Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Make your own carrier bag holder in under 30min!!!

This project is so quick and easy to make and  it only uses up 1 fat quarter of fabric. If you are anything like me you will have purchased many of these tempting squares of fabric on a total whim with a faint belief that they will get used one day. But in reality they just sit in the fabric pile never quite making it in your selection for the latest project - well here is the project!!!
Step 1 Take 1 fat quarter of fabric and cut off a strip of about 10cam wide. 

Step  2 Using the bigger piece of fabric, match up the 2 longest sides with pattern facing and sew together. Press the seam. 

Step 3 Take the 'off cut' of fabric and make into a handle. I like to sew longest edges together and turn out. But feel free to use what ever method you like!

Step 4 With the main piece of fabric sewn together and still the wrong sides facing out make a seam at the top and bottom of the fabric (choose which end you will sew the handle)- this is where the elastic will go. Make sure you leave a small gap (2cm) to thread the elastic in. I attach the elastic to a safety pin to help push it in. Pull in the elastic to make the fabric ruffle and tie in a knot. Don't worry about sewing the gap up - just tie the ends off well. 

Step 4 Sew in the handle. Turn the whole thing and out and there you go you have a handy carrier bag holder in (hopefully) under 30min. 







Saturday, 26 November 2011

Handmade birthday bunting

I have just made some personalised bunting for the daughter of a friend of mine. It proved to be the perfect 'nap time' craft taking under 40 minutes to make! I cut out 16 triangles. Then paired them up and stitched triangles together (right sides in) Then all you need to do is turn them out, press them and see them between some binding. The letters were formed using ribbon.

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

Handmade Draught Excluder




During Martha's nap today i made a draught excluder. I used up lots of fabric off-cuts including denim from old jeans and some corduroy trouser fabric. I used heavy weight fabrics to create a warm and cosy looking draught excluder. To make it more interesting i appliqued letters and hearts onto the fabric and may also sew on some buttons (but still undecided on that!).  



Friday, 11 November 2011

up-cycled skirt


Using an old denim dress I have made a new skirt for Martha. I simply cut the dress in half and hemmed the top. Then I realised I had no elastic to gather in the waistband and being impatient and really wanting to finish the skirt quickly i started thinking of what i could use instead. Realising I had just thrown away a pair of Tom's boxers I cut the elastic off them and stitched it around the skirt. I left on the fabric covering  and it adds a nice detail to the waist band of the skirt.


Tuesday, 8 November 2011

Christmas boxes

My Christmas boxes........

Some instructions on how to make them:





Christmas cards- batch 1

Today I made my first batch of Christmas cards for sale at 'Mia Bella casa' a lovely home wares and gift shop in the west Sussex village of ferring. I used some 'easy of India' merry Christmas ribbon and scraps of fabrics and buttons.