Category Archives: DIY Projects

Barrette flashback

I was digging through some stuff when I stumble across these fabric flowers I had made a long time ago. It got me thinking – I had seen this article in the Wall Street Journal about how barrettes are now back in fashion. So I pulled out some adhesive glue and a barrette and got to work.

First, to make the flowers, I cut out circles in the white, cotton fabric I had (but really any fabric works. I once made the same thing out of toile and it turned out great!)

Then I folded the circle in half, and then in half again (see picture above). Then I took a needle and thread and sewed the bottom point in place.

Repeat that step, sewing each new piece to the others. Pay attention to how each piece is arranged because sometime it can just look like a stack of fabric and not really a flower.

Finally, I used my adhesive glue to attach the flowers to the barrette. The whole thing gives me a flashback to the 90s  – scrunchies, tights and outrageous hair bows – but it looks cutes nonetheless.

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A Picture Frame with Leftover Yarn

Ever finish a knitting project and realize that your leftover yarn is too much to simply throw away but too little to start another project? Well, do I have a solution for you.

For a friend’s birthday, I knew I wanted to make her a picture frame, but I wanted it to be something I had never made before. So with some leftover yarn, a wooden frame from Hobby Lobby, and some Mod Podge, I made this adorable, textured picture frame.

To make, I simply painted on a layer of Mod Podge and attached the yarn at a slight diagonal, trimming off the edges. The whole thing took me 20 minutes to put together.

I played around with adding another layer of yarn or a cluster of buttons, but everything seemed too “crafty cliche.” So in the end, I decided that simplicity was beautiful. The frame didn’t need to be busy; it just needs to show off the picture.

DIY: Apron

Sewing project #2 – The Apron

My grandmother told me that the first thing she ever made on her sewing machine was an apron, and fully appreciating her wisdom and experience, I decided to give it a shot after finishing the skirt (plus I had a friend who loves aprons and had a birthday coming up – win, win!).

So I gathered supplies and went to work. And let me tell you, if you need a confidence booster in your sewing skills, aprons are the way to go. Following the pattern was stress-free. I mean, it’s an apron, it would be pretty hard to not make it fit.

A technique I picked up during the experience was gathering. It was the first time I really played around with the settings on my sewing machine (remember this is only my second major project). I basically set the stitch length as long as it would allow and then I decreased the tension by 1. Once sewn, I carefully pulled on one of the strings until the whole line looked “gathered.”

The only issue I had was with the fabric. In the fabric store, my parents and I went back and forth about what color the dot was in the blue, patterned fabric. We decided it looked orange, and I purchased the orange fabric to compliment it. The problem was I came home and under natural light the dot was definitely red. I freaked out for maybe a minute, but then I just had to let it all go. I had already bought the fabric, and there was no turning back. So I continued on, and now with the finished product, the orange fabric makes the dots look more orange.

Oh and did I mentioned I sewed in a pocket, plus I lined it – for the win!

 

A hair bow for all seasons

The other day I was looking through an old suitcase that my mom stores ribbons and buttons in, and I stumble upon a how-to booklet containing this cute/horrifying picture.

Funny story is, my mom actually made that bow for me when I was younger, but I bet the bow was not the first thing your eyes went to. (I think it’s the glasses that make her eyes looks so huge!) But weird picture aside, the book inspired me. And with some ribbon, an obsession was formed.

I can see how my Mom had so much fun making bows to match my outfits. And though I don’t think you’ll be seeing me wear a bow to class, Samford has this thing called Step Sing and I’m thinking a different bow for each day’s practice! And then, while I had the glue gun out, I made a simple barrette with buttons. It was a good craft day!

Knitting a Hot Pad

If you have an hour to spare, you can totally make this knitting project – a simple hot pad. And this is not the hot pad you made in 3rd grade. You are going to be knitting with two threads, so the first step is creating a second ball of yarn (about 25 grams). Then with the two threads, cast on 21 to 27 stitches  (depending on the thickness of the yarn), but always cast on an odd number. Then use the seed stitch (knit 1, purl 1) until you have knitted a square. The important thing to know about seed stitch is you need to start and end the row with a knit stitch.

Once you have finished knitting the square, cut a square of fabric and press (meaning pull our your ironing board) down the hem allowances. Then all you have to do is whip stitch the fabric to the knitting.

Look to the Stars: Constellations Embroidery

I worked at a camp this summer that opened my eyes to the different, cultural stories about the constellations in the night’s sky, and I quickly became obsessed. This idea of embroidering a constellation has been floating around my  head for awhile now, and it took a simple swatch of navy blue fabric in the clearance bin at Hobby Lobby to put my thoughts into action.

Gemini (The Twins)

Orion (The Warrior)

Pegasus (The Winged Horse)

I cut out navy blue felt to cover the back side of the embroidery and added the name to the constellation for any clarification that might be needed. I love how simple this project was, and after I get some nails in the wall, it’s going to look adorable in my green bedroom.

For a cozier passport

You really can make anything out of felt. My sister-in-law’s birthday was this week, and my parents knew they wanted to give her money but they wanted to add little something to go with it. That’s when the idea for a felt passport holder popped in my head. Now, if I could make it again, I would make some changes, but for a project that took me a few hours to make, I was super happy with the results.

I took my passport and a leather passport holder that I already owned as a stencil. I used a disappearing ink pen for dark fabrics to make the outline.

Though I took this picture right before I sewed it all together, it shows the steps that led me up to this point. I cut out fabric for the left and right sleeves. Then I top stitched the edges. (Plus I added a little personalized touch with an embroidered name.)

I used felt to cut out the tree, and I simply hand sewed it down. For the flowers, I cut out a little felt circle then embroidered a dot at the center at each one.

After pinning everything in place, I sewed everything together. It didn’t turn out perfect, but I like that it looked obviously homemade.

A Wreath of Felt Flowers

Days like these (when you’re snowed in and have nothing to do) are excellent craft days. And even when the snow covers the ground, flowers can still bloom.

Felt flowers are super simple to make. To make enough to fit on this wreath, I simply bought a half a yard of white felt. Cut out the felt using a CD as a stencil, and then cut the circle into a spiral. To create the flower, simply roll up the spiral, starting from the outside. Once rolled up, use a dot of hot glue on the final flap to secure it in place.

Easy! For my wreath, I wanted different sized flowers so I cut a spiral in half to make two smaller flowers instead of just one. Once the flowers were made, I simply used a hot glue gun to glue the flowers onto the wreath.

A Fishing-Inspired Christmas

Christmas gifts for my fisherman dad – fisherman ornaments!

And if you’re like my family and leave your Christmas tree up until Epiphany, this is a simple craft that you can add to the tree before the Christmas season is over. The bobbers were super easy. I simply bought a pack of traditional bobbers for 50 cents, and I attached a thicker ribbon using the hook that attaches onto the fishing line.

The fishing lure was easy too. But to be better safe than sorry (especially after my dad got a hook stuck in his thumb), the points of the hooks need to be removed. Then I just added a ribbon – and I picked a lure that (was cheap) and had a loop at the top so it hung straight.

Last minute gift ideas

Zipper Headbands –

The moment I saw a headband like this in a store, I instantly thought that I could make it at a fraction of the retail cost. And I did!

With a gold zipper, a skinning black headband, a square of black felt and a sewing kit, I was able to pull this off.

And it cost me less than $4.

I do warn that it is not the easiest of crafts. And I had to be very patient at times, but your work pays off. Give yourself about an hour to make it.

You’re going to be working with one side of the zipper. And basically, it’s a spiraling effect.

As you wrap the zipper around, sew in and out of the outer layer and the next layer in. To make it easier, you can cut some of the fabric attached to the zipper but make sure to leave at least an 1/4 inch.

When I was finished with the zipper, I used a hot glue gun to attach it to the headband, using a piece of black fabric as a backing. (I chose to use a thin, black headband.) And then as a finishing touch, I used black felt around the edges to cover everything but the zipper.

My zipper was a gift for Kathleen (pictured above). The small circles I maded looked good with her haircut, but for me (with longer hair), I would probably have made them larger.