Showing posts with label craft show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label craft show. Show all posts

Friday, March 4, 2011

Guest Tutorial: No-Sew Pillow Cover by {rindercella}

hi there! i am skye {or rindercella} from neathering our fest. i am so excited to be guesting here today at amy's blog. amy and i met on twitter and she is such a sweetie! she also has some really cute stuff in her etsy shop... i definitely think you should check it out!

today i am going to show you how to make a simple no-sew cover for a pillow!


here is what i used:

table cloth (or any piece of fabric you like or have leftover for another project!)
stitch-witchery
iron/ironing board
damp washcloth
pillow
scissors/pins

i found this tablecloth at a resale store a few months ago. like any crafter i knew i would need it one day so i bought it! it was $1. yippy!


i laid it out face down on my crafting dining room table and placed the pillow on top of it with it situated towards the bottom right corner of the fabric. i left about four inches of extra fabric around the perimeter because this is an extra floofy pillow and i wanted to make sure i had ample to work with.



then i simply folded the pillow and fabric over. i made sure the edges lined up and then gave myself four more inches of slack before i cut around the pillow.



next, i took the fabric and folded it with the wrong side facing out. i laid it on my ironing board and unrolled the stitch -witchery to measure for each side. i only needed two strips for this part because the bottom seam will come from where i have folded it!


after that, i pinned the stitch witchery to the fabric and the ironing board so that it wouldn't move around on me. (i stole gleaned this genius idea from kim over at sand and sisal).


then you place a damp washcloth over one section at a time and then place an iron, set on the "wool" setting (otherwise known as "melt your fingers and face off with the steam produced") on the damp cloth. do not "iron" with it. just let it sit there for about 10-15 seconds. then pick up the iron and the cloth and move it to the next section, repeating until you have the two side seams "hemmed" together.


{note: remember that the washcloth is super steaming hot. don't be me and sustain eleventy billion burn marks from the washcloth. mmk. thanks}

now comes the fun part! stuff the pillow into the pillowcase! you will have an open seam that you will have to "sew" shut. in my case, i knew i wanted to leave this edge raw so-to-speak. i liked the ruffled edge of the tablecloth and wanted that on one edge. so i pinned the bottom of the fabric and the stitch witchery to the ironing board again and repeated the process.

{pretend here that i took a picture. i would have one but i left my third arm at the gym pumping weights in preparation for all the painting in it's future...}

if you want a clean seam all around, simply fold the edges in, pin stitch-witchery in between them and continue on! it is a little tricky, and it helps to leave a little more fabric than you think you need, but if you are patient it will work!

here is my bright, cheerful new pillow cover in it's new {temporary} home! :)




thanks again so much amy for having me! :)

(amy takes the wheel again here)

Thank you, Skye!!  Isn't this SO CUTE?  Can I please have what is left of that tablecloth?  I love the yellow!!

Y'all be sure to go over to Skye's blog and show her some love!  I have a tutorial over there too, just for today.  On a normal day, though, you'll find details of her hilarious adventures as a newlywed and tons of cute decorating ideas!

Linking up:
















HookingupwithHoH
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Saturday, October 9, 2010

"Creativity is not a pretty sight."



Horrific pile, eh?  My mom is visiting, but when she saw my office, she was not surprised.

Because when I was a teenager, I had a Garfield sign on my bedroom door that said, "Creativity is not a pretty sight."  I used this as an excuse for all kinds of horrific clutter in my room, which truly was either debris from creative activities, or a general lack of cleanliness because I was so busy being creative I didn't have time to clean.

Nothing has changed.  ;)  Everything in my sewing room has to coexist with my musical instruments, so they all kind of mingle.  I drape lots of things over my music stand, like these camera strap covers waiting for fleece innards.



I'm getting ready for my only craft show for the fall, a fundraiser for my kiddo's preschool.  Last year I kind of stumbled into this thing because a friend asked me, then she had to back out at the last minute due to childcare issues.  So I just did the best I could, with really low expectations, and rather low inventory as well.  And it went AWESOME.  So I'm back. 

I actually didn't sign up for the show by the deadline.  I didn't want to commit because my dad was so sick.  But they called anyways, the day after the funeral.  And well...I might not be ready for it, but you know, life is short.  So why the heck not?  If I don't have a lot of inventory, I'll just take custom orders like last year.




Besides, hand-binding table runners and knitting hats is a great way to pass the time while I watch the kids play!
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Thursday, April 22, 2010

A very subtle reopening

You know how stores have a Grand Re-Opening, after a renovation or something like that? Well, I'm going for the Very Subtle Re-Opening. Creeping back into doing this Etsy thing, that barely got started before it had to take a break. I took the shop off of vacation mode, relisted a couple of items, and am preparing to list a bunch more one at a time.

Things have stabilized somewhat with my dad, enough that I am not operating in crisis mode. We're finding our family routine again, I've been brimming with ideas, and ready to put them out there! I have also been able to figure out how exactly I want to market my stuff. Weekends are prime family time, so I've decided not to pursue craft fairs. I have some boutique connections in the works, and Facebook is an awesome way to keep things in front of people without having to find a babysitter!!

One last thing...I DO plan to have a Grand Re-Opening Gala Celebration and Big Fussy Hoopla at some point...so keep a look out!
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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Breakin' even!!

My first craft show was a success! I had no idea what to expect, but people were definitely in the mood to buy aprons and baby hats this year! I had to stop taking Christmas orders by the end of the first day. WOW!! That completely exceeded my hopes for the show. I already have a page of ideas for next year!

And other big news...10 1/2 weeks into this business, I have officially started making a profit! I have done other businesses before, and fully expected that it would take a while to build it up, because I had no supplies other than my sewing machine and my brain when I started. I was shooting to break even by the end of the year. So I met my goal early and am completely thrilled. Now I am starting to put the leftover inventory from the craft show up on etsy (see the widget at right), so hopefully that will generate even more!

Some goals for next year include: making up more Christmas-themed merchandise for the Christmas craft shows, placing some product in local storefronts, and saving up enough to buy a dress form. A long term goal is to purchase a monogramming machine and offer personalization.
The biggest necessity I have right now is better storage in my office, so probably that will take some precedence in January (Christmas money may help with this!) It looks like I will be filling more orders for my specialty pathology smocks as well, and perhaps that will involve some medical trade shows...well, I'm just brimming with ideas!

But for now, lots o' knitting and sewing to finish existing orders, and making up some handmade gifts for my super-supportive family!
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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

FBC Christmas Spectacular tomorrow!

I'll be at FBC Georgetown for three days at the Christmas Spectacular, which is their fundraiser for the preschool there. It truly is spectacular...there are huge gift baskets on raffle, over 60 merchants, usually 1000 people attending over the weekend. I am thrilled to be a part of it, to support the school, and for this to be my first event as HoopDeeDoo feels just right!

Thursday 11/12 and Friday 11/13, 9-5
Saturday 11/14 9-3
First Baptist Church
Hwy. 29 in Georgetown, one mile west of IH35
fbcchristmas.org

I will be selling children's art aprons among my merchandise. Here's one of them:


Hope to see you there! It will be a fun time and there is great gift shopping!
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