YouTube Video Sewing Course and Sewing with Tigers

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I've been thoroughly enjoying my classes this semester. One of the classes I'm taking is "Apparel Construction". I love it because it's helping me get familiar with commercial production methods and industrial machines.  Most of what we have been doing so far is learning about and practicing with lockstitch machines and sergers.  While explaining about lockstitch machines my teacher said home machines and industrial machines are very similar in their functionality, although a home machine is like a house cat and an industrial machine is like a tiger.  I love that analogy and can definitely attest to its validity -- they are so powerful and SO fast.  It's somewhat difficult to get used to and my first sewing samples were laughable at best.  But I'm determined to wrangle that machine!  I love the idea of sewing with tigers.

I also learned that my school produced a series of videos on DVD to go along with the course.  Apparently these videos have been used by educators around the world and my school is frequently asked to produce more.  These videos also happen to be available on YouTube!  So if you're interested in getting more detail feel free to check out the series.  Here's the first video, all about tools used in sewing:


I hope you enjoy!

Assembling a 12" Child's Bike

Before I continue on with all the fun posts I have planned, I wanted to finish the assembling of the kids bike (from this post) that I transformed for my daughter.  If you've stumbled across this post looking for how to disassemble a children's bike, just start at the end and work backwards.

After I painted the bike (using self-etching primer and standard spray paint -- since the more durable metal paints don't come in pink!), I was ready to put things back together.

Draped Chain Necklace and Happy 2013!

Happy new year everyone!!  

I, for one, am so happy to have 2012 over and done.  That year was kind of an overall fail for me.  But I've got high hopes and big plans for 2013 which will totally make up for last year.  Some of the plans include a more concerted effort and focus for my blog.  I'm going to focus more on fashion, with patterns, tutorials, style, jewelry, accessories, etc.  It's one of my main areas of interest.  I will also continue posts about food and DIY projects as I love those subjects, too, and don't want to give them up. :)  So, in practice the blog may not end up being very different, but I do plan on posting more frequently and trying to build something that will offer inspiration and help others be successful in their various projects.  And by "they" I really mean you, my wonderful, awesome readers!  Thank you so much for taking the time to visit, leave comments, and support me in my creative journey. 

My first post of 2013 is a tutorial for making a dramatic draped chain necklace.  It was inspired by those long necklaces with large circle links.  I've wanted one of those for a while but each necklace I found in stores was so lightweight and seemed that one tug from a small child would result in a broken necklace.  So, as often happens with things I would like to buy if they were available, but can't find, I ended up making one myself.  Thankfully it ended up being fairly simple. 

NOTE: This tutorial requires some basic working knowledge of how to use jump rings and jewelry-making tools. There are tons of great guides out there for the very new beginner, but I just don't take the time to explain every detail here.

I gathered up a few different types and colors of chain. (Minus that one in the middle... my kids made off with it and I completely forgot about it while I was making the necklace. Haha, I guess "out of sight out of mind" works for me sometimes, too.)

I started with the two chains made of large circle links. I removed the extra small links on one end (used to connect more than one length of chain) to even them out.

I laid out the chains to plan the placement, and to make sure they would actually look good together before putting the work in to assemble the necklace. I also took a picture to help me remember how I wanted things to look.

The large circle chains turned out to be several inches too short for the length I wanted, so I added a couple of inches of regular chain on each side, plus a little extra for an extension, using two jump rings for extra reinforcement to help distribute the weight of the rest of the chains. (At least in my theory, haha)

I assembled the closure and added a metal bead dangling at the end of the extension.

For connecting the chains I started with the smaller circle chain and carefully laid it out so it would lay flat when worn, making sure it wasn't twisted at all. I placed the larger circle chain where I wanted it to connect with the longer chain, then attached it with jump rings.

After getting the first two connected, I found working on the necklace with it on my dress form helped.

Instead of having all the chains go completely around the necklace, I ended them, slightly to the back, securing them on the longer circle chain. I attached them all to one of the circles since it is solid, without a break, so it can't pull apart. For each chain I added, I started by attaching it to the solid circle with a jump ring, bringing it around to the solid circle on the other side of the necklace and adjusted it to the length I wanted.  Then I opened the chain, removed a link to make it that length, and attached it with a jump ring.

For me, the whole necklace, following the bottom chain, measures 33" with 2" extension.  The bottom chain alone measures 26". 

And all done!

I really love it and I've already worn it more than once. Yay!

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I'll be linking up to these fabulous link parties:

Monday -  Craft o Maniac Monday -- Craftastic Monday -- Amaze Me Monday -- Make it Great Monday --  Tuesday -  Get Your Craft On -- Sew Cute Tuesday -- Upcycled Awesome -- Tip Me Tuesday -- Tuesday Talent Show --  Wednesday -  Sugar and Dots -- Wallet-Friendly Wednesday -- Create and Share -- Whatever Goes Wednesday --  Linkin’ with Lil’ Luna -- Thursday -  Strut your Stuff Thursday -- Transformation Thursday -- Thrilling Thursday -- Make It Wear It -- Friday -  Remodelaholic Friday -- Flaunt it Friday -- Frugal Friday -- Weekend Wander -- Show and Share Day -- It's Fun to Craft! -- Tickled Pink Fridays -- Weekend Wrap-up Party -- Catch as Catch Can -- Friday Flair -- Feature Yourself Friday -- Simply Link {Party} -- Pity Party -- Design Dazzle --  Saturday - Strut Your Stuff --  Lovely Crafty Weekend --  Sweet Saturday -- Sunday -  The DIY Showoff Project  Parade --  Sunday Showcase Party -- Creative Bloggers Party -- I Heart Naptime -- Think Pink Sundays

Calendar for the Kids - Free Printables

For some reason many of my most vivid memories from my early years in elementary school center around the "circle time" calendar.  You know, the one with the interchangeable dates, months, seasons, and weather cards.  Remember those?

When my son started home-based public education (via K12.com) I knew I wanted one as part of our daily routine.  I looked around at some of those offered through educational/office supply stores, but they always seemed really gaudy and kind of obnoxious looking (if that makes any sense, ha!).  I wanted something slightly more aesthetically pleasing and customized with only the elements I wanted. 

So I decided to make my own.  The items I purchased were one 20"x30" foam core board, 1/8" and 1/4" chart tape (optional), and self-adhesive velcro.  Materials I had on hand were printer paper and ink, colored cardstock, colored pencils, laminating sheets, a black marker, ribbon, and page protectors.

I began by using my big metal square to draw the large rectangle for the calendar, one inch in from the left side and one inch up from the bottom. The rectangle measures 15" high x 19.25" wide. Then I marked off measurements for the small interior squares, vertically every 2.5" and horizontally every 2.75", then drew lines across.

Recovering a Lampshade

Continuing on the same theme as my last post (lamps for my living room), I had two brass lamps I painted a pale blue color.  I had found a lampshade at a thrift store for one of them, but was trying to find a shade to fit the second.  On a trip to Lowe's one day I walked by this:

For a second I hesitated and thought, "Is that a mistake?" Then I realized it might have something to do with the fabric starting to fall off (which I didn't care about because I was going to replace the fabric anyway). Luckily it was the right shape for my lamp (some other shades I had seen were too short and looked odd with my tall, skinny lamp) and was definitely within my budget!

I brought it home and pulled off the outer fabric completely. The inner fabric was fine and I decided to leave it that way. When I got the outer fabric off the frame I laid it on top of the new fabric I was going to use and cut out two of the same shape (leaving some extra around the edges for seam allowance and for attaching to the frame).

After cutting out the two pieces I sewed them together, slipped it onto the lampshade frame and folded up the raw edges along the bottom and top openings, securing with hot glue.

After gluing I trimmed the excess and glued a strip of bias tape around the inside to cover the raw edge, folding over the end to make a nice, clean finish.

Thus completed my second living room lamp!

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I'll be linking up to these fabulous link parties:

 Monday -  Craft o Maniac Monday -- Craftastic Monday -- Amaze Me Monday -- Make it Great Monday -- Polly Want 2 Party  --  Tuesday -  Get Your Craft On -- Sew Cute Tuesday -- Upcycled Awesome -- Tip Me Tuesday -- Tuesday Talent Show --  Wednesday -  Seven Thrity Three -- Wallet-Friendly Wednesday -- Create and Share -- Whatever Goes Wednesday --  Linkin’ with Lil’ Luna -- Thursday -  Strut your Stuff Thursday -- Transformation Thursday -- Thrilling Thursday -- House of Hepworths -- Friday -  Remodelaholic Friday -- Flaunt it Friday -- Frugal Friday -- Weekend Wander -- Show and Share Day -- It's Fun to Craft! -- Tickled Pink Fridays -- Weekend Wrap-up Party -- Catch as Catch Can -- Friday Flair -- Feature Yourself Friday -- Simply Link {Party} -- Pity Party -- Design Dazzle --  Saturday - Saturday Spotlight --  Sunday -  The DIY Showoff Project  Parade --  Sunday Showcase Party -- Creative Bloggers Party -- I Heart Naptime -- Think Pink Sundays

Lamp Revamp

Hello! Long time no post, I know. I've started working full time and that has left me with very little time for anything other than work, domestic duties and time with the kids. But yesterday I actually made some time for a creative project and that inspired me to write about one of the projects I did a while back but never posted.

For a while I was frequenting thrift stores, looking for a couple of good lamps for my living room. I wanted two with nice shapes and lines, but not necessarily exactly alike as I would be painting them the same color. (I don't like to be toooo matchy-matchy.) Eventually I found a couple of nice lamps, but wanted to make one of them shorter.

See that tall skinny part at the top? I wanted that gone. I knew the lamp was put together in sections and thankfully that was one of them so it could be removed.

I started tearing the thing apart by first removing the socket. (Pulled off the top, lifted out the socket, unscrewed the wire terminals, unscrewed the base and pulled the wires out of it.)

(partly I took this photo so I would remember how to put it back together)

I removed the bottom piece of the harp (the thing the lamp shade is attached to) and unscrewed the top part of the lamp base.

There was an internal pipe (as with most lamps) that had threads only at the top and bottom. However, removing a portion of the lamp required cutting the pipe shorter (which would leave it without threads on one end), so I ended up having to purchase a replacement pipe and cut that one to the length I needed.

I took apart the sections of the lamp, cleaned, primed, painted and sealed them. Then I put them all back together.

Then I re-attached the socket. There are two different wires and two different screws to use to attach them. If you're ever replacing a lightbulb socket just remember this--

Ribbed = Silver
Smooth = Brass

I put everything back on in order like so (except with the modified base, of course)-

With the addition of a $2 thrift-store lampshade I had my new lamp. Yay!

For the second lamp I did the same painting, but altered a lampshade to more closely resemble this lampshade. (I'll post that next.)

Thanks for stopping by! (And I apologize if the sentences seem a bit disjointed and awkward. It is late, and I am very, very tired right now. :) )

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I'll be linking up to these fabulous link parties:

 Monday -  Craft o Maniac Monday -- Craftastic Monday -- Amaze Me Monday -- Make it Great Monday -- Polly Want 2 Party  --  Tuesday -  Get Your Craft On -- Sew Cute Tuesday -- Upcycled Awesome -- Tip Me Tuesday -- Tuesday Talent Show --  Wednesday -  Seven Thrity Three -- Wallet-Friendly Wednesday -- Create and Share -- Whatever Goes Wednesday --  Linkin’ with Lil’ Luna -- Thursday -  Strut your Stuff Thursday -- Transformation Thursday -- Thrilling Thursday -- House of Hepworths -- Friday -  Remodelaholic Friday -- Flaunt it Friday -- Frugal Friday -- Weekend Wander -- Show and Share Day -- It's Fun to Craft! -- Tickled Pink Fridays -- Weekend Wrap-up Party -- Catch as Catch Can -- Friday Flair -- Feature Yourself Friday -- Simply Link {Party} -- Pity Party -- Design Dazzle --  Saturday - Saturday Spotlight --  Sunday -  The DIY Showoff Project  Parade --  Sunday Showcase Party -- Creative Bloggers Party -- I Heart Naptime -- Think Pink Sundays

Today at Crafting in My Closet

Hi everyone!

I'm guest posting today over at Crafting in My Closet.  My good friend Teresa (who has been my friend since before either of us were married and just so happens to be an awesomely talented seamstress) is putting on a great series all about summer fun with kids.  My post is about making puzzles -- something my kids can't seem to get enough of!

Click HERE to go check it out!

Leather Obi Belt with 3D Flower

When I was making the belt for my high school reunion outfit I was rushing that day to get it finished in time to wear to the reunion. It was a little rough so I wanted to give it another shot, this time with a bit of a variation (also made using pieces of a former leather jacket). I altered the pattern for the petals and made them into a 3D flower.

I started out by making the petals of the flower. I altered the original petal design to be wider so I could fold it over and glue (using E6000 -- I'm sure there's some sort of leather glue that would be better, but I just wanted to stick with what I had on hand this time).

I altered the direction of the fold so the petals wouldn't all be exactly the same. Hint: Only use a tiny bit of glue, using too much will interfere when sewing them on to the belt.

I clamped them and let them dry overnight. Bonus = I finally found a use for the cute, tiny clamps I picked up on impulse one day -- I'm glad I did, they were exactly what I needed!

I cut out the other pieces in the same way as the previous obi belt, except with wider ties and added seam allowance around the edges of the main belt pieces.

I sewed a triangle piece to each side of the rectangular piece, making sure right sides were together, opened the seam allowance on the back side, top stitched on either side of the seam and clipped some of the excess away at the edges.

I folded over 1/2" around the outer edges and top stitched.

When transitioning from the triangular to the rectangular piece there was some excess bunched up, so I cut a small slit, close to, but not touching the edge, overlapped the sides and sewed.

Then I sewed the ties to the ends of each triangular piece.

I arranged the petals for the flower and secured them with just a tiny dab of glue. I used a spice jar (the perfect size!) to hold them down until they dried.

After the glue was dry I sewed the inner corners of the petals onto the belt.

And I had my new belt!

I really love this version of the belt. I ended up breaking three leather needles making this one, but I think it was worth it!

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I'll be linking up to these fabulous link parties:

 Monday -  Craft o Maniac Monday -- Craftastic Monday -- Amaze Me Monday -- Make it Great Monday -- Polly Want 2 Party  --  Tuesday -  Get Your Craft On -- Sew Cute Tuesday -- Upcycled Awesome -- Tip Me Tuesday -- Tuesday Talent Show --  Wednesday -  Seven Thrity Three -- Wallet-Friendly Wednesday -- Create and Share -- Whatever Goes Wednesday --  Linkin’ with Lil’ Luna -- Thursday -  Strut your Stuff Thursday -- Transformation Thursday -- Thrilling Thursday -- House of Hepworths -- Friday -  Remodelaholic Friday -- Flaunt it Friday -- Frugal Friday -- Weekend Wander -- Show and Share Day -- It's Fun to Craft! -- Tickled Pink Fridays -- Weekend Wrap-up Party -- Catch as Catch Can -- Friday Flair -- Feature Yourself Friday -- Simply Link {Party} -- Pity Party -- Design Dazzle --  Saturday - Saturday Spotlight --  Sunday -  The DIY Showoff Project  Parade --  Sunday Showcase Party -- Creative Bloggers Party -- I Heart Naptime -- Think Pink Sundays

Suede Flower Leather Obi Belt Tutorial

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with gratitude, family, laughter and love!  I know mine was.  And now I'm fully embracing all the Christmas and holiday decorations, music, lights, projects, etc, etc.  Bring it on!  (Of course at the same time I'm kind of freaking out that I don't know what I'm going to do for gifts for everyone -- especially since our gift budget is basically non-existent.  I think most are going to involve some stash-liquidation on my part!)

Today I also realized that I never posted about the dress and belt I made for my 10 year high school reunion.  Here's the photo of the final product:

Today I'm going to share the tutorial for the leather and suede obi belt.

I started with a black leather jacket and a brown suede mini skirt I found at the thrift store on a 50% off day. (That's a great way to get leather at an affordable price, and reduce/reuse/recycle!) A while back I had cut out the lining, zippers, facings, etc and cut them into non-sewn-together pieces.

One of the things I love about leather is that it doesn't unravel or fray, so you can leave the edges raw. Of course folded and sewn edges have a more professional/finished look, but sometimes I'm just glad to be able to cut a corner here and there. :)

I started out by cutting the pieces using my quilting ruler and rotary cutter (I LOVE those things!).

Main rectangle: 5" wide x 17.5" long
(I'm tall and have a long torso, so I would suggest about 4" wide for a woman of average height. Also the length was my waist circumference in inches, divided by two, adding two inches, and adding one inch for seam allowance.)
Triangle pieces: 5" wide for 1/2", then down to a point x 12" long
(I just estimated this one, but it ended up being about 3/4 of half of my waist circumference, plus 1" for seam allowance.)
Ties: 3/8" wide x 20" and 18" long
(I totally estimated and just used the longest piece of leather I had. This is how long they ended up. One side is longer because the flower is slightly to the side and the straps tie at the center of the flower.)
Flower petals:  I drew the shape of a flower petal and traced it with a fabric pencil onto the suede.  I flipped the pattern over for a couple of the petals so they all would not be exactly the same shape.  I cut them out on the inside of the pencil line so I wouldn't have to worry about trying to wash/rub it off. 

Be sure to use leather needles. They are stronger and sharper than regular needles. I would also recommend using a thicker, stronger thread. It will help it all hold together well, and look better, too. If you have one, use a teflon or roller presser foot as well, since the suede side of leather tends to grip as it's going through the sewing machine and one of those feet will help it glide smoothly. (I didn't have one, but it still worked out pretty well, with some concerted effort.)

Start out by sewing the triangle pieces to the sides of the rectangle piece. Leather can't be pinned in the normal way, so I stuck pins straight in, inside the seam allowance (since once you put a hole in leather, even a tiny one, it won't go away).

After that, top stitch the seam on either side, both to give it a finished look and to lay the seam allowance down flat.

Then stitch all the way around the outer edge of the belt. For a more finished look you can simply fold over the edge and top stitch just like the other seam. Why didn't I do that? I have no idea... :) But if you do, be sure to add the extra width to the rectangle and triangle pieces to make sure your belt ends up the width that you want.

For the ties, trim the point off the triangle pieces to make it 3/8". Place the tie under the point, overlapping about 3/4" and sew it on by stitching back and forth several times in a straight line.



Visualize dividing the main rectangular part of the belt into thirds and place the flower petals on one of the dividing lines (so it's to one side, instead of in the middle). Glue them down with a small amount of glue (I used super glue since I needed something that would dry quickly) placed near the center of the petal, so the glue will not be in the way when you sew.  (I took this photo prior to sewing, since I was testing out how it would look, and I wanted to remember the placement of the petals when it came time to sew them on)



Using a free-motion presser foot (so you can turn smoothly while sewing -- see below), sew the petals on by stitching along the inside of the edge for each one.

Source

And then you are done!

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I'll be linking up to these fabulous link parties:

 Monday -  Craft o Maniac Monday -- Craftastic Monday -- Amaze Me Monday -- Make it Great Monday -- Polly Want 2 Party  --  Tuesday -  Get Your Craft On -- Sew Cute Tuesday -- Upcycled Awesome -- Tip Me Tuesday -- Tuesday Talent Show --  Wednesday -  Seven Thrity Three -- Wallet-Friendly Wednesday -- Create and Share -- Whatever Goes Wednesday --  Linkin’ with Lil’ Luna -- Thursday -  Strut your Stuff Thursday -- Transformation Thursday -- Thrilling Thursday -- House of Hepworths -- Friday -  Remodelaholic Friday -- Flaunt it Friday -- Frugal Friday -- Weekend Wander -- Show and Share Day -- It's Fun to Craft! -- Tickled Pink Fridays -- Weekend Wrap-up Party -- Catch as Catch Can -- Friday Flair -- Feature Yourself Friday -- Simply Link {Party} -- Pity Party -- Design Dazzle --  Saturday - Saturday Spotlight --  Sunday -  The DIY Showoff Project  Parade --  Sunday Showcase Party -- Creative Bloggers Party -- I Heart Naptime -- Think Pink Sundays