Cute Fabric Flowers

Yesterday night was homecoming and I needed a little something for my hair. When I was at the store I saw flower barrettes and knew I could make them. When I got home I created these little beauties.

I didn't have a lot of time, so I didn't take pictures of each step but they were very easy to make. The most time consuming part was cutting out all the circles and scalloping them. I traced around a coffee cup to make the circles and then just scalloped them to have a flower with 5 petals. You also need a little bit of felt or material a little larger than a quarter. After you have 8 flower cutouts just take 1, fold it in half, then half again and put hotglue on the tip and glue it to the center of your little circle.You'll want to glue the next piece down, but glue it so it overlaps the previous petal. I realize now it's hard to explain without pictures. I'll have to make another sometime soon to get pictures. Anyways, after I had the flower done I glued sequins to the center to match my dress (my dress is black and sequin-y). Finally I glued a bobby pin to the bottom and voilá!

I think they turned out pretty good considering I made them on a whim and rushed the whole time. I will make a full tutorial on how to make them sometime soon...I hope :)

Quick Pirate Vest

So it's Class Day at school and this year we're good ole' pirates.. Arrggghhh!! This took me about 45 minutes to complete. I started out with an XL T-shirt, which on me is HUGE. I had to downsize it quite a bit! I had a white shirt and black jeans and when I looked up pirate costumes most had a red or reddish vest. That being said, this was the only shirt that I could find that I was "allowed" to cut up. I felt guilty for it being a US Freedom shirt, but it was this or nothing. So here goes.

This was only meant to be a quick costume to I didn't really measure anything. First I turned it inside out and cut down the middle of the shirt. Only cut the top layer. Not the bottom. Then cut off the sleeves and collar. I honestly have NO idea why it looks so pink...

Then I turned it it right side out and put a pin where I was going to sew a seam and make it smaller. I shortened the length of the shoulders and sides. I also marked where I wanted the curve of the "U" to lie and cut it out.

Then I turned it back inside out and tried it on. Make sure you don't stick yourself with the pins. Make any adjustments if you need to.When you try it on, make a note of how short you want it to be and mark it with a pin.

Now cut a little below your pin. I cut about an inch below it.. Next I sewed the shoulder part.

And the bottom hem of the vest. By the way this picture shows the excess fabric cut off, but oh well..

Cut off all excess fabric. I cut about 1/2 an inch away from my seam.

 Add some "pirate-esque" buttons. I luckily had 3.

My finished vest. I only sewed the bottom hem. I didn't see the need for anything else. I still looks good and hey pirates weren't the fanciest people so it really doesn't matter. You can sew all the seams though if you wish. In the picture you can kind of see the emblem from the front of the shirt but in usual light I didn't see anything.

Not the best pirate costume compared to my friends, but oh well! It was fun!

Oh and I also made a little eye-patch. I just free drew the shape of an eye-patch on some black and white fabric, sewed them together and turned right-side out and added the red top-stitching. Then I just poked two holes in the white material on the back and threaded some yarn through. As I said, I wasn't going for perfect work here. I had only a little time to be crafty and this is what resulted.

  Pirate on folks :)

PLL Halloween Episode

     Well, I haven't posted in awhile because I haven't gotten into the habit of posting on a regular basis...That being said I needed a topic and tonight was the Halloween episode of Pretty Little Liars and seems to be an ongoing topic between my friends and I. Let me just start of by saying it was SOOOO good!
      I can't believe we have to wait until January for the new episode O.o ... I can't get over how amazing it is. There is a twist around every corner and I can't help but wonder when Spencer,Aria, Emily and Hanna are going to realize that Toby is part of the "A" Team. All I know is whoever has a stab wound on their hand better cover that thing up..And how do the people at the Mental Hospital not realize Mona is sneaking out? Oh and the little girl was CREE-PY. I'm pretty sure it reflects the story of the last Halloween episode where Ali talked about the twin girls and how one killed the other. Also I'm so confused from the last part of the episode...I mean what the heck was the last scene? PLL with a zombie twist? I don't think that'll happen, but I can't help but wonder who that was and how exactly that situation will play up in January.. This is fun.. who knows I may just talk about a lot of TV on here, considering my life revolves around it :)

Cute Sling Bag Tutorial

This isn't the first bag I've made, yet it is the first tutorial I've ever done. This particular bag is for a friend's daughter. I will try and make the instructions as clear as possible. I made this in about 4 hours, so it's a good little afternoon project.You can probably make it faster than me, but I like to go slow, take my time, and have good quality work.You can find the pattern here. If you use this pattern in any repost or tutorial please source me. I'd appreciate it :)

I bought 1 1/2 yards of each fabric and the way I laid out my patterns will allow me to make 2 complete bags.  Here is what you need: 2 lining pieces (purple), 2 outer pieces (flowers), 2 small pockets (purple), 2 large pockets (flowers), 2 square pockets (flowers), 1 piece for fabric flower (purple) and a little velcro.

I like to use every bit of fabric I can. Here is how I laid out my pattern on half of the fabric. I squeezed the pockets and flower piece in between the spaces. Just play with it to get everything to fit. If you don't want to lay it out like so, I'd say 1 1/4 yard will do fine.

As I was getting ready to make my pockets, my cat decided to jump up and say "hello" :)

To make all of your pockets, turn the pieces right sides together and stitch. I used 1/4" seam allowance and left an inch to turn them inside out. Then clip your corners and cut the "v's" along the rounded edge. Once turned, iron to make top stitching easier and crisper. I used a 1/4" seam allowance on everything except top stitching, which was 1/8".

 As you can see, I hate sewing curves. They never look as good as I want them... Just as a tip, top stitch the very top of the large pocket. I forgot to do that and had to top stitch the top after I'd already sewed the pocket to the bag, which was frustrating.

Pin your pocket to your bag and eyeball it until it looks straight.

Also, top stitch the top of the pocket before sewing it on. Sew on some velcro. I forgot to top stitch this as well and had to go back, but oh well. Live and learn right?

Sewing on the opposite piece of velcro can be tricky. I stuck the 2 pieces of velcro together and stuck a piece of double sided tape to the back and layed the pocket how I wanted it to lay. Then I sewed along the top, peeled off the tape and continued around. You can also use fabric glue. I didn't because I'm broke haha..

Put your 2 lining pieces right sides together and sew along the outside edge. I marked where you should sew with yarn.

Do the same with your outer fabric.

Iron and press the straps as shown. Trust me, this makes life SO much easier. I couldn't find the iron when I made my first bag, and the straps were bulky and I just didn't like them.

Here's where the magic happens. Turn your lining fabric right side out and stuff it into your outer fabric, which is wrong side out.

Here's how it should look. Since it is a curved edge it can be tricky to get them lined up perfect. I just put a book or 2 in it and it sort of straightened itself out on its own.

So now just sew,sew,sew. Go along the outer edges of the straps and top edges of the bag. I left about 5 inches for turning. In case you don't know, turning is where you pull your inside fabric to the outside through the hole. The first time I did this I literally thought "Oh my God, What did I just do?" It turned out ok though. Never mind the pun haha. Ok back on task. You can leave more or less open for turning depending on how big your hand is and such. I left the opening on the part of the bag where the straps curve into the bag. I don't know why I didn't take a picture of turning the bag or top stitching. Just be sure to iron the seams before you top stitch. I only top stitched the very top edge of the bag and the straps. Don't try and top stitch the bottom of the bag. I just don't see how it would work.

Here is the making of the flower. Fold your fabric in half right sides together and sew along the zig-zaggy edge. Next turn the flower inside out. I swear to you, this is the hardest part of the whole project! You will understand why. It took me 15 minutes to turn it completely. It is tricky, but not impossible and adds a lot of character to the finished bag. Ok now, put the ends of the flower together and stitch them together. Next using a needle and thread, do a running stitch along the bottom. Make sure you use a strong thread or double the thread up.  The stitches don't have to be perfect.

Start to pull your thread. Here is where it transform to this crown looking thing into a flower! You do have to be forceful to get it tight, but don't pull it to the point where the thread snaps.

Lay your flower where you want it. Grab a button and sew it down on top of the flower. Make sure you don't sew your bag opening together. That would suck..Anyways I add stability to the flower by putting the needle through the bottom of the flower and wrap it around the button. It tightens up the flower and makes it stay put. You might have to experiment around to get it how you want it.

 

Here is the finished flower. Beautiful, isn't it?

Here is the outside pocket.

And here is the finished bag!

I LOVE it. I think it's so cute! Let me know what you think and if there's anything I can make clearer in the tutorial. Also, If you made this bag, send me a picture. I'd love to see it :)