Fabric Storage Bins Tutorial

Today, the temperature in Cleveland is somewhere in the -20's, and everything is covered in the grey slush of poorly plowed snow (which I'm sure is thoroughly frozen by now.)  So, I whipped up a little fabric bins tutorial for your sewing pleasure.  Please let me know if you have questions or run into any problems while making this project, and enjoy!

Click on the link below, and find the full tutorial after the jump.

Bins and Baking

Today was grey and snowy outside, so it was filled with baking and sewing inside.  Since it's only January and I'm still trying to stay true to my resolutions (just give it a few more weeks!) I finally finished a project that had been collecting dust on my ironing board (...and then on my bookshelf...and then on the floor of my closet...) since September.  I've been meaning to amp up my bathroom storage for a while (read: come up with some kind of storage system at all) and these little fabric bins were just the ticket.  They were pretty simple to put together, and certainly helped tidy up my bathroom shelves a bit.  I'm working on a start-to-finish tutorial, which will be posted soon, but here are my lovely new bins, in all of their organizational glory...

The rest of the day was spent baking bread and my favorite lavender cookies.  Not bad for a Monday, I say!

*The tutorial is now up!  Click here to see it and make a bin of your very own!

Snappy Dyed Wallets

I might be crazy for doing this, but I just signed up for my second half-marathon!  This one is in just a few weeks, but my sister and I picked it out a few months ago and have been training diligently (ahem, almost diligently) so I'm suuuure it will go splendidly.  We chose one in Annapolis, Maryland, and we're going to make a weekend of it and spend a few days with my parents (and of course, their two pugs, Lucy and Ricky) on their sailboat.  I can't wait to parade those little dogs around town, eat ice cream and seafood, and do some exploring in Annapolis.  Here's to hoping I survive the race, as well!

Before I embark on that adventure, however, I have a few more projects up my sleeve: including the second installment  of the dip-dyed adventures (earlier adventures can be seen here!)  For this project, I used a couple of dip-dyed striped pieces.  I have been steadily working my way through them, in an effort to use these pre-cut pieces up before I forget what project I cut them out for (not like that's ever happened before or anything.)  To create the stripes, I folded my fabric pieces, clipped them with clothespins, and then dipped them into the dye, leaving some un-dyed at the top.  Once they were somewhat dry, I unclipped them and set them with a fixative to avoid bleeding.  What a triumph it was to pull my little pieces out of their buckets and to see that they actually had stripes on them!  Once all of the dyeing was completed for the outer pieces, I cut the insides bits and pieces from this great light blue/silver metallic lining that I found last week at Joann's, and already used for some zippered pouches.  I layered the inside pockets to make room for credit cards (or in my case, a vast array of coffee shop loyalty cards) and a few larger pockets for cash, receipts, lists, pet photos, etc.  I put a zippered coin/trinket pocket on the outside, and voila…a wallet!  I hand-sewed a snap button to the inside (post-photo shoot-I'll upload a complete photo as soon as I snap one!) to keep everything tidy and closed up, and declared these beauties ready for their internet debut.  

One of my many sewing "helpers" taking advantage of some good morning light

My mom and I have also been spending some time on a super-secret project that I will be able to share in just a few weeks (if you can manage to contain your excitement that long, that is.)  I'll be posting a sneak peek this weekend, and the will be revealing the finished project soon, so stay tuned!  Hope your weeks are going wonderfully, thanks for stopping by!

  

Zippered pouch tutorial!

As promised, I worked up a little tutorial, filling y'all in on how I make my little zippered pouches (I knew you were just dying to know!)  Check out the full tutorial after the jump!  As always, I would love to see any projects you come up with, so I hope to hear from you soon!

Moving ahead

As intended, I sewed my recent embroidery project into a little clutch.  I used some navy corduroy for the back, and some pretty white cotton for the lining.  So now all that's left are some final decisions: pom-pom zipper pull? Strap?  For now, my little clutch is just that, and I love it.

My plan for now is to avoid these last earth-shattering clutch-related decisions and forge ahead with more projects!  There's nothing like the creative boost that comes with New Year's resolutions and a little (but actually quite long) break from school. 

The rest of my day was spent getting a little work done, sipping coffee, and making pattern pieces for my next project, (drumroll, please...) a dress from the BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook.  I got this book for my birthday last August and have since been lusting after the projects within and plucking up the courage to try one.  Since the book is designed to be used with handmade patterns, I have been gradually working up the courage to tackle this seemingly insurmountable task.  I can't say why pattern-making frightened me so, but I came up with one excuse after another to avoid it.  So in light of the recent New-Year momentum, I jumped right in last night, and began drafting the pattern pieces for my dress.  (I had a little help...see below.)  Today I finished them up, cut them out, and went ahead and cut out my fabric pieces.  I'm ready to start sewing tomorrow!  This project will also mark my first invisible zipper, and my first fully-lined dress.  Can't wait to get started!

Happy Monday!

Table fancy

Dearest blog world: I promise I haven't forgotten about you. I know you've heard it all before, but I've just been so busy at school. Not only have I been doing lots of musical things, but I'm officially working my post at the library, as well. That's right, folks, I'm a real, honest-to-goodness reference librarian, complete with thick-framed glasses and a wheeled chair in which to pretend I'm doing actual work.  Life is good!

On the home front, I've been dealing with some minor behavioral "incidents" with Oliver. These have mostly involved raucous trash parties, and some presents of the #2 variety in the living room. I usually call them "incidents" or "on-purposes," because I just know they're not "accidents." But who can stay mad at that face?

I also finally got around to re-upholstering the folding table and chairs in our living room.  This card table and chairs was a wedding present to my parents thirty-something years ago.  I took it with me to Boston when I lived there a few years ago, and my mom helped me re-upholster it then.  While I still love the funky prints we found, they were looking a little worse for wear:

 
I took all of the seats and seat-backs out of the chair frames, and spray painted them gold. This part of the process did not go quite as I had planned, largely because of the plummeting temperatures and blustering winds on my back balcony in Cleveland. I wound up almost completely covered in gold spray paint (as did the back balcony) while the chairs are spotty, at best.  As luck would have it, the set was a golden-beige color to begin with, so I'm hoping I can get away with a shoddy paint job.  Fingers crossed! 

For the upholstery, I used navy blue cotton ($2/yard at Wal-mart) and a sheer pink polyester blend ($1.50/yard at Wal-mart.)  I covered all of the chair pads, as well as the table top, in the navy blue cotton.  For the chairs, I covered the navy with the pink, and I left the table navy.  Cutting out the fabric was simple enough (and I used the previous upholstery pieces as general patterns) but getting the new pieces attached with the staple gun was a battle.  Thank goodness for reliable (and strong-armed) help...I just knew Sean wanted to help me with a project when he visited!  I love the combination of the dark navy, this peachy pink, and the gold frames.  It was just what I had in mind!  Overall, this project was pretty simple: just dissemble the table and chairs, cut out the pieces of fabric to cover the pads, staple them on, and re-assemble!   My favorite part of the new setup is this lacy vinyl overlay that my mom found for me at a local craft store in Pennsylvania.  My original intention was to cut it so that it fit on the table top, but I have yet to do so.  I sort of like the way it looks as a table cloth, so I may try this out for a bit before I snip off the ends.  It sits just under the glass top, and the white lace patterns contrast with the navy table top perfectly.  Since it's vinyl, it wipes clean easily when I (inevitably, and quite often) spill food and/or coffee on it.

Happy Holiday Season, everyone!  I hope you're feeling better than I am today (I'm suffering from my annual "the-semester-ended-so-I'm-immediately-sick" cold.)  But this is giving me some much-needed time to do a little bit of catching up, and Ollie is certainly an adorable sick buddy.  Happy Monday, and thanks for stopping by!

Tablecloth curtains

In keeping with my last couple of projects, I finally finished the curtains that I started a few weeks ago.  I had gotten rather used to them sitting in a semi-folded pile on top of Oliver's crate, but I do think they look better hanging!  They were just so simple, and I'm glad I finished them before the weather really turned to winter here in Cleveland.  Curtains just make everything seem a bit cozier, don't they?

I made them out of some white cotton lining fabric I'd been holding onto for a couple of months, and a teal tablecloth that I found in the clearance section of TJMaxx.  I'm not quite sure what the the tablecloth is made of (it was shelved sans packaging or tags) but I just loved the embroidered detailing...and for around fifteen bucks, it was quite a steal!  Since it was a large rectangular shape, I simply cut it into four pieces (two panels per window) and hemmed the unfinished edges.  To make up the difference in length (since the tablecloth wasn't quite long enough to cover the window) I cut four rectangles of the lining fabric that were about the length of the windows, but with some width to spare (as you can probably tell, I'm not exactly nit-picky with measurements.)  I hemmed the edges, and folded the top edge over two inches to make a casing for the curtain rod.  I picked up some double curtain rods, and that was it!

I just can't get enough blue these days, so I'm loving the added color in my bedroom.  I'm slowly but surely working through my list of home projects...so on to the next!  Happy Friday!

Hearts and stripes blouse

Happy Friday!  I went out on a limb yesterday and decided to make a blouse pattern based on a basic top I own.  I traced the front and back pieces and cut them out of newspaper.  From there, I I added some darts under the bust line and a single pleat down the center.  To simplify the finishing, I used bias tape (I made it from simple white cotton) to encase the raw edges around the arm holes and neck.  I also added a simple Peter Pan style collar (out of the same white cotton as the bias tape) and sewed a matching covered button in the center.  And here is my new top!

It's comfortable, and simple enough that I put it together in the afternoon!  And my favorite part: since I used all materials from my stash (you may recognize this fabric from here and here) this project didn't cost me anything to make!  I just love it when projects work out!

I'm in the home stretch of my summer job, so I'm looking forward to having some "fun" time in the next few weeks before I head up north for school.  So hopefully that means more fun projects and pictures to share!  Happy almost weekend!

Holiday morning snapshots

Happy 4th of July!  I hope your plans for the day include food, friends, sunshine, and sparklers.  Since my day includes working, I took advantage of my morning off by bumming around the house.  But since it is July 4th (and since red, white and blue is one of my favorite color combinations) I'm sharing some of my favorite red, white, and blue photos from around our house.

 

Happy 4th of July!  Go have fun!

Window shopping

Since fabric shopping is just about all I want to do these days, I'm trying to keep my spending under control by doing some online "window shopping."  Today I hit the fabric for sale on Etsy, and found so many sweet whimsical prints, I wish I could have them all!  Here are my favorites (see below the picture for details, and to see them on Etsy.)

1.  Sea Critters from the Seven Seas Collection by Cloud 9

2.  The Woodlands by Khristian A Howell for Anthology Fabrics

3.  High Seas Blue from the Seven Seas Collection by Cloud 9

4.  Elephants Organic Cotton by Ed Emberley

5.  Where's My Stache Natural by Alexander Henry

6.  Hill and Dale from the Taali collection by Monaluna

7.  Giraffe Print in Corn Yellow and White by Premier Prints

8.  Zig Zag in Corn Yellow and Ash by Premier Prints

9.  Suburbia Kitchen in Earth by Caleb Gray for Robert Kaufman Fabrics

Aren't they just adorable?  Happy Tuesday!

Party time shoulder bag

Hello hello hello!  Last week when I was at the sewing store, I picked up a few yards of yellow trim...it was inexpensive, I love mini pom-poms, and I have an addiction to buying trim.  I didn't know exactly what I would use it for, but it was too cute to pass up (which is always a valid argument.)  So the other day I used it to liven up a little cotton shoulder bag, and now this satchel is ready to party!

 

In order to hide the cording on the back of the pom-poms, I pieced the bag together in strips (sandwiching the trim between them) rather than sewing the trim to the front of one big piece.  I was worried about having the trim poke out unevenly, but the cording was wide enough that this step was a piece of cake!  And now the cording is neatly tucked on the inside, and all you can see are those cute little pom-poms.  

For the inside lining and pockets, I used some pink and yellow cotton pieces that I had in my fabric pile.  Pink and yellow look so warm and cheery together, don't you think?

I added a magnetic snap at the top, which I camouflaged with two covered buttons, matching the pink lining.  For the strap, I cut one long strip, double-folded the ends towards the center, and reinforced it with a strip of floral ribbon.  It's sturdy, thick enough not to wrinkle up when I'm wearing it (or dig into my shoulder) and cute to boot!  (I just knew I'd find a purpose for that floral ribbon when I bought it back in January...)

Since I skipped any complicated closures and just sewed the strap right into the top of the bag, this was a  pretty no-fuss project.  And by using (almost entirely) leftover supplies, it was an (almost) free new summery bag!  It's lightweight, a practical size, and just festive enough for a Florida summer.  I can't wait to take it out...this bag is ready for some fun!

Bike bag strap: take two

Hi, y'all!  I spent some time yesterday making a new strap for the bicycle bag I made a couple of weeks back.  I had originally tried a braided strap, which gave me a few too many complications.  So I took that off, and went with a wider white strap, double-folded towards the center, and reinforced with some grey bias tape.  I love it, and it's way more functional!  Here's the new-and-improved bicycle bag:

Happy Thursday, and thanks for stopping by!

Fly away tunic

I spent some time yesterday going through my sewing patterns, and unearthed a pile of patterns that I borrowed (read: stole) from my mom's pattern collection.  In with these, I found a pattern for a basic tunic that caught my eye.  In hindsight, the model looks so seriously unhappy (and a little confused) by the fact that her tunic looks like pajamas that she just doesn't know what to do about it:

But in all honesty, the text that reads "MAKE IT TONIGHT: An extra carefree pattern" sold me on the project.  While I am up for challenging patterns, I love being able to do a project from start to finish in a day,and the "MAKE IT TONIGHT" offer was just too enticing to pass up.  Despite the questionable photos on the package, I picked some fabric from my stash, and gave it a try.  I went with some adorable fabric from the "Nest" collection by Valori Wells that I ordered a few months ago.  And with a few minor updates to the pattern, I have a new tunic!

 The only real changes I made were to shorten the sleeves (I am in Florida in June, after all!) and to add a little embellishment on the front.  For some reason, I have been wanting a top with a scalloped embellishment on the front for what feels like forever.  And since this was such a basic tunic, I just couldn't resist!  At first, I tried a beautiful piece of blue and gold ribbon in the center of my embellishment.  While I loved the ribbon, it just didn't go with the fabric, so I covered it with this crocheted trim (although I left the ribbon underneath, and if you look closely, you can just see it poking through!)  I have some of the blue ribbon left, so I'll have to come up with something else to do with it...but I'm much happier with the crocheted trim for this project!  The most exciting part of this project was that I now have a basic shirt pattern, and I can't wait to play around with it!  I already have some ideas to change up the neckline, collar, sleeves, embellishments...you name it!  I can't wait to try them out!  Happy Friday!

Bicycle bag

To anyone that knows me, it's no secret that I love purses.  While I've pared down my collection considerably (I use all of the ones I have now, I promise!) I still always seem to have too many bags.  Despite this, I always seem to have one favorite that I use almost every day.  Lately, it's been a little across-the-shoulder bag I picked up at a vintage shop in my hometown.  Although I love it (and it's such a practical and summery white) it's started to literally disintegrate, and its retirement is looming over my shoulder.  In preparation for this, I came up with a new bag this weekend, using some fabric that I've had forever but not quite known what to do with.  While I may do some tweaking to the strap (the braided strap didn't turn out quite as neatly as I had hoped it would) I love the shape, and I'd love to try this shape in a few different dimensions as well. 

The fabric I used is called "Go By Bike" in grey, and is from the Weekends collection by Erin McMorris.  I ordered a few yards of this fabric months ago because it was so cute I just had to have it.  For a long time, I was too scared to cut into it because I wasn't completely sure of what I wanted to do with it, and I didn't want to waste it on a project that wasn't going to work.  But the other day I was feeling bold, and just decided to go for it.  And I'm so happy I did!  Fabric is meant to be cut!  It looks much cuter now than it did when it was folded up on the bottom of my fabric pile.

I interfaced the outer fabric of the bag (so that it would hold its shape) and I lined it with a plain grey cotton.  I added an inner zippered pocket (which I just had to line with pink polka dots) and I put on a pearly button snap on the front flap for a closure.  For the straps, I made three strips (one of each of the three fabrics I used on the bag) and I braided them together.  For now, I just attached them to the inside of the bag, but I'm planning to remove them and replace them with something that's adjustable.  I'll let you know what I come up with!

Despite the fact that I'm still figuring out what to do with the strap (for some reason I always have the most trouble with that part) I love my new bag.  The print is perfect for summer, and just neutral enough that I can assume it will go with just about everything.  It's not too big as to be cumbersome, but just big enough to fit all of my essentials.  I'm so pleased with the way it turned out, it should make the retirement of my previous go-to bag much easier.  Mission accomplished!  Hope you had a lovely weekend!

 UPDATE:  See the new and improved strap here!

Belated billfold

Hello friends!  I know I've been absent and I apologize!  I've had a wild couple of weeks that included yet another move and a great deal of training for my new summer job.  It's been exciting, but busy!  I popped in to share a project I made some time ago for my mom for Mother's Day.  I somehow got it finished, packed up, and mailed on time (which is nothing short of a miracle for me) but I just never got around to posting it on here.

For the last few years, my mom has been using a cheap "wallet" that she found in the attic, even though it doesn't really fit any of her cards or money, and it doesn't have a pocket for change.  After trying (and failing) to convince her to get a new one for herself, I decided I should make her one for Mother's Day, and this is what I came up with:

 

I used pretty blue and white fabric for the outside, and lined it with pink polka-dotted fabric.  I put in an inner zipper pocket, two larger inner pockets for bills, six credit card pockets, and two clear card pockets in the front for ID cards.  It closes with a snap button tab, and I used pink thread for the top stitching (I thought it looked so cute against the blue!) 

I lined the inner pockets with the outer blue fabric, just to make the inside more interesting.  I love the way it came out!  This was one of my all-time favorite handmade gifts.  I completed it in a reasonable amount of time, and it was pretty fun to put together!  This could easily be changed around in terms of pocket layout; the possibilities are endless!  I can't wait to make some more wallets!

Happy Saturday, everyone!  I have some projects planned for the new house this week, so I'll keep you all posted!  Have a great weekend!