written by marieann

I made these lovely little pincushions last holiday break.  I wish I had written a tutorial at the time but I was too excited.  This tutorial sucks a lot and I apologize in advance.  But it will at least give you an idea of how I did it and hopefully you can wing the rest.  Someone on craftster said these would make great Barbie chairs too.  You could definitely make this a lot easier if you didn’t have a jewlery box as the base but I like it being a place to store stuff.  (Be sure to look at the photos at the bottom too).

Supplies
Fabric scraps
Stuffing
Small jewlery box
Cardboard
Doileys or other mini “afghans”

Tools
Sewing machine
Needle for hand sewing
Glue gun
Tacky glue (like Allien’s)

Instructions
Preparation Work
1. Cut out the following from the fabric you’re using for your chair: (1) two squares (3.5 x 3.5 inches) for the cushion, (2) one square for the bottom of the chair (the size of the box bottom plus the box height plus about 1/4″ extra), (3) two backing pieces (pattern below),  (4) two arm pillow pieces (pattern below) and (5) two rectangles for the chair arms.
2. Also cut out one square (for bottom of chair) and one backing piece from batting.
3. Cut out one square 3.5 x 3.5 and one backing piece from cardboard.
4. Pin the square batting to the wrong side of the square fabric. Pin the backing batting to the wrong side of the backing fabric.
5. Draw a square (the same size as the bottom of your box) on the batting pinned to the fabric square. Draw diagnoal lines going thru the corners of the square.
6. Pin two of the 3.5 squares together right sides together.
Machine Sewing
If you don’t have a machine you could do this by hand instead.
7. Baste the batting pieces to the fabric pieces for both sections.
8. Sew along three sides of the 3.5 square section with a 3/8 inch seam. This will be the seat cushion.
9. Pin the other backing piece to the batting-basted backing pieces right sides together. Sew along the curved edges (but not on the straight bottom edge) with a 1/2 inch seam.
10. Sew on the lines you drew on the batting of the large square in the center of the piece. Sew on both sides of the diagonal line (but NOT on the lines). After you finish sewing you need to cut along those diagnol lines just until you reach the center square you sewed.
11. This is the trickiest part — the arm pillows. First, staystich 1/4 from the edge on the remaining two small squares.
12. Next, clip along that edge with really small clips. This is so you’ll be able to curve the square to match the curved arm pillow piece.
13. Pin the arm pillow piece to the small square clipped. Curve the fabric around pinning frequently and gently feeding it around. Sew the two pieces together along the curve with 3/8 inch seams.
14. Next pin the two straight edges of the arm pillow square together. Sew together with 3/8 seam stopping at the lines marked on the pattern. This is 3/4 inch from the bottom circle of the arm pillow.
15. Clip to the seam and fold that seam open. Sew across horizontally. This makes the bottom end of the tube.
Now time for stuffing.
16. Clip excess fabric up until 1/4 of the seams for all the pieces. Snip along the curves so the fabrics will curve easier. Turn inside out.
17. Put the cardboard pieces inside seat cushion pillow and the chair backing. If they are a bit too big to fit flat trim the edges a bit.
18. Stuff the seat backing between the cardboard and the fabric WITHOUT the batting. The batting will be the very back layer, followed by the cardboard, then stuffing. Be sure to fill the corners. You want to fill this pretty tightly as it is for pins to stick in.
19. Put the cardboard into the seat cushion and stuff on the other side of the cardboard that you want to be the top.
20. Stuff the arm cushions.
21. When you’ve stuffed everything very fully, hand sew all four pieces shut.
Time for gluing!
22. Glue the box to the batting inside the square you sewed.
23. Fold all four sides of the fabric up and glue that to the box. You should have 1/4 inch extra sticking up — that’s the idea.  Use clothes pins to hold it while it dries.
24. Cut the lid of the jewlery box so that it fits inside the box.  Use this to glue the down the extra fabric sticking up.  Cut some fabric scraps to cover up the top of the jewlery box lid.
25.  Hot glue the back of the chair to the back of the box.  Hot glue the arms to the side of the box (balancing them on the edge of the jewlery box lid).
Hand sewing to finish
26.  Hand sew the arms of the chair to the back of the chair.  Hopefully you know how to do pretty little stitches instead of the giant sloppy ones I did.  You have to do this because otherwise the back is shaking. This stabilizes the chair.
27.  Add the finishing touches — a doiley on the back or a bead thru the cushions or lace trim.

written by threadslinger

I don’t know how its possible, but kitties are always able to find the softest place in the house and curl up to sleep. I was getting tired of this usually being my sweaters or coats and wearing my cats with me as I went to work. So, I made this super easy kitty pillow. Immediately after making it Hercules got on it and fell asleep so I think it was a success. Also, it is nice if you have indoor cats cause you can move it to your window sill, my kitties love looking outside all day.

Materials

Two old throw pillows (mine were 18 x 18)
2 pieces of fleece 1 yard long and 20 inches wide
Sewing machine
4 Strips of fleece
Buttons

Directions

1. Cut out two fleece pieces 1 yard by 20 inches. Pin them right sides together and sew along three sides leaving the bottom open.
2. Take the fleece strips (I used 4 but you could use more) and sew on one side of the end. Sew button opposite. Make a button hole in the fleece.
3. Turn right side out and put two pillows into fleece bag. Now you are done and nice soft sleeping place for your kitties.

written by marieann

I had tiny scraps from the baby quilt I made for a friend that were too lovely to throw away. I decided to try my hand at crazy quilting. I made a pillow when I was really young but I hadn’t tried the technique since. I figured since I was making something really girly sewing cute it should be something sewing related. So I created a needle case that my boyfriend loves because he’s hoping that fewer needles will end up on the floor.

Materials:
Approximately 6×10″ piece of muslim
Same size piece of lining fabric
Thick fabric scrap for the inside of the case (felt or courdory)
Scraps of coordinaing fabrics
Buttons or ribbon scraps

Tools:
Sewing machine
Iron

Instructions:

1. Make a crazy quilt using the muslim as the backing and the fabric scraps.  Here’s a <a href=”http://diynamite.com/2007/10/30/how-to-crazy-quilt/”>tutorial for crazy quilting</a> (with lots of photos!)

2.  Sew ribbons or buttons and embrodiery stitches on the crazy quilt piece for decor

3.  Pin the crazy quilt piece to the fabric inside piece right sides together.  Sew around all four corners but leave a small hole for turning.

4.  Turn right side.  Press.  Hand sew the hole shut.

5.  Cut a piece of the sturdy fabric and fold it in half.  Fold in half the wallet part too.  Pin the center together and top stitch the sturdy fabric to the wallet body.

6.  I put ribbon around the edge (after I zig zagged the edge) to stop it from unravelling.  That’s not necessary if you use felt though.

written by marieann

I made an origami book recently and I really liked the folding process. Then one of my frames fell off the wall and broke. I was annoyed when I realized I could make my own! I whipped this up and I think I’m addicted. You could use such fancy papers or fabrics for SO cheap and ANY size. I ordered this great prints online and I’ll post a photo when I frame them up too.

Supplies:
Cardboard
Paper or fabric (if you use fabric, I suggest you starch it to make it more like paper, but at least press it)

Tools:
Glue stick (or glue gun)
Boxer cutter (you really need this, don’t just rely on scissors)
Scissors (too)
Ruler
Pencil (or fabric marking pen if you are using fabric)

Directions:

1. Decide on the size you want the frame to be based on your image. Cut out the center as well to make it the exact size you want. You need to use the box cutter because this really needs to be perfect.

2. Lay the frame down on your paper. Draw a line one inch outside the frame and one inch inside the frame. You also need to draw the lines of the frame on the paper too. Cut it all out.

3. Draw a line thru the outside corner (to make a right triangle) in each corner and cut those corners off. Draw a line thru the inside corners to where the frame begins make two 45 degree angles. Cut along those lines.

4. Fold all the inside pieces inside. It’s not too hard to do perfect because you just fold along the frame lines.

5. Put the frame on the paper, the inside flaps inside. Fold the outside flaps up around the cardboard.

6. Glue the paper down with the gluestick to the cardboard. I glued the inside first then the outside.

7. That’s all! I taped my cross-stitch piece to the back (with the glass I had too) and then attach something to hang it. I used the pieces from my broken frame but you could use whatever (like string).

You could use fabrics, silver paper, collage, or even make large frames for big posters.

Here’s an example of a decoupaged frame that could be made with this technique:

written by marieann

I found this great tutorial and made a couple of wallets for my and my boyfriend. They are pretty easy to make. I’m not completely satisfied with them because it seems like credit cards slip out of the pockets. They aren’t quite tight enough. But this is a great project to try out and maybe you’ll figure out how to improve it.The tutorial for the wallets is located here.

I painted a Master Shake wallet for my bf:

And I made a Crazy Quilt wallet for me:

I used my crazy quilting technique, explained here.

written by marieann

I made this cute little purse for a swap. It’s perfect when you just need to bring your wallets and keys. It’s really quick and the possibilities are endless.

Materials:

One 16″ x 8.5″ piece of outside fabric (stiff fabric works best; if you want to use a thin cotton, then you need a laywer of interfacing)
Another piece of the outside fabric approximately 4″x8″ for the handle
One 16″ x 8.5″ of lining fabric (thiner than the outside fabric)
Piece of ribbon approximately 12 inches
Button

Tools:
Sewing machine
Needle (to sew by hand)
Glue gun (not necessary but useful)
Iron
Scissors

Directions:
1. Take the outside piece and fold it together right sides so that it makes a short fat (8 x 8.5″) rectangle.

2. Sew both the edges shut with 1/2″ seams.

3. Keep the purse inside out. Press the corners into a triangle and sew across the corners 2″ from the point (this image is a good guide).

4. Repeat for the lining of the bag. Now you have two square bag pieces. Keep both pieces inside out.

5. Fold over the top of each piece about half an inch. You should be turning the tops toward the outside (to the wrong side).

6. Machine baste the liner bag to the outside bag along folder corners so they won’t separate every time you pull stuff out of your purse. Sew right on top of the last stitches that made your square corners. You should be lining up the wrong sides with the two bottoms flat against each other. Invert the outside bag around the lining and you have your main purse finished. (Do not top-stitch the bags together yet.)

7. Make the strap. Press and pin the strap in half, wrong sides together. Sew along the long side. Turn the strap inside out and press with the seam in the center of one of the sides (this way no seam shows on the top of the strap).

8. Pin the strap inside the purse. The raw ends are to be tucked between the lining and outside bags. Also, pin the bags together at edges. Top stitch all around the outside of the bags.

9. Make a ribbon flower. I used this easy tutorial located here. I hot glued the flower to my bag (because I was lazy) but it would probably be best if you attached it to a pin and then pinned that flower to your bag so you could remove when you wash the purse.

written by marieann

I finished this baby quilt for my friend. This quilt uses exclusively Heather Ross Lightening Bugs fabrics. Instead of doing a tutorial I’m going to list a few of my quilting tips as I’ve made seven quilts (and counting!) and picked up a few lessons. There are more photos of this baby quilt here.

1. Put a piece of tape on your sewing machine along the 1/4 inch mark. This makes it much easier to make straight perfect seams.

2. Research quick piecing methods before you cut all your pieces. For example, instead of cutting out small squares if you know you’re going to have two pieces next to each other repeatedly, cut strips, sew the strips, then cut the strips. This makes it easier to sew and takes less cutting.

3. Press press press! You cannot have a perfect point or straight lines if you don’t press after you sew each piece together. Also, press the seams toward the darker fabric or else you’ll be able to see the seam thru the fabric.

4. If you are going to quilt with your machine, buy a walking foot. It makes it much easier because the layers are pushed thru at the same speed.

5. Invest in a rotary cutter and board. Of course you can cut squares with scissors but it’s not going to be nearly as clean (or quick) if you use a rotary cutter.

6. Try a quilt with squares to start. The irish chain quilt is a good example of a quilt that’s really pretty but only involves squares. There are infinite amount of pretty designs you can make using only color arrangement with squares.

7. Patience! My quilts are much better when I walk away when I feel like it. Plan to take some time on your quilts and when you feel your blood pressure rising, put everything away.

8. Square up each block before you sew them together. When my mom told me this trick I was sloppy and didn’t do it and my quilt totally suffered when it was wrinkly. My next quilt, I carefully squared them up and it made the quilt top lie much flatter. This is a common theme — don’t take a shortcut.

9. Use a fat quarter pack. I love doing this (I have with two of my quilts, including this baby quilt) because you don’t have to stress over whether the fabrics are meant to go together (because they all match!) These sets can be pretty expensive but it saves a lot of energy in the long run.

10. Play around before you begin! I spent a LONG time planning out the quilt blocks and the entire quilt before I cut a single piece of fabric. There are quilting programs that will let you see the finished quilt first or you could just rely on drawing it on graph paper. Be sure that the patterns and colors work.

And as a bonus to this tip sheet, here’s the block arrangment for the baby quilt above. This was the first quilt that I made with two contrasting blocks and I was really happy with how pretty the design looked together. These squares are 2″ finished. I fussy cut (cut on an angle to make sure it’s angled the right way) the diamonds then sewed strips to the corners of the diamond, then squaring the blocks after it was all sewn.

written by marieann

I know it’s too late for this year, but google will direct people here next Halloween. I made this t-shirt octopus costume for the Etsy contest (I didn’t win but I was featured!). This concept is really simple to work with and I’m sure you could think of lots of other ideas too. I love having the t-shirt as the base and just attaching stuff because it makes for a quick dressing (just slide on the shirt) and is relatively cheaply made. I got lots of smiles when I wore this out to our local Halloween bash (the kiddos loved it!)

Materials:
T-Shirt
Scrap fabrics

Tools:
Sewing machine
Scissors
Glue

Instructions:
1. Design something! I spent a lot of time drawing out octopus faces and the shark for the back (see below). Whatever animal or object could be centered on a t-shirt, do it.
2. Cut out scraps of fabric to make your design and sew on with an applique stitch. I got tired of doing that with the spots so I glued them on.
3. Make stuff to attach to the outside! I attached tentacles out of purple tubes stuffed with newspapers. You could do anything like a tail, leaves, legs, etc.

written by marieann

When I decided I wanted to make a crazy quilt (for small projects, tuts to come) I searched the internet for a tutorial. I was completely confused by the text-only tutorials. It took a few mess-ups and some stress before I figured it out. So I hope that this post, very image heavy, will be a useful “crazy quilt tutorial” to get you started with this really fun and quick technique. As always click on images to see full size (it’s particularly important here to see how the pieces are lined up an sewn).

1. Cut a piece of thin muslin (or any other thin light colored fabric) that you would like your completed block to be. I made a journal front cover for a composition book so I cut a piece 11 x 12. It does not have to be perfectly sized. If you’d like to make a large quilt (or baby quilt) like this, you must make a bunch of smaller blocks then sew them together (like 10 x 10 blocks).

2. Collect a bunch of fabric scraps. I had leftover strips, squares, and triangles from another quilt that were already matching.

3. Choose a piece that is perfectly square to act as the center of your block. Pin it right side up to the muslin in the center.

4. Next, pin a piece wrong side up to the muslin, lining the edge of the fabric even with the edge of the center square.

5. Sew along the fabrics, with about an 1/8 of an inch seam.

6. Clip any extra fabric behind the seam (this is really important when you use light fabrics). Press open the seam you just sewed so that now only right sides are facing up. This is a very important step. Do it with each piece. Don’t be lazy because it will make the design wonky.

7. That’s all there is too it. I will show some more pieces to be sure that what I’m doing is clear.

8. Pin another piece, wrong side up, lining up the edge.

9. Sew.

10. Clip (see that yellow rectangle above the brown? that’s what needs to be clipped away) and press.

11. Again, repeat.

12. More progress.

13. You just keep building out as you go.

14. When you get to the edges, just let fabric scraps hang over the muslin. When all the muslin is covered, square up the piece by cutting with a rotary cutter the pieces hanging off.

15. Make your little crazy quilt into something! Here’s my journal cover.

I used my tutorial here to make the journal once I finished the mini quilt.

More journal photos (of inside and back) are here.
”

written by threadslinger

I tend to believe that sometimes patterns are more of a headache than they are a benefit, especially for a simple design. I always have to alter it to fit my body which takes time. So, this time I decided to draft my own skirt design. It turned out really nice and is something that I can wear both for work and for going out. It was also super simple to make.

Materials needed:

Nice stretchy cotton fabric
Sewing machine
Zipper

Directions:

1. Measure your waist where you would like the skirt to hit. Measure out desired length as well.
2. Cut out two squares of fabric (divide your desired waist length in half.)
3. Fold over a quarter seam on the top and bottom of each fabric square to seal off the edges.
4. Sew each square together (if you want a slit like I have then only sew to the point you want the slit to fall, seam off the edges.)
5. For the zipper, it is best to have a zipper foot and to not have lost it in a move (like I did). Then it is not so difficult. But, smarter crafters than I have written on this before, I followed this tutorial and it worked out fine. After the zipper is done that is it, you are done! Woo hoo super easy sexy skirt!