tutorial Archives - Page 4 of 8

Padded Camera Strap

May 22, 2012 By Taylor 20 Comments

Hi my name is Taylor and I have a problem… I am addicted to making camera straps…. I need a support group. If you have been around a while, you might remember one of my very first posts HERE. Then remember when I made a Christmas gift HERE. In my defense one is old and one was a gift so it was just time :) And I love my new strap, so I guess its justified right? Want to make one and feeling destructive?…

See the end of the existing strap here, tear it apart, yay!

Does anyone else kind of like seam ripping?

Keep the bottom together; only seam-rip the part holding the strap to it.

Wrap the strap in batting, I doubled it around the strap. Poor night crafting lighting.

Cut your fabric 2.5x as wide and an inch or so longer than your strap.

Serge the ends, fold over, press and sew. Serging adds a professional looking touch but as usual its not necessary. Then fold the strap together longways with right sides touching. Sew and flip right ride out.

Fabric label :)

I serged the ends of the padded strap then put it into the fabric tube.

Last step is sewing the faux-leather part back to the strap. It should be easy because the holes are already there as a guide. I asked my Father in Law to do this part for me because my sewing machine is old and kind of wimpy when it comes to thickness. He works for NASA in the fabrication department, he says he has machines that can sew quarters together, cool huh?

Do you have a craft that you make over and over again? Apparently I like making camera straps and pillows. Also how great is this fabric?

Burlap Pennant Banner and Bias Tape

February 1, 2012 By Taylor 12 Comments

Happy February! Don’t you just love February, its so festive and fun and for me it means Baby Boy’s Birthday, Rodeo, the beginning of Spring and of course the obvious – Valentine’s Day. I wanted to make a Valentine Banner for my mantle but then I realized how long the word “V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N-E” really is. And “LOVE” and “BE MINE” are a little overplayed (which I don’t really even mind ha :) So I came up with the word “HEART”, it fits right?

The “burlap pennant” craze has taken over and it really is such an easy craft, so if you are new at crafting its a great simple little project. Not to mention burlap is super cheap. Simple Steps:Cut your burlap into the flags. If you plan on keeping this decoration then I recommend doing a zig-zag stitch around each flag to keep from fraying.

Then use a stencil to spell out your word. You can just use regular cheap acrylic craft paint and a sponge brush.

Once the flags dry, you can attach them a number of ways… you could just hot glue them to some twine or yarn, but I sewed mine onto bias tape.

Let’s talk about bias tape… there are options. You can get most solid colors at the fabric store in various sizes. For projects where the bias tape is going to add a lot, like a quilt or this tablecloth, I like to make my own.

It speed things up if you have a bias tape maker. They even make bias tape maker machines. Fancy Pants.

Once you have made/bought your bias tape, just sandwich your flags between and sew directly over the bias tape.

I’m not getting crazy with the V-day decor cause little man’s Bday is next week. If you know me at all you know that I don’t think it’s festive unless we have streamers and balloons. I hope he likes red.

So how do you feel about bias tape, do you make your own? I think it is much cuter than store bought, and does anyone have that machine? I eyeball it all the time and wonder if anyone has one.

Another Camera Strap Tutorial

January 4, 2012 By Taylor 7 Comments

First tutorial of the year, yay. I made another Camera Strap as a gift for Christmas. This one is a cover which I love because you can take it off to wash it… and I get sick of things really easily. It also includes lace which is always a good thing. Firstly, you need to measure your own camera strap and because this is a cover, it needs to fit snug.What you need:-1/4 yd fabric for front of strap-1/4 yd fabric for back of strap-lace or trim-thread Add about one inch to the length and one inch to the width of your current camera strap. Once you have your dimensions, cut a piece of the fabric for the front and a piece for the back. I did the same fabric for both. Also, I used fat quarters so I actually sewed two pieces together to get the length.

I serged the ends and hemmed them but if you don’t have a serger, just fold, press and hem.

Pin the lace to the right side of the fabric on the front strap, lining up the edges.

Sew the lace to the front piece.

Pin right sides together and sew.

Lastly, flip the strap right side out and top-stitch the lace down.

A cute and easy gift, and once again, I need to make myself one :)

Also… shout out to my husband on his birthday… love you babe! Birthday wishes for him are welcome.

Baby Onesie Refashion

August 19, 2011 By Taylor 16 Comments

Take plain onesies and turn them into a baby fashion statement.

Babies need a little refashion sometimes too. These onesies were originally embroidered with a little “baby saying”… cute but I thought the colors were a little too girly for my Clyde. He never wore them, I refashioned and re-gifted! I just used some fabric scraps and some imagination.

Before: