Easy car trash bags!

So, I found this great tutorial on the Make it/Love it blog for how to make a car trash bag.  I loved the boning idea, and then just made things up on my own, because I am bad at following directions.

I made my bag fully lined, so it adds a couple extra steps.  If you do not want to line your bag, then start out by making it like I made my gift bags, and hop back here to insert the boning.

First, I cut two large rectangles of fabric and placed them right sides together, stitching up and around the whole outside, leaving a small opening to pull the fabric through.  Then, I turned it out and topstitched, so there would be no raw edges on the final product.

Then I folded the project in half and stitched all the way up two sides.

 Next, I folded down the top about an inch or so.  Then I topstitched to make the casing, all the way around, leaving an opening of about 2-3 inches, so I could insert the boning.

 Then I inserted the boning all the way around the casing.

Once I had the boning in, I cut it to fit and stitched it together.  Now, this is a tricky part.  You have to cut the plastic in your boning shorter than the fabric, so that you can stitch it shut.  DO NOT TRY TO STITCH THE PLASTIC.  YOU WILL BREAK YOUR NEEDLE!  You will have to wiggle the boning out of the casing a little bit, in order to get it up under the needle of your machine.  However, once you are done, you will be able to just slide the boning back in place.

 The last step is to attach a hanger.  You can use any material for this--I chose some parachute cord.  I inserted the cord up into the hole in the casing, and then topstitched it all shut.

 Then, I flipped the cord up, and topstitched it down to the top of the casing.  Again, be mindful of where the boning is--you do not want to stitch on that plastic!

 Once you have the hanger stitched on, you are ready to hang!!!

 Or, lay flat for a glamour shot.  Look how nicely the boning keeps the opening wide open!!!  This is handy when you are driving, because you can just toss stuff in!

 So, I wanted to go take pictures of this in the car, but it was too cold, so you will have to use your imagination a little bit.  The nice thing about using the string for this bag is that you can tie it up to make it shorter or longer, depending on your needs.  So, you can tie it shorter, to slip around your gear shift (or top of your rocking chair, as the case may be).

 Or, you can leave it longer, to fit around the back of your headrest, or glove compartment.  (Or lamp.)

Ta-da!  Now there is no excuse for a messy car!

Christmas Stockings!

Well, this year I wanted to give my husband lots of candy and peppermint patties (his favorite), and what better way to do that than to stick it in his stocking?  Unless you don't have a stocking.  Thank goodness I can sew!  I used some vintage fabric given to me by a family member to create enough stockings for a family 4 pack!

On to the quickie tutorial:  First, cut out two outer and two lining pieces of your stocking.  I just surfed the web until I found a pattern that worked and used that for my stocking design.  Then cut two each of the cuff for the stocking.

Then, stitch cuff outer and cuff inner pieces together, and iron in half.

 Next, stitch the rough edges of your cuff to the right side of the stocking outer pieces.

 Then, stitch the outer stocking pieces together around the sides, right sides together.  Do not stitch the top!  Then, stitch the lining pieces to each other in the same manner.

Now, stuff the outside into the liner, with the right sides together.  Stitch around the top, leaving a few inches open.  Then turn the stocking inside out through that opening.

Once turned, iron the stocking, and topstitch!

The finished stockings, with ample room for a couple bags of peppermint patties!

Wedding dress!

Okay so here is a tip for doing a wedding on a budget: make your dress yourself, or find a friend who will do it as a gift for you.   One of my good friends got married this fall (on a budget, of course--we are frugal friendly in my circle), and I (with a lot of help from my mom) offered to make her dress.

The materials: silk and lace.  I took advantage of 50% off sales and coupons at JoAnn's to get their top-of-the-line fabrics, and the total was an astonishing $100!  Many girls pay more than that for their veil!

Muslin mock dress

So how did we do it?  First we made a mock dress out of muslin to make sure that the dress was the right size and fit.  Our burlap dress was a perfect fit (my friend has the build of a model), and so it was on to the dress.  For the most part, my mom and I followed the pattern instructions, just substituting an invisible zipper for the regular zipper.

At the second-to-final fitting we discovered that the dress was somehow a size too big.  No worries, though, because my mom is pretty much a fairy godmother and was able to make the dress stunning!

100th Post!

Today is our 100th post!  And I bring you.....

 a quasi-craft-fail! the biggest, hippiest skirt ever. and it adds 10 pounds.  on TOP of what the camera adds.  ew.

How did this happen, you ask?  Well, I got some cute vintage fabric from my mother and a pattern for free as a result of a giveaway.  I was so excited...look how cute it is!

Buuut, I didn't modify the pattern to fit my measurements.  So, while the pattern fit my ginormous child-bearing hips, it maaaaaybe was a little too big or my waist, resulting in extra weight-adding gathers right around those child-bearing hips.  Oops.

Here is how I cheated and fixed my whoopsie: I hacked off a huge chunk of the skirt and then stitched it back together, without all those crazy gathers.  Not the worst.  But maybe I will stick to my trustworthy, fail-proof "A-line only" policy in the future.

Folded over to a more appropriate bulkiness

The massacre

Whew!  Crisis averted!

Summer Kimono Robe

Just something I whipped up.  I can't possibly tell you how I did this, so no tutorial.  But I looked at a robe I liked from Victoria's Secret ($50) and tried to copy it.

It took me about 2 hours, and the fabric was about $3 on clearance. So yeah.  VS is overpriced and I have what I need to take the dogs out in the morning.  Sorry for the terrible quality of these photos-the fabric was monstrously shiny!

Patio Dining Set Makeover

Well, here's what I had to start with.  Peeling paint, 1970's faded yellow, BLAH.

Step 1:Paint

Step 2: Make seat covers.  Why?  Because I don't want waffle booty.

I started by making ties to attach the covers to the chair.

Then I folded the ties in half and pinned the fabric for the covers right side together.  I also left an opening at the bottom so I could turn it inside out.

Then I turned them right-side-out and topstitched.  Done-zo!

And now, the new dining set:

Up next: re-cover the other chairs on my patio, make some placemats and coasters, and add some art.  Whew!  When I get one project done, 3 more pop up in its place!

Coupon Clutch and Etsy Pattern!

Has anyone seen "Extreme Couponing?"  I'm not a huge fan of hoarding, but that show gave my husband and I the idea to collect coupons in order to make eating organic possible.  But how do you organize them? Well, I looked on the interwebs for a tutorial, and I found a couple projects that looked similar to this:

The catch?  Either there was no tutorial, or you had to buy an expensive pattern.  I understand that many bloggers sell patterns to help support their families and whatnot, but I am already on a tight budget (hence the couponing).  So what did I do?  I made one up! For cheap!  And I am posting the tutorial for it!  And I am offering the pattern on my Etsy for only $2.00!  

Onto the tutorial!  I used bright white thread and contrasting colors so you can see each step more clearly.  First, cut the pattern pieces.

I started sewing with the dividers and the accordian sides.  Stack them with the two fabric pieces on bottom (right sides together), and the interfacing on top (for the dividers).  Then stitch up the long sides.

Then, turn them inside-out and press flat to open up the seam.  

Next, use a straight edge help turn out the seams and press. Then topstitch the top and bottom to seal it in place.  This also helps keep the interfacing stable.

Next, it's time to sew the cover.  Stack the fabric the same way you did the dividers: right sides together, interfacing on top.  Then stitch the scalloped edges on top and bottom to make the seams.  The curves and turns are a little tricky, but if you go slow you will be fine.

Then, turn it inside out, and push out and press the seams.  You may need some kind of tool to pop out the corners and curves. Then-you guessed it-topstitch.

ASSEMBLY:

First, I attached the dividers to the accordian.  Fold the accordian piece in half, and slide the divider all the way up into the crease.  Then stitch it down about 1/4 inch from the edge--just enough to catch all the layers.

Now, fold the fabric back, and a little farther down, make another fold (how many folds you make and how far to space them will depend on how many dividers you choose to have-on my pattern I have drawn the lines to make 8 dividers--it's a pretty tight fit).  Again, stick the divider into the crease and stitch it down.

Once you have sewn in all your dividers on one accordian side, then repeat with the other.  It may be slightly trickier on the other side, but just start in the middle and you will be fine.  I was able to eyeball the spacing just fine.

Now, you should have some extra fabric at the ends of your accordian sides.  This is what you will use to attach your dividers to the cover.  Decide where you would like the dividers to be inside your clutch, leaving plenty of room for the file to expand (The pattern also has a rough guide to where the folds should be in the cover).  Then pin it down and bast it close to the edge. 

Once you've done this to the front of your cover, roll the cover up around to the other side of the dividers, and attach the other side of the dividers to the back side of the clutch.

Congratulations!  You are almost there!  Now you just have to do a little finishing and you are done!

Take a strip of bias tape and pin it along the side of the clutch, covering the basting work you just did.  

Topstitch it down, then repeat.  Then add a snap or button closure to the front and you are done!  Take a look!

oh snap!

a little peek-a-boo of the dividers

Closed:

Open:

Now, the part you have been waiting for:  How do you get the pattern?  It's simple: just visit my Etsy and put in an order!  I will email it to you as soon as I can!

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