Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Recycled Crafts Contributor, Anitra from the blog “Coffee Pot People”. 

 
Have you been to the fabric store lately and seen all the wonderful new trims? Oh, I am beguiled by them! And yes, I did succumb to the lure of a few that were simply irresistable, but I also have a huge stash of the more ordinary sorts of ribbons, laces, and trims already.

The question: What can you do with the trims you already have to make them stand out?

The answer: Lots of things!

 
One thing you can do is use the fabric you’re working with. Cut a strip of fabric on the straight of the grain that’s as wide as you want your trim to be, and then simply fray the edges.

When I finished fraying my new “ribbon”, I had a wad of textured threads to pick up, which looked pretty cool, since the fabric was multi-colored. Something like that wouldn’t make it through a wash cycle on a garment, but as a collage element…

If you’re like me, you have lots of bits and lengths of this and that, saved from other projects or picked up at thrift stores and garage sales. Here are a few more ideas for those odds and ends:

This:

becomes this:

This:

becomes this:

And even printed ribbon, turned upside down, can play:

becomes this:

Now I’m wondering. What unusual things have you used as trim?

By Sewing Contributor Jessica, from the blog “Life Sew Good”.  

While it may be okay for the sun to rise at 5:00am, it’s not okay for my kids to wake up that early.  Whether it’s your kids getting up too early (or up too late!), you work graveyard, or you are simply interested in getting a little insulation in your window treatments, try making your own blackout curtains. 

Here’s what you need:

Fabric you like—can be anything:  heavy or sheer won’t matter
Black out material, which you can buy inexpensively at your fabric store or online
Scissors 
Thread 
Pins 
Measuring tape  (not pictured!)

First, measure the window!  When figuring out how much fabric you will need, take into consideration that you will want to make the curtains wider than the actual window measurement.  I decided to make 2 panels to cover the entire window.  To get an accurate measurement of how much fabric, I divided the original measure in ½.  Let’s just say ½ is 20”.  I’m going to want my curtains to be 1.5 x Width, which = 30”.  Then, add seam allowance, which I’m going to say 1” for the sides.

For example:  30”(1/2 width x 20”) + 2” (seam allowance each side) = 32” width for one panel. 

For the length, (40”),make sure you measure from where you want to HANG the curtains.  I added 10” total for the top seam allowance and loop (about 4”) and the bottom seam allowance and wider fold (about 6”). 

For example:  40” (length) + 10” (seam allowance) = 50” length for one panel.

This works perfect for extra wide fabric, which is what I used.  For this panel, I would only need 1 yd. of 54” fabric.

*Note:  You will need a bit less blackout material.  For the blackout material, don’t measure the seam allowances, except the top loop, which adds about 4” to the length.

Cut out the fabric according to your measurements, and lay the blackout material on top of the wrong side of your fabric, making sure the fabric has a 1” seam allowance on both sides AND the top.  There will be about 6” of  fabric showing on the bottom. 

Begin taking the raw edges of the fabric and fold in half, so that the raw edge meets the edge of your blackout material then fold the fabric again and pin.  See pictures for how to fold the corners.

Sew top and sides of fabric to the blackout material.

Next, fold over the top of you curtain 2-3” for your loop.  You have figured in enough for 3”, but I opted for a smaller loop, so the picture shows 2”.  Pin in place, and sew a seam close to the edge.   I simply followed the seam I had already made.

For the bottom, fold over ½” then fold fabric in half until It meets but does not overlap your blackout material.  Pin in place and sew a seam close to the edge.  You DO NOT need to sew this part of your curtain to the blackout material.  Just let it hang!

Now that you’ve got it down, go do it again for the other panel!

Since I made these for my little girls’ room, I just use a ribbon for a tie-back if I need them open.

By Kid’s Craft Contributor, Gillian from the blog “Dried Figs and Wooden Spools”.

Now that summer is in full swing around here, we’ve been hitting the pool just about every chance we get. My son is generally content to wander around after swimming in his dripping wet trunks, too busy to bother with drying himself or being warm. My daughter, either is just so freaking thin or whether it is a fashion thing, insists on being bundled up into a towel as soon as she emerges from the water. I started thinking about my own summers at the pool when I was a child and remembered that my grandmother made wraps for herself and for us kids out of towels and decided it would be just the ticket for my little fish.

There are lots of variations on hooded towels and towel wraps out there. The easiest is to cut a hand towel in half and stitch it to the center of the long side of a bath towel. Once it’s attached, fold the hand towel in half and sew the top seam, creating an easy hood. You can also attach a button and loop along the long edge of a beach towel to keep it wrapped around you - strapless dress style. But for my little girl, who is always ready for a costume, I wanted something a little Red Riding Hoodish.

Because she is still small, I trimmed down a beach towel and used the scraps for the hood. But if you have a taller child, find a matching hand towel and cut it in half for the hood part.

Here’s what you need

1 beach towel
Sewing scissors
 Sewing machine and thread 

Decide on the length you want by folding the towel in half along the long sides (hamburger, as my son says, as opposed to hot dog which would be along the sort sides so you get a long skinny towel – where do they get these things?) If it’s a good length, leave it as is, if not, trim it down leaving enough for a 1 inch hem on the end you cut.

With the towel sill folded hamburger style, cut up through the front side at the center and then along the fold one inch less than the hood will be wide.

Fold over and hem the bottom, the sides of the slit and the front half of the hood opening, leaving the back side to stitch the hood on. If you have used the bottom of the towel for the hood, you’ll need to cut it in half and join the two pieces to make a more square shape before stitching it in place.

Serge or zigzag stitch the raw edge where the hood attaches and then pin the front of the neck onto the hood, sewing in about three inches on each side to make the shoulders.

Sew the top of the hood closed and add a ribbon tie at the neck to finish.

By Sewing Contributor Jessica, from the blog “Life Sew Good”.

I love making baby gifts!  However, I am a bit of a procrastinator, so on Friday night before my friend’s baby shower, I needed a quick project.  I settled on some practical flannel burp cloths.  Here’s how to make them!

What You’ll need:

½ yd. flannel  (or two 1/3 yd. pieces of coordinating flannel)
Scissors —preferably 1 pair for cutting your paper and a another pair for cutting fabric
Ruler
Paper—tracing paper, newsprint, or a paper bag works well
Pen
Pins
Sewing macine
Thread

Make sure you pre-wash your flannel.  Technically you would only need ¼ yd, but after the fabric shrinks, you will need a bit more.

First, we’ll make a pattern.  If you are making more than one burp cloth, making a good pattern will be key to uniformity!

1. Fold your paper in half length-wise and then in half the other way (in quarters)

2. I want my finished product to be 8″ across the top & the bottom, curving in the middle to 5″, and a total length of 14″. We will divide our total desired measurements in ½, then add ½” seam allowance.  So .  . .  Measure 3” in from the top corner fold in and make a mark.  Measure 7 ½” inches down from top fold and make a mark.  At 7 ½” from the top, (where you just made a mark) measure 4 ½” in from the center fold.  Using ruler, draw a straight line from the center fold in 4 ½”. Draw a curved line from the bottom line (4 ½”) to the top mark at 3″.  See example.

3. Cut paper pattern along your 2 lines.  Unfold.  You can use the full pattern now OR you can cut it in half and cut the fabric on the fold.  It’s up to you!  Both sides should be symmetrical, so if you cut it in half, you’ll have 2 patterns.  I’m going to use ½ the paper pattern and cut 2 pieces of fabric on the fold.

4. Cut your fabric.  You need 2 identical pieces.

5. Pin RIGHT sides together, leaving a 2” flipping hole on one of the center sides.

6. Starting on the side, sew ½” all the way around, except the 2” flipping hole.  Make sure to back tack your first and last stitches.

7. Clip corners and make small cuts on curved center.

8. Flip right sides out.  Iron, making sure to line up edges where you turned your fabric.

9. Top stitch ¼” all the way around, making sure to close your flipping hole.

10. Viola!  You’re done! Repeat to make more.

Finally, if you want a boutique look, packaging is everything.  Fold 3 burp cloths then roll them together and tie with a ribbon.

By Sparkle Crafts Contributor, Sparkle E. Glitter from the blog “Sparkle Studio”.

Sewing is not my forte.  If I can figure a way to make a project without it, I am happy.  Not having to sew to put this pillow together also makes it a good project for kids to tackle. There are so many interesting bandanas available these days, you should choose two that you like and change the colors so they suit you.

I used Sparkle 21 mainly because it is washable, but it also has amazing color and sparkle!

This project does not take much time, let’s get started.

You need:

• Sparkle 21:  Blue Suede Sparkle (or your favorite color)
• 12″ x 12″ pillow form
• Bandanas: solid black, zebra print (or pieces of fabric  21” square)
• Four 24″ lengths of black cord (ribbon will work, too)
• Printed pattern
• Chalk pencil 
• Computer/printer

Try this:

Lay the black bandana flat on your worktable.  Place the pillow form in the center of it.  Cover the pillow form with the zebra bandana, so the edges of both bandanas line up. On one side, roll the bandanas together toward the pillow form.  Roll an adjacent side in the same way. 

At the corner, where the two sides meet, tie a cord.  Repeat on all sides and corners.

On your computer, find a font you like and print the word you want. A name would be great too! Print and enlarge to the size you want to fit the center of your pillow. On the backside of the paper, trace the lines of the word or name with chalk pencil. Place on center of pillow, chalk side down.  Trace letters with pencil, transferring chalk to fabric.

Draw letters with Sparkle 21. Add lines, swirls, or dots as desired.

Another great thing about this pillow is that it is easy to disassemble for washing or changing designs.

Glitter on!

Sparkle

By Kid’s Craft Contributor, Gillian from the blog “Dried Figs and Wooden Spools”.

While I sew quite a bit for my kids, particularly for my daughter, I rarely make things for myself anymore. It wasn’t always true. In highschool I  regularly made gotta-get-there-before-closing trips to the local fabric store to pick up a few yards for some outfit that I NEEDED for the next day. In fact, I was far more likely to run my bank account dry those days on fabric purchases than anything else. I helped my mom make both my prom dresses and my wedding dress and continued to putter around with making clothes through college when I could afford to buy material. But as the years went by, I stopped sewing things for myself altogether. For one thing, fabric started getting more and more pricy, and clothes could be found on the cheap. And I got into quilting which took up a lot of sewing time. And then I had kids and switched over to making things for them. I still think about it at times though. Particularly when I’m in a fabric store and see something lovely that would make the perfect dress or skirt or pants.

So when I saw Sew U from Wendy Mullin, I was intrigued. I loved the idea of brushing up on my tailoring skills and was fascinated by the thought of using base patterns to make something the way I wanted it, not just they way the pattern called for it.

The book is, for the most part, divided into two parts. The first is one of the best primers on sewing I’ve seen. Both for beginners and for more advanced seamstresses. It goes over pretty much everything you should know to get sewing – from shopping for a sewing machine and learning how to use it to choosing fabrics to how to read and use patterns. It also includes basic instructions for making the three types of projects, skirts, shirts and pants, that come in the second part of the book. There you find three or more options for each project to help you design different looks. It also has hints on how to make further variations  and a place to record your own project notes. At the back of the book is a pocket with the three base patterns for the projects which is roomy enough to keep the patterns even after you have unfolded them, which isn’t always true of pattern envelopes.

Because skirts were always my favorite thing to make I decided to start there. That and I had the perfect piece of linen that just begged to be a light weight, a-line skirt sitting in my “current projects” box. Using the premise of “the Summer Skirt” I made a few changes that I thought woudl better suit the skirt I was looking for (and that’s the whole point of the book, isn’t it?) I decided against adding a ruffle to the bottom and cut the fabric on a bias, since I like the way linen hangs when cut that way.

Her hints for adjusting patterns to fit you helped a great deal since most skirt patterns end up too wide in the hips for me and I ended up with just about the perfectly fit skirt. ( I had to go back and adjust the waist size a bit) In fact, now that I’ve made one, I’m hunting for some more fabric to get working on my new, adjusted pattern. I can see a lot of linen skirts in my future!

I’m hoping to get my hands on her other two books, Built by Wendy Dresses and the other one is Sew U Home Stretch Book. I don’t wear a lot of button up shirts so I’m curious to try my hand at making some tee’s and tanks for myself and, next to skirts, dresses are my favorite thing to make. Wendy also carries a line of stand alone patterns but I think this book is still the best place to start, even for an experienced sewer.

Do you sew for yourself? What Wendy project would you like to try?

Congratulations to Amy who was randomly chosen as the winner of Free Stuff Friday and a complete apron making kit put together by The Apron Lady herself! The Apron Lady picked the fabric, Ric Rac, buttons, and flower embellishments plus included her Little Flirty Skirty Pattern! 

The Apron Lady Little Flirty Skirty Pattern - Named for the way the front and side panels, of this bib apron, curve with the body Girls of all ages will love the sassy fit of this apron, with 2 pockets, and the flattering way it ties in the front. Also featured in this pattern is the adorable Half Apron, with an old style Hollywood Waistline. Patterns are sizes 2 through Preteen. Look for the adult size so Mom and Daughter can have matching aprons while they present their holiday creations.

Amy’s winning answer to “What new technique or craft have you  been looking forward to trying?” was…

“I’m working on relearning how to sew after a lot of years of not doing it.”