DIY Dog Toy

Lately, my dogs have been fighting over this one squeaky stuffed bone so I decided to help them make peace & sewed up a similar one. I free hand drew a bone shape (my mother says it looks more like a wrench & now every time I see I think that too - thanks mom!) on some fleece & sewed & stuffed it. I also added a plastic squeaker made specifically for dog toys. I use Dr. Noy's Replaceable Squeakers which I buy at my local pet store but you can easily find all sorts on the web too.

Really It’s a Change Purse...

...just don’t tell my man that! He asked for a little bag in which he could keep his golf tees. I guess the ziploc wasn’t cuttin’ it. Nothing too special. Flickr tute used can be found here courtesy of Viteen.

Homemade Dog Mat

I made a little sitting mat for my mum's wiener dog Lucy & it was easy-peasy! I merely mitered the corners on the denim bottom, inserted a piece of a padded quilted cotton fabric & then sewed down the denim edge to the quilted fabric. Voila!

Binding Tute

Make your own bias tape. Nice work "Posie Gets Cozy".

Quilted Coaster Tute

Excerpted from "Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts" by Joelle Hoverson via Martha Stewart.

Fuction Meets Frilly Fashion

Here is that "disgustingly cute & frilly apron" I've been working on for the past...forever! Very sweet if I do say so myself. I was inspired by lululollylegs's lined apron tute.

Stick It to the Man...Again

Some of you may remember the pincushion I made awhile back. Well, my two dogs got it. Snatched it right off my sewing table! Nothing happened scary danger wise in regards to the pins but the poor little pincushion was destroyed. This is my new one. You can see I even reused the same yellow embroidery thread & button. Waste not want not right?

Plain Jane Apron

My mum (again) requested a business only apron. No frills, no pleats, no nothing. Boring I know but she gave me life so I figured I should accommodate her request. I used the "Cafe Apron" pattern in Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing. The pocket was free styled.

Shoulder Bag

I made a shoulder bag for my mum. The strap is nice and long so she can also cross it over her chest if she wants.


Here is a close up of the cotton lining. I was worried the 2 fabrics would look silly & mismatched but I think they worked out ok. Thanks for the great tute "Tiny Happy"!

Stick It to the Man - DIY Pincusion!

I made this pincushion. Denim bottom, cute cotton top (black with little retro irons), sunshine yellow embroidery thread and a silver button. I tugged the embroidery thread too hard afew times & it broke soooooo be careful. Thanks Whipup for the great tutorial!

Plastic Bag Holder

Ahhhhh plastic bags. If you're like me you use your fabric totes for groceries whenever you can but the number of times you actually remember to bring them is well, let's just say not as often as you'd like. So, you find yourself with a crap load of plastic bags. Here is a tutorial for a plastic bag holder so you can try to tame those enviro. meanies and at least reuse/recycle them. Plus, if you have dogs (I know K9 mention AGAIN) then like it or not plastic bags are your best friend.

So, here we go.

1) Cut 2 pieces of fabric. One 16" x 22" (40 cm x 55 cm) for the "body" and the other 2.5" x 10" (6.5 cm x 25 cm) for the handle. You can follow these measurements or make the holder fatter or skinnier around, longer or shorter etc. You're the boss.

2) French Seam the "body" piece lengthwise. For a good tutorial visit... http://www.sewneau.com/how.to/french.seam.html


3) For the handle, with wrong sides together - sew. Turn inside out and iron. I like to have the seam ironed down so it is in the middle. Put aside for now.


4) Back to the "body". While inside out fold both ends up twice (approx. 0.5" or 1.25 cm). You can go a bit bigger if you like. Here, I did. Iron & pin.


5) At one end of the "body" insert both ends of the handle into the fold. Pin them back up over themselves. Iron. Sew the fold & handles down (I like to use a zig zag). Back stitch over the handles to reinforce.


6) Now go to the other end of the "body". This will be where the bags come out. Sew down the fold. You are going to put the elastic in here so it is important to leave a hole big enough to feed it through AND stitch close enough the fold's edge so it'll fit the width of the elastic!


7) Cut the elastic to your desired length. Depends how tight you want the opening. Feed it through the hole from step 6. I use a blunt knitting needle and a piece of thread.


8) Once through sew the two ends of the elastic together - many times. I like to make the elastic a little tight since I find over time it'll stretch a bit.

9) Sew your hole closed. You may have to pull the elastic taught to do this.

10) Ta-da! You're all set to stuff those pesky plastic bags.

Note: The monster bag holder pictured here was made specially for a friend with many plastic bags. If you followed the measurements in step one yours will measure approx. 20" tall x 14.5" round.

Reversible Dog Scarf

Sorry for so much dog stuff. However, I have many dog owners in my life and with X-mas coming I need gifts! These are easy-peasy. I used an existing dog scarf for sizing but you can also free style it. Just make sure to consider what breed your making the scarf for.

1) Cut two identical triangles of complimentary fabric. Mine roughly measured in at 20" (50 cm) x 12" (30cm) x 12" (30cm).


2) With right sides together sew. Leave a small hole so you can turn the scarf right side out. Once finished trim the seam. I used pinking shears but regular scissors will do too.


3) Turn the scarf right side out through your little hole & iron seams nice and flat. Hand stitch the hole closed.


4) Grab the nearest dog and embellish for festive fun.

Post Sewing Clean-up Now Soooooo Easy

I recently began using an empty tissue box as a garbage stuff box during sewing projects. The little plastic liner piece helps pulls stuff off your hand and keep it in the box. No threads and wee little fabric scraps everywhere. Now I can reclaim the dinning room table in time for dinner!

Boxers

Yesterday, I made a pair of boxers for my husband. This is surely to be the first of many pairs he will find under the Christmas tree this year! Once you get the hand of them they're pretty easy. This isn't a true tutorial so if you have any questions or need clarification please email me! So, big trick is I got my husband to sacrifice a "currently in rotation" pair of boxers. They need to be not too new or too old and a fit the wearer likes well enough. I carefully cut them into four pieces along the seams. Don't worry about the elastic. Seam rip it off and scrap it. I use the pieces as templates but make sure to add an extra inch or so for the seams. I can scrape by with 0.75 meter but for your first pair you may wanna go 1 meter since placing the templates can be a little tricky at first. My husband says he doesn't use the little hole-y bit in the front when he pees (I asked a few male friends and it turns out most don't (they just pull the top of the boxer down) so I'm able to omit this bit. So, I cut then sew. Look at an uncut pair of boxers to match up the crotch area. The order in which you sew doesn't make too huge a difference. For the elastic I recommend measuring the wearer as opposed to another pair of boxers. Makes the measurement more accurate. If you are capable of hemming the top AND sewing the elastic at the same time go for it. Keep the top stitch as close to the top as possible or it'll get too ruffle-y. Good luck!