Cleaning the dirtiest iron

How dirty is your iron?  When was the last time you cleaned your iron?

Yikes!  This iron came with my husband who got it over a decade ago.  As far as I know, I'm the first person to clean it.  Sad, right?  I have no excuses.  I'm just a lazy procrastinator.  Yes, I am.

I have been pinning various iron cleaning methods, and decided it was time to try some out.

First up is salt:

I poured some salt on a towel and ironed over it on a medium heat setting for several minutes.  I noticed some cleaning was occurring, but the results were less than satisfying.

It was working though. You can see how dirty the salt got:

Next up was dryer sheets:

I tried both new and used dryer sheets with the heat setting on low to medium.  I put a white piece of paper between my ironing board and the dryer sheet.  As you can see, some grime was eventually transferred to the dryer sheets:

However, after griming up 4 dryer sheets, I couldn't see much of a difference in the surface of my iron.

Next was steel wool:

 I didn't find a pin using steel wool, but I figured I needed something abrasive to get this junk off.  I just spread out a thin layer of steel wool on a sheet of paper and ironed over it, rubbing back and forth and in circles.  This method showed the most significant cleaning power, but my arm was getting tired by this time and the going was so slow.

What worked?

MAGIC ERASER:

2 minutes with a damp Magic Eraser on a cool iron and the whole stinkin' thing was shiny and clean!

I used up half an eraser, but it was much faster and easier than any other method.  

Just look at the difference:

I promise I won't allow my iron to get this dirty EVER AGAIN!!!

How about you guys?  How dirty is your iron?

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

Before you click away, I'd like to invite you to join in my current sewing/craft challenge.

Since this is a first for me (and my iron!) I'm linking up to Celtic Stitches' New to Me in 2013 Linky Party!

Pattern Review: M5822

I needed to make a diaper bag to be auctioned off at a charity benefit. This lime green tote bag is what I came up with.  I started with a pattern by designer Kay Whitt.  You can see another Kay Whitt review I wrote HERE.  I love her clean designs that just cry out for bold fabric choices.  Here's a pic of the pattern I used for the diaper bag:

Kay Whitt Designs
Tote Bag in Three Sizes
M5822
[source]

This pattern from McCall's Fashion Accessories line allows you to make a tote bag in 3 different sizes.  The tote features a recessed zipper, an interior pocket, and two exterior pockets.  The pattern suggests you use novelty cotton fabrics or cotton blends, plus buckram (Coarse linen or other cloth stiffened with gum or paste and used typically as interfacing and in bookbinding. [dictionary def.]) and fleece for interfacing.  

Of course it is almost painful for me to follow a pattern exactly without tweaking it just bit.  I'm the same way with recipes--it must be a personal defect.  Anyway, the alterations I made were:

1. Skip the zip.  The zip would be nice for a purse, but diaper bags need to be accessible.  The tote is tapered so the opening is already small.  A zip would have made the opening even smaller.  It would have been very difficult to find important things like binkies and nail clippers in this deep dark bag.
2. Exchange novelty cotton fabrics for vinyl and corduroy.  The lime green vinyl and funky corduroy print were dying to be used together!  Plus, I had this soft brown vinyl that I used for the handles that went perfectly.
3. Customize the interior pockets.  One single patch pocket for a diaper bag is not optimal.  
4. Exchange buckram and fleece for Peltex heavy interfacing.

Here's some pics of my customized interior pockets.  

You can really tell which pics were taken in natural light and which were taken in my craft dungeon:

I made a patch pocket that mimicked the shape of the bag.  The pattern included a similar pocket, but I didn't feel like going through the trouble of cutting it out.  I added some bias tape to the top edge of the pocket.  With the excess bias tape, I attached a toggle clasp that I stole from a used purse.  This was a fast and easy way to include some handy hardware.  I attached the pocket to the lining with a double row of stitching in a light pink thread.

For the pockets on the other side, I simply cut a panel exactly the same shape as the lining, but about 5 inches shorter.  I finished the edge with bias tape again and basted the edges that would eventually be enclosed in the side seams.  I divided the pocket in half with row of stitching.  I knew the top of the center stitching needed to be very secure because it would experience a lot stress with regular use.  So instead of sewing a little square on the bias tape, I stitched a couple big hearts.  I didn't stop there either.  I took ended up adding some embroidery as well.  You can also see I added a row of my Ricochet ribbon that I blogged about a loooooooong time ago.

In straying from the recommended fabrics, I had to do some things differently.

1. You can't iron vinyl and Peltex sucks up glue.  Since I couldn't iron-on the Peltex to the vinyl I decided to glue it on.  I used regular old Tacky Glue in the gold bottle.  The Peltex sucked it right up and it didn't stick a lick.  So I took some Mod Podge and coated a side of the Peltex with it, effectively sealing it up or priming it to take the glue.  After it dried, I used the Tacky Glue with great results!
2. Regular polyester thread and 80/12 needles weren't going to cut it.  To effectively sew the vinyl I switched to a heavy-duty 110/18 needle, heavy-duty top-stitching thread, and increased my stitch length to 4.  [I sew on a Singer 4411 HD]
3. Watch out for bulky seams!  The curved sides and the thickness of the vinyl and corduroy were hard enough to sew without adding the bulk of the Peltex into the seams as well.  To remedy this, I trimmed all the Peltex to fit within the seam allowances.

In conclusion, here are the pros and cons, IMHO, of M5822:

Pros:

• Cute shape.

• Simple design.

• Easy to follow instructions.

• Easily customized. 

• Comes in 3 sizes.  I used the largest size.

Cons:

• Finishing the top with a strip of binding was tedious. I couldn't risk making extra holes in my vinyl so I ended up hand sewing the binding to the lining.  I prefer the method were you stitch the lining to the bag, right sides together, and then pull the whole thing through a opening in the lining.  

• The smaller 2 sizes don't appeal to me.  I would have preferred a even larger size though.

• The recessed zipper would make the opening very small, even in the largest size.  I suggest an inner tab with a magnetic clasp instead.

The tote is easy enough to sew that a reasonably knowledgeable sewist could duplicate it without having to buy the pattern.  Once you made the front/back panel, all the rest of the pieces are rectangles.  Easy, right?

I'm thinking about making my own tote based off this pattern from the brown vinyl I used for the handles.  I have enough of the green vinyl to use as an accent.  Neon colors are so "in" right now.  I hope I can finish and use my tote before they are "out"!!!

Hope you all find this review useful.  I would love some more pattern suggestions for large tote bags, if you have any.  Are any you Kay Whitt fans like myself?  What's the last pattern you've sewn?

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

DIY no dye tie dye

I imagine that nearly everyone has tried tie-dying at some point in their life.  It's fun and low-tech and has a cool mysterious element.  I mean, isn't it exciting when you undo all the rubber bands and finally get to see the finished product?   There are many ways to tie-dye and I've tried most of them.  For most methods a sink, washing machine, and dryer are standard pre-requisitions.  But I found a way around all those requirements.  In fact, I can tie-dye without dye.  I've been doing it for over 15 years.  Intrigued?  I hope so!

My family gets together every summer.  To add an extra element of fun to the family reunion, this year we had a theme: The 70s!!!  I know, fun right?  It was a blast!  What comes to mind when you think about the 1970s?  Disco?  Mod?  Bell-bottom pants?  Tube socks? Half shirts on men?  Short shorts?  Leisure suits?  Wedge high heels?  Newsboy hats?  Sock it to me?  Fringed vests?  Headbands?  Chokers?  Well, nearly every single one of those elements were seen at my family reunion.  My contribution: tie-dye t-shirts for all the kids!  Maybe tie-dying is a bit more 60s in your mind, but I looked it up and those hippies were tie-dying well into the 1970s.  (psst!  I was born in 1977 so I don't recall too much tie-dying...)

Anywhoo, here's what you need to use the Ricochet Method of Tie-Dye:
Everything but the paint can found at your local dollar store.

1. T-shirts.  For most dyes, you would need 100% cotton for best results, but any fabric will work for this method.  I got all my white t-shirts from the dollar stores.  I even got some grey t-shirts and they worked as well.
2. Water.  A bucket will do.  No sinks required.  I used a horse trough.  ;-)
3. Rubber bands.  I got 2 bags of assorted rubber bands from the dollar store and had way more than I needed to tie up 28 t-shirts and several pairs of tube socks.
4. Spray bottles.  I got mine from the dollar store as well.  This item is actually optional because you could really just pour the color onto the t-shirts or use paint brushes.  The spray bottles are good for kids though.  
5. Acrylic paint.  Not tempura, oils, or watercolors.  I used Apple Barrel brand acrylic craft paints.  They are very inexpensive and come in virtually every color.  

[source]

There are lots of ways to tie up your t-shirts to prep them for color.  I like the following method because it creates lots of wrinkles to catch and resist the color, it's faster than creating the concentric-bulls-eye with rubber bands, and the front and back match.  You could also create lots of stripey wrinkles by simply using an accordion fold, but here's how I do it to create a traditional spiral design:

1. I like to start with a damp t-shirt.
2. Pinch the middle of the shirt, grabbing all the layers of fabric and start twisting.
3. Take some time to define the arms of the spiral pattern you are creating.  Just pinch the folds to form lots of deep wrinkles.  
4. See how it is coming together?
5. At any point you can add a rubber band to help secure what you've already twisted up.
6. Keep adding rubber bands and twisting and making wrinkles.
7. Here's what mine look like after they're all tied up.
8. Here's the backside.  

1. Take your acrylic paint and water it down.  There is no perfect ratio of paint to water, sorry.  If you use too much paint, the shirt will be sort of stiff when it dries but your colors will be intense.  Too much water and your colors will be pastel-like.  Experimentation is encouraged!
2. Put your watered down paint into a spray bottle and saturate your t-shirt with color.
3. I kinda squish my shirts inside a plastic bag.  In my mind this squeezes more paint into all the wrinkles, but I'm not convinced this step is necessary.
4. Now that all the paint has been applied, let your shirt sit out in the sun for while to dry.  You don't need to wait for the shirt to dry completely.  You could unwrap it right away, but you'll get your fingers super painty and risk transferring that paint to areas of your shirt that you don't want to get paint.  
5. Here's what mine looked like after removing the rubber bands.
6. Then I started to untwist it.
7. Cool!  Here's the front.
8. Here's the back.

As soon as the shirt is COMPLETELY dry, you can wear it.  The beauty of acrylic paint is that it is completely non-soluble in water after it dries.  Because I started with a wet shirt, the paint will bleed and continue bleeding into the wet fabric until completely dry.  I can't prove it, but I think if I would have let the shirt dry completely before removing the rubber bands, there would have been less bleeding and a more defined design.  But who wants to wait that long?  Not my 5 year old daughter!  The photo above shows my daughter wearing her dry shirt.  The pic below shows the same shirt after several machine washings.

Here's how we tie-dyed at my family reunion:

1. I twisted and tied up all the dollar store t-shirts ahead of time.  I prefer to start with a wet shirt and apply the paint right away, but this method worked out OK too.  We just dunked the tied up shirts in a bucket of water and wrung them out as we needed them.  I even used some grey shirts and they turned out Ok as well.  
2. Here you can see my dollar store spray bottles filled with diluted craft paint.  I had the kids help me add a few squirts of paint to each bottle, add some water, and shake it up to mix.  The tablecloth: a dollar store shower curtain!
3. Some of our finished t-shirts drying in the sun.  My daughter did the one on the left, my son the center, and you can see the shirt on the right in photo #7.
4. When my little cousin was spraying the paint on this shirt, I was thinking, "Oh you better stop her or there will be no white left on this shirt."  I just let her spray away though.  Turns out I was wrong.  Her shirt was one of the coolest we saw that day.
5. Tube socks were fun to tie-dye as well.  The great thing about using acrylic paint is that the socks don't have to be 100% cotton to hold a rich color.
6. Cute!  As soon as the shirts were completely dry, the kids wore them.  
7. I like the look of just one color.
8. Here's where I got the water for this project.  Our redneck swimming pool:  the horse trough!  

Because I am a list-maker, here are some things to keep in mind about tie-dying with acrylic paint:

• As long as it is not dry, acrylic paint is water soluble.  But once it's dry, it basically turns into a plastic-like substance that will not be diluted with water.  You can look online for ways to remove acrylic paint that has been dried.  I used rubbing alcohol to get wall paint off my hardwood floors.
• If the paint dries on you skin, it will rub/scratch off under water.  It's harder to remove the paint from under your nails and around your cuticles, but it won't stain your skin.  
• If your finished, dried t-shirt is super stiff, don't freak out until you've put it through the washer and used some fabric softener.  The combination of the paint and hard water can make the shirt pretty stiff.  If your shirt is still pretty stiff after washing, then you know you didn't water down your paint enough.  
• If you were to use a more expensive brand of acrylic paint, something like Golden that comes in tubes, your paint will have more bang for the buck.  Fine quality acrylic paint has a high pigment content compared to "craft paints".  I didn't have a blue Apple Barrel craft paint, so I used my Golden brand phthalo blue.  The result was a bright and beautiful blue.  
• One really cool thing about this method is that you can utilize white paint on dark colored fabric.  Think about it.  :-)

Have you ever tie-dyed?  How did it turn out?  Would you be willing to try out this method?

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

linking up here:
http://itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com/2012/06/its-hodgepodge-friday-201224.html
http://www.findingfabulousblog.com/2012/06/frugalicious-fridaythe-happy-owls.html
http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2012/06/for-kids-friday-68.html
http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/2012/06/flaunt-it-friday-107_21.html
http://www.craftionary.net/2012/06/friday-fun-party-and-features-216.html
http://www.happyhourprojects.com/2012/06/happy-hour-friday-0622.html
http://www.blissfulbucketlist.com/2012/06/flaunt-it-friday-2.html

HST fun!

I don't know when to quit, but sometimes that's OK.

The following is not so much a tutorial as it is a documentation of my thought process.  Maybe it will inspire you to work your blocks a little more????  Or maybe you will just shake your head at my foibles.  In any case, I hope you'll enjoy the read let me know what you thought about it by leaving a comment.

I blogged about my discovery of how to make 4 half square triangles (HST's) from two squares of fabric HERE.  I cut the HST's in half, as shown the the above left photo.  Then I rearranged and stitched them together as shown in the above right photo.  I played around with these new blocks for-ev-er!

1. I had 3 fabrics: ticking, blue linen-like cotton, and a thin cotton with a subtle tan stripe.  I used combinations of those to make a dozen of the aforementioned blocks.
2. I couldn't stop there so I used the HST technique to make more complicated and smaller blocks.  I places two blocks right sides together, stitched around the outside and cut into quarters as shown.
3. The only problem with what I did was that the blocks I started with weren't perfect squares so the resulting smaller blocks needed to to be trimmed up.  Next time I'll square 'em up first.
4. The resulting blocks were variations of the 6-triangle block circled in yellow and the 2-triangle block circled in fuchsia. 

1. Here's a pic of all the 6-triangle blocks I ended up with.
2. And here are all the 2-triangle blocks I made.
3. Trying to figure out how to mix the two blocks in a pattern.....
4. Still trying.....  It's interesting, but I just wasn't feeling it.

Ultimately, I ended up making two big blocks that will be the backs of my Typography Challenge pillows.  The one on the left uses the 6-triangle blocks and on the right you can see I used the 2-triangle blocks.  On both I added some sashing of alternating fabrics.  I'm pleased with the results.  Surprisingly all the corners match up pretty well and the random pattern is fun to look at.  

Thanks for reading!

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

My favorite brand is "clearance".  Here are some clearance boots you might be interested in:

From Ricochet's Tool Box:

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I've been sewing for a few years now, but I only just recently bought myself a self-healing cutting mat to use with my rotary cutter.  What did I use before that?  The plastic chair mat under my office chair.  Yes.  Seriously.  You see when we moved into our current home, the carpet in the office was too thick to roll our office chair on.  So we bought a floor mat.  Turns out we bought one that was too rigid for the pile of our carpet so it cracked.  The cracked mat was rolled up and set aside.  I could see the ruined mat when I was typing away on the computer (as I am now!).  Throwing away all that nice plastic seemed a waste.  But what else could you use a cracked floor mat for?

I don't know how it works in your house, but in mine the leftover bits of furniture go to my craft room.  I have the old computer desk for my sewing machine, the old dining room table, the old filing cabinets, some mismatched end tables, bits and pieces of old closet systems, etc.  I eventually ended up with the old broken chair mat as well.  I'm not too sure what the circumstances were or when I started making cuts on the floor mat, but I did and it worked.  

I didn't have an acrylic ruler either, but I had a metal straight edge with a cork back.  The straight edge worked great with my little rotary cutter and the floor mat.  Remember my Naughty Notions Clutch?  I used my floor mat for all the squaring up and trimming in that project.

[source]

The spikes under the mat (my mat at least) are spaced exactly one inch apart.  They form a perfect grid which I used to square up all my cuts.

Remember the patchwork pillows I made for my mom for Christmas?  I used the floor mat to cut all the fabric.  Even though it meant doing all the cutting on my knees on the carpet, it still beat cutting all those strips of fabric with scissors.

[source]

Over President's Day weekend I finally bought a real rotary cutting set.  I waited for the 50% off sale and used my 20% military discount and bought this very nice cutting set for under $20.  It was well worth my money.  Now that I am making my first large quilt, I can appreciate getting up off the floor to cut all my strips of fabric.

Now you all know a bit more about me and my cheapskate make-do-with-what-you-got attitude towards craft supplies.  I have a few more tricks up my sleeve so stay tuned.

While I have you here, please check out our current (March 2012) sewing challenge HERE.

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

Half Square Triangles (plus more!) DIY

Quilting is so flippin' Cool!I've been working on my Typography Challenge project which will include some patchwork.  I came across some cool quilting techniques.  My favorite new technique is making 4 half square triangles (HST's) with 2 squares of fabric and 2 diagonal cuts.  I found out about it from this tutorial on whipup.net.  It's a very clever technique.  I didn't need to measure any angles, which I think is a major plus.  Go to HERE to learn how to make 8 HST's at a time.  Blows your mind doesn't it?

I went a step beyond the HST's and came up with a . . . a . . . I don't what you'd call it but it looks like step number 6 in the first series of pics  below.   Then I started playing around with the arrangement of the new blocks and came up with so many different looks that I made 2 more collages to share.  There are many more variations but I'm sure you don't want to scroll down through miles of pictures of the same 4 blocks.

So take a look at what I've been having fun with these last couple of days:

	Begin with 2 squares right sides together. Stitch around the perimeter with a 1/4 in. seam allowance. With your rotary cutter and acrylic ruler, cut from corner to corner as shown. Open up and look at what you have! Press.  Now you have 4 perfect HST's. Cut each square in half creating 2 rectangles. Rearrange the rectangles and stitch together as shown.
	Start with your 4 HST's that have been split, rearranged and sewn back together. Does this look familiar?  Kind of like a star or a pinwheel? Now check it out with the small diamond center. Keep flipping them around and discover new variations.
	Again, starting with the 4 HST's that have been split, rearranged and sewn back together. Some large and leaning diamonds. A variation of the previous picture. Now stagger the blocks!

I've got a lot more to learn about quilting.  However, I don't find that idea daunting at all.  I'm loving this new journey of discovery and experimentation.  Have you ever spent the afternoon rearranging quilt blocks?  Can you suggest any other simple quilting shortcuts that I could throw into my bag of tricks?
If you're reading this before March 31, 2012, go HERE and sign up! 


Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,