Lately nothing inspires me more than colorful fabric, and fun patterns. I have yet to find an awesome fabric store here in KC, so Etsy is where I buy most of my loves!
I'm really into vintage floral fabric right now, and I figured I would share some eye candy! :)
Where do you find inspiration, and what inspires you right now? :)
<3 Silje
Follow these instructions to a 'no fuss' Fall scarf.
Cut out three layers of fabric, each measuring 6" x 60". I used a soft plaid for my top layer, a warm microfleece for my insulated middle layer, and a vintage bedsheet for my bottom layer.
Lay your bottom layer on top of your top layer with the right sides of the fabrics facing each other.
Next, lay your middle layer on top of your bottom layer.
Pin together.
Make sure to leave 1/4" from the side of the fabric when you sew.
Starting from one corner of the long side, sew around three sides, leaving the short end unstitched. 
Turn inside out.
Press.
Fold ends under about 1/4" and hand stitch shut. Wow all of your friends. Make a few for Christmas gifts. Enjoy the handmade pleasure!
This year I desided I want my christmas tree to be delicious-ly yummy, and what is better to work with than felt? So heres a little tutorial on how to make cute little felt donuts to hang on your tree, or just for fun!
So what you're gonna need is, different colored felt (any color you like), scissors, 3d paint, needle & thread, a marker, polyester fiber for stuffing, and embroydery thread (optional).
1. Use someting round, like a glass and trace around it to get two circles, you wanna make 2, one for the top and for for the bottom.
2. Cut out the circles, and you wanna stuff the donuts while you stich them together.
3. Now you can either cut out a different color felt, for "frosting", or use 3d paint instead.
and voila!...
Have fun! Silje :)
You can make a fabulously easy Head Band out of a shirt that doesn't work as a shirt anymore. It needs to be Jersey Cotton to work well because its so comfortable and stretches well. I used a shirt that I'd ordered online that was too big! It sat in my pile of fabric waiting to be reused. Its a plain, bold color that contrasts well with my hair color but I also tried this on a graphic tee with a skull and cross bones image.
First things first! Measure the circumference of the part of your head that you wear your head bands. Add two inches. Take that number and measure out a piece of your t-shirt that you want to show when your headband is folded in half lengthwise.
Cut the fabric to the desired length and width. (If you have a high forehead or no bangs, you may want a thinner band and vice verca). I cut mine 1/2" wider and longer than my measurements for seam allowance.
Fold in half with right sides facing each other. Sew along one of the short ends and the long end. Turn inside out. You may want to iron your fabric but its not necessary.
Fold the open end under about 1/2 to create a hem and stick the other end inside and pin. Sew across about twice to secure your band.
Place on your head and be amazed at your fabulous sewing abilities and new 'green and trendy' habit!
Make a simple, "Spring Day Out" clutch out of a placemat. I always search the stores for pretty napkins and placemats that can be folded down or cut and stitched into something as simple as a purse.
(For all intensive purposes, this picture is not a purse but a disguised changing mat. However, folded up, it looks the very same. Follow these directions for a purse.)
For this one, I bought a vinyl placemat (about 18" x 12") that had contrasting colors and a vinyl tablecloth from the same collection.
I cut up the rainbow, vinyl tablecloth to get a 21" x 4" strip and stitched the sides in about 1/4".
I measured where I wanted it to hang over the placemat at the top and after hemming those ends, sewed velcro to the top. Its really important to then match where it is going to attach on the other end of your stripe before you sew on the opposite sex of the velcro. To do this, you'll want to roughly fold it into thirds.
Next, I taped the stripe in place on the folded clutch so that when I closed it, the top and bottom of the stripe aligned.
I sewed along the previously sewn hem of the rainbow stripe to attach it to the placemat, removing the tape when necessary.
I folded it into thirds again. To finish the purse, you would need to hand or machine stitch the two sides that fold together to form the purse pocket.
Finally, I added a button for deco.
You might also add a simple vinyl wrist strap or more buttons, etc.
You know what you like.
I found a bag of old jeans near the recycling bin of my old apartment complex in Seattle last year. Why was I snooping around the recycling bin? It was my job. Being the magpie that I am, I took them upstairs to see what I could make. Denim has made its way into a lot of crappy projects. I felt like this could be avoided. Finally, I figured that I'd have enough leg panels with a pair of my own pre-pregnancy jeans to make a summertime blanket.
I measured the narrowest part of the leg near the knee and followed the thread grain up and down to get a straight cut. I had to piece two legs together for one strip. I placed the panels with faded knees together and the backs of the legs together so they were similar in coloring. As you can see, I used the different washes to my advantage by piecing them darkest to lightest and back to darkest.
It took me awhile to decide on the backing I wanted to use since there were so many shades of blue involved. I settled on a red and cream ticking. It feels summery. Its simple. Its durable. Now I just have to sew it together. I think I'll take it to the beach when I'm finished to celebrate.
For this project all I did was take a white tank top and add some details to it. I took an old pearl necklace that I had (it needed to be restrung anyway) and cut it into small strands that I then sewed onto the tank top-so that the necklace only shows in the front. You could also sew tulle or ribbons or buttons and make a cute design out of that. The tank tops came in a three pack so I will probably make at least one more with some teal tulle I have later today. Everyone should try this project because it is easy and fun and looks really cute when you are done!
Later,
Emma
You'll never look your worst when you feel your worst if you have a tissue cozy. Follow these easy steps to customize your cold.
1. Cut out two coordinating fabrics that measure 3 3/4" x 9". Sew them together along the long edge of one side about 1/4" from the edge. Fold flat and press with iron.
2. Cut out another coordinating fabric to use as your liner. It should measure about 6 1/2" x 9".
3. With the right sides of the fabrics facing each other, pin together and sew leaving about 3" open in order to turn inside out. Iron this opening back in order to make it easier to sew later.
4. Turn inside out. Make sure all of the corners and edges are pushed out and then iron flat.
5. Fold ends toward the middle with your liner facing out. Pin, sew and backstitch.
6. Fold right side out and again make sure all of your corners are pushed out. Iron flat.
7. This is made to fit Puff's To Go tissue packs. You can find them at local drug stores. Remove tissue from the plastic wrapper and insert.
Make a few to keep around the house or to send to your favorite people.
Yo-Yo's are fun little embellies you can use from scrap fabric to add color to a project. I've used these as a special touch on a simple pillowcase. Here's a step by step on how to make these fun accents.
Cut out a fabric circle 4" in diameter. I used the top of a bowl as my original template. You can adjust yours depending on how big you want your yo-yo's.
Cut out a cardstock circle that is about 3" in diameter.
Cut out a piece of foil that is about 5" in diameter.
Put the foil down first, then the fabric circle facing upside down. Finally layer the cardstock on top.
Fold the foil around the edges and iron to get a perfectly creased circle.
Unfold your fabric circle and thread your needle with about 12" of any color thread. Don't forget a knot at the end.
Sew close to the edge of your fold all the way around your circle. Experiment with stitch widths to see what size center you get. My stitches were about 1/4" wide.
Pull tight and tie ends together to secure.
Repeat.
Yo-Yo's can be used as scrapbook embellies, additions to a hair scarf, sewn together as a garland for decoration, or ninja stars to throw at your friends when they accuse you of spending too much time blogging. Send us a pic of something you've made with yo-yo's and we'll put it up in the RVA Gallery.
