Silverware Pouches

Before I put away my sewing machine and ironing board that have been set up in the dining room for days and days, I looked around to see if there was anything else I wanted/needed to sew -  they don't make an appearance very often so now's the time! I have an extra set of silverware that I've been storing in plastic sandwich baggies and thought it'd be nice if they were in little pouches in the drawer instead of the ugly baggies, so whipped up a few fabric pockets to keep the extras in...very easy and looks so much better. 

Before.. the extra silverware is in the baggies to the left of the knives -
it actually looks neater in this picture than it does in person.

All I did was cut two long, narrow pieces of fabric and one shorter 

piece that is the same width as the two longer pieces.

Turn the top edge of the shorter piece under (making a hem) and sew to one of the longer pieces, similar to how I did the fabric wallet (click here for that post) only sewing around the three sides where the two pieces of fabric are joined together.

Put the two long pieces together, right sides touching, and sew them together leaving a gap for turning the pouch right side out. 

After turning them right side out and getting the corners as sharp as you can, top stitch around the entire pouch. I made different sizes for the different utensils - taller for knives, forks, and big spoons, and shorter for little forks and spoons.

After - this looks so much nicer!

3.28.18: spring flower upside down wreath
3.28.17: DIY mod podge
3.28.16: make a zipper bracelet

Hair Tie

Saw this simple pattern online for a "baby hair tie" and since I'm forever looking at headbands and things to do with my short hair I wanted to give it a try. Was very easy, minimal sewing, and turned out cute.











Since the pattern is baby-sized,
I added 5" in between the 2 pattern pieces to make each piece 18" long. Since I didn't have enough material to put this on the fold (that's what they intended, for the flat bottom piece to be placed on the fold, meaning there would be 2 long pieces total), I cut out 4 and sewed them together in the middle where the fold would have been. So I ended up with 2 (36") long pieces with a seam in the middle. Make sense?

Pin the 2 (36"long) pieces together with right sides facing each other and sew all around, leave a small gap so you can turn it right side out after sewing.

Feed it thru the small opening to invert it and have the right sides out, sew up the gap by hand or machine (I did it on the machine because you can't see it, I put the gap in the place where it gets knotted) and then iron it to get the edges crisp.

As I was making it I also thought this would be a great stuffed snake pattern - so if you don't want a head band, maybe give a snake toy a try! :)
















click here for the pattern.

DIY Bell Bottom Jeans

Not exactly sure why, but I decided I needed to make myself some super flare bell bottom jeans - did a little research online to see if anyone had good suggestions on how to do this and ended up combining a few ideas to come up with these.

Starting with a pair of straight leg jeans, I ripped out the outside seams up to the knee and took out the hem.

Next I cut a triangle out of leftover fabric scraps to fit into the opening I just made in the jeans - I made my triangle pretty wide since I was going for a super flare, it could be much narrower if you don't want them quite so flared.

Pin the triangle in place and sew from the top of triangle down to the hem on both sides. I sewed the hem of the jeans where I wanted the length to be but left the fabric un-hemmed with a little fray on the bottom.

Wore these to dinner and had a funky bald motorcycle-looking dude come up and say how much he liked my jeans, asked if I made them myself and said "right on, I have a few pairs I made for myself too"....hahahaha, well at least there's 2 of us out there that enjoy this look!! Get your groove on and give it a try (please. please make some so it's not just me and the bald guy rocking these).

Sarge and his Halloween Scarf

I saw a reversible rectangle scarf with a pin closure in a store the other day and at first thought it was meant for a dog -  the storeowner informed me no, it's for a person...oops. Well that got me thinking that Sarge "needs" a reversible Halloween scarf!

I found Halloween fabrics that I thought would look nice on him, bought 1/2 yard each and have lots left over. I bought diaper pins for the closure, the scarf in the store had a kilt pin but I didn't want to chance it opening up on Sarge and poking him - the diaper pins have a safety catch.

Cut out 2 rectangles 27"x6"  from 2 different Halloween fabrics, pin right sides together and sew - leaving a 2" opening in one end. 

Of course what should have been a very simple quick sew job turned into the bobbin messing up and my having to rip some of the seam out...if this happens to you don't get frustrated! I'm pretty sure sewing machines have temperaments and if it senses you are upset it will only mess up more!! ;)

Once sewn, pull the right sides thru the opening to invert the scarf to the correct side out - I put a knitting needle or something pointy into the corners to get them nice and crisp - then either hand sew or topstitch the 2" opening closed (I topstitched very close to the edge). Iron out the wrinkles and pin it on crossing the ends over each other.

he's comfortable enough in his new scarf to take a
nap in it - that's a good sign!

Dog Crate Cover

I was inspired to make a crate cover after seeing a few pre-made expensive versions and deciding this falls into the category of "I can make that"- mine is a very simple basic version but I like how it looks and the dog seems to like how it functions so everyone's happy. Before this I just a had light blanket over his crate which did the job but wasn't very cute -  if you'd like yours to be a little more "decorated" and done then give this a try... I like to think of it as decorating Sarge's bedroom :) 

The store-bought ones are much fancier and detailed of course (there has to be a reason they can charge so much for them!) with zippers, velcro, and ties but Sarge doesn't need to be sealed up, I just wanted a cozier darker space that hopefully helps him sleep in a little longer in the morning! I also thought he could use more ventilation by leaving it open between the long and short sides - he is one hot dog. 

I bought 2 yards of lightweight brushed cotton material to cover his 21" wide x 19" tall x 30" deep crate (note the door is on the short side, if you have the kind where the door is on the long side you'll have to change the pattern to open that way). Wash the material before sewing it in case there is any shrinkage. I cut one piece of fabric 63" x 32" (this piece will cover the long sides and top in one piece) and 2 pieces that are 22 " x 20" (front and back flaps) and hemmed all four sides about 1/2" seam allowance. I attached the flaps 2 different ways and they both look fine - one way is to lay the hemmed flap right side up over the large piece right side up in the middle where the door will be and sew it on; the other is to put the right sides together of the large piece and the flap (again place the flap in the middle of the large piece where the front or back flap will be) and sew together. Finished product should be approx. 61"x30"x21". I might be making this sound harder than it is, it's just sewing 3 rectangles together! Measure your crate, add an inch or two for seam allowance, hem all pieces, and then sew the 2 flaps on in the correct spot. You could finish it a little more by adding ties or velcro between the flaps and the sides if your dog needs to be enclosed more - Sarge does just fine with the small openings between the flaps and sides. In the morning I just fold the front flap up and open his door.