Square Scarf - How to make one!

I've been a scarf-making machine lately. It all started in October when I payed a visit to Mood in NYC--a story that is long overdue on this blog, btw! Then Christmas came along and I decided to make infinity scarves for the kids' teachers. The latest handmade scarf was inspired by a cute scarf in a window display at the mall.

I found this pretty fabric and cute trim at Denver Fabrics and knew it was a great combo for recreating the scarf I saw at the mall. It's a square scarf that can be worn many different ways. The lightweight fabric makes it so comfortable to wear all while keeping your neck warm and being an accessory--function and fashion! I have written out the simple instructions for this scarf just in case you would like to make your own. If you make one, send me a picture! I'd love to see your fabric and trim choices.

Pattern: Square Scarf by Claudia Miller
Fabric: a no name, lawn weight fabric from Denver Fabrics
Level: Basic
Skill(s): straight stitching, mitered corners
Fit: one size fits all

Materials:
1 yard of a lightweight fabric, e.g. lawn, voile
4 yards trim

Cut:
-fabric to measure 36" x 36"

Instructions:
1. Press each of the 4 sides of the fabric 1/4".
Mitering the corners is optional but if you would like to miter the corners, follow these steps:

2. Attach trim by starting about half way down one side and sew it to the WS of the scarf (the side with the 1/4" fold). Continue sewing the trim until you get all the way back to the beginning. Overlap the trim by about 1/2 inch and trim the excess.

3. Trim any long or loose threads and press.

Your square scarf is finished!


Here are three (of many) different ways to wear this square scarf.

1. Fold in half to make a triangle, roll, and then wrap around once.

2. Fold in half to make a triangle and tie a knot on the back of your neck 

OR bring the tails to front to tie a knot underneath the scarf.

3. Roll, wrap around 2 times, and tie the ends in a knot.

+/-
Good:
-a quick and simple project
-requires little fabric
-a great accessory
-makes a great gift

Not so good:

There was nothing bad or difficult about making this scarf.

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I Heart JB (pillow) - A Tutorial

I made a special pillow for my niece's birthday. She's a Justin Bieber fan so I converted a JB t-shirt into a pillow for her.

Here's how I did it:

Pattern: T-SHIRT TURNED PILLOW COVER by Claudia Miller
Fabric: a Justin Bieber t-shirt, "Garden Friends" by Jay McCarroll
Level: Basic to Intermediate
Skill(s): repurposing a t-shirt, working with t-shirt fabric (knit fabric), cutting an awkward shaped fabric, using fusible interfacing, making an envelope closure
Fit: N/A

Materials:
pillow form, mine measured 14" x 14"
Justin Bieber t-shirt
woven interfacing (aka Stacy Shape-Flex Woven Interfacing)
quilting cotton

Instructions:
Seam Allowance 1/2"
RS = right side

1. Cut the t-shirt to measure roughly 15" x 15" (or 1" bigger than your pillow form).

I had to "measure twice" before I cut the t-shirt because the front of the t-shirt measured just under 14" across. To make the most of the t-shirt without having to piece the front, I first cut it open on the center back. This allowed me to spread open the t-shirt so that I could cut the side seams further back. The side seams and some of the sleeves ended up in the final cut but it wasn't a problem as you can see below.

2. Cut the woven interfacing larger than the t-shirt and fuse* the two together. This will allow you to trim down the interfaced t-shirt to the correct size without much fuss.

*I like to use woven interfacing when I work with knit fabric because it keeps it flexible and soft. For the best fuse, dampen the interfacing before you iron the two pieces together.

3. Cut 2 pieces of quilting cotton for the back side of the pillow. Each piece should measure the same width as the front piece of the pillow and 2/3's the height of the pillow. For this pillow the measurements were 9.5" x 15".
-Sew a double-fold hem on each piece along one of the 15" sides.

-Overlap the hemmed edges in the center of the pillow to create the envelope opening for inserting and removing the pillow form.
-Place pillow front (the fused t-shirt square) over the back pieces and line up all four sides, RS to RS.
-Sew all the way around the outside edges using a 1/2" seam allowance.
-Finish the edges--I used my favorite tool, the rotary pinking cutter. You can zigzag the seam allowances or serge.
-Turn right side out.

4. Stuff the pillow form into the pillow cover and you are finished!

I Heart JB!

+/-

Good:

-simple project with just a few steps

-a great way to make a fun gift

-fun to make and fun result!

Not so good:

This project is simple and shouldn't give you many troubles. If I had to say there there not so good experiences with this project, they would be the following.

-one difficulty was figuring out how to cut the t-shirt so that I didn't have to piece it together with scraps. As you can see, it was an easy solution.

-the arm seam of the t-shirt is visible in the finished pillow. This isn't a bad thing, if you can make it look nice. I'm happy with how it looks:

Which t-shirt would you use to make a t-shirt pillow cover?

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Quick How-To: Neck Gaiter (aka Neck Warmer)

When you sew, you usually have a good amount of fabric AND a good variety of fabric too. Tonight I was happy to find a neutral-colored polar fleece in my fabric stash. It was just right for making cozy and warm neck gaiters/warmers for my kids. They will be in the cold Colorado mountains tomorrow where the forecast predicts temps to be around 15° F! Brrrr.

The neck gaiters will protect their faces from the cold air, wind burn, and even sun burn. Since I was able to make these so quickly I decided to share the quick how-to with you. Stay warm!

                             

NECK GAITER/WARMER

Materials:

-polar fleece

-ribbon (optional)

Cut:

-one piece of polar fleece 10" x 22"

-one length of ribbon about 11" long

Instructions:

1. Once the fleece piece is cut out, decide if you want to embellish it with the ribbon or not. If you choose to embellish, I suggest you place the ribbon along the length and not the width. The fleece has stretch and adding ribbon side to side can keep it from stretching as you pull it over your head.

 

2. Fold fleece right side to right side with the two 10" sides overlapped and stitch.

3. Finger press the seam open.

4. Hem one open side of the neck gaiter with a hem about 1-2 inches. The hem can be topstitched with a single, double, or triple seam. Extra hem seams are only for design purposes and not necessarily to secure the hem. 

5. Hem the other open side of the neck gaiter with a hem about 1-2 inches. Once again, you can topstitch the hem with a single, double, or triple seam.

6. Your neck gaiter is finished! 

Here you can see the wrong side and the right side. Notice I finished the edges by pinking. Fleece does not fray so it is not necessary to finish the seams. I just like the look of the pinked seams and I really like to use my pinking rotary cutter!

A stack of neck gaiters.

As an added bonus, the neck gaiter can become a hat or even a head band!

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The Quick Tote

All of last week I had been wanting to make a tote to give to my daughter's friend for her birthday but just couldn't find the time--having a newborn makes it tough to sew. Thankfully, I was able to make it the morning of the party. It's quick and simple to put together and if you add a book or two you've got a great gift!

QUICK INSTRUCTIONS FOR A QUICK TOTE
Final Dimensions: 11" x 15"

Materials:
•fabric A, 3/4 yard
•Fabric B, 1/3 yard
•coordinating thread

Cut:
•fabric A, cut 1 - 20" x 15"
•fabric B, cut 2 - 4 1/2" x 15"
•handles, 5" x 20", cut 2
•pocket cut 1 or more (optional)

Instructions:
1/2 inch seam allowance

•After cutting your fabric, place one piece of fabric B over fabric A along the 15" edge, RS to RS. Stitch and repeat with the opposite end. You will have one long panel measuring approximately 24" x 15".

•Finish the seam allowance with a serger or zig zag then press towards fabric A.

•Top stitch the seam allowance to fabric A. You can use a decorative stitch here, if you wish.

•Attach pocket, if using. This pocket measured approximately 3" x 5". I serged all four sides of the pocket, folded down the top edge and top stitched it, then sewed it on the inside of the tote. Serging the sides of the pocket makes it super-simple and a bit quicker than folding the edges.

•Make the handles: fold in half the long way and crease, bring the edges to the crease and crease again, fold at the first crease (see photo below), then stitch closed. You can also stitch along the opposite side, if you wish. Repeat with the second handle.

•Sew the bag together on the left and right sides, RS to RS. Double-fold the top edge and sew. Attach the handles stitching an "X" to ensure they stay on (see photo below).

•Square the bottom.

Your tote is finished!

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Origami Pots Tutorial

A few years ago I learned to make seed starting pots using newspaper sheets and origami. My seedlings were very successful and when they were ready to be planted it was great to just be able to drop them into the ground without disturbing the roots! I've made these every year since.

This year I had a hard time figuring out how to make the origami pots so I figured I'd write my own tutorial as a reference for years to come. The original tutorial I learned to make these from is now gone. There are other sites that show you how to make the pots--including videos on You Tube--but I found many of them to be more confusing than helpful. So here's a photo tutorial of how I make origami pots. This photo tutorial can also be found on my Flickr account.

ORIGAMI POTS
Materials:
a newspaper, I like to use smaller-sized newspapers

Instructions:
Step 1 - Begin with half of a full sheet from a newspaper.


Step 2 - Fold the page in half taking the bottom end up.


Step 3 - Fold in half again from left to right.


Step 4 - Rotate the folded paper from Step 3 counter-clockwise one quarter turn.


Step 5 - Fold in half again from left to right.
(The crease in this step is important because it will be used as a guide in the following steps.)


Step 6 - After the crease in Step 5, open the paper so it looks like Step 4 again. Take the bottom right corner of the paper and bring it to the crease made in Step 5 creating this triangle shape and press/crease.


Step 7 - Flip the paper and create the same type of triangle as in Step 6 on the back side.


Step 8 - Just like turning the pages in a book, turn the left side of one of the triangles you just created in Steps 6 and 7 from left to right. Do this "turn the page" step again on the triangle that is located on the back side.


Step 9 - Take the left side of the paper and bring it to the crease made in Step 5 then press.


Step 10 - Take the fold from Step 9 and fold it in half to the crease again.
Do Steps 9 and 10 with the right side of the paper and then flip it and do the same folds on the back side--see Step 11.


Step 11 - This is what you should have after doing Steps 9 and 10 on 4 sides.


Step 12 - Take the top ends of the paper and fold them down at about the halfway point.


Step 13 - Open the pot and now you have a finished origami pot.
(The flaps can be tucked inside or left out as seen in this photo. I leave them out because the pots will hold their shape once they are filled with seed starting mix/soil and are lined up against each other.)


Here are some of the pots I have already put to use. (The taller pots on the left are not origami pots. They are pots made from cow manure that a friend was very generous to share with me.)

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