craft

DIY Lined Zipper Pouch + Freebie Friday

Hello World,

Today I have both a tutorial and a giveaway for you! Check out the tutorial below to learn how to make your own customizable zippered pouch, and enter the giveaway to win the one featured in this tutorial:

1. Gather your supplies: fabric, a zipper, scissors, acrylic or fabric paint, a foam or paintbrush, freezer paper, an iron and ironing board, and a sewing machine or needle and thread.

2. Cut out 4 rectangles of fabric that are the same length as your zipper.

3. Fold the top edge of each rectangle over 1/4″ inch and iron flat.

4. Cut a strip of freezer paper. This will be used to make your stencil.

5. Cut your designs out of your freezer paper. If you draw on your freezer paper, draw on the matte side of the paper, not the shiny side.

6. Iron your freezer paper onto your fabric, shiny side down.

7. Paint gently within each freezer paper stencil. Be careful around your edges, so paint doesn’t leak out of your stencil.

8. Allow to dry and gently remove your contact paper. Iron both sides of your design to set the paint.

9. Sandwich one edge of your zipper (right side up) in between two rectangles of fabric (wrong sides together).

10. Sew through all three layers (fabric shell, zipper, fabric liner).

11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 for the other half of your pouch.

12. Now that everything is sewed to your zipper, unzip your zipper. Fold your shell on top of your other shell fabric piece. This places your two shell pieces on top of each other, right sides together, and does the same with your liner pieces.

13. Sew around the edges of your entire rectangle, leaving a gap on the liner edge.

14. Turn your bag right side out via the gap in the liner.

15. Sew this gap closed, and push your liner into the body of your pouch.

16. Tada! You have made your own lined zipper pouch!

I used the same fabric for the liner and the shell of this pouch, but using coordinating fabric would work great too. Use this type of pouch as a makeup bag, pencil case, mini iPad case, etc.

PS- Remember the giveaway I mentioned? Well, enter below and one winner will receive this chevron pouch, handmade by yours truly. Giveaway ends next Friday, November 22nd.

Happy Crafting!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Braided One Shoulder Tunic

Hello World,

I reconstructed a sweater similar to this a few years ago, but I never made a tutorial for it. Check out the tutorial below to see how to turn an over-sized shirt into a one-shoulder tunic or dress:

1. Gather your supplies: an long-sleeved over-sized shirt, elastic, scissors or rotary cutter and board, pins, a safety pin, and a sewing machine. (You could hand sew this project, it would just take longer.)

2. Lay your shirt flat. Cut off the sleeves and neckline.

3. Take one sleeve, and cut off the side seam.

4. Lay the sleeve out flat.

5. Cut 3 long strips from that sleeve. Mine were each 2.5″ x 18.”

6. Fold each of those strips in half lengthwise and sew, right sides together.

7. Sew the other two strips this way.

8. Place a safety pin at the end of your first strip, and feed it back through the tube you made. This will turn the tube right side out. Repeat will the other two strips.

9. (I don’t have pictures of this step, but take the large portion of your original shirt and sew up the side seams (right sides together) and hem the top of it. This will create a baggy tube top.)

10. If your tube top is super baggy, sew elastic to the back top hem. Stretch the elastic as you sew so that it gathers evenly.

11. Try on your baggy tube top, and mark with pins where you want each of your braid strips to hit. Also note where you would like the strap to connect on the back. I used my bra strap as a guild and just marked a pin there.

12. Remove the tunic, and pin your three strips where your front pins were located.

13. Sew your strips to your top hem. Make sure your seams end up inside the dress of the tunic.

14. Braid your strips and then pin and sew the other ends to the back of your tunic.

Add a belt if your tunic is a little too baggy, and enjoy.

Happy crafting!

 

Autumn Leaves Garland

Hello World,

I have two large maple trees in my yard, and they shed a decent amount of leaves every year. This year instead of making fall decor with paper leaves, I made garland with real leaves. The garland will eventually completely die, but while it is still alive, it will transform in appearance with the different stages of fall.

Check out the simple tutorial below:

1. Gather your leaves. Pick freshly fallen leaves so your garland will have a slightly longer life.

2. Check for bugs and allow your leaves to dry if they are wet.

3. Sew through your leaves with a long straight stitch, allowing an inch or two between each leaf of threading. I sewed my leaves at random angles so they would resemble the actual act of falling.

4. Tie knots at the ends of your garland to secure the end leaves.

5. Hang and enjoy it as it changes in appearance.

Happy Crafting!