Tutorial-Basic Throw Pillow with Fabric Flowers

After making this pillow, I couldn't resist another.  I would have made more, but I ran out of filling!

So I just made this one last night. 

Want to make one? It's easy! Here's how:

Start with two pieces of fabric, whatever size you choose.  Mine were about 18x18.

Cut fusible fleece the same size as your fabric, and iron it to the wrong side of your fabric-following the packing instructions. (This is completely optional, but I have found that when using a flimsy cotton fabric, it makes the pillows noticeably sturdier and smoother. Being for a 4 year old with a 1 year old in the house, I need to make them as durable as possible!)

Place the fabric RIGHT sides together, and pin around all edges.

Using 1/4 to 1/2 inch seem alowance, stitch around the entire pillow,

leaving a 4-6 inch opening on one of the sides.

Remove the pins.  Reach in the opening, and pull it right side out.  Obviously the larger the hole you left, the easier this will be, but remember you will be hand-stitching this hole closed.

Once it is right side out, poke the corners out and smooth the pillow. 

Begin stuffing with poly-fil (or the stuffing from an old pillow) until it is as stuffed as you like.

Fold the fabric in a bit (the same amount your seem allowance was) .  At this point you can hold it closed with your fingers, or pin it closed to free both hands. I've done it both ways.  I ended up doing this one without the pins.

Thread a needle, and hand stitch closed.  I learned by using this tutorial how to do this.  It is super easy! Please don't be intimidated by this part. I promise, it really is easy.  On the last pillow I made, I caught the fusible fleese lining with my hand stitching, and it didn't look perfect. 

So, on this one, I made sure to just get the cotton fabric, and it looks so much neater and is almost impossible to find.

When your pillow is finished, sew or glue on your favorite fabric flowers, rosettes, buttons, or other embelishments.  Easy!  If you want it to be washable, I recommend using fabric glue if you don't want to sew them on.  (I glued these on.)

Today I am thankful for always having enough food on the table.

Another great tutorial put to use-Pillow with Ties

I felt like sewing today, so I grabbed some fabric scraps and made a throw pillow for my daughter's bare bed.  I need to make several more for her. This one made a big difference.

A while back, I used this tutorial from Make It and Love It to make these pillows. They looked great for about two days,

but after my one year old figured out that he would carry it around by the ties...this is how they look now.   :(   They are also a little thin, (because of the fabric) so they feel flimsy. Plus, I didn't stuff em enough. Live and learn.  I loved the design, so I needed to give it another whirl.

I wanted to make one for my daughter's bed, so I made a couple of changes to accomodate my kids dragging them around.  I sewed the part that ties down. To make it sturdier, I ironed some fusible fleece to the inside of the fabric. It has a lot more structure to it, and I am so happy with how it turned out. I also added an accent strip of fabric underneath the tie.

She loves it.  It really makes me want to make some more pillows for her bed!

Today I am thankful for the little things that make my kiddos happy.

Hooded towel

A good friend of mine's son is having his 3rd birthday party today.

(Happy Birthday Boston!)

So, I made him a hooded towel this afternoon.  I love hooded towels.  My daughter is 4 and still insists on using one, but the ones in the store are teeny and thin baby towels (so I made her 2 for her birthday).  I used a full sized towel with strips of fabric sewn on, and hand towel covered with coordinating fabric. Plenty of room in there for a big kid!

I added a nice little pleat in the middle on the top so it would wrap around nicely.

I had some blank greeting cards, so I printed "three 5 times in different fonts and colors and added some scrap fabric from making the towel in a 3 and sewed it down with a zig zag stitch. Easy. :)  I like how it turned out. Simple, but cute! If he was a girl, it would have a ruffle on it.  I can't resist the ruffle, people. I've tried.

I printed the inside as well...but forgot to put who it was from. Fail.  Ha!

Today I am thankful for healthy kiddos.

I love cute little pouches.

So, I have been sewing a LOT lately, and I am really starting to fall in love with it more and more each time I make something.  A couple of months ago I made these clutches and finally got around to making another one a few days ago.  I had been drooling on my laptop while cruising through browsing through The Pleated Poppy, and came across her zippered pouches and sunglasses cases.  I LOVE Lindsey's fabric choices and everything she comes up with. She is adorable and uber creative! (Her kids are pretty datgum cute, too!)  After making the clutches for our trip, I had the confidence to give it a whirl and figure out how to make a knock-off of her zippered pouch and sunnie case that I had fallen in love with.

Here is what I ended up with!

MMMMM ruffles. I love ruffles. We've covered that before though.

I decided to throw caution to the wind and give boxing the corners a try. It was fun, easy, and added some dimension and umph to my little clutch! I'm so glad I didn't chicken out and gave it a try.

I added a d-ring because, well I don't know why. But I added it.  I ended up making a little wristlet to match on a little clip so I can have it if I want to carry it on it's own, and can take it off if I use it as a little pouch inside of my purse to house little tonka trucks and cheerios. Yes, that's really what I carry in my purse.

The lining is also boxed (it would be silly otherwise) and matches the ruffles.

Sunglass case to match

I actually made this, and the clutch to match, but who cares...

They slide right in and are protected from tonka truck collisions.

I hope Lindsey doesn't mind me making something based on her creations! I just love her work!  She inspires me so much. 

Today I am thankful that my friend, Shellie, exposed me to sewing earlier this year!

Laptop Cover

We got a new laptop earlier this year and haven't wanted to spend the money on a new case.

We're cheap like that.

Or maybe it's because it's a jumbo laptop and the covers are expensive.  Or maybe it's having 2 kids and 1 job...

Anyways, we are taking our laptop on our roadtrip with us, and it had no case.

What's a girl to do?

Make one!

I few months ago I came across this one over at Crap I've Made. (I LOVE her blog name, btw. Hilarious. She must have a fabulous sense of humor!)

Her cover was adorable, but I knew I wanted mine a little different.  I did the front like hers, only moved the gathered strip down a bit.  There wasn't any improving on her design...it was too cute for improvement!

 I made my flower a bit different, as well.

I wanted the back to have a pocket for the charger and any usb cables I'd be taking along.  (Once a month, I take it and my Cricut...along with a million cables...to a craft day with friends)

I did the pocket like I did the little pockets here on my camera strap covers.

I also wanted a velcro closure instead of a zipper. 

I also wanted a soft minky for the lining.

Oh man is this stuff soft.  The lady at our little fabric store freaked me out about it, telling me it was nearly impossible to work with since it is so stretchy. 

But, it was cake. 

I. was. relieved.

The only minky they had was red at the fabric store, which inspired the color scheme for the whole thing, and I'm in love.

LOVE.  Damask, black, white, red...I love that combo.

My laptop does, too. She's happy in there!



Camera Strap Slipcover Tutorial (with ruffles and lens cap pocket)

I finally have a good camera! And with that good camera comes an ugly neck strap.  I have seen adorable covers all over etsy and various places, so I decided to go through my fabric and whip one several up!  I had so many ideas and lots of fabric, so I quite possibly got a bit carried away.  Want one? Here's how.

All you need is fabric of your choice (how much depends on how big your strap is, and any extras you are adding), elastic (if you want a little pocket for your lens cap or extra memory card), fusible fleece (completely optional...this tute shows what to do with it, but I have more without it than I do with), coordinating thread, and a sewing machine.

You will need to start by making a pattern for your strap.  Take it off of your camera, fold it in half and lay it on paper (mine was 12x12) and trace around it.  You will want to go around the folded end, each side, and down to the leather part that holds your strap together. Draw a line connecting the two sides where the leather would be.  Then measure and draw a line 5/8 inch around each side, Cut out, and you have a pattern. Easy.  (Sorry I don't have pictures of this step-I made my pattern when I made my first strap cover.)

I marked my pattern.  I don't really have a good reason for doing this, other than catering to my obsessive compulsive personality.

Next, fold your fabric and place the pattern on top of it. I only fold mine to where there will be enough fabric cut that I need, and don't end up with a hole in the middle of my piece of fabric.

Like so:

Now you can either use a straight edge and rotary cutter to cut around your pattern (which is what I do), or you can grab a marker, trace around your pattern, and cut it out with scissors.  Either way- cut it out. :)

When you unfold it, it should look like this.  My fabric ended up being about 26 3/4 inch x about 2 7/8 in.  Your size will depend on the size of your strap.  You will need 2 of these. One for the front piece, one for the back piece.  I used the same fabric, but you can use two different ones. Either way turns out cute!

Next you will cut a piece of fabric for the pocket.  I like for my pocket to match the back peice of fabric, because I put it on the back so it won't interfere with my ruffles.  Don't mess with the ruffles, folks.

  

I cut a piece of fabric that was 6" wide x 5" tall.

Now time to cut ruffles...if you want them, and you know you do.  Be careful. Ruffles are addictive.  I'm entering ruffle rehab on Monday.

I cut two strips of my fabric. You want them both to be about twice as long as the finished ruffle will be.  Once you gather it, it will shrink up considerably.  I like my ruffles fluffy, so I always go with 2 to 2 1/2 times the length I want it to be when finished. One strip is 2" wide, and the other about 1" wide.

Now head over that your sewing machine and set it to the zig zag stitch function. 

Down the each side of both strips, zig zag stitch-WITH a back stitch at the beginning and the end.

This is what it will look like when you are done.  This is important because it will keep the edges from fraying.

Now you will need to go to the straight stitch, and set it for the longest stitches that your machine will allow.  This is a basting stitch.

Now, down the middle of each strip, sew a basting stitch, leaving long strings at each end.  These are the only way you can pull your fabric, making it ruffle. DO NOT back stitch on either end, or you won't be able to ruffle it.

See the two strings? There is one on the top and the bottom of your fabric.  Grab ahold of the bottom one.

*Gently* start pulling the fabric and moving it along the thread.  You don't want to break the thread. Gently work it down, little by little, until you have a ruffle.  You may have to do this from each end.  Do not clip the thread until it has been attached to the strap cover.

Do this to each fabric strip, and you will end up with fluffy little ruffles.  Ruffles make me happy.

Now. On to the pocket.

Take your pocket piece, and (wrong side up) fold over the top between 1/4-1/2". You dont' have to be precise on this. Iron it to help it hold it's place.

Next, grab a piece of elastic (mine is 3/8", but It shouldn't' matter what size you use). Fold the fabric over again, this time over the elastic.  Fold it over enough so the elastic has a little wiggle room.

Slide the elastic out and iron again. (and try to not be distracted by my ironing board cover that the Brawny Man gave me.)

Now, with a regular straight stitch, and backstitching at the start and finish, stitch a straight line close to where your fold meets the rest of the fabric.

Now it's time to slide your elastic through. The easiest way I have found, is to fold the end of the elastic over just a bit, and stick a safety pin through both pieces, off to one side (so that the elastic is somewhat inbetween the sides of the pin).  Close the safety pin, and stuff it into one side of the little pocket you just made.

Work it through a little at a time, until you have it through.  Ditch the safety pin.

Flip the fabric over and fold over the opposite end, and iron.

Now, place a pin through your elastic on one end, and bunch the fabric up on the elastic.  You don't want the elastic to be stretched, It will need to be as wide, or a little wider than the main pieces you cut earlier.

Take your back piece of fabric, and pin the top of the pocket to it.  Be sure to go through the elastic, and line up the edges.  Leave a couple of inches below the bottom of the pocket.

Line up, and pin the bottom corners.

The going across the bottom of the pocket, pin it down.

Sew a straight stitch across the bottom only, close to the edge.

It will look like this. Don't worry about the sides, we will catch them when we sew the front and back piece together, and obviously we will leave the top open.

Now we will attach the front and back pieces.

Lay then on top of each other, wrong sides together.

Line up, and pin along one side.

Sew another straight stitch 1/4 inch or a little more from the edge. Don't forget your back stitch!

Snip off the extra elastic from the side you just stitched.

Open it, lay it wrong side up, separate the two little pieces there, and iron them flat. They will look like this:

Turn it right side up, and get your large ruffle.  It needs to be the length of your main piece, so if it's too short, just scooch your ruffles out, or if it's too long, ruffle them up more.  Start pinning it to the main piece.  You want to make sure it lines up with the side that is sewn together already (if your ruffles are wide like mine) and leave room along the other side for the hem without running over the ruffle.

The, line up the smaller ruffle along the center of the wider one. Use the stitches in the middle to help if you need to.

Stitch along the center stitching that is already on the ruffles.

Remove pins

If you want to use the fusible fleece, now is the time. Follow the directions that came with it.  (I have 4 with, and 5 without...I really don't have a preference either way. With it makes it feel more sturdy and durable, but without it is easier to turn right-side out, and to get on and off.)

Fold the ends of your strap in about 1/2 to 3/4 inch, and pin.

Sew one or two lines across the hem. Which ever blows your skirt up. 

Fold it, right sides together, line up edges, and pin into place.  If you are worried about your ruffle, push it off to one side. Mine did fine.

Sew just like you did the other side.  When you are done, do a zig zag stitch along side the straight one-just to reinforce it. Snip off the extra elastic.

Start turing it right side out.  I usually use my fingers like this, but if you have lining in it, it is easier to shove it through with something.  I used a wooden spoon like I saw Tidy mom use in her tutorial. Great tip!

Yikes. Maybe I'll get Photoshop and learn how to use my camera someday.

Viola. Camera strap slip cover. Now, slip your strap in, and you're good to go!

Much better.

There's that cute lil pocket. Stick a lens cap, memory cars, chap stick...whatever you want in there.

Slides right in...

and out of sight. No more lost lens caps.

Here are some more I made.  Have fun, use your imagination, and make some camera candy for yourself :)

I added a layered knit flower to this one.

And I made some Kanzashi flowers to add to this one.

Have a blessed day!