Think Crafts Blog - Craft Ideas and Projects - CreateForLess

I thought an electric, automatic bias tape maker was such a cool idea. I had to learn more!

“With Simplicity® Bias Tape Maker you can fold and press 12 yards of bias in 60 seconds. No more tediously trying to press bias tape into shape and burning fingertips. Several folder sizes are available, depending on the finished width you need, and the temperature of the pressing unit is adjustable for various fabrics. There’s even an auto-shut-off (after 10 minutes of non-use) for safety”.

Welcome guest blogger, Mable who is an avid reader of craft blogs & magazines and has aspirations to improve her crafting skills.

Mable Craftsalot  

I love going to craft fairs, Saturday Markets and festivals and browsing the craft booths. I always come home with a new pair of earrings, purse, hand-made soap, photography print… What’s great about crafting is it’s highly unlikely you will see that piece anywhere else. I love reading craft magazines and blogs, I love the pictures! I’ve been reading Think Crafts for the last year and it always makes me anxious to get crafting. I’m what I like to call a “challenged craft dabbler”. My ‘challenges’ are getting impatient with my lack of skills, getting distracted by something shiny, wanting to try all crafts and not having any craft projects around.

My craft dabbles have so far included: crocheting, knitting, scrapbooking, clay work, beading, and using my knifty knitter as an easy way to make hats. Majority of my craft dabbling has been with knitting. I have perfected the knitted scarf! I like to give handmade gifts so my relatives have gotten a scarf every Christmas while I was in college. Since they live in North Dakota, the scarf was practical and very easy and inexpensive to make. Unfortunately my knitting skills have yet to progress past rectangular shapes, but I plan to try other shapes and even patterns very soon! And now that I’ve graduated, it’s time to step up my crafting game.

As a beginner, I have found it’s best to start to learn a craft with a kit or a book. Kits are convenient because the instructions are simple and the pictures are going to be exactly what you are going to be doing. And kits come with the supplies you need. I learn best with pictures because I like to see how to do it, then once I learn the skill I can adjust or change how I feel. 

My goal is to finish the craft projects I start. I want to find project ideas and kits that allow a newbie like me to be able to be successful and also learn a few things. Also I want to improve my skills and maybe find some I didn’t even know I had! For my first project I wanted something new! Something fun!

Everything you need to make a sock monkey

I found this Sock Monkey kit on CreateForLess and had to try it. This kit was easy for a sewing novice and came with everything you need to make your own sock monkey. The kit came with 2 tube socks, felt, buttons, material, instructions, thread, embroidery floss and even a sewing needle. However, you will need to use a sewing machine and have fiberfil stuffing. Making the sock monkey I hand-stitched on the arms, tail, head, ears and hat and also learned a few embroidery stitches for the face and teddy bear. I placed a plastic bag of popcorn kernels in the seat of the sock monkey before I closed it up so it would sit up straighter. Hopefully you can’t tell from the picture, but I really need to improve my blanket stitch (well all my stitches actually!)

Meet PeeJay!

Keep the instructions when you’re done because you never know when you will have two tube socks that need to be turned into a sock monkey!

Recycled Sweater Vest Bag

I love felting wool sweaters and making them into stuff.  I’ve made tote bags, purses and patchwork blankets and jackets. Here’s a quick project that you can make out of a man’s sweater vest in about an hour!  One of the neat things about felting your own wool is that you can control the density of the fabric by the amount of time it spends in the hot wash cycle.  For this project, you want dense, substantial felted wool. 

I used the “Whitest White” setting on my washing machine (about 60 min.)   After a quick trip in the dryer, my sweater was the perfect weight to make an unlined bag.  It’s important to start with the largest sweater you can find, because they shrink A LOT.  My size large sweater shrunk to a small child size!

Here’s what you’ll need

•  A wool sweater vest (I like lambswool or merino wool)
•  A pair of sharp scissors
•  Rotary cutter
•  Small square ruler (I like Creative Grids because they don’t slip)
•  YLI Jean Stitch Thread (or other heavy weight topstitching thread)
•  All purpose thread to match fabric
•  Sewing machine
•  4 decorative buttons

Step 1

Start by cutting off the binding around the neckline - I save all this stuff for some future project that might need a little black edging.

Step 2

Using chalk, draw an enlarged neck opening that is squared off at the bottom.  The bottom edge of the opening should be level with the bottom of the armholes.  With the sweater laying flat on a cutting board, cut along the chalk line through both layers.  -The opening, together with the armholes, form the handle of the bag.

Step 3

Lay sweater flat, with the side seams centered.  The side seams are now the center front and back of the bag.

Step 4

Create a box bottom. Using a small square ruler draw a 2 ½” square in each lower corner.

Step 5

Cut the squares out.  Pin the bottom edges together. 

Sew bottom edges using a ½” seam allowance.  Press seam allowance open and use a triple zig-zag to topstitch over the seam.  This will reinforce the bottom of the bag and hold the seam allowances open.

Step 6

The stitching sinks into the nap of the felted wool to make it virtually invisible.

“Pinch” the square opening closed so that the bottom seam is centered.  Sew across the diagonal opening using a ½” seam allowance. Press seam allowances open and topstitch like you did the bottom seam.

Step 7

Define the bottom of the bag by folding the bag and topstitching between the seams sewn in step 7.  Using chalk, draw a line across the front and back of the bag connecting the ends of the seam created in step 7.  Fold along the line and topstitch 1/8″ away from the fold.  The fold is the very base of the bag and the fabric between the two folds forms the bottom of the bag.

Step 8

Give the bag a unique shape.  Form a box pleat centered on both sides of the bag between the armhole openings. The width of the pleat should be about 1 ½” and take up all the space between the armholes. The pleats should be facing inside the bag.  Use Jean Stitch or other heavy topstitching thread to hand sew the pleat in place.  I whip stitched over the top edge.  Sew a decorative button at the center of the pleat.

Step 9

To finish the shaping of the bag, form a smaller pleat at the center front and back of the bag.

Step 10

Whip stitch the pleat in place.  Add a decorative button to the center front and back. 

Finished!

Click here to read more of Jennifer’s Blog.

Welcome Guest Blogger Ricë Freeman-Zachery, writer and fabric artist and from the Blog “Notes from the Voodoo Café”.

I have the best job in the world: I get to sit around in my pajamas all day and call up artists and ask them nosy questions and then write about them. And then, in my spare time, I get to make fabric art. Every now and then–about once a year or so–I get to write a book–my newest one is “Living the Creative Life: Ideas and Inspiration from Working Artists”, and you can read more about it here. Art, writing–all without having to leave the house! What more could anyone want?

The Joys of Hand Stitching

I don’t know about y’all, but I have a ton of stuff I don’t use. Like, just for instance, four sewing machines, including the olive green Elna my mother used to make all my clothes when I was a kid. I have my trusty all-metal Kenmore from 1977. I have a heavy-duty Singer. And I have my shiny new Janome. Oh, I’m not saying I never use them: I use the Kenmore for doing all those things I would never dream of doing by hand, like mending seams. But that’s not what I think of when I think of “sewing.”

When I think of sewing, I remember learning to sew under the ironing board in my mother’s sewing room, playing with the scraps she handed down to me from her sewing table. My efforts weren’t pretty, but I learned to love the act of joining two pieces of fabric with a needle and thread.

I have never had any discernible domestic talents. None. Ask my husband. Although I took Home Ec in 7^th grade and made an apron and, at the end of the semester, a little dress, that was as far as garment construction went for me. I didn’t make any of my clothes in high school-my mother did that. What I did do, though, was to stitch on the clothes I had-lines of embroidery, stitched names, butterflies. Although I was too young to get the full benefit of growing up in the 60’s, I discovered Native Funk and Flash when it first came out in 1974, and, for me, that changed everything. The idea of altering your clothes to make them into personal talismanic garments seemed to be about the coolest thing anyone could do. I started then, with a bunch of work shirts and jeans, and I’ve never stopped.

What is it about hand stitching, about pulling thread through fabric? It’s not about fancy stitches-I know only three embroidery stitches:  I know the running stitch, which is like saying I know how to breathe; the split stitch, which is so sturdy it will still be holding on when the fabric around it has worn to threads; and the French knot, which I learned just to show off. For me, it’s not about doing rows of fancy little stitches. For me, it’s about altering something, making something new, with nothing but my hands and a rainbow of floss.

And here I’ll admit: it doesn’t even have to be embroidery floss. When I did make clothes from scratch, my favorite part was always the hem, and it was always a blind hem, done by hand. There’s something about creating a perfect, invisible hem that just made me happy. Yeah, I know that sounds pathetic, but what can I say? I love to stitch. I love to sew, and I love to mend, and I love to decorate-if I can do it by hand, I’m happy. One of my favorite things in all the world is to sit on the front porch and stitch. The only thing that keeps me from being my great-great grandmother is that I’m stitching words and appliquéing skulls rather than creating little daisies on the edge of a pinafore. It could be scary, but there’s something comforting about imagining myself flowing into old age with my needles and a bag of bright thread.

It’s calming. It’s meditative. It’s downright Zen.

And it’s the height of being hip: taking scraps of fabric, or clothes faded by years of wear, and keeping them alive  by working on them with your hands-that’s about as green as you’re going to get. Zen and hip? What more could you want?

Click here, for more posts from Ricë.

Returning Guest Blogger Gillian from the Blog “Dried Figs and Wooden Spools”.

As soon as the first hint of warm weather comes my way, I find myself pulling out sundresses and sun hats and scarves and sandals for my daughter that have languished at the bottom of dresser drawers all winter long.  At two and a half, she’s already a serious dress diva, which is good, because I love to make dresses. And with the arrival of spring comes the arrival of spring fabrics. I go into the fabric store for buttons and I come out with yards and yards of “it was just so cute!” fabric for summer projects.

My all time favorite dress to make is the Sew Baby Dress. This pattern has a lot going for it, first of all, it’s just so darn cute on little girls of all sizes. It’s reversible, which means that when my daughter spills something down her front I can just turn it around and poof! Clean dress. It takes a minimal amount of fabric and it’s one of the easiest patterns I’ve come across. I’ve used it several times when teaching friends to sew because as long as you can cut out a pattern and sew a straight line, you can make this dress. This summer will be my fourth go round with Sew Baby and I’m in no way bored with it.

For my first dress of the spring I chose to pair a dark green print (hides the dirt) with a nice cheery orange floral and found some fabulous buttons to match each. With my last few versions of this dress I’ve been using snaps rather than buttons and then sewing oversized or funky buttons on either side of the straps for decoration. It makes the project faster, easier and cuter since I’m not limited on my button choice by the width of the straps.

The pattern, by the way, also has a great and very simple pattern for bloomers. And if you’ve never made them before, are WAY easier than you think and can absolutely make an outfit. This time around I tried shirring (well, faux shirring I suppose, with elastic string in the bobbin of my sewing machine) on the waist and legs rather than using regular elastic. The effect was very charming giving the bloomers a nice ruffled edge without being too frilly. My daughter also seems to like them better for the lightless of touch that sheering gives over elastic bands.

Of course, none of that really matters, what matters is that my twirling, tutu wearing, dress loving girl spins and smiles whenever I make her a new outfit. And that is why I sew.

So, what projects does the coming of spring inspire YOU to start?

For more of Gillian blog posts, read them here.

Returning Guest Blogger, Gillian from the blog “Dried Figs and Wooden Spools”.

Spring is in the air, the flowers are blooming around town and I’m in the mood for some embroidery!

I’m not, as a rule, an embroiderer. I lack the patience that it takes to finish a project of any size and have a pile of half done cross stitch/embroidery projects in my sewing box to prove it. But when I received the book Sublime Stitching as a gift a few years ago, it opened my eyes to a  new world of embroidery. The book, and its successor The Sublime Stitching Craft Pad, is packed with cute, slightly funky patterns for projects that you can use to embellish just about anything. And for me, there’s nothing like stitching a little something special to a store bought outfit to add some “awwww…” to my kids’ wardrobes. So far we’ve done cowboy patches on worn through knees, Scottie dogs on a bland dress or two, Siamese kitties to turn a little boy coat into a little girl one and a rocket ship tie that was the hit of the school concert. The tie was, in fact, such a bit hit that I’ve been commissioned (and paid in kisses) to make another, this one with dinosaurs.

Kid’s ties are hard to find and when you do, they are usually plastered with cartoon characters in garish colors. But ties are also remarkably easy to make. No, really they are! I used to make them for Christmas gifts for my teachers when I was in elementary school. I wonder if Mr. Koep still has the jungle with glow in the dark eyes tie I made him all those years ago… Kid’s ties, are even easier, since they require less fabric and don’t need to be perfectly smooth and tailored.

For a pattern, I used one of my husband ties that I had put on my son, adjusting it so that the narrow end was the right length and the wider end was too long. With a pin I marked the spot on the front of the tie where I wanted the length. After I’d removed the tie and ironed it I set it out on the fabric I planned to use and cut a rough pattern using the length and width as a guide. Keeping in mind my seam allowances I embroidered the dinosaur of choice. The rocket ship tie was fully line which made it a little thick so this time I only lined the ends before stitching the seams closed and giving it a whirl. The result was a perfectly proportioned tie that my son is excited to wear anywhere he gets a chance, which, given the fact that he would stay in his pajamas all day if allowed, is saying something.

Have you embellished a store bought piece of clothing with embroidery? What projects do you go stitch crazy for?

To read more of Gillian’s posts, click here.

Returning Guest Blogger, Gillian, from the blog “Dried Figs & Wooden Spools”.

This weekend our town, in a fit of adorableness, will be holding it’s annual Mother-Son Prom in honor of Mother’s Day. Lest you fathers out there feel this is unfair, rest assured that we also have a Father-Daughter Dance every fall so everybody gets their turn. So this week I’ve been dusting off the one dressy dress I own (a full skirted little black and white polka dotted number right out of a fifties sitcom), ironing the three piece linen suit that was my husband’s when he was seven (no joke, it’s vintage seventies and my son looks ready to leap into Saturday Night Fever in it) and because I really want one and I can’t count on the boys in my family to think to get one, I’ve been making a wrist corsage.

Fabric Wrist Corsage

I’ve got a thing about wrist corsages. They are elegant and romantic and I love them the best of all the wearable flowers. But this project could be made into a pin for your dress, fastened to your waist, or worn in your hair. And it takes all of about twenty minutes to make.

Start with some sturdy but not stiff fabric (you could use paper as well but you would want to be careful with the folds so that it doesn’t end up totally flat, I choose corduroy because I happened to have it in red) and cut two large circles and four smaller ones out with pinking shears. I used the top and bottom of a short drinking glass to make my circles. You want the smaller ones to be about three quarters of the circumference of the bigger ones. If you don’t have pinking shears thats fine, they do add a nice texture but this could also be achieved by scalloping the edges of the circles.

Once your circles are cut, lay the two big ones on top of one another and then fold the four smaller ones in half, layering them over one another until you form a circle with these half circles. Center this on the bigger circle and put in a couple of stitches at the corners to hold everything in place. Now, with a contrasting (or not) color fabric, cover a button or a penny or something round and stitching this to the center. You could also use a pretty round pin if you have one laying around. Fluff the edges of the flower until you have the look you want and your done!

If you want a wrist corsage, stitch a coordinating ribbon to the center of the back, otherwise throw on a hair clip or pin. These would look great bunched up together and fastened to a purse, a belt or even on top of a gift. I also added two loops of green ribbon to the back for “leaves” but you could also use the leaves from a silk flower for more punch.

Although I didn’t do this project with kids, it would be an easy one for them to help out with so pay attention dads; this project might just save your bacon if you have forgotten to buy the all important Mother’s Day gift. And if your town happens to have a Mother-Son Prom and your son will condescend to wearing a boutonniere, you could make a smaller version of this flower for that as well. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the one I made him will find itself pinned to his little white coat come tomorrow night.

Did you make something for your mom for Mother’s Day? What craft can you not wait to give your mom this year?

To read more of Gillian’s posts, Click here.