Sewing Economist

Baby Toys

2010-12-30T15:34:00.005-06:00

A friend just had a baby so i figured an infant would need fuzzy toys more than anything for Christmas. I made her a cat and a dog. The dog was much more successful than the cat, I think based on the pattern instructions I used.

Here are the cat instructions and the dog instructions.

The cat pattern traced onto fleece. (Note: I traced the pattern with a sharpie which showed up well on the fabric as you can see but also ended up all over my hands when I was cutting it out.)

all four layers of the body
inside look at the body layers
the cat sewn together but not turned right-side out.
completed kitty... works better as a baby pillow but still cute.
The Scottie dog all cut out
sewn together
turned inside out with initials sewn into the side. (Almost reminds me of pound puppies)
Completing the dog surgery.
The finished dog.

PJ Pants

2010-12-30T15:33:00.007-06:00

I made three people PJ pants for Christmas. To make the pattern I traced existing pj's that fit me well onto newspaper. Then I traced the pattern onto the fabric and completed the pants by sewing them as shown in this video by Joann's. I am not as fussy about ironing seams and such i just fold and pin things. I only use and iron when it is absolutely necessary. The video will give you a basic idea of the process. Sorry I was in a rush and forgot to take progress pictures.

Dog PJ's
Shark PJ's
Breakfast PJ's
Not the waist is different than the rest of the pants because I had to get the fabric in two pieces and the first was just long enough to make the pants. I used the second piece to make a cap that holds the elastic and later a ribbon in place.

Update: 2-14-11 I made some cupcake PJ shorts using the same basic idea as with the PJ pants. This time with measuring the elastic for the waist i only used about 3/4 of the actual length around my waist. This way the elastic will keep the shorts up and not just fall down like it did with the pants. You could also use a little more elastic and string a piece of ribbon around for a closer fit.

Fused Grocery Sack- Bag

2010-12-30T15:31:00.016-06:00

For Christmas gifts I thought I would try and "go green" with the wrapping materials. Green was taking more time and plastic bags then I had so i made 5 of these beauties and will make more in the future...

This is a picture of the finished bag overall and
inside of the bag

I followed the instructions from this blog post on Etsy to make these bags to the size of the grocery store reusable bags that i have found to be a good size.

In short you cut off the handles and the bottom of the bag and then cut the bag down the sides to get one long sheet.

collect 6 of these sheets and orient any logos as you want but make sure the ink is in the inside.

then place the 6 sheets of plastic bags between two sheets of parchement paper or wax paper and iron carefully. If the iron is too hot it will melt and make a big hole in middle of the sheet and if it is too cool it won't melt at all. patience is required when fusing bags.

Also note that the sheets will shrink a little as they are fused so you will probably need more bags than you think.

To make a larger sheet just place the sheets overlapping by 1/4 inch and sew a zig zag stitch to connect them. When sewing the edges of the bag place treat it like any other fabric and sew the edges together with the "good" sides of the "fabric" facing each other.

I recommend using the zig zag stitch for all seams and have fun with the color of thread.

Drawing Pad Tote

2010-12-30T15:31:00.013-06:00

I made a couple girls Drawing Pad Totes for Christmas. The idea was to have a note pad where they could draw and have crayons or colored pencils (as age appropriate) stored in the same place.

I began by measuring the size of the paper and then tripling (plus seam allowance) it to get the base size of the of the tote. I sewed along three sides leaving an opening about 1/3 of the length open on the long side. This was done so you could turn the fabric inside out as well as place a stabilizer in between the layers.
also while sewing one end shut i also sewing in one of the handles which were 1.5 to 2 inch fabric tubes. I made large handles to make them easier for the girls to handle. Also at this stage add the ribbon between the handles to tie the tote shut. [not pictured :D]
Next I added the stabilizers to the turned out fabric. I bought two kinds of placemats to give the bag structure. I used hard plastic placemats under the middle panel and the panel where the paper goes. Under the side where the crayons go i used a foam placemat that I could sew through.

Once those were in place I sewed two lines to keep the stabilizers in their panels.

Then I added a some fabric over the opening which will later be sewn down to give the crayons individual pockets. I doubled over the fabric so I would not need to hem the material at the top but also to give the pen pockets extra strength but being held in place under two layers of fabric. the length of fabric needs to be longer than the size of that panel to allow for a "pleating" like effect when sewing the pockets.

Before the pencil pocket gets sewn in place don't forget to add the handle and a tie ribbon at the joint between the pencil panel and the middle panel.

Once you have decided how many pockets you want just sew along the lines you made and you will have pencil pockets on both side of the pencil panel.

This is the finished tote when you first opening it
Then opening the tote
The fully open tote view.
I also made a tote in purple. The pink one has erasable colored pencils and the purple has twist up crayons. [Hopefully the twist up crayons won't make a big mess if left in the hot car...]

The closed totes.

Black and Gray Tomatoe Pin Cushion

2010-08-28T13:46:00.004-05:00

Creation of a black and white Tomato pin cushion for my friend that likes black and gray and did not own a pin cushion!

Wedding Invitation Frame

2010-08-28T13:28:00.004-05:00

I made this frame for some friends that are getting married soon. They sent a cute poem in the invitations saying they had a lot of stuff but really needed money for a house. So I thought I would paint this frame for them based on the design of their invitations and frame a picture of a former president :)

Fabric Flower Pins

2010-08-28T13:17:00.009-05:00

I found this cute tutorial from "Sew Blessed" for fabric flowers and thought i would make some for a friend who lost the flower pin from her purse.

The Fabric:

making the petals:

fold one square of fabric into a triangle and do a simple stitch across the open area.

pull/gather to make one petal

repeat the process on the same piece of string for the remaining 4 petals.

the completed flower base.

sew a piece of felt to the back of the flower base. Sew in a safety pin and finish it by sewing a button on the front.

all the pins i made

Front
back: i sewed a piece of felt to the back and then sewed a safety pin in place.

Origami Crane Wall Hanging

2010-08-28T12:10:00.004-05:00

If you know me you know i love origami and especially origami cranes :) [pictured below]

if you know me you also know i enjoy math and patterns sooooo I wanted to make a wall hanging of the pattern of an unfolded crane [pictured below]. I chose colors that would complement my living room.

I cut out 6 inch squares and black trim 2 inches thick to make a border

I then sewed all of the pieces in place. sewing the vertical pieces between each block and connecting these rectangles with the horizontal pieces.

I then cut out a piece of black fabric [not pictured] the size of the front of the mini quilt. place the backing and the front good side to good side and cut a piece of batting the size of the hanging and sewed that in place leaving enough room to turn it inside out.
The quilt turned out with the hole ready to be closed and the design to be added.

The finished hanging on my sofa looking onto my rug...pretty good color match huh?
close up of the finished design.

Donut Paintings

2010-08-20T13:10:00.001-05:00

I love donuts!! I blame my Grandpa, but in a good way. I wanted to create a series of painting showing some of my favorite donuts that way i could remember him and the fun we had eating donuts :)

The donuts are schetched

the base color has been added
I decided i needed to add a layer of white to the background
The base of the donuts have been repainted and appropriately shaded.
The finished project up on the wall
Close ups of the donuts

Frames Summer 2010

2010-08-10T13:03:00.000-05:00

here are a few frames i made this summer to try and sell...

Wall of Fame

2010-07-31T13:54:00.003-05:00

A friend needed a sign for a display of veterans pictures that said "Wall of Fame" this is what i came up with.

we got individual letters and 3 pieces of wood from joanns and gave everything a base coat of white and traced the outlines of the letters on the board so i wouldn't have the play with the spacing again.
I then drew in pencil where i wanted all the lines and taped them off to make my red stripes

it is a two stage process to get all of the lines in because my painters tape is wider than my stripes.
the letters drying
all the base lines are now done
then without any tape i extended the red lines down the sides and added the blue area, coloring the sides as well. The blue field was then finished off with little white stars
The somewhat finished piece. the letters will be nailed into the board from the back, but this will be done once they reach their final destination

Dress Clothes Quilt

2010-06-20T20:57:00.002-05:00

I made this Dress Clothes Quilt for a friend from some of his old clothes that made there way to the rag pile. Each square is 12 inches and i was able to get 3 squares from each side of the shirt and 1 from each sleeve. I though the buttons and zippers gave a nice effect to the quilt. so i incorporated them but I only put them on the front of the quilt and not in the first row so they would be less likely to catch on something unexpectedly or bother the user if they pull the quilt up to their eyes.

The squares cut out and arranged for the front.

The squares cut out and arranged for the back.

The back squares sewed together in a row.
The front all stitched together.

Quilt sandwich the front and back faced good side to good side with batting on top. I trimed the batting after i had sewn all around the edges.

The most fun thing about this quilt is that i did not have to leave an opening on the side to turn the quilt inside out.

I just unbuttoned one of the front squares and pulled the quilt though this opening, :)

The opening right side out.

The front of the finished quilt.
The front of the finished quilt with some of the back showing.

Angry Salad Puppet.

2010-06-18T20:33:00.001-05:00

For a friends birthday another friend and I made an Angry Iceberg Lettuce Salad puppet.

The early assembly stages: carrot stick eyebrows, hard boiled egg eyes, mushroom nose with leaves cut awaiting assembly.

Now add 3D eyes and cucumber ears

Close up of eyes

Close up of ears/nose
The plate and dinner table cloth base.

The angry salad comes to life!

Various Paintings Over the Years

2010-06-03T21:44:00.009-05:00

These are some of the paintings I have done in the last few years...

Margarita: for a friends birthday

Nor Cal Disc Golf: for a friends birthday

Sparkle Monkey frame: Christmas present for a friend

Rock N' Roll frame: a Christmas Gift for a friend.

Desert Window: I painted this to hang in my windowless office
CA Ripe Olives: Do i need a reason??

Baby Frame: gift for a fiend who had just had a a baby

Enterprise: for a friends birthday

Sketch of the enterprise to get it right on paper before i moved to canvas

Up close on the finished enterprise

The whole painting
Iona Abby

Duct Tape Union Jack Messenger Bag

2010-05-25T19:26:00.000-05:00

I was inspire to make this bag for my favourite little sisters birthday she, like me, enjoys duct tape and has been known to impersonate Brits on occasion. I thought this bag would be a perfect fit for her.
I thought a messenger bag would be the most appropriate and functional style to make, but with these basic ideas you could make anything you wanted!

I measured a folder I had, finding it to be 9.5x12 inches i decided to make the bag 11x13 inches with a 3 inch width so the bag was big enough to be functional.

I used some poster board left over from another project and cut out 3 pieces that were 11x13 inches, 2 pieces that were 3x11 inches, and 2 pieces that were 3x13 inches.

I covered each piece with the navy blue duct tape (DUCK brand)

Then I started to create the flag image in layers, first the white, then the red. It is key to have the solid blue background because you can easily un-peal duct tape from itself to reposition the tape, but not from paper!

once the flag was done i covered up the raw edges on all the pieces that would not be joined to another piece.up next is assembly join the two edges position the rectangles appropriately and tape one continuous piece of blue duct tape on each side. continue until the basic bag shape ifs formed.
next form the strap by cutting of two pieces of duct tape in the desired length and carefully attach the sticky sides to each other.

To attach the strap to the bag place one end of the strap inside the bag and tape in place.
Then staple the strap to the bag with the bottom of the staple on the inside of the bag, about 4 staples should do it.

To disguise the staples and to keep you safe double over a piece of tape to act as a pad over the staples on the inside and them put one final piece of duct tape over the stapled are on the inside and out.The finished bag!

Duct Tape Luggage Tag

2010-02-15T21:55:00.000-06:00

When I fly I like to look at peoples luggage tags so i can see where they live... I guess I want to feel superior only living 30 minutes and not 3 hours away from an airport like my parents. I needed a new luggage tag and i was in a duct tape mood :)

Here is the finished tag

I used clear tape of make the information viewing window and the rest is 100% duct tape.

These luggage tags are very sturdy and held up quit well in my last two plane trips. the tab fits securely under the strap so it will not easily open to prying eyes...

If you would like to purchase one (or more) from me. Send me a message through this site or http://www.etsy.com/people/CARipeOlives to inquire about color and quantity options.

Origami Crane Earrings

2010-01-29T21:37:00.000-06:00

I thought I would share my love of origami with the world though earnings :)

I was testing what size of paper to use for the cranes and i settled upon 1.5 inch square paper. I thought this little family of cranes was cute so i am sharing that as well.

These are the finished earnings. I have other colors of fabric and beads available. If you would like to purchase a pair (or more) from me. Send me a message through this site or http://www.etsy.com/people/CARipeOlives to inquire about color and quantity options.

Muppet Style Puppets

2010-01-20T09:39:00.001-06:00

My friend and I made some Muppet style puppets for a late Christmas 2009 gift for two of our friends.

here are some pictures of the process. We based the design from this post on www.ehow.com

drawing the pattern
(note to self: make the fingers longer and more separated next time)

one down one to go

gluing fabric to the mouth board

sewing the puppets
finalizing gluing in the mouth board

cutting out the foam to shape the head

the end our first work day.

finished products!

Wine Charms

2010-01-18T22:35:00.000-06:00

I received an order for 3 sets of wine charms for three different sets of people.

This old fashion looking ones are for a friend that likes antiques.

close up of the charms

I used this latch clasp... It was really hard to find these at the craft store, they could be made just by making a loop with wire and bending the ends at the angles shown here.

I used a crimp bead at each end of the beads to keep them from moving around on the hoop.

all of the charms together

Set number two: Elephants.

Set number three: "Manly" Wine charms.

I used wild animal charms and stones turned into beads as the most manly inputs i could find at the craft store.
close up on a few of these charms.
All of this set together.

Drawstring Duct Tape Bag

2010-01-18T22:09:00.000-06:00

I initially made this bag because a needed a "manly" bag to hold a small gift. It ended up being popular so I made a few more for some friends.

Here is the original in teal.

Next up is purple

Then black with a teal drawstring.

Group shot.
Action shot.
If you would like to purchase one (or more) from me. Send me a message through this site or http://www.etsy.com/people/CARipeOlives to inquire about color and quantity options.

Clutch Purse

2009-11-20T10:03:00.000-06:00

I decided to make clutch purses for my sisters wedding party, including me :). Her colors were Brown and Purple. I couldn't find the right shade for purple satin for the outside to match the dresses so I went the brown and then found some funky fabric with purples and browns for the interior.

I found this great tutorial on craftster and i thought it would be perfect for this project. This bag has a strap and button closure, but i modified it to have a magnetic closure.

To make the satin hold the pleats and to strengthen the cotton I lined all the fabric with fusible web.

I cut each of the liner and main fabric too the same size. I determined this size to be twice as big as I wanted the bag to be. you can figure this out with a piece of newspaper or something and fold the paper "taco" style [vs. "hot dog" style] till you have about what size bag you want.

The smaller rectangle is to make the decorative cap on the top. this needs to be twice as wide and twice as long as the length of the opening at the top of the bag.

This picture shows all of my fabric cut and ironed with the associated cut pieces of fusible web. NOTE: make sure you iron your fabrics ahead of time because the wrinkles will be "locked -in" once you iron on the fusible web.

happy ironing...

Now that everything is ironed! We can move onto the next step.
NOTE: In some cases i think it would have been better for the web to go closer to the edges on both fabrics. The satin tends to fray and having the web going to the edge would prevent more of this from happening. Also the corners of the bag were not as perfectly square because the web didn't get to the corners of the bag. I was just getting the most from the web to have little excess and to not have to run back out to the fabric store to get more web.
forming the pleats, step 1: lay out your piece of fabric wrong side up
forming the pleats, step 2: fold it in half taco style [the size you want the bag] mark the centers with pins and unfold
forming the pleats, step 3: now fold in half hot dog style and bring the fold down about an inch or so
forming the pleats, step 4: fold the top fabric back to make an inch or so wide fold and pin in place. congratulations you have made your first pleat.
forming the pleats, step 5: turn the fabric over and repeat pulling the fabric down the same inch or so
forming the pleats, step 5: fold the top fabric back and pin an inch or so wide piece of fabric in place. you now have two symmetric folds around the center point we found in step 1.
forming the pleats, step 6: repeat this making even pleats back and forth across the center until you have a few inches worth.
what step 6 looks like on the good side of the fabric
forming the pleats, step 7: now carefully sew all the pleats you just made in place
step7 completed
next fold the bag back up taco style inside out. at this point "fluff" the bag/ unfold some of the pleats to create the u shape in the bag. Then square off the top by cutting as shown.
now you need to sew the edges in place. be careful to get both side of the fabric and hopefully some of the feasible web because satin can fray easily. after you have sewn the edge shut on both sides, do a little "stress test" to see if the edges fray if they do re-sew them shut and test again. once the stitching is solid trim the excess on each end.
here are my five finished bag bases, in-side out
here are my five finished bag bases, right-side out.
next since each of the shapes were a little different on the back of the lining I traced the bag.
folded it in half, sewed around three of the edges, leaving the top open and trimmed the three edges i sewed leaving any extra fabric at the top to attach the collar.
the liner fits into the bag.
all of the bags with their liners
now for the collar take one of small rectangles
fold it in half hot dog style
and then in half again taco style
trace the center of the curve of the bag onto the collar with the folded edges to the top.
here is what the trace looks like.
to transfer the curve to the other side of the fabric i put pins in along the way at different junction points
flipped it over and drew a line between the pins on the other side

I then unfolded the collar
sewed along the line i just drew and cut off the excess.
with the bad side still out I unfolded the collar and sewed the edges together
the finished collar
basic idea of how all the pieces fit together.
now time for the magnetic clasp. I folded the liner in half and marker the center just under the line marking the top of the bag.
i placed one side of the clasp under the fabric to mark where my two parallel cuts would need to be made
what one side of the clasp and its "washer" look like with the cut holes
first you place the clasp in the holes with the business end on the good side of the fabric
then you slip the washer in over the tabs
and with a pair of pliers you bend the tabs down to secure the clasp in place

then you repeat on the other side place the other end of the clasp into the side you just installed and mark where you need to make cuts. this way you know the clasp will line up when you are done. finish as before.
to attach the collar fold down the excess on the top of the liner and pin the collar in place around the opening and hand sew in place. [i didn't do this until later but easy enough to do now]
the liner now fits nicely into the bag view 1 and a view of the finished clasp
the liner now fits nicely into the bag view 2
all of the bags semi assembled
now is when i am getting the collar sewn in
and the fancy button sewed onto the front
once the collar and the button are sewed in place carefully sew the collar onto the bag.

ta da! five finished bags.

Bunny Bag and Pencil Case

2009-10-21T16:27:00.005-05:00

I turned this much loved jumper into a tote bag and pencil case.

The original, front
and back.

Measuring the largest square i could use.
The cut fabric.

Cutting stripes of fabric for the handles.

Sewing and turning the straps inside out.

Assembly stage 1: sew the sides together.

Stage 2: sew the bottom corners of the bag at a diagonal to square off the bag. As indicated by the pins in this picture.

Stage 3: sew the handle on the bag and you have a cute new bag!

To utilize the rest of the designs i made a pencil case from the remaining bee and hive. I cut a rectangle as long as the zipper i had in stock and wide enough to include all of the design.

Add the zipper
and presto a new pencil case!

Tie Skirt

2009-10-21T10:40:00.008-05:00

I thought it would be fun to make a skirt out of ties so i found a lot of ties on ebay for a good price.

I sorted through the ties and picked out ones that were in the burgundy and silver range. Then sorted them again so that patterns next to each other would be complementary.

I then undid the thread at the back of the tie exposing the lining.

Then you cut out the lining at the desired height about 20 inches or so. I ended up wanting a length of about 17 inches and cut it at about 19 inches so i could fold over the hem.

Place two ties next to each other where you have lined up the two ties along the fold. When you begin to sew make sure the points are lined up.

all the ties sewn together. One tip is that the slippier the tie the more likely it will move around when you are trying to sew it. so when pinning the seam you want to sew in place. also pin the rest of the tie open to the ties that have already been sewn to help you keep things in check.

The back of all the ties. I will go back and re fasten the backs together at some point to have a heavier skirt. other plans indicate cutting of the extra length before sewing it together.

I then cut off the ties part at the height i wanted. you could do this earlier if you wanted i didn't know exactly what length i wanted the skirt to be.

I then folded the top over like an inch or so and sewed that in place avoiding sewing over the first and last tie where i would needed to attach the zipper.

close up of the hem.
sewing the hem.

attaching the zipper. I brought the zipper all the way to the top so when i folded the hem back over the extra length of the zipper would be in the hem. to add stability and a more polished look.

If you don't want to do a zipper you could also do elastic in the waist. , just stitch the ties all the way around in a circle instead of leaving an opening.
close up of the top of the zipper

completed zipper. ready to sew the hem on the remaining two ties. Also at this point the skirt was a little too big for me so i added a few pleats in the top of the skirt when i sewed the hem a second tie to yield a better fit.
The zipper was too long on the bottom so i sewed in a zipper stop at the length i wanted and cut the rest off, per the package instructions.

The completed skirt.

Travel Purse

2009-10-18T22:35:00.007-05:00

I needed a purse i could zip up and that would hang across my body. I found a couple of tutorials on www.craftster.org/ that i combined to make this purse. I also didn't want to but anything new so i just used things i had around so it could match better, but i like it well enough.

I used this post for the basic purse design. i made 2 inch corner cut outs to create a square base and the basic square is like 9 x 13. I just estimated something that would be a good proportionally to my body and hold enough things.

Step 1: I cut out two patterns so i could cut them out in one go.

Step 2: cut out the liner fabric using the same pattern as the outer fabric.

Step 4: make pockets for the inside. Use the liner fabric a few inches longer than the final product to add some pleats in it to accomidate the items you wish to hold.

Step 5: sew across the bottom then up the sides and in the center to create the desired pocket sizes.

Step 6: here are the pockets that are filled

Step 6: I cut out a hole a little bit smaller than the zipper and then did a zig zag around the edges. Just before i sewed the zipper on a cut a liner fabric the same size because the liner fabric snags easily on the back.

Step 7: I cut an oppening on the back to expose the zipper. This is kind of a messy look, but i will know better for next time :)

Step 8: I created the zipper for the top following this post. Next time i would add some of the liner fabric in this step for a more polished look in the end. a reminder of how to do this can be found in this post.
Step 9: sew around the outside edges except the top and the corners. Then square off the corners as shown above. Also not pictured at this step assemble the liner in the same way as the outside of the bag while inducing the lining pieces when sewing the edges and only square off one corner to allow a way to turn the bag inside out later.

Step 10. Make a long tube of inside out fabric for the strap then turn it out.

Step 11: Start the assembly process. With the main bag turned inside out push the strap down to the bottom of the bag, pin the straps in the corner to keep them in the desired place.
Step 12: add the liner to the outside bag and strap so the good sides are facing each other. Sew around the top edge.

Step 13: turn the bag right side out through the hole in the lining.

Step 14: square off the corner of the liner. tuck in the outer edges so there are no stray threads.

Step 16: The final bag overall [above] and inside [below]. I also added a little green ribbon to the zipper pull to make it easier to use.

Reversible Purse

2009-05-25T12:05:00.001-05:00

In the middle of the week i had an idea to make a reversible purse. This took me a about a couple hours spread over 2 nights. I had some pink cord left over from my gyro mouse bag (see May 2008), which dictated my fabric choice of the cat fabric also leftover from gyro mouse bag and pink from an old tank top left over from the t-shirt quilt (see June 2008).

My first step was to take a piece of newspaper, my wallet, keys, and cell phone to create a template for the purse that would hold all those contents easily. I decided on 20 inches long by 10 inches wide, then I cut out the cat fabric to use a template to cut the pink fabric.

I stretched the shirt over the cutting mat so i didn't cut through both layers of the fabric

The pink fabric is almost cut to the same size.

a preview of side one.

A preview of side two.

I then sewed the top and the bottom closed while the fabric was inside out [good side to good side].

next, while still inside out I sewed the sides down 3 to 4 inches which will be the front flap.
The result of all the sewing on the reverse side.

Next I turned the purse right side out and on the open edges i tucked the raw edges in and pined everything down.
Then I folded the open area in half and then sewed along both edges.

Next i used my sewing machine to put in button hole stitching.

Button hole on the reverse.

I used a seam ripper to open the button hole.

then i attached the buttons back to back, make sure you leave enough slack when sewing the buttons so that they will still slip through the button hole.

The last step was to hand sew in the cord, right under the fold. there should be enough space to tuck the cord a 1/4 inch or so into the bag to hide the raw edges.

The finished purse side one.

The finished purse side two.

The filled finished purse.

Slip Covers for Sofa

2009-05-19T19:30:00.006-05:00

My boyfriend had a little sofa whose 70's plaid cushion had come to their demise so I made some new cushions for the sofa.

Step 1: was to get 5 inch thick foam from joanns when it was on sale and cut it in 24"x20" squares. there was a little extra piece at the end of the foam which I made into a side cushion.

Step 2: get a whole bunch a fabric and cut it to size.

This is a picture of the foam and the cut fabric.

Step 3: sew all of the pieces together except one long edge, which the zipper will be sewn into it.

Step 4: sew the zipper in the one long piece for all 5 pieces.

Step 5: sew the last piece into place and stuff with the foam.

The finished sofa. I left the fabric a little baggy so that i could put some batting in to hide the rough edge cuts. turns out you can't really see it. so the batting will be the next step.

But Fredo doesn't care and is enjoying the sofa anyway!

Blood Drop Buddy

2009-03-28T20:35:00.010-05:00

These are my Blood Drop stuffed toys. I got the Pilgrim one 6 years or so ago for giving blood, and a friend that works for the blood bank recently sent me the gold one. The gold really is not my style and I thought compared to the Pilgrim he could use some more style. After taking some suggestions the style that won was Lederhosen...

Here is the before shot

i took the bow off and measured for the circumference of the pants and sewed this together in a tube and did the same for each leg.

I then pinned the body and legs together along with an extra piece to join everything together. i pinned everything on the inside to keep the seams hidden.

the finished pants!

I then made some two straps by sewing a mini tube of fabric and sewed then so that they cross in the back.
final pants!

no more hat!

take a rectangle of fabric and fold it into a trapezoid by bringing in the corners to a point at the center line and running a few stiches to keep that point.

then you can kinda push the center down to make the shape you want to for the hat.

I used clear thread to sew the hat onto his head.

the criss cross straps

the buddies back together again!

Sweater One Reconstruction

2009-02-19T22:25:00.007-06:00

The before shot

I cut along the center and added some extra fabric to attach the zippers to trying to follow the logic of this craftsters post

this is the sweater with the fabric added. where my sweater is different that the shirt demonstrated in the link, which i am trying to demonstrate in the picture is that you can pinch a roll of fabric along the center. most of my zip of sweaters have that so i thought i would try it.

this picture is showing how the length of the zipper was just a bit too long so i just hand stitched over it a bunch of times i link under where i wanted to just it off. I think the zipper package usually gives directions. my scissors were not being friendly this night so that's what i did. make sure you cut an even/level amount off each side

the cut edge!

close-ish up shot on the top.

close up on the bottom. which could use some finessing but that's for another night.

I also added pockets. final desired size was 5x5 inches so i cut 6x6 inch squares and put them about inch from the zipper and 2.5 inches from bottom.

The after shot

Simple Brown Purse

2009-01-03T23:52:00.004-06:00

outside fabric

Lining fabric

Sew one side

sew the zipper in: just continue along one hand sewing one side at a time

here is how the zipper should look.

on the other side you will have to sew in the ribbon to serve for the strap. i think i got a yard because it was cheap, like .33 cents a yard and i just a tie a pretty knot at the top depending on how much i need. this way i would have plenty left to leave excess and sew into the bag. it will be visible from in the lining. also be sure you don't have any twists in the ribbon its not going to be fun to fix it later.

once the straps are in place continue sewing in the second side of the zipper.

once all that is done you can sew the final side of the bag.

if you turn it inside out this if what it should look like.

the finished bag from the top down.

the finished bag!

Cookie Monster and Flower Clay Beads

2008-12-18T22:56:00.000-06:00

Christmas 2008 I made necklaces for some of the young ladies (under 5 years old) in my life.

The first beads I made were flowers.

The other beads were cookie monster and cookies :) There were even a few beads left over that i could make myself a cookie monster necklace.

Halloween Clothing Reconstruction

2008-11-17T00:34:00.010-06:00

I wanted to make a Halloween outfit without spending too much money for the economics themed party that was being held at some friends house. this costume is for a "slutsky equation" were the costume design gave emphasis to the first word.

I adapted the directions for triangle camisole found on this site

first you take a regular t-shirt, it can be one that fits you or not. this one made it to the pajama shirt/rag pile because it had a run in with the bleach.

second you cut off the shirt under the armpits, this tube of fabric becomes the base of the shirt now. at this point you would size the tube to fit you, in this case i did not need to make those adjustments.

third you cut out triangles from the sleeves, so you can leave the upper part of the shirt to cut 1.5 to 2 inch wide strips to make the strings that hold the shirt up.

once the triangles are cut position them on the shirt while you try it on, pin it in place and then sew it down. also before you do this you may want to hem the top part of the shirt to give it a finished look.

next you need to sew the strips together to make them long enough to tie around your neck.

once you have two long strips completed fold it around one of the triangles as shown here, pin in place and sew up the whole length of the strap to give it extra stability.

here is what one looks like, then do the same thing for the other side and you are done.

tada the finished shirt!

now what is a shirt with out a skirt??

i had this skirt, i didn't really like how it fit me and the zipper had recently broken so needless to say i never really wore it, so i decided it would be a prime target to adjust to fit me better. my goal with this skirt was to make it wider so it would fall at my hips and not my waist and shorter to fit with the Halloween theme.

here is the skirt in its original state

task one was to take of the zipper and the back seam.

then i measured about where i wanted to cut the fabric, keeping in mind the construction of a skirt where the front is a little shorter than the back by a half an inch or so.

i cut off the bottom length and pined it in place on the sides, keeping in mind the grain of the corduroy, once these were sewed in place i made a final fit adjustment and sewed the back shut. i made this a slip on skirt for ease.

then i hemmed the bottom and the raw edges on the back and voila! a new shorter wider skirt

Warm Fuzzy "Full Slanket"

2008-11-17T00:24:00.003-06:00

This is a variation on the slanket or blanket with sleeves. hence the name "full slanket" as this warm fuzzy has a back to it. It is made with 3.5 yards of Fleece.
Directions are forthcoming but the main feature that sets this apart from other similar products is the side drawstring to pull up the extra length from your feet when you walk.

60th Birthday Quilt

2008-11-16T23:34:00.009-06:00

For my Mom's 60th birthday i made a "community of love" quilt with squares submitted from friends and family from all stages of life.

here is a basic step by step process of what i did.

this picture has all of the 12 inch squares stacked by row ready to add the boarder in between. you can see the boarder in the background on the back of the chair.

next the squares are sewn together with a navy blue boarder. I cut 3 inch long strips and sewed in the long strip and cut it to length after it was sewn in place.

Then i sewed a long 3 inch strip across each row to finish the basic front of the quilt, then i sewed a 5 inch wide strip around each edge with mitred corners

now it is time to assemble the quilt and cut the fabric to size. i had to move all my furniture to the side so fit the backing fabric on the floor. [note the fabric should be right side up, i had to flip it after i took the picture]

on top of the backing fabric add the batting

then add the front of the quilt good side down, so the good sides face each other. trim and pin around all the edges

then sew around all the edges

and turn inside out.

tada! the quilt just after it has been flipped out. note at this point you need to sew up the hole you left to be able to turn the quilt out. also you need to "quilt" each intersection so that the batting doesn't slip around inside the fabric. i just sewed along the initial sewing lines so that the look would not change.

the finished product

the finished product at the party.

Hose wrap

2008-10-09T18:13:00.004-05:00

This is another CPAP related craft. I wanted to make a wrap that would be easy to get on and off to keep the warm humidity from the machine to the mask without “rain out”

Iwas reading online about hose wraps that were made of fleece and sewen in a tube, but the comments I saw that they were hard to get on and off. I thought I would make a wrap of fleece to reatin the lightness, but make the attachment out of velcro. I made the fabric a little wider then to just wrap around the tube to allow for the possibility of not complete coverage.

I used a rubberband to keep each end in place.

I have used it for one night and I think it helps, also it is nice just to have something fuzzy and not so medical next to you at night.

Eye Mask

2008-10-09T18:03:00.005-05:00

I needed an eye mask to block out he light as I slept, but one that wasn’t very rigid so I could flip it up to see out from under my CPAP mask. NOTE: if you want to make one for use without a CPAP i would add some batting inbetween the two layers to keep some rigidity while you sleep.

I made this one out of a few scrap pieces of t-shirts and elastic.

First I made a pattern on paper based on my glasses, cut it out to test the fit and modified it until I thought it would block out the light I needed.

Then I layered the two fabrics I was going to use and cut out the pattern with a ¼ inch seam allowance.

Next I sewed the elastic into the light blue fabirc which is the front fabirc so nothing would bother my face. I made the elastic long enough to keep very loose tenstion so it wouldn’t fall off my face.

Then I sewed the two pieces of the eye mask together inside out leaving the two openings unsewn so the strap would be right side out. Then I sewed those holes together and I was done.

MP3 Player/Eye Glasses Bag

2008-10-09T16:22:00.005-05:00

I have been criticized for making a new bag for every new thing I buy, which is not far from the truth but it keeps things safe and organized, so I am ok with this criticism.

I bought an MP3 player to help me study for an exam and have found it helpful while exercising as well, but I needed a way to keep it safe and in order in my bag between uses so I made the bag as follows. This is similar to the external hard drive bag I made but the drawstring mechanism is different.

For this project I used the end of a long sleeved shirt, a piece of pre quilted fabric and a piece of ribbon.

First cut the sleeve to legnth for your item, long enough for the item to fit with a little extra room and some overlap to “trap” the ribbon.

Second cut the pre quilted fabric, as long as you want for the item and an extra ½ inch for sewing the fabirc together. NOTE: Pre quilted fabric is used for ease of use and to give some extra padding for the item.

Then you need to sew the pre quited fabric along the line of the edge of the sleeve fabric. Note likely this will not be a straight line so sew accordingly.

Next we need to do the basic assembly. Turn the sleeve fabric inside out so that in the outside is on the inside. Then turn the pre quilted fabirc inside out so that the pattern is on the inside and put the sleeve inside the pre quilted fabric.

On the skinnier side turn in the bottom edges and sew this shut.
One the skinnier side turn in the bottom edges and sew this shut.

Next you need to create the draw sting channel by folding the sleeve fabirc over quilted fabric to trap the ribbon.

This is probably eassiest done by pinning the ribbon in place underneth the sleeve fabric, so the ribbon is not sewen into fabric. Note also you need to cut along the seam of the sleeve fabric to the top of the pre quilted fabric to allow the ribbon room to come out.

Then you are done. It is also good for some big sunglasses that won’t fit into a traditional case and the sleeve fabirc is also very soft so you can clean your glasses eassily as well.

27* Dresses

2008-10-09T16:11:00.006-05:00

This is a little video i made showcasing the outfits I made over the course of my childhood for my favorite stuffed animal, Beethoven. I recently found them while cleaning out my things from my parents house.

Grocery Bag Holder

2008-07-27T20:00:00.004-05:00

This is a very simple project you can do in about an hour. My sister wanted me to make a grocery bag holder and dispenser, she picked out the color and I sewed it all by hand. One note the pre quilted fabric is a little difficult when it comes to stringing the ribbon.

I took about a 15 inch square folded each of what will be the open ends over ½ inch or so depending on the ribbon you want to use. Then pinned the long edges together and sewed along the pin lines. Note: do not sew over the pockets created when folding the edges over.

Then string some ribbon through the pockets you created. This is not always an easy task, you can try a needle to guide the ribbon, a chopstick to push the ribbon, or what I ended up using was a long bit of wire folded in half to give you something that is sturdy enough to push, yet still bendable to make it around the corners. The ribbon will be short on one side to tie the ribbon in a bow and the other long to be able to hang it on the wall.

External Hard Drive Bag

2008-07-27T19:47:00.005-05:00

External Hard drive bag

I was running out of space on my flash drive and decided to go big and get a 160 GB hard drive. Then I came upon the realization I didn’t have a way to keep it safe. I decided to make a little pouch to ameliorate the situation.

I used the sleeves from two of the leftover shirts of my t-shirt quilt along with some spare batting and ribbon. When cutting the sleeves make sure to leave some excess above the make crease for the drawstring portion of the bag.

I then pined and sewed the bottom of the bag and batting together, making sure the batting didn’t show outside of the bottom seam.

Next sew the black fabric down over the batting and pin the ribbon just above the main seam on the outside fabric. You will have to cut a slit in the outer fabric to let the ribbon out.

Now sew the outer fabric over ribbon.

Next sew these two layers together and be careful not to sew the ribbon into these layers.

Tada you are done!

Newspaper Bow

2008-07-27T19:07:00.009-05:00

Bow Instructions

I do not like to buy wrapping paper so most often I will wrap packages in newspaper, but I do not like to give boring looking packages so I dress them up with bows and “ribbon” around the package. I started doing this in 2001 and at the time I had access to the local newspaper [white gray in color] and the financial times [pink/salmon in color]. I liked to use these two to give contrast in my wrapping, now since I do not have access to the financial times I try to use a very colorful section of the news paper for the bow or I might use the add inserts to get the same color variation effect.

The steps are fairly straightforward but it takes some practice and possibly some finesse to get the bows just right.

NOTE: when wrapping with newsprint the ink might rub off on the item. In some cases this does not matter but if the item is cloth then it is best to cover the item in a plastic grocery bag of two to protect it.

1.Gather the materials you will need, newspaper, clear scotch tape , scissors, and a stapler.

2. Select the paper, you wish to use for you bow and cut into stripes as wide as you want, typically I cut them about an inch wide. They do not need to be perfectly even across the length of the strip. I usually cut a couple of sheets of paper thick with each cut and the paper is bound to wiggle as you cut, which helps to give you these odd widths. You only need a few stripes of full length newspaper for each bow. I typically use about 3 stripes for a 3 inch or so bow.

3. Take these three stripes and tape them together. Tape is only necessary on one side. You can always add more strips as you go along but I have found three finishes most bows.

4. Make your first loop with the strip and keep the layers folded between your thumb and index finger. The loop almost looks like an awareness ribbon.

5. Make two more loops in the same manor. This is beginning to almost look like a Celtic knot.

6. Staple these three loops in place.

7. Continue in the same manor adding three loops at a time. It is best to angle the loops to fit in the in-between spaces of the previous set of loops, to create a full appearance. I find doing more than 3 loops at a time gets too much to hold and I wind up having to start from the beginning when I try to do more than 3 at a time.

8. Continue adding three more loops.

9. Last two loops. Just judge as you are making it what size the loops need to be, they will be bigger at the beginning and smaller at the end.

10. Now we are almost done with the three strips we started with, so if you need more length you can add another strip or part of one if needed. To make the final loop I add a looped piece of tape to the bottom of the strip and fold it over in place to create a more polished look if you don’t want to see the staples. Though this step is not necessary and you could finish the bow in step 9 by making 3 loops and stapling them into place. THE BOW IS DONE.

11. Now it is time to make the embellishments. My goal is to make the “ribbon” around the outside look as much like real ribbon as it can be. To make the “Ribbon” around the edges tape three or so stripes together to wrap around in the traditional pattern with one part of the strip on each side of the package.[not pictured] After this is done there should be about 5 inches or so of the strip that is left over [though it can be done with more or less, the less excess length the less of the curl will show]. What I like to do with this is curl the ribbon. To do this first cut each strip into three smaller stripes, again these do not need to be even.

12. Take these smaller stripes and roll them around the end of the scissors

13. Pinch the newsprint to keep it in this new bent shape.

14. Voila! Curled ribbon!

15. The finished package

Gift Pillow

2008-07-27T18:57:00.004-05:00

Pillow Instructions

For a friend that was retiring I made a pillow that her co-workers signed. I wanted to make a big huggable pillow so I bought a 20 inch pillow form 18 or so inch zipper and used leftover and scrap fabric to finish the case.

I cut 22 inch squares out of the front and back panels. Then I marked the lines for 20 inch square in the center on the fabric and then sewed the 2 squares together on 3 sides and 4 corners. You can either machine or hand sew the pillow together, seeing as the power was out the night I needed to do the sewing I opted for the hand sewing by lantern light, just makes me wonder where my rocking chair is ;) I then sewed the in the zipper. Note: always pin it in and test the layout before you sew it in place.

For the front panel I cut about a 16 inch square and decorated it with a computer and some embroidery leaving room for people to sign it. For the computer I cut 2 squares, one that was an inch or so smaller than the other. I rounded the corners on the smaller square to give more of the “tube” appearance. The keyboard was made out of a small checked fabric to give the appearance of keys on a solid background. The mouse was cut out of an oval of fabric. All of the pieces were padded with a little bit of batting to give it dimension. After the embroidered message was finished, it was time to gather the signatures on the front panel and sew it.

Tip: It might be fun to have everyone at the retirement, going away, birthday party, etc sign the pillow at the party. If you do this make sure you put a piece of card board in the middle of the pillow so the ink doesn’t bleed through to the other side.

T-shirt Quilt

2008-06-03T23:57:00.005-05:00

Well again my t-shirt drawer was over flowing with shirts that i wanted to keep around but didn't wear them very often and didn't have the space to keep them around. so i turned them into a quilt. The quit is made up of 12 squares, but not necessarily 12 t-shirts as a baby doll shirt doesn't have enough fabric to form a 12 or 13 inch square. so for those shirts i cut the logo out that i wanted to keep and cut a square from the back of another shirt.

[the overall view]

once i gathered the shirts i measured the largest logo and used that as my base size to cut the rest of the shirts. i then cut all the squares and logos as the case may be and laid them next to each other to get a sense of how it would look. once i was satisfied with the placement i sewed the loose logos on the squares with a zig-zag stitch in a somewhat matching color, though clear tread might have been easier and in some cases better.once i had all the logos attached to the squares i sewed each of the squares into their respective rows and then the rows together to form the face of the quilt. Note: sometimes the fabric gets caught when sewing two loose fabric together so i take a skinny strip of regular cotton fabric and use that when sewing all of the seams.

[close view]

i then took the fabric and cut about a 5 inch boarder to cover each side, 2 x 90 inches and 2 x 60 inches in this case. though it would have been better to add a little more wiggle room so that the corner seams line up evenly. once the sides are sewn take a final measurement of the size of the quilt. likely you will have to sew two pieces of fabric together to have a wide enough panel for the back. find a big open space on the floor where you can stretch the fabric out and place the backing good side up and the top piece good side down making sure that if the patterns are directional they are set up how you would like them. then place a piece of batting on the top, cut it to size and pin the whole thing together.

[backing fabric]

then sew around all the edges you jut pinned up leaving about a 12-13 inch hole on one side to be able to turn the fabric inside out once the sewing is completed. then carefully stitch the hole up and you pretty much have a completed quilt! you will want to make sure you tack down the corners or somewhere in the squares so the batting doesn't ball up when you wash the quilt.

your fabric choices are up to you. i chose fabrics that would make me happy and fabrics that were soft and cozy for sitting watching TV in the cold or taking a nap. I used a standard cotton on a previous t-shirt quilt and sometimes it is a little chilly to use as a a solitary nap blanket.

[My other t-shirt quilt made in 2005, 50 by 70 inches]

[back of my other t-shirt quilt]

[up close on the tacking of the quilt around the moon and square detail]

happy quilting!

Camera Bag

2008-05-15T11:39:00.010-05:00

I was tired of trying to hunt down all my camera accessories when I wanted to take my camera somewhere it somewhere so I thought I would make a padded bag to take it all around with me. My intention was to put the transfer cable, battery charger, Camera, spare battery, and spare memory card in one place. I wanted to make a little card that kept the battery and memory card in one place so A) they wouldn’t get lost and B) they could be easily transferred from the bag to my purse when needed. The final product ended up being way bigger then I needed, but it still works and I might make another one that is smaller another day. The pattern is still a work in progress so feel free to take it and adjust it as necessary for your needs.

Cut out pieces

Make the Pull out accessory board
For this you need two pieces of thin [non-corrugated] cardboard a little smaller then your fabric, which in step 1 we cut the fabric to 4x6 in.
Also you will need two squares of clear fabric about a half and inch bigger then the object you want to put in them.
Lastly you will need some Velcro to close the pockets and to attach the board to the bag as well as some glue to attach the fabric to the board.
First place mark on the fabric where you want the Velcro and clear fabric to go, then first sew the Velcro on the fabric and then sew the Velcro to the clear fabric, then sew the clear fabric on the fabric with the Velcro already on it.

Next glue the fabric to the board, to do this the fabric needs to be a little larger then the board, place the fabric pocket side down to the table then place the cardboard on top, run a small bead of glue around the edges of the cardboard and then carefully bring the fabric around the edges into the glue. To hold the fabric in place while the glue dries, you can use binder clips as clamps. Do the same thing to the other piece of fabric without the pockets on it. This will piece will serve as the back to hide all the gluing and where the Velcro to attach the board to the bag will be placed. Note the fabric may pucker when sewing on the pockets so you may want to use a slightly larger piece to begin with so you have enough fabric to cover the board.

Then while that is drying you can make the pull loop for the board. I used a scrap of fabric about 4 inches long or so and at 1inch mark on each end I cut in a 1/3 of the way, note do not cut all they way across! Then you can fold the middle sections onto each other to create the pull loop leaving a broader gluing surface at each end. The middle section can then be stitched in place; I used a zigzag stitch.
Once the glue on the two boards is dry then you can glue in the loop you just made, onto one of the board making sure it will eventually be at the top.

Once the loop has dried part way you can glue to two boards together. To do this run a small bead of glue around all the edges and in the middle of once of the pieces and then sandwich them together and hold in place again with the binder clips until it dries.

After it dries and the rest if the bag is made you can attach Velcro to the back of the board. I used 3 stripes of Velcro probably about 3 inches long horizontally across the back of the board. I used heat activated glue Velcro, so they needed to be ironed in place, if you don’t have this kind of Velcro you might want to sew the Velcro on before you glue it to the board. Once you have the Velcro bonded to the board then place the Velcro on the inside of the finished bag and use the iron to bond in place, but having a finished bag is a little ahead of things now…lets get to that.

Making the bag.
To make the strap, sew a straight stitch along the long side and then turn inside out.

Then I cut the batting to the right size for the front, bottom, back and sides. I used 100% polyester 1/8 inch quilting light loft batting, for no particular reason other then that’s the first one I saw, seemed to work fine, but other things might work just as well.
Then I pinned the batting to the fabric and sewed each piece on three sides before piecing it together, it was at this point I realized I probably could have skipped that step and used a bias tape or something to hide the raw edges on the inside except the inside pocket needs to have one finished edge, this will depend on how you cut the fabric.

When cutting out the pieces I left the front back and bottom as one piece and while sewing the mega piece on three sides on this I also sewed the 12 in zipper in. Note again when working with zippers make sure the fabric about 2 inches longer then you fabric so you can disguise the edges properly, I forgot this when cutting my fabric. Also note to pin the zipper in place and see how it will work to make sure it is on the correct edge and correct side. I had to redo my zipper the first time because the way it was placed the inside fabric would have to have been on the outside.

When piecing them together I measured down from the zippered edge 10 inches and pinned the side pieces on, then placed the inside pocket on one side and pinned it in place, then pinned the sides up to form the bag shape.

Then we were ready to sew. This is really straight forward the bottom corners of the bag are a little tricky to get around because they have the most fabric, so take it slow, sew it while it is inside out one way I found to get around this is kinda fold the corner back and then forward almost like making a corner of a bed to do the corners decently, but I am sure there are other better ways to do this. Note don’t forget to sew across the bottom of the inside pocket after you have done one side, it should be a little easier to get at the pocket this way.
Once this is done you can add the Velcro, I used about an 8 or 9 in piece of Velcro across the inside pocket again with the heat activated glue so I just ironed it in place and this is when I also ironed in the three stripes of Velcro for the board. Check to make sure the Velcro is fully adhered this may take a few times.
finishing the bag

At this point all that is left to do is sew in the other side of the zipper and attach the handle.
For the zipper I just tucked in the raw edge and put the zipper in the middle and hand sewed it on.
Then the side pieces extended above the zipper so I attached the strap to the middle of these sections and folded the rest of the fabric in at an angle around it. I hand sewed this but it could have been done on a machine.

Draw String Pouch for Gyro Mouse

2008-05-08T21:17:00.011-05:00

I found that I was always taking my gyro mouse with me so I thought I would make something to help organize it when I am on the go.

Trying to be funny I wanted to use either a cheese, cat or mouse fabric.
I found some cat fabric at Joann's where the cats are chasing mice, butterflies, or napping :)

The process!

1. Cut both fabrics into 25 inch squares and put them "right side" together and then folded in each of the corners 5 inches on each side to create more of a rounded look. Then sew around the edges leaving one corner open, to turn the fabric right side out.

2. Cut a 7 in or so cardboard [not the corrugated] circle, or whatever size you want, this gives the bag more stability and character. Then slip the cardboard circle in the middle (I used one of my bowls as a template).

3. Once the circle is inside the fabric sew closed the one corner you left open. Carefully find the center in the fabric and sew the circle in the middle of the fabric. To find the center you can hold each opposite edge together and let the disk fall to the center and then pin the circle in on those edges, and repeat for the other side. Now the basic shape is done!

4. I needed a little pocket to put the USB connector so I took some clear fabric and sewed in a pocked that was just the larger than the connector and used some Velcro to close the pocket.

5. Then I need something to help cinch in the bag so instead of boring loops of the fabric I cut out 12 of the little cats from the pattern of my inside fabric and sewed them on the outside at each corner and in the middle sections approximately 2 inches down from the outside seem. When doing this I sewed the top and bottom through all the layers and just stitched along the side of the cat where I wanted to cord to go through to keep and even look and prevent fraying.

6. Finally run the cord through the loops and you are done! I probably used a yard and half or so of cord.

Ferrari Pillows

2008-04-12T14:15:00.007-05:00

These are some pillowcases i made for my friend that loves Ferrari's :)

I had to get rid of some 20 inch feather pillow forms because of allergies :( so i made my friend some pillow cases for these forms. I put in seamless zippers on the bottom of each pillow case and sewed up the rest of the edge by hand. I embroidered Ferrari and Gianluca on yellow basic cotton fabric with 3 strands of black embroidery floss. I found a Ferrari font for free online at http://www.dafont.com/ferro-rosso.font to make a template.

Allergy Medicine Bag

2005-09-20T22:19:00.000-05:00

I made this Allergy Medicine Bag a couple of years ago when i was first diagnosed with allergies to hold keep my new medicine organized. The design is meant to represent the trees, grasses, and weeds that i am allergic to :)

I have made many variations on this bag to use as a pencil case or medicine bag. The material is sew-able vinyl and is located on the back shelves of most craft stores. I use colored floss to hand sew the edges together in a coordinating color. The design is then sewn to the front of the bag with another piece of the clear fabric with the same coordinating floss. Finally the zipper gets sewn in with the same floss.

Another design option is to cut a flower/scene/etc from a fabric you like and use that as the front image.