sewing

Tuesday Reviews-Day: Totes Amaze! by Amanda McKittrick

Tuesday Revews-Day

totesamazecover

It’s no surprise to anyone who’s been reading here for a while that I like to make things. While making stuff just for fun is all well and good, I especially love it when my hands-on time is spent making something useful as well as nice to look at. And even though a lot of my handmade projects are intended for others, every now and then I will make something for myself, too. Which is why I was more than happy to take a look at Totes Amaze! 25 bags to make for every occasion by Amanda McKittrick.

A tote is, at its most basic, a simple rectangle of fabric folded in half, sewn on two sides and with handles attached. But why stop there when you can add linings, pockets, gussets for bags to sit flat, draw strings, zippers, and curved bottoms instead of square? That’s where Totes Amaze! comes in handy with creative combinations of the basic elements, many of which you don’t even need a pattern for.

When something outside of an easily-measured square or rectangle is needed, there is a sheet of pattern pieces tucked into a pocket on the inside back cover.

[box type=”tick” style=”rounded” border=”full”]Tip #1 Even though the pattern pieces are printed on heavy-weight paper, reinforcing your patterns before you use them will help them last longer. I suggest clear shelf paper (such as the Con-Tact brand) adhered to one or both sides before cutting out the paper patterns. This way, when your friend sees you with your new tote, you’ll be able to whip up another one without worrying that your pattern might be too tattered for the job.[/box]

Alas, I have yet to clear the time in my schedule to actually make one of the bags, myself, but I have several marked for as soon as I can. I’m desperately in need of a new overnight bag with all these back-and-forths to the Dollhouse so the Classic Carryall Tote on page 50 is top of the list. After that, you know I couldn’t possible resist the Wine Bottle Tote on page 66, and the Six-Pocket Gardening Tote on page 38 will be perfect for crafting on the go (you guys know I can’t keep plants alive to save my life). With a simple lengthening of the main pattern piece, I think The Man Tote (page 114) would be the perfect custom answer to my widescreen laptop-carrying needs!

If you’re still a novice with needle and thread, McKittrick’s got you covered with some basic techniques in the beginning of the book and even a list of basic Sewing Kit items you’ll need to make anything in the book. After that it’s just a quick trip to your local fabric store and you’ll be all set! Each of the projects in Totes Amaze! feature detailed instructions and plenty of helpful illustrations to help you understand how things should look along the way. The book is full of bright colors and patterns that make it fun to flip through for inspiration.

[box type=”tick” style=”rounded” border=”full”]Tip #2 Even though the enjoyment is in the making, if you’re like me you still want to feel like you’re getting a bargain by making your own anything instead of buying it ready-made. Good fabric is the key to a great tote, especially the simpler the pattern design, but good fabric can cost a mint. Since totes don’t need a lot of yardage, check out the remnants bin each time you’re in the shop. Frequently these end-of-bolt pieces are marked down 50% or more, making it easier to splurge on a good handle for the same bag and still come in well under retail.[/box]

I picked up a full yard of caramel-colored faux suede for less than $10 that will make an amazing overnight bag and some sturdy, striped canvas on my last trip to JoAnn Fabrics that are set aside especially for the projects in this book. I also found a smaller cut of lighter-colored faux suede that I’ll use to make my own handles for this one (there are instructions in the book for that, too) and save the webbing for more heavy-duty projects.

I was provided a copy of Totes Amaze! for purpose of review. All opinions expressed are my own.

37 Home Decor | Crazy For You: Crazy-Quilted Pillow Covers are Tops for Upcycling Fabric

64 Arts, Projects

Quilting is an age-old tradition of making lovely textiles from bits and pieces of fabrics. While many times these fabrics are purchased with a certain project in mind, quilting can be a fabulous way to use up leftover scraps or rescue fabric from clothes that are headed to a rag bin just because a portion is worn or stained. But a lot of quilting patterns require cutting certain shapes, which can make using those scraps a little tougher.

Enter the Crazy Quilt. Not quite a scary as it sounds, a crazy quilt is simply one without a set pattern. You can see the basics on my How to Crazy Quilt article (back from my eHow days), but the gist is you layer bits and pieces of fabric onto a foundation piece and create a fabric collage of sorts. Then you can embellish to your hearts content.

By the way: Not only is March National Craft Month, March 16th, 2013, is also National Quilting Day–why not give crazy quilting a try?

In our discussion of throw pillows last week I did, rather casually, mention making your own. This might seem like a big task if you’re not handy around needle and thread (much less zippers, button holes and the rest) but I can assure you it really is a simple process.

After all, one of the first things they seemed* to teach in middle school Home Ec. classes was how to make a pillow!

For today’s project I pulled out some crazy quilted panels that I started years ago. I’d been meaning to turn these panels into pillows for some time (yes, they are the same panels from the eHow article posted 4 years ago…they’ve been aging…like wine…or something like that). I finished up a bit of embellishment that had been pinned on (yes, for 4 years–look, it’s finished now is what counts) over the weekend and then whipped up these 2 throw pillows last night.

Two crazy-quilted pillow covers, all ready for snuggling.

Two crazy-quilted pillow covers, all ready for snuggling.

Now, here’s the thing. Even if we ignore the 4 years this project sat dormant, crazy quilting–just like any quilting–takes time and effort. I didn’t want to just have the 2 panels I’d made used up all at once. No, I think if you can put in a sincere amount of work on something and then stretch out its use you get way more bang for your buck, so instead of just trimming the panels to size and adding a back, I cut each panel into 4 and added some fabric from my stash to finish the pillow front.

Here’s a diagram of just how this worked:

This is one way to "sash" your way around a focal panel, the other is to cut 2 pieces 8.5" long and 2 pieces 15" long--it's a bit more straightforward on the sewing end, but not as pretty, I think.

This is one way to “sash” your way around a focal panel, the other is to cut 2 pieces 8.5″ long and 2 pieces 15″ long–it’s a bit more straightforward on the sewing end, but not as pretty, I think.

However you put together the front panel, the back panels are the real trick to quick throw pillows. What makes them so simple is the utter lack of zippers, buttons, snaps, or any other fasteners to fiddle with. Instead, you cut 2 pieces of your fabric the same size as your front panel (in my case I was using a 14″ pillow form, so my finished front and 2 backs are each 15 inches square (allowing for a 1/2-inch seam allowance all the way around) and overlap them to create a pocket fold.

Start by hemming one side of each of your backing pieces by folding over the bottom 1 inch, pinning, and sewing along the length.

Tip: I use corsage pins for just about everything--they're easier to grab and way easier to find when you drop one!

Tip: I use corsage pins for just about everything–they’re easier to grab and way easier to find when you drop one!

Then place the pillow front (right side up) on your work surface, and one of the back pieces (right side down) and fold that hemmed edge up about a third of the pillow length.

Folding the hemmed edge up creates a nice, soft edge for your pocket in the back.

Folding the hemmed edge up creates a nice, soft edge for your pocket in the back.

Do the same with the second pillow back, but coming from the opposite side. This way the two folded-back pieces overlap. Pin the whole sandwich together securely and sew all the way around the perimeter of the pillow case, using a 1/2-inch seam allowance.

The 3 layers are all pinned together to prevent slipping and now ready to zip through a sewing machine.

The 3 layers are all pinned together to prevent slipping and now ready to zip through a sewing machine.

Once sewn, all you need to do is turn the case inside out and insert your pillow form.

Showing both the front and the back of my finished throw pillows. The microsuede is incredibly soft and very durable, too!

Showing both the front and the back of my finished throw pillows. The microsuede is incredibly soft and very durable, too!

I used some navy blue microsuede I found in my blue fabric stash for the back fabrics, so while the front of the pillows are visually interesting, the backs are soft and petable.   If I wanted, I could add some fabric-covered buttons or even these Dorset Buttons (another of my old eHow articles) and have truly double-sided pillows.

For that matter, so could you!

How about it, are you up for some crazy quilting or simple pillow making? I’d love to see what you made!

Oh, and if you want one more bit of throw-pillow inspiration, check out the “shabby applique” technique I made up also back in my eHow days.

——————–

*As evidenced by other students carrying them around–I took band instead of home ec/art.

Make or Buy Decision: The Dress

Third Time Wife, Wedding Planning
image via stock.xchng | photography by noobpriest

image via stock.xchng | photography by noobpriest

An unlimited budget is something many of us can only dream of. Dream of and drool.

Ever hear of champagne tastes and a beer pocketbook? That’s us. Actually, some days it feels more like a bottled-water budget.

But this post isn’t *strictly* about budget issues.

Back when I was in Culinary School I learned many things (obviously). One of the major points that stuck with me, though, (besides how easily one can burn off one’s eyebrows seasoning saute pans–NOT me, by the way) was the concept of the Make or Buy Decision.

Yes, I think it deserves capitalizing. It’s really that important.

In a nutshell, the Make or Buy Decision is where you have to decide if the time and materials that go into making something yourself are worth more than what it would cost to buy a comparable item from your suppliers.

You can make it yourself, but should you?

We only have so many hours in a day, days in a week and weeks in each month leading up to the wedding. Most of us are juggling work, some maybe have school thrown in. There may be children’s schedules to wrangle but there’s definitely spending non-wedding-planning time with your future spouse and very important items like sleep and taking care of yourself that have to be done. The wedding gets the rest of it.

Of those carved-out hours, we have to use them to the best of our abilities. If we’re fully capable of making our own invitations, favors, flowers and dress but only have enough hours to cover maybe 2 of those, it’s okay to outsource it. Make or Buy decision.

For me, though, it’s a clear-cut case of more time than money. With 16 months to go, I felt like I had all the time in the world compared to our small budget.

And I seriously considered sewing my own wedding dress.

After all, it’s no secret that the materials many wedding gowns are made out of cost a pittance compared to the retail price when it’s in a boutique. Lots of labor, yes, but depending on how fancy a dress you want versus the time you have available to work on it, even that might be more reasonable than paying someone else’s mark-up and overhead. What we pay for is the skill of the designer and, sometimes, a name, if that’s important to you.

It’s not to me, I just want something that looks nice on me and doesn’t blow the budget.

I gave myself until the 1-year point before I had to make the decision, but nothing in the first two dress “shopping” sessions (more like active browsing–can you call it shopping if you have no intention of buying anything?) really did anything to thrill me and I only held out marginal hope for the third appointment.

If you’ve ever thought about sewing your own wedding dress, here are some very important questions to answer before you dive in.

  1. Can you sew a straight line?
  2. Do you have access to a sewing machine and know how to use it?
  3. Have you ever made a dress before?
  4. Do you know how to read a dress pattern?
  5. Do you know how to adjust sewing patterns to fit you better or adjust a style?
  6. Do you have any familiarity with fabrics, notions, and trim?
  7. Can you sew in a zipper? And make it look nearly invisible?
  8. Have you ever applied lace or beading to a garment?
  9. Do you even like to sew?
  10. Do you have a back-up plan?

If you answered No to any of the above questions, it’s my not-so-humble opinion that making your own wedding dress is not the course for you.

The months leading up to your wedding are not the time to acquire such a demanding skill. It’s not the time to spend hundreds of dollars on specialty fabric (because you’re new at this, and probably didn’t make a muslin) only to find out you hate working with silk/chiffon/taffeta/tulle and sewing in general.

And that back-up plan? Can be anything from a friend’s dress you can borrow to paying a seamstress to fix your mistakes a month before the wedding or even going to buy something off the rack. Know, going in, that you’d better have a Plan B just in case.

But even though I’ve sewn for years, including garments that have been worn and washed many times and didn’t fall apart (an important test!), I still looked for a more ready-to-wear option before investing in fabrics and trim, but sent away for some lace samples just in case.

 Did you ever consider making your own wedding outfit?

Trio of stuffed toys in ribbon

Craft of Opportunity

Projects

I don’t generally come up with projects that can easily be accomplished in one night.

Case in point? Something I dreamed up for the book launch, this Saturday, that required an hour and a half in Lowes as part of date night (not that Todd minded, of course), and a few hours on Sunday with power tools (Todd, again, he didn’t mind) and still has 2 more nights of work ahead before it’s finished.

Even when it’s not a wood and tools sort of thing, there’s almost always a need for a trip to this store or that for the one last supply, running out of something or just can’t find it.

So imagine my surprise when I found a project on Thursday, had everything I needed already in the Abyss, and was finished before Saturday evening came around!

Still not a one-night project, but it’s as close to instant gratification as I can get!

Wanna see what I made?

2 storm trooper stuffed figures and a darth vader bean bag toy

These ARE the toys you're looking for!

The patterns came courtesy of Show Tell Share (Darth Vader, Storm Trooper). Vader was meant to have white embroidery but I came across some black bugle beads while searching for my chalk pencils, so decided he could use some shine to his details. He was also supposed to be felt, but I had some nylon-ish stuff leftover from a Halloween costume many moons ago, so he’s not exactly squishable. But he is filled with lentils and lavender because, really, who needs to chill out more than ol’ Dark Helmet here.

Darth Vader bean bag toy with beaded face

The pair of storm troppers (can’t have just one, it’s a clone thing) are rather squishable, though, being filled with your basic poly-fil stuffing. Their appliques are made from the same nylon-ish stuff as Vader, though, so I hit the edges with Fray Check before sewing them in place with a simple running stitch. Talk about quick!

Storm Trooper stuffed toy

I can't shoot but I sure am cute!

A funny thing happened while I was stitching up the storm-faces–working on the visor bits the rest was just sort of hanging over my hand. Todd started looking at me funny and it turns out that when turned upside down, our otherwise stalwart troppers look like happy little dudes in strapless bras!

Upside-down storm trooper toy that looks like a happy face in a strapless bra.

These little dudes will not be staying with me, though. Like many of my craft projects, they have a higher purpose (or something like that). See, a friend’s birthday is today so this really was an opportune find. She happens to own a storm trooper outfit so I know she’ll get a kick out of them.

Trio of stuffed toys in ribbon**here I am, stuck in the middle with you**

Have you made anything quick and fun, lately?

——————–

I’m linking up with:

Photobucket

Darn, Darn, Darn!

64 Arts

No, I haven’t pricked myself with a needle (again). It’s not that kind of darning. This is the type of darning you do to socks.

When there’s a hole in one, not when you can’t find the match.

Anyway, with store-bought socks fairly inexpensive, darning has fallen out of common usage for most of us. But if you’ve ever worn a hole in a pair of hand-knit socks or found a moth-hole in your favorite sweater, darning might just be the skill that keeps those items from the rag pile.

It’s a visual process, and this video from Greenfibres shows the process very well:

Those darning mushrooms always reminded me of the bulb syringes Mom would use on my brothers’ runny noses. In fact, if you’ve got one of those around or anything fairly round and sturdy, I’m sure it would take the place of the turned wood variety, at least while you’re learning.