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!

Can you notice a difference between the corner on the left and right?

In an attempt to go a little more green around our house I decided to make up a bunch of cloth napkins in fabrics I liked. The only frustrating part was trying to press, pin, and sew corners that never came out straight. There is always that little corner that sticks out like a tongue at me! Until I learned a better way to fold and sew them, (Thanks Mom!) and I wanted to share tips from my sewing misadventures with you.

1. Snip off a little diagonally in each corner. (You may find this step in unnecessary but it ensures a neater fold as you get to Step 4.)

2. Pretend that you have not snipped the corner and fold and press a 90′ “triangle”. You want this to be the width of turning your fabric over twice the width that you desire.

3. Now turn the edge over two times until the sides and ends match up to peak at a perfect triangle. This may take a little trial and error. You can see where I pressed the sides and unfolded the edge again.

4. I use an iron to do a lot of my sewing. Ironing really helps you to get your hem straight and with no pins! So once you have this lined up just right you can just sew across your hem.

I feel great when my homemade napkins look just as good as the ones I have bought! Great for tablecloths, tablerunners, placemats, etc. too.

I have never shared with you pictures of my “studio” because until recently I didn’t really have one. But recently I got a great desk from my favorite antique store to put in the corner off of our living room. A permanent, beautiful desk that doesn’t fold up to be put away! Now that I am all organized with my shelves of baskets and matching bins I really want to work to keep it an attractive corner of our house. But as much as I love my sewing machine I don’t want to look at it all the time. So I made this pattern for a sewing machine cover.

I made it reversible and heat bonded the two fabrics together so it would stand stiff. Then sewed bias tape around to edge it.
The reversed side:

The sides tie with ribbon.

It was fairly easy to make and I love to look over and see fabric that I like rather than just my machine. If you are interested you can buy my machine covers here.

This second cover is made with four panels to cover all sides of the machine and has a handy opening for the machine handle. It has pleated corners and a stripe of velvet trim. This is also available at my etsy store, and look for more colors. I was pleased with these covers which did not take much fabric, and make me smile when I walk by. Here you can get a slight glimpse of my new sewing table! The cover really finished it!

The embroidery school is post-poned until tomorrow, so if you’re following that, please check back tomorrow morning for Lesson 3.

I had been asked by several to explain what I meant by the term “gussetting” in several of my former projects. It’s one of those techniques that is difficult to describe in words but is really easy to do! I promise if you try this quick tutorial it will change the way you sew, especially the way you make bags!

1. For my example I made a small pouch by folding my fabric in the middle (right sides together) to make the bottom of my bag, and sewing up the right and left sides.

2. Then at one of the corners I put my hand inside of the bag in order to flatten it in the opposite direction.

3. Now you are looking at the end of your bag and it should look like a triangle. Center your seam between the other 2 sides of the triangle and measure down from the peak the measurement of half the width you want the bottom to be when finished. Not hard math- 1 1/2″ if you want a 3″ wide bottom…it will depend on the size of your bag.

4. Using ruler, mark with pencil or chalk a vertical line across your “triangle”. This the line that you sew your seam across.

5. Repeat for the right and left sides of the bag. This is also how you could make ears on hats for kids, but by sewing on the right side of the fabric.

6. When you turn the bag inside out it will have 2 square sides. Cover cardboard and add to the bottom to make your bag sturdy. This same technique can also be used on knitted bags, which is were I first learned to gusset.

I got this pattern here from Heather Bailey’s site. My summer swap partner sent me this cute white and black headband that I really wanted to try.

Heather’s pattern is free to download and was very simple to use. Her directions and diagrams were great, and this is a great way to use up those skinny pieces of fabric left over. Check it out!

I made these to send off to our Joy and a few other friends who are melting in Mexico.

In a previous post I had toyed with using iron-on vinyl lining to make my bags waterproof, but I think I may have found a simpler, less expensive alternative- just using a vinyl tablecloth. I bought this fun fruity print off a large roll of tablecloth material. It came in a 60″ roll and I got 1 & 1/2 yds. I wanted to make a bag that was waterproof and easy to wipe off, something great to throw your wet towel or suit in after a day at the beach.

All you need:
(2) – 24″w x 18″h pieces, cut folded for outer bag and lining (or whatever size you desire)
(1) – 12″w x 10″h piece for outer pocket
1 yard of nylon strap
1 piece of cardboard the size of middle bottom of bag
(1) set of snaps or ribbon for closure

1. Fold over top edge of pocket and sew.
2. Choose a front for the bag and pin pocket into place, folding other 3 sides under and sew into place. Then I sewed a straight seam down the middle of my pocket to divide the pocket into 2.
3. Sew the bottom seam and square the corners of outer bag. Repeat for lining. (w or w/o pocket)
4. Measure piece of cardboard based on the squared bottom you now have looking down into your bag. Place cardboard piece on bottom of outer bag. Turn lining bag inside out and drop down into outer bag, lining up the bottom square over cardboard and top edges.
5. With thread and needle sew in 4 places around the outside edges of the cardboard to hold into place. Do not pull too hard on thread or the vinyl can rip. This will secure that the cardboard does not slip.
6. I hammered a silver snap toward the top middle of the bag but am a little worried this may rip when pulled open. I think I will insert ribbon in the next one to just make a center tie.
7. Your bag now is completely assembled except the the unsewn top seam. Fold bag and lining edges over 1/2″ all around, match and pin together. Cut yard of strap in half and line up your 2 straps along the top edge. Sew final seam around top of bag.

You can see that the bag is a little floppy but I used it at the beach and liked it! The fabric and strap total only cost me about $6, and I bought a few packaged vinyl tablecloths in some cool prints for only $3 that I am eager to try.

I just remembered that I didn’t post an update on the gift show we went to this weekend. Truth be told, there’s nothing to post. Vendors didn’t care about free press and links and why we were there – they were worried about people stealing their ideas, so as soon as they saw the camera (and neglected to see the press badge), they began giving us the third degree. We couldn’t even look without questions and disapproving glances being thrown our way. So unfortunately, nothing to show. Which is their loss, b/c there was some cuuuuuuute stuff we would’ve loved to show and thrown some business their way. Moving on…

I picked up more craft porn this weekend and got a copy of Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori. This book was originally written in Japanese, but what I love most about it is the ease at which the projects seem. Not only are the directions simple, but the pictures are as well. You’re not bombarded with a lot of type – just cute pictures that tell a story. And best of all, you don’t need any fancy crafting supplies – just needle, thread, scissors, stuffing and old socks and gloves.

The last time I ventured into this arena, I didn’t fare so well. But after seeing the adorable elephant on pg. 27, I decided to give it a go, and so without further ado, I give you Nigella

I made her with a certain little girl in mind, but truth be told I hate to part with her. Lucky for me, I have an extra set of socks identical to the ones I used, so I shall fashion another one for myself. While the project wasn’t super quick (three hours from start to finish), it was easy and was done while enjoying some evening down-time. Now, I have a pair of striped socks that are longing to become a zebra.

I have been wanting to try this for a while- taking a cute fabric placemat and turning it into a purse. My first one must have been pretty successful since I sold it to a friend at the craft fair before the doors opened and it was so easy to make!

Shopping for a placemat is the first fun part. At most places you can buy them individually and usually for only a few dollars. I have even seen some cute placemats at the dollar store. The first one I made had a white background, brown trim, and brown flowers embroidered on it. All I did was turn it with right sides together and sew up the sides, gusset the bottom, and added handles. I had gotten several pairs of wooden and bamboo handles at the craft store for about $3. I found brown corduroy fabric to match and sewed a piece about 6″ long to the inside of the bag on the front and back, slipping the handle inside the corduroy piece and folding it over before sewing. The placemat was sturdy and had a solid brown fabric on the back so I did not need to add a lining. The only thing I wish I had done differently was to sew the handles a little closer to the bag or make a wider handle strap so the handles would not feel too loose in the strap.

These are a few of the other placemats that I have bought to try out. I am working now on making a paper crocheted placemat into a purse, which I think will look great for summer. (After Heather’s tutorials I may even be able to do the crocheting myself one of these days too!) I will post it as soon as I am done!

I fell in love with a pattern for an old-fashioned apron from Amy Butler’s “In Stitches” book. But let me tell you it was not as easy as it looks. What I thought was going to be a hour project turned into one that lasted on and off from late afternoon to midnight! But I am very pleased with what I learned and with the outcome. I am only an intermediate sewer and have never followed a pattern from start to finish so that was my first accomplishment. But I also learned to: fold the trim over evenly with the fabric to get the most height out of my trim, measure my pleats (instead of sewing random ones), and do this tricky wrong sided sewing that overturned to show a finished waistband. So check out it out if you are interested in sharpening these skills. The book’s directions and diagrams were pretty clear and I can’t wait to make another, which should go much faster!

My cousin Roxannah (who is a novice at sewing but still turned out a rockin’ apron) and I were pretty tired but excited about the finished product that we twirled around to show off! Please notice the towel loop above the pocket and the pleated front!

Notice, please, we spent all night sewing these aprons! Then woke up early to bake for breakfast of course! Grandma would be so proud!

I have been excitedly working on a project recently, and for a good cause – a friends’ wedding. She asked me to make a small handbag like I had posted previously for each of the girls in her bridal party that she would fill with gifts. The bride shopped with me at the fabric store and we picked out a main fabric and lining to suit each of her close friends. We only needed a 1/4 yard of each, so this turned out to be a pretty inexpensive gift per person. I added a pocket for the first time and snaps that are easily hammered into place. I hope they enjoy them- the time on my part and the careful selection of the fabric on the bride’s part.

After shopping for fabric she and I also came back to my house and made different earrings for each of the bridesmaids to match their dresses. I love feeling like a vital part of someone’s special day!

So my encouragement this week is that your craft can also be a good excuse to spend time with people. Too easily we craft nerds can hide in our studio or craft corner and shut the world out so we can “work” but it can also be a fun opportunity to teach someone about your passion or talk while you craft. Don’t be afraid to let people into your creative world! Also, get creative with what can be made for bridesmaids gifts. My sewing isn’t totally professional but I think my little bags were a practical, cute idea for these gifts. Do you have any alternative gift ideas to share?