How to make a no-sew tutu

Every little girl needs a tutu, right? I've seen so many adorable pictures of baby girls in tutus that I just had to make one so I could snap my own photos of my little one. She has big blue eyes, so I decided to go with a periwinkle tulle. This was super easy and inexpensive to make. These would be great baby shower or birthday gifts, too.

Here's what you'll need to make your own tutu.

-Tulle (I ordered mine here at fabric.com), amount will vary depending on how the size of your child. I ordered two spools (6"x25 yard spool) and I used one and a half spools for my baby.


-1/2" elastic band (I bought a package a Wal-Mart)
-Staple or safety pin
-Scissors

Instructions:
-Measure your child's waist and then deduct about and inch and this will be how big you want the waist
-Staple or safety pin the elastic ends together. I left a little extra elastic overlap so my daughter can continue to grow with this tutu.
-Decided how long you want the tutu and then cut your tulle to twice desired length (since you will be folding in half and tying to the elastic). My tulle on the spool already came with a 6" width but if you don't buy yours by the spool cut into 6" strips first.
-Double knot you tulle pieces to the elastic. This is the most time consuming part. It takes about an hour, but isn't hard. It is a great activity to do while watching tv.


That's it. Once your tutu is as fluffy as you'd like, put it on your little one and snap some pictures!

How to make a hanging kitchen towel using a pot holder

I like having a hanging kitchen towel that attaches to the oven handle to wipe my hands on after I wash them. Regular towels always slide or fall, so I like these hanging towels. Mine were six years old and in sad, sad shape so I finally got around to making some. I bought the pack of towels at Target of $2 each and the hot pads at the dollar store, so if you have buttons and thread on hand these are only $2.50 each to make. These make great wedding gifts or even a gift for a friend. The instructions are pictured below.

I found it easier to baste by hand and gather rather than use the machine.

Making a pillow sham

I wanted to make pillow shams to match my new quilt for our bed. I found a tutorial online here that I liked and followed its basic guidelines.

Supplies:
Pillow or pillow insert
Fabric
Thread
Silk flower or button (optional) to decorate solid color pillows

Directions:

1. Measure your pillow's width and height.
2. Cut the fabric. The size will be the height plus 1" and the width plus 6" if making a sham for a rectangle pillow. If making a sham for a square pillow it will be the height plus 1" by the width plus 3". The fabric is simple to cut if just using one piece of fabric. In my case, I patched together several different pieces of fabric so I had to do some calculating to make sure my end result equaled those calculations.
3. On the short ends of the fabric, fold the fabric over 1/4" and press and then fold over another 1/4" and press.
4. Sew a hem along the folded short ends.
5. Lay fabric right side up on work surface. Fold short ends in toward middle until cover is width of pillow. The fabric will overlap about 2.5 inches in the middle.
6. Sew two long edges with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.
7. Flip pillow cover right side out. Stuff with pillow through envelope enclosure.
Optional step 8. Sew silk flower or buttons on pillow (I am going to do that to my plain brown square pillow)

Making a quilt

This past summer I went to the Sister's Quilt Show and found some beautiful fabric to make my first piece quilt.

I learned a lot while making this quilt and thought I'd share some of the tips I learned for all of you who make be thinking of making your first quilt.

First, I needed a pattern. I purchased my fabric as a kit. It wasn't pre-cut so I had freedom to change the pattern. I didn't love the pattern it came with so I decided to try something else. I ended up using a combination of Amy Butler's AugustFields duvet cover and Nora's Quilt patterns, which are free on her website right now.

I decided to make a reversible quilt, like the reversible duvet cover pattern. I went and bought my backing fabric and got busy cutting everything out. Once the front and back of my quilt were pieced together, I was ready to quilt it. I debated between doing it myself and paying someone to quilt it together. The best price I found was $97 to quilt a queen size, which is a great price considering all the work it takes. However, I decided I wanted to do everything on my first quilt by myself, even if it meant not looking as perfect.

I really didn't want my quilting to show, so I chose to do the stitch-in-the-ditch method. I found watching a few videos on youtube was helpful. This one explains the tools and preparation you need to make to get ready to quilt. I purchased the Machinger gloves, walking foot, corsage pins, safety pins, and clear thread like suggested in the movie. I used the advise she gave and pinned my quilt back to my living room floor using corsage pins. See picture below.


Once the batting and quilt top were on the ground and tightly pinned down, I safety pinned the entire quilt. Tip: Move your rug before pinning your quilt so you don't pin your rug to the quilt. Not that I am speaking from experience or anything. :) Buy more safety pins than you think you need. I can't remember how many I used but it was at least 250.


I also like this movie on how to stitch-in-the-ditch. I bought a walking foot for my machine on ebay for about $14 and it really helped guide the fabrics. I found managing all the bulk of the fabric was the hardest part. I got out a really long table to put the quilt on as I stitch my quilt together and that helped. I used clear thread like the movie suggests. I felt like I was sewing with fishing line but it looks nice if you don't want your stitch really to show. It is hard to see so it sometimes made sewing difficult.

I debated between machine binding and hand binding. I decided to do hand binding. Here is a good tutorial on how to hand bind your quilt.

My quilt is by no means perfect, but I am proud of myself for doing it without really knowing anything about it. I think all the imperfections add character to it. If I can make a quilt with my limited sewing knowledge and experience, you can too! Below are some pictures of the finished product. I washed it before taking the photos and I think I need to iron it, but I didn't have the energy. I've been sewing so much lately I am pretty burned out with measuring, ironing, and anything fabric related! I loved doing it but am ready to focus on some new projects.

The finished product!

I'll be doing a post soon on making pillow shams. They were much simpler than I expected. Stay tuned. Happy quilting!

How to Make a Rag Quilt

Rag quilts are extremely easy to make (all straight lines) and look beautiful. I just finished making one for our baby girl on the way and had so much fun picking out fabric for the quilt. Below are simple instructions for making your own rag quilt.

Supplies needed:

• About 5 yards of fabric (the amount needed depends on the size of your quilt) - I bought a 1/2 yard in ten different fabrics. Make sure to pre-wash fabric. Clip each corner of fabric about a 1/4" to prevent fraying.
  
• About 2 yards or batting (won't need if you use flannel). I like bamboo batting.
  
• Thread (I used about 1 1/2 spools that were 110 yrds on my baby quilt)
• Scissors - invest in the Fiskars Softouch Micro-Tip Scissors - regular scissors are very difficult to use when cutting to make the rag-effect at the end

Step 1: Cut out your fabric into squares. I made mine larger 10" squares, but you can choose any size. I typically do 5".
Step 2: Cut out batting into squares one inch smaller than fabric.
Step 3: Lay out squares into desired pattern.

Step 4: Sew and "X" through fabric and batting
Step 5: Sew squares together to form rows. Then sew rows together.

Step 6: Sew around all four edges of quilt.
Step 7: Cut all the edges of each square every 1/2". Trim thread ends that may be left from sewing.
Step 8: Wash and dry quilt. When it comes out of the dryer it will have the "rag" look.

Now enjoy your quilt! Rag quilts are so much fun to cuddle with. My son loves to rub the edges on his and it is his favorite blanket. He has two and he is always carrying around at least one of them.

Here are some flannel rag quilts I've done to give you some more ideas for your quilts. The first two were throw quilts for adults and the last one I made for my son.

Baby Girl Nursery Ideas

I am starting to think about colors for my baby girl's nursery. There is a good chance she will be sharing a room with her brother, but I still want to make her some girly bedding. Here are some ideas I've found. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment with a link.

Tiki Floral by Land of Nod
I really am loving the bright green with the red and pink. A little bit more contemporary.

Patch by Land of Nod
This is more traditional but still very beautiful and sweet.

Wall painting of Tree by Zazzle
You could do this in the color theme of your nursery.
Bella Crib Bedding by Maddie Boo

Vine Floral by Skip Hop

Crayon Crib by Bananafish

Free Quilt Patterns by Amy Butler

My sister-in-law introduced me to Amy Butler. Have you heard of her? She designs really beautiful material and has free modern quilt patterns on her site. I've decided to use a combination of two of her patterns on the quilt I am making, the AugustFields Duvet pattern and Nora's Mid Mod 2 quilt. Her site is definitely worth checking out.

I'm making a quilt

I had a great time at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this past Saturday. There were so many beautiful quilts. I've put together a collage with some of my favorites.

The town has a quilt store called the Stitchin' Post that has beautiful fabric. They sell modern fabric that many chain stores don't carry. You can order fabric right from their website, which I may be doing. However, thanks to my mother-in-law, I didn't go away empty handed. This is what I came home with....




Yep, I am going to attempt to make my first piece quilt! The kit above came with all the fabric I will need inside. Isn't the box it came in super cute? The suggested pattern is below, but I am not sure if that is the pattern I will do yet. I am contemplating doing a quilt made of all stripes. Anyhow, I fell in love with the fabric and had to have it. I am excited to get going!

So have any of you ever made a piece quilt? Anyone want to join me in my endeavor?

Quilt show here I come!

I'm taking off tonight for a long weekend trip. One of my stops is going to be to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. After looking at the pictures on their website, I have a feeling I am going to be at the fabric store purchasing material for making my first piece quilt next week! Hope you all have a great weekend! I'll be back Monday.