Easy One Seam DIY Cloth Napkins Tutorial

by | Sep 2, 2016 | DIY, handmade, Sewing, tutorials

I really love cloth napkins.  If you are thinking, “Who uses cloth napkins anymore?” Then you need to give them an everyday chance.  I am here to show you how easy it is to make cloth napkins with ONLY ONE SEAM!  All you need is a yard of fabric and some basic sewing supplies.  You can do it!  No advanced sewing skills needed.  Think of all the cute dinner party themes!  Think about how much money you’ll save not buying 1000 paper napkins every week.  My children use like 50 napkins a day times 5 kids.  I switched to cloth so everyone can keep the same napkin all day unless there is a major spill.  Plus now my 12 year old helps with the laundry so basically I can just sit around and be lazy all day eating truffles and sewing more napkins.

FABRIC

Lets talk fabric.  There are a variety of terms that no one on the inter-webs uses consistently.  Basically you want a woven double cloth. This means a fabric with two right sides.  I used some apparel cloth from Joann fabric stores.  I can’t find a link to it online but here is some nice double cloth flannel they have… Anna Maria Horner has a beautiful collection called Loominous out that I have heart eyes over.

THE TUTORIAL 

cloth napkin tutoria

MATERIALS

  • •1 yard double face woven fabric
  • •pins
  • •rotary cutter
  • •cutting mat
  • •clear cutting ruler
  • •sewing machine
  • •thread
  • •optional: wonderclips

 

 

Cue the 90’s music “This Is How We Do It” 

STEP 1.) Cut out 10″ squares of your fabric.

STEP 2.) Fold the fabric: turn corner down toward the center of your square 1/2″ then again 1/2″ and pin in place.  Make your pin points to the exact middle of your square. Do this with all four corners of your square.

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STEP 3.) Take one side of the square and fold it along the length as shown.  Then again to conceal the raw edge.  Be sure it makes a mitered edge to the corner.  Use pins or wonder clips to hold in place.  Repeat on all sides.

IMG_5112 IMG_5113

STEP 4.) IF you want to, at this point, you can iron your pinned napkin if you have glassed pins. Confession: I didn’t iron mine.  I should have.  You should too.  Put a corner of your cloth napkin under your sewing machine and lower your needle to start/end in the downward position.  When you get to the next corner leave the needle down, raise the presser foot and pivot. Keep sewing and pivoting until you get back to the first corner. Ta DA! You did it.  Now have some cookies and wipe your milk mustache off with a cute napkin.

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Thanks for joining me!  Happy Sewing Friends! -Andrea

 

Sewing For Twins! Mini Carseat Quilts Tutorial

by | Aug 19, 2016 | DIY, handmade, quilting, Sewing, tutorials

twinsblogtitle copy

Sewing for twins is the best!  We have some dear friends who my husband and I got the pleasure of doing marriage counseling with.  Blake officiated the wedding ceremony.  When they decided to have a baby, God gave them two!  I remember sitting on the couch and holding my 1 week old Ruby when we got the news.

When we found out the twins would be a boy and a girl, I immediately knew what I wanted to make them.  Carseat Quilts!  Have you ever worried to death over your tiny infant in that huge carseat being suffocated by all the blankets?  Well, I have.  I’m a worrier….This time, with Ruby I used an American Girl Doll blanket when I tucked her into her carseat.  It was perfect!  It fit right around her and tucked in just enough.  Babies grow so fast but it’s nice to have just what they need when they need it.  When they grow out of the blanket it can be a wall hanging or a doll blanket or a lovie…

doll quilt, ag doll quilt  carseatq

BUY A CHARM PACK

I bought a really cute stack of 5″ charm squares at Missouri Star Quilts by Alexia Abegg for Cotton + Steele Fabrics called “Hatbox.”  It’s on sale right now for $6.95!  That makes for a VERY inexpensive quilt, especially if you use what you already have in your stash for the rest.  In case you don’t know, a Charm Pack is 42; 5″ x 5″ precut squares of quilting coordinates.  It’s just so easy.  I used to love buying 2 yards of my favorite fabric but now I like having them all cut up for me!  Less is more…

DIVIDE AND SEW

If you divide the charm stack you can make two carseat quilts.  Hatbox came with two color ways…one with pinks and the other with greens, making it the perfect stack to use for the twins.  The quilt measures approx 19″ x 24″ when your done.  It’s nice to keep your quilts between 14″-19″ wide and 19″-24″ long for a carseat quilt.

Lay out your charms in 5 rows of 4…..Sew together, add very lightweight batting and backing or flannel and bind.  I used Mountain Mist Cream Rose batting and Cloud 9 double gauze I had leftover from baby swaddles to finish these up.  Both can be found at Joanne Stores.

QUILT & BIND

I chose to quilt in the ditch with decorative stitching.  I thought the fabric had a vintage feel and that finishing it this way gave it an almost antique crazy quilt vibe.

If you need help with binding you can find all sorts of good tutorials out there in a google search.  I have demonstrated using quilt backing to bind the quilt in both of my previous quilt tutorials here and here.

boyquilt  pinktwin

Here are some pictures…Bowen and Willow are ADORABLE and I’m thankful their parents were willing to share such sweet pictures!

bowenwillow   hand lettering, sewing, twins

 

Happy Sewing!

 

Hipster Baby Love Sewing Tutorial

by | Oct 10, 2015 | Baby, DIY, Sewing, tutorials

Hipster Baby Sewing Love Tutorial Back Story:

I’m always inspired to create something new when I have too much to do. Creativity never occurs out of boredom. At least not for me. It’s usually a product of boundaries.  Or limitations.  Mine were time, money, and boy fabric.

So anyway, my bestie and I are due with babies a week apart! I know right?! So we had a mutual friend throw us a double shower!  She managed to sew me up some Hipster Baby Love for the Baby Shower, I had good intentions too and that was it. New job, four kids, husband in school full time….I just didn’t get there.

{ For the first three months of her and my pregnancy I did NOT know I was PREGNANT.  She was so sick and miserable and I was all like ” Oh gosh, I’m sorry your so sick, lets go to Trader Joes and get snacks!”  Then she went with me to my first ultrasound and the lady was like “your 17 weeks”, and we looked at each other and laughed! }

I finally stole a few hours one Saturday to sew her up some little things for the baby boy….I don’t get to sew baby boy stuff very often cause we don’t make those around here, and as I was digging through some scraps of fabric I came across some sweet red and black buffalo check from Christmas Jammies last year and the spark was ignited!  Then I found some light brown velour and a hipster baby lumberjack theme popped into my head and I couldn’t do anything but sew.  But then I realized how much she loves serged edges on things and I had to go to Joannes and buy brown and black serger thread. AND CHANGE MY SERGER THREAD. THAT IS TRUE LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP.

First I cut up some velour into harem pants by tracing the pants she had made for me! She later shared the pattern she used with me. It’s by Brindille and Twig! I love her patterns!

 

TUTORIAL:

Trace the pants from baby pants you already have or buy the pattern from Brindille and Twig Here.

Cut out a little lumberjack triangle for the back of your pants and serge around it. Top stitch it to the back of the pants. Then serge front and pack pants together.

Next make cuffs and waistband….

I estimated the cuffs, I cut two 6″ x 6″ pieces of black jersey ribbing. (I miraculously had this in my stash as well….Thanks MOM) I did this wrong. The waist I measured at 5″ x 14″.  When sewn length wise first, you then get 3″ wide cuffs and 2.5″ waistband.  The steps would be: 1. sew lengthwise….2. turn inside out… 3. sew open ends all together. But then you have a bulky seam. {#facepalm} I have sewn waist bands for maxi dresses before. All I can do is blame this on pregnant brain.

I SHOULD HAVE: sewn/serged the short sides together, then folded in half with the seam to the inside. This would make a perfect cuff or waistband ready to attach to the pants. Again, let’s blame it on being pregnant.

Attach the cuffs and waistband by turning the pants inside out and clipping to the bands. Then serge or zigzag sew while stretching to fit.

HOW CUTE ARE THESE!

THE CHANGING PAD:

I started in on a changing pad with a pocket.  Sort of a campy sleeping bag look!  I used microfiber black polar fleece, brown velour, and flannel buffalo check.  I made the pocket by serging around the brown stretch velour. Then I clipped all three layers together and serged. Have you seen these Clover Wonder Clips? They are the best! You can get them on Amazon for a great deal or use your coupon at JoAnnes!  I made my pad really long but it is thin and you can roll it up and stick it in your diaper bag.  You can add some wipes and diapers to the pocket and fold up also.  The velour, fleece, flannel combo sort of stick to themselves which is nice.

 

I repeated this cut, clip, and serge method for my two layer burp cloths with brown velour and buffalo check flannel. I made them 7″ x 14″.  Then I cut out two 36″ squares of fabric for the swaddle.  I made the swaddle of black jersey stretch knit and brown stretch velour with a triangle in the corner for hipster style 🙂 I think swaddles are better when stretchy.  Wonder Clipped. Serged. Bam. Your Welcome. I love them.

THE CARDI:

Last but not least we have the essential cardi. All you need is a good soft onsie. I felt it crucial that the onsie be off white. I don’t why. It just looked better. I found one at Old Navy’s half off baby sale while buying my oldest child all new clothes. Because she grows out of all her clothes every two months right now. It’s killing me. 11 yr olds don’t like shopping. For this third excruciating trip, I left her at home and picked everything out myself. She stayed home and watch Dr. Who.  It was a win win.

Oh right, THE CARDI! Grab a black fabric marker and sketch plan first with pencil. I got this marker at Michaels and it doesn’t require heat setting. But I have not tested it to see how long it lasts through washes.  I had a hard time deciding between pocket with glasses, suspenders, or bowtie….Obviously pocket, cardi, & glasses won.  My husband thought it might be cute to draw a pipe or cigar in the pocket, which I agreed. But some people wouldn’t find it as funny as us, so I caved and stayed conservative.  Here it is:

KC Royals Bags! Back To School Teacher Gifts…..

by | Aug 29, 2015 | DIY, handmade

Can you smell the freshly sharpened pencils and cool crisp EARLY morning air?  IT’s BACK TO SCHOOL TIME! Back to a routine, and waking up early and remembering to brush your teeth and admire the new waxy crayons that will soon be peeled and broken.  I love it. I love fall. I love planning teacher gifts! Fall Wreaths! I get in super high Martha Stewart Gear and make PUMPKIN EVERYTHING.  The struggle is real. But it’s not a struggle, I truly love fall and to me, it’s the most wonderful time of the year!

I have been reading up on what teachers really like to get for gifts, especially since I’m teaching a little this year!  There are numerous pinterest posts on the topic. The most helpful ones were written by….. teachers. Yeah. They are special people and they don’t do what they do for the money…so I try really hard every year to make sure my girls teachers feel loved and appreciated.  The top recommendations were:

1.)Gift Cards

2.)Thoughtful personal notes and handmade items from students

3.)Useful things that aren’t just for teaching

4.)Yummy Foods in small amounts/single servings

I decided on tote bags that were filled with yummy treats. But here’s the thing. I did not know how absolutely busy and tired I would be tackling the enormous task of getting 4 children ready for school and teaching and working on a new website and being pregnant with number 5.  I’m a classic first – child. Overly ambitious, task oriented, always making big plans in my head and overestimating my super woman powers.  I hit the wall. I designed three fun KC Royals tote bags to give the girls teachers in my head and ONLY. MADE. ONE.  I tested the perfect pumpkin muffin recipes until I found the right one, but when Sunday night came I had to be realistic and go to bed at a reasonable hour and give myself grace.  And we had all eaten the pumpkin muffins.  Except for Cranky Bear. He was on a diet. and boy was he cranky when he smelled those delicious little guys.

So this week after recovering from the first week of new everything, I regrouped and made my pumpkin muffins from Sally’s Baking Addiction.com and only gave the kindergarten teacher a handmade tote avec pumpkin muffin. I’m really happy with it though! WE are big Royals Fans here in KC. I have been loving all the handmade Royals Fan gear and art and was inspired to make my own. I’m excited to make more!

We bagged the rest of the giant muffins into cute brown paper bags with windows, and they were much appreciated.  One teacher commented on the fact that she didn’t have time to get breakfast that day and it was perfect timing. I love it when God seems to work even those little details out.

Well Here’s the Tote. I’ve added it to my little Etsy shop, Handful Of Arrows,  if you want one! If time permits, I may get the other designs out of my head and add those too!  If you’d like to make your own here’s what I did:

-Bought a premade canvas tote and some Tulip Brand Fabric Paint Markers from Michaels….

-Drew my design out, copied it onto my tote in pencil.

-Traced my design with the markers. All you do is press it with a thin dish towel on top and a hot iron to set the ink.

Let’s Go Royals Lets’s Go!!!!

What’s a Design Board and Why Do YOU Need one?

by | Aug 2, 2015 | DIY, Home Decor, Interior Design

Imagine going to Lowes with a $30,000 gift card……..You pick out all the things in the store you like and bring them home. Cabinets, countertops, various fans, pendant lights that strike your fancy, random favorite paint colors…I mean you just go to town.

When you get home and put it all up what is it going to look like? Will it create the look you want? Will it feel like home? Will it work for your family? Did they have everything you needed to create a cohesive space? Did those Octopus shaped cabinet pulls really go with your seeded glass pendants?

This is why you need a Design Board. Most women and men know what they want in a home, but getting there may be a challenging process. That’s why I make a design board for myself and my clients. We can visualize what everything is going to “do” together. We can see if you really want the “Farmhouse” kitchen or the “Mid Century Modern” living room before we spend all your money and you hate it. You can make your own. It’s as simple as searching the internet and stores for various items, then cutting and pasting or dragging and dropping them into a visual display. It’s a “google spreadsheet for interior design nerds” if you will.

To give you an example, here is a recent series of design boards I made for a client. They are helping this (sweet) family to formulate a plan with-in their budget to create the home they need for their family and friends, their job and ministry. It was such an honor and delight to help them and I enjoyed it swatch by swatch!

I also included a detailed shopping list of resources and service providers for their job. It was a win – win. They get what they want in their budget without having to hire someone to manage the entire process. Although I can do that for you if prefer:)

Happy Designing! -Andrea

Triangle Baby Quilt

by | Jul 3, 2015 | DIY, quilting, Sewing

Triangle Quilts are my favorite. They are so fun. I prefer isosceles triangles, but I won’t berate all you equilateral lovers out there. To each her own…..I made my first triangle quilt out of all my baby crib sheets. I couldn’t bear to throw them away, or give them away, but it felt silly to keep them when I didn’t plan on having any more children. So I bought a triangle die for my accuquilt studio cutter and started in on turning all those sheets into triangles. I made two quilts.  I was really stressed at the time. Sewing all those triangles together was therapy.  When a woman can’t do anything to change her circumstances it feels nice to sew something together. With each stitch, I was reminded that God is near to the brokenhearted and He binds up the fiercest wounds to the human heart.

You really should get an accuquilt cutter if you can afford it and you quilt a lot. And also mainly, if your kind of a perfectionist….Just start saving!

But enough back story….So my very talented sister in law and bro are having their first little one and she requested a triangle quilt. She is an amazing graphic designer, so naturally I made sure to get paint swatches, design preferences, and lots of samples she liked before I nervously picked out the fabric for this piece. It took a lot of deliberation and shopping trips to quilt stores like Missouri Star Quilt Co. and The Fabric Shack……I may have purchased some other quilting fabric while there. I’m not sure. It was sort if like a fabric addicts heaven, and I can’t be responsible for being let loose in there.

Anyway, so my little helpers and I cut the painstakingly perfect triangles in like two minutes on the accuquilt cutter with the decided upon fabrics and I began to lay out the top pieces. When you do a triangle quilt, it’s easier on the eye to make a random pattern. You need to lay it all out to be sure you have it looking the way you want.

This quilt was supposed to be 36″by 36″ but sometimes you run out of the perfect pool blue Kona Cotton or you don’t know exactly how many triangles of each color your going to use….It ended up 31″ by 36″. I used 7 rows of 15 iscosoles triangles 4″ long.  So if you wanted to make a baby quilt just plan on a bit more of your favorite color or be less picky than me! A twin size quilt would require triple the amount of triangles. I had a few triangles left over but basically not enough to do anything other than make a small pillow with. I purchased 1/2 yard of each of the 5 fabrics. You’ll want to prewash your fabrics and iron them to get a good precise unwonky quilt. Triangles are a little tricksy if you don’t. Plus, my MOM says you should always prewash and iron your fabric. She’s always right.

TIP: Be sure to leave a tiny over lap when sewing your triangles together. The thin point of the triangle should hang past a 1/4″ or 3/8″ depending on your seam allowance of course. Here is what I mean:

At this point in the process there are some missing pictures. Not sure why.  I blame the children.  First, sew all your horizontal rows of triangles together and iron the seams to reduce bulk. Then, pin the rows together one at a time, matching the seams and sew your quilt top together. As you can see above, I chose Mountain Soft thin cotton quilt batting. I like that one or Warm and Natural. It’s easier to quilt through the thinner, natural fibers of these types. Joannes always has their batting on sale, so you should never have to buy it full price.   I absolutely love the backing fabric for this quilt! It’s Art Gallery’s Prism Elements line!!!! I’m so glad I didn’t buy the backing until I was ready because they just came out with it. There are a variety of colors and simple patterns in this line to go with all your quilty projects!

When you make your quilt sandwich, think about how you want to do your binding. I NEVER do the backing binding method, but this was such a small quilt and I loved the fabric. So of course, for my first ever blog tutorial I do it! I carefully trimmed my top and batting with a rotary cutter and pressed them before laying them atop my backing. Next I safety pinned the layers together.  Always start in the middle and smooth from there to pin your quilt together. Work out in a cross and diagonal from the center. Last step before quilting: I trimmed a 2″ margin of my backing carefully. I wanted to have a 1.25″ margin for my binding but sometimes when you quilt it uses a bit of the backing, better safe than sorry!  I quilted on the diagonal and LOVE how it turned out.  When quilting on your home machine, use a walking foot. Roll your fabric up to help it fit in the “armpit” of the machine easier.  Set your stitch a bit longer than normal to help the quilting stay smooth.  Work from the middle out with your stitching…

Let’s talk binding. Trimmed it up to a nice straight 1.25″ with the rotary cutter. Pressed the quilt nicely.  Then, I ironed the binding over to the top of the quilt making a crease. Next I double folded the binding, pressing after each fold.

Are you hoping at this point that I don’t forget to show you how to miter the corners?  First open one fold of one of the quilt binding sides. Fold the corner down toward that opened side. The fold the binding back over where sit should go. Poof! Magical mitered corner… I think it’s best to show you in pictures:

There. All done! Thanks for reading! Share your triangle quilts with me on my FB page as soon as their done! I’d love to see them. Now that baby O is on the way today I can share this. We can’t wait to meet him! Here are pictures of what was happening behind the scenes while I worked on this with the hoodlums. Just your basic sprinkler situation and some attitudes of course…. 🙂 For the Gmas….