Curtain update

So here is the up date on my curtains .....

I've hemmed up the bottom so it would stop dragging through the dogs water dish and add my bias trim.  I took a close up so you could actually see the fabrics I used

 

For bonus cookies you get a sneak peek at a future post for my rugs.  :)

New Curtains

Well A few days ago I decided that I need some new curtains for my sliding door in my kitchen.  Of course out come my stash of old bed sheets... have I mentioned we love bed sheets round here, useful things those.  Any ways I found a lovely not to bright yellow gingham sheet that was left over from a previous project, and just so happened to all ready have an opening at one end.  So I rummaged through my box o' bits n' pieces for some thing to use/attach for a curtain rod.  Well I found a piece of wire for lack of a better word, its a like a spring wrapped in plastic.  It uses hook and eyes to attach to the wall. (yes I still need to paint my kitchen) really neat stuff pretty cheep for a package it too. So up it went shoved the "wire"  through the opening in the sheet (I split it in half to make it more curtain like) and put the eyes on the hooks and steeped back.  It looked like a curtain except that it's 18 inches to short (insert head slap here!)  So having other things to be doing I left them up in all there shorted glory.... well yesterday I came across some blue and white stripe..hhmm  the wheels turn ..  I pinned the little scrap of it to the bottom ... census says it looks pretty good, now where did I hide the big piece.  After a little digging around I found it. 

I tore two strips off big enough to accommodate seam allowances and hems,  and finished one edge to line up with the finished edge of the sheet, and sewed it onto the bottom.  I then made some big bias tape for the unfinished edge.  There is a good tutorial here.  

  So I now have the blue stripes attached to my curtain, and it looks good, now I just have to add the homemade bias tape to the unfinished sides and voila one bed sheet turned curtain!

I'll post pics of the finished curtain tomorrow after I  get that bias tape on.

Quick and Easy Market Bags

Well we had some old t-shirts kickin around we couldn't bare to part with (some of our clan were a little attached).  So I made them into market bags.

So we need to start by cutting off the collar and sleeves. Now turning it inside out, we are going to draw out the shape of are bag, using tailors chalk, or what ever you like that will wash out. I used the existing shoulder seams as the handles on the dark grey bag, and stitched new seams on the light grey one.  Mark out you pattern, you could use a plastic shopping bag for a template, make it as big or small as you like.

When your happy the the shape and size of your bag you need to cut it out along the lines you've drawn.  You can all ways tweak it after you've cut out your basic shape. 

Stitch around the bottom  three sides, I double stitch mine just in case.  Don't forget to leave the opening for the sleeves open, so your handles will function . Trim up the edge to pretty them up a bit. I also square the corners of mine to give it a little shape, but you don't have to.

 So to square the corner, fold your corner and make it pointy, mark a line across the newly formed triangle about 2 inches down from the point. now stitch across the line you drew.  see pictures below. Now repeat the steps again to the other corner.

Turn right side out and enjoy.  These bags hold a lot of stuff, because they stretch, they are also great because they are light weight and squish up nice and small so they don't take up as much room as the bags you get from the grocery store.

Dress Shirt Pillow Tutorial

This is one of the projects off my UFO list that I had finally finished ... so here it is ...

1. Start with a dress shirt, mine was a thrift store find has some neat stitching on the front.  Lay it out flat and trim the sleeves and collar off.

I also cut up the side seams, so I have a single layer piece of  "fabric".  I cut the back of the shirt from the sleeves and collar also

2. Now to cut your square, I cut one out of paper just to make life easier but you don't have to.  I lined up my front and back pieces where I wanted the and pinned my template to the pieces, then cut it out.

3.  I made a snazzy boarder with some of the other pieces of the shirt to trim it with, but you could use any pre-made trim you like, a solid colour pipping would look really sharp with a pin-strip shirt. 

4. Attach your trim of choice to the right side of your pillow, making sure that it lies to the inside. (sorry I forgot to take a pic of this step)

5. You are now ready to sew around the out side of your cover.  You don't need to worry about leaving an opening because your shirt buttons will act as the opening for stuffing you pillow in.

6. trim your seam allowances so they are nice and neat, and turn your pillow case the right way out.

7.  Here's the fun part! Stuff you pillow through the opening.  This tends to take a lot of fiddling to get it into the corners and nice and flat.

still working on it .... all most there ....eventually it will go in.. right. 

When it's in and you are happy with it do up the buttons and throw it on your couch or bed!

UFO's and Crafty Diversions

So this year I made a new years resolution to work my way through some of my UFO's (un-finished objects for those of you scratching your heads)  to make room for some of the larger projects I would like do.  So here we are in mid April and I have finished multiple UFO's. 

The First two I'm not willing to tell you how long they had been hiding in my closet, and the pink sun dress is from last summer of course the girl it was made for has out grown it.

I made this great little tote bag and thought it would be cute to make a matching one only smaller.

I love this necklace, you should see it in the sunlight. I made it to wear to a Christmas party but changed my mind, I think I wore red instead.

Now to break the manotany of working on these old projects I had done some crafty diversions in between. Just quick little projects I could finish in a day or two, Like my apron tutorial.  Made these great little bottal cap magnets just so I could play with my glue gun :) , and the the ear bud cozzies, (Tutorail is here) from Dog under my desk.

 

Well I hope I didn't bore you to much .... untill next time.

Basic Apron Tutorial

Today I felt like doing a little sewing, so me and my little buddy pulled out the collection of old bed sheets we cleaned out of the closet earlier this week.  We love bed sheets around here they great for every thing from forts and table cloths to rugs and Halloween costumes.

We found one with one of those snazzy boarders on it and thought it would look good along the bottom of the apron.

So I started by laying out the sheet and marking the rectangle on it.

P.S. this would be easier with a yard stick if you have one.

My rectangle is about 36 inches wide and 16 inches long.  the belt/ties are about 6 feet long and 6 inches wide. 

 

Next I added a pocket nothing fancy, just a plain square pocket.  All so added a double run of gathering stitches along the top.

I added some bias tape down the side to pretty it up a bit.  mark the center on the apron and the belt, also mark the points where you want the apron to end.  I marked mine at 24 inches.

I matched my markings and gathered to fit between the end markings.

I then sewed the apron to the belt, and got out the ironing board.  I treated the belt/tie like a big strip of bias tape.

Pressing as I went I folded the belt in half and tucked the raw edges under.  I then ran it through the sewing machine and top stitched it all together.

The finished ties, and the two finished aprons I made. 

Have fun with it, they're quick and easy and can be as plain or fancy as you like.





\