Okay, so these little cuties are the easiest things to make even if you are a beginner!  First of all you are gonna want to buy some of the pre-folded cloth diapers that come in a 4 pack.  I bought mine from JoAnns because of their 40% off coupon and because they had cute colored ones I liked.  You can get these at almost any store (Target, Walmart, Kmart, etc), and they are usually less than 10 bucks a pop.  JoAnns really is the best deal I found though because they were around $6 a pack and then take off the 40% and they are only a few dollars.  Next, you are gonna want to buy some really cute fabric for each of the burpcloths.  A fat quarter is long enough and large enough to make a burpcloth so I choose 4 different fat quarters from my store (be sure to check our cute fabrics).  Next measure the length of the cloth diaper and measure the inner strip of the diaper (my inner strip was 4″).  After you get the measurements add about an inch to both measurements and cut the fabric to those measurements.  If the inner strip is 4″ like mine was, cut it to 5″. Do the same with the length.

Next, you are going to iron in all 4 sides of the fabric strip aprox. a half inch.  Make sure after you have sewn the edges in that it fits nicely on top of the fabric diaper.

Then flip it over and you are going to sew it to the diaper.  Make sure to use matching thread.  I did a fun zigzag stitch on mine but you can do a straight stitch or anything you like.

Once you are done trim the treads and that is it!  Easiest thing ever huh?  Now go make some for your next baby shower as a gift!

This is the most simple tree skirt ever and there is no sewing involved (you can sew it if you are so inclined)!  Follow these steps and you’ll have a beautiful skirt in no time.

Step 1

Make or buy a cheapy tree skirt. You can make one from batting or an old t-shirt if its a small tree.  Just cut a circle of fabric and cut a hole outta the middle.  Cut a slit up one of the sides all the way to the middle hole. I also bought a few for other trees at a second hand store for 99 cents.  You can also use a cheap dollar store skirt if you want.

Step 2

Chose a fabric that coordinates with your decor and cut it into strips.  My skirt is really large so my strips were around 6″ wide and as long as I could get them. For a smaller skirt use a smaller width. My choice in fabric was this gold fabric that matches the wedding decor for a wedding I’m decorating for.  I would usually choose something bright and funky like an Amy Butler or Kaffe Fassett fabric.  Check out or fabrics and I’m sure you’ll find something you just love!

STEP 3

Take the strips and hot glue them to the outside of the tree skirt.  Make sure that you overlap the fabric onto itself to make it look ruffled and glue where needed.  Make sure the fabric hangs over the skirt by a few inches. You can sew it if you would rather, but I am into shortcuts in anyway possible.

STEP 4

Continue gluing and overlapping the fabric until you have covered the entire skirt.  I let my fabric strips overlap one another by at least 2 inches on each row.  If you are making a smaller skirt you can overlap it by maybe an inch or so.  Use common sense.

All Done!  These are fun to make for your miniature trees too.  My daughter is begging me to make one for her pink tree so we’ll be working on that one soon!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

So I am actually right in the middle of planning a wedding right now and have been having so much fun with decorations, I won’t however say that I am not EXTREMELY stressed out!  The girl who’s wedding I am doing has chosen the most fab colors!  I am totally partial to them since they are such shabby colors and half my house is full of things that are WHITE and Gold.  Very classy colors for a wedding if you ask me.  Love it!  Anyways, I am making sort of a winter wonderland with a million trees and am in need of many more ornaments.  I actually scored big time at a local action when I found some vintage old glass balls.  They are darling and will look awesome but I need more to decorate with than just the lights and balls.  This is why I came up with this tassel garland idea.  I new I wanted a garland but was sick of making paper decorations so I pulled out some fabric I had on hand and made this little baby.  This is soooo easy it is crazy, and the best part about it is that you dont even have to pull out the sewing machine or glue gun!  Woot Woot!  I know that this is definitely not an original idea but it is the perfect on for CHRISTMAS time to deck your halls! 

STEP 1

Pick your fabric colors and cut them into 6″ x 8″ pieces.  You can actually make them any size you want.  This was just the size that looked great on a Christmas tree.

STEP 2

Take 2 pieces of the fabric and fold them in half (you can also do 1 piece for thinner tassel).  Cut 1/2″ slits up the fabric leaving aprox. 3/4″ at the top that is uncut.

STEP 3 

Open it up and start rolling it up.  Once it is rolled up, fold it in half over your string, jute, beads, etc and secure it into place with a piece of the same fabric.

SEW CUTE!!!!  SEW EASY!!!!

FABRIC INFINITY SCARF TUTORIAL

I knitted a Mobius scarf (the Infinity/Mobius scarves are a continuous loop, with a permanent twist built into them) similar to this a few years back, as a gift.  I’ve never made another ~ yes, the hours involved were plenty.  THIS, however, can be achieved in 45 minutes or less, start to finish…with THREE sewn seams (and 5-1/2″ of hand sewing).  I made four this morning, plus took photos as I went, all in under 2.5 hrs.  So……..here’s how to do it.

WHAT YOU NEED:  1 yard fabric and thread!  That’s it!  Well, that and a sewing machine and necessities like scissors, pins, etc.

I used three 100% cotton fabrics for these, and one knit that reminds me of a top I had in the 70′s.  The cottons I chose were all soft to begin with (the one above is almost a “voile” – VERY lightweight cotton.  Use what you love – I washed and dried my cottons before cutting, to make sure they softened up, and/or shrunk before they were used.

WHAT YOU DO:

I am in LOVE with this game!  No kidding.  It was a babysitter for at least 2 hours yesterday and an hour the day before.  If you have a crazy 3-year-old I’m sure you’ll agree that that is awesome!  My eight year old played a few games with Grandma yesterday too.  This game is great for all ages and I think it would make a wonderful handmade gift.  Another really cool thing about this is the fact that you can wash these little suckers.  You know how grubby the cardboard ones can get.  Use up your old scraps and make some new memories!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

10 – 3×3″ matching square pairs (2 of each making 20 total)

20-3×3″ backing squares

20-3×3″ fusible fleece squares

Coordinating thread

STEP 1

Cut out all your fabrics.  You can use different patterns, fabric with cartoons, numbers, etc. Iron on the fusible fleece to the wrong side of the cartoon fabric.

STEP 2

Place a back and front fabric together with the right sides facing in.  Sew a quarter inch seam around the outside of the square leaving a small opening for turning. Turn the square right side out.

STEP 3

Tuck the corner inside itself and iron it flat.  It should look like a square.  Sew around the outside of the entire square as close as you can to the edge (maybe an eighth of an inch). This will close up the opening you had for the turning. Iron flat again.  That’s it.  SO CUTE!!!

Cant find a safety pin to pull your elastic through the casing?  Just use a paper clip instead!  Poke the clip through the elastic and bend it back into the original shape.  It glides through the fabric fabulously!  Desperate times call for creative measures!

So the measurements were great and I’ll put them here if you want to try and make one yourself.

Main piece of fabric = 13×36

3 coordinating strips = 4×36,6×36, and 3×36.

6″ elastic

13″ ribbon

Here are the offending pictures!  Hehehe

Sewing strips together                                                       Strips sewn and ironed out

Ironing a 1/2″ fold on both ends                                     Folding the ends together in half

Folding it in half again making a long tube.               Sewing down the outside length slowly because it’s thick

This is what it looks like sewn                                         This was the nightmare. Tucking the edges under to make a casing

Sewing cuff and leaving opening for the elastic                       Inserting elastic

Sewing elastic together and sewing up opening                  Cuffing the top and sewing around the top

Adding the ribbon to the sides of the bag                      Turn right side out and Done-zo!!!!

Make a Halloween Candy Bag  for your little ghoul by following these simple steps.

STEP 1

Cut 2 -11×12″ pieces of fabric for the outside of the bag and 2 more for the inside lining of the bag.  I used the gray Halloween fabric for outside and the orange for the lining.  You can always make the bag bigger than this by adding a few inches to the height and width.  My daughter is little so she doesn’t need a pillowcase yet.  Ha!

STEP 2

Placing the right sides together, sew a quarter inch seam around the two long sides and bottom of the outer fabric, leaving the top of it open.  Do the same thing to the liner fabric but leave a small opening in the bottom of it for turning.

STEP 3

Fold the corners down and sew approximately an inch from the edge of the fabric making a mitered corner.  Do this on both the outside fabric and lining.  Cut the corners off.

STEP 4

Take the lining and place it inside of the outside fabric.  The outside and lining fabric is still turned wrong sides out.  Then sew a quarter inch seam around the top of the fabrics.  Pull the lining out of the bag and then turn it all right sides out. Iron it out and sew a quarter inch seam around the outside of the top of the bag.

STEP 5

I made the straps quite short by cutting a 3x 16″ piece of fabric, folding it in half lengthwise, ironing it, and sewing a quarter inch seam down the edge.  Flip it right side out and cut it in half making 2- 1.5×8″ straps.  Tuck the fabric in on itself about a half inch and iron.  NOTE:  You can always make these longer by adding inches to the length.

STEP 6

Pin the straps to the outside of the bag ( I pinned mine about an inch and a half away from the outside of the bag ).  Sew the straps on to the bag.  I always sew a rectangle with an x through it.

That is all there is to it!  Easy!  I added a fabric flower to my little ghoul’s to make it more girlie.  I did a fabric flower tutorial that you can use to make the flower if you want.  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I LOVE this project because it is so FAST!!!!  Nothing better than instant gratification.  I want to make a bunch of these little suckers for Christmas and give them out as little gifts.  It’s the perfect time of year for these since fall and winter seem to bring on colds at my house.  That’s what is to be expected when you have a hundred kids I guess.  Anyways, fun project.

Materials

2 -7″x6″ (pieces of fabric for the inside lining and the outside)

1-4″x6″ (for the inside pocket)

1-7″x6″ (thin batting or iron on fleece) If you use fusible fleece, iron it onto on of the pieces of 7′x6′ pieces of fabric.

1- hair elastic

1 button

coordinating thread

Step 1

Take the 4″x6″ pocket piece and fold it down a quarter inch in on its self and then iron it in place.  Fold it over one more time another quarter inch and iron.  This make a nice finished edge.  Sew down the length of the pocket as close to the inside pocket edge as you can. When you are done iron it.

Step 2

Now you are going to make a sandwich with all of the pre-cut pieces.  This part can be a bit confusing and it took me some serious thinking to figure out what went where!  I swear I cant even remember how I did it even now and am having to look at the pics to remember. Duh! Okay, take one of your 7′x6′ pieces and lay it facing up.  Take the pocket piece you just sewed and place it on top of the main piece with the right side facing up as well.  The seam you just sewed on it should be in the middle of the fabric.  Now take the remaining fabric piece and lay it on top of the other two pieces with it facing down.  Take the piece of batting and place that on top of all of it.  If you are using iron on fleece it will already be attached to the fabric you just laid down. Also, I didn’t have the right size piece of batting for mine so it is just a bit small.  Yours should fit nicely on top making quite a thick little sandwich.

Step 3

Take your elastic and slide it in between the fabric on the opposite side of the pocket and pin it in place.  In this picture I used an elastic that was WAY too small and had to unpick it.  Yours should be the bigger orange size elastic that is shown in the picture.  Make sure the elastic is half in half out.  Sew around the outside of the sandwich leaving a small hole in it for turning.  I do not suggest leaving the hole on the pocket side because it can end up looking lame. Just trust me.

Step 4

Clip off the outside corners and flip the whole thing right side out. Use a pencil or something to really push out the corners.  Notice how freaking stupid my elastic is? Haha!  You can  barely see the thing! You will see that I picked it out and replaced it in the upcoming pictures.  Also, notice how thick my opening looks?   Yep, that is what happens when you leave the flipping hole on the side of the pocket.  It is extra thick because of the added fabric of the pocket and it is harder to turn in on itself and sew down.  So, don’t do it!  Next step is obviously turning the raw edges of the opening in on itself and ironing the thing flat.  I had to iron the smack outta mine since there were so many layers.  It looks okay though.  Then fold the whole thing in half and iron again.

Step 5

After ironing, sew an eighth of an inch around the entire thing (this ends up closing off the opening). Then, sew straight down the middle of the whole thing.  About an eighth of an inch away from the pocket.  This will help the batting stay in place.  After this step I like to test it to make sure that my little tissue will fit into it. BTW I am stilling laughing at that lame little elastic in the pics.

Step 6

Now you can pick out a button that accents your fabric.  I choose a funky lime green one to brighten up my fabric.  Put the button on the outside of the case on the side that has the pocket on the inside.  Sew the button on.  Make sure you DON’T sew through the pocket.  That could be as pathetic as sewing an elastic on that is too small!  Notice anything new in the first step 5 picture?  Hint: It’s orange.  After the button is in place just add the tissue and lace the elastic around the button.

Look how cool you are!  Pretty rad huh?