This is my first, simple attempt at “quilting”. Using only 1 yard each of 2 fabrics I made a lightweight summer toddler quilt.

Now that I have done this once, I think I can seriously do it in half an hour (and you can too!) For the front I used 1 yard of nice cotton fabric- I love this series of prints from “The Hungry Caterpillar” books. The backing is 1 yard of lightweight cozy quilting fleece, a marbled red.

1) Line up fabrics wrong sides together and sew around 3 sides. I used a serger on all 3 sides but you could use a regular sewing machine too.

2) Turn fabric so it is right-side out and press neatly around all 3 sewn sides. Fold 4th side under and sew across the edge, starting and stopping just short of each corner.

3) Lastly, starting with the 4th edge just sewn, sew on top of the fabric around right-side edge, turning just short of each corner. This will hold the 2 pieces together. I could have also sewn across the blue stripes for added accent since this fabric is patterned this way (but before sewing around right-side edge). You could also sew a pattern on top, or around the characters on the fabric.

Very quick, easy and inexpensive! Great for summer traveling, picnics, for a crib or pack n’ play!

Remember Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder? While I was making this afghan I was reminded of all the craft projects described in that book. I thought that this would be the sort of thing that Laura’s mother would put together for her girls as a Christmas present (except it wouldn’t be cashmere, and the sweaters wouldn’t have originated in China, and [fill in the blank]).

So, these are the steps I followed to put the blanket together:

Materials

• 3 sweaters — The final product measured 42″ x 52 1/2″. You could felt the sweaters, but I wanted to maintain the light, airy feel of the original knit.
• Bias tape or scrap fabric to make your own tape
• 8 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ template to cut out the squares. (Guess why it’s that size :))
• Lots of thread (zigzagging takes way more thread than I had anticipated)

Step One

Cut out 30 squares. I wanted to show off some of the details of the sweaters. Consequently, I included side seams, shoulder seams, ribbing, and pockets in the squares.

Also, don’t forget that the “wrong” side may end up being the “right side.

Step Two

Lay out your design.

Step Three

Sew. Using a zigzag stitch at the widest setting, sew together strips of 6 squares each abutting the edges. You could also overlap the edges, whatever technique you prefer.

Next, put the 5 strips together by first joining the “intersections” of the squares and then sewing down the length of the strip. You now have a 5 x 6 square blanket.

Step Four

Finish the edges. Originally, I intended to blanket stitch around the whole thing. Then I watched Amy Karol’s Bias Tape tutorial, read about this nifty tool on Alicia Paulson’s blog Posie gets Cozy and decided to make my own tape.

This is a 1/2″ tape maker. They come in different sizes, but this is the only one they had at my corner store. You cut up your fabric to the requisite width, feed it through the tape maker and it comes out perfectly folded on the other side. You then fold the tape in half and iron it flat.

Next, you open up your store bought or home made tape (see Amy’s tutorial for the finer points of sewing on store bought tape) and align the edge of the tape to the edge of the blanket. Sew along the line created by the fold closest to the edge.

For instructions on how to create mitered corners, follow Alicia’s tutorial.

Once you’ve attached the binding to the edge, flip the binding over to the other side and top stitch alongside the folded edge.

That’s it.

You can add an appliqué or two if you wish or just leave it as it is.

I’ve set up a Flickr group where you can share your creations at www.flickr.com/groups/sweaterblankets/.

This really cute towel screamed Apron to me and it was so easy to make!

This towel set came folded in thirds so I used the pleats to narrow this towel to better fit as an apron. I made a 2″ overlap from the pleat on the right and left and pinned the neck strap within the pleats. Then sewed across the top, securing the neck straps. Next I measured 15″ down from the top and sewed down the pleats. This left it to flair like a skirt a little at the bottom.

I tucked the ric rac ends under on the back side and sewed down the middle of the ric rac on the front. This would be such an easy way to make any color combination to match any kitchen.

I used grosgrain ribbon for the waist ties. I burned the ends slightly so that they wouldn’t fray and just sewed on the back side along the edge seam higher than where the sewn pleat ended. Super quick and easy!

This apron can be found at my shop in black and red.

This will be the first of many updates I post as I slowly update the house we just purchased from an elderly couple. The first thing you saw when you entered my front door (previously) was a thick, dusty lace curtain on the back of the pretty paned glass door. Followed by its brother door about 6 feet away at the end of the entry. But these door curtains proved to be about the easiest to remake.

Before:

I chose an earthy, brown, gauzy sheer that would give some privacy but still let in some sunlight. I hardly ever pin my fabric but turn it under twice and iron down my hem to make the casing for the top and bottom curtain rods.

Then I sewed each end and slipped it on! The trickiest part was making sure I measured the fabric and sewed my hem at just the right height because I had barely enough fabric to make the two curtains. Of course I bought the fabric because it was on sale, and estimated the yardage using my arm, but that is one of the ways God looks out for me because it is always enough (just barely!!)

After:

These should look nice with the warm color that we are going to paint the long entry and hallway (still to be determined). Any favorite hall colors?

I can’t believe how expensive decorative pillows are to buy!! We recently moved and I want to change some of my old pillows with new colors so I headed to my favorite aisle for inspiration- the clearance aisle at TJMaxx.

I found a single king-sized sham to make a cover for my old couch pillow. I like using shams because they are already lined, thick, and since they are quilted already have style to them. I also like to be able to take the pillow cover off and wash it since we snack alot on our couch. The sham was so long that I could fold it in half and perfectly surround my old pillow.

To make your own:
1. Fit pillow (or make one desired size) and measure how far in to make the seams. I made a mark all the way down with chalk. I liked the striped fabric the inside was lined with and the scalloped edges, so I decided to sew the seams on the right and left on the right side of the pillow sham, stopping a few inches from the top. This left a slight flap so I could see the reverse lining. (do not sew on the wrong sides as I marked to do here!)

2. Sew down chalk line on top (right side) of sham, or on reverse side if you want to turn it inside out (like making a normal pillowcase).

3. Measuring down on the inside along the top I used adhesive strips of velcro every few inches to attach at the top. Even though this doesn’t need to be opened every day I am going to now sew a line down the middle of the velcro because it hasn’t stuck as well as I’d hoped.

I liked that this was $5 update and the recycling of my old pillow!

I borrowed this idea from an old Martha magazine - stamping napkins, tablecloths, or towels for the holidays. These large napkins could make lovely certerpieces or could line the table length or buffet that you serve from. A great, quick hostess gift or decoration for any holiday!

This is one of those perfect projects: Cheap, Quick, Simple, and Not Messy! Literally, a 5 minute project. As you can see some are stamped all the way around, in the corners only, or clustered around the corners. All these looks using only one stamp!

Needed:
Package of Cloth napkins
Stazon permanent ink pad
Holiday picture stamps or messages

My friend also cut stamped a leaf and cut it out in order to stamp the leaves clustered in a corner without overlapping the leaves. The paper leaf blocks the ink to keep each leaf looking crisp.

Note that I am only using Brown and Plum Stazon ink and one stamp so you can obviously be alot more creative with this idea! I am hoping to find holly leaf or star stamps to decorate for Christmas.

To make eating at the “kids table” seem like a more fun idea, I wanted to create a special spot decorated just for them. This would be great for Thanksgiving or family meals and if it’s messy when they are done, just throw it away! It would also be fun to stamp the child’s name at their place, or let them color in the stamps or draw on the paper if the meal is done and you want them to stick around a little longer with the family.

Supplies needed:
Craft paper, brown or white traditionally, but any color
Rubber stamps
Stamp ink
Tape

I went ahead and taped the runner to the bottom of the table to make it easier to stamp. Then I created a pattern around the paper with the pumpkin, leaf, acorn, and swirl of wind stamps in different colors. Obviously my boy couldn’t stay away from my display.

This is another idea I wanted to share from my brilliant friend Erica’s house. She found these beautiful, old, slim, doors at an antique store to make a unique window treatment.

Over a very wide window in her living room she hung the doors and I love the depth the glass provides like a mirror. Her drapes and valances hang from the doors. And she cleverly put brown paper behind the window panes to hide the white moulding that would have partially shown above the windows. I love decorating like this that helps you peruse the antique shops in a whole new way!

This was one of those projects I put off for 2 years and only took one day to complete: recovering the cushions on our dining room chairs.
Here is one of the chairs previously, with large, off-white cushions, spotted with circles and stains and one year old handprints.

I bought a remnant piece of fabric without measuring the piece or the chair cushions (impulse buy!) but I liked the fabric a lot and it was only $6 for the whole piece. When I got home I saw that it was about 3″ too narrow to work! So I bought brown lining fabric and sewed a 2″ strip onto the right and left sides. This gave me just enough width to fit these very large seats. I bought brown rather than white lining so just in case it showed on the sides it wouldn’t stick out too much. The hardest part was just wrapping the corners and getting it stapled down smoothly. An electric staple gun is a necessity to get the fabric snug with the cushion.

My living, dining, and kitchen are all in one long row in my house so I wanted to choose a fabric that was a little formal and also brought the colors of all these rooms together. What I liked best about this striped fabric was that it had a gold stripe that complements my yellow dining and living room walls, a brown and rust color that match my kitchen, and a little blue and green too to match the living room furniture. I am much happier with what seem like new chairs to me!

This is a great idea I couldn’t wait to share after visiting a friend’s house this week. I had never thought to ask if she had created this framed work herself. I assumed she had bought it this way, but I love the natural flowers with such a natural picture. It really draws your attention and adds dimension.

She bought the print on her honeymoon and the frame later. But my favorite part was that she got dried baby’s breath from a craft store to place around the print rather than buying expensive matting. She layered the flowers on the paper and then pressed the glass upon it, using no glue to damage the print. I loved this idea and her house is so inspiring! Thanks, E!