7 steps to cheap and easy throw pillows

I just finished sewing some super simple (and cheap) throw pillows for our guest bedroom.

Here's how:
1) Cut 2 pieces of fabric in the shape of a rectangle a little larger than the size you want the pillow
2) Pin on and sew ribbon in place (on the right side of 1 piece of the fabric)

3) With right sides together sew along the perimeter of the rectangle with 1" seams

--Remember to leave a small opening while sewing the perimeter so the pillow can be flipped right side out and stuffed--

--Also if you round the corners a bit when sewing the 2 pieces together the corners will look nicer on the finished product. If you sew the corners at a 90 degree angle they usually end up really pointy--

(wrong sides of fabric shown above)

4) Clip at an angle near the corner seams (not too close to the stitches though!)

5) Zig-Zag stitch close to unfinished edges of fabric if it is likely to fray (again leaving the same opening to flip and stuff the pillow)


6) Flip pillow right side out and stuff it (I used stuffing from the couch cushion beagle destroyed)

7) Hand sew the hole used to flip/stuff the pillow shut

Here are the completed pillows on the bed comforter that they will go with.
(notice Gator at the bottom right of this picture... he sneaks into them all!)

So what else?

Hubby is finally back to a semi normal work schedule, which means there's more time for us to work on projects around the house. We both really like yard/house projects and have been going full swing on them since his schedule change.

A couple of weeks ago we built a shelf to store our kayaks and installed pegboard to organize the garage and work bench areas.

This past week, we've been spending every moment possible (even through a lot of the rain) out in our yard sprucing it up. It's pretty overgrown so we're removing a large portion of it and minimizing.

If you're interested in reading about my non-sewing/non-crafty projects, check out my other blog So what else?

I'm pretty excited about my sewing projects in store right now. I bought fabric and ribbon to make a couple throw pillows for our spare room and am also planning on replacing the fabric on a set of very worn swivel patio chairs. Stay tuned!

Flip Flop Failure

You know those flip flops with extra wide straps meant for decorating? Well, my little and I (big brothers big sisters) decided it would be a fun project for a rainy day to decorate some summery sandals.

We went to the store, picked out our flip flops and some "bling" aka strips of adhesive rhinestones specifically meant to decorate these flip flops.

It was simple to apply/decorate the sandals.... but after about 1 hour of wearing them (and trying to fix them over and over), here is what mine looked like:



Major bummer. I wonder how my Little's held up... probably about the same.

So, I'm thinking I have 3 options for these lovely flip flops
1) remove the rhinestones & decorate them with something else
2) remove the rhinestones & leave the flip flops plain
3) try gluing the rhinestones back on with another type of glue

I have quite a few plain flip flops so I'll probably try option 1 or 3 some time. (We had a box of "dancing shoes" aka flip flops at my wedding for people with sore feet... so there was no excuse not to dance! Apparently I over bought though, as there were lots of extras lol)

McCall's pattern M5538 View C

Way back in May I posted about the stages of sewing McCall's pattern M5538 view A the fleece top for Hubby. That post included my moment of clueless-ness about the pattern and how it worked out :) Then, I posted the middle and end stages of M5538 view A.

I made mention that I would be sewing view C (a full zip jacket) for myself... Well, here it is:



Huge as ever. Hubby has another new jacket :) I knew that this pattern ran large (from reading reviews) so tried cutting it a little smaller. Clearly not small enough haha. I suppose since the pattern is unisex, my vision of a tightly fitted, small fleece jacket was a little off base.

On the plus side, it was a quick and easy sew (especially the second time around) and even though I probably won't wear it, someone else will!

You may also recall another family member benefited from all the fleece I bought to make the jacket and top... as I used the leftover fleece to make a cat bed for Gator.

Bridal Petticoat tutorial - 9 simple steps

I finished making a bridal petticoat (for my Halloween costume)! I know just how expensive petticoats are to buy (or even rent) so, I'll show you how I made mine in 9 simple steps and for really cheap.

Quick & easy petticoat tutorial for bridal gown:
(total cost about $8 which is really cheap compared to store bought)

Supplies:
Fabric of choice to make lining (about the size of a full length skirt)
Elastic for waistband
10 yards of netting

1. Choose a fabric to be the base lining of the petticoat (which will basically be the size of a full length skirt) I used muslin, because it was cheap and I had some on hand.

2. Cut fabric to roughly the shape shown below. Keep in mind, the length should be roughly that of a full length skirt on you, and the waist should be cut wide enough to be able to slip the petticoat on.

3. Sew the sides of fabric together & sew the bottom hem

4. Cut an elastic band at a comfortable yet secure length to fit around your waist and sew it to the waist of your skirt lining



5. Mark 3 horizontal lines across the fabric lining (front & back) as shown below in the diagram by the blue dotted lines. These will be the lines you will sew the netting to.



6. Prepare your netting: (mine was 54" wide to begin with)

a) Cut 3 lengths of netting: 2 yards, 4yards, and 4yards.

b) Starting with one piece, fold netting in half length wise (this is usually already done for you, if it is straight from the bolt)

c) Fold that netting in half again, length wise (essentially dividing the fabric into fourths)

d) Baste all 4 layers of the netting together lengthwise about 1" from the folded edges

e) Repeat with the other two lengths of netting


7. Attaching the netting:

a) Mark the front and back center points on your skirt lining at each of the three horizontal lines you previously marked for the netting attachment sites

b) Divide the netting pieces into fourths width wise and mark those points

c) Starting with the bottom of the skirt, match the markings on the netting with the centers and seam markings on the skirt and pin in place at those points

d) Gather the netting to fit around the skirt at that location

e) Sew in place following the lines

f) Repeat the netting attachment steps for the middle and upper horizontal netting attachment lines, using the other 4 yard piece of netting for the middle row and the 2 yard piece for the top row.

** It is much easier to attach the netting from bottom to top **

** Make sure the rows of netting overlap each other a bit. Ex: The middle row overlaps the bottom row a few inches and the top row overlaps the middle row a few inches. **

8. On the bottom edges of all three rows of netting (not the part sewn onto the skirt lining) there will be one folded edge left over, instead of a raw edge. Cut the folded fabric apart creating two raw edges in place of the fold.

9. Fluff out the netting layers

Your petticoat is complete!

**Note, you may want to stagger where the ends of the netting meet up while attaching them to the skirt lining to create a smoother look**

Vacation re-cap

Before I get back to crafty things, I figured I'd do a little re-cap of where I've been for the last 10 days. The trip started by flying to AZ. Then it was a road trip to San Fransisco with an overnight in Vegas on the way back :)

The Golden Gate Bridge. We walked half way across it, then turned around.

The painted ladies! (houses shown in the opening scene of Full House)

Sea Lions at Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf



Our home for one night... camping in Yosemite. We scored a camping site last minute, pretty lucky... minus some other camping crazies nearby.

Panaramic including Bridal Veil (waterfall on the center right of the pic) at Yosemite