Friday, May 14, 2010

Tutorial: T-shirt Flowers

Hmm...what to do with those old t-shirts...why cut them up and make them into cute flowers, of course! Here's one of a million ways to do it. This is a hand-sewn method.

You'll need:
  • T-shirt knit fabric cut into soft heart or oval shapes, roughly the size of your finished petals
    (I used scraps cut from an old crib sheet for this particular flower)
  • Scrap of fabric for the back, or something to sew the flower to (like another t-shirt)
  • Thread to match your flower (here I am using contrasting thread so you can see what I am doing)
  • Hand sewing supplies


  1. Start by choosing your largest hearts or ovals and folding them haphazardly. Take one and position the petals where the outside edge of your finished flower will be. Stitch into place (see my orange stitching? You may want to use more and smaller stitches. I made mine large for visibility.)

  2. Layer another petal piece on top of the other, stitch down. Work your way around until you have the lowest "tier" of petals.

  3. Add more layers, stitching as you go. Fold the petals in different directions and be sure to sew through all layers. Make each tier a little smaller than the last.

  4. When your flower looks almost finished, fold a very small petal into a cone shape. Pinch the pointed end and sew through it by itself first, then attach in the center very securely.

  5. Fluff and enjoy!

A few tips about these types of flowers:
  • Washing will make t-shirt fabric curl but not fray.
  • If you machine-dry the flower, it will curl more. It's a cute look (kind of like an old rose), but make sure you add enough layers to keep your flower looking full if you plan to tumble dry.
  • You can attach the flower to a scrap of fabric as shown above, then machine or hand stitch really tiny in a circle around the base of the flower to attach it to a garment. Trim around the edge of the circle to hide the base fabric.
Enjoy!

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Monday, May 3, 2010

Tutorial: Seat Stuff Stasher, Part 4

Here we are! So close to the end! Let's finish this thing up.



  1. Grab the back piece with the Velcro on it and your elastic strap. On the RIGHT SIDE of the back piece, pin your elastic strap about 1" up from the bottom edge as shown. (You do not see the bottom edge of my fabric because I used a long folded piece for my back fabric.)
    Your strap end will hang off the edge. Stitch into place 3/8" from edge of fabric. Do this on the other side too.


  2. Place your pocket layer on top of the other back piece, just as it will look when the bag is finished. If you would like to add a binding to the bottom edge later, then line up the raw bottom edges of these pieces for now. If you don't want a binding, then turn under the bottom edges 1/2" and press. (Do the same on the other back piece while you are at it.) Now pin your pocket and top back layers together, but keep the pins toward the middle of the fabric and away from the side edges.


  3. Take your pinned pocket/top back layer and align with the back piece with the straps, right sides together. Pin both side edges. Make sure your long elastic strap is tucked between the layers. Now sew down both sides, using a 1/2" seam allowance, and zig-zag or serge the raw edges. Turn right side out and press the seams. (You can topstitch if you feel like it, or you could do French seams, or whatever floats your boat. I didn't bother because it's a trash bag holder, after all.)


  4. (OPTIONAL BINDING) If you left your bottom edges raw, you need a binding. Cut a 2" wide strip 2" longer than the width of your bag. Put it wrong side down on the BACK bottom edge of your bag, centered. Stitch along edge with 3/8" seam allowance. Turn over, tuck in the ends.




    Turn under the remaining raw long edge of the binding. Fold over the end of the bag to cover the seam line. Pin and stitch 1/8" inside the binding, on both sides as well. This should encase your raw edges and give you a nice strong bottom to your bag.


  5. You are SOOOO close to done, my friends! Take your bag and a couple of pins out to the car and get it into place. You will remember that we didn't attach the headrest strap to the bag. Tuck under the raw end of the strap and pin it into place so the bag hangs exactly where you like. The Velcro will allow you to adjust it slightly as it may hang higher or lower depending on how much stuff is in it. (Don't forget, the Velcro also means that the bag will not rip when your preschooler decides to use it as a stepstool.)


    Now quick! Take it down again just for a minute and dash inside to sew that strap into place. VOILA! You are done! Well, except for one more thing...


  6. Grab your kids and a trash bag and clean up that car!





If you use my tutorial, be sure to comment and post a photo on my Facebook page!! Thanks for reading!!












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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Tutorial: Seat Stuff Stasher, Part 3

Welcome back! I am standing in my garage, typing this up as I watch the kids play in the culdesac. Hooray for laptops!! If I can't be sewing, at least I can blog about sewing, right? Today we'll be working on the straps.




  1. Pick up your short strap pieces. Fold them in half, then stitch 1/4" along each of the long sides.


    Turn inside out and press, then tuck in the raw end 1/2". Stitch it shut.




  2. Cut a small amount of Velcro to fit on each end of the strap, hooks on one side and loops on the other (of course), and stitch them down really well. When the Velcro is fastened, your strap should again be folded in half.


  3. Sew one end of your strap, Velcro up, about 1 1/2" in from the edge of your backing fabric, and about an inch down, as shown.





  4. Now pick up your 4" wide strap piece. Fold in half lengthwise wrong sides together, press. Open back up, and fold sides in to meet at the middle line you created.


    Turn in 1" at one end. Fold together once more. Now your strip is 1" wide.



  5. Stitch around three sides, leaving the raw end open. Now cut a 3" length of Velcro. Stitch the hooks part on the finished end of the strap, 1" from the end.


    Stitch the loops part vertically on the backing fabric, 1/2" inside from one of your short straps, as shown.
    Don't worry about the other end of this strap; we will cut it to fit at the very end.

That's it for now! Next time we will do the final assembly, so stay tuned!!

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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Tutorial: Seat Stuff Stasher, Part 2

Ok, I know you are raring to go. Now that you have decided to make one of these, the junk in your car is driving you nuts. So turn on your iron and let's get to it!



  1. Take the two back pieces and two pocket pieces. (Set aside the strap pieces for now.) Determine which will be the top edges of all of them. Turn under each piece 1/2", press, then turn under 1" and press.




  2. Set aside the back pieces for now. Take your smallest pocket piece, fold in half, and press. Unfold and place on top of your middle pocket, line up the bottom and side edges, and pin. Sew down the fold line you just created. Be sure to backstitch well at the top.




  3. Now let's do the long elastic strap. Find your longest strip of fabric and fold in half lengthwise right sides together, press. Sew 1/4" from raw edge. Turn right side out (use a safety pin attached to one end to help you thread it through.) Press if desired.



  4. Now thread your elastic through. You will probably want to use a safety pin to help get this through, too. Be sure to anchor your other end of elastic to something so it doesn't pop through the tube. I pinned mine to the ironing board.




  5. Leave about 1/2" of elastic hanging out each end of the tube. Tuck in the fabric ends just a little bit to avoid fraying. Stitch very well just inside the fabric line.








That's it for today, next time we will work on the other straps!
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Monday, April 26, 2010

Tutorial: Seat Stuff Stasher, Part 1



I got a new car around New Year's, and we've already put 6200 miles on it, most of those with the kids in the backseat. We keep a permanent stash of books, doodle pads, and small toys in the car to keep everyone entertained. This has pretty much all sat in a big pile between the car seats, and stuff would go flying every time I hit the brakes. Not to mention that when I would occasionally clean up the pile, I'd find a stash of moldy raisins or pretzel crumbs lurking beneath, soiling my precious brand-new upholstery!! The other day I finally decided enough is enough, and I had a couple of hours to kill, so VOILA - a Seat Stuff Stasher, customized to my car.


The bottom is elastic, so it hugs the seat instead of swinging into my preschooler's legs. The headrest strap is Velcro'd, so when she yanks on it too hard it will just fall rather than rip. And there's a place to hang a Walmart bag inside for ooky trash, as well as lots of storage for books.


You can do it too, it's not hard, I'll walk you through it!


For Part 1, let's just get all set up. Whip out your handy measuring tape and head out to the car.


GET THE FOLLOWING MEASUREMENTS:

  • The finished width and height you would like your Stasher to be. We will call these numbers "W" and "H". Mine is 12"w x 20"l.


  • The distance all the way around your seat, where the bottom strap will go. Let's call this "C" for Circumference. It may work best to use a piece of string, feeding it around snugly in the bend of the seat, all the way around to where you started. Cut the string to the exact length, then measure the string.


SUPPLIES:

  • About 1/4 yard each of 2-3 different fabrics (home decor or heavy weight preferred, for extra toughness)

  • About 12" of 5/8" wide Velcro


  • 1 -2 yards of 3/8" elastic (to fit around base of seat)


  • Thread, scissors, pins, iron, your brain, etc. A rotary cutter and self-healing mat are really helpful but not necessary.


Now it's time to cut your fabric!! My kids picked out the fabrics themselves, so they would feel like it was THEIR bag. This is a great opportunity to use up your scraps. Pull out the measurements you took earlier. Then cut:


  • Two backing pieces, W + 1" by L + 2". (For example, my W= 12" and L=20", so I cut two pieces 13" x 22".)


  • Your big pocket fabric, W + 1" square. (Mine was 13" square.)


  • Your front pocket fabric, W + 1" by W - 5". (This is just a ballpark. You can make this front pocket smaller or larger as desired. Mine was 13" x 8".)


  • Your elastic strap cover fabric, 2 " wide and as long as your fabric will allow selvedge to selvedge. If the length is less than the circumference of the seat measurement you took earlier, just cut another piece and sew them together, no biggie.


  • Your headrest strap fabric, 4" x length of fabric selvedge to selvedge. You'll be cutting this to fit later.


  • Your trash bag holder straps, two 2" x 12" pieces.


  • Your elastic, to C - W. That's circumference minus the width of your finished Stasher. Mine was 36". This is loose enough to get over the seat and lumbar support without ripping, but snug enough to not bug the driver.


Hooray! You will be ready to sew next time you sit down to work on this. I'll be back with Part 2 very soon. Thanks for playing and see you next time!!

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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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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Easter outfits for MY girls!

Some time ago, I purchased the Patchwork Twirl skirt pattern by Carla C from youcanmakethis.com. LOVE her patterns, she is very thorough. I probably could have cooked this one up on my own but when I totally rip off someone's idea, I like to give them money for it. Call me old-fashioned. Anyhoo, I had big plans to make Easter outfits for my kids.
Then I abandoned the plans, because my dad got worse, and I was up and down the highway all the time. Put the etsy shop on vacation, put my plans on hold, put life on hold.

And then, plans changed again, because I totaled my husband's car, so I couldn't go anywhere for a while. As you can imagine, I was starting to get a little bit stressed out at this point. What do I do when I get stressed out?

MAKE STUFF.

And suddenly I'm back into crafting, and let me tell you, it is GOOD THERAPY. I've had a lot of extra time around the house lately with my sweet daughters, and they make me smile so much, and they love to twirl and sing. So last week I pulled out this pattern again, and a big pile of scraps, and a couple of Target t-shirts. Voila!




I used the Moda Bake Shop tutorial for the flower. There are lots of great flower tutorials out there, but this one was specifically the look I was going for.
Did my heart good to see their faces for the big "reveal". They immediately put their skirts on and began dancing around!! I was too busy having fun with them to take a picture at that moment!!
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