Pretty Pansy Pin Tutorial For those who follow my blog, you know that I have a slight obsession with creating flowers. I purchase books, surf the web and have ruined many a good piece of fabric/supply trying out new ideas. In my pursuit of “new” flower ideas I have found some “old” flower ideas in the form of ribbon flowers. Ribbon work has been around since the 17th century. Since it is spring I decide to try out a ribbon pansy. *Ribbon History from www.offray.com Supplies:21.5” of 1.5” wide wired ribbon (I you want to use different ribbon for each layer you will need one 12” for the top petals, 8” for the bottom petals and 1.5” for the center)ScissorsCraft/utility knifeGlue GunFeltNeedleThread that matches ribbonMeasuring tape or rulerCotton ballBobby pin Cut a 12” piece, this will be the top part of the flower.
Edna the Owl Bag Howdee pards!!!!! I want you guys to get out your super secret craft glasses!(the ones that let you see craft potential in nearly everything!!!!)...and take a look at this bag... What do you see???? Do you see an animal in there??? Do you see a beak? (Do you guys hear crickets?????) ummmm.... no, Crazy Lolly (my new official title)...We see a plain ole camera bag!!! When I laid my eyeballs on that camera bag...I saw this! You have to squint really really really hard to see it, but I promise you, she's in there! I know it's kinda crazy, but I am gonna share how to turn that bag into Miss Owl Fabulous Pants! Let's Get Started!!! I had seen glimmer mist used to "dye" similar Donna Downey Prima bags in their "Live..." videos! You can see the gradient pretty well and the color saturation is really nice. I set it up to dry... Got impatient and blasted it with my heat gun! Just a teeny tiny little Glimmer Mist tip... Unless you are going for the Pandora look...Wear gloves! Smurf?!?!?! Man do I feel old! .men.
sewing 101: making a duvet cover I don’t know about you, but I never cease to be shocked at the price of bedding. And nothing sets off my “I could make that myself so much cheaper and better” instincts like duvet covers. It’s just a big flat case of fabric, yet even the simplest options easily soar into the three digits—but all it takes to make your own is a bunch of fabric, a few straight seams, and a spare afternoon. Not only will going DIY with your duvet cover save you some cash, it’ll also allow you to custom-make exactly what you are looking for. *if you missed any of brett’s sewing 101 columns this month, check out her archives: curtains, zippered throw pillows, ottoman slip cover CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump! What You’ll Need Approximately 10 yards fabric (see below to calculate exact amount; I suggest buying extra just in case) Yard stick, long quilter’s ruler or tape measure Sharp scissors Straight pins Sewing machine Iron and ironing board Selecting and Preparing Fabric Fabric Tips Planning and Cutting
Paper Beads Tutorial If you’re like me, you hoard magazines for decoupage and other crafting needs. Unfortunately, I never can seem to use up the entire mag…which, to the dismay of my poor husband, means that there are stacks upon stacks of old, cut up magazines taking up half the closet. Normal people would call this “junk” and immediately toss them. Not me! If I have even the tiniest of inklings that I may be able to possibly use them in the future, they stay! Because, you know, they might just stop making magazines all of a sudden – and then what would I do? Here’s a great way to use up some of those magazine pages (you can also use newspapers or scrapbook paper scraps) and get some cute jewelry out of it. So, go dig out all that extra paper you have laying around and let’s get started! What You’ll Need: - Paper (magazines, scrapbooking paper, newspaper…take your pick!) Instructions: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) - Can’t get the bead off the toothpick? Questions?
Mini Zippered Bag Tutorial I started working on this little bag because we have quite a bit of travel planned for this summer, and I’ve found that when we travel I use way too many disposable zipper bags for miscellaneous things, like markers, toys, legos, snacks, etc. This little reusable bag will be perfect to fill with those little things and throw in the kids’ backpacks that I made a few weeks ago. (It would also be a great little cosmetic bag.) The finished size of this bag is approximately 9″ X 5 1/2″, not including the handle. You could easily increase the size, though, and turn it into a larger bag. For this project you’ll need two pieces of cotton woven fabric cut to 10″ X 6 1/2″ for the outside of the bag and two pieces of a medium weight fabric like cotton twill cut to 10″ X 6 1/2″ for the inside of the bag. Start with preparing your zipper. Fold the fabric out at that end of the zipper and lay it out flat with the top facing you. Sew in your zipper now using a zipper foot.
Sew Liberated: kitty doll tutorial Some children are doll children. Some children are stuffed animal children. I was a stuffed animal child, and so are my nieces, the giddy recipients of these here kitty dolls. For those of you who have a stuffed animal child of your own, here's a quick tutorial along with the additional pattern pieces to make one (or two, or three) for yourself your child. (Do make sure that you print it out at 100%, or else you will find yourself with a very large-featured cat.) You will also need to purchase the fabulous Wee Wonderfuls "Kit, Chloe and Louise" doll pattern to make the rest of the doll body and little outfits. I used this tutorial to make the pillows and pillow cases, although my doll quilts are different. Again, just to have all of the info in one post, the doll bunk bed and double doll chair came from Meadow Weeds Farm, whose prices and workmanship are excellent. Let me know if you make your own!
Family Tree Brooch or Pendant Tutorial! A few years ago I was working in the fine jewelry department of a department store, and every Mother's day I could count on people wanting one thing: Family Jewlery. The family jewelry selection was what made me decide that, if I ever had children, they would only be allowed to be born during April or June, because those were the only stones I liked. :o) (My due date with Paige was the end of April, and wouldn't you know it-the little darling was born May 1st! A rebel from birth.) Anyway, as most of you know, buying jewelry with all your children's birthstones can be quite expensive; so I came up with a cute little alternative that you can make yourself. The Family Tree Brooch (or pendant!) The tools you'll need: needle-nose plierswire cuttersbendable wire (in a heavy weight)jewel-tone beads1 headpin per bead1 safety pin 1: Cut 7-3 inch lengths of wire. 2: Using your pliers, bend one end of each piece into a circle: 5: Use your thumb to bend your "branches" slightly, like so: Ta-da!
Embroidery Week: Wristlet We debuted this fun wristlet project just last week on Sew4Home, and knew it would look cuter still with a dash of embroidery. So, we return during Embroidery Week with Wristlet Deux: same great design, a new set of fabrics, and with the personalization of embroidery. You can keep the one you like best and give the other to your sister for Christmas. Janome is our Signature Sponsor here at Sew4Home, so this project was made on the Memory Craft 11000 Special Edition sewing and embroidery machine. Fabric scraps to work with the cutting dimensions shown belowSmall embroidery design, we used: Janome's PC Design Card #1008 Small Floral Collection ½ yard medium-weight fusible interfacing¼ yard light-weight fusible interfacing7" zipper¾" D ring¾" swivel clipAll purpose threadSee-through rulerFabric pencilScissors or rotary cutter and matEmbroidery scissorsIron and ironing boardStraight pins Based on the diagram above, cut all the pieces listed below. For the bag: For the lining:
Sew Many Ways... D.I.Y. Ruffle Necklace by Rebekah For day six of our 18 Day Series, lovely jewelry designer Rebekah put together this great tutorial showing us how to make these fabulous ruffled necklaces. Make one for yourself and/or as gifts for your girlfriends. Perfect! Here’s more from Rebekah: These fun ruffle necklaces are a super great way to use up any vintage or extra fabric you have on hand as well as any old jewelry or buttons from your stash. Supplies needed: a strip of three and a half inch wide fabricsewing machine20 gauge wirechain jump rings and clasp for the closureany buttons, ribbon, brooches to embellish your pieceneedle and thread Directions: 1. 2. 3. next your are going to sew a 1/4″ straight stitch along the folded end of your fabric. 4. 5. 6. after you have wire wrapped one end of your wire, begin feeding the other end into the sleeve of the strip of fabric you have created. 7. continue until you have reached the desired rufflyness trimming off any excess fabric. 8. wire wrap the second end of the wire. 10.
Wristlet camera strap tutorial I think my lowly little point and shoot camera feels left out sometimes. What, with all the cool camera strap tutorials out there like this one or this one, heck, even this one that I posted, it can't help but feel inferior. Well, here's a way to keep up with the cool bloggers and their dressed up SLR strap covers. You'll need: 3" x 12" piece of fabric 5" piece of thin elastic cording Start by ironing your fabric in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. Open the fabric and iron each side in, wrong sides together, to the crease mark. Fold in half on crease and iron once more. Top stitch 1/8" along each edge. Fold in raw edges on ends. And sew folded loop of elastic into the folded in ends. There you go.
Homegrown Mom A Tutorial: Fabulous Ric Rac Flowers » Matilda Jane Clothing Rocks Let me start out with a warning or sorry of some sort. The warning is because I have never done a Tutorial before, so I hope this is helpful and easy to follow. The sorry is for how horrible my nails look. I promise I did them after looking through these pics. I thought I would start off with a Flower, I too, just learned how to make. Material: Time-Roughly 20 minutes about 28 inches of Ric Rac ( This will make a flower about 2 inches in diameter) Suggestion: The thicker the Ric Rac the better Felt (Any Color) One sheet will be fine depending on how many flowers you want to make. Optional: Hair Clips, leaves or buttons Step One: Take the two pieces and hot glue them together. Note: You want to glue them together as if they are a mirror of one another. Step two: Lock in each curve of the first piece with the second. Say to yourself “over,under,over, under”. *If your piece does not look like this, then you most likely glued the two pieces going the wrong direction. Pretty right? Cute right? Kayla
wristlet tutorial This is the first sewing tutorial I’ve ever written. I almost gave up several times! About the author: Joy is a work at home database programming Mom (with a capital M of course), of a 6 year old daughter. She hadn’t sewn for over 20 years and doesn’t know how she did without it – she blogs at 100 spools of thread Supplies: Outside Fabric good quality cotton fabric: 1 piece 9″x12″, 1 piece 9″x18″, 1 piece 7″x8 1/2″, 1 piece 2″x14″, 1 piece 3/4″x5″ Lining (cotton broadcloth) – 1 piece 9″x12″ Interfacing (Fusible Fleece) 1 piece 9″x12″ and 1 piece 7″x4 1/4″ 1 Button (here used 9/16″ mother of pearl with a metal shank) First fuse the interfacing: Following the manufacturers instructions, fuse the 9″x12″ interfacing to the 9″x12″ outside piece. Next make the patch pocket piece: The patch pocket piece is now 7″x4 1/4″, with a layer of interfacing inside the fold. With the outside piece face down on the table (the fused interfacing is clearly visible), measure up 4 1/2″ from the bottom.