sewing Archives - Page 11 of 24

DIY Black and White Curtains

July 2, 2013 By Taylor 39 Comments

We are finally getting into the swing of things over here at the new house. How long does that take by the way? We have been here a month and stuff is coming together! Our dining room is one of first rooms you see when you walk in to the house and I wanted a graphic punch. I mean, once I found the “plate wall box” and pushed the chairs in I felt pretty good.

naked before shot:

But over a year ago I saw some big black and white striped curtains and I knew I wanted them for my next dining room. I found some no-sew options, and thought about sewing black and white fabric together, and even painting some. But then I came across this tutorial with a link to the perfect fabric. Catharine at “Your Modern Couple” has a great tutorial, I even ordered the same amount of fabric and pretty much followed just what she did. I ordered 5 yards, cut them in half twice and sewed the length together.

I love how they turned out in our dining room. They make the ceiling look so tall and it dresses up our casual but modern room. I kept the plate wall from my old house. Next on our list is getting rid of that bad light fixture.

And I added this… my mom bought it for me last October, it was my 5th wedding anniversary and she found a dish towel from Anthro that is marked with our wedding date, so perfect.

Down the road we hope to not have carpet in here but it’s in pretty good shape so we are fine with it. Right before I started sewing, I showed my husband the fabric and he said “well, isn’t it a little loud?” But I thought nothing of it because he is a boy and he is traditional. But then I showed my mom and I said don’t you love them? And she replied, “well yes but they remind me of the Hamburglar”. Which I think is an awesome name for them. So far I don’t have rave reviews but they make me so happy. What do you think? Too loud and clown-esque or do you love them like I do?

Handmade Mother’s Day: Recipe Oven Mitt

May 3, 2013 By Taylor 12 Comments

I’m so excited to be a part of the Mother’s Day Handmade {Love} Series!

Kelly, from live.laugh.rowe organized the series. I met Kelly at Blissdom and she is an amazing person; she put together a great group of bloggers who are each sharing a different Handmade Mother’s Day Gift. Yesterday, Kristi from I Should Be Mopping the Floor shared her Printable Coupon Book. I also became friends with Kristi at Blissdom last month :) Check out her project HERE. I knew I wanted to do a sewing project and I’ve actually had this idea in my head for a while. A recipe on an oven mitt… cute and functional right? Here’s what you need:-two large fabric scraps-insul-bright-insulbright oven mitt pattern-a printable fabric sheet

When you buy the Insulbright, It comes with this oven mitt pattern. The directions are actually printed right on the pattern too. I followed those directions exactly and they are really simple.For the printable fabric sheet you need to design your recipe. Make sure it fits within the size of the mitt pattern. You will also want to get the washable fabric sheets. My instructions told me to print and wait 10 mins, then iron for 1-2 minutes. Then I had to spray with cool water and iron again- now its machine washable! Then just trim with an inch or so around the recipe.

To sew the recipe fabric and mitt fabric together this is what I did:

Place the two fabrics right side together and line up the edges. Then sew the right side. Press seams toward the outside fabric. Do the same steps for the left side.

Then you need to trim the fabric on the sides. Draw a straight line through both side fabrics and the recipe fabric. Do this for the top and bottom and trim. You will have a rectangular strip now. Then repeat first steps with top and bottom fabric. Be sure to press seams out. Then you will have something that looks like this…

This is now your fabric to trace your mitt pattern onto. Follow the instructions on the pattern.

Cut out all pieces. 2 of each- inside fabric, outside fabric and insulbright. Be sure to flip the pattern for the 2 different sides, I forgot for one fabric and had to redo it :(

Then you will make 2 “insulbright sandwiches” with the two other fabrics right side out. Zig Zag stitch around the edge and trim.

Then you will make a bias tape edge on both sides of the mitt and add a 4″ ribbon into one side for hanging.

You will have 2 sides. Then put the two outside fabrics together and sew around the edge (not the bottom edge) and flip.

I found this lemon bar recipe online because this fabric looked “lemon-y” to me. But it would be fun to print out a family recipe that has been passed down from generations of women!

Be sure to stop by Capturing Joy tomorrow and see what Kristen shares :)

a Modern Baby Boy Quilt

May 1, 2013 By Taylor 28 Comments

With all of my baby girl crafting did you even know I could make something for a boy? I was surprised I still had it in me. I have also been surprised by how many new baby girls there have been around here. But this post isn’t about girls, its about a baby boy. My only girl cousin is due with her first baby this summer and I am so happy for her little family. They will make awesome parents and I can’t wait for the boys to have another “young” relative :)

My mom, sister and I hosted a small family baby shower for Jamie and Baby “E” a few weeks ago. I will share all the shower deets here next week. I wanted to make him something he could keep for a long time so I settled on a quilt. It is modern and bright. The nursery is actually much more neutral but I figured this could be an on-the-go quilt.

I still love this print on the back- I knew I was hoarding it for a good reason.

This is my 4th quilt to actually finish. I also have about 6 unfinished quilt tops. I have not yet worked up the courage to hand quilt the binding… for those of you that do that – Bravo! Anyone else a machine binding cheater like me?

Zipper Pouch Love

April 7, 2013 By Taylor 4 Comments

For Valentine’s Day I always try to make my mom a little handmade something. Mainly because I love making little gifts and sewing for your husband is never as exciting :) And yes I am posting something from Valentines Day in April. I used Anna’s Pattern from Noodlehead. It’s the Open Wide Zippered Pouch found HERE. I added a little heart by using a reverse applique.

My favorite part is the little zipper pull with polka dots.

Really easy little gift to whip up. Also, you can never have enough little bags, am I right?