Sewing Archives - Page 7 of 13

accessories, Birthday Gift, Crafts, Gift Ideas, gift wrapping, gifts, Sewing

Sew Easy Anthropologie Cloth Napkin Gift Bags

When I want to give a small gift as a thank you or to make someone’s day I like to dress it up by presenting the gift in a little fabric drawstring pouch. These cloth napkin gift bags are “sew” easy to make and they cost about 1/3 the cost of the cloth napkin! Gather a few simple supplies and your sewing supplies and join me.

Materials:

Cloth napkin
Thread
Baker’s string or thin ribbon
Seam ripper
Scissors
Safety pin
Chopstick, paint brush or other stick type object

Instructions:

Fold the cloth napkin into fourths. Cut along the folds to yield four squares.

Fold the napkin fabric in half right sides together. Read more

August 11, 2014/9 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Pillows, Sewing

DIY Anthropologie Inspired Pillow

Hi there! It’s Melissa from The Happier Homemaker back again this month with a super easy knock off project today.

I don’t know about you but I just love looking at stores and catalogs for my DIY inspiration. I recently saw a gorgeous Anthropologie octopus pillow online but one look at the $168 price tag and I knew it would not be making an appearance in my living room! I knew right away that I could DIY my own version for significantly less and am in love with how it turned out!

Supplies:

Inexpensive Tea Towels (I bought mine from Walmart-2 for less than $5)
Black Sharpie marker
White Thread
Poly-Fil
Sewing Machine

Instructions:

If you feel comfortable drawing, use the inspiration picture to sketch out an octopus approximately 11″ wide. If you need a little help in the art department you can download a scan of my sketch here. (You will need to tape the two scans together to get the full sized design.) Read more

July 23, 2014/18 Comments/by Melissa Riker

bedroom, Contributor, DIY, drop cloths, painting, Sewing

DIY Striped Euro Shams

Every DIYer loves a little drop cloth project right? Jaime from That’s My Letter here to share how to make striped euro shams.

Using drop cloth and acrylic craft paint, I made these grain sack inspired shams to finish off our new poster bed.

I added piping to finish the edges. It wasn’t too hard, and it was worth the extra effort. Brittany has a great piping tutorial here or you could always leave off the piping if you choose.

I found my inspiration for these shams from a Country Living article in the June 2013 issue. The master bedroom in the featured home had the perfect striped lumbar pillow and I knew I just had to have my own!

Similar but different, these striped shams coordinate well with my Joseph’s Coat quilt. Check out how easy it is to make your own shams:

Materials:

drop cloth (2 – 26″ x 26″ square piece per sham)
cotton cording (2 yards per sham)
22″ zipper
painter’s tape
stencil paintbrush or stiff bristle brush
acrylic paint
pencil
clear quilting ruler
rotary cutter
self healing cutting mat
scissors
thread
sewing machine
iron & ironing board

Instructions:

Step 1: Measure your sham inserts and add 1″ to each side. (My inserts measured 25″ x 25″ therefore I cut the drop cloth at 26″ x 26″.) Tape the corners of the drop cloth to a hard surface. Slide a piece of cardboard under the drop cloth to protect your surface. Mark a 1/2″ wide stripe at the center and secure painter’s tape down either side of gap. Read more

July 16, 2014/3 Comments/by Jaime Costiglio

accessories, Crafts, decor, Decorating, Pillows, Sewing

DIY Pom Pom Placemat Pillows

pom pom pillows

Hi Pretty Handy Readers, Jaime here from That’s My Letter sharing another fun DIY project. Today it’s pom pom placemat pillows. Yes, please!

We just amped up the fun factor with these cute pom pom placemat pillows and they are a cinch to make.

Pom Pom Placemat Pillows

You make a placemat sandwich with pom pom trim in between and no turning right side out! Simply fill with stuffing and sew shut.

The red and white is classic and bold. But, I loved this simple sewing project so much that I made another set of pom pom pillows for my girls summer bedding.

A pretty set of yellow placemats with light pink pom pom trim will be the perfect accent pillow on their beds.

Pom Pom Placemat Pillows Materials: Read more

May 21, 2014/6 Comments/by Jaime Costiglio

Before and After, chair re-upholster, fabric, Goodwill, Home Decor, Kids Room, re-upholster, re-upholster seat cushion, ReNew, Seat Cushion, Sewing, Stashbusting, Trash to Treasure, Tutorial, Upcycling, Upholster Chair

How to Recover a Butterfly Chair

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Do you have a butterfly chair that is sun-faded or has hideous fabric on it? I bet you thought it was a lost cause, right? Nope! With a sewing machine, some new fabric and a little spare time you can recover that ugly butterfly chair and have a new one. Okay, so I didn’t recover it with green fabric in honor of St. Patrick, but what could be greener than a good old upcycling project! Believe it or not, this was a much easier project than I had anticipated, so don’t get scared by the curves. You can “sew” do this! 😉

I stumbled upon this chair at Goodwill for $9.99. Normally I wouldn’t spend this much for a sun-faded chair, but because I was working on the school library makeover project — and we needed more comfortable seating — I bought it. After all, we would have had to pay at least double for another comfy chair.

Luckily, I had some soft leftover fleece fabric that I could use to recover the chair. I wish I had measured how much I used, I think it was a little less than 2 yards.

Materials:

2 yards of fabric
Coordinating thread
Pins
Scissors
Old butterfly chair + old cover

Instructions:

1. Remove the old cover from the butterfly chair frame. Lay it on top of your fabric (both right sides up.) Read more

March 17, 2014/6 Comments/by Brittany Bailey