Sewing project: quilted potholders

If you're looking for DIY gift ideas, potholders are a great option!

To mkae this Christmas gift, I Googled "potholder tutorial" and found absolutely tons of them. So many that I became somewhat overwhelmed and decided to just kind of wing it. So I'm not going to link a particular tutorial, but believe me, they're out there.

But to be honest, you don't really need a tutorial if you've ever made a quilt. I had the basic idea of how to make a potholder, I just needed to know how much batting to put in the middle. I also liked looking at all the tutorials (especially if you Google it as an image search) just for inspiration.

So, all I needed to buy for this project was 100% cotton batting. Polyester will melt. I used three layers of the cotton. Some people use some kind of batting (I forget the name) with a metal content for the middle layer, but I wanted mine to remain microwaveable.

This was my first time trying the "stacked blocks/bricks/books/bolts" block. I totally recommend making potholders for experimenting with different quilt blocks! It's also a simple way for some scrap busting.

I cut all three layers of batting, my backs or bottoms, and my two quilt blocks to be slightly larger than 8" by 8". I don't remember how long I cut the handle/hook thingy.

To construct these two potholders, I basically made an inside-out quilt sandwich and stitched around the edge. Then turned it right side out, then stitched around the edge again, then did some different quilting in rainbow thread. It worked OK, but I think next time I make potholders, I'll use bias-bound edges instead.

So, super-quick and easy, and a great last-minute DIY gift idea. I'm even planning on making some for my own kitchen.

Project: quilted Christmas stockings

I wanted our family Christmas stockings to be similar without being "matchy-matchy", so I decided to quilt them in different color schemes and using different techniques.
Haha, my stocking (in the middle) looks like it belongs on the foot of some wonky-footed giant. Guess I need to get in there and poke those seams out a little better.

It was also a fun chance to try some quilt blocks I'd never done: my husband's is just scrappy quilting, mine is wonky log cabin, and my son's is my first applique with his name spelled in a quilt block. (Yeah, my obsession with personalizing things isn't going away any time soon.)

 
The Thrasher Magazine t-shirt in the center goes back to the first year my husband and I were together. He asked me to order him a Thrasher watch (we were so young he didn't have a credit or ATM card yet!) from their website. When I was placing the order, I saw this men's t-shirt on clearance for something like $3 or $4! I can't resist a deal, so I bought it for myself.

Well, when the order arrived, my then-boyfriend claimed the shirt for himself, wore it long enough to get a couple of holes in the belly-button area, and guess what... that's when I got it back. I've since been wearing it for years as a pajama top (our baby loved staring at it when he was just a few months old), and decided a few months ago it was high time I stuck this raggedy thing in the upcycle pile.

When I decided to make my husband a red Christmas stocking, it was the perfect time to upcycle the t-shirt. The rest of the fabric on his is just random stuff from the scrap drawer.


My stocking is just random scraps from the scrap drawer. It was my first go at wonky log cabin blocks, which is currently my favorite block! I was trying to make mine predominantly pink.


Argh, this picture is the only one I took of my son's solo, and it's out of focus. I chose to make his mostly blue, and didn't have a lot of blue in the scrap drawer, so I reluctantly bought some blue fat quarters from JoAnn. I also bought a puppy-themed bundle I happened to see, as I'd already decided to make his stocking dog themed.

I free-hand drew the dog applique pieces on the applique interfacing I'd purchased, and, although you can tell on the stocking that it's my first applique attempt, I'm happy with how it turned out and will try appliqueing some more in the future.

Final thoughts: I used this Design Sponge pattern for the shape but made up my own directions. Each stocking is lined with the same quilting cotton (a silly bird-print tropical fabric). I stitch all three stockings and their linings around the edges, then stitched the linings to their stockings around the upper edge, leaving a hole to turn. Once they were turned, I topstitched around the edges.

Fun! Have you made stockings? I'd love to see them!

Kwik Sew 3799: Western flannel top

I almost titled this post "Western pajama top" but I didn't want you to think it was a pajama top for realsies, because who wants to look at other people's PJ's? Don't answer that.

But this shirt does look like a pajama top... probs because I used pajama fabric from Gramma's stash. Lesson learned.

This is my test run of Kwik Sew 3799, which explains my less-than-stellar fabric choice. I have already pre-washed an amazing plaid flannel, also from Gramma's stash, to make my real version of this shirt. I had a feeling it was going to become a "tried-n-true" pattern before I even made it based on the only review (at the time) on Pattern Review.


I scoured the web high and low for a sweet little blouse with a Western yolk. I initially wanted a vintage 1940s or 1950s one, but realized that the Western shirt has remained largely unchanged for decades and decades. The 50s version had a more cinched-in-waist, the 70s one had wider lapels, and the 90s ones were made up in bright pink and teal Southwestern prints. But the differences were minor when compared to the similarities; save the puffed sleeves, the sweet little blue gingham Western blouse I had as a little girl in the 80s looked remarkably similar to the one my in-laws bought for my son last year.

So, I figured, why pay the vintage price when I could get a more recent pattern for a cheaper price? (Not to mention my non-vintage pattern friendly big measurements). I actually found Simplicity still selling two Western shirt patterns in their men's section. But I didn't want to get those and have to deal with adding darts. Similarly, Etsy had several 90s models that were labeled "unisex", which I'd also have to do some shaping on to avoid looking even more chunk. Also, I really love this unisex one from from Folkwear!

I ended up going with Kwik Sew after my Google search turned up a message board posting that stated "Kwik Sew has a women's Western pattern". I had to search through their patterns before I guessed it was this one. You see, their line drawing doesn't actually show the Western yolk.

Can I just take a second to point out the irony of having to go with a Swedish pattern company for such a distinctly American shirt? And not even just American, a very specific region of America. Get with it, Simplicity, and re-issue a women's Western shirt. (And yes, I do realize Kwik Sew is under the McCall's umbrella now, but still.)

I like to call this expression "the smug mugshot."

Mine is not nearly as slim fitting as I would like; you can see that billowy-ness action going on in the right side of the picture here. I sewed the largest size (my bust measurement is 45") and should've sized down one. I mulled taking it in on the sides, but as it's my test run, I didn't bother to mess with it. My husband gave it the stamp of approval, so I guess it's OK, but the next one will be more slim-fitting.

And there will be a next one, I really enjoyed this pattern. I did have some issues with the cutting layout, you can read more about that on my Pattern Review. (I clearly have a lot to say about this pattern). But I have plans for one in plaid, as mentioned above, and hopefully chambray as well.


Also, I should add here that my bro said "that looks like what [his fiance] would wear for pajamas," so, I'm not the only one who thinks it looks like a pajama top. That won't stop me from wearing it out of the house, it's just soooo soft. Probably because it's made from pajama fabric.


Final thoughts: I love Kwik Sew 3799 and will make it again (and again), which is what I was hoping when I purchased this pattern. It was my first Kwik Sew and, although the smaller, quarter-inch seam allowances took some getting used to, I thought the directions were easy to follow. I liked that they have you finish all the seams with a zig-zag stitch.

Also, I mentioned this pattern was too wide-- it was also too short for my 5'11" frame. Next time, I have to lengthen both the bodice and the sleeves. Although, I'll admit the sleeves actually look long enough in some of these pics, which is not the case. This time, I hemmed with bias tape to both add length and deal more easily with the curved hem.

Finally, I used some cheapie "pearl" snaps from WalMart and I love the look, but next time I may just use buttons. I smooshed at least one snap while hammering it on, and it won't close. Luckily, it's on a pocket. Some cracked as well on the plastic part. Do you have any snap-hammering tips? I wanted my husband to bust out the rubber mallet, but he brought me a standard hammer instead.

DIY cowboy bandanna pillow (from an upcycled souvenir scarf!)

I fell in love with this vintage bandana as soon as I spotted it in the thrift shop! Amazing, bright, saturated colors, a retro cowboy theme (love that as a ranch girl), and it was a souvenir scarf. I love me some vintage souvenirs.

Seeing as I'm not fixin' to hold up a stagecoach any time soon, I don't have much use for a bandana. Somewhere along the line I decided to turn it into a throw pillow.

It had a couple of tiny holes I didn't notice until I got it out of the shop, but I would've bought it anyway. The first step was to patch the holes. I don't have a detail picture of this, but I like how it turned out. I used some of the red paisley print last seen here, cutting tiny squares just slightly larger than the holes. I also cut out fusible interfacing large enough for the entire bandana, which actually took two pieces. When I fused the interfacing to the bandana, I just made sure the fabric patches lined up exactly with the holes from the underside of the bandana. Then, I sewed around the holes, so they ended up looking kind of like a reverse applique. You can barely notice them on the finished pillow cover, but I think they look kind of cute in that worn cowboy bandana kind of way.

To finish things up, I cut two rectangles of muslin for a split back and did the edges in a bias tape. Sorry, I didn't take pics of the back; I was so enamored with the front. I don't remember what size pillow form this is,  but it's pretty big and a perfect fit.

The pillow ended up living in my son's bedroom because that's the only room with this color scheme. Plus, I actually think it goes quite well with the rest of the retro theme working in there, including the retro robots and some other 1950s-style cowboy stuff.

The quilt the pillow is sitting on was made for me as a baby, I should've shared pictures of the front of it too as it's quite sweet.

Does Google Chrome not know how to spell? Because it keeps wanting me stick a third "N" in bandana. I started worrying I spelled it wrong in the picture! I didn't, right?

This project is linked at:
House of Hepworths, Momnivore's Dilema, Somewhat Simple, Katie's Nesting Spot, Seven Thirty-Three, The 36th Avenue, Artsy Fartsy Mama, Sew Can Do, Craft O Maniac, Sumo Sweet Stuff, Making the World Cuter

Orange pomanders: an instant gratification craft

Or should I call it "instant craftification"?

Actually, making an orange pomander isn't technically an instant gratification craft, because you're supposed to let them dry out for as much as eight weeks in a paper bag before enjoying them. I don't know if the smell is supposed to get stronger after that, or what. Or maybe it's supposed to dry out better that way.

Either way, mine already smell great and look pretty cute too. I'm breaking the rules and letting mine dry out in the open; that's how I roll, yo!

Different variations of the pomander have been around since at least the Middle Ages, as they apparently came in handy for disguising body stank. Modern orange pomanders are basically oranges with some cloves stabbed in them. I decided to title this post "instant gratification" for that reason; no stitching, no gluing, no planning, cutting, painting. Just a gal and her produce. And spices. (Although all that stabbing can be time consuming; I did these three over the span of three evenings.)

Most orange pomander instructions have you start out by decorating your citrus with yarn, or whatever you feel like. Then they have you stab holes with a knitting needle. I was not going to wreck any needles for this, so I used a shish-ka-bob skewer, and it worked very well... until I realized I didn't need to pre-poke the holes. The cloves stabbed in quite easily on their own!

Many instructions have you either drop your completed pomander in a paper bag with some spices and shake it around to coat; I thought mine was too delicate. You can also roll yours around in a spice mixture, and I tried this (I used pumpkin pie spice) for my first one, but thought it looked "dirty". So the next two don't have any additional spices.

Finally, I read at least one recommendation to finish the pomander off with a preserving essential oil, like sandalwood; I skipped this as well, so mine ended up being basically some oranges with fabric tied around them and cloves stabbed in them. Easy-peasy! Or easy-orangey?

Have you made pomanders before? I totally recommend this festive and easy craft!

DIY Muppet Fascinator Halloween costume tutorial

Muppet obsession, much?

I wanted something subtle and understated this Halloween. And you know who I think of when I think "subtle" and "understated"?

Psych! I'd actually forgotten about the Lady Gaga Kermit outfit when I dreamed up this Kermit the Frog fascinator. I was reminded once I did an image search for "Kermit hat" for inspiration on how to attach the eyes.

So, this could always be a last minute Gaga costume, even though hers is the whole head, and this tutorial is for the mouth up.

You could also try this tutorial for many other Muppets, as long as you choose one who has their eyeballs closer to the top of their head. For instance, Cookie Monster, Animal, or Elmo may work, whereas Miss Piggy, Fozzie, or Big Bird wouldn't.

This took me just a few hours to make, and that included the time it took to photograph this tutorial AND with a toddler underfoot. What's more, most of the supplies came from my stash! Keep reading to learn how to make a silly, last minute Muppets Halloween costume.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• Muppet colored felt
• Constrasting felt for the underside. I used red to represent Kermit's mouth, but could've chosen pink for his tongue, or a lighter green for his spikey things around his neck.
• Green tulle (optional). Check the remnant bin, otherwise buy the smallest amount possible, typically 1/8th of a yard. Lighter green felt to add in a couple of his neck spikes (is there a proper term for those things?) is another option, and an alternative to the veil.
• Narrow elastic.
• White fabric (I used cotton flannel but more felt would work)
• Black fabric paint or marker.
• Tiny amount of fiberfill (not pictured), I thought I had some in my stash and didn't, so I ended up using cotton balls!
• Fabric glue.
• Your typical sewing supplies including thread, straight pins, scissors, iron, machine, etc.

First, we need to make the patterns. We need two circles, a larger one for the main portion of the hat, and a smaller one for the eyeballs. The hat does not need a seam allowance if you're using felt or another non-fraying fabric, but the eyeballs do. For that reason, choose something larger than you want the eyeballs to end up. The hat portion will also end up slightly smaller. I used a toddler bowl, and a lid from one of those big spice containers from Costco.

Trace the larger circle for your fascinator pattern.

For the eyeball pattern, you need to measure your smaller circle at the widest part. Mine was 2.25 inches. Make a rectangle with one side measuring that length, and the other side about two inches long.

Now you can use your circle to add a rounded edge to your rectangle. Place your circle on one of the sides that matches your diameter, and trace.

Now you can cut out your patterns and pin them to your felt, fur, flannel/cotton, etc. Obvies, the big circle goes on the felt, and that basketball court shaped thing goes on your eyeball fabric.

Don't forget to cut FOUR eyeball pieces. Two pieces will be sewn together to make one eyeball. I accidentally only cut two to begin with.

Just one green and one red (or whatever colors you're using) is needed, one for the top and one for the bottom of the hat.

Fold either your shell or your lining in half, and in half again, so you're holding a rounded rectangle.

Take your scissors and snip up to the center.

Unfold it. Here, I snipped a little further past the center. I did this because Kermit's head is more oval shaped if you look at it from above. I guess a guitar pick shape is a good way of describing it. I wanted the fascinator to reflect this, and be a little more oblong as opposed to round. I probably only cut another 3/4ths of an inch.

Then, I moved the scissors over slightly and cut out a piece of pie. I wish I had an exact measurement for you, but I really just eyeballed this. The wider you make your triangle, the more dimensional your hat will be. A smaller triangle will make a flatter hat.

Use your pie piece as a pattern on your other large circle. Looks like a martini olive! Cut out a same-sized piece of pie on this circle as well. This way the lining and the shell will be perfect matches.

Now we have two PacMans and a couple of ghosts for them to gobble!

In one of your large circles, line up the edges where you removed the piece of pie. If your material has a right and wrong side, it should be right sides together. Stitch it closed, I used a very tiny seam allowance here.

Starting about half of the way up your eyeball, stitch around the curved edge with right sides together. I think I used a 1/2 or 3/8 inch seam allowance here. I trimmed the allowance and clipped my curves. I used pinking shears on mine, which is totally unnecessary.

Now we have the world's first, and presumably last, Christmas colored yarmulkes. Turn your eyeballs right side out and press, and if your felt lets you, press the yarmulkes too. If you're using fur, you'll probably have to use a pin to pick some of the pile out of the seam on the right side.

Time to draw or paint on the pupils. Kermie has slanted minus signs with ovals over them, kinda shaped like the planet Saturn. If you're making Cookie Monster, don't forget: he's cross-eyed.

My fabric pen bled through to the back! Make sure to stuff a temporary piece of paper or cardboard in the eyeball to prevent this from happening to you.

My ink required heat setting as well.

Time to make some slits in the top part of the hat for the eyeballs. I used my son's Cookie Monster for a reference. The seam on the hat goes down Kermit's nose.

I don't have any exact measurement for you as to where to place the slits. I, again, just kinda "eyeballed" it (wocka wocka), and it also depends on which Muppet you're making. Just make sure to place both slits the same distance away from the nose seam.

I did make my slits 1/2 inch smaller than the finished width of my eyeball, so they don't slip out easily. You can see what I mean in the next picture...

Poke the eyeballs up into the slits. They don't have to positioned perfectly at this time, there's still opportunity for adjustment.

Now cram them full of stuffing, poking the fill up through the slit and into the main part of the eyeball. The more full they are, the better. I used about four cotton balls per eyeball and think they could stand even more filling.

Make any final adjustments to the eyeballs on the right side. Flip the hat back over and it's time to get gluing. The parts of the eyeballs we didn't seam shut will now act as tabs to keep the eyeballs in place.

Glue all four "tabs" and press firmly. I recommend a fabric glue that does not required heat setting, since the felt doesn't agree with pressing so much. Alternatively, you could stitch them, but I didn't want any stitching to show on top.

Time to gather the tulle and make the veil.

I cut a rectangle and scrunched it up on both ends and pinned one long side and the two scrunched up sides to the wrong side of the top of the hat. The pins have to be on the right side, however; you don't want them sewn inside the lining!

If you're adding Kermit's spikes as an alternative to the tulle, I would cut about three long triangles and pin them to the rear of the fascinator.

Also, cut a piece of elastic to the size of your head, but with plenty of stretch so it'll stay on. Pin that in place as well, with the ends of the band on either side of the hat. I'm wearing mine in the pictures around the back of my head, with the elastic hidden in my hair (but you can see it in some of the pictures if you need a reference).

Stitch all around the edge of hat in the proper thread colors, I think my seam was just 1/4 inch. Make sure to hold any tulle, or other decorations, and your elastic out of the way so it doesn't get caught in the seam!

Now put on your best p-p-p-poker face and enjoy! Happy Halloween and send me pics if you make your own Muppet fascinator!

DIY shutter chalkboard and message center

We have a bunch of shutters in our garage thanks to my husband's job as a window coverings installer. As you can imagine, we're trying to come up with ideas for vintage window shutter crafts so we can put all these vintage shabby shutters to good use.

Some of the shutters are in better shape than others, so for this project, Lance took a couple that had the louvers falling out, and knocked them the rest of the way out. Then he added a board painted with chalkboard paint to the back, and Bob's your Uncle, a shutter chalkboard is born. These two were painted with spraypaint and distressed, but mostly just because we didn't want to put a white shutter on a white wall.

We hung one shutter message board horizontally in the entryway, and the other vertically in the kitchen. (Recognize the quote from the green one? It's from Ratatouille!) The remaining louvered side can be used to display postcards, greeting cards, bills, or children's artwork, attached with clothespins.

Before & After: Pie Safe Makeover

Here is the makeover of a recent estate sale purchase...


It might be more appropriate to call this a "China Hutch Makeover" or a cabinet makeover of some sort... I'm not really what this piece of furniture started out as. A cabinet with legs. It did have glass in the doors, along with some wood decoration behind the glass, but my overzealous husband took those out before I could take the before photo.

I replaced the glass with a wire mesh after deciding chicken wire wouldn't be sturdy enough, so it definitely ended up more "pie safe" then "china hutch", so that's what we're calling it! The mesh also matches my food pantry.

What do you think? The interior is some kinda off-white discount paint from the "oops paint section. If you recognize the outside, turquoise color, that's because it's my Behr Mint Majesty leftover from the dining chairs... kind of. I had to add some more oops paint, this time in a blue, in order to stretch it to have enough for another project. Plus, since this turquoise china hutch is in my kitchen, I didn't want it all match-matchy with my dining chairs.

I found a birdcalling book at the thriftstore, but the bird call mechanism was broken while the illustrations were awesome. So, I totes "Put a Bird On In It", lining the drawer with the bird pictures.

I'm usually not for painting over wood (unless it's 80s yellow/orange,  or 70s speckled brown), but this wood was all discolored, chipping, warped, and all around in bad shape. So much so that I got this for just $20 (and a second one for the same price) at an estate sale.

The cabinet was $20 and the paint I had on hand. The only thing I bought new was the hardware (from OSH) and the wire, which also came from OSH and ended up a much better deal than the ol' Orange Big Box, because they let you buy it buy the foot at Orchard.

DIY chalk paint dining chairs

After the dining table was completed and in place, it took us weeks to find dining chairs. I was set on finding some metal Tolix style knockoffs, and was probably going to buy some from Overstock.

But then my husband brought home four chairs from a yardsale for just five bucks for the lot.  Yes, the same husband ( I do only have one, afterall) who bought two desks for $10 from a different yardsale.

The four chairs were three matching blond/yellow wood ones (sorry, I forgot to take before pictures!) and a fourth black one (that one lives by the computer now).

I've already mentioned our small dining area is a challenge to find furniture for, and it was going to be an even bigger challenge to find the right-sized chair for the teeny dining table.

My husband had intended these chairs to be temporary, and I agreed; I hated their yellow-and-mildew color tones!

But as time wore on, I realized they were just the right size. And, we already had them anyway... time to mend and make do.

First, I tried spraypaint. The Rustoleum Satin Green Apple just wasn't the right shade OR finish. So the lone spraypainted chair sat outside for a few days before I decided what to do next. That decision came to be chalk paint.

I probably don't have to tell you that Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is taking the web by storm. I was totally surprised to find that there's an AS retailer in my town, and was all prepared to pay for it.

But then, I got to thinking... I guessed it was around $35 bucks for a quart of Annie Sloan, and I was pretty close. These chairs were just $1.25 each. It seemed to sort of go against the frugal find that they were if I were to cover them in expensive paint. Plus, there wasn't the right shade of minty green on the AS color chart.

I'd already been seeing all the DIY chalk paint recipes when this post popped up on Apartment Therapy. Most recipes have you mix Plaster of Paris, water, and latex paint in precise measurements and ratios, but the one on AT said the gal kinda winged it until she found a consistency she liked. Works for my lazy artsy, go-with-the-flow self.

I planned on using the lines on the side of my quart container to make pretty precise measurements, and filled Plaster of Paris up to the first line. I thought I was putting water up to the second line when I noticed there was way too much water.

Instead of dumping out the water and PoP to start over like I should have, I went ahead and added my paint, Behr latex paint and primer in one in the color "Mint Majesty". It took a lot of paint to catch up to all the water, and I got a very watery DIY Chalk Paint mixture to work with.

Still, I loved how my first chair came out. I'd done minimal sanding and hadn't technically primed it, which is a supposed benefit of chalk paint-- especially if you're using the real Annie Sloan deal. But it HAD been painted with that apple green Rustoleum, which was acting like a kind of primer.

The next two chairs were another story. With having a little one, I didn't get to do all three at once. So my DIY chalk paint mixture sat overnight. Maybe I should have Googled whether or not leftover DIY chalk paint keeps.

By the next day, the PoP had settled to the bottom in a thick layer. The water was on top. I mixed it up and started painting anway.

I love the color of all three chairs, although I think the first one came out more saturated because of the layer of apple green underneath. But the second two also came out with some large glops of PoP here and there thanks to the day-old mixture. There are brush strokes on the seats, while the first one came out with a smooth seat.

I distressed all three before finishing them off with a couple of layers of Minwax pastewax.

The verdict: I might use DIY chalk paint again, but not for any projects I have in my current queue. This hasn't turned me off from trying the real ASCP, but I think the price for AS has. I like my Behr latex paint and primer in one and plan on mostly sticking with that.

Before & After: Dining Table Makeover

Our dining area in our small eat-in kitchen is a challenge to get just the right-sized table for.

We'd first bought an awesome mahagony table off Craigslist for just $40... and it ended up being way too big.

So we snatched this table up when we saw it at the thrift store. It was priced higher than I wanted to pay for a rinky-dink table like this, even on sale, but it was the right size for the space.

My husband chose to remedy the yellow/orange wood with a coat of dark stain on the top using an all-in-one stain/poly, and spray-painted the base white. Now we have a perfectly-sized little table, and we didn't have to sacrifice looks to do it.

Thomas & Friends birthday party bunting (paper)

When I saw this book for just a buck at the thrift store, I thought it should come home with us.

It's one of those books that makes sounds... but this book was pretty old and beat up, so the sounds were less children's book and more creepy horror movie-- all scratchy and hard to hear.

I thought I could rescue it by giving it new life-- Thomas the Train Book Bunting! I used thrifted bias tape for the project as well.

I actually made this one before the Thomas the Train Fabric Bunting, which is now hanging in his room. I decided that hanging this one too might be overkill, so... I'm actually going to disassemble this one and use it in a different project! This Thomas the Train book is getting more lives than a cat.

I used a fancy paper punch around the edges, which kinda gave it a Papel Picado feel.

Thomas & Friends Book Bunting

Materials: Thomas the Train Book ($1 - thrifted), bias tape (.50 cents - thrift store), thread

Total cost: ~$1.50