Sewing project: fat quarter grocery bags

These bags were made from fat quarters that were in my Granmma's stash. She had cut a bunch herself that I believe she might have intended on selling online-- she was always extremely entrepreneurial. I would've loved to've turned these into a cool farm themed quilt, but they were the most appropriate fabric in my stash for a gift for my mom, considering she lives on a ranch.

I found tons of great fat quarter grocery bag tutorials online, of course. I'd love to try this one and this one. But they were all for patterns that went the opposite direction, so I ended up winging it and came up with a lined wider grocery bag.

They're fully lined, which basically made them turn out reversible. That was a bonus. That's why it looks like there are four in these pics-- there's only two. I intended for the striped hen print to be the outside of one and the cows to be the outside of the other, but mom can use them however she wants.

I gave them those square bottom corners, what are they called? This gal refers to them as "milk carton corners," haha.


My biggest disappointment was the handles, I wanted them extra sturdy but they came out kinda stretchy. That's because I mis-measured when I cut and made them too narrow to make a conventional strap, where you press the edges to the center then fold in half. I ended up sewing them into tubes, which didn't give them the heft I was hoping for. Next time, I'd just buy some nylon webbing, but the point of this exercise was to stash bust.

Sewing project: appliqued monogram towels

I am so behind on posts! I made these last month the day before Christmas Eve. Talk about a last-minute DIY gift idea!

My brother is getting married this year, so I kind of wanted to do something "coupley" for his and his fiance's gift. It was no surprise that when I searched "Christmas gift ideas for bride to be" and variations thereof, monogrammed anything was a popular suggestion.

I don't have an embroidery machine, so a typical monogram wasn't going to cut it. But I had plenty of "Steam A Seam" leftover from the Christmas stockings, so I decided to give appliqueing a shot for the second time ever.

To make this project, I just picked a basic font, sans serif to make the appliqueing easier. I typed out the letters I needed in Word and printed them out to use as stencils  From there, it was just a basic appliqueing process, adhering the Steam A Seam to the back of the fabric, cutting out the letters, ironing them to the towels, then stitching them in place with a very tight zig-zag stitch.

These pictures are so horrible! I came up with this project the day before Christmas Eve, bought the towels, then did it all in one afternoon, then quickly snapped pics before wrapping them. The pictures were taken at night near my sewing nook, so the only lighting is the yellow-ish CFL bulbs from our ceiling fan. I promise the colors look better in person.

All in all, I think applique monogram towels are one of those perfect DIY gifts that fuses store-bought with a  homemade touch. They're quick, but still have that personal touch that you get with an entirely homemade gift. Also-- they're practical. I'm sold!

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!