{Tutorial: Kid Craft} STELLA CUFF BRACELET (made by a 4yr old!)

I think I might have created a monster.

My daughter, who is four, loves. to. sew.  And she especially likes to sew with my machine.  I finally gave in and let her try.  I had to prop up the pedal on a box of copy paper with a book and sticky shelf liner just so she could reach it.  I also put the speed down to the very slowest that the machine would go.

She was just begging to sew. How could I refuse?!  So I made up this little craft that turned out to be a great idea!  I think these little cuff bracelets would also make cute gifts.  I could also make, say a coaster or key fob, and let her decorate it with different stitches.  Easy gift ideas that aunties would love...just sayin!

All I did was sew up (super quickly) a rectangle of fabric.  Then I turned her loose on my machine.  She was mainly interested in the different kinds of stitches, so I showed her how to type in the numbers.

I was really nervous about letting a four year old use my machine, but she surprised me!  She really tried to make something nice.  And because she enjoyed using the big grown-up machine, she was a very, very good listener about it.  

I learned to give my kids a chance.  They are capable of surprising me- in a good way.

:::::HOW TO MAKE THE STELLA CUFF BRACELET:::::

Step 1.

Step 2.  Choose a colored thread.  Also a GREAT way to use up some of those funky colors you bought a long time ago.

Step 3.  Sew away.  Change thread colors.  Change stitches.  Let her go.  Whatever she wants.

Step 4.  Add a button/button hole.  She helped hand stitch the button.  

Yes, it is a little crooked, but it looks perfect!!!!  All sewn by her four-yr old self!!  

Step 5.  Admire...  I know you are so proud because you made it!!

And now, I hear everyday on the way home from school, "Mommy can I sew when I get home?"  Every day.

Linking here:

{Sewing Technique} Sewing a Cube Corner (3pc of fabric)

When I made my ottoman slipcover I followed the basics of a tutorial I found over at Tatertots and Jello.  Essentially, you sew a box from fabric and slip it down over your ottoman.  It had been a while since I had sewn a fabric box so it took me some trial and error before the technique came back to me.

Besides an ottoman slipcover, you could sew fabric baby blocks, a squared floor pillow, a  fabric storage bin, or a boxy pin cushion- just to name a few.


So, if you want to try this, here are a few tips for those corners:

• When sewing the sides to the top: Leave a space; start and stop 1/2" (or whatever your seam allowance is) from edges.  (Or unpick them later.)
• When sewing side pieces together: Lay fabric nice and flat by aligning sewn edges across "top" and folding the inner fabric (which is your top piece) at a 45 degree angle. Now sew down sides, keeping same seam allowance.

And even after all that...



You might still need to seam rip your stitches, sew any gaps, and sew again. I became good friends with my seam ripper today!









These are just tips.  Like I said, it had been a while since I had done this technique and I was rusty.  This is now my reference!  Just be patient with yourself. Mark this post for future reference and when you do get around to sewing a 3D or cube corner, you will have these tips handy!  Hope it helps.

Craft Bucket List completed: #23 Bow Shirt

Do you remember on Friday I said I wanted to make this?  I can hardly believe it myself!  (I actually attempted and completed three items from my Craft Bucket List.)  I am going to have to figure out how to show they are "checked" off of the list. I found the tutorial here: Simple Bow Tie Top at Sweet Verbena

#23 Bow Shirt = DONE.

This was super, ridiculously easy to make. Promise.

What I like about the shirt: easy, love the colors, it is so stinking ADORABLE. I did take about 4" off each side seam which, for me (5'5") was making me look pregnant (which I am not).

What I don't like: not mom-friendly. It was great for my shopping trip with my friend, but was a hinderance when my family went to Sam's Club. The bow got caught in my leg somehow when I was loading the car and the bow was all untied when I was done loading. Also, it was hard to carry my 2-yr old because he was tugging on the bow or pulling my shirt down. When I bent over you can see in my shirt. I don't own a strapless bra so I had to rig something up for the day. (tmi? sorry.)  And my bow was bigger than hers because I used satin...I looked back on her tutorial and she used silk. Oops on me.  Silk was not in the value section- orange satin was. I just felt uncomfortable in it when I was around the house and grocery shopping- mom things, you know.  But I am not a stylish person so maybe that is the real problem.

Has anyone else made this shirt?

Will I wear it again...probably yes. I was even thinking of sewing the ends of the sash together and losing the bow altogether. Whaddya think?
Do I change the bow or do I just wear this when I am doing non-mom things?  Or do I just get a grip and be stylish once in a while!  geesh.




Linking here:

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Ottoman Slipcover with Box Pleat Skirt {sewing technique}

You like??  I made this ottoman cover out of a shower curtain!  

(Read below to see how I did this.)  

In addition to the curtains, I made a new slipcover for our ottoman. I'd say it desperately needed it!  I made this green slipcover 6 yrs ago. I'd say it had a good run. But now it is worn out and an eyesore.

The cover is not the only problem. See what I mean:

And now...my shower curtain-turned ottoman slipcover:

Going for QUICK here, on my Living Room Redo...I followed this tutorial at Tatertots and Jello as a basis.  Then, I added a box pleat skirt on the bottom vs. the pleated ruffle from her tutorial. (I knew my husband would oppose anything remotely girlie for the living room.) I followed her tutorial but when it came to sewing the corner seams I had some trouble getting nice corners.  (Will tell you about that next time.)





















***My best advice for making this slipcover, is to try-on the cover at every step of the project.  In theory, you sew a box and slip it over your ottoman.  Easy, right?  Except when your ottoman is melting over the side!  Like mine.  I had to constantly tweak my pins and seams.  My goal was to disguise it's out-of-shape-ness.

{Sewing Technique} for adding the box pleat skirt:
TIP: I used the hemmed edges (bottom and sides) of the shower curtain for my pleated skirt. That way I didn't have to hem it!
1. My skirt was 6" so I cut 6.5" strips off each side and bottom hem. Sewed them together to make one long strip.
2. Add up your side lengths and add 12" for each corner. Ex: (2 x long side) + (2 x short side) + 4(12") + seam allow = total length of the skirt

3. Start pinning skirt to cover at a side, then pin along to the corner.

4.

5. Create the pleat at the corner by bringing outer pins #1 and #3 (under) to meet the center pin #2. Smooth and pin, pin, pin.

6. Pin skirt to cover and continue pinning to next corner. Repeat steps 4, 5, 6 until you have three corners pleated and pinned.

7. On the 4 pleat, working towards this last corner seam, pin skirt to cover on both sides of the corner until you get a big "loop" in the skirt.

8. Flatten this ruffle loop evenly to make the last pleat. It may or may not be exactly 3" pleats like the others. That is fine. Pin pleat in place. Pin to cover.

9. Sew the skirt to the cover.

I don't know if this was very helpful to anyone else (unless you are making a slipcover like this one), but at least now I have this technique documented because I am sure this won't be my last time doing this.  Thanks for bearing with me!

Are you loving this blue as much as I am?  (in case you wondered, got the shower curtain at Target)

Linking here:

DIY Curtains- Part 1 Living Room Lightning Fast Redo

Lookie what I made this weekend...New curtains!

These curtains are not only new, they are the only curtains these windows have ever seen! (I can hear you gasping from here. So, I am a bit noncommittal about some things, ok?) We lived here for three years (already!) and I never even considered putting up a single curtain, until now. And all I can say is: "What was I waiting for?!" I think it dramatically improved the look of the room.

This is just the start of my living room color redo. Basically before yesterday, our living room was just plain. Beige-ish. Unless you count the dark "wood" (from Ikea) furniture or the colorful toys that scatter the room. Which I don't. The room was really, um, yuk to be honest.

But this BLUE...OH how I LOVE this BLUE!!! What was I so afraid of?! A little color is really fresh and grown up.

I still have to make the set of curtains for the other window. I hope to do those tonight. Then I will share how I made them. Basically, I added some length to a store-bought panel. I needed a curtain that was approx 105" and I couldn't find any (reasonably priced and immediately available, that is). I searched for fabric and never really found any that I was in love with. I was just about to settle on a green print when I saw this blue and white paisley shower curtain at Target. That's when my ideas took off. And when I scoured my favorite craft blogs to get ideas that were already tried and true. This will take several nights and maybe even weekends to finish, as that is the only time I can manage to squeeze out of this summer to make anything. But I am going for QUICK not cheap on this redo. I need a fast turnaround! And judging from my progress on Saturday afternoon...my goal looks promising. Stitched up two panels and hung them in probably the same amount of time it took to hang the curtain rods!

I also plan to make a new slipcover for my ottoman...some new throw pillow covers...and a wall hanging. I can't wait!