Tutorial: Ruffled Pillow

I have had this plain old pillow for years.  I pull it out every time I get into my fabric stash and think to myself I really need to do something with this and then I shove it back in the box.

Well I finally decided to do something with it:~)

 

Ruffled Pillow Tutorial

1. Decide how large you want/need to make your cover.  My actual pillow was 12x12 so I made my cover 13x13.  ( I used scrap fabric for the whole pillow. )

 



2. Make your strips.  Mine were about an inch wide and about a foot and a half long.  How "ruffled" you want your ruffles will determine how long your strips are.  The longer the strips the more ruffled.  

3. Baste down the middle of all of your strips.  Do not back stitch either end and be sure to leave a nice long tail of thread on both ends as well.

4. Create your ruffles by gently pulling the bobbin thread on your strips.  You want each ruffle to extend from one end of your pillow cover to the other.  

5. Pin each ruffle to one of the pillow cover pieces (wrong side of ruffle facing the right side of the cover).

 

6. Stitch each ruffle in place. Sew right down the middle of each of them.

7. Pin the other cover piece over the piece with the ruffles, right sides together.  

8. Sew around the outside. I used a  1/2" seam. Be sure to leave an opening so that you will be able to turn it and stuff it.  

9. Turn your cover right side out and stuff.

10. Stitch the opening closed.

11.  Display your super cute ruffled pillow somewhere fun!

Tutorial: No Sew Fabric Rosette Broach

It's official, fall has finally arrived in the Alaskan interior.  The leaves are yellow and covering the ground.  The temperature has been consistently below 60 degrees and its been raining a lot.

The upside to all of this is that it's time for the cardigans that I love oh so much! I'm especially digging the ones I've been seeing in stores these days.

My closet is already full of cardigans, but they are all rather plain Jane.  So my wheels started turning...why not just spice them up a little? Armed with inspiration I set out to remedy this "situation".

 

Fabric Rosette Broach

What you will need:

6 - 1" strips of fabric of varying lengths

1 piece of felt (about 10x10) cut in half

2 safety pins

hot glue gun

1. Start by creating your rosettes.  Make a few different sizes.

**Little Birdie Secrets has a fantastic tutorial**

 

2. Place your newly created rosettes on one piece of the felt. I like to lay them out the way I'll be gluing them down.

3. Glue them down using your hot glue gun.

 

4. Cut away the excess felt with some scissors.

5. The other piece of felt is used to add stability to your broach.  Cut two sets of small holes in the second piece of felt so that the back of your safety pins will slide through like the image below.

6. Glue your second piece of felt to the back of your broach (safety pins facing out) and cut away the excess.  Take care not to accidentally glue the safety pins down as they need to move freely for pinning ease. 

And WA LA now you have a super cute broach!

  


I intend to add a little spice to the rest of my cardigans and already have plenty of ideas up my tiny sweater sleeves:~)

Tutorial - Pleated Camera Strap Cover

I have been meaning to buy myself a new camera strap for a while now. There is just something about the standard black and yellow Nikon strap that just doesn't do it for me:~) But I keep finding other fancy things to spend my money on. So in the mean time I decided to make a cover for the strap I have.  I also decided to make my first official attempt at a tutorial.  I will apologize in advance for any mistakes or confusion:~)

  

 

Pleated Camera Strap Slip Cover

You will need:

1/2 yard of fabric 

1. Measure the width of your camera strap.  Double that measurement and add 1/2" for your seam allowance.  Mine ended up being 5".  Cut two strips. You will need the second one for a lining.  I originally did this without the lining and trying to pull the camera strap through was painful.  It just kept getting caught up on the back side of the pleats.

 

2. Lay out your first strip and begin adding pleats until your fabric strip is even with thick part of your camera strap.  Don't forget to leave room for finishing your ends.

 

3. Baste your pleats.  This will keep them where they belong for the next steps.

 

4. Finish the edge of your lining piece.  Make sure it is the same length as your top strip.

5. Lay both pieces right sides together.  Fold them in half length wise and pin.

*I forgot to take a picture of my second attempt with the lining. But this gives you an idea of what it should look like.*

 

6. Sew both pieces together.  I used a 1/4" seam.

7. Turn right side out and iron.

And Presto.....Camera Strap Cover!