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/.

I love hardware stores! I like all the little doodads and tools and whatnots you never knew existed. So here is my homage to the humble hardware store, a wrapped washer.

Materials

For this pendant you need the following materials:

• 18 gage copper wire
• 3/4″ washer
• wire cutters
• round nose pliers
• chain nose pliers
• ruler

Instructions

1. Cut four pieces of 5 3/4″ long wire and two pieces of 4″ long wire. Use a soft cloth to straighten the wire.

 



2. Bundle three of the longer wires together and wrap the one remaining longer wire four times around the center of the bundle.



3. Wrap each shorter wire three times about a 3/4″ to the left and the right of the bundle’s center wrap.



4. Here’s the tricky part: center the washer on top of the center wrap and fit the wire bundle against the washer.
5. Then secure the washer as follows: use the round nose pliers and place them in between the bottom center and the side wraps. Coax one strand of wire out of the bundle and pull it toward the center to form a sort of cage that will prevent the washer from falling out. Repeat on the other side and the back of the pendant. You should have two pulled-out strands on the front and two on the back of the pendant.



6. Okay, don’t be intimidated by this picture! You’re almost there. Now on the top of the pendant, from the left and the right side, take a center wire from the bundle and tightly twist one wire around the other three times. Snip off the end of the wrapping wire only, not the stem wire.
7. With the remaining stem wire shape a wrapped loop. Use the chain nose pliers to form a 90 degree angle right above the wrapped stem.



Insert the tip of the round nose pliers in the bend, bring the wire over the top of the pliers, and shape a loop. Reposition the pliers to form a complete loop and wrap the wire around the bottom of the pliers. Using the chain nose pliers, hold the loop with your dominant hand and wrap the wire around the stem covering the end of the previously snipped off wire. (If you’re hopelessly lost, refer to Wigjig’s wrapped loop instructions.)



8. To finish off the remaining wires, use the round nose pliers and make a small loop with one of the wire ends. Continue shaping a spiral around the loop. Once the spiral is complete, press it against the center of the washer using the chain nose pliers. Repeat this with the other wires. Use your imagination to create shapes other than spirals.

Instead of a pendant you could also fashion some earrings. Here is the pair I completed for my 99 Earrings project.

Here’s my confession: I live vicariously through the artistic abilities of my child. I believe she has a fantastic sense of color, line, and style (not that the state of her room is any indication of her design talents).

Being the stage mother of a single child I intend to exploit her vision for this year’s holiday gifts. To put it simply, her artwork will serve as an embroidery pattern to give a humble flour sack tea towel some extraordinary flourish. Since your child is obviously equally as talented, why not give this idea a try:

Materials

Copy of the artwork
Fabric
Transfer paper
Embroidery floss
Embroidery hoop

Select the Artwork and Make a Copy
I like simple line drawings because you don’t have to fill in planes of color with your embroidery. You can copy the drawing either with a copy machine, or scan it into your computer. If you have a scanned copy, you can use a graphics program and further expand on the original art by adding other elements like lettering.

Trace the Design onto the Fabric
I’m using a dish towel, but you could also embellish a whole line of linens such as pillow cases, napkins, aprons; or clothing like a t-shirt or jeans jacket. Place the transfer paper on top of the fabric where you want your design to appear and the copy of the artwork on top of the paper. Trace the design.

Start Embroidering
Take a look at Candace’s embroidery lessons to give you some ideas of what type of stitches might work well for your design. For this towel I used satin stitch for the letters, stem stitch for the outline, seed stitch for the butterfly’s body, a rosette stem stitch combination for the butterfly’s wings,and feather stitch for the bee’s body.

Tata
That’s it.

These black and white striped mittens caught my eye as I walked through my favorite store. What an easy, instant way to make a zebra!
So I grabbed a variety pack of googley eyes, felt, and yarn and introduce Zeal the Zebra!
The part of Zeal that I was most proud of was his mane.

To make the mane: I held out my index and middle finger and using black wool yarn, held the end of the yarn with my thumb and ran the yarn around my two fingers in a figure eight. Then I carefully slid the looped yarn off my fingers and onto a piece of velcro about 5″ long (the soft side). Spread the mane out on the velcro as you desire and sew down the middle holding the yarn in place. Then attach the mane strip to the mitten with fabric glue. I used fabric glue also to stick on the eyes and a rounded pink strip underneath for a tongue. A quick 10 minute addition to your kid’s puppet show!

If Zeal is for you I have one left in my etsy shop and his sweet friend Skip the Skunk!

Don’t know what to do with those empty coffee canisters? Turn them into pumpkins! My mom used to do this and they make great fall decorations and you can fill them with just about anything, or give them to the kids to use for trick-or-treating. Even if you’re not a crafty person, this project is easy and quick and virtually fool-proof.

Supplies needed:

Empty metal cans
Two different shades of acrylic orange paint
Black acrylic paint
Pencil
Sponge or sponge brush
Small paint brush or small sponge
Paper plate
nail and hammer, or electric drill and bit
Craft wire or a wire coat hangar

1) You’ll first peel the packaging off the can, and wash with soapy water to remove any residue; dry completely.

2) Drill two holes (or use the nail and hammer) about an inch below the rim on opposite sides of each other to place the handle. Be careful handling the can afterwards - the holes will be sharp on the inside, so you may want to file them down a bit.

3) Take the darker color orange paint and pour a little into the paper plate, then sponge the paint over the outer surface of the can. You can brush it on first if you like and them dab it to create texture. Let the paint dry completely.

4) Take the lighter color orange paint, pour a little into the paper place, and then using the sponge dab it into both colors and sponge onto the can, creating more texture and a more saturated color. Let the paint dry completely.

5) Using your pencil, draw on the eyes, nose, and mouth, using whatever template you already have or whatever’s in your minds eye. Then fill in with the black paint (in the same manner - sponging it on or dabbing it with a paint brush). You may need to do two coats so no orange shoes through.

6) The final step is attaching your handle. If you have a wire coat hangar around you may certainly use this, but you must also have pliers or a big, strong man to help twist the wire. Since I had a coat hangar, I decided to use one, but using craft wire may be the easiest to work with. You’ll stick one end through one of the holes, and twist it at the sides to keep it in the hole. Then you’ll do it from the other side.

To protect yourself from being poked by the sharp ends, you may want to sand them down a smidge. Then place on a mantle or table and voila! A pumpkin coffee canister that can hold cookies, candies, potpourri or even your art supplies.

I know I may be way behind the times but I still keep finding gadgets and ideas at the craft store that amaze me. This week I tried out the fabric button makers I had bought 6 months ago. They were very simple to make and now I want to look around the house and see what keepsakes I could make buttons out of. I am considering: an old, favorite shirt or baby shirt, vintage towel or handkerchief, old ties, prom dress, etc. to make a button for a bag or pillow that would be better used there than thrown out. What a sweet memory to carry a bag with a peice of baby’s first clothing! I can’t wait!

So, first, using the pattern on back of package cut out pattern. I cut my circle out of the paper so you can perfectly center and choose the picture that you want.

Cut out fabric circle and center around button half with teeth. Press around the circle, catching the fabric on the teeth all the way around.

Next, put the flat button half down on top of your fabric button and press into place by pressing down with a spool. Be sure to put the side down that sticks out farther.

All done! 2 minutes! And now you have a button that perfectly matches what you have sewn!

This was my favorite example of this- a bag I received in our Summer swap. LOVE it!

A few tips:
Be careful, you can hurt your fingers on those teeth!
If you fabric is too thin, use iron-on interfacing so that the silver button cannot be seen through the fabric.

Though I love the first apron I made, I found a much quicker formula. I simply converted a kitchen towel into a full apron. This is a quick 30 minute project and who can resist with such cute prints out there!

First, Run a needle and thread in and out evenly very close to the trim and draw it to the tightness of gathering you like. I loved this towel because it had the rust colored trim on the top and bottom already.

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Then pin your ribbons (20") in place and sew over the gathering, making sure it IS wrinkled under the needle and that the fabric doesn't flatten out. I also burn the edges of the ribbon with a lighter so that is does not unravel, very lightly so you don't change the color of the ribbon.

Last, I measured 2 ribbons 28" inches long and measured where at my waist I wanted to tie the apron. Again, I burned the ends of the ribbon and pinned them into place along the back right and left edges of the towel and sewed just over the ribbon, along the original towel seam.
Voila! So cute and automatically comes with a matching towel! This would be a great, quick, housewarming gift!
If this fruity set is perfect for your kitchen I have a couple of sets available here!

No, I didn’t forget to post Lesson 5 for the embroidery school - my computer pooped out earlier this week, and for anyone who’s had that happen knows it’s a tiny bit stressful! But my sweet hubby is letting me borrow his so I can wrap up with this final lesson. The original plan was to finish with four new stitches, however one of them was a bit difficult and I was getting frustrated on how to execute it properly, so we will finish with three. Because my handy-dandy design software is also on my computer, there is no new homework design for this week - so sorry (that’s actually my favorite part of the lesson - doing the design). So without further ado, Lesson 5.

Stitch #13 Scroll Stitch

This is a great stitch to complement borders or fillers for designs. I didn’t do this for the tutorial, but it helps to use one of your ink pens to draw a line so your scroll stays even.

You’ll begin by bringing your needle and thread up to the front. Once your thread is pulled all the way through, you’ll make a loop that falls to the right of where your needle and thread came up.

You’ll then place a stitch about 1/2″ away and level with where you came up to begin, going down and then back up. Make sure that your needle is sitting on top of your thread.

Then you’re going to the hold the thread taut between your thumb and your forefinger as you pull the needle and thread through.

To continue, you’ll do the same thing again - make a small loop to the right, place a small stitch, hold thread taut while you’ll pull the thread through.

You’ll continue doing that until you achieve the desired length.

Stitch #14 Feather Stitch

While this stitch may not look visually appealing (atleast to me it’s not), it’s actually really fun to do. You’ll see this stitch edging blankets and for crazy quilting as well.

I apologize for my lines not being the clearest (it’s amazing what doesn’t show up on a photograph at times), but you’ll start by drawing four lines parallel to one another and the same distance apart (between 1/4″ to 1/2″). You’ll bring your needle and thread up at A on the first line. You’ll then place your thread down at B on the third line and level with A, and up at C (you can do this individual or as one action, as I have in the picture) on the second line about 1/4″ to 1/2″ below A & B (so it’s diagonal to both points). Make sure that your thread is under your needle as you pull the thread taut.

You’ll then do the same pattern, except you’ll move to the fourth line and you’ll go down at D (level with C) and up at E (diagonal to D and directly below B, making sure your thread is under the needle as you pull taut.

You’ll then move back to the first line, going down at F (even with E) and up at G (on the second line, directly below C), again making sure your thread is underneath the needle as you pull taut.

You will keep repeating the pattern until you’re at the end of your line, planting your final stitch just under where you came up.

Stitch #15 Interlaced Double Running Stitch

This stitch isn’t a common one and you may not like it, however I like how it’s so simple and adds a fun element to your needlework. You’ll start by doing two rows of running stitches that are identical in spacing to one another. The key for this stitch to look good is making the running stitches small and the spaces between short (as you will see that my final picture looks different than the first ones). It also helps to draw two parallel lines when completing the running stitches so they stay even.

You’ll start by bringing your needle and thread up just beside the first running stitch on the bottom line. You’ll then slip your needle underneath the first running stitch (but don’t go into the fabric) and bring it through.

Then, you’ll slip your needle overtop and then underneath the top running stitch and then back down underneath the bottom stitch (again, not going into the fabric).

You’ll continue in the same across all the running stitches until you’ve completed the design.

To finish, place the final stitch to the right of the last running stitch on the bottom line (not pictured - didn’t realize that until just now).

Now congratulate yourself for making it this far! Embroidery can be such an easy and fun way to personalize anything and my hope is that everyone who has been following the lessons continues to “school” themselves on it. There are so many great books and resources online (Primrose Design & Sharon B, just to name a few), so keep going and keep challenging yourself. And for those who turn in any completed homework (candace@craftydaisies.com) from lessons past by next Wednesday (if you already have no worries, you’re included), your name will be tossed into the hat to receive a goodie box of embroidery fun. For those who have turned homework in from last week, I’ll post them all at once when they’re all received next week. Thanks so much for everyone who supported this - I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did!

Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Extra Homework

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.