SPARKLY LADIES!: Covered Bins

SPARKLY LADIES!: Covered Bins: So cute and so cheap!  Love this idea from Tales from a Cottage !  Just a simple bin from the dollar store  covered with a cute fabric and the beauty of it is there is NO SEWING involved!  That's right!  All tacky glued together!

hancock's house of happy: Pyrexophilia! A Vintage Pyrex Pattern Cross Stitch...

hancock's house of happy: Pyrexophilia! A Vintage Pyrex Pattern Cross Stitch...: I am so excited about this new free cross stitch chart. It is a big band sampler featuring vintage Pyrex patterns. Don't know about you but ...

Free Project - Strapless Tunic

Project provided courtesy of:JoAnn Fabric & Craft Stores

Strapless Tunic Supplies

1 yd light to midweight cotton fabric     1 yd 1/2" wide elastic     1 spool coordinating thread     Scissors or rotary cutter and mat     French curve     Basic sewing supplies     Iron & ironing surface     Sewing machine Directions Note: All seam allowances 1/2" Sizing: for size Medium Bust 36: FRONT: Cut 1 piece 21"x29" (wxl) BACK: Cut 1 piece 21"x28" (wxl) BELT: 5"x36". Belt measurements are for all sizes. Optional – For more room at hip and hem, add 1"-2" to bottom edge of front and back. Draw diagonal line from top to new bottom measurement. For size 32 bust, grade down 2" in width and 1" in length For size 34 bust, grade down 1" in width and 1/2" in length For size 38 bust, grade up 1" in width and 1/2" in length For size 40 bust, grade up 2" in width and 1" in length Cut front and back following measurements and guidelines listed above. Cut out belt. To shape the front piece at top, measure down 1" from top at sides and make a mark. Make a mark at the center front at top. Using a french curve, draw a curved line from mark at side to the mark at center. Trim the fabric above curve. With right sides together, stitch the side seams to within 6" of the bottom edge. Backstitch. Clip the seam allowance at the end of stitching up to the stitching but not through it. Press seams open below cut. To create side slits, turn the seam allowance to the inside. Make a narrow 1/4" double-fold hem. Topstitch in place. Hem bottom edge with a 5/8" double hem. Trim off 1/8" of seam allowance at side seams. Zigzag stitch together to finish. To make the casing at top, place the elastic around chest above bust and under arms. Stretch it slightly until it feels comfortable. Add 2" to the measurement and cut. Press top raw edge of tunic under 1/4" and another 3/4".12. Topstitch close to the inside fold of casing. Leave a 1½" opening. Thread elastic through casing using a safety pin. Overlap the ends 1" and stitch together to secure. Stitch opening closed. For belt, fold in half lengthwise with right sides together and raw edges even. Stitch along all edges, leaving a 5" opening for turning. Trim corners and seams. Turn right side out and press. Edge stitch along all sides.

PALLET HOUSE DIY

Here's a link with actual plans on how to make a pallet house.

If not a house, how about a shed, storage room, garage or, on a smaller scale, a child's play house .

http://www.tinypallethouse.com/2008/08/add-windows-and-a-door/

Making It Well: I Made My Own Dress Form!

Found this great tutorial on making your own dress form from brown paper tape from the office or art supply store.  This is the post from Jo at her blog, Making It Well.  Estimated cost:  $17.50

Making It Well: I Made My Own Dress Form!: 

Here's a list of supplies Jo used - she provides step by step instructions and pictures on her blog.

Well, shall we get started?

Here’s what you will need:

-paper tape

-scissors
-garbage bag or thin t-shirt you don't mind cutting up
-masking/duct tape 
-newspapers/fabric scraps/stuffing
-flip flops
-sponge 
-thick cardboard
-blow dryer (optional)
-an awesome husband or helper

Click here for Jo's complete step-by-step tutorial at Making It Well

Reuse Sewing Pattern Tissue Paper

1.  Craft a pretty bouquet.  Tissue paper flowers shown are by Montclair Made.

Found a clever site - Crafting a Green World, The Home for Eco-Friendly Crafts.   This is a blog post from Jackie Hernandez  using sewing pattern tissue in several re-purposed projects. 

Here are a bunch of inspiring ideas for reusing sewing pattern tissue paper.

 

2. Wrap up a gift or use sewing pattern tissue in the gift bag.  The cute wraps here are by Lil Fish Studios.

 

 

3.  These matching gift tags also by Lil Fish Studios look stunning with stitch detail and found buttons.   Comic books and greeting cards make great gift tags, but who would of thought to use sewing patterns.  All they need is a sturdy foundation.  

 

4.  Make flower tissue twinkle lights with this how-to from Everyday Beauty.

 5.  Decoupage letters.  These paper pulp letters with sewing pattern decoupage are by Copabananas.  You could get a similar effect with paper mache letters found at most craft stores.

6.  You can never have enough craft storage.  Decoupage a box with the tissue and cutouts from the pattern envelope.  The adorable sewing button box here are by Sewing Geek.

 7.  Junque Art Studio and Crab Apple Design makes really cool magnets using both the sewing pattern tissue and the pattern instruction sheets.  

Reading a Sewing Pattern

Whether you have been sewing for awhile or just learning, this book offers comprehensive, easy to understand instruction for successful garment construction.

Here's a quick excerpt from the book on Reading a Sewing Pattern.

By Jan Saunders Maresh

Even though a sewing pattern might be labeled "easy" or "quick," the pattern instruction writers sometimes assume that you have a certain amount of general sewing knowledge. Nothing can be more intimidating than trying to figure out what all the hieroglyphics are on the various parts of a pattern. Don't have a pattern panic attack! Take a look at each of the standard pattern parts one at a time, and you'll be shopping for patterns like a pro in no time.

Reading the front of the pattern envelope

On the front of the pattern envelope, you often see several style variations of the same project. In the world of sewing, these style variations are called views. One view may have a collar, long sleeves, and cuffs. Another view may have a V-neck and short sleeves.

In home decor patterns, you may have several views in one pattern for a basic window treatment. Another pattern may have several pillow views. A third has several options for slipcovers. Views simply give you style options on creating the same basic project.

Reading the back of the pattern envelope

The back of a pattern envelope contains the following information about your project:

• The back of the project in detail: The front of the pattern usually just shows the front of your project.

• A description of the project by view: Always read the description of a project on the back of the pattern envelope. Drawings and photographs can be deceiving, but this written description tells you exactly what you're getting.

• How much fabric to buy: This information is based on the width of the fabric you choose, the view you're making, your size, and whether your fabric has nap or not.

If your fabric has nap, the pattern requires you to buy a little more fabric. Your fabric has nap if it falls contains any of these qualities:

• One-way design: For example, your fabric shows dancing elephants printed in the same direction. If you cut out some of the pattern pieces in one direction and other pattern pieces in the opposite direction, you'll find elephants dancing right side up on part of the project and upside down on another part of the same project. You need extra fabric so that you can get all your elephants going in the right direction.

• Fuzzy texture:Such as velvet, corduroy, Polarfleece, and some sweatshirt fleeces. When brushed in one direction, the fabric is smooth; when brushed in the other direction, it's rough. This texture difference translates into a color difference. You need more fabric to cut out the pattern pieces in the same direction.

• Uneven stripe: For example, the fabric has three colored stripes — red, blue, and yellow. To match the stripes at the seams, you need extra fabric because the pattern must be laid out in the same direction. If the front and back pattern pieces are laid out in opposite directions, the stripes are cut on the front, going from red, to blue, to yellow. The stripes on the back would be cut so that they go from yellow, to blue, to red. When you sew the seam together, the stripes won't match at the side seams.

• Even or uneven plaid: The color bars in a plaid must match both vertically and horizontally. If the plaid is not symmetrical in one or both directions, you need to lay out the pattern pieces all going in the same direction. This technique requires more fabric — for making the plaid match.

• List of notions needed for specific views: These notions include items such as the number and size of buttons, the zipper length and type, elastic width and length, shoulder pad style and size, hooks and eyes, and so on.

It's what's inside that counts

Inside your pattern envelope, you find the following items necessary for your project:

• Pattern pieces: Some pattern pieces are printed on large pieces of tissue paper. Others are printed on sturdy pieces of white paper called master patterns.

To preserve the master pattern for reuse, simply trace the size you need onto a piece of pattern tracing material. (This material is available through sewing mail-order catalogs and specialty fabric stores. Look for Trace-A-Pattern and Do-Sew brands.)

This way, you can trace off another view or cut out a project for someone else who is a different size without destroying the master pattern.

• Key and glossary: These references help you decipher the markings on the pattern pieces.

• Pattern layout: The layout shows you how to lay out the pattern pieces on the fabric yardage for each view.

• Step-by-step instructions on how to put the project together: Instructions are written in various degrees of clarity depending on your knowledge of sewing.

The project instructions may run more than one page. If they do, staple the pages together in the upper-left corner and post them in front of you as you sew. Then you can easily check off each step as you finish it. If you don't have a place to post the sheet, set it next to your sewing machine, folded to the section you're working on, for a handy reference.