5 Steps To Make A Valentine’s Tree Ornament

20 Jan 2011 1 Comment

by sewinglady in Tutorials Tags:

Valentines is less then a month away so I hope that you are getting ready to celebrate the holiday. Today I spent some time making hearts out of felt and thought I would share the process with you. So lets get started.

Here are the materials needed to make hearts:

  • Felt in the color of your choice
  • Thread in the color of your choice
  • Scissors
  • Pinking Shears
  • Marking Pen
  • Heart Template (you can make one yourself out of paper)
  • Straight Pens
  • Ribbon, buttons, etc.

Here are the steps when making the hearts:

  1. Place the template on the felt and put a straight pen in the center of the heart to keep it from shifting while tracing or cutting the felt. After you cut the felt, you should have two hearts.

    step 1

  2. Take one of the felt hearts and place a ribbon down the center of the heart. I would double fold the ribbon so it will hang correctly.

    Step 2

  3. Now take the other piece of felt and place it on top of the other heart. Place a straight pin near the “V” in the center of the heart to hold the ribbon in place. I would also place a pin in the center and the bottom of the heart to prevent shifting while sewing.

    step 3

  4. Take the heart to the sewing machine and sew a 1/4 inch seam around the heart. You can do a straight stitch or zig-zag stitch. When you reach the center of the heart, make sure to back stitch to ensure the ribbon stays in place.

    step 4

  5. Trim the edges around the heart with pinking shears to give it a decorative look. Decorate the heart with buttons, ribbon, etc. as desired.

    step 5

    6. Heart hanging on the tree

Making a simple burping cloth

25 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment

by sewinglady in Tutorials Tags:

In our family we have two babies on the way and I decided to make something rather then buy commercial. So, I came across burping cloths that were cute, very easy to make, and economical.

Every new mom can benefit from having lots of burping cloths. Since today we are all looking for ways to save money, this provides one way to do so.

There are very little supplies that are needed to make a burping cloth. For example, one package of pre-folded cloth diapers, 1 1/2 yards of material of your choice, ribbon, Ric-Rac, matching thread, hem gauge, straight pins, scissors, and of course a sewing machine.  The supplies that I have mentioned above can be purchased at Wal-Mart, or you may already have the supplies on hand which is great too. Keep in mind that you may have some scrap material left over from a sewing project previously that you can use for this project.

Burping cloths are VERY EASY to make and a lot of fun to create. Even if you are new to sewing, trust me, anyone can make burping cloths. Here is a picture of a few burping cloths that I have made.Here are the steps for making a burping cloth:

  1. Wash the fabric and cloth diaper in really hot water which will allow for shrinkage. Before putting the fabric in the washer, cut the raw selvages with pinking shears to prevent the fabric from unraveling in the washer. You will notice that the fabric will still unravel on the sides but not as much.I learned this new trick myself.  After taking the fabric and diaper cloths out of the dryer, you want to make sure to iron the cloth diaper and fabric. I would not skip this step in the process because it makes the cloth along with the fabric easier to work with. However, I have known some people to skip this step. You have to learn what works for you. Generally, after the diaper cloth is washed and dried the length is 17 inches long, but I have found that some the cloth diapers can vary. So I would recommend that you measure each one as you go to make sure before you cut the fabric.
  2. Next, how to cut the fabric: First, measure the length of the diaper which should be about 17 inches, you want to add two inches for turning under the fabric. The center width of the cloth diaper cloth is usually 6 inches and don’t forget to add two inches.
  3. After cutting the fabric, lay the fabric on the wrong side facing down. Now you should be looking at the back of the fabric. Start with the ends of the diaper first, it just makes the sewing easier and the ends are not always even. You want a half inch pressed hem all the way around. I use a hem gauge and seems to work well. When making your pressed hem, I have found that if you use heavy starch it makes it a lot easier and looks neater and easier to sew.
  4. Once you have finished with the pressed hem, you are going to take the fabric and place it in the middle of the diaper cloth with the pressed hem facing down and then measure to make sure the fabric is even on each side, again I use a hem gauge.
  5. Next, you are going to pin the fabric to the diaper cloth, this will allow the fabric to stay in place. Again, I have seen people skip this step, but I find it so much easier going ahead and spending the extra time on this step. Once I finish sewing all sides, I will press one more time.
  6. Lastly, you can add ribbon, Ric-Rac, etc if you wish to give it a different look. When I use Ric-Rac, I place it  on the two long sides and just follow the design on the Ric-Rac. If using ribbon you are going to sew through all three layers and of course don’t forget to pin FIRST.
  7. Go sew some and have fun!

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