Misc Project Links

Collection of easy sew girls skirts

Twirly Skirt tutorial I think I've linked this one before, but it's a good tutorial!

Part of the Handmade Holidays series.

Other Dish Towel Patterns

Star Dishcloth

Kitchen Crochet Patterns there are a couple for towel toppers, which I'm going to attempt for gifts as well!

Slippers to sew...

Visitng FREE projects at joann.com! I managed to find a link to their adult slipper patterns.

Yippee I think I have found my January Christmas gift sewing project.

Sweater Mittens, sweater pillows

Ok so searching for a quick homemade gift the kiddos can make led me to http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10004

I am thinking I'll give this a whirl. Only I don't have any wool sweaters & I didn't like the stitching outside. Sew basically I'm not doing the pattern at all! I figure I'll trace my hand, add a bit, line up the pattern at the bottom of the hem or a cuff maybe, cut it out. Then with right sides together I'll sew it on my machine (or maybe the serger...). I'll have to let ya know how it works out.

Sweater Pillows

I have made a few or these. I gave some to my sister as Christmas gifts one year. I still have one or two to sew up for her, she gave me the sweaters this time.

Decide on the size of the pillow, add at least 1" for seams (1/2" each side so 12" pillow + 1" = 13" square), cut out 2 squares to size. I love my square ruler & rotary cutter for this! Then right sides together sew around the square, leaving a big enough hole to turn right side out & stuff (bigger if using a form, smaller if stuffing by hand) Then after it's satisfactorily stuffed hand sew (or machine top stitch) the hole closed. Voila! One very cuddley pillow!!!

btw visit http://myfavoritepowerballads.blogspot.com to see what I'm listening to as I sew!!!

Today's Project

http://www.pfaffusa.com/721_5103.html

Armchair Remote Holder

I am going to make this for my Dad. It's going to be out of the twill camoflauge fabric! I figured I should be able to whip it up today & be done with it. And since I don't have an embroidery machine (~sniffle, sob, sniffle~) I won't have to do that...

I do just love how you have to have "their" sewing machine!!! Because I can't do the project with out it! They all do it, some even tell you you need a specific machine! It's just too funny! Especially when it is something that is mostly straight stitch!!!

Quick & Easy gift I have been meaning to try...

I have been meaning to do this project since I first found it. I am not sure if I haven't found the right towels yet, or if I just have too many UFOs floating around to start another big undertaking...

Head Wrap
Supplies:

One bath towel (the thinner, the better) at least 24" wide and 35" between the woven bands at each end

6" length of 3/8"elastic

sewing thread to match towel

Fold the towel in half lengthwise, right sides together. The fold is at the top.

To make a pattern lay down pattern paper or fabric in between the insets of your towel. Measure 12-13" up on left (to create the back) then 12" towards the right along fold. Then measure 36" (or less depending on your towel) along the finished edge over from the left (back) line. Measure up 3 1/2", then connect the top of the 3 1/2" line to the 12" line at the fold.

If your towel is only 24" or 25" wide, do not cut along the fold at the widest part of the Head Wrap. Use the fold instead of making a seam there.

Cut out your towel using your pattern, if you don't want to use a pattern I'd draw a chalk line of where I wanted to cut. Cut along your lines. keep right sides together.

Fold elastic in half. On the back seam (12-13") measure up 3-1/2"from the finished edges and pin the elastic between the layers, with the cut ends of the elastic extending 1/4" beyond the seam allowance. Sew a 3/8" seam all along the cut edge (tapering into and out of the fold if your towel is narrow). Serge or over edge stitch the seam. Reinforce the seam at the elastic.

Turn the towel right side out. The elastic loop should stick out at the back seam.

To use the Head Wrap, lean forward so that your hair falls in front of your face.Place the back seam of the Head Wrap at the back of your head and allow the rest of the Head Wrap to fall forward over your hair. Twist the narrow end of the towel (with your hair inside), then tuck the twisted end into the elastic loop.

If you wish to embellish the towel, put it on your head as described above and mark where your ear is.

This is where you can embroider. Select a design that is fairly open so you will not have something hard against your ear.

You could do allover decorative stitching, monogram... Possibilities are endless

Almost No sew Tutu...

DD is going to love this! I wish I had a picture right now to post! All I did was sew a piece of elastic to make a waist band (I overlapped the ends & sewed it so it was flat) & then using a slip knot I tied a bunch of pieces of tulle ribbon on to the band.

I know I said almost no sew... don't have the elastic or sewing machine, you can recycle the waist band off a pair of pants that are too short. I'd try to match color to the tulle, but it doesn't matter. Princess is only 3...

I added a few pieces of ribbon slip knoted as well. I used what I had so I had yellow ribbon (the satin kind you can find for $0.44 a roll.) I picked up the roll of tulle ribbon at Michael's the last time I was there. It is fantastic 5" roll of pink tulle! I cut some of the pieces in half length ways so some were 2 1/2" wide. So I alternated the wide strips with the narrow strips. You could use multiple colors for a striped effect....

I cut my pieces to 26" long, figured the skirt would be 12" long + enough to do the knot. I have seen these with more ribbon than I used, silk flowers, ballarina buttons sewn on to the tulle....

The possibilities are almost limitless here!

If you wanted it to tie on instead of pull on just use a long piece of ribbon (I'd go atleast 2x waist size+ a couple inches so the ties would hang down), tie the tulle on. I would knot the ribbon at the end of the tulle just so the slip knots don't slide off.

The bonus...I still have some of the tulle leftover. Maybe I'll make some bows for her hair!

Day 5...Pocket Tissue Dispenser

I made these last year for small gifts for the women in my life. I used Christmas fabric & included a pack of tissues!

Fabric

3 pieces cut 3 1/2" x 6"

INSTRUCTIONS
Fold two pieces in half lengthwise press with a hot iron.
Lay on top of the right side of the third piece overlapping in the center and pin. Folded edges should face the center.
Stitch around entire outer edge in 1/4" seam.
Trim corners careful not to get too close to stitching.
Turn right side out and press, gently pushing out corners.
Cut out, press & pin several at a time just line them up and away you go.

If you have embroidery you could use a plain fabric for the bottom, monogram, design, whatever you can imagine!

Poem to go with rice pillow

This little pillow filled with rice,
Was made with love as a comforting device.
Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes on High,
and kiss those aches and pains goodbye.
Apply it to the troubled spot,
The heat will ease the pain a lot.
Or warm those little toes, so cold
You'll find this nice to have and to hold.
And fix that boo-boo up in style
thinking of me all the while.
Instead of a compress made of ice,
Use this pillow filled with rice.

Day 4...The versitiale Rice Pillow

I have made these in every imaginable size & shape. They can be hot or cold. They can be square, round, rectangular or the odd sock.

I have 4 of these in the house that I made just for us last year. Two are made out of cheap dollar store Men's tube socks. These are great for neck aches, cramps, headaches, etc. I also made 2 we called boo boo bags for my kids, they are about 4" square (I cut 5" squares & used 1/2" seams). They are the perfect size for toothaches, small boo boos & when not medically necessary they are great bean bags!

I use plain old white rice. I found some lavendar & put a few tablespoons in with the rice. It gives a wonderful aroma.

I made them as gifts. Why not. Ds's teacher last year loved hers.

I will be sewing up a couple more this year. The square pillow kind. You can use any cotton fabric, just cut it to the size you want. Sew wrong sides together, leaving a hole for turning & filling. Turn it right side out, use a funnel to fill with rice, I prefer halfway to 2/3 full. This will leave some room for mushing & bending. Then you can hand sew the hole closed or if you are like me & don't care machine stitch it closed (most people wouldn't even notice the difference, unless they sew!).

Microwave times will vary by size, but I have found that 2 minutes is a good place to start. Probably too long for my 4" squares, & not long enough for the tube socks, so experiment.

Enjoy the season!

Day 3...sewing gift for the guy who has almost everything...

http://www.berninausa.com/media/knowledgebase/projects/pdf/prj0048_2efd.pdf

I found this project last year. I haven't attempted it yet, but I do have some extra canvas laying around (ok like most of a bolt left, but I have plans for it!) I bought the canvas to sew shot gun covers for my Dad, but I have used it for art aprons, a toy organizer & who knows what else will come out of it.

I think this might be nice in denim too. I save all the jeans we outgrow or ruin to wear, or I buy at yard sales, they are a wealth of fabric! I am collecting pockets to create an organizer for dd's room. I have recycled more than one pair of dh's old jeans into jumpers for dd.

Happy December 1st!

Sew the countdown begins!!! If you don't celebrate Christmas, forgive me, there are plenty of other holidays this time of year to celebrate as well! Sew no matter what your beliefs are we all seem to have huge lists of things to get done in December!!! I know that if it was any normal month we'd still be busy with 3 family birthdays this month. Coming off November where we have 5 birthdays & 2 anniversaries one barely has time to think!!!
I keep telling myself that I will start earlier in the year, and really I did try this year. Guess I just got sidetracked. And forget accomplishing anything over the summer, we operated 2 ice cream shoppes this year, one with full food service, I'm lucky I was able to keep up with laundry let alone sewing for the holidays.

Sew I figured I'd share the details of the fleece quillows I mentioned yesterday, since it's a cozy & easy gift idea! I finished 3 of these in a few hours, plus made scarves out of the leftovers (just trimmed the edges with my pinked rotary cutter & a 2" fringe on ends with the straight rotary cutter).

Fleece Quillow

What is a Quillow? A quillow is a blanket (or
quilt –hence the name) with a built in pocket. The blanket
folds up into the pocket –creating a pillow. This simple
quillow is made of fleece.
Any blanket or quilt can be made into a quillow by
attaching a pocket with a finished width 1/3 of the width
of the blanket plus 1 to 2 inches and a length of about ¼
of the blanket plus 1 to 2 inches.

Fabric

1. For a 48” by 60” lap quilt: buy 1 7/8 yards of 60” width fleece. (This will leave you left over
fleece for 2 more pillow pockets. –OR- Use an 18” square scrap of fleece for the pocket and
1 and 1/3 yards fleece for the blanket. *You can even piece your little polar fleece scraps to
make a pocket the right size.
2. Larger blankets: If you have access to wider fleece –you can make a longer blanket. For
example, if your fleece is 70” wide, to make a 54” by 70” wide fleece blanket, just make
your pocket 20” long.

If your fleece is 60” wide but you want a bigger blanket, buy more yardage. For a 60”by 72”
quillow, for the blanket portion buy 2 yards of fleece. Your pillow should be 21 to 22”
square.

Supplies:

1. 90/14 Universal sewing machine needle
2. Good quality polyester thread –we like Mettler’s Metrosene.
3. Sewing machine in good working order.
4. (Optional) Rotary Cutter and Mat
5. (Optional) Wavy blade (or you could opt to do a fringe trim)

Sewing Machine Directions for the 48” by 60” quillow:

1. Cut the blanket to measure 48” by 60” (4’ by 5’). –For a fun
treatment, use a wavy blade rotary cutter.
2. Cut an 18” square for the pocket. –Again, use your wavy blade.
3. Mark the center of the short side of your blanket and of your
pocket. –place pocket along blanket short side (48” side) right
sides together–matching center marks. If using the wavy blade
>just pin down and sew around 3 sides of the quillow leaving
interior bottom side open. OR turn under a ½” hem and sew
down from the top. To sew use a narrow zigzag or your stretch
stitch (looks like a narrow zigzag.)

©December 2000 Alexandra Wright* Thread Dreams * for Hans’ Sewing & Vacuum
www.sewvac1.com May be shared freely with attribution.

My first posting...

With Christmas just around the corner (sooner for those of us that are celebrating early) I figure I need to find some quick & easy projects I can get done for the large list I always seem to have!

One project I have found fun & easy to do is fleece scarves. One year I lucked out & bought a ton of fleece on sale, made my nieces quillows & matching scarves. I didn't have my serger at the time, but I had my rotary pinker, cutting mat & ruller! Everything came out great & the girls still use them.

This year I found a fleece project for a "Twist Boa" This boa is fast to make - fold, stitch, cut and twist.

Materials: makes 3
• 1 2/3 yds. outerwear fleece
• matching thread
• marking pencil, chalk
• OPTIONAL: rotary cutter, mat, ruler
Cut:
• (3) 18" X 60" pieces fleece
NOTE: 60" length is parallel to selvage edge
and 18" is greatest degree of stretch.
Directions: for each Boa
1. Using a marking pencil, mark a line 6" from each long edge on the wrong side.
2. Bring top line down to meet the other, folding fleece wrong sides together.
3. Bring raw edge to fold, making a second fold over the first.
4. Using a wide, medium length zigzag, stitch over fold and raw edge from steps 2 and 3.

5. Wrong sides together, fold fleece so remaining long raw edge just covers stitching from step 4. Zigzag over this edge through all layers.
6. On each section, make 3/4" wide cuts about 21/2" deep forming loops. NOTE: Cuts should end approximately 1/8" - 1/4" from stitching.
7. Twist the end of each loop to bring the inside to the outside. Taking care not to stretch loops too much.