The Fickle Hobbyist

Archive for the ‘sewing’ Category

Halloween has come and gone, and I must say, I was very pleased with the girls’ costumes!  I managed to pull off exactly the look they requested.  Thanks to the fabric store, Goodwill, and some time,  I wrapped up their costume with all the finishing touches.

To finish off their shirts, I used THIS technique to applique the lightning bolt and star pattern on the front.  I did use an iron on backing to make the applique more stable while I zig-zag stitched around it to make it more secure.

At Goodwill I was lucky enough to find  the yellow karate belt both the girls are wearing.  I cut the belt to size and took 4 hooks and sewed them on to make it a nice, snug fit.

For Jocelyn’s cape, I just serged around the edges and put a draw string at the top.

For her “helmet” we decided to go with just a headband instead.  I sewed two little snaps at the base so it would fit snugly on her head.

For her boot covers, I loosely followed THIS tutorial. I used a pair of Mary Janes as the base and fit the covers around them.

I was really surprised to come across these great red shorts at Goodwill.  For $.99 they were the perfect addition.

At the end of the day, the girls were super happy with their costumes.  The best part?  Now that Halloween is over they have an awesome pair of pajamas they can wear whenever they want.  (like tonight)

Whether you make this little wallet to help you create some order in your life, or to give as a gift, it is a hip and simple solution for anyone.  Use for everyday, or for when you travel – for quick access to your ID, business cards, and a little cash.   So cute and so functional…….imagine giving a gift card as a gift, in it’s own little wallet.

Last week I was in a craft store getting a picture framed.  While I was waiting, I was just slowly strolling through the aisles to see what they had.  I came across this table, and they had these cute little wallets on it.  They had several already made, and a pattern.

I looked the wallets over, looked the pattern over, and decided that I could make these!!   Usually, I’m not at all very good at reading patterns.  They confuse me.   But this one seemed simple enough, so I decided to buy the pattern.  I rummaged through some scrap material that I had from when I made the girls some outfits last summer.

This is the first one I whipped up.

Next stop, the fabric store.   In the quilting area, I found that they had squares of material in every imaginable print.   They were large enough for me to make 2 wallets, with a coordinating piece.

The part that always takes the longest is the cutting out of the pattern.  For this, you have to cut 2 pieces of each pattern (folding the material in half and cutting 2 pieces at the same time is the easiest).

You also have to cut a piece of interfacing (I used Décor Bond, it fuses to fabric with a quick brush of the iron, and adds body and strength to fabrics.   It stays put!!)

Next, you put the right sides of each pocket together and sew a ¼ inch seam. Press with the iron.

You then turn right side out, and press.

You then lay your main body fabric down, arrange the pockets,

then place the interfaced piece on top of that, right side in, and pin in place.

Using a ¼ inch seam, backtacking where you start and where you end, sew around the entire piece, leaving about a 1 ½ inch space open.  Trim and clip corners, and turn right side out.   At first I thought this was an impossibility.  How was I suppose to get 3 pockets and a stiff piece thru a tiny opening?  I thought I had done something wrong.  But finally, I figured out that if you brought the far corner toward the opening, you could work it inside out.  Just takes patience.  (This is why backtacking is very important).  Then you must whip stitch the opening closed.

By cutting out the pattern on two different materials, this gives you 2 wallets in contrasting patterns.

Next, you have to sew on a snap.  From here on, I am going to use a much larger snap.  I think these are too small, but they will work all right.   I just think a larger snap would work a little better.

All that’s left is to embellish with whatever you want.  You could use iron on decals, buttons, ribbons, use your imagination!!

I have a gift card I am planning on giving someone soon, and I will be giving it in one of these cute wallets.

Tami’s Tip of the Week

Keep an inexpensive magnet close to your sewing machine or sewing area.  When you drop pins, or they roll around the area, just run the magnet over the carpet or floor for a quick pick up of loose pins, especially for those hard to see pins.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it here or not, but I have a TON of friends who are having babies or have just had babies. It’s always fun for me to make something for the new additions.

My friend not too long ago had two beautiful twin girls. They are absolutely precious. I’d been wanting to make one of those ruffle butt onesies for them for a long time, but I had had so many other projects in the works. I finally got a chance to get them together so I can share them with you. I LOVE how they turned out. Almost makes me want to have another baby just so she can wear it, but the I quickly come to my senses and realize that’s a really dumb idea.

I used the tutorial that is found at U Create. I mean, it’s not rocket science, but it IS nice to have a guideline, right? Right.

I didn’t take pictures of the process, because it is all laid out on the other blog, but I’ll briefly give you a rundown of what I did.

I used my rotary cutting tool and mat, and cut one inch wide strips that were a little over 2x the length of the onesie where they would be applied.  I used the serger on a 3-thread rolled hem stitch to hem the sides of each ruffle.  Then I used a loose basting stitch to run down the middle of each strip.  I pinned the ends of the ruffle down (unruffled) into place on the onesie and pulled the basting thread (underside thread) to ruffle the strip and stitched them into place.

(I used the same process on the burp cloths)

As you can see, I also added a monogram applique. I started by using the directions from this post but then I took it a step further to give it a more finished look.

I took some iron on stabilizer on the back and just did a simple zig-zag stitch to go around each letter.  You can tell if you look closely enough, I really need to work on my curvy letters…

But I’m pretty good when it comes to straight lines!

I have to say, I think these are really fun to put together and I think they are seriously cute!  Chances are, if you are one of my pregnant friends and you’re having a girl, you’re getting one of these.  haha  Does that take the fun out of it now that you know?  I hope not.

-Autumn