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Tutorial: Hemming Napkins

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Photo courtesy of:  A Pretty Cool Life
This is another tutorial from a Christmas project I did.  I made a napkin + placemat set for one of my sisters, inspired by this tutorial for the placemats found on Pinterest. Sadly, I didn’t get photos of the finished products (I think I was just so happy to be done that I completely spaced it!), but I didn’t get enough photos of the napkin hemming to show you my own process for it, since the tutorial I had followed focused on the placemats, and I found myself trying to figure out how to make nice crisp corners for the napkins.  Thankfully, the process is really pretty easy.
First, each napkin measured 15.5″ x 15.5″, unfinished.  The end result was 15″x15″.
After cutting each square of fabric, I ironed a half-inch hem on all four sides.  
A view of the pressed edges.
Then, at the sewing machine, I folded the hem in twice.  Basically, I just took the raw edge, folded it to meet the pressed line, then folded over once more.  This gave me a 1/4″ hem.  I sewed close to the inner folded edge.
Starting to sew the first edge.








Before reaching the end of the side, I stopped, opened the side I was working on at the bottom corner (corner facing me), then did the double-fold on the side that I was going to be sewing next.  Once this double-fold was done, I re-folded the side I was working on.

Folding the bottom edge.
Result after folding bottom edge, then refolding side edge.

You’ll see what happens:  a nice, clean corner fold that doesn’t catch on the machine as you’re sewing down and then rotating at the corner to keep sewing.

Keeping the corner secure.
I held on to that edge very firmly with one hand while keeping the double-fold on the side I was sewing folded with the other hand.  It sounds more tricky than it was.
Next edge!
Rotate at the corner, and continue with the same process for all four edges!  

Easy Reusable, Washable Grocery Bags

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While browsing Pinterest for bag-making tutorials and ideas, I came across this link about making your own grocery bags using outdoor-weight fabric.  The first thing that caught my attention was the idea that the reusable bags purchased at stores (or received for free) that are plasticky might not be the best for groceries because they’re not washable.  Also, some of the reusable bags I had were started to come apart at the side corner seams which were sewn together using some binding outside of the seams.  And with Seattle’s recent plastic bag ban, I figured it was time to find a better option.

I also liked the idea of having a set of coordinating grocery bags instead of the various bags in various sizes I’d accumulated.  And going into Fred Meyer with Target and Trader Joe bags just felt weird.

Using the above-mentioned link as a guide, I purchased two types of material: outdoor canvas for the bottom part of the pags, and outdoor-weight (but not canvas) material for the top.  The two definitely feel different.  The top fabric feels more like the type of fabric you’d find covering patio furniture cushions while the bottom fabric is very heavy.  They matched beautifully, though, so I went for it.

The fabric I purchased was on mega-clearance at Joann’s.  Typically, outdoor fabric (at Joann’s) runs about $20/yard.  With the mega-clearance (50% off their red-tag fabric), I picked up the canvas for $4/yard, and the upper fabric for $3/yard. Be warned: some outdoor fabric is professional dry-clean recommended only. Avoid those! (Or test some of it through your washer before using it for this project.)

Material Needed (makes 5 total bags)


– 2 yards each, bottom and upper fabric (for just one, probably 1/2 yard of each would be plenty)
– coordinating canvas strapping
– coordinating thread

Tools Needed

– fabric marking tool
– pins
– heavy sewing needle (110 was what I used)
– scissors
– cutting mat
– ruler

Cutting


For each bag, you’ll need to cut:
From upper fabric: 8 1/2″ x 18 1/2″ (2)
From bottom fabric: 10 1/2″ x 18 1/2″ (2)
From strapping: 21″ length (2)

Sewing


NOTE:  Stay-stitch ALL seams.

NOTE 2:  Pre-wash all fabric!  SUPER important, so that you don’t end up with weird shrinking issues when you wash these the first time!

Sew one top to one bottom, using a 1/2″ seam allowance.  Press the seam towards the bottom, and finish the seam using a zigzag stitch close to the cut edge of the fabric.  This will attach the seam to the bottom part of the bag, and it will help reinforce the seam, minimizing tears from stress put on the seam.


Press a top double-fold hem by folding first 1/4″ and pressing, then folding again about 1 1/2″ and pressing.  Stitch close to the bottom of the hem.  Then, edge-stitch close to the top of the hem.

Now, with right sides together, sew along the sides and bottom, using a 1/2″ seam allowance.  For the first four bags, I left this seam unfinished.  For the last bag, I used a zigzag stitch close to the cut edge to finish the seam.  Your choice.  I looked at other canvas bags I own and the inside seams weren’t finished, and the bags have held up fine so far, even after carrying my heavy sewing machine around!

NOTE:  For the sides and bottom, do NOT press and zigzag stitch to the fabric.  Just stitch along the cut edge.  I hope the pictures help explain this.

Now, stick your hand in the bag, and press the seams out at the bottom corners, folding the corner into a triangle.  I measured to the point that the folded portion measured 4″ wide, marked it, and sewed there.  This will make the boxy bottom for your bag.

(TIP:  Be sure when doing this on both sides, that the seams fold the same way.  It’s easy to forget this and end up with a seam that folds one direction on one side, and the opposite direction on the other side.)

Now, for the straps.  I measured 6 1/2″ from each side edge (cut edge, not from the seam), marked it, and placed the inside of the straps against this point.  Line up the bottom edge with the bottom edge of the hem.  Pin the straps into place.

Sew the straps into place, using an X reinforcing stitch.  I sewed back and forth across the top, turned the fabric to stitch down the outer edge, then up at a diagonal, down the other outer edge, back and forth across the bottom, then up a diagonal to finish the X.  (I hope that helps if you’re like me and want to do it without having to start and stop for every portion of the stitching.)  You should have a box with an X through it.  It’s really tough to see on here, since I used black thread on black strapping.

You can opt to trim the triangles made at the bottom, or to fold them into the bag.  I opted to fold mine in to give a little extra reinforcement on those corners.

Here’s the cool thing:  you’re done!  I kept putting these off, thinking it would take forever, then, when I got down to stitching, it went quickly!  I now have a set of 5 matching grocery bags that I love! They’re heavy-duty and look great!

Tutorial: The 1-yard Skirt

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The finished skirt!

The Shirt Skirt tutorial provided on Instructables was my inspiration for this project. Rather than purchase a t-shirt for it, though, I thought I’d try my hand at creating the skirt using cotton fabric. One of the stores nearby was having a large sale last week, so I purchased a yard of fabric for about $5, hoping it would be enough. Considering I was going from a tutorial that used knit to using cotton, I knew things would turn out a little differently.

I pre-washed my fabric, mainly so that once I wore and washed this, it wouldn’t end up too small for me! (It’s happened before.)

Using elastic thread, the fabric naturally shirs as you sew.  I was nervous about this, because I had cut the material wider than in the tutorial I was working from, and didn’t know how the material I was using would react.  Thankfully, it worked out beautifully! 

I LOVE the result!  I’ve typically only made skirts from stretchy knits before, since I don’t have to be too accurate with measurements, and love the fact that I can gain or lose weight and have the skirt fit me fine throughout!  But this project opened up a whole new world for me!

Here’s my tutorial for making this skirt with a yard of cotton fabric.  Next time I make one, I’ll take more pictures than just the finished result!  (I was nervous about this, so I didn’t take pictures along the way in case it didn’t work out. Silly Z.)

Tools:

Elastic bobbin thread
Regular thread for top thread (use a matching color or contrast for your fabric)
Scissors
Ruler/measuring tape
Iron
1 yard cotton fabric

1.  Fold the material in half, selvages on bottom, cut (and now frayed from the washing process) portions on the sides.  Cut 28 1/2″ long, and then cut along the fold at the top.  Since most fabric is about 45″ wide, this leaves you with 2 rectangles about 28 1/2″ long by 22 1/2″ wide. 

2.  Press a 1/2″ seam along the bottom, folding twice for a nice hem.  NOTE:  I left the selvages on, so the selvage ended up being folded up into the hem. 

3.  Press a 1/8″ seam along the top, folding twice for the top hem.

4.  Sew both top and bottom hems on both pieces of fabric.

5.  With fabric right sides together, sew along the sides, allowing about a 1/2″ seam.  You should now have a nice tube about 55″ in circumference.

6.  Wind an empty bobbin with elastic thread and load the bobbin.

7.  Starting about 1/8″ from the top hem seam, start sewing on the right side of the fabric, so that the elastic stays on the wrong side of the fabric.  (I did this wrong for my first line of stitching.)  I secured each line of stitching with a little backstitching; keeping the elastic thread on the inside of the skirt makes for a cleaner look on the outside.  Go all the way around the skirt.

8.  Stitch another line about 1/4″ from the first, securing at the end of each line.  Continue stitching until you’ve completed 8 lines.

9.  If desired, press the stitched area.  This will shrink the stitching just a little more.

10.  Wear your new skirt!

Sewing Tutorial: Chenille Washcloths

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Tutorial:  Faux-Chenille Baby Washcloths 

I had seen a couple of tutorials for chenille blankets on Pinterest while looking for some cute baby shower gifts to make. I loved the idea of the blanket, but I wanted to use the baby flannel and miscellaneous fat quarters I’d found in my fabric stash. The answer? Chenille washcloths. I tried these with a quilting fabric (cotton) backing, and, while I liked the idea, once it was done, I didn’t like the feel. So, I tried it again with ribbed knit for the backing and loved the result!  (Looks like those fat quarters will have to wait!)

What You’ll Need (makes 4 washcloths):

knit fabric for backing (or something stretchy and soft) – 1/4 yard
3 coordinating flannels – 1/4 yard each

Note:  I’ve read on some tutorials that pre-washing isn’t as necessary for this project, since it will be washed all together, but some fabrics shrink differently than others, so I still pre-washed my fabric.

Also, I’m estimating it takes about 1/4 yard of each fabric for this project, since I had 1.5 yards of everything and just cut strips of the widths I needed. 

Step 1:  Cut

Cut 8″ square blocks from the knit. Cut 6″ blocks from the flannel fabrics. You’ll need 3, 6″ blocks for each washcloth, one of each piece of flannel.

Knit blocks – 8″ squares
Flannel blocks – 6″ squares.

Step 2:  Assemble

Place the knit wrong side up (with the knit I was using, there wasn’t an “outer” or an “inner” side, which was nice, but if yours has a print, put the print facing the table). Place the three flannel squares print-side up, facing you, centered on the knit block. To help, I’d measured 1″ from each edge and marked with a washable fabric marking pen, then placed the flannel blocks according to the guide. You can pin the blocks in place, but the flannel against the knit stays pretty well, so I didn’t pin them together.

When deciding the order for the flannels, realize these are going to be fraying together.  If you’re using strong colors, try putting your strongest color either in the middle or on the bottom so it peeks through, rather than dominating.  If using prints, remember you won’t be able to tell what the print was when it’s completed.

I ended up placing the footprints in between the other two, with the yellow stripes on top.
Almost ready for sewing!

Step 3:  Quilt (Sew)

The first line will be diagonal from corner to corner of the flannel. Because I was using light fabric and white thread, and because I have some issues sewing straight lines, I used my fabric marking pen to draw lines on the flannel where I’d need to sew. Once you’ve sewn the center diagonal, you’ll need to continue quilting. Each line should be 1/2″ away from the last. Again, drawing these lines really saved me! During the quilting process, your flannel pieces may shift a little. I tried to keep the shifting from happening too much by keeping the fabric tight as I sewed it. There was still a bit of shift but not too much.

NOTE:  Stay-stitch at the start and end of each line.  I just like to be sure the stitching is secure.

You can see the lines I drew to help guide my sewing. Always sew the center line first.
Sewing right along!
Completed sewing. You can see where the flannel shifted a little.
Back side – looks cool!  Colored thread makes this look pretty cool, too!

After quilting, trim the threads from each line.

Step 4:  Cut

If you have a chenille cutter, great – use it! I don’t, so I used my scissors. Simply cut the flannel between each line of sewing. This was a bit of a slow process for me, as my scissors got caught on the knit now and then. Thankfully, I never cut THROUGH the knit. So, take it slowly if you need to.

You can see my guide-lines for placing the flannel blocks.
Keep on cutting…keep on cutting…just be careful, and don’t cut the knit!
Phew! Done cutting! Since this will be fraying, the fact these aren’t perfect lines doesn’t really matter.

Step 5:  And with the machine, bind them.
 
(I couldn’t help the Lord of the Rings reference…)

I pressed the binding for each cloth without clipping corners first, to see what would happen. I ended up with very bulky corners that I didn’t like. So, I went back and cut the corners of the knit and re-pressed the binding. The corners ended up much more manageable with the lack of so much fabric.

I didn’t measure anything for cutting the corners.  I cut far from the flannel first, then folded the edges, and trimmed closer because the corners were still too bulky. Just don’t cut right up to the flannel.
Pressed, and ready to stitch the binding down!

Once the edges are pressed, simply stitch the binding down! I was nervous still about my stitching, so I used white thread and a zigzag stitch to let the knit keep its stretchiness on the edges. I made sure to stitch the corners, too, as I was sewing around the edge. 

Yo, ho, bind the thing down!
Ready to wash!
I really like how these look on this side, too!

Step 6:  Wash and Dry

I realize this step is self-explanatory, but this is where the magic really happens.  During the washing and drying, the flannel will start fraying.  The cool thing is that the more you wash and dry these, the softer they will get! 

These are so soft!
Bundled up and ready to gift!


Sewing Tutorial: The Hour Apron

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Sewing Tutorial: The Hour Apron

I recently discovered the incredible practicality of an apron. 

Sadly, we only owned one apron.  One.  I needed more.  So, rummaging through my fabric stash, I dug out the 3 yards of canvas and whipped out an apron.  It took about an hour.

Since it was so simple, I decided to create a tutorial for anyone interested.

What? This apron only took an hour to make?

What you’ll need:

scissors
1 1/4 yard of fabric (or 1 yard fabric and 1 1/2 yards coordinating 1.5″ wide ribbon)
coordinating thread
ruler
sewing machine
an old apron

This apron was for my husband.  I had about 3 yards of this home decor-weight (cotton canvas) material in my stash, so the yardage given above is an estimate.  I made an apron for myself using 1 yard of fabric and 1 1/2 yard of ribbon for the ties.

STEP 1:  Pre-shrink your fabric!!!  I didn’t do this with the canvas you see on the first apron.  BAD IDEA.  It shrunk length-wise, and is now waiting until our son is tall enough to use it.  After that, I threw the rest of the canvas in the laundry to pre-shrink before making my husband a replacement apron.

STEP 2:  Measure and cut.

The apron is about 23 inches at the bottom.  I folded my fabric so that I would be cutting a little over 24 inches wide.  For both my husband and I, this bottom width has been perfect.  The fabric should measure about 12 inches wide from the fold to the selvedge edge.

Because the fabric, after being washed, had frayed so much at the bottom, I decided to trim the bottom so that I was left with an even edge to work with. 

I then cut out a full rectangle that measured 33 inches long by 12.5 inches wide (measured from fold to selvege).  Open, the rectangle would be 33 inches by 25 inches.  The apron was going to be about 31 inches long, and I added a couple of inches for hemming.  You don’t HAVE to cut the rectangle completely, but I found it easier to work with the fabric this way.

Next, cut the 1/2 inch of selvege on the long side of the rectangle.  I just don’t like using the selvege in my sewing, since it has a different feel from the rest of the fabric.  You could keep it if you want, since it will be getting tucked as a hem.  But I trimmed it anyway to be sure everything was the same feel and consistency.

Cutting the selvedge on the long edge of fabric.

Lay the old apron, folded length-wise, so that the fold lines up with the fold of your fabric, and the top is about an inch from the top of your fabric.  You should be left with about an inch of fabric extra on the width, and at least an inch extra at the bottom.  This extra inch is for hemming.

The old apron is a great guide for cutting the new apron!

Cut the shape of the curve about an inch or so away from the old apron.  This will give you plenty of fabric for hemming. 

Note how the width is also about an inch wider than the completed apron being used for a pattern.

Press the hem.  I folded the edges down about 1/2 inch, pressed, then folded again, so that there were no raw edges exposed.  You saw how frayed the raw edge to the fabric got from the pre-shrinking.  You don’t want that happening to your apron!

Press this hem all around the apron.  I did the top and bottom first, then the side, and last, the curve.  The first time I did this, I was wary of that curve, but it folded and pressed very easily!

Pressing the hem this way should help it stay put until you’re ready to sew.  If it doesn’t, pin the hem.

First fold for the hem, pressed.
Second fold to tuck the raw edge in.

Next, cut 2 strips of fabric that are 3″x33″, and 1 strip 3″x23″.  These three strips of fabric will be used for the neck piece and the two ties.  If using ribbon for the ties, simply cut two ribbon strips.

Each of these long strips will need to be pressed.  Rather than the double-fold we did for the apron hem, simply press about 1/2 inch on the long edges, then 1/2 inch on the short edge.  Then fold the strip in half length-wise and press.

For the two ties, I left one short edge raw.  If it frays, it won’t be much, because of how short it is.  If you want to leave absolutely no raw edges showing, simply press both short edges in.

NOTE:  If you’re using ribbon for the ties, you only need to do this for the short edges.  

Fold each long edge about 1/2 inch, then the short edge 1/2 inch.
Fold in half and press.

STEP 3:  To the sewing machine!

First, we’ll sew the neck and tie strips.  Start at the fold on one short edge and sew all the way around, making sure you back-stitch when you start and end.  (For the ribbon, just hem the short raw edges.)

Now, start at one bottom corner of the apron, and stitch the hem down.



Shortcut tip: as you reach the point in your hem where the curve begins, take one of your ties and slip it onto the apron so that the short edge of the tie overlaps the hem just a little (about 1/4 inch).  This isn’t at all necessary; you can add the ties after hemming the apron, but I found that it saved me a bit of stitching!  The same goes for the neck strap – simply match it up with the top and stitch it down as you hem.  Remember to let the short end of the strap overlap the hem a little.

Stitching shortcut: Add the tie and neck pieces as you sew along.

Once you’re done hemming and adding the ties and neck strap…you’re done!

NOTE:  I didn’t add a pocket like most aprons seem to have mainly because I have yet to use a pocket on an apron. 

My model husband!
On this apron, I used 1.5″ wide ribbon for the ties.  It added a little more cuteness to the apron!
My hour apron!  (This is shorter than hubby’s by about 5 inches.)