Projects

Decorating With Fabric: Tutorial

February 3, 2013 by Karen 10 Comments

DSCN5030

Today I wanted to make a frame of sorts for some photographs that I love. I have been wanting to put them up on my dining room wall, but I don’t have the funds to get them matted and framed. So, until the day when I do have the money, I decided to use fabric that I love as a backdrop for the photos. The first thing I did was iron the fabric to get all the wrinkles out.

Cut the fabric about two inches larger than your cardboard

I got a piece of cardboard that was several inches larger than the photograph. Then, I cut the fabric about two inches larger than the cardboard all the way around. I used straight pins to hold the fabric in place until I could put a piece of packing tape to hold it to the cardboard. You could also just use the straight pins without the tape.

Pin the fabric to the cardboard, then use packing tape

Once you have all four sides of the fabric in place, cut a piece of yarn or twine about two inches longer than the piece of cardboad is wide. Tie a knot in each end.

Cut a piece of yarn about two inches longer than your piece is wide

Put the end of a straight pin into the knot, then push it into one side of the cardboard. Do the same thing on the other side, measuring to make sure both ends of the yarn are the same distance from the top of the piece.

Measure to make sure both ends of the yarn are the same distance from the top

I used small, almost invisible straight pins to attach the photograph to the finished “frame”. You could also use double sided tape or a hot glue gun.

Use small straight pins to attach the photograph to the “frame”

Hang with a straight pin in the wall

To hang my finished pieces, I used a straight pin that I pushed into the wall. The project is very lightweight so it doesn’t need a big nail to hang it.

My friend and co-worker at the Grand Canyon took this photograph of Aspens in autumn.

I love how my dining room wall turned out:

My dining room wal: Art that I love!

Filed Under: Crafts, Fabric

Fabric Art For My Sewing Room/Office:Pinterest In Practice

January 7, 2013 by Karen 3 Comments

Pinned from Hawthorne Threads Blog, but I couldn’t find the original post. Their url is http://www.hawthornethreadsblog.com/

While Fabgrandpa was painting the office for me today, I decided to work on a project that I saw on Pinterest. I saw it on the Hawthorne Threads Blog last year ,but when I tried to find the original post today it was gone. Good thing I pinned it! The idea is simple enough: you get some stretched canvas like a painter would use, and staple some pretty fabric on it. I loved the idea of it right away, because you know how I LOVE fabric.

Last week when we went to Rome for my gastro appointment, I saw a Michaels and asked Fabgrandpa to take me there after my appointment. We stopped there, and I got what I thought was a 2 pack of canvases. It turned out to be a grade 2, but with the packages that I bought, I wound up with 2 16″ X 20″ and 2 8″ X 10″ canvases, so it worked out to be enough.

Picking the fabrics to use was hard, because every piece I picked up, I thought of some other project I could use it for, but finally decided on four pieces to use.

For a 16″ X 20″ canvas, you need a 20″ X 24″ piece of fabric, and for an 8″ X 10″ one you’ll need a 12″ X 14″ piece of fabric. Iron the fabric to remove any wrinkles before you start.

Cut the fabric all around 2 inches larger than your canvas

Put the fabric face down on your work surface, then lay your canvas face down on the fabric. Fold the edges of the fabric over to the back of the canvas.

Fold the fabric to the back of the canvas

Us a staple gun to staple it in place.

Use a staple gun to staple the fabric to the canvas

Do the two longest sides first. When you do the two short sides, fold the fabric into a mitered corner.

Fold the fabric on the short edges into a mitered corner

Put one staple into the top edge of the canvas. Fold the fabric down onto the back of the canvas and staple some more.

Done!

Repeat on the other side, and you’re done. Be careful that you don’t staple your fingers. That staple gun if powerful! Also, I didn’t realize until I was finished that I got a blister on the inside of my thumb.

That is an ouchie!

The finished product looks great hanging on the wall. I’ll show you the finished room tomorrow.

My Pinterest in Practice project looks pretty good.

Finished project

Filed Under: Crafts, Fabric, Sewing Tutorials

Picking Decorating Fabric For My Curtains

October 31, 2012 by Karen Leave a Comment

I have been dreaming about moving into this house for almost a year now, and dreaming about making curtains for a house for almost two years. Now that we are actually moving in, I better get cracking on that job! The hardest part about this whole process of making curtains, for me, is picking out the fabric for them. I can’t decide if I want to get decorating fabric, upholstery fabric, or drapery fabric. Because you know, they aren’t the same.

Decorating fabric is a lighter weight, and would let light shine through, so the room wouldn’t be as dark as if I used drapery fabric, unless I made the curtains with a lining. So, I have to ask myself if I want to get a lighter weight fabric and line them, or get a heavier drapery fabric and not have to line them. It is so hard to decide what to do. But, because I can make them myself, I can change them any time I want to without much expense. And, I really do like some of the lighter weight fabrics.

The type of fabric to use also depends on the type of curtains I decide to make. I have been thinking about making some pricillas for the living room, but that is a lot of ruffles to make. I would also have to pick a really lightweight fabric to make those. But, if I make some casual tab top curtains, I can get a heavier weight fabric. Those tab tops would also use less fabric to make.

I am going to try to make a fabric decision tomorrow, at least for the bedroom and living room. If I can decide which fabric to get, then I can get it ordered and have in here so that I can spend time sewing next week. I just wish there weren’t so many choices!

Filed Under: Sewing

I’m Still Recouperating

July 10, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

I am one of those people who Must. Be. Doing. Something. all the time! Right now, I can not do anything, and that is driving me crazy. I want to sew, but I can’t sit at the sewing machine for very long at a time. I also can’t lift the mattress on the bed to get the sewing machine out. And if I could do either of those things, I can’t bend over to pick up things when I drop them, and I drop things a lot when I am sewing. So, I just sit here, bored to tears.

One of the things I CAN do is look at fabric online. I have found the cutest fabrics this week! Just look:

This one is called Jack and Jenny by Laurie Wisbrun. How freaking cute!

Jack and Jenny in Petal

Jack and Jenny

Jack and Jenny Wellies

I could have so much fun with that fabric. I can see a baby quilt, diaper bag, curtains for baby’s room. Maybe some curtains for a sewing room, or a quilt for a teenage girl. So many ideas pop into my head when I see this cuteness!

And look at this set by Riley Blake called Seaside: I am thinking a quilt for my guest room at the new house, so my visitors can sleep relaxed by the ocean colors:

Seaside Main

Seaside Bikini

Seaside Trunks

Seaside Chair

Sandcastle

What would you make with these fabrics? What fabrics have you found this summer that have you wanting to sew?

Filed Under: Fabric

The New Sewing Machine

April 30, 2012 by Karen 5 Comments

My new baby

I know I teased y’all with some new sewing projects in April, but then life happened and time got away from me, and I just packed them up and brought them with me when we came back to the Canyon. I am hoping to get started on some sewing this week, before I have to go back to work on Monday.

Quite a while back, I think it was in December, I bought a new sewing machine. I had it delivered to my daughter’s house in Georgia because I didn’t have a place for it. I picked it up from her after we closed on the house, but I have not used it until today. The old one I had, a White 970, was a good little machine and I used it for 12 years. It was showing signs of wear though, and on the last backpack I made, it was skipping stitches quite a bit and caused me to have to use the seam ripper A LOT. So, when I was getting ready to come back out west, I packed up the new one to bring with me. Today was the first time I used it, and I have to say, it is a MUCH better machine than the other one ever was.

This new machine is a Singer Scholastic 5523. It is a little heavier than the White was, and because of that, it doesn’t jump around on the table like the White did. It is so much easier to sew with than the other machine! The best part of was the price: I got it in a Woot Deal for $284, which included shipping AND a Singer Serger. It sells for around $250 just for the sewing machine, so I think I got a really good deal on the pair. I have never used a serger before, so I didn’t bring it with me on this trip.

This is the patch on the inside

The reason I got the sewing machine out today was because I had to repair my pajama pants. I made them back in 2010, and have worn them almost constantly since then. They developed a little hole in the seat a couple of months ago, that just got bigger and bigger as time went on. Last night, Fabgrandpa said to me, “I wouldn’t wear those outside if I were you, because people would be snickering about seeing your hiney.” I took that as sign that I really needed to fix them.

The patch from the outside. You really can't sew it from a distance

I decided that I needed to re-enforce the seat because it was wearing really thin, so I got a piece of fabric to stitch to the inside, then did some zigzag stitching randomly on the outside to hold the patch in place. These ought to be good for another few months now!

Filed Under: Sewing

Girlie Girl Backpack

March 27, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

Here it is, the first of the Girlie Girl backpacks I am making this week. This one is green and hot pink and white polka dots and plaid and floral. It has one large pocket on the outside, and several pockets on the inside. It would be good as a tote for a little girl, or a big girl, or even a diaper bag.

This backpack is big enough to hold a small laptop computer, a nook or kindle, and all the accessories to go with them. It is quilted and has very stiff Peltex interfacing so it will stand up by itself. It is for sale. The price is $45 and that includes shipping in the United States. I will ship to other countries, but you will have to pay shipping if outside the US. Send me an email or use the contact form found in the menu above if you are interested in purchasing this cute bag.