in half lengthwise and press. Now fold the raw edges in toward the middle lengthwise seam line, and fold together. Press. (Your raw edges are now inside the binding strip.
Repeat to create your second binding strip for the top. Set this top piece aside. Remember, you can choose to use either matching or contrasting fabric for the binding; you could even make the top and bottom bindings out of different fabrics.
Pin bottom binding strip to the bottom of the box, encasing the raw seam allowance inside the fold of your bias tape. Carefully pin.
Stitch binding in place, keeping your seam line a "scant" (very small) ¼" in from the folded edge, but still being sure to catch both sides of the bias tape in the seam. Stitch all the way around the perimeter of the bottom, but stop about 1" from the end for finishing.
We cut our original binding piece about 2" longer than the perimeter (step #1 above), so you should have a slight tail at the end of your binding. Trim this to about 1-1½" (enough to overlap the start of your binding by about ½"). Fold under the end of the tail to create a clean edge and wrap around the start of the binding. Overlap about ½" and stitch in place, matching your seam line. Be sure to backstitch at the end of the binding to secure it in place.

Stiffening the walls with cardboard and attaching top binding

Insert the cardboard pieces between the vertical seam lines to stiffen the walls of the box.
Switch the regular sewing needle currently in the machine to the leather needle.
Pin the other binding strip to the top of the box, encasing the raw edges and the top of the cardboard inside the binding.
Stitch a "scant" (very small) ¼" in from the edge of the binding.We are using the leather needle for this step because it is extra sharp and heavy duty for sewing through the cardboard. Attach the binding, following steps 4 and 5 above. Stitch slowly - your machine is working very hard to get through the thick cardboard - sort of like running uphill. You may find it helpful to lengthen your stitch length a bit at this point, so your machine can get the job done in less stitches.

Making the bottom insert

Lay the 6½" x 8½" cardboard piece on the wrong side of the 7½" x 9½" piece of fabric B. Fold the edges of the fabric over the cardboard, being careful to keep the fabric tight on the corners. Press in place and stitch (you're stitching through fabric and cardboard again so you should still be using the leather needle in your machine) around all sides to secure the fabric to the cardboard. Stitch close to the raw edge of the fabric so it will lay nice and flat. Press again after stitching.
Insert the fabric covered cardboard into the bottom of the box, with the fabric side facing up.
To collapse the box, simply remove this bottom insert; the short sides will fold in between the cardboard panels, and the whole thing will fold flat for storage.

Hints and Tips

Alternate box sizes

You can adapt the instructions above to any size box.

First, determine the size you want the finished box to be, and cut the fabric to: the perimeter of the box plus 1/2" all around (for the seam allowances) x the height you want the finished "walls" to be. Cut one piece of fabric for the outside and one piece of fabric for the inside.
Determine where you want the corners of your box, and stitch four vertical seam lines in those locations.
Divide the seams on the SHORT sides in half, and stitch another seam line in this location (this allows the box to "collapse" when you take out the bottom insert).
Once you know where the corners of the box will be, you can cut your bottom fabrics to the appropriate size. You'll need two pieces: one for the box bottom (add ½" all around for the seam allowance) and one for the cardboard bottom insert (add ¾" all around to give you enough fabric for folding over the cardboard).
Then cut two pieces of binding long enough to fit the perimeter of the box plus about 2" for finishing.
Cut cardboard for sides to size to fit in the "capsules," and sew everything together. Just remember, the bigger the box you hope to create, the stiffer the cardboard will need to be to support the sides and the contents.

Other machines suitable for this project include the White 2200 Multi-Tasker and the Singer 8673 Curvy.

valentine bath fizzies

2010-01-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

tutorial here.

scrap fabric bracelets

2010-01-21T08:19:00.000-08:00

tutorial here.

homemade bath salts

2009-12-22T14:34:00.001-08:00

http://thequeso.com/2009/12/last-minute-christmas-gifts-hooray.html

caramel box

2009-12-19T21:21:00.000-08:00

fleur de sel caramel recipe.

pom pom wreath

2009-12-19T21:17:00.001-08:00

tutorial

felt rosette wreath

2009-12-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

ruffly felt rosette wreath.

tee shirts

2009-12-15T15:56:00.000-08:00

re-fashioning tee shirts

advent calendar

2009-11-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

from here

I took a break this weekend to work on a few projects. First I finished up our advent calendar for this year. I decided to keep it simple and something we could use each year.

I used items I already had on hand. The backing is a metal piece I received from one of Jenni Bowlin's monthly kits a while back which I had spray painted with chalkboard paint. The tins had been organizing a bunch of alphabet embellishments- which I ended up mixing altogether in a glass jar (which totally freaked Justin out- he said I would be regretting that move later). The ribbon I had on hand also (but only in two short pieces which I knotted together). The star is a nail I picked up at a local antique/flea market a few years ago.

To make this a little more interactive I plan on typing out a bunch of quotes and/or quick projects for each day and tuck it in with a small candy (of course).

Knitted Neck Scarf

2009-11-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

Knitted Neck Scarf

Tools and Materials

Yarn: 2 skeins (50 grams )sport-weight yarn in desired color, using about 150 yards
Needles: 2 needles in size U.S. 4 (3 1/2 mm), 1 double-pointed needle in same size. Adjust needle size as necessary to obtain correct gauge (gauge: 5 stitches and 11 rows equal 1 inch in garter stitch)
Stitch holder
Tapestry needle

When instructed to rib in the pattern below, knit 1, purl 1 alternately across the row. To wear the scarf, slip one end through either of the loops at front.
Finished Size: 4 by 26 inches
Step 1
Cast on 3 stitches.
Step 2
Row 1: Knit 2, slip last stitch purlwise.
Step 3
Row 2: With yarn in back, knit 1, increase 1 (see how to increase), knit 1, and slip last stitch purlwise.
Step 4
Row 3: With yarn in back, knit 1, increase 1, knit to last stitch, slip last stitch purlwise.
Step 5
Repeat row 3 until you have 24 stitches. (Piece should now measure about 4 1/2 inches wide.)
Step 6
Continue to knit across every row, still slipping last stitch of each row purlwise, until piece measures 4 inches long.
Step 7
Divide (see how to divide). When you're finished, half the stitches will be on double-pointed needle and the other half will be on your working needle.
Step 8
Rib across the stitches on your working needle (leave the stitches on double-pointed needle as is), still slipping the last stitch purlwise. Continue for 1 1/2 inches. Transfer these ribbed stitches onto stitch holder. Break yarn, leaving a tail long enough to weave in later.
Step 9
Rejoin yarn, and rib across the stitches on double-pointed needle for 1 1/2 inches.
Step 10
Transfer all stitches onto 1 needle as follows: Slip 1 stitch purlwise from double-pointed needle, then slip 1 purlwise from working needle. Repeat across row until all stitches are on 1 needle.
Step 11
Knit every row, slipping last stitch purlwise, for 15 1/2 inches. (To adjust the size of the scarf, knit fewer inches for a child or more for a large adult.)
Step 12
Using same method as in step 7, divide the stitches between the 2 needles.
Step 13
Repeat steps 8, 9, and 10.
Step 14
Knit every row, slipping last stitch purlwise, for 2 1/2 inches.
Step 15
To finish: Knit 1, decrease (see how to decrease), and knit to end of row, slipping last stitch purlwise. Repeat this sequence every row until only 3 stitches remain. Bind off. Using tapestry needle, weave in ends.

braided scarf

2009-11-15T16:51:00.000-08:00

from here

Braiding

Finally I have time to share this fun way to make scarves.

The yarn I used here is blue sky alpacas "Bulky Naturals", I used one skein.(45 yards)
The color is silver mink. ( these look very nice too)
The length of the finished product is 6'4" and the width is 2'-1/4".

First, cut the yarns to the desired length. I had 12 of 10' long yarns. 2 of them as a group and tie them together. like the photo shown below.

**( it could be 14 of 8' long yarns or 16 of 7' long yarns. you will have shorter but wider scarf.)

so you will have six group of them. Tie them to the clothes hanger.

Follow the instruction here. I quickly did some sketches here. I hope this is helpful.

I hung my hanger to my book shelf structure so I can sit on my chair. The Ikea book shelve I have happens to have the steel rod structure so I can easily adjust the height I want. I also tried to hang it to the bath room's towel hanger but then I could not adjust the height. It's a bit painful to stand for a couple hours. Also you need a clean floor space for the excess yarns. remember they are 10' long yarns!

I think I was inspired by those back strap loom which attached to wood trunk and human body. It reminds me that I can simply use my clothes hanger to finish this project.

No. 8 is the end condition. You need to always adjust the shape of the scarves. Pull them tight!! but not overly.

try to do some swatches before you did a real project. to check the texture, color and get used to the braiding patter. Also you will know what kind of the tension you need. This is the swatch I used the irregular shape yarns so you can see that it got various width.

Here is the original illustrations from the book. You will notice that actually the yarns are fixed by the nails. you also can do this way. I tried this at the very beginning . I used foam core and pins but it failed. The pins doesn't hold the yarns well. I just don't have a surface can nail on and also bigger enough for those 10' long yarns.

マフラー＆帽子全書 isbn4-8347-2081-0

I think I'm going to keep this scarf with me this time although it's almost sprint here now!! ( I always ended up not keeping/owning any of the scarves I made.)
Please feel free to ask me any questions. I may miss some details. I think you will find you own way to do it just like what I did.

Happy braiding!! friends!

Patchwork Scarf

2009-11-15T16:50:00.001-08:00

from here

Kids’ Clothes Month Sew-Along ~ Patchwork Scarf Tutorial

Are you ready to sew along? Let’s all make patchwork scarves to keep the kids warm through the fall and winter! Anything goes and we can’t wait to see what you create. You can follow our little tutorial or do it your own way. Variation is where it’s at, so fill us in on your tricks and tips, and add your scarf (or scarves?!) to the Kids’ Clothes Month Flickr group. If you’re on the beginning end of the sewing spectrum the blog tutorial “talks” you through the scarf. We also have a concise PDF here for you to download if you want a reminder of the steps (and/or want a little less guidance).

Kid’s Patchwork Scarf

What you need:
- a potentially cold kid’s neck
- fabric
- batting (or not… I used a lightweight batting to give this scarf a little extra warmth but you could use interfacing or skip a middle section altogether)
- thread

Optional:
- embellishments like buttons, embroidery, etc.

	Getting Started: First decide on a neck. It helps to visualize the little one you’re sewing for, or to have them model scarves you already have around the house. You want to measure the right length for your scarf (and width). This scarf started as fabric approximately 8″ x 42″ which is not long enough to tie around my almost-two-year-old’s neck (but it works well with a button, Optional Step #2 listed below). OK, have a neck in mind? We’re going to: lay out our fabric, decide on a design, stitch up the top, sandwich it all together like a mini-quilt, turn it inside out and sew along the outside to make it look extra-finished. Ready? It’s only 10 easy steps!
	Optional Step #1: If you want to add embroidery or decorative buttons, now is a good time. Remember to use caution when including buttons on items for small children. I used a water-soluble pen to draw this elephant and then embroidered him on linen.
	Official Step #1: This is the fun part! Throw around some of your favorite fabrics. If you’re going for a “simple” patchwork look sometimes it’s easier to use similar colors (like in this red and tan scarf). It’s also fun to go wild though. Place everything you think might work on the floor or a table and move it around (highly technical directions, eh?).

Once you have a color scheme you think works for you (and the intended neck) it’s time to start thinking about amounts of fabric. While the width (8″) remained constant in my scarf, I didn’t measure out any of the lengths. When it looked like I needed a dash of “pop” I added in a row of big dots, for example, and when it was feeling a little busy I added a big chunk of soothing linen. Cut your widths all the same and then play a little with the lengths. These are mine all laid out prior to sewing.

This is also a good time to make sure you have enough fabric for a back (and the same amount of batting or light interfacing if you intend to use it). I designed the whole scarf around a soft corduroy (the back or neck-side of this scarf) I’m using for my boy’s winter coat.

	Step #2: - You should now have many different pieces of fabric all the same width (8″ for this scarf) and of varying lengths. - You also have an 8″ wide and oh-so-long (mine was 42″) piece of fabric for the back and a piece of batting of the same dimension (8″ x 42″) for the middle. Lay your top fabrics out how you want them (like I did in the above picture) and start sewing two pieces together from one end, right (pretty) sides facing each other. I used a 5/8″ seam allowance and back-stitched at the start and finish each time (both of these choices enhance the strength of your finished scarf– important for kid wear!).
	Attach on down the line until your whole top is finished. It should look something like this.
	Step #3: It’s starting to look good, right?! Flip it over and press open all of your seams. This will make for a tidier looking scarf.
	Your seams on the back should lay flat like this.
	Step #4: Trim the long edges of your scarf with a ruler and rotary cutter (or scissors, if that’s all you have) to make a clean edge. This just makes the scarf less bunchy along the edges in your finished product.
	Step #5: If you’ve never made a quilt before this might seem counter-intuitive, but now you sandwich your scarf together. You put the right (pretty) sides of your top and bottom (patchwork and corduroy here) facing one another and line them up. Batting or interfacing, if you’re using these, goes on the back of this. The sandwich you see from the top is: not-pretty side of the patchwork top, pretty side of the backing fabric, batting. It’s probably easier if your batting hangs out a bit on the sides like mine because you’re sure to catch it with your seams. Pin all of this in place.
	Step #6: Sew around the sandwiched scarf using a 1/2″ seam allowance. There are different schools of thought about when and how to start/finish such sewing. You need to leave a big enough hole (approx. 4″) as you stitch around the edges so you can turn the scarf. I left one end of the scarf completely open. You might try that, or you could try to place the hole somewhere else.
	Step #7: Trim off excess fabric, batting and/or interfacing.
	Step #8: Turn your scarf right side out. Ta da!
	As you turn, use a tool (I like to use a chopstick) to make nice, square corners. Don’t poke too hard though or you might push through and have to re-sew!
	Step #9: Fold the fabric in at the turning hole. It’s a good idea to press these folds so you have a tidy seam nobody will notice. In fact, it’s a good idea to press the whole thing before you edge-stitch (but none of my photos turned out!).
	Step #10: Top stitch along the whole scarf. Start and end at a random place on the side (it’s less noticeable). This top stitching will catch the folds you made at your turning hole and will completely enclose your scarf. It’ll also make it look really good! At this point you can quilt the scarf if you’d like, adding a bit of texture and interest (I wanted the corduroy backing to remain plain so did not quilt this particular scarf).
	You did it! Here’s mine (er, the boy’s) all folded up. You can see the elephant’s nose poking up.

“Invisible button”

Optional Step #2, Adding a Button:
This scarf was too short to knot around the neck. I pictured it loosely wrapped on stroller rides in the winter but my little guy insisted on walking around the house with it bunched up under his chin (chin pinning loads of fabric to his chest). We decided to add a button. I didn’t want to alter the panel with the elephant embroidery but we wanted the scarf to stay in place. He helped me sew a button onto the back panel (centered widthwise) and place a buttonhole on the other side of the scarf. You can’t tell when it’s buttoned, it doesn’t compromise the look of the scarf, it keeps the scarf snug around his neck and when he wears it loose the buttonhole is barely noticeable. Easy and fun.

Fabric included in this scarf: The dots and bright red squares are Sandy Klop of American Jane fabrics, as is the Ovals fabric. The Japanese calligraphy fabric was from a garage sale (sorry, no info on it) and the rest is linen and old quilting cottons.

Edited to add: Feel free to make scarves using this tutorial for yourself, family, friends and/or to sell.

half eaten gingerbread man

2009-11-13T16:32:00.001-08:00

from here

pattern for a half eaten gingerbread man

December 19th, 2007

Only six days until christmas and amazingly there is no furious sewing in this house. Just one more gift to make and then we’re off to Grandma’s house. There are always a couple people I forget and they are always the ones ready with a gift for me. So I thought I’d make a few ornaments to keep in my bag for those awful, awkward moments. I’m sure there are people like that in your life too: the weird cousin, the super smiley coworker. I thought I’d pass on a pattern for a gingerbread man ornament that can be whipped up quickly just in case you forgot someone. Click here to download the gingerbread man pattern and instructions. I included some pictures with the instructions below as well. If you make one let me know!

materials
brown or tan wool felt
a tiny bit of white felt too
some stuffing (polyfil, etc.)
red, white, and black embroidery thread
white mini rickrack
fray check
two red buttons
glue stick

directions

1. cut out template and pin to felt. Cut out one gingerbread man out of felt.

2. for the eyes cut two small circles out of the white felt and attach them to the gingerbread man with one black french knot each. With a backstitch, sew a small circle for the mouth. Sew buttons on with white embroidery thread–to make them look like candies, sew from the button holes to the outside edge of the button. Cut pieces of mini rickrack for trim on two arms and the leg, dab all the ends with fray check, and use the glue stick to tack them down.

3. cut a rectangle as big as your gingerbread man out of felt. Pin your decorated man to this rectangle. Make a loop of rickrack and tuck it in between the layers on your gingerbread man’s head (to hang him from later). Stitch by machine or by hand from A to B (the long way) 1/8inch from the edge. Be sure to catch all the rickrack as you stitch.

4. cut off the extra felt.

5. stuff the little man lightly and sew up the opening.

6. hang him up or give him away!

Fabric Luggage Tags

2009-11-12T13:17:00.000-08:00

from here

These custom fabric luggage tags would make a useful little gift for any friends, family, co-workers or teachers that travel. They are also a great way to use up some fabric scraps.

Handmade Custom Fabric Luggage Tag Tutorial

To print name and address on fabric, cut white muslin and freezer paper 8 1/2" X 11". Iron shiny side of freezer paper to back of fabric. Send paper through an ink jet printer. You can also buy fabric especially made to go through the printer. I also talk about this technique here. Press printing when finished to help set ink. You could even scan in a business card and print that onto the fabric.

Cut one 3 1/2" X 5" piece of printed fabric with name and address, 1 - 3 1/2 X 5" piece of fabric, two 3 1/2" X 5" pieces of heavy weight iron on interfacing and one 2" X 12 piece of fabric for strap.

Following manufacture's instructions iron interfacing to wrong side of both 3 1/2" X 5" pieces of fabric.

Press strap piece in half lengthwise, open up, press each side to the middle then fold in half. Edge stitch down each side. For an illustrated example seetote bag instructions.

Pin fabric pieces right sides together. Fold strap in half and place inside the fabric with cut edges sticking out 1/2". (Make sure not to accidentally stitch into strap as you sew around the edge.)

Using 1/4" seam, stitch all the way around the outside edge, leaving an opening for turning.

Clip corners.

Turn, press, and edge stitch along the outside edge making sure to close the opening. Stitch another row of stitching if desired.

I have entered this in Today's Creative Blog, Get Your Craft On. So many wonderful ideas linked up over there.

felt circle pillow

2009-11-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

from here

I finally finished the other pillow that I started. I love the way that it turned out and it looks great in my living room.

Here is how I made it:

First I measured my pillow and cut out two rectangles out of my gray broadcloth adding a 1/2 inch seam allowance on all sides and an extra inch on the back piece for the zipper.

Next I decided where I wanted my zipper to go (I chose about 1/3 from the top) and cut a straight line across the back piece of broadcloth.

Next I attached the zipper using this tutorial.

Now I set aside the back piece and focused on the front. First I cut out about 1 1/2 yards worth of circles out of my felt (it takes a lot more than you might think). I used the top of a glass for a stencil - mine was about 3 inches in diameter, but yours can be whatever size you want.

Next I folded each circle in half and pressed it to make them stand up and to give a stitching line.

I started randomly placing the circles on the front of my broadcloth and sewing each one in the ditch of the pressed crease. I left about an inch around the edges to assure that I could stitch the front and back together.

Once the pillow front was looking pretty full I stitched the top and one side together at a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I pinned the circles away from the seam allowance first so that I wouldn't get them caught in the stitching (don't worry if you get small bit caught in - it's inevitable and not noticable once the pillow is finished).

Now I can go back and fill in the edges, allowing the circles to overlap the seam line a bit.

Turning it inside out again, I stitched the remaining two edges together and then flipped it right side out through the zipper. Now I was able to fill in the edges of these last two sides.

Lastly, I clipped the many loose strings off, put my thrifted pillow inside, and I was done.

I couldn't be more happy with how this turned out.

front:

back:

Felt Brooches

2009-11-11T07:09:00.000-08:00

from here

I have no idea how I went so many years without knowing aboutDigs.com, but now that I know, I've resigned myself to the fact that I will now spend countless hours of my life admiring page after page of the site's delightful, sustainably produced goodies.

My favorite of all of the Digs loot? Their high-style collection ofrecycled, Fair Trade felt brooches. Sure, the word brooch is super funny, but the look? Seriously fabulous.

Here's me modeling the Dahlia:

crafty to do's

The Last Felt Flower

The Last Felt Flower

Scrunch Fabric Flower Pom Pom Headband Tutorial

Rose Barrettes

Materials

Cutting

Making the Rosebud

Adding the Petals

Preparing the Barrette

Finishing the Barrette

Patchwork Star

Join the diamonds

Piecing the star

Pieced star

Backing

Positioning the loop

Assembling the star

car playmat

POSTER DIY PROJECT

felt flower pillow cover

Quilted Placemats Tutorial

Flat Emelie and Matt

Summer fun {custom bleached shirt}

Summer fun {custom bleached shirt}

Re-Purposing: T-Shirt into Dress

from here: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/05/re-purposing-t-shirt-into-dress.html

summer scarf

mother's day poppies

DIY Mother's Day Corsage: Felt Dahlia Flower Brooch

felt food tutorials

reusable produce bags

fabric rings

fabric wall art

dress garland

diy: onesie to dress tutorial

Stylish Baby Nursery: Collapsible Storage Baskets

Sewing Tools You Need

Fabric and Other Supplies

Getting Started

At Your Sewing Machine

Creating the "walls"

Creating and attaching the bottom of the box

Creating binding and attaching to bottom

Stiffening the walls with cardboard and attaching top binding

Making the bottom insert

Hints and Tips

Alternate box sizes

valentine bath fizzies

scrap fabric bracelets

homemade bath salts

caramel box

pom pom wreath

felt rosette wreath

tee shirts

advent calendar

Knitted Neck Scarf

Knitted Neck Scarf

Tools and Materials

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

Step 12

Step 13

Step 14

Step 15

braided scarf

Patchwork Scarf

Kids’ Clothes Month Sew-Along ~ Patchwork Scarf Tutorial

half eaten gingerbread man

December 19th, 2007

Fabric Luggage Tags