Simple Scrap Headbands

There is something so rewarding about making a project for materials that you have on hand.  Don't get me wrong, I love to go out and purchase pretty fabric for a particular project, but making something out of what you thought was nothing, is pretty rewarding.

I had some small scraps of felt that I've been holding on to.  I don't know why, you can buy a sheet of acrylic felt for 33 cents, but I held on to the smallest of pieces. Thankfully, I did, because I turned them into some cute little bow headbands for some friends.

Aren't they sweet?  I think so. The bows themselves are completely assembled with a glue gun, making them quick and easy.    You can use my leather bow tutorial for reference.  These bows are narrower in the center than the original template. But the basics are the same.

 I also made up a few three inch pinwheel headbands, another great scrap buster. You can find the tutorial for these bad boys on The Mother Huddle.  I love this project.  So simple, so charming, and so perfect for summer.

Boy Faves: Attire

Dressing a boy can seem a bit boring at first, and true, there aren't as many wardrobe elements and accessories to play with, but it can still be fun.

My Sister In Law is expecting her first son (just a week and a half before us), and she mentioned that she just doesn't like boy clothes.  Shorts, pants, shirts, sweaters, those are the basics.  No fun tunics, rompers, skorts, skirts, or dresses.  No headbands, ruffled diaper covers, or bejeweled socks.  But hey, hats, suspenders, vests and cardigans can be pretty fun for little guys.  So we'll take a look at some fun wardrobe options for the baby boy.



Pants









Tops














One Pieces









Shoes

So, really there are options, and some fun and stylish ones at that. Don't let the fact that you are dressing a boy, limit your wardrobe creativity. You may have noticed that many of the options pinned were from Zulily. Zulily is a daily deal website that has some great options when it comes to stylish kid's apparel. I love them. You can request an invite here. Also, you can find my pinterest profile above in my social media links.

Lemony Lemon Meringues

I love lemon, and I love meringues, so a combination of the two would have to be a home run.  We had a little lemon party with the ladies from church, and I always try to bring something gluten free (because I want to eat too!).

I decided to try out a new lemon curd recipe, and sandwich it between two small meringues.

I used the for merry meringue  recipe, omitted the jello powder, and folded in about 1 tsp of lemon zest right at the end.

The lemon curd was delicious, and it made for a perfectly satisfying treat on a hot summer day.

Simply prepare the meringues, cool, and then right before serving, spread a thin layer of lemon curd on the underside of one meringue.  Top with another meringue.

I recommend assembling the meringues right before serving.  The curd will soften the meringues quite a bit, and if you don't want a big sticky mess, I'd wait. They were delicious.


Lemon Curd
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/3 Cup strained lemon juice
5 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine the juice, zest, and sugar in a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, beat egg until light. Beat part of the hot lemon mixture into the egg. Add the egg mixture back into the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to simmer around the edges of the pan. Continue to cool, and stir an additional 15 seconds. Strain if desired. Add vanilla. Cool.

 Once again, here's the link for the meringues.

For more information on the Lemon themed meeting we had, you can find my source here.  The lemon curd recipe is adapted from the information provided in the meeting.

DIY Leather Bookmark Tutorial

Another simple leather scrap project for Father's Day.  My husband is an avid reader, and being on summer break, he's catching up on his hobby.  I thought some nice leather bookmarks might be appreciated, especially since there is usually a junk mail envelope, or receipt holding his place in his current read.

These are super simple to make.  No photo tutorial for this one, but I think that you'll do just fine without.

Materials: 
Leather scraps (upholstery weight-not too thick)
Thread
Leather Sewing Needle

 First off, you need to cut two right triangles of equal size.  Mine are about 2 1/2 inches long on the right angle sides.  The hypotenuse (the diagonal), will be longer.  Just make sure that the square sides are equal in length.

Next, this is optional, stitch along the hypotenuse edge of each of your triangles.  This is purely decorative, but I can't resist.

Next, place your leather triangles wrong sides together, and back tacking the start and finish of the stitching lines, sew the pieces together.  I stitch 1/8" away from the raw edge of the leather.  You can lengthen the stitching length if you'd like.  Contrasting thread is always a fun touch with leather as well.

As with sewing any leather project, I recommend using a non-stitch presser foot.  You can also reduce the amount of tension/pressure on your presser foot, to help the leather slide under the presser foot.

Slide the book pages into the open hypotenuse edge, and mark your place in your favorite book.  

DIY Leather Cord Strap

After making up some fabric cord keepers for Mother's Day, I figured that it was time to tackle the problem of unruly cords in a more masculine fashion.  Leather is such a great material to work with, and is a great gender neutral material. I love it so much, that I have a really difficult time throwing out leather scraps.  I have a whole bin full of small leather scraps, and fortunately, there is plenty to do with them.

These little leather cord straps require a piece of leather that is only 5/8 inch-3/4 inch wide, and only needs to be about 4 1/2 inches long. I made a few different sizes, just to see what I liked best, and to be honest, the smaller the better, four and a quarter to four and a half inches in length seemed to be just about right for phone chargers, and usb cables.  If you need something for a small but bulkier cord, five to five and a half inches would probably work well.

Materials:
Scrap of leather 5/8"x 4 1/2"
Sew On Hook and Loop Fastener (velcro) 1/2"
Leather Sewing Needle
Sewing Machine Thread

Take your strip of leather, and sew around the perimeter of the leather using your leather sewing machine needle. Lengthen your stitch length if desired.

Sew on your hook and loop (velcro) fastener.  You will attach one side to the right side of the leather, and one to the underside, on opposite ends of the strap. Done.  

If you really want to get organized, you could stamp the name of the cord that belongs to the strap using leather stamps.  I had a clever reader mention that she used her embroidery machine to label her fabric cord keepers.  So smart.

If your leather is particularly thick, or has a difficult time moving under the presser foot, reduce the tension on your presser foot, and use a non stick or teflon presser foot.

Tutorial: Pants to Shorts Refashion

I remember wearing cut offs as a kid.  I was always embarrassed.  Why? I don't know, but I was.  I don't blame my mom for cutting off my worn out jeans.  As a parent myself, I can now hardly believe how quickly my four year old can outgrow, and wear out a pair of pants.

So, in an effort to save money, and make the investment last, I turned several pair of his worn kneed jeans into shorts, but I'm not going to call them cut offs, let's call them refashions. I'll share a few tips on creating successful short refashions.

First off, make them (if for boys), as long as possible.  Mid thigh shorts are a dead giveaway that the shorts were once pants. Second, try to incorporate as many of the design elements of the pants into the hem of the shorts.  Third, control the fray.

This brown pair of shorts started out as a pair of pants that never quite fit right.  We liked them, but by the time they fit with the waist adjusted, they were too short.  So in an effort to get more use out of them, we figured they'd get more wear as shorts.  I pulled out a pair of Clark's existing shorts that fit well.  They served as a length guide.  Match up the top of the waistbands, and determine how long you want the shorts to be.  Next, determine how big you want the hem of the shorts to be.  Add this length (plus 1/4" if turning the hem under), to the length of the short.

 Fold the pants in half, matching up pant legs.  Make a straight cut using a rotary cutter and a straight edge.

If you have a serger, serge the edges.  It will control the fray, and make turning the hem easier.  If you don't, you can use an overcast zig zag stitch to control the raw edge.

Stitch Witchery, or any sort of sewable fusible adhesive is great for this project.  I found this unused package at a thrift store-score.

Turn your shorts inside out.

 Align the edge of the fusible adhesive with the raw edge of the shorts.  

Fold up the hem along the inside edge of the hem tape.  Press with an iron.  Your iron shouldn't come in contact with the hem tape at any time, so make sure it's nicely tucked into your hem.

Turn your shorts right side out.  Select a thread that matches the existing stitching on the shorts.  If you have a golden thread, use gold.  It's important to match the existing stitches, and not the fabric. If you don't have a matching thread, consider another contrasting color, and repeat in multiple places on the garment (see upcycled shorts).

 Select a stitch that most resembles that stitching on the shorts.  If your garment has a longer stitch length, lengthen the stitch on your hem.  If it has a reinforced triple stitch, then adjust your setting as well.  Repeating these design elements will help the shorts feel intentional.

Stitch 1/8" inside your hem allowance.  I stitched 5/8" away from the folded hem, of my 3/4" hem. Try to keep your stitching line as straight and consistent as possible (how to sew a straight line).

These blue shorts had worn out at the knee.  The hem is narrow, but I was able to repeat a double row of lengthened triple stitches.  It helps the shorts feel more finished.

Single row of elongated straight stitch for these brown shorts.

 Repeat on both legs.  Done and done.  Another example, my pants to maternity shorts refashion.

Another option is to try to use the existing hem of the pants on the shorts. This will only work well if the pants is relatively straight legged.  If the pant hem is narrower than the knee/thigh, then you won't have enough material to work with.

Chambray Shirt to Kids Shorts and Shirts Upcycle

Yesterday I mentioned that the old chambray shirt was incorporated into three additional articles of clothing.  I know you've been on pins and needles, so here they are.  First off, I made a little summer outfit for Miles.  He looks so adorable in it, just imagine him wearing it, because by the time I managed to snap some photos of him in it, it was covered in applesauce. 

My mom found the t-shirt at a garage sale for a quarter. The smart woman saw the potential, and just by adding a small pocket detail, we transformed the t-shirt. 

I cut a small triangle of fabric, that was 1/4" wider and taller than the pocket.  I folded the raw edges under 1/4" on both sides, and left the diagonal raw.  I pinned it in place, stitched around all sides, and added a couple of extra stitching rows on the diagonal for added detail. The raw edge will fray, and I'm looking forward to it.  It will only unravel 1/8", because I sewed that close to the r.e., but it will add a bit of texture to the shirt.

The three rows of stitching also repeat a design detail from the shorts.  You can see on the back pocket flap that there are three rows of stitching down the middle.  

Ah, now you can see it a bit better. (Pardon the over exposed phone photos.  My camera batteries are dead, so this is as good as it gets for now.)

I used a pair of Miles' existing shorts for the pattern.  They are pretty basic.  A faux fly, front pockets, and back faux flap pockets. They really didn't take much time at all, and given that I already had the buttons, the shirt material for the shorts, and the t-shirt from my mom, the entire outfit ended up costing about a quarter.  

The last article is a bit of a repeat.  I embellished on of Clark's t-shirts that I snatched up at Wal-mart at the end of last fall ($1 on sale), and added a contrast pocket.  This is the actual pocket from the chambray shirt.  I used my seam ripper, and carefully removed it.  Then, I added a bit of red stitching to the pocket yoke (?), cut the pocket down a bit, and turned under the raw edges.  Then I positioned the pocket, and used that red thread to secure it to the t-shirt.  I love this little shirt.  It's silly that something as simple as adding or embellishing a pocket can create so much interest to a plain t-shirt, but it does.

Upcycled Chambray baby "Toms"

 Thanks for reading.

Upcycled Chambray Baby "Toms"

Next up from the clothes pile, is a chambray shirt.  It never fit my husband properly, so it hung in the closet most of the time.  But, it has now become part of four different articles of clothing for my boys.  

 I made up these chambray baby "Toms" using Homemade Toasts' printable pattern.  The basic printable pattern isn't scaled, so you'll have to do that on your own, or purchase her sized pattern.

I love how these little kicks turned out.  The elastic, double rowed stitching, and little tags.  So cute.  Hopefully my little guy can fit in them.  My boys tend to have long feet.

FYI: I didn't scale the pattern at all, and figure that it is probably close to a size one unscaled.  I did have an issue with the uppers not meeting up in size when attaching them to the sole.  It was probably due to a cutting error.  It was a simple fix though, simply overlap the back heel over the toe piece a little more.  If you have this problem, pin the toe piece to the sole, and then adjust the position of the heel before attempting to attach the two.  It will help you find proper position, and eliminate seam ripping.

Also, I didn't ever rip the seam of the toe piece. I inserted the tags prior to sewing the seam, and slipped the elastic in the side.

Tomorrow I'll show you the rest of the goodies made from the chambray shirt.