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Posts Tagged ‘DIY’

Yet another CRAZY EASY and WICKED FAST headband – a free tutorial

Posted in DIY, TUTORIALS, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2013 | 5 Comments »

Gosh y’all… how are you doing???  I’m sort of living in chaos right now, and I love it!

This post is going to be brief and to-the-point … I know, I know, you don’t believe me.  That’s fine.  I’ve earned your distrust.  However, tonight I’m serious.  I’ve been missing you and missing writing tutorials.  So, despite my chaotic chaos, I wanted to share with you the fastest, easiest headband I’ve come up with yet.  Know what else????

I. Saved. THIRTY DOLLARS!!!  $$$$$$$$

I was shopping lusting  browsing around Anthropologie the other day and I saw these gorgeous headbands.  But are you kidding me right now???  $32????  For something I’m going to put on my overprocessed, frizzy and most likely dirty head of hair?  I’m way too cheap smart for that!

So I ran out to Hancocks.  I found some embellishment ribbon on clearance for $2/yd.  Then, I made myself a cheaper…but I think just as fabulous version.  Judge for yourself…

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So, yes, it’s missing the rhinestones. If that’s important to you, you can pretty much buy a Bedazzler for the $29 you’re saving. I purchased the whole yard, but only used 23″.

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Besides a needle and thread, the only other thing you need is a pony tail elastic.

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It’s incredibly hard to photograph the back of your head by yourself… but what I’m trying to show you is that I used the length from the back of one ear, around the top of my head and over to the back of the other ear. Then give yourself a couple of more inches for the seams. I have a large head, so I used 23″.

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Now wrap the ribbon around the elastic forming a casing.

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As much as I hate saying this – the next step is to hand sew the casing closed. Maybe your machine can take the width of the ribbon. I’m jealous of you. If not…I can say with honesty that it only takes about 1 minute to sew each side. Repeat with the other side. (I love this photo b/c it shows how I’ve finally stopped biting my nails.  progress!)

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I used white thread so you can see it … I just used very simple but sturdy stitches. Nothing time consuming at all. The only real “trick” I used was making sure I had several layers of thread in my needle.

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Once you’ve completed the other side, you’ll end of with this little doozie. I love it. Fancy and Casual all in one.

And now for my feeble attempts at photographing the finished product on my head, all the while trying to make sure my craft room looks as clean and cool as possible.

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Okay  y’all – here’s the lowdown:

Time: literally THREE MINUTES!  (That includes hand sewing… crazy wonderful)

Cost: $2 … that’s a savings of $29.  Hurry out and get you some matching shoes with that money!!!

Try this….please!!!!

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Honestly EASY lined Curtains – a free tutorial!

Posted in DIY, For Home, TUTORIALS, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2013 | 7 Comments »

I know you’ve heard the addage, “never trust a person who says ‘Trust Me!’”  And for the most part, that might be really good advice.  HOWEVER …. TRUST ME!!!  Today I want to show you how easy it can be to make LINED Curtains …I’ll even go so far as to add Pom Pom fringe and the project still remains EASY!  Trust me.  You can read it  in a creepy voice if you want, but I’m saying it as a true friend-to-friend-who-doesn’t-carelessly-use-the-word-EASY!

Here is what I'm talking about! I used Summer Totem by Anna Maria Horner for my sewing room.

Here is what I’m talking about! I used Summer Totem by Anna Maria Horner for my sewing room.  Sorry, I didn’t know you were coming so I didn’t clean up for you! (actually, I am lying about this…I had a housekeeper yesterday, so SHE cleaned up for you!  But from now on… trust me!)

Let’s get started, shall we?  Here’s a little something to keep in mind if you’re new to my blog.  Most of my projects are designed to be FAST, EASY and INEXPENSIVE.  This means that I cut corners where necessary and possible, and I don’t get bogged down with crazy things like “standard hem lengths.”  Let’s face it… who in the world will ever look behind your curtain and wonder if you used a 7″ hem or a 2″ hem…right???  You can save a lot of money and time by using small/short hems wherever possible.  This is casual sewing, for sure…but the end result looks the same…TRUST ME!!!  Let’s get going…

First you'll need your main (outer) fabric. There is no rule what kind of fabric you need - I love using quilting cotton because it's so soft and hangs beautifully. The downside is that it's only 44" wide - but that's never worried me. Measure how long your finished curtain will be. Then add only about 2 - 4".

First you’ll need your main (outer) fabric. There is no rule what kind of fabric you need – I love using quilting cotton because it’s so soft and hangs beautifully. The downside is that it’s only 44″ wide – but that’s never worried me. Measure how long your finished curtain will be. Then add only about 2 – 4″.

Then, cut out your lining fabric...I cut mine a little bit shorter than my outer fabric. Saves money! Something to note: it's way easier and faster to choose a lining fabric that is the same width as your outer fabric. This way there is no cutting down the length to make it narrower. All you have to do is cut the length. I used Symphony Broadcloth fabric.

Then, cut out your lining fabric…I cut mine a little bit shorter than my outer fabric. Saves money! Something to note: it’s way easier and faster to choose a lining fabric that is the same width as your outer fabric. This way there is no cutting down the length to make it narrower. All you have to do is cut the length. I used Symphony Broadcloth fabric.

Now place the two fabrics on top of each other with right sides facing ... like your making a pillow... align the top edge and the sides remembering that your lining fabric will be shorter than your outer fabric.

Now place the two fabrics on top of each other with right sides facing … like your making a pillow… align the top edge and the sides remembering that your lining fabric will be shorter than your outer fabric.

Now sew the top edge of the curtain together. Stitch all the way. As you can see here, the selvege of my outer fabric sticks out a little further than the lining. If this happens to you, just position the lining so that it's centered on the outer fabric. Make sense?

Now sew the top edge of the curtain together. Stitch all the way. As you can see here, the selvege of my outer fabric sticks out a little further than the lining. If this happens to you, just position the lining so that it’s centered on the outer fabric. Make sense?

Okay, now let's continue sewing this up like we're sewing a pillow by sewing down the two sides of the curtain. Begin about 5 or 6" down from the top and stop at the end of the lining. (You start further down so that you will have a casing for the curtain rod to go through.)

Okay, now let’s continue sewing this up like we’re sewing a pillow by sewing down the two sides of the curtain. Begin about 5 or 6″ down from the top and stop at the end of the lining. (You start further down so that you will have a casing for the curtain rod to go through.)

Now, hem the casing edges by pressing them inside and sewing a straight stitch.

Now, hem the casing edges by pressing them inside and sewing a straight stitch.

 

 

Here's what you'll get.

Here’s what you’ll get.

Now, go to the bottom of your curtain and fold in the last few inches of outer fabric that extend past the lining. (You may be wondering...I choose not to hem the lining because it takes time and is uneccesary. If you prefer a nice hem, you'll want to do that BEFORE sewing the sides...better late advice than no advice, right!?)

Now, go to the bottom of your curtain and fold in the last few inches of outer fabric that extend past the lining. (You may be wondering…I choose not to hem the lining because it takes time and is uneccesary. If you prefer a nice hem, you’ll want to do that BEFORE sewing the sides…better late advice than no advice, right!?)

Almost done y'all! Put the bottom of the curtain on your ironing board and press a small seam...about 2 inches. Sew that hem up!

Almost done y’all! Put the bottom of the curtain on your ironing board and press a small seam…about 2 inches. Sew that hem up!

If you're not adding fringe, then you're almost done...woohoo!!! All you need to do is sew a straight stitch across the top of the curtain about 5 or 6" down from the top ... I always make mine plenty wide so that any size curtain rod will fit through...and it also helps the curtain slide more easily.

If you’re not adding fringe, then you’re almost done…woohoo!!! All you need to do is sew a straight stitch across the top of the curtain about 5 or 6″ down from the top … I always make mine plenty wide so that any size curtain rod will fit through…and it also helps the curtain slide more easily.

You’re finished!!!! Unless……………… Like Me………………. You’re still wanting more!  Go for FRINGE!

I love this stuff. Especially bright yellow! It will up the cost of your project but it's so worth it...even for a cheapie like me!

I love this stuff. Especially bright yellow! It will up the cost of your project but it’s so worth it…even for a cheapie like me!

Before you sew, make sure you tuck the edge inside because this will really unravel on you otherwise. Simply start at the top, and with a wide zig zag stitch, sew it all the way down. Don't forget the double tuck at the bottom too!

Before you sew, make sure you tuck the edge inside because this will really unravel on you otherwise. Simply start at the top, and with a wide zig zag stitch, sew it all the way down. Don’t forget the double tuck at the bottom too!

You'll end up with a little something like this! (I can NOT describe how hard it is for a horrible photographer - aka. ME! - to take good photos in the daylight!)

You’ll end up with a little something like this! (I can NOT describe how hard it is for a horrible photographer – aka. ME! – to take good photos in the daylight!)

Another shot! Oh how these make me giddy! Don't you seriously want to sit down and sew something!?

Another shot! Oh how these make me giddy! Don’t you seriously want to sit down and sew something!?

Last shot ... feeling pretty good you've got the picture of how my curtains look!

Last shot … feeling pretty good you’ve got the picture of how my curtains look!

So there you have it.  It’s a little difficult to capture photos of every step – please email me if you’d like further instructions.  I am a true believer in handmade curtains … I’ll do everything I can to make that possible for you!!!

If you make some – please send me photos …. TRUST ME – I love them!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxo

robie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Creating a Cool Kid’s Room – Starting with a Pillowcase – free tutorial!

Posted in DIY, For Home, kids, patterns, pillow, TUTORIALS, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 28, 2013 | 3 Comments »

Happy Monday y’all!!!

Some of you may have noticed that my Etsy shop is looking more like a poor pitiful shop than an actual clothing store.  OH WELL!!!  I’m having such a great time getting my house in order that I don’t even miss creating new dresses…yet.

This weekend, I began the process of transforming my son’s room into something noteworthy.  In our last home, we kept adding kids so the rooms never quite became anything worth anything.  A quote from the first realtor to visit our old home and tour the kids’ room:  “Oh my.  Hmmmm.  This will have to change.”

Well – I am now determined for that to change!!!  Owen’s room is slated to have matching bedding, a curtained reading nook, curtains for his closet, and actually worthwhile things on his walls. (not that last time he had mis-matched girlie things on his wall, right!?  cough cough)

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Above is what I finished this weekend…. AAAAAHHH… it was SO fun!!  My son is only 7 years old so I wasn’t expecting much of a reaction to something as useless to him as fabric on his bed.  WRONG!!!  I was downstairs when he first saw it… I heard something that sounded like Super Bowl screaming coming from his room.  Then I heard, “MOOOOOM!!!  This is the Best Day Ever!!”  Be.  Still.  My.  Heart!  SEW worth it, right!?!

This has brought me such joy, I thought I’d spend the next few blog posts sharing with you how I upped the wow factor in his room.  I’ll share tutorials on easy pillowcases, easy coverlets, and easy fabric curtain panels.  I’m hoping that some of you will find these helpful!

Let’s start with the pillowcase… mostly because it’s fewer photos and that’s all I had time to download today.  (Apparently, the kids’ school thinks they need to be wearing “official” uniforms and not chevron fabric, so laundry has to be done.  UGH!)

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If you google “how to make a pillow case”, you’re gonna find all kinds of crazy patterns that take about 14 or 15 steps. Seriously!?! It’s a pillow case. It’s gonna get drool and vomit on it. Why spend a whole day making one!!! Here’s I do it: Grab a pillow case that you already own. lay it on top of the fabric that you want to use. You can see here that my fabric is narrower than the pillowcase I’m using for my pattern, but it’s okay. It’s okay because it’s close enough. If it were much narrower, I probably wouldn’t use it, but since it’s close – bam. I’m using that baby! (also worth noting: I’m able to keep the selvege edges as they are. There is no need to hem them on this fabric. If you need to hem up the opening edges, you’ll need a little bit more fabric than I’m using.)

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Be sure you match the folded edges together and the open edges together.

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Then cut out your fabric just a bit larger on the sides than your pillowcase pattern. We’re going to do a French Seam, so you’ll want to cut your fabric about 1/4″ or so bigger than you usually would … but just eyeball it. Pillowcases are very forgiving!

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A french seam is a seam that enclosed – meaning you can’t see the edges on the inside. It will make sense in a minute. I like to use this seam on pillowcases because they get a lot of laundering. The French Seams keep the inside of the cases nice and tidy. To do it – sew up the sides of the pillow case WRONG SIDE TOGETHER, I know, weird, and use a very narrow seam allowance.

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Now, turn your pillow case inside out and press those sides.

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Now you will do another seam down the sides. Be sure that your seam allowance it enough to fully encase the seam on the inside. If you do too small of a seam allowance, you’ll have fabric sticking out when you turn it back right side out. Now you have a French Seam Pillow Case.

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Since I’m not hemming the selvedge edges (aka: leaving the opening unhemmed), I needed to be sure to reverse stitch my seams extra well and clip those tails very well.

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This is kind of a whompy photo – but I wanted to show the inside so you can see the french seam. (at this point, I’m wondering why sometimes I capitalize French Seam and sometimes I don’t. Are you wondering that too?) Anyway, you can see the enclosed french seam on the right.

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When you turn it right side out and press the side seams – Here’s what you get!!! I love it. It was super fast … that makes me so happy!

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Coming next – how to make that easy coverlet! And I do mean easy!

There you have it y’all… how to make a very fast and easy pillow case!

Breakdown:

Time: I think this took me 15 minutes…and that was with taking pictures.  You CAN DO THIS!!!

Cost: pretty darn cheap.  I used leftover fabric from the coverlet … but lets’ see… I think I used about 1/2 yard of fabric, so for me – $3.50.  YAAAAAAY!

I hope you’ll make a million of these.  Be sure to invite someone over to spend the night just so you can offer them a brand spanking new pillowcase!

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Save your carpet for $2! Make a Slipper Stache

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 23, 2013 | 1 Comment »

Everytime I make my up the road to Ikea, I see and stare at this poor plain slippers.  Marked at $1.99/each, they’ve proven too irresistible to this bargain shopper.

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So the other day, I purchased 5 pairs in black and 5 pairs in pink.

I’ve been trying to come up with ways to save our carpet upstairs … which means I need to ask people to take their shoes off when they come over.  But….something about that always seems painful to people.  What, no pedicure lately!?!?

So, I hope by purchasing these cute little slippers, and updating them a little, will solve my dilemma!

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I started with the black sets – I made little shoe staches. Ha! I made each mustache a different style so that each guest could remember which pairs is his. You know, in case they do a barefoot dance for a second.

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I used an awesome set of cookie cutters as my templates.

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Then I cut out 2 of each style from felt.

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Then pinned them onto each of the slippers.

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Then, all you have to do is take some embroidery thread and sew ‘em up. Aren’t these just too fun!?

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I couldn’t think of anything fun to applique on the pink slippers, so I just went with some flowers I had lying around my stash – I secured them with buttons as you can see. duh, right!

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And here is what I ended up with… I’m pretty pleased!

So there it is – it’s THAT easy to save your carper for only $2 per person!!!  Fingers crossed it will work.  If nothing else – I can let the steam cleaner guys wear these when they come!

COST: 10 pairs for $20

TIME: I watched 3 episodes of MI:5…. so 3 hours!!!

Won’t you come for a visit … and, er, um, please take off your shoes!

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Street Address Pillow … a cheap way to be seen!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 20, 2013 | 8 Comments »

Most of you probably know that we spent pretty much all of last year selling our home, moving into a tiny apartment, and then finally moving into our new home.  Whew – I’m so glad that’s all over.  We are LOVING our new home and, more importantly, our new neighborhood.

I am telling the truth … we had been in our new home for all of 5 minutes before someone hollered across the street, “Welcome home!”  A few minutes later, another family stopped by to say hello and welcome.  After only two hours, we had been greeted EIGHT times!!!  This may not seem all that ground-breaking to those of you who’ve been living in Pleasantville all your life – but for us…this was a miracle!!!  We lived in our former home for almost 6 years, and we were always greeted by people looking the other way when they walked by-  even if they were on the same side of the sidewalk!!!

Here is our new home!

Here is our new home!

So, anyway, while we were waiting to move in, I whipped up a little diddy I call my Address Pillow.  I knew I was going to put our old Ikea benches on the front porch.  I knew I did not want to paint them.  Alas, I also knew they needed painting!  So, I decided to amp them up a bit by putting a large pillow with our street address on one of them.

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I used a heavy weight black and white ticking fabric for the pillow. For the numbers, I used a heavy weight felt.

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Don’t y’all want to come on over??!!! (soon there will be a mustache pillow on the other bench)

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I just freehanded the numbers, then attached them with a zigzag stitch all the way around BEFORE sewing the sides of the pillow. If you need more direction, just print out your numbers in your favorite font from your home printer, then use that as your template. Also, if your porch isn’t covered, you’ll want to use indoor/outdoor fabric – or give it a good Scotch Guard treatment.

I don’t know about you, but I really really like the pillow.  Another true story – when I meet people in the neighborhood, they invariably say, “OH, yours is the house with the pillow!”  I grin.  Inside I do a little jump and skip combo.

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Blah blah blah.

here’s the breakdown:

Time: This project probably took about an hour.  I didn’t get too caught up in making my numbers perfect, I just enjoyed the process.  You’ll need to make two pillows – one for the lining and the other for the outside, so it takes a little extra time.

Cost: Hmmm.  Felt – about $2 because I bought the good stuff.  Fabric – I purchased better ticking than I usually would since it’s an outside pillow, so I think I paid about $10.  NOTE: I will make 2 pillows with that fabric, though.  So, the real cost is $5 … bringing the pillow’s total to a whopping $7.  Bam.

So, whattya think?  Are you going to make one????

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What a difference a fringe makes! A quick (and yes, cheap!) way to update a scarf

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2013 | 2 Comments »

Happy New Year y’all!!!

This is my first post of 2013 – and I couldn’t be more excited about it.  Rather than bore you with all the lame and boring oh so exciting details of what I’ve been up to, I think I’ll get right to point today … besides, I’m already late to pick up my daughter!!!  (wish I was kidding about this!)

My awesome grandmother, known affectionately as “MeMaw”, passed away last Spring.  She lived 95 beautiful years!  I’d guess that she sewed for about 85 of those years.

Anyway, as I went through her closet, I found a few scarves that I thought were worth keeping.  Now, they weren’t exactly worth WEARING but they were worth keeping.

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See what I mean….

So today, I had about 20 extra minutes (translate: I can be up to 15 minutes late before I get in trouble!), so I ran to my little stash of scarves and grabbed this one. 

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Then I went to my little stash of embellishments and grabbed a long strand of pom pom fringe. xoxoxoxoxoxo – I LOVE THIS STUFF!

Then, I just simply sewed the pom pom fringe all around the perimeter of the scarf.  I used a long and wide ZIG ZAG stitch to be sure I got a good hold of the fringe.  This also keeps it from curling up on the edges as I wear and wash it.

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I mean, COME ON!!! Isn’t this so cute and sweet now!!! ??? !!!

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I just love it. I wish I could just run over to her house, give her big hug, eat some of her homemade wheat rolls, and sneak another scarf out of her closet. For now, I’ll settle for wearing this aLOT and remembering how lucky I am to have had her as my grandmother.

Breakdown:

Time: took me about 7 minutes – I could’ve done it in 5, but that stupid bobbin needed threading halfway through.

Cost: Scarf – FREE.  Fringe – about $3 (I got it on 75% clearance!!!! hollah)

Think. Think. Think.

What can YOU add fringe to???

 

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Hearts Aren’t Just for Valentines – a Mug Rug tutorial

Posted in DIY, For Home, Scraps, TUTORIALS, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2012 | 21 Comments »

Wherever you are – will you take a moment to look around for some kind of horn that you can blow really loud?  I really need someone to sound the proverbial alarm today …. why???

I have had this idea for a mug rug in my head since Christmas: a mug rug (which is a small placemat) with an appliqued heart pocket that can be used to send messages/give gifts.  I thought it would be such a cute thing for Valentine’s day … but I also wanted it to be useful for the rest of the year too.  I mean seriously, who likes to spend so much time on projects that can be used/worn once a year!?!

Well….here it is, not even February, and I’ve DONE IT!!!  Insert laughing hysterically here.

I mean really y'all. Who wouldn't love to wake up to this on Valentine's day... or Mondays???

These were really simple to make but they look really impressive (and expensive!)  Read on for how to make these fun mug rugs / small placemats.  (NOTE: you can make these ANY SIZE you want – if you prefer full size placemats, I won’t look down on you!)

Choose your fabric. I made sure to use fabrics and colors that complimented my home instead of being specific to just Valentines Day. You do what you like! Hearts are ALWAYS in season .. just ask Tiffany's.

I started with the hearts. Cut out twice as many hearts as the number of mug rugs you'll be making. I made four, so I cut out 8 hearts.

I used a slippery polyester fabric for the hearts so I made sure to pin them securely. Then, sew all the way around using a narrow seam allowance - and leave an opening. Just like you're making a pillow.

Then turn the heart right side out and press - make sure to press the seam allowance inside at the opening. There's no need to sew the opening closed right now because you'll do that at the end. Now set that aside until you're finished with the mug rugs.

Now for the rugs ... I used a standard 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper for my template . (confession - I had NO IDEA how big or small to make a mug rug so I guessed with this size. I'm super happy with the result!) You'll need to cut 2 rectangles per rug. Also, I find it's really helpful to cut your rectangles with the right sides facing - this way, you know that each side matches perfectly.

Here are my 4 sets of rectangles. You can see I have them right sides together.

I also decided to round off my corners by folding the set in half and ... rounding off the corners. (most books will tell you to take a plate or a bowl and use that as a guide ... yeah right, just wing it!)

For this project, I discovered something really wonderful - PREMADE PIPING!!! There is a chorus of halelujah's going on right now! This stuff is so fun and really opens up your embellishing opportunities w/o demanding a lot of extra time. I'm super bummed I haven't noticed this stuff sooner! (and again, I used a color that coordinated with my home and not the holiday)

Attach the piping all the way around 1 rectangle. If you don't have a cording/piping foot, I suggest using your zipper foot and positioning your needle close to the piping.

Look closely at how I started and finished the piping - at the corner. Begin with piping hanging off the edge at a corner, and end with it going off the edge as well. Then trim the corner so that it looks just like a rounded edge.

Now... you get to use that bag of FUSIBLE BATTING you've been wanting to get rid of! How cool is this stuff??!! You simply press it onto your fabric and it stays in place as you sew - miracles do still happen!

Cut one rectangle of batting for each mug rug. Fuse it (iron it) to the unpiped rectangle on each rug - according to package directions. Then layer your two rectangles with right sides together.

Sew all the way around .. place your piped rectangle on top so that you can just follow the stitches you've already made. This will be sure you don't sew over/on top of the piping. Leave an open - like you're sewing a pillow.

Turn right side out, press, and sew up the opening. If you're one of those crazy types, you can whip stitch the opening closed. I prefer to just machine stitch it. The batting gives the mug rug alot of lift, so the stitching is almost invisible.

Your piped corner should look something like this!

Give your rug a nice steam press .. and go find those hearts that you probably put somewhere around the house as you were chasing your little people!

Pin your hearts however you want them placed on your rug. I wanted mine to serve as message and gift pockets, so I left the top part unsewn. Use a very narrow seam so that you can make certain to close up the opening in the hearts. AND YOU'RE DONE! You're amazing. Your family will rise up and call you blessed!

Stand back and admire your work. You're a placemat/piping/batting genius.

I'm getting the feeling I need to make more versions of these mug rugs because THEY'RE SO STINKING CUTE!!!

One of these days … probably Valentine’s Day…I’ll post a photo or two of my hubs and my kids sitting down with their mug rugs and their notes and gifts tucked inside.  I’m super excited about that photo opp!

In the meantime – please make these.  You won’t regret it!

The breakdown:

Time:  okay … these are time consuming, and I hate to admit that, I really do.  Don’t confuse time-consuming with difficult.  These are NOT difficult, but the details will cost you some time.  I’m thinking about 2 hours… maybe 3 if you’re unsure about piping.

Cost: CHEAP!  You’ll only need about 1/2 yard to 1 yard of fabric and can get by with scraps for the hearts.  The batting will cost you about $4 if you buy it on sale – but you’ll only use a small portion of it, so let’s say it costs $1 for batting.  The piping is about $2 per package and I needed 2 packages.  So, in total, my 4 mug rugs cost $8.50!!!

Okay friends … tomorrowish I’ll have another project inspired by Valentine’s Day but that can be used (or maybe worn) all year!

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Celebrate Anthro Knockoffs – How to make a Big Ruffle Scarf

Posted in DIY, TUTORIALS, tagged , , , , , , , on September 25, 2011 | 26 Comments »

I have had this project logged in my brain for about 2 months now.  I was “visiting” an Anthropologie store back in July during a huge sale.  Of course, very few things were yet in my price range, but I really enjoyed browsing around.  One of the things I saw on the sale rack was a huge scarf.  It was on clearance for about $50 – and it was 110 degrees outside.  Even if I had the bucks, there was no way I was walking out of there with a SCARF!

I didn’t take a picture, but I remember that all it was was one very long row of very lightweight fabric with ruffled sides.

Here is what I made as my version of what I remember.  (Admittedly, mine is quite a bit bigger – but such is life in Texas!)

Confession 1: This is not your average scarf. Confession 2: This is NOT a scarf for wallflowers!

If you like this little ditty …. read on….here’s how I made it for $5!!!

Start with 2.5 yards of lightweight fabric. Since I live in TX, I chose cotton because wearing scarves is more like playing house here than it is for keeping warm!

Cut 2 identical strips the entire 2.5 yard length of the fabric. I think my strips aer about 5" wide .. but make them however wide or narrow that you want. It's YOUR scarf.

Then, cut 8 identical strips across the crossgrain. To determine length, figure out how long/big you want the ruffle. Double that measurement and add 1" - 1/2" seam allowance on both ends)

Now join those 8 strips into 2 long strips. Meaning, sew 4 strips together twice.

For each of these two long strips, fold wrong sides together and press.

Tuck in a small seam allowance at both ends of the two long strips. Press. Sew ends closed.

Sew a long gathering stitch at the bottom of the long strips. (meaning the side opposite the fold) Gather the ruffles, and pin along one side of the main strip. Be sure to start and end about 1" away from the edge as shown. (to make it easier to end up with a uniform ruffle, I marked the middle to both the main strip and the ruffle strip)

Sew the ruffle to the main strip with about a 1/2" seam allowance. Then, fold up the ruffle and pin the center.

Repeat ruffle, sew, roll steps on other side. You'll end up with this concoction!

Now you're ready to get this scarf rolling! Put your second main strip on top of the "concoction" right sides together.

Pin all the way down to hold the strips and the ruffles in place. Sew down each side using about a 5/8" seam.

Now, very carefully, begin turning right side out. Remember, there are a TON of pins inside that tube - if you pull too fast you'll either stick yourself or rip your fabric. I may or may not have done both!

Now press that little baby ... you're almost done .. you just need to do something with those two ends ...

So tuck them inside the tube..

Press and sew shut.

Press very well ... and you're done!

It's big - but I think it's awesome!

It's just sooooo soft and so confident! I'm seeing this with a beautiful gray cape for winter.

And this much wow factor at your neckline - don't even bother fixing your hair - pull it back and you're done!

So, yeah, like I said – this is not a scarf for the faint of heart.  This scarf is powerful.  It’s feminine. It is NOT discreet!  =)

Of course, you can use the same tutorial and make it quite a bit smaller.  But why!?!

Cost: $5~ I got the fabric on clearance at Hancocks for $2/yd.  I used 2.5 yards.

Time: the only bad part about this project is that it is not a quick piece.  Give yourself anywhere from 1 t0 2 hours.  But I don’t think you’ll regret it!  Invite some friends over and make them together!!!

Anthropologie’s version: about $50.  sort of plain.

Handmade version: $5 – NOT PLAIN.

Take that!

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Remembering 9.11.01

Posted in DIY, pillow, TUTORIALS, tagged , , , , , , on September 11, 2011 | 2 Comments »

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself glued to the television and to NPR today.  Much like ten years ago, I can’t seem to hear enough about the details of that day.  It’s funny, isn’t it, how in just a moment or with just a picture we can be transported right back to that day – as if it was yesterday.

I remember that day, even menial details of the day, so vividly.  I’m sure you do, too.  My parents always spoke of the Kennedy assassination by first saying, “I know exactly where I was when I got the news.”  I used to think that was crazy.  Now I understand.  Almost as if frozen in a viewfinder, I can see myself, my husband, our friends visiting from NY, and the Boston skyline.  It began as such a beautiful day, didn’t it.

Well – today it seemed kind of strange and disingenuous to post a How-T0 Craft project … but I also wanted to keep up with Celebrate Sewing month.  So I found a solution.  What I call a “Message Pillow.”  “A pillow that has a message.

I don’t think any sentiment could be more accurate on a day like today.  I know for sure I really will remember that day for the rest of my life.  So, I feel confident this pillow will be an asset to my home!

If you’d like to make one, here’s how I did it:

I created a Word document so that I could print out the numbers and letters to use as templates. (My daughter snuck up and erased one of the 1's...)

Then, just before I noticed that the other 1 was missing, I printed the document on Inkjet Fabric Sheets using the "best quality photo" setting. (These are photocopying pages made out of cotton fabric!)

Peel off the backing on the fabric sheets. Apply Heat And Bond to the message - before cutting out the letters and numbers precisely.

Then, cut out the characters and pull of the backing to th e Heat and Bond. Take a straight edge, and row by row determine the placement of your message.

Iron on the characters row by row. I like to put a piece of cheese cloth over the message first, then do another ironing once they're nice and set.

Your first row will look like this.

Then like this.

You can stop with just the Heat and Bond, but I like to actually sew the pieces to the pillow.

Trim off all those threads, finish up your pillow form and stuff. You've got a message on a pillow.

I love that this technique is SO easy and SO fun – you can pretty much create a pillow to “say” whatever is on your mind…

Like this one from Alexandraferguson.Etsy.com

Or this one from Olivehandmade.Etsy.com

I hope you’ll make one of these for yourself … but maybe one with a slightly more upbeat message …. like

LET’S ROLL!

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So Celebrate the Upgraded Napmat!

Posted in kids, Scraps, TUTORIALS, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 10, 2011 | 4 Comments »

For day 10 of So Celebrate Sewing month, I thought I’d share how I made Ellie’s napmat cover.  It really is very easy to turn a plastic sleep mat into a fabulous personalized cushion!  And you all know I don’t mess around when it comes to EASY and FAST and CHEAP!

Which would YOU rather sleep on?

Grab yourself a regular plastic covered foam napmat.  I got Ellie’s at Walmart for about $8.  Yes, there’s a more expensive one…but really???  For fabric, the napmat measures 22″ x 44″, so you’ll need about 46″ of the main fabric and about 18″ for the pillow/contrasting part.  Plus scraps for the name applique.

Of course, I'm totally guessing on that measuring part because this is how I measure ... layout the napmat, lay your fabric on top. Make sure the ends of the fabric extend a little bit past the napmat and cut. Since the fabric is 45" wide, I knew it would fit perfectly around the napmat.

Then I just eyeballed how long I thought her pillow should be. (The napmat is only long enough for Ellie's body. It would be too short for her to just put a pillow on top. So, I designed this one to have the pillow extend past the foam.) Turns out the pillow was between 1/3 and 1/2 yard.

To keep the pillow from looking mushy, I cut a piece of scrap fabric exactly the same size - this serves as an inner pillow and gives structure to the pillow.

Now that you have your pieces cut, take the side of the pillow that will be the front, and applique your little one's name on top. ( I printed out her name using a Word document. Cut out the paper letters and used them as the template for the fabric letters.)

Match the centers of the main fabric and pillow fabric. Attach them together, right side touching - making sure the pillow lining is on top. You'll end up with one big piece of fabric - still 45" wide.

Now, you want to sew the fabric together like a big pillow case. Put right sides together, sew long the bottom and all the way up the side, leaving the top of the pillow completely open. Turn right side out.

Insert the napmat into the cover through the pillow hole.

You'll notice that the napmat wants to slide down, so I tacked it just a tiny bit at the top on both sides. This keeps it from sliding. Easy Peasy!

Now you'll need to sew the seam where the top of the napmat and the bottom of the pillow meet.

Now sew up the top of the pillow except for a hole wide enough to put your hand through. Stuff the pillow with fiberfill. And close it up with a final seam.

And you'll have yourself a perfectly fun napmat!

But then...how do we carry this little mat? With a drawstring bag, of course! I made sure to make the drawstring long enough to fit cross-body so I can have my arms free to carry all the gazillion pieces of glued beans I'll be holding!

So….I know what you’re thinking …”Um, Robie…how do you wash this?”

To which I answer…”Wash?”

Seriously – I chose to encase the napmat fully because it’s faster to make this way.  Yes, it was midnight the night before Preschool started!  If you want to make yours washable, I’d suggest sewing in Velcro at the two pillow seams – the top seam & the seam where the top of the napmat and bottom of the pillow meet.  Keep in mind you’ll have to use a pillow form rather than fiber fill for the pillow.  Then you’ll have yourself a washable napmat – you’ll just have to rip out those two little tacked seams holding the mat up.

I hope this comes in handy for you!  If you know another way to make one of these – please share!!!

See you tomorrow.

We’ll remember 9.1.01.

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