Happy New Year to all you crafty folks out there!
I just realized I've had this blog for just over a year, but really started contributing to it in the last few months. I'll keep writing if you keep reading. Thanks for hangin' in there with me.
Keep up the creative work in 2012!
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December 31, 2011
DIY Frilly Foam Forms
My mom LOVES to make hats. I'm pretty sure it's an obsession, though I have to admit the hats she makes are pretty darn cute. Especially when my girlies wear them around the house. Trust me, the cuteness doesn't end here. I picked up at LEAST four adorable hats tonight after cleaning up the living room.Anyway, back on topic. Since we live so far away, Mom was wanting some hat forms to try her hats on as she makes them. I Googled and Amazoned and did all kinds of searches trying to find infant- and child-sized heads -- styrofoam, plastic, anything -- and found squat. I almost gave up when I decided to YouTube "hat forms" and found a tutorial on how to make your own. Thanks to Bethintx1 on YouTube for her awesome tutorial.
I did make a couple of changes when choosing my materials:
- I used a 6" styro ball for a child-sized form and a 5" styro ball for an infant-sized form - Bethintx1 suggested a 4" for infant, but I know my girls' heads weren't that small when they came along.
- She says not to use high temp glue - I did, and kind of melted my styro balls where I glued. No big deal. Can't tell anyway.
- Instead of buying the pretty craft glass marbles/stones, I went with plain ol' ugly fish gravel. My husband picked up a decent sized bag for $3 at our local WalMart. If you go this route, make sure you cover the hole at the bottom of the clay pot so your gravel doesn't pour out.
- Instead of just tying the ribbon around, I also hot glued it -- and the tulle -- to the clay pot to make sure neither would just slip around or off. And to make sure the pretty bow stays perfect.
The other thing I would change is how many layers of tulle I used. I used two layers, but if I did it again, I'd probably use three or four. I don't like being able to see the texture of the styro.
So there ya have it, and here's the finished product.
Merry Christmas, Mom! Hope you like your frilly foam forms!
Christmas 2011
So I wracked my brain for ideas for all my friends and thought to myself, "I can use my sewing machine and some fun fabrics to make personalized gifts this year!" And now you can feast your eyes on these little babies!
Hope you enjoyed seeing these as much as I enjoyed engineering them!
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| Front/Back of an Iowa State bowl I made. I "machine embroidered" the I. |
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| The front/back of another set of Iowa State bowls. |
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| The front/back of a bowl I made as a housewarming/Xmas gift to match a friend's living room decor. This is the first time I've worked with a striped pattern. Turned out very nice! |
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| I'm not a Hawkeye girl, but a good friend of mine is. Here's the front/back. I cut out and satin stitched each piece of the mascot to the bottom of the bowl. Tedious, but worth it! This turned out *almost* perfectly! |
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| A quilted table runner made from the scraps left over from the previously posted blue place mat project. I decided to forego the ruffles and just close up the edges with a simple binding. |
Hope you enjoyed seeing these as much as I enjoyed engineering them!
December 13, 2011
Ruffled and Quilted Place Mat Tutorial
Got the blue place mats absolutely finished. My workstations are cleaned up and my working areas are ready for another project! To celebrate, I've decided to share my method of madness with the world since I couldn't find a good tutorial to use in the first place.
This tutorial is unique because the project used pre-quilted fabric with 1/8" batting. The quilting is a diamond shape and is stitched every 1". Okay. Here we go!
What You'll Need*:
Step 1: PREWASH ALL FABRICS BEFORE CUTTING to reduce shrinkage.
Step 2: Cut
Decide the shape and size of the placemats you want to make, and cut them out. I used an old, oval-shaped place mat that was provided to me by the person who wanted these new ones. I traced around it on the pre-quilted fabric using a chalk.
Because I used pre-quilted fabric, I only had to cut one piece (or body) for each place mat. Note: If you're using regular fabric, you'll have to cut three pieces; one top, one batting, and one bottom. Once you have your three pieces cut out, sandwich the batting between the top and bottom pieces and quilt it to create a body. Using the pre-quilted stuff saves a lot of cutting (and quilting) time.
Step 3: Measure
Once you have all your bodies cut out (and quilted for all you go-get-'em kind of folks out there), measure the perimeter of the place mat. Mine came out to be about 54". I bought 4 yards of 45" fabric to make ruffles AND binding from.
And this is the math my husband did for me to help figure out how many strips of fabric I would need to cut out to make all those ruffles and bindings. If you don't have a resident engineer, this might be tough. If that's the case, you're on your own.
Step 4: Cut (again)
** Edit ** Technically, I did this part wrong. Instead of cutting the binding strips on the straight grain, I SHOULD have cut them on the bias (45 degrees from the selvage). This would have made attaching them to the body of the placemats a ton easier because they go around the curves better. So make sure you calculate in that you'll be cutting on the bias (and joining strips as necessary).
Except this time, it's for the ruffles AND binding. My ruffle strips were cut 2" wide, folded in half to make a 1" ruffle, that ultimately made a 1/2" ruffle - I hope that makes sense. My binding strips were cut 1" wide to ultimately make binding that ultimately came out to be about a1/4", give or take. And because I had to fold my fabric a couple of times to get it to fit on my self-healing mat, I ended up having to sew the ends of some of the strips together to make sure they were long enough to go around one or two place mats. By the way, using an aluminum yard ruler and rotary cutter help me cut straight - HUGE advantage!
**TIP** Using painters tape to hold fabric once you have it squared - one of its many uses!
Step 5: Make Ruffles
I folded my 2" strips of fabric in half with wrong sides together and used my sewing machine's ruffle foot accessory to make perfect ruffles. If you don't have a ruffle foot, you'll have to make your ruffles another way. You can also buy a generic ruffler foot attachment like this one. Remember, adjusting your upper thread tension and stitch length both factor in when making ruffles. Higher tension=more ruffles, Longer stitch = bigger ruffles.
To make my ruffles, I basted about 1/4" from the raw edge of the fabric.
Step 6: Add First Binding Strip to Ruffle
Once the ruffles are prepared, it's time to sew on the 1" strips of fabric that will make the binding. I lined up one edge of the binding strip (right sides together) with the seam I sewed when making the ruffle and then sewed another 1/4" in from the edge of the 1" strip.
Step 7: Add Second Binding Strip to Ruffle
Because the fabric I used could potentially dangerously ravel and effect the application of the ruffled binding, I decided to use my serger for this step, but you could use your sewing machine and stitch the second strip on the same way you did the first. And if you're REALLY good, you could sew both strips on at the same time (which I'm not skilled or coordinated enough to master).
Step 9: Apply Binding
To apply the binding, work with the body of the place mat right side up. Wrap the binding around the edge with the wider side beneath. You can either pin the binding in place before sewing, or sew as you go. I chose option two. Make sure to leave 1" to 3" unstitched at the beginning of the binding so you can close it.
Topstitch close the inside edge of the binding (you will catch the other side since it's wider than the front) to within 1" to 2" of the starting point. Cut excess binding at the free end so that it overlaps the the starting end by enough to fold under. ***You may have to take some of the stitching out of the ends to fold them together.
Step 10: Closing Binding
Slipstitch around the fold, then topstitch to connect the topstitch lines on each side. Pull loose top stitch threads through to the back of the place mat and tie off.
Step 11: Final Topstitch
If you choose to have a second topstitch like I did just to make sure everything is secure, now's the time. Pull loose topstitch threads through to the back of the placemat and tie off.
Step 12: Tie Up Loose Ends
Cut any loose threads and remove any visible basting that you may have.
Viola!! You're done. If you have any questions, or want to leave any comments, please do! This is my first tutorial, so please let me know if I've done a good job or what can be improved.
Thanks for reading!
This tutorial is unique because the project used pre-quilted fabric with 1/8" batting. The quilting is a diamond shape and is stitched every 1". Okay. Here we go!
What You'll Need*:
- Fabric for the body of your place mats (one kind if you're using pre-quilted, two kinds if you're making your quilted place mats.
- Fabric for the ruffles.
- Fabric for the binding (can be the same or different from the fabric for the ruffles).
- Matching thread (or contrasting thread just to shake things up).
- Sewing machine.
- Serger (optional).
Step 1: PREWASH ALL FABRICS BEFORE CUTTING to reduce shrinkage.
Step 2: Cut
Decide the shape and size of the placemats you want to make, and cut them out. I used an old, oval-shaped place mat that was provided to me by the person who wanted these new ones. I traced around it on the pre-quilted fabric using a chalk.
Because I used pre-quilted fabric, I only had to cut one piece (or body) for each place mat. Note: If you're using regular fabric, you'll have to cut three pieces; one top, one batting, and one bottom. Once you have your three pieces cut out, sandwich the batting between the top and bottom pieces and quilt it to create a body. Using the pre-quilted stuff saves a lot of cutting (and quilting) time.
Step 3: Measure
Once you have all your bodies cut out (and quilted for all you go-get-'em kind of folks out there), measure the perimeter of the place mat. Mine came out to be about 54". I bought 4 yards of 45" fabric to make ruffles AND binding from.
And this is the math my husband did for me to help figure out how many strips of fabric I would need to cut out to make all those ruffles and bindings. If you don't have a resident engineer, this might be tough. If that's the case, you're on your own.
** Edit ** Technically, I did this part wrong. Instead of cutting the binding strips on the straight grain, I SHOULD have cut them on the bias (45 degrees from the selvage). This would have made attaching them to the body of the placemats a ton easier because they go around the curves better. So make sure you calculate in that you'll be cutting on the bias (and joining strips as necessary).
Except this time, it's for the ruffles AND binding. My ruffle strips were cut 2" wide, folded in half to make a 1" ruffle, that ultimately made a 1/2" ruffle - I hope that makes sense. My binding strips were cut 1" wide to ultimately make binding that ultimately came out to be about a1/4", give or take. And because I had to fold my fabric a couple of times to get it to fit on my self-healing mat, I ended up having to sew the ends of some of the strips together to make sure they were long enough to go around one or two place mats. By the way, using an aluminum yard ruler and rotary cutter help me cut straight - HUGE advantage!
**TIP** Using painters tape to hold fabric once you have it squared - one of its many uses!
Step 5: Make Ruffles
I folded my 2" strips of fabric in half with wrong sides together and used my sewing machine's ruffle foot accessory to make perfect ruffles. If you don't have a ruffle foot, you'll have to make your ruffles another way. You can also buy a generic ruffler foot attachment like this one. Remember, adjusting your upper thread tension and stitch length both factor in when making ruffles. Higher tension=more ruffles, Longer stitch = bigger ruffles.
To make my ruffles, I basted about 1/4" from the raw edge of the fabric.
Step 6: Add First Binding Strip to Ruffle
Once the ruffles are prepared, it's time to sew on the 1" strips of fabric that will make the binding. I lined up one edge of the binding strip (right sides together) with the seam I sewed when making the ruffle and then sewed another 1/4" in from the edge of the 1" strip.
Step 7: Add Second Binding Strip to Ruffle
Because the fabric I used could potentially dangerously ravel and effect the application of the ruffled binding, I decided to use my serger for this step, but you could use your sewing machine and stitch the second strip on the same way you did the first. And if you're REALLY good, you could sew both strips on at the same time (which I'm not skilled or coordinated enough to master).
Step 8: Pressing (Not Ironing)
I recently learned that there's actually a difference between these two things and discovered that pressing is exactly what you want to do with this binding. If you don't press, the binding can wrinkle, iron unevenly, and bend in ways you don't want it to. Fold the strips on each side like a single binding, with one side 1/8" wider than the other and press.
Step 9: Apply Binding
To apply the binding, work with the body of the place mat right side up. Wrap the binding around the edge with the wider side beneath. You can either pin the binding in place before sewing, or sew as you go. I chose option two. Make sure to leave 1" to 3" unstitched at the beginning of the binding so you can close it.
Topstitch close the inside edge of the binding (you will catch the other side since it's wider than the front) to within 1" to 2" of the starting point. Cut excess binding at the free end so that it overlaps the the starting end by enough to fold under. ***You may have to take some of the stitching out of the ends to fold them together.
Step 10: Closing Binding
Slipstitch around the fold, then topstitch to connect the topstitch lines on each side. Pull loose top stitch threads through to the back of the place mat and tie off.
If you choose to have a second topstitch like I did just to make sure everything is secure, now's the time. Pull loose topstitch threads through to the back of the placemat and tie off.
Step 12: Tie Up Loose Ends
Cut any loose threads and remove any visible basting that you may have.
Viola!! You're done. If you have any questions, or want to leave any comments, please do! This is my first tutorial, so please let me know if I've done a good job or what can be improved.
Thanks for reading!
December 11, 2011
Blue Place Mat Progress
The blue place mats I'm making for my MIL are going so smoothly! Now that I'm a pro at getting the ruffled binding made and sewn on, things have moved so much faster than I expected. I already have all the place mats practically done. All I have left to do is remove any visible basting stitches and slip stitch around the back where my top stitching missed. Check back here soon for a ruffled place mat tutorial!
November 30, 2011
Placemats - Part Deux
Finally, I got one set of place mats done. That's 12 so far. Finally. And the mother-in-law loves them! Bonus!
What a pain in the butt, too. After running into way more problems that I ever could have imagined and coming up with four or five different ways to make the dumb things, I finally got them all figured out and can now make one in about an hour or less depending on which TV show I'm engrossed in. Who knew pre-quilted fabric could cause so much trouble? At the end of the day, the place mats turned out beautifully.
Then, to top it off, I forgot to take pictures of the silly things before I took them to their new home. Lucky, I have a fantastic mother-in-law who took a few minutes and made me some nice pictures so I could show those things off!
They've already been used, washed, and dried with no shrinkage and no need for ironing. Perfect!
And since I had some extra scraps from cutting out the pre-quilted ovals, I made a little extra something just for fun. A reversible bowl!
What a pain in the butt, too. After running into way more problems that I ever could have imagined and coming up with four or five different ways to make the dumb things, I finally got them all figured out and can now make one in about an hour or less depending on which TV show I'm engrossed in. Who knew pre-quilted fabric could cause so much trouble? At the end of the day, the place mats turned out beautifully.
Then, to top it off, I forgot to take pictures of the silly things before I took them to their new home. Lucky, I have a fantastic mother-in-law who took a few minutes and made me some nice pictures so I could show those things off!
They've already been used, washed, and dried with no shrinkage and no need for ironing. Perfect!
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| Here's the front. |
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| And the back. |
And since I had some extra scraps from cutting out the pre-quilted ovals, I made a little extra something just for fun. A reversible bowl!
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| Front (left), Back (right) |
Now, onto the second set in a beautiful, serene blue!
October 24, 2011
Placemats!
The ruffly, pre-quilted kind!
My mother-in-law has decided to trust my ability to sew (even though I doubt myself sometimes), and is putting me to the test! She hasn't been happy with any of the place mats she's found or used in the past. Either they've shrunken when washed (all-cotton) or they just don't go perfectly with her decor and plates. I can understand the frustration. She's asked me to sew a total of 24 place mats from her choice of two difference pre-quilted fabrics and coordinating broadcloth (for the edging and ruffles) from Jo-Ann Fabrics. I accepted the challenge and am well on my way to a WIN!
I hemmed and hawed over how I was going to construct the place mats. And after cutting out all the quilted fabric, cutting strips of broadcloth and using my ruffle foot to make ruffles (so easy and fast - way better than ruffling by hand), I finally finished one. I think it looks great.
I only have one done, but as soon as I can finish another one or two, I'd be happy to post pictures.
My mother-in-law has decided to trust my ability to sew (even though I doubt myself sometimes), and is putting me to the test! She hasn't been happy with any of the place mats she's found or used in the past. Either they've shrunken when washed (all-cotton) or they just don't go perfectly with her decor and plates. I can understand the frustration. She's asked me to sew a total of 24 place mats from her choice of two difference pre-quilted fabrics and coordinating broadcloth (for the edging and ruffles) from Jo-Ann Fabrics. I accepted the challenge and am well on my way to a WIN!
I hemmed and hawed over how I was going to construct the place mats. And after cutting out all the quilted fabric, cutting strips of broadcloth and using my ruffle foot to make ruffles (so easy and fast - way better than ruffling by hand), I finally finished one. I think it looks great.
I only have one done, but as soon as I can finish another one or two, I'd be happy to post pictures.
Hair Clip Holder
So easy. So cute. I got the idea for my hair clip holder from Little Birdie Secrets, but I did mine a little differently.
I have LOTS of scrap fabric, and since the hair bow holder was for Katie, I decided to use some scraps from the crib set that I made for her. I think it turned out perfectly!!!
Like I mentioned before, I made my hairbow holder a little differently than the fabulous ladies at LBS. First, I headed over the dollar store and picked up an 8x10 document frame. And I can tell you it was darn cheap. There was no paint or finish on the wood at all and I was kind of surprised that it actually had a real piece of glass rather than a piece of thick plastic. Not that it mattered. Instead of using the glass, I decided it would be safer to use a piece of poster board cut to size, backed with the original cardboard backing. In hindsight, I would probably use a thicker piece of cardboard, or even track down a piece of plexiglass, to use since the poster board didn't really provide as much structure as I was hoping.
I covered the poster board with some of the fabric scraps left over from Katie's bedroom coordinates and used some other scraps to make the fabric flowers and the fabric ribbon (I don't really keep ribbon around so I usually just end up making whatever I need). I attached the ribbon to the covered poster board, glued the fabric flowers to the ribbon, and viola!
The only thing left to do was the paint the frame since it was just plain blonde unfinished pine. To do this, I just took some recently purchased Crayola Washable Kid's Paint (it's not the best choice, but it's non-toxic and washable and Katie painted some pictures while I painted the frame) and covered the frame in white paint. Then I used a sponge brush to add pink and purple dots.
After it was all done, I simply replaced the glass with the finished poster board and added the clips!
I have LOTS of scrap fabric, and since the hair bow holder was for Katie, I decided to use some scraps from the crib set that I made for her. I think it turned out perfectly!!!
Like I mentioned before, I made my hairbow holder a little differently than the fabulous ladies at LBS. First, I headed over the dollar store and picked up an 8x10 document frame. And I can tell you it was darn cheap. There was no paint or finish on the wood at all and I was kind of surprised that it actually had a real piece of glass rather than a piece of thick plastic. Not that it mattered. Instead of using the glass, I decided it would be safer to use a piece of poster board cut to size, backed with the original cardboard backing. In hindsight, I would probably use a thicker piece of cardboard, or even track down a piece of plexiglass, to use since the poster board didn't really provide as much structure as I was hoping.
I covered the poster board with some of the fabric scraps left over from Katie's bedroom coordinates and used some other scraps to make the fabric flowers and the fabric ribbon (I don't really keep ribbon around so I usually just end up making whatever I need). I attached the ribbon to the covered poster board, glued the fabric flowers to the ribbon, and viola!
The only thing left to do was the paint the frame since it was just plain blonde unfinished pine. To do this, I just took some recently purchased Crayola Washable Kid's Paint (it's not the best choice, but it's non-toxic and washable and Katie painted some pictures while I painted the frame) and covered the frame in white paint. Then I used a sponge brush to add pink and purple dots.
After it was all done, I simply replaced the glass with the finished poster board and added the clips!
Umbrella Stroller Recover
I have these two umbrella strollers that. are. hideous. period. One I've had since Katie was a baby - it was gifted to us for her baby shower and was bought at a garage sale. It wasn't all that bad, I guess. Just not what I pictured for Katie. The second stroller was bought from Savers, a for-profit thrift shop. I used the stroller once and decided that there was absolutely no way I could cope with the fabric. And not only was the fabric bad, but the stroller itself was painted to match the fabric. Ugh! Check this out:
Yikes. There are no words to describe how ugly this is to me.
So I decided to recover it. And since I was recovering the hideous one, I decided to recover Katie's, too (the one with the okay fabric). I have to thank Laura Thoughts for inspiration and confidence I needed to get the project started...and finished :o)
I headed over to my local Hancock Fabrics to pick out something a little more...stylish. I ended up with some cotton fabric that was less stylish, but fun, cute, and not remotely as offensive to my eyes (with coordinating bias tape and strap material). I got the fabric home and started my project. First, I took all the screws out that held on the fabric, about 8 screws on each stroller. One had to be drilled out. I took the original stroller seat fabric and ripped the seams that I needed to rip. I used that to trace on my new fabric (and some fabric for the backing for strength). I marked where the folds were supposed to be, as well as the straps.
Then out came the sewing machine. First I basted the cute fabric to the backing. Then, I followed my marks to fold the fabric so it would bend and form a seat. I sewed those seams. After that, I needed a place for the metal frame to slip into the fabric, so I copied each from it's original and sewed. Once all my folds and creases were folded and sewn, I used the bias tape to finish the edges. Then I added the straps.
I happen to think they turned out terrific! So cute, and now they MATCH! Here's the finished product (of the really ugly stroller, anyway):
I'm still planning on spray painting the ugly greenish stroller frame white. Seriously. That previous fabric...gag me.
Yikes. There are no words to describe how ugly this is to me.
So I decided to recover it. And since I was recovering the hideous one, I decided to recover Katie's, too (the one with the okay fabric). I have to thank Laura Thoughts for inspiration and confidence I needed to get the project started...and finished :o)
I headed over to my local Hancock Fabrics to pick out something a little more...stylish. I ended up with some cotton fabric that was less stylish, but fun, cute, and not remotely as offensive to my eyes (with coordinating bias tape and strap material). I got the fabric home and started my project. First, I took all the screws out that held on the fabric, about 8 screws on each stroller. One had to be drilled out. I took the original stroller seat fabric and ripped the seams that I needed to rip. I used that to trace on my new fabric (and some fabric for the backing for strength). I marked where the folds were supposed to be, as well as the straps.
Then out came the sewing machine. First I basted the cute fabric to the backing. Then, I followed my marks to fold the fabric so it would bend and form a seat. I sewed those seams. After that, I needed a place for the metal frame to slip into the fabric, so I copied each from it's original and sewed. Once all my folds and creases were folded and sewn, I used the bias tape to finish the edges. Then I added the straps.
I happen to think they turned out terrific! So cute, and now they MATCH! Here's the finished product (of the really ugly stroller, anyway):
I'm still planning on spray painting the ugly greenish stroller frame white. Seriously. That previous fabric...gag me.
The Critic Disapproves
So, Liv didn't really care about the crinkle paper. When Katie was her age, she couldn't get enough of her crinkle paper. I was kinda bummed since I got all excited about making it.
I used two pieces of baby flannel and the plastic from an empty travel wipes package for the middle. I thought it worked great; was easy to sew and was a crinkly as I wanted it to be.
Oh well, maybe someday some other baby will like it!
I used two pieces of baby flannel and the plastic from an empty travel wipes package for the middle. I thought it worked great; was easy to sew and was a crinkly as I wanted it to be.
Oh well, maybe someday some other baby will like it!
October 4, 2011
Crinkle Paper Done!
Okay, folks. I'm back. And I found the camera stuffed under the seat in the truck.
I found a tutorial, but didn't use it. Here's the link if you need a good tut.
I chose to make a circle crinkle paper instead of a square. Just for fun. Here it is!
And when Liv wakes up in the morning I'll try to get a shot of her playing with it. Come back for an update.
I found a tutorial, but didn't use it. Here's the link if you need a good tut.
I chose to make a circle crinkle paper instead of a square. Just for fun. Here it is!
And when Liv wakes up in the morning I'll try to get a shot of her playing with it. Come back for an update.
Happy Birthday to ME!
Today is my birthday. The big 3-0!
To celebrate, I'm planning on making some baby paper! And if I can find the camera, I will take a picture!!
To celebrate, I'm planning on making some baby paper! And if I can find the camera, I will take a picture!!
So I Lied.
I did get the bumper done, installed and pictures taken. But then I got lazy and didn't post. I did, however, finish the dust ruffle. So that's done, too! But now I can't find the camera so you'll have to wait (again!). But I will show you the bumper!
Here's the bumper with Liv's blanket (made by Gramma) and a pretty rainbow sheet.
Here's the bumper with Liv's blanket (made by Gramma) and a pretty rainbow sheet.
A close-up of the outside design of the bumper.
Here's the whole thing.
Livvy enjoying her new bumper.
And then this weekend, we did some family pictures in our beautiful fall yard!
September 24, 2011
Almost There!
Just a few more slip stitches and I'll have the bumper done! Look for photos tomorrow!
September 22, 2011
Progress Report
Ah, I love the smell of a sewing machine in the morning. Unfortunately, I can't get to mine in the morning since I prefer not to have the kids around while I'm working on projects -- all the pins and whatnot.
So progress has been a little slow going since I have to divide my attention between sewing, working out, hanging out with my little brother online, and cleaning in preparation to my grandparents coming to visit. However, I've been working on my nursery coordinates bumper at every chance I get. I've now gotten all but two of the seams machine stitched. All that's left is to machine stitch one of the ends, put in padding and slip stitch the bottoms.
So stay tuned...pictures of a finished and installed bumper should be up in a day or two (hopefully)!
So progress has been a little slow going since I have to divide my attention between sewing, working out, hanging out with my little brother online, and cleaning in preparation to my grandparents coming to visit. However, I've been working on my nursery coordinates bumper at every chance I get. I've now gotten all but two of the seams machine stitched. All that's left is to machine stitch one of the ends, put in padding and slip stitch the bottoms.
So stay tuned...pictures of a finished and installed bumper should be up in a day or two (hopefully)!
September 18, 2011
Bumper to Bumper
As you know, I've been working on the nursery coordinates for the last few days. I got one of the bumper sides done, and I'm pretty dang pleased with how it turned out. The pattern I'm using calls for a scalloped top with ruffles as an accent, but the batting I ended up getting is made specifically for baby bumpers and doesn't accommodate the scalloped edge. I altered the pattern to have no scallops, but still have the fun, frilly ruffle. I'm glad I went with the green ribbon for the ties. It really brings out the green in the paisley pattern and looks absolutely adorable. I love it! And I hope you do, too. Here's a picture of the finished side. Hopefully the other pieces will be along soon, as well.
September 15, 2011
Hiatus on Hiatus
Right. So I took a timely break from my sewing endeavors to take care of a new baby that arrived on March 13. She's 6 months old now and just learned to sit up on her own. Now she's working on those crawling skills. My sewing machine is begging me to make her something adorable (or maybe that's my brain telling me I need a break from Sippy Cups and Spit Up), so I've embarked on a mission to create a matching crib set from this pattern. I chose a nice cotton pink, yellow, green, and white paisley pattern with a coordinating cotton solid. And I just picked up some coordinating green ribbon to use for the ties.
Unfortunately, this was the last the store had of the nice paisley pattern. After the bumper is made I might have just enough to make a decorative pillow or two. Fingers crossed. The last time I used the pattern, the sheet and bumper didn't quite fit the way they should have. A few alterations to the pattern should do the trick.
I already made little miss Liv a quilt -- the kind from scraps of fabric -- the way it's supposed to be made according to my hubs. I'm not super fond of it myself, but it's okay, and the yellow edging and some of the squares will match the rest of the bedding, so it's not a total loss. The quilt itself only took 3-4 hours to piece together, including cutting the squares. The time-consuming and tedious part was slip-stitching the edge onto the quilt. I hate beveled corners, and I can't lay claim that I'm any good at them either. Here's the quilt.
Right before I finished the quilt, our cats peed on our brand spankin' new carpet and we decided that they're going to be outside cats from now on. Because it's starting to get cold and my hubs is a pushover, we had to buy them a house and a heat lamp. He wanted a blanket to put in there with them so they wouldn't get too cold, but I wouldn't let him have any people blankets. So we went to the store to check out animal beds. Minimum $15 for one of those dumb things. I already had canvas for backing and batting for filling so I headed to the fabric store to grab a half yard of something toasty warm. I ended up with a sheerling type fabric. Brought it home, made some pieces, and viola!
It turned out a little wide because I had my dimensions off a few inches, but they seem to like it. It's current status is "covered in fur" in the toasty warm cat house in the garage.
Well, that does it for now. Now to get back to the bumper for the nursery coordinates!
February 27, 2011
Coming Home Dress = Done!
Yes! Finally!
And with a picture to prove it!
I knew this would definitely be a bigger project than it seemed. And it was.
A lot of new fabrics (sateen, lace, lining...)and some hand stitching involved, but it was a lot of fun and it's finally finished.
Enjoy - and let me know what you think!
And with a picture to prove it!
I knew this would definitely be a bigger project than it seemed. And it was.
A lot of new fabrics (sateen, lace, lining...)and some hand stitching involved, but it was a lot of fun and it's finally finished.
Enjoy - and let me know what you think!
February 7, 2011
Elastic out....lace in!
Okay folks. Sometimes I can be pretty clueless. I already had the elastic to finish up the car seat cover. But since it's cold outside and I would need to "fit" the shell to the car seat so the elastic fits right, I decided to wait until my dearest can bring the seat into the house.
So instead of working on that project and ultimately finishing it (which REALLY needs to be done), I started working on the coming home dress for K - picked up the fabric on Friday. Got some fabrics I haven't worked with yet including lace, lining, and sateen.
On night one, which was Saturday night, I spent 2-3 hours tracing, cutting out, and sewing the pattern and fabric for the bonnet. Once I got the outside fabric of the bonnet done, I decided to look over the instructions for the rest of the garment. I told the hubs that this pattern was going to be HARD - at least the hardest one I've done so far anyway. So far, I've been pleasantly surprised.
A few hours of Sunday night was spent tracing, cutting out, and sewing the lining into the bonnet. It turned out fantabulous, IMO! It's a little wrinkly from turning it right side out through a small hole in one of the seams, so I may have to steam and starch it a little bit to get it to let go of the wrinkles. Then I started on the pieces that make up the jacket. Lace and lining. I was sooo sure the lace and lining would be a pain in the ass to work with, but they were surprisingly *almost* hassle free, especially once I got the hang of the lace. I sewed the lace pieces together to generally form the jacket, and then put it away for the night.
Today I had a few hours this morning so I worked more on the jacket and got it done. I put together the lining and attached it to the lace, then sewed up the sleeves and attached. I top-stitched around the edges of the jacket - though the pattern didn't say to do this - to give it a little more integrity and so the lining wouldn't roll towards the outside of the jacket, making it visible at the edges.
Only two pieces left - the gown and the slip. They'll be made from chiffon and sateen, respectively. After that, I'll attach the decorative flowers and the project will be done! Huzzah!
I will get some pics up of the bonnet and jacket ASAP - hopefully tonight - so stay tuned!
So instead of working on that project and ultimately finishing it (which REALLY needs to be done), I started working on the coming home dress for K - picked up the fabric on Friday. Got some fabrics I haven't worked with yet including lace, lining, and sateen.
On night one, which was Saturday night, I spent 2-3 hours tracing, cutting out, and sewing the pattern and fabric for the bonnet. Once I got the outside fabric of the bonnet done, I decided to look over the instructions for the rest of the garment. I told the hubs that this pattern was going to be HARD - at least the hardest one I've done so far anyway. So far, I've been pleasantly surprised.
A few hours of Sunday night was spent tracing, cutting out, and sewing the lining into the bonnet. It turned out fantabulous, IMO! It's a little wrinkly from turning it right side out through a small hole in one of the seams, so I may have to steam and starch it a little bit to get it to let go of the wrinkles. Then I started on the pieces that make up the jacket. Lace and lining. I was sooo sure the lace and lining would be a pain in the ass to work with, but they were surprisingly *almost* hassle free, especially once I got the hang of the lace. I sewed the lace pieces together to generally form the jacket, and then put it away for the night.
Today I had a few hours this morning so I worked more on the jacket and got it done. I put together the lining and attached it to the lace, then sewed up the sleeves and attached. I top-stitched around the edges of the jacket - though the pattern didn't say to do this - to give it a little more integrity and so the lining wouldn't roll towards the outside of the jacket, making it visible at the edges.
Only two pieces left - the gown and the slip. They'll be made from chiffon and sateen, respectively. After that, I'll attach the decorative flowers and the project will be done! Huzzah!
I will get some pics up of the bonnet and jacket ASAP - hopefully tonight - so stay tuned!
January 30, 2011
Getting in Gear!
Alrighty. I promised I would pick up some stuff this weekend so I could finish my infant seat covers. Well, I did go to the fabric store, but I totally forgot to pick up the elastic. So that's tomorrow's plan.
I did, however, manage to get a christening gown pattern + notions. All the Hancock henchwomen were too busy to help me find my fabrics effectively, so the plan is to go back on Monday when they won't be as busy. I have a lot to learn about the fabrics for this pattern...I've pretty much never heard of any of them. Look for an update tomorrow! I plan on starting this project Tuesday night!
I did, however, manage to get a christening gown pattern + notions. All the Hancock henchwomen were too busy to help me find my fabrics effectively, so the plan is to go back on Monday when they won't be as busy. I have a lot to learn about the fabrics for this pattern...I've pretty much never heard of any of them. Look for an update tomorrow! I plan on starting this project Tuesday night!
January 25, 2011
Moving On....
So, I realize I never did get around to making the mittens. I don't know why, but I felt like the sewing stuff needed to be on the back burner for a while. That and the fact that I have all these neat patterns for baby clothes, but no money for fabric. Why is fleece the only thing that's ever on a good sale?
Anyway. For Christmas I ended up with a new serger (sewing machine count is up to 3 now). I have no idea on Earth how to work the darn thing. I did get it out its box and put it on my little sewing table so I could admire while I watch TV in the evenings. Someday soon I will get brave. I promise.
My most recent project - right before the serger - has been car seat covers. We got new car seats for little miss Katie, and the first week we had it she had a poop explosion a road trip home from the in-laws. Because of this I decided car seat covers were a must. I had some extra leopard print fleece (like I said, it's cheap!) that I've been dying to get out of my basket forever and used the original car seat lining to make the pattern pieces - it was actually tougher than I expected, this time. I need some elastic still, and then it will be done. I will post a pic or two when I get that done. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up some elastic this weekend.
Hope people are out there reading this :) But if not, it gives me a place to just talk :)
Anyway. For Christmas I ended up with a new serger (sewing machine count is up to 3 now). I have no idea on Earth how to work the darn thing. I did get it out its box and put it on my little sewing table so I could admire while I watch TV in the evenings. Someday soon I will get brave. I promise.
My most recent project - right before the serger - has been car seat covers. We got new car seats for little miss Katie, and the first week we had it she had a poop explosion a road trip home from the in-laws. Because of this I decided car seat covers were a must. I had some extra leopard print fleece (like I said, it's cheap!) that I've been dying to get out of my basket forever and used the original car seat lining to make the pattern pieces - it was actually tougher than I expected, this time. I need some elastic still, and then it will be done. I will post a pic or two when I get that done. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up some elastic this weekend.
Hope people are out there reading this :) But if not, it gives me a place to just talk :)
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