Well, I'm afraid I haven't posted here in about 3 months. In that time I have:
- Interviewed for a job
- Got the job (teaching full time - yay!)
- Discovered I was pregnant with baby #2
- Worked until I couldn't sleep at above job
- Enrolled my son in daycare
- Un-enrolled my son from daycare to stay home with papa
- Missed my boys terribly
What I have NOT done:
- any making of any kind.
Actually, that's not true. We're trying to make most of our Christmas presents for family this year, so I have made a huge batch of mustard, some of my brother's infused salts, various chocolate barks, and an absolutely delicious batch of almond roca. Hopefully more to come today. And seeing as today is the first day of Christmas holidays for me, I wanted to jump back into it!!
Here's what I made today:
Nursing pads!!
Cost: $0
(just cut up a receiving blanket I barely used with baby #1. This kid was so big, none of the commercial ones were any good to me, since he wasn't a spitter and I couldn't swaddle him in these. Had to get my mom to make special big ones!)
What I did:
1) Fold blanket in half. Trace out 8 circles ( really 16 because of the fold) using a 4-5 inch bowl as a guide. Cut out.
2) Fold in half and sew a little dart in each one (from the center to one edge, about 15 mm at the widest point of the dart). Cut off excess material from dart.
3) Layer 4 circles together, wrong sides facing in, and serge around the outside.
4) That's it!
This project seriously took me half an hour to complete and now I have 2 sets of nursing pads that I made from something I wouldn't have used anyway!! I still have lots of fabric left in that first receiving blanket, so I'll probably make more, but I figured I should ease myself back into the whole crafting/making thing. Wouldn't want to overdo it... And besides, there are episodes of Glee to be caught up on ;)
Showing posts with label fabric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fabric. Show all posts
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Week 18: Wheat Bag Rejuvenation
In my opinion, the best reason (and for a while it was the only reason) to have a microwave is to heat up a lovely wheat bag. It's the beginning of May and I still use one (or two, or three) every night. I love having a toasty warm bag of wheaty goodness at my toes as I drift off to slumber. For a few years we didn't have a microwave, and I lamented the loss of my wheat bag every night. Heating pad, hot water bottle... nothing else quite comes close.
With all that use, my wheat bags inevitably break down after a while. I generally ask my MIL for a new one every Christmas, but even though I have 2 lovely new bags, I feel bad for the 2 sitting in my closet weeping little wheat tears. Instead of chucking this guy out, or letting him languish, I decided to give him a little sprucing up!
2) Inside out, sew sides, leaving about a 4" opening to turn inside out. I just left one whole short side.
3) Be sure to use small stitches and go over it twice just for security's sake. You don't want wheat escaping all over the place when you use this bad boy. I also serged to be safe.
4) Turn right side out and transplant wheat.
5) *optional step* Sew evenly spaced compartments so the wheat doesn't pool on one side of your bag. (I only do this with long skinny ones, not squarish ones.) It's best to do this as you fill it so you avoid sewing over wheat kernels.
6) Sew up the open side. Twice.
With all that use, my wheat bags inevitably break down after a while. I generally ask my MIL for a new one every Christmas, but even though I have 2 lovely new bags, I feel bad for the 2 sitting in my closet weeping little wheat tears. Instead of chucking this guy out, or letting him languish, I decided to give him a little sprucing up!
This one's totally simple. Take the wheat out of the ripped bag, make a new bag, and fill it with the old wheat. I used the bottom of a vintage pillowcase I got at the thrift store, since I was feeling lazy and didn't want to sew too much!
So here are the steps:
1) Cut fabric to your desired size. I went slightly longer and skinnier for the new version.
2) Inside out, sew sides, leaving about a 4" opening to turn inside out. I just left one whole short side.
3) Be sure to use small stitches and go over it twice just for security's sake. You don't want wheat escaping all over the place when you use this bad boy. I also serged to be safe.
4) Turn right side out and transplant wheat.
5) *optional step* Sew evenly spaced compartments so the wheat doesn't pool on one side of your bag. (I only do this with long skinny ones, not squarish ones.) It's best to do this as you fill it so you avoid sewing over wheat kernels.
6) Sew up the open side. Twice.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Week 17: Easy Peasy Wall Hangings
(April 28, 2011)
This here's a project I've been sitting on for quite some time, but just never had the oomph to do. Or something. I'm not exactly sure why I never did it because it is dead easy and I had all the materials, but there you are...
It's a very easy no-sew fabric project, it adds a nice touch to a bare wall, and is a temporary decorative piece for renters like us! Also, I love the fact that you can use patterns that may have sentimental value to you. My mom's always using bits of scrap that came from other memorable projects. "This one was a maternity shirt, this one was your baby curtains, this was a work shirt of dad's..." Of course, I am just starting out my lifelong fabric stash, so this was all new (to me from the thrift store).
Stuff you need:
- wood embroidery hoops of varying sizes
- fabrics about an inch wider than each hoop
- glue
- tacks
- fabric scissors
What you do:
1) Cut out the fabric to be about an inch wider all around one of your hoops.
2) Separate the inner from the outer hoop.
3) Lay the fabric over the inner hoop. Push the outer hoop down over it to sandwich the fabric between, making sure that it "catches" all the way around. Pull fabric taut.
4) Secure hoop by tightening the little screws.
5) Glue down excess fabric at the back. I just used a little bit of glue stick to gently hold it down to the back of the wood, in the hopes that if I ever choose to change the fabric or even *gasp* embroider something, I might be able to get this fabric out.
6) Step back and admire your handiwork.
7) Arrange and hang on walls to your preference. I just used one regular thumb tack per hoop.
PS - Sorry I've been away so long. Just had a huge dry spell with no creative mojo and no motivation. I've got a few more up my sleeve, so hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things from now on!
This here's a project I've been sitting on for quite some time, but just never had the oomph to do. Or something. I'm not exactly sure why I never did it because it is dead easy and I had all the materials, but there you are...
It's a very easy no-sew fabric project, it adds a nice touch to a bare wall, and is a temporary decorative piece for renters like us! Also, I love the fact that you can use patterns that may have sentimental value to you. My mom's always using bits of scrap that came from other memorable projects. "This one was a maternity shirt, this one was your baby curtains, this was a work shirt of dad's..." Of course, I am just starting out my lifelong fabric stash, so this was all new (to me from the thrift store).
Stuff you need:
- wood embroidery hoops of varying sizes
- fabrics about an inch wider than each hoop
- glue
- tacks
- fabric scissors
What you do:
1) Cut out the fabric to be about an inch wider all around one of your hoops.
2) Separate the inner from the outer hoop.
3) Lay the fabric over the inner hoop. Push the outer hoop down over it to sandwich the fabric between, making sure that it "catches" all the way around. Pull fabric taut.
4) Secure hoop by tightening the little screws.
5) Glue down excess fabric at the back. I just used a little bit of glue stick to gently hold it down to the back of the wood, in the hopes that if I ever choose to change the fabric or even *gasp* embroider something, I might be able to get this fabric out.
6) Step back and admire your handiwork.
7) Arrange and hang on walls to your preference. I just used one regular thumb tack per hoop.
PS - Sorry I've been away so long. Just had a huge dry spell with no creative mojo and no motivation. I've got a few more up my sleeve, so hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things from now on!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Made It: Toddler Yoga Pants
Cruising the Salvation Army this week, I found several sections of semi-awesome to awesome fabrics in their stash there. I think I brought home about 6 or 7 rolls of varying lengths of fabric.One of the less fantastico, but more practical selections was a very lightweight heather grey jersey knit. Perfect for some sweet yoga pants for a tiny boy!
I had this tutorial on the backburner, just waiting for when I had some appropriate fabric, and now is the time. They really are as easy as she says they are. The only possibly tricky part is measuring the waist of a child who has just recently learned how to suck his tummy in and doesn't like the cold measuring tape on his bare sensitive skin!
I think these pants had a total of 5 seams to stitch. (I had a coordinating thread in my serger so I serged the edges, but it's probably not necessary.)
1) Making sure the stretch goes side-to-side instead of up and down, use a pair of pants that currently fits to trace a rough pattern of the legs. EXCEPT for these pants, just do a straight wide leg. Don't taper!
Like so:
2) Measure and cut waistband. This will be a rectangle of 10 inches tall by (waist + 1 inch) wide. The waist measurement is the stretchy way. For Charlie this was 18 + 1 = 19 inches. This was the tricky measuring, because the first rectangle I cut was only 16 inches and barely fit around his waist!
3) Fold in half, right sides together, and sew the waist band on the small (10 inch) side.
4) Right sides together, sew each leg from crotch down.
5) This part is also slightly tricky. Put one leg inside out and one leg right side out. Slip the right side out leg inside the inside out leg, and match up the "U" shapes. I'm sorry if these instructions are confusing and mangled. Pin, check Samster Mommy's instructions again to see if they're clearer, then sew.
6) Waistband time! Fold the rectangular tube so that it is only 5 inches tall, right side out, and pin to the top of the pants (which you have also turned right side out), lining up the open unfolded end of the rectangle with the top opening of the pants. Sew!
Honestly, I thought I would be able to explain it better than that. But it's late and I'm feeling like my brain is a bit more mushy than usual. Here are some pics of Charlie modeling with a frog book and a cookie cutter.
Something extra awesome about these pants: You could definitely make something VERY similar for yourself or another big person if you had more fabric and were so inclined. Easy peasy!
Cost breakdown: $2.49 for 1m of fabric (I suppose I'm assuming you have the machine to pull this off, and thread is negligible. You could probably hand sew it if you had to...)
I had this tutorial on the backburner, just waiting for when I had some appropriate fabric, and now is the time. They really are as easy as she says they are. The only possibly tricky part is measuring the waist of a child who has just recently learned how to suck his tummy in and doesn't like the cold measuring tape on his bare sensitive skin!
I think these pants had a total of 5 seams to stitch. (I had a coordinating thread in my serger so I serged the edges, but it's probably not necessary.)
1) Making sure the stretch goes side-to-side instead of up and down, use a pair of pants that currently fits to trace a rough pattern of the legs. EXCEPT for these pants, just do a straight wide leg. Don't taper!
Like so:
2) Measure and cut waistband. This will be a rectangle of 10 inches tall by (waist + 1 inch) wide. The waist measurement is the stretchy way. For Charlie this was 18 + 1 = 19 inches. This was the tricky measuring, because the first rectangle I cut was only 16 inches and barely fit around his waist!
3) Fold in half, right sides together, and sew the waist band on the small (10 inch) side.
4) Right sides together, sew each leg from crotch down.
5) This part is also slightly tricky. Put one leg inside out and one leg right side out. Slip the right side out leg inside the inside out leg, and match up the "U" shapes. I'm sorry if these instructions are confusing and mangled. Pin, check Samster Mommy's instructions again to see if they're clearer, then sew.
6) Waistband time! Fold the rectangular tube so that it is only 5 inches tall, right side out, and pin to the top of the pants (which you have also turned right side out), lining up the open unfolded end of the rectangle with the top opening of the pants. Sew!
Honestly, I thought I would be able to explain it better than that. But it's late and I'm feeling like my brain is a bit more mushy than usual. Here are some pics of Charlie modeling with a frog book and a cookie cutter.
Something extra awesome about these pants: You could definitely make something VERY similar for yourself or another big person if you had more fabric and were so inclined. Easy peasy!
Cost breakdown: $2.49 for 1m of fabric (I suppose I'm assuming you have the machine to pull this off, and thread is negligible. You could probably hand sew it if you had to...)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Week 8: Back bow skirt
(February 23, 2011)
My new job has something of a dress code: black or white, must be nice, must have collared shirt. I'm getting mighty tired of wearing the same pants over and over again. It's an affliction I think: when I was pregnant, some of my darkest days where those when I realized that I only had one pair of pants I could wear. (I suppose this also means that I was blessed with a mostly happy and stress-free pregnancy...)
At any rate, I decided this week that I need a skirt to wear to work. So here it is:
This is a VERY simple skirt.
1. hem
2. sew back seam
3. make a casing for elastic waistband (I used quite a wide elastic)
4. thread elastic through & sew ends together
5. close waistband casing
6. bunch extra fabric at back of skirt. secure with a few stitches
7. make a bow and attach at the back
If you would like more detailed instructions, these are the ones I used.
Cost breakdown: I bought the fabric specifically for this skirt. I spent around $15 for elastic, fabric (I have about half of it left still), and measuring tape. If you have some other fabric you want to use for a project like this, that would work too. I think it works best with something of a stiffer fabric, with little to no stretch. That way the bunching (ugh, what is the real word for this??) will hold nicely.
My new job has something of a dress code: black or white, must be nice, must have collared shirt. I'm getting mighty tired of wearing the same pants over and over again. It's an affliction I think: when I was pregnant, some of my darkest days where those when I realized that I only had one pair of pants I could wear. (I suppose this also means that I was blessed with a mostly happy and stress-free pregnancy...)
At any rate, I decided this week that I need a skirt to wear to work. So here it is:
This is a VERY simple skirt.
1. hem
2. sew back seam
3. make a casing for elastic waistband (I used quite a wide elastic)
4. thread elastic through & sew ends together
5. close waistband casing
6. bunch extra fabric at back of skirt. secure with a few stitches
7. make a bow and attach at the back
If you would like more detailed instructions, these are the ones I used.
Cost breakdown: I bought the fabric specifically for this skirt. I spent around $15 for elastic, fabric (I have about half of it left still), and measuring tape. If you have some other fabric you want to use for a project like this, that would work too. I think it works best with something of a stiffer fabric, with little to no stretch. That way the bunching (ugh, what is the real word for this??) will hold nicely.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Made It: Cardboard Stamps Pt. II
I made the first part of this post several weeks ago, but had to wait until after Valentine's Day to share the rest with you because the original shirt was a present for my Valentine!
Here's what it looked like as I got my supplies organized:
I did not design this shirt. I saw a picture of one like it and thought it was so awesome and perfect for my Dave. Romantical, isn't it? <3
And here's my tiny boy in his Valentine's shirt:
Here's what it looked like as I got my supplies organized:
I did not design this shirt. I saw a picture of one like it and thought it was so awesome and perfect for my Dave. Romantical, isn't it? <3
And here's my tiny boy in his Valentine's shirt:
Week 7: Sam's Birthday
(February 17, 2011)
Yesterday was my little nephew Sam's 2nd birthday. I wanted to make something fun and imaginative and versatile for a wonderful little boy who has just about anything a boy could want. Beanbags!
I don't think kids should be limited by their gender in what colours are appropriate for them. So Sam gets bright orange and pink beanbags as well as green and blue.
I also made Sam a little sticker book (because my little one has recently discovered that he LOVES stickers, and I thought Sam might too...) but it didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to. If you want some instructions, this is the page I followed. I will tell you, hot glue never turns out the way I want it to! That, and I don't think wax paper is the same thing as freezer paper.
Happy birthday Sam!
Yesterday was my little nephew Sam's 2nd birthday. I wanted to make something fun and imaginative and versatile for a wonderful little boy who has just about anything a boy could want. Beanbags!
I don't think kids should be limited by their gender in what colours are appropriate for them. So Sam gets bright orange and pink beanbags as well as green and blue.
I also made Sam a little sticker book (because my little one has recently discovered that he LOVES stickers, and I thought Sam might too...) but it didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to. If you want some instructions, this is the page I followed. I will tell you, hot glue never turns out the way I want it to! That, and I don't think wax paper is the same thing as freezer paper.
Happy birthday Sam!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Made It: Cardboard Stamps
Just made this little cutie for my small boy. It actually was inspired by another project, but that one is going to be a secret for now. You can adapt it however you like!
Materials
cardboard
blank shirt
acrylic paint
fabric medium
paintbrush
I'm sure you could also use many different materials. I'm just using the ones I had, though you definitely should use some type of fabric paint or fabric medium so that the image will stay on your clothes when you wash them.
It's pretty self explanatory I think... cut out your design, paint it, stamp it. My first design I applied paint several times and carefully pressed down in the same spot, because I wanted better coverage. This one I was cool with it being a bit more rustic looking. I also found that the cardboard absorbed some of the paint, so a couple of layers worked better than just one.
PS- I also made a heart printed shirt, lest you may be thinking this boy is going to be too into scary things like skulls and zombies. He's also into love!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Week 5: Almost Emmeline Apron
(January 31, 2011)
This weekend we took a little trip to visit my parents. We thought it would be fun for Charlie to hang with his grandparents for a bit and for us to take the opportunity for a night out with free babysitting! An added bonus of this trip was a little project I had in mind that I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do by myself. My mom is crazy about projects. Sometimes when she's visiting us I make up a project just so she won't go stir crazy.
Confession time: I love aprons. I already have 3 cute ones in my regular rotation that I got from antique malls, but 2 of them are the half skirt kind, which don't protect my main spill area, and the other doesn't fit me right or something. Something about it just feels shlumpy, which is NOT how I want to feel while wearing an apron. I love the idea of being sassy in an apron. Some kind of juxtaposition between domestic and fantastic. So when I found this picture, I was smitten. I think this might be sort of a no-no, but I couldn't really justify spending $11.95 on a pattern for an apron that I don't really need. And I figured, "I could probably make that..." Well what I really thought was "I bet my mom could figure that out... and then I could probably make it"
So we teamed up, searched through her amazing fabric stash, selected some prints she didn't really need, and went to work!
Here's my mom, taking charge
This apron is perhaps not exactly like the emmeline apron, but it's close enough for me! Now I need to go put on my apron and make something. Thanks mom!
This weekend we took a little trip to visit my parents. We thought it would be fun for Charlie to hang with his grandparents for a bit and for us to take the opportunity for a night out with free babysitting! An added bonus of this trip was a little project I had in mind that I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do by myself. My mom is crazy about projects. Sometimes when she's visiting us I make up a project just so she won't go stir crazy.
Confession time: I love aprons. I already have 3 cute ones in my regular rotation that I got from antique malls, but 2 of them are the half skirt kind, which don't protect my main spill area, and the other doesn't fit me right or something. Something about it just feels shlumpy, which is NOT how I want to feel while wearing an apron. I love the idea of being sassy in an apron. Some kind of juxtaposition between domestic and fantastic. So when I found this picture, I was smitten. I think this might be sort of a no-no, but I couldn't really justify spending $11.95 on a pattern for an apron that I don't really need. And I figured, "I could probably make that..." Well what I really thought was "I bet my mom could figure that out... and then I could probably make it"
So we teamed up, searched through her amazing fabric stash, selected some prints she didn't really need, and went to work!
Here's my mom, taking charge
The pattern was pretty tricky, and by the end of Day 1 I was ready to give it up and sacrifice the cut fabrics to the quilt scrap bin, but my mom persevered (and ripped out the seams) and thought up a new plan for Day 2. Her direction worked like a charm and I merely did as I was told.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Week 3: Tea Cozy
(January 17, 2011)
I've been a tea enthusiast for the last 11 years (ahh those dorm room tea parties... so nice.) but the whole time without a cozy. Whenever I went to buy one in a store I always stopped, thinking "I could probably make that" but never did. And now I have one! It's quite a bit taller than my teapot though, so I think it's probably more effective rolled up, as in the last pic.
cost breakdown: free! (Scraps again! My mom found me all these great little Japanese hand towels the last time we were there, and the liner is made from a linen skirt I cut up a while ago. The sad part is that all the towels are different, so there are no more in this awesome pattern. Both sides came from the same towel!)
cost breakdown: free! (Scraps again! My mom found me all these great little Japanese hand towels the last time we were there, and the liner is made from a linen skirt I cut up a while ago. The sad part is that all the towels are different, so there are no more in this awesome pattern. Both sides came from the same towel!)
Week 1 : Pincushion
(Monday, January 3, 2011)
I figured I'd start this whole thing off nice and easy with a project I first tried somewhere around grade 4. Nothing's really changed in this project since then, though I'd hope I have a bit better sense of which fabrics go well together. However, my fabric stash is nowhere near as extensive as my mother's, and those 4th grade pincushions are still looking great in her sewing room...
Anyway, here's my new pincushion. I needed this because I accidentally left my other one at a friend's place in Edmonton before we moved, and completely forgot about it in the stress of all the other moving stuff.
cost breakdown: free! (just some fabric & ribbon scraps, hot glue, stuffing, and a cat food can - clean of course!)
I figured I'd start this whole thing off nice and easy with a project I first tried somewhere around grade 4. Nothing's really changed in this project since then, though I'd hope I have a bit better sense of which fabrics go well together. However, my fabric stash is nowhere near as extensive as my mother's, and those 4th grade pincushions are still looking great in her sewing room...
Anyway, here's my new pincushion. I needed this because I accidentally left my other one at a friend's place in Edmonton before we moved, and completely forgot about it in the stress of all the other moving stuff.
cost breakdown: free! (just some fabric & ribbon scraps, hot glue, stuffing, and a cat food can - clean of course!)
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