Fabric coupon holder tutorial: Buy 1/Make 1 Free

Introducing my fresh, new, handmade coupon holder/organizer created with supplies I already had on hand. Now brace yourself. Below is "the before" that I actually purchased a long time ago...

Admittedly, it was embarrassing to pull this out of my purse. Nothing to do with the coupons themselves (pleeeze!), but just look. I'm not quite sure what I was thinking when I purchased a cow coupon holder, but apparently it was the most appealing fabric (to me) at the time...hmmmm. Along with the questionable fabric, it is showing signs of heavy wear. The point of the before: I based my new and improved coupon holder on the old by taking the cow apart to see how he was made...an inexpensive way to get a pattern for anything you might want to replicate.

The fabric I used was a sample upholstery square purchased at a yard sale over the summer. If you can get your hands on these, they are perfect for smallish projects. If you can't find them by chance at yard sales, befriend an interior designer or upholstery shop for last season's samples.

materials:
heavy fabric (1- 9" x 11" piece; 2- 2-1/2" x 4" pieces)

3/4" wide Velcro (2- 9" pieces)

1/2" wide double fold bias tape in a coordinating color (approx. 47 inches total)

sewing machine

iron

(as usual please refer to pictures if my nontechnical sewing language becomes confusing.)

directions:

1. Attach two 9" pieces of 3/4" wide Velcro to the 9" x 11" piece of fabric. The Velcro will go on the 9" top and bottom with the sticky on the good side of the fabric and the fuzzy on the back side of the fabric. (I used iron on Velcro and followed package directions. I also sewed the Velcro to make sure it was extra secure.) After the Velcro is attached, place this piece aside for a moment.

2. Cut two 2 1/2" x 4" rectangles from fabric for the sides of the coupon holder. Sew double fold bias tape to the 4" top and bottom of each.

3. Starting from the bottom right corner of the Velcroed fabric, sew double fold bias tape (approx. 31" long) to the edge sandwiching in your first side.

3+. See how the sides are getting sandwiched? The top and bottom of the side pieces remain unstitched...only the sides of the sides will be attached to the Velcro rectangle. Sides attach at bottom of Velcroed main piece and then 5 inches in from there.

4. Continue to sew the bias tape up the right side of the main piece, across the top and then back down the left side sandwiching in the second side like the right. The only edge that will not have bias tape is the sticky Velcro-edged front.

And that's it. You should now have a coupon holder that looks sort of like this one and opens and closes like so. Moooove over cow coupon organizer (oh come on...how could I resist??! : )

A whimsical Christmas tree dishtowel

Using the same basic construction as outlined in my playful dishtowel tutorial, I sewed up another dishtowel especially for the season.

First, I gathered fabrics and trims. The Christmasy fabric in the bottom left hand corner was the inspiration for the other colors in my fabric palette.

After I settled on fabrics, I drew my basic design. The simple pattern shapes are meant to compliment fabrics that have a little more going on.

Laying the pattern pieces aside, both edges of the dish towel received a fancy border. I also added a red ribbon to conceal the edges of the ruffle trim. (BTW the red ribbon seen in the finished hand towel replaced the originally selected brown trim in the fabric collecting picture...and while it may have been easier to just take a new photo of what ended up being the final fabrics/trims, I thought proof of changes mid-project was comforting. Sewing is nothing to sweat about. And I can say that now that I've been sewing for almost a whole year. ; )

Now the fun part...the canvas of the piece. I used fusible web to attach the pattern pieces to the towel and then zigzag-stitched around the shapes.

And that's it. This is an easy project to add a touch of Christmas whimsy to the kitchen or to make as a last minute gift....but maybe not to use to clean up after reindeer cupcakes.

A playful dishtowel tutorial

I'm a huge fan of this store's artsy dishtowels. I figured it was about time I made a few myself. After all, when you break it down it's just a fabric rectangle with trim and applique, right? The Totally Tutorials supplies/tutorial exchange with Ruby Jane's Retro fabric was another spark that led to this project idea. If you were here yesterday, you read about that and my final piece of inspiration...a newly acquired, 1944 children's dictionary.

These fabric ink jet sheets have been waiting ever so patiently on my shelf for some time. Finally, they had their day. I loved the entries from my new (old) book and how they "played" off the fabric swatch from Ruby Jane. Here was the perfect opportunity to combine her fabric, a bit of the dictionary and experiment with the fabric sheets.

First, I scanned in the definition of play from that charming dictionary. I followed the fabric sheet directions by loading a single sheet into the printer and printing. I then did the colorfast treatment according to the package. The entire process went smoothly with no ink bleedage or distortion. I really can't believe I haven't tried this until now.

other supplies needed include:
fabric swatches (click here for Ruby Jane's shop)
fusible web
21" x 29" piece of heavier fabric (main body of dishtowel)
trim
scissors
sewing machine
coordinating thread

First, iron the edges up and under approx 1/4 inch in on all sides of the dishtowel fabric. Then pin and sew close to the inner edge.

Iron fusible web to the back of all fabric swatches. Peel off paper backing. Arrange and pin fabric pieces on the dishtowel. Iron fabric swatches to the towel.

With contrasting thread, zigzag-stitch around the various fabric pieces.

Here's a peek at what my machine was set at for this part.

After the applique pieces are stitched, pin ruffle trim to the bottom and top edges of the dish towel. Next, sew the trim to the front edges of the dishtowel.

Finally, attach red trim on top...reminiscent of the fancy borders from the original children's dictionary (note the right edge of the "play" definition fabric snippet.)

And there you have it...a playful, retro dishtowel whipped up in under two hours to add a bit of whimsy to your kitchen or to gift. I can hardly wait to make more dishtowels integrating initials, recipes, photos...all kinds of personal touches turned to fabric as easy as clicking "print." And make sure you visit Ruby Jane's shop for Anthro-like retro fabrics. You know what they say about all work and no play... ; )

this is NOT a 'how to upholster a chair/bench' post

I'd been looking at that "before" bench for a loong time not loving the dark, fishing motif fabric. Fabric that I had agreed to in another lifetime when my new hubbie had far more say in the decor of things. ; ) Almost immediately after the pillow revelation and the trim find, it finally clicked that I had nothing to lose. I would and could upholster the pieces myself rather than take them to a place after I found an extra couple hundred bucks lying around. It should be noted that I have switched out fabric on simple things like dining room chairs and headboards so I get basic fabric covering and stapling. Pieces with sides and a trim factor was the step above what I had done in the past.

Along with trim purchased for no more than $1 when you divide up my amazing lot, I also bought this heavyweight, cheery fabric at a garage sale for less than $5 total (enough for the bench, two pillows, the sides of two chairs plus ample leftovers.)

Now here's what this post is really all about. I mentioned with the pillows that taking things apart leads to bells going off. It all clicked once I could see how the pieces were cut and sewn together. I finally see the purpose of dissection in biology class. You can read about it and look at pictures, but once you see the actual insides of something...ahhhhhh that's were learning occurs. And with that I went and got a little crazy with the chairs...

I did a two-tone kind-of-thing with the same trim I used for the bench. All of that upholstering for a grand total of $6 plus a little sweet time. The moral of my story (besides 'garages sales are your friends') is If you see something you wanna make (sewing or otherwise) a little dissection goes a long way in figuring just how to do it.

Pillow Revelations

I'm discovering with sewing that I need LOTS of visuals to "get it." Reading a pattern or book doesn't always click with me, but visuals do almost immediately. I'm also finding that the next best thing to a step-by-step pictorial guiding the way is actually taking apart what I'm interested in making. After acquiring that box of trim, I immediately wanted to make fancy trimmed-out pillows. The kind of ornate pillows that I had around, but always assumed only a pillowperson could make. However, with my building confidence, I reasoned that those skills couldn't be that far out of my reach. Rather than buy new pillow forms, I decided to simply take apart my trimmed pillows that I wasn't exactly fond of. The goal was to figure out how they were constructed and recover in my choice of fabric + trim.

With my seam ripper in hand, I did just that. I carefully dissected a pillow. I learned how the trim was attached and backtracked in my head just how this pillow was made. It all clicked. Like when you figure out something foreign and suddenly it's right there and you can't believe you ever thought it was hard in the first place?!

Although I had originally intended to choose different trim it became clear to me that I should repurpose the green trim I had just removed. It complimented my new fabric perfectly and was still in good condition. I used the old plaid fabric squares to measure new floral ones and carefully sandwiched the trim back in just like the professional pillowmaker before me had done.

Sewing a pillow with trim is hardly different than making a pillow without trim (again, this to me equals major Revelation. Do you hear the bells?) One more to switch out.

A tired plaid pillow is now a fresh floral. And I sure learned a lot about trim. After that, I built upon this easy pillow trim lesson by reupholstering the chair, a rocker and a bench with new fabric and a corded trim. Believe it! Visuals coming later this week. : )

A whole lotta trim

Yards of this...


and yards of that.


Candy ropes...


and fiber goodness.


Every once in awhile the dreams I have of trim and fabric come to life. Last Saturday, I stumbled upon not one, but two interior designer garage sales. The entire box above (filled with yards and yards of eye candy) was happily mine for $12. Whole pieces taller than me. I still can't believe it. And wait until you see the fabric. This means I can conduct my sewing experiments without the stress of ruining trim or fabric that I paid retail price for. No worries if I cut the fabric wrong...it was only $5 total for 8 leftover yards. So if you thought garage sales were all about dusty nicknacks and ugly neckties think again. Your dreams are out there too my friend.

Apparently, I'm not the only one impressed. Trimmed up projects coming soon.

A book by any other cover would not be the same

Back-to-school week is something I'm never ready for. Going from "what should we do today" to a scheduled day beginning with breakfast at seven and ending later that afternoon with activities and homework to follow is quite a jolt. Taking the time to sew fabric book covers last night was definitely not on the schedule, but maybe that's why I wanted to do it so badly (rebellious I know.) It might not have happened, if I hadn't stumbled upon a relatively easy tutorial for fabric book covers over at CRAFT moments before we tackled book covering homework. All of those bare texts needed to be protected from the daily assaults of grade school.

Bright and interesting patterns will keep my eager students homes away from home nicely decorated. We even used a pink, fuzzy kind of fabric that will make a soft landing spot for a head should the plight of "The Ancient World" become too overwhelming. Just giving them another reason to love their books.

Taking on the Chica's Challenge

When I stumbled upon a call for entries for the Crafty Chica Tote Bag Challenge, it made me wonder if I was ready. Ready to graduate from zippie pouch to tote bag. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a go.

Making slight modifications, I built off what I had learned from zippie pouches. This time, I created straps and sandwiched them between the outer fabric and the liner. I also squared off the corners of the bag's bottom so it would be nice and roomy for a beach towel or whatever else.

One goal of mine in making this bag was to buy nothing new (that in addition to making it look like a bag in the first place.) That large piece of stripey fabric was a heavy weight fabric sample that I purchased from an interior designer's $1/swatch yard sale awhile back (awesome sale...goosebumps just thinking about it.) I used a water resistant type of white fabric for the liner.

Here's where I really had fun. I started the pocket by making a quilt sandwich...liner, batting and pink felt on top. Then using a variety of fabric scraps, ribbon, a vintage vinyl tape measure and even a clothing tag, I appliqued the pocket with my sewing machine. I created the butterfly pocket much like I would a painting or collage. I used fabric as my paint (cutting pieces of all shapes and sizes) and the sewing machine became my brush (adding line and texture.) I only broke three needles...I'm working on that. A needle is not quite the same as paintbrush. To finish off the pocket art, I applied gold and silver fabric glitter.

After attaching the pocket to the bag (before the bottom was stitched up), I added red ball fringe to the top. Initially, I tried to sew the fringe, but realized that wasn't such a bright idea. The little bally things were getting in my way and the zipper was in there along with the liner meeting the top, etc. etc. In the end, I used fabric glue which worked much better and saved my sanity.

Here's me with my first ever bag. And the icing on the cake...I was one of three runners up in the Chica's challenge! My prize, besides adding tote bag to my sewing resume, is a crafty chica bobblehead and a gift certificate to the MakerShed store.

I definitely see more bags in my future. Next time I promise step-by-steps, keeping it real (broken needles and all!)

An open and shut case

Right before we left for vacation, I finished this project. After acquiring several sweet pillowcases back here in the height of yard sale season this has been a wannabe project on my list. The Internet is a gold mine of pillowcase projects, however I found the instructions for her toddler size dress on page 128 of this awesome book.

Supplies needed were a pillowcase, a pack of extra wide (1/2") double-fold bias tape, 2 yards of 5/8" ribbon, 1 1/4 yards of jumbo rickrack, thread and a sewing machine. I will say that the black checked pillowcase was initially a hard sell to Miss Pretty-in-Pink. However, I convinced little Nora that her favorite color would be the perfect accent for the sophisticated black. She considers herself a fashionista so she looked at me with a huge amount of trust and agreed that black is the new pink (when mixed with pink.)

After gathering my supplies, I cut off the top (the closed end) of my pillowcase. I then used a J shaped pattern to cut an armhole on each side of the top of the case.

Next, with two 15" lengths of white bias tape, I binded the armholes (binding=strip sewn over or along an edge for reinforcement or decoration.) Then, I finished the top of the dress by creating a casing on the front and back (casing=a narrow passage for a rod or cord, as in a curtain or the waistband of a garment, made by folding over a small strip of fabric at its edge along its width and sewing it in place.)

note to experienced sewers: please disregard the definitions of these basic sewing terms I know you know. I define only for newbies like me who are still learning the language.

As promised, I added a hefty piece of hot pink rickrack to the bottom of the pillowcase. I straight-stitched right down the center of the rickrack all the way around starting and ending at a side seam. The smocking you see was already part of this pillowcase...an extra bonus.

I then threaded hot pink ribbon through the top casing in the front and the back of the dress. I pulled to cinch and then sewed the ribbon at each open end so that the ribbon wouldn't come out (you know...like the annoying hoodie cords I find in my washing machine or catch my children holding...like those will ever go back in their casing.)

That's it....finished! This easy project didn't take more than an hour or so. Admittedly, if someone told me 6 months ago I'd be sewing clothing not only for me, but for my kids, I would have laughed and told them that they were CraZy. I had less fear about making a sculpture out of 250+ Red Bull Cans than pushing a pedal on a sewing machine (which I now know is ridiculous because can art is certainly more difficult and frustrating than sewing, but that's another story.) The bottom line is if I can sew, anybody can. Case closed.