Kate and Kris, you guys are definitely some of my very best friends <3 (Remember, what doesn’t kill you or make you stronger can probably be used for crafting!)
For Christmas, my sister (Roguein the 5K) requested another set of hanging towels. And she wanted a hedgehog trivet. (It says potholder, but I hate the ones that don't have hand-holes!) She wanted this specific one. I gave her a voucher that would be redeemable for a hedgehog potholder, once she gave me more of a color scheme. She didn't really, except to say she wanted something similar to the green/blue one from the picture.
I went looking for fabrics that reminded me of that, and I found a fat quarter with leaves on it that I figured would fill the bill perfectly. I liked the blue of the rickrack around the edge (and didn't want to try and match the greens!), so I found a plain blue to match the rickrack and serve as the face of the little hedgehog.
I was also looking to make her another set of hanging towels. She'd requested them before, and I found that the toweling material (this stuff) is great for getting cookie dough off hands, but not so good for drying because it wasn't absorbent. I've found that using a basic kitchen dish towel and cutting it in half length-wise will give you a good sized hanging towel. This tutorial and pattern I've had excellent luck using!! I have used it before, which is why I felt fairly confident proceeding and getting a little creative.
I want to match the potholder and the hanging towels, so I need to be a bit creative in the cutting so as to get all of the pieces out of the fat quarter leaves print.
Here's the main materials-- both cotton fabrics, some white flannel, and the blue jumbo rickrack. I have a green dishtowel from Target that was already on sale, and then I had both patterns-- the hedgehog pattern that was purchased from Etsy and the free downloadable pattern here.
Because I had to be creative with the cutting, I decided I would use freezer paper (NOT wax paper!) with the shapes traced on them to make sure I had enough "room" to work with. I traced all the shapes on the top (paper side) of the freezer paper with a regular ink pen. I knew I wouldn't be able to get all of the hanging towel pattern in the leaves, so I cheated. I will make the underside of the tab of the hanger blue and the back of the pyramid base for the hanging towel blue, while the front of the pyramid base and the front of the tab will be out of the leaves print. (So rather than taping the two pieces of the pattern together with the overlap, I instead kept the seam allowance on each half. For two hanging towels, I would need two front tab pieces and two front bottom pieces. When I was happy, I gently ironed the pieces onto the two fabrics (shiny side down!!!) to keep the freezer paper temporarily adhered to the fabric.
(You can also see the put-together, full size piece for the hanging towel pattern in the white flannel, if your computer resolution and contrast are good!) The freezer paper patterns are reusable, so once I cut out the two tabs and two bases for the hanging towel, I can reuse them and iron them onto the blue fabric for the back of the tabs and the back of the bases for the hanging towels.
I followed the directions to make the hedgehog. Because I was careful, the back of the hedgehog is the pretty leaf pattern. I used a tight zigzag stitch for the eyes and mouth (read below for why)
To make the hanging towels, I put the leaf tab and the blue base, right sides together, and stitched them along the seam allowance. I did this twice, for both towels. I then put the blue tab and the leaf base, right sides together, and stitched them along the seam allowance. I did this twice, for both sets of towels. I ironed them along the seam to make sure they had a nice flat seam. Then I put a leaf-base with a blue-base, right sides together, and a flannel piece on top. I sewed with a 1/4" seam along the sides. I clipped the seams along the points and flipped the fabrics, right side out. This would give me the alternating blue/leaf tab above the leaf/blue base. in this case, when the tab is folded over, you should only see the leaf print. I decided to add some rickrack to make it more complementary to the hedgehog.
(ignore the color being off, here's what they look like)
I followed the directions as they were printed on the website. I had one white button from my previous towels to her, but ended up using a leftover one for the remaining towel (I was lazy and wanted to give her the hedgehog!)
You can see the final products below!
Lessons learned:
Love freezer paper. However, I found it does NOT like to come off of fleece. So if you use it as a pattern base, DON'T do the ironing step or it'll (eventually) come off all fuzzy and you won't have a nice edge to the cut.
Felt eyes for the hedgehog were a disaster. I tried the freezer paper pattern and it soldered itself to the felt. Plus, I was using the cheapo stuff and it melted a bit under the iron. If it was melting now, I certainly didn't want my sister using it with a hot pan where it would also stick. Instead I decided to outline the eye with a satin stitch on my sewing machine. I might do it differently if I decide to tackle this again.
The hedgehog pattern was well written and understandable. My only issues were the felt (she used something else that may have had more wool in it) and the fact one of my rickrack ridges caught the side near the face and wasn't quite even when I flipped it right sides out.
Remember the button! I love that one so much better with the white button!
No puppy pick this time, she was MIA for this project!
Background - I did this about a week ago, but didn't get a chance to sit down and type it up!
As it is nearing St. Patrick's Day, I am psyching myself up for the annual off-season volleyball tournament hosted by many gyms near my aunt's school. High school girls will play in these off-season teams to enhance their skills and many weekends are devoted to traveling to far-off cities to play in these tournaments; usually it involves traveling to a few gyms within the tournament. My aunt coaches volleyball at her high school, so I often will go and help run a concession stand to earn money for the school's team.
This particular tournament emphasizes St. Patrick's day, so I thought I'd make an apron to hold the concession stand money while still being festive! I will try to explain things clearly, but feel free to comment if you have questions. Also, it's pretty image-heavy, so dial up users beware!
TL;DR- I need a shamrock apron to collect money.
But the pattern can easily be adapted for other holidays/events, cooking aprons, gardening aprons, etc. For people who do a lot of fundraising for school, school colors would be lovely!
Supplies (clockwise from top)
Self-healing mat, see-through clear ruler, and rotary cutter
Two 1/3 yd cuts of fabrics, an inner fabric and an outer fabric
Interfacing (a piece approximately 22"x21", )
1 package extra wide double fold bias tape
seam ripper (just in case!)
Thread and bobbin (I used Coats & Clark Double Duty) in a matching color
Pins and pin magnet
Fabric clips
I chose two fabrics, a darker outer print with shamrocks, and a lighter inner fabric with wavy lines. This was for two reasons, one because I liked the multiple prints for the "main" fabric to be seen on the exterior of the fabric. The lighter inner fabric was chosen because it matched and because it would be easier to find the money in the pockets when the interior is of a lighter background. (I have done this on many purses in order that I might more easily find my keys!) Choose fabrics that have a pattern that makes "sense" when the selvage is held vertical. I used quilting cotton, so I needed quilting cotton for interfacing, but if you're making this out of heavier fabrics, like duck cotton or ticking, you wouldn't need it.
1)Cutting - I was given a wee bit more than 12" of fabric. So I cut a 12.25"x 20" piece (back piece) and a 11"x20" piece (front piece) from each fabric. These are called the 'back' and 'front' piece, regardless of if it is the exterior or interior fabric. If you get the standard 12", then you might have to make it a 12"x20" for the back pieces.
2)Pinning-Pin bottom of the exterior fabrics, right side together. Again, if you have a directional print, make sure the bottom of the print is pinned for both the front and the back side. You can see the yellow pins at the bottom, in the image below. Sew with a 3/8" seam.
Pin the bottom and sides of the interior fabric. I've found that when doing purses and bags, if you make the interior a smidge smaller, it fits easier. Therefore, I used a 1/2" seam allowance to sew the interior fabrics together. Obviously you won't be able to sew the top inch of fabric on the back piece.
Clip the corners of the interior fabric, so that when you turn it right-side out, it will form nice points.
3)Ironing-It seems like a wasted/useless step, but all bags turn out better when you iron! Iron the seams for the two pieces; the bottom of the exterior and all three edges of the interior. To do a really good job on the sides, I recommend use of a seam roll.
(all done with the ironing for at least a few steps!)
4) Interfacing-This step is optional for you. I used quilting cotton which isn't terribly heavy. If you used a more durable/heavy fabric like denim or bottomweight fabrics or duck, you can probably forgo this step! I also used fusible fleece. There were two reasons for this. One, I'm making this to hold a bunch of quarters and I like the padding, and two, I had it already on hand. (Guess which is more important!) At this point, I measured the exterior piece of fabric that has been sewn (and ironed) along the bottom.
As you can see from the picture, it's approximately 22" x 20". I cut the piece of interfacing 22"x 19.5". This way the sides will each have approximately .25" not interfaced, which will be within the seam allowance.
I ironed the interfacing (following the instructions!) to the wrong side of the exterior fabric. Since I want to make sure it's securely adhered, and because I want to have a nice crisp bottom edge, I decided to stitch in the ditch of the bottom seam. The wrong side of the exterior fabric is the fusible fleece, so I pinned a strip of the fabric on the fleece to give the feed dogs some traction. (Don't try to sew with fusible fleece on the bottom, it makes the feed dogs very unhappy)
This is the image of the strip of fabric on the interfaced exterior fabric. I pinned the strip in place and turned it over so the exterior fabric was on top, then stitched in the ditch over the bottom seam.
(sewing machine in all its glory!)
5) Finish the exterior-If you added interfacing, sew the two side seams of the exterior fabric with wrong sides together and a 3/8" seam allowance.
6)Sewing interior and exterior together-
Flip the interior fabric pouch right-side out, keeping the exterior fabric wrong-side out. Place the interior inside the exterior, so the fabrics are right-side together. Align the top of the front pieces and the top of the back pieces of the interior and exterior fabrics. At this point I definitely used the fabric clips, as there was interfacing and it was easier.
(Top of the back piece is underneath and to the left of my hand. The bottom seam is on the right. The clips are aligning the top of the two front pieces. Yes, the lining is fairly thin, but it *is* inside-out)
Sew together the 1" side, turn at 90 degrees, sew the top of the front piece, turn again at 90 degrees and sew up the 1" side. DO NOT SEW THE TOP OF THE BACK PIECES TOGETHER. There are no clips along the top of the back piece, because you need the top of the back pieces unsewn so you can flip it.
7) Flip 'er!
Flip the interior and exterior pieces right-side-out through the top of the back piece. Then place the interior on the inside of the pouch formed by the exterior fabric. If it looks like you have sewn it correctly, flip it back to the seams, and you may want to clip a notch at the 90 degree angles you made at the corner of the side and top-front seams. (Clip a small notch into the seam allowance at a 45 degree angle towards the right angle, this doesn't remove any fabric, but allows the fabric to form the right angle after you've flipped it.
8) Iron again!
As I said earlier, it really makes the difference in how "finished" the final product is. (And at this point, it's totally worth the hassle of making it look nice after you've already spent the 3 hours on it!)
(side seam, see how nice you can get the right angle?!)
Press the side seams and the top seam of the front piece really well.
Optional - I edge-stitched the side seam and the top of the front piece seam with an 1/8" seam to really fortify those nice edges and to give a bit more structure.
Be sure to push the bottom corners out for the exterior fabric and push the interior corners out as far as possible so it sits nicely. You're almost done, promise! If the top of the back pieces don't line up, take a moment to even it out so it's nice and flat across. (Mine actually looked pretty good!)
9)Meet in the middle-
Find the halfway point in the width of the apron. Mark this with a water-soluable marker or set of pins. Sew a line down the middle of the top piece, through to the other side, so you have two pockets in the front.
Take your double-fold bias tape, putting it around your waist, tie a loose bow behind you. Leaving enough extra to allow for ease of tying the bow and an extra inch, cut off the excess. Now measure the midpoint of the bias tape.
10)Bias isn't a bad thing-
Placing the midpoint of the bias tape above the midpoint of the apron, sandwich the top of the back piece (both the exterior and interior) between the bias tape. If you look carefully in the image below, I've sewn the dividing line that will give me pockets in the front, which indicates the midpoint of the apron. The clip indicates the midpoint of the bias tape. I carefully sandwiched the bias tape around the top of the back pieces at this point.
(Clips will work wonders here to make sure the bias tape stays in place!)
Pin or clip the bias tape along the length of the apron. Continue to pin or clip the bias tape to the end. When you reach the end of the tape, fold in the edge 1/2" so you'll have a nice end. Repeat on the other side.
11) Just keep sewing-Starting the end of the bias tape, start on the short, folded end. Using an 1/8" seam, stitch close the folded end. Rotate the bias tape 90 degrees, along the open end of the tape, and keep stitching the open edge closed. When you get to the section with the apron, keep going, making sure to catch the back of the bias tape with the thread. This will neatly cover any open seams. Continue to the end, also stitching over the folded-edge to ensure the bias tape has no open edges.
12) Admire!This is the finished product!
13) Thank your helpers!I'd like to thank the academy my sewing machine and my sewing buddy-
She kept me company throughout the entire project!
Lessons learned-
My interior fabric was printed not-quite-perpendicular to the selvage. I was stuck with trying to decide if I follow the grain or the pattern. As it was, I figured I'd be fine if it was a bit skewed.
Going slowly meant I did not actually need to use my seam ripper. Hurrah.
This pattern actually works. It was my first-pancake attempt.
I forgot to clip the exterior fabric when I sewed the sides. Oops!
I've actually already used it by this point, and it worked *great*. I got several compliments on it! I left it with my grandma, though I should have probably made the bias tape longer as grandma's not quite proportioned like I am.
I finally finished my Christmas wreath! I realized that I never posted the final image, but here it is! In its detailed glory!
I should mention at this time that around the beginning of the New Year I got a new iPhone. Normally I'm not super-big into brand loyalty, but since I already have my contacts, email, and music set, I'd rather not switch. But holy cow, going from the 4 (no Siri, just me talking to myself!) to the 6, I see a HUGE difference in the camera function. So much better!
I've been making a lot more of my crafting photos using the new phone, as it's quicker and easier than my larger camera.
I also made another round of baby blankets for Kate's newest baby, Bean. Kate chose the colors of grey and pink predominantly for her first bundle of joy, so I chose these colors to make this baby blanket set.
I've used this tutorial many, MANY times, and I think my pink Minky was a bit longer than a yard because I couldn't fit the burp cloths into it. I have had great success with this pattern in the past, but you do have to be very careful about cutting.
I chose these fabrics at Hancock Fabrics, and while the color representation is not fantastic, I feel obligated to point out the greys and pinks matched much better in person. While making this, I also decided to forgo the embroidered onesie, as her older kiddo would likely have a few she could reuse.
Instead I made two flannel burp cloth sets out of two different prints, for a total of four burpcloths. I will say, making burpcloths with a rotary cutter, self-healing mat, and ruler makes them look MUCH more professional and they also come out a lot quicker! I took 2/3 yd of flannel fabric, cut it in half (For one fabric I cut down the selvage, the other I down the grainwise, for either longer or fatter burp cloths. I decided based on the pattern, but both are very useful!) Once cut, I turned them right-sides together, and sewed down the three raw edges, leaving a space in one edge to flip it inside-out. Once they were flipped, I ironed them well, then top-stitched in a decorative stitch near the sewn edges to close the hole used to flip it as well as to make it pretty.
Things I learned:
Take photos. I missed getting all of the things I added to Kate's bag because I did the burpcloths in December and the Minky blanket at the beginning of January. It was very pretty, and I like a "see what I made" photo album.
I attempted to make fabric-edged baby washcloths. I bought baby washcloths (in the grey motif) from Target and attempted to make essentially double-fold bias tape with the scraps from the border and main print so there would be an additional gift. The edges of the baby washcloths were INCREDIBLY stretchy and since you don't want points on the edges, you have to try and curve the fabric. That was tough enough, but it really doesn't work so well on fabric cut on the grain rather than on the bias. One sorta-worked, but the others were a lost cause. This is why I craft for crafters. They understand this concept!
I had some pink baby-footprint ribbon from Joann's that I tied all of these gifts for Kate. I also included a book about siblings for the soon-to-be older sister. I think the minimalist wrapping worked well, as it all was put into a bubble wrap mailer. Also, the ribbon can be re-used. The only thing that was actually gift-wrapped was the older sister's present, and everyone knows unwrapping the gift is half the fun at that age!
The baby blanket set is designed so that you can make two blankets out of the yard of Minky. Since I had the other half (and no pregnant friends on the horizon. Yet.) I decided to gift the puppy with the other half. She was willing to QC the minky softness for Kate and Bean.
Radio silence was not intentional, but you know how holiday crafting can go! I've been working on several projects. My dear friend Kristen, was getting married, so I made her a TARDIS makeup bag. Her lovely sister packed her an emergency (for nearly ANY emergency!) bag full of all kinds of things! The smaller, spare toiletries were put in my bag (inside her big bag) so they wouldn't get lost.
Kristen's a big fan of green, so she of course got a green interior. I tried to find something that matched the green planet on the exterior fabric, while also keeping the spacey-new age feel that the TARDIS has. In addition, since it'll be a bag filled with things, a lighter interior often makes things easier to find!
I also made her a ring pillow (as a decoration, she didn't have a ring bearer in the ceremony). Since Kristen's a fairly common name and her husband's isn't, I overlaid his name so there's a bit of privacy for them. Also, I didn't worry too much about the bride/groom vs. groom/bride order; I met the bride, she's the one that likes the crafty stuff, she goes first ;) My local crafting buddy was a real gem and she was willing to do the actual embroidery, as my machine's still in storage! I used a dark navyish bridal satin for the base of the pillow, a lightish shiny grey thread for the embroidery to give it a silver color, and green ribbons for the ring ties. I tried to center them over each person's name, but I'm not sure how well that turned out.
Lessons learned-
1) Things always take longer than expected!
2) I washed the embroidery in the washing machine on delicate and hand dried it; however, even the iron didn't seem to really make it flat. I'm not sure if that's because I couldn't really sit the iron on the embroidery.
3) I designed my own pattern for the makeup bag, it seemed to turn out well, though it was a bit hit-or-miss when I was in the middle of making the embroidered front area.
4) Stuff the ring pillow was interesting. As I was also making this based on my own experience, I wasn't sure how much stuffing would be needed. I really stuffed it tightly, and used a pencil to firmly poke the stuffing into the corners. I think the extra stuffing and the stuffed corners really makes it look very square and professional.
Riders jacket with plaid pattern done! I found this fabric on the short trip to Belgium and wanted make riders jacket, but took time to find the pattern. Thanks for the comment for another post, I finally could choose the pattern from Burda here.
"A crocheter who gives you a handmade gift definitely loves you. However, complaining about their yarn stash might ensure your next present is made from the scratchy stuff."
(I can't *not* think in all-caps when it's Thursday and you pop into my head! And obviously, not only because you are made of awesome and win. I just saw this and kinda thought of you, 'cause you would often remind me of my good traits when I was in a funk!)
I did not work on my Christmas Cross stitch wreath last weekend.
I wanted to. Really, I did! I had nearly everything, except my embroidery hoop! There was no point in going out early Sunday morning to purchase one, as I was leaving around noon. However, this week I did finish the work on the greenery of the wreath (assuming I haven't missed a spot!) I've gotten about half of the half-stitches in blue around the edge completed, so there's a small feeling of accomplishment.
However, this weekend is busy with other duties (applying for a job-- I'm super excited, fingers crossed for me!) It's kind of a tricky application, but I'm really hoping I get a chance to interview.
Next weekend I'm scheduled to visit Elke again. I'm hoping I'll be able to do some more counted cross stitch and also to finish Dollhouse. We'd started it and I'd really like to at least finish the series with her. I have to say, the doll actors are fantastic, and I think Victor's my favorite.
I was recently invited to a dear friend's son's birthday party. I also had missed her younger daughter's birthday at the beginning of July, so I figured I'd double the presents! Most of my friends that have kids are on #2, so whenever I send a new baby gift, I try to get the older sibling a small gift as well. I remember one time I got a small gift for my younger brother's birthday. Given that I was seven, it's stuck with me! I decided to make the daughter "Posie" a pillowcase, especially once I found some Doc McStuffins fabric at Hancock's (this print in cotton). I found purple flowery print for the main accent and a small yellow fabric with a tiny orange print.
I thought about it, and figured big brother B needed one too. B's a huge fan of Angry Birds, so I figured he'd love one with that! I had trouble finding a good one at the smaller Joann's near my current place, but I did select a black/white print with a red accent on the Angriest of Fowl (this print, again in cotton). I found an orange chevron that matched in color and reminded me of the birds' beaks. The red was speckled and matched both the main color and the darker dots of color on the red angry bird. I was really happy with how it turned out!
I also used them instead of tissue paper in gift bags, as I had also gotten each of the kiddos two books. Posie got some Cat in the Hat learning books and B got a human anatomy book and a Magic Schoolbus book.
(Forgive the bad picture, but I had two labs that were all interested in getting up in my business while I was attempting to get a photo!)
One of the two culprits!
I used this awesome tutorial to make the burrito (aka beautiful seams) pillowcase. It involves rolling the outer accent around the main fabric and smaller accent (ie, rolling the purple around the yellow and Doc McStuffin fabric) so that there are no seams from that part of the pillowcase. Then it guides you through making french seams. Posie and B's mother sews many of her kids' clothes, so I knew she'd be impressed. Sure enough, she was very interested in knowing about the beautiful french seams!
And because the puppy needs her own photo (rather than a blurry moving one):
I've been making slow but steady progress on my cross stitch Christmas wreath. I have mostly finished the wreath's circle and only have a little bit to add to it. I also started on the half-stitches of light blue around the edge of the wreath. I've got about 3/4 of the shading done, and still have the edging snowflakes and the words to cross stitch. Then I have all of the detailing and backstitching to do.
It doesn't look all that impressive, but there has been some obvious progress from my previous post in mid-July. However, I am still considering making a decorative pillow out of the finished cross stitch. I'm thinking of trying to find a light blue fabric with silver snowflakes. Right now I *know* there's no way I would make a second matching one (you can't tell, but there's seriously about four different greens that are almost the same color! It's enough to drive you crazy! Luckily there are red berries that have been good for landmarking where I am in the pattern.) so I don't know if I want to make a square pillow. Maybe a round bolster pillow? But it'd have to be large enough you could appreciate the wreath and the message at the same time. Normally I work at Elke's, and we're set to hang out next weekend, so perhaps we'll be finished by the end of September!
Yes. I think dear friends, I may have a *slight* fixation on capes. This is yet another cape-post.
A recent post on the Zombies, Run! facebook group on tutus got me thinking one again about capes.
It's not that I have anything against tutus. I just have seen some.. awkward bunching. By that, I mean that during the act of running, the repetitive movement of the legs tends to cause some of the front strands of tulle to be drawn betwixt the thighs. This isn't so difficult to fix (i.e., yank it out), except at the recent superhero 5K I saw an example of how it can go horribly, horribly wrong. The lady was at the finish line, facing away from me, but her tutu strands on the front had been pulled between her legs at some point during the race. And it'd pulled the front of the tutu down, causing the back end to raise up, preventing any view obstruction at all. Instead it framed the fact she had a bushy, sparkly, blue tulle ball sitting right below her tush, visible to all behind her. And while someone may approach you if your shirt tag is sticking up, no one's going to mention how awkward a bum-tulle-ball looks from the rear.
One might combat this problem with an asymmetrical (or high-low) hemline on the tulle skirt. I've run in a homemade circle-skirt and because it's cut on, off, and perpendicular to the grainline, it falls nicely and seems to avoid the thigh-vacuum. Your mileage may vary (haha, runner's joke) but my circle skirt was also rather short, which may also account for that.
Also, I'm pretty sure my form is terrible, which may also account for differences.
ANYWAY. Point of this post. I have an upcoming 5K this weekend to support an animal rescue, and I'm going to be meeting my sister/running buddy (Rogue) and her dog ("My bestie"). I'm kinda wanting to run in a cape. (Because. Cape.) But I don't have lots of time, and I don't really know if I want to run in my Robin cape. But while a Zombies, Run cape would be all kinds of awesome, it doesn't really fit the theme. And I'm not sure I really want a puppies running cape (it seems, slightly odd to me?)
So now I'm unsure what I'm going to do. But I have a ginormous Sewing List already started, so I also need something fast! Thoughts?
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