Add some frill power to a run-of-the-mill
canvas tote with a pretty personalized stencil. Stock your finished bag
with apples, gourmet crackers and cheese for a useful holiday gift. Materials:
• Canvas tote (we used an 18" x 13" Me & My B.A.G, $6.99; Michaels stores) • Paper doily (we used Wilton’s Round 12" Grease-Proof White Doily, $1.99 for 6; Wilton.com) • Spray adhesive (we used Krylon Paper Finishes Spray Adhesive, $4.65; Michaels stores) • Fabric paint (we used Tulip Slick Dimensional Fabric Paint in Black, $3.49; HobbyLobby.com) • Small paintbrush • Freezer paper (try Reynolds 18" Freezer Paper, $6.25; at grocery stores or at Reynolds.Alice.com) • Piece of cardboard • X-Acto knife • Iron Directions:
1. For
design: Coat rough underside of doily with adhesive (to keep it in
place) and press onto the bottom right-hand corner of the tote, leaving
one-quarter of the doily hanging off the edge of the bag. Use paintbrush
to brush fabric paint over the outer edge of the doily (don’t paint
outside doily’s edges).
2. While
paint is still wet, peel off doily, starting from the bag’s bottom
edge. If the doily tears, peel off the remaining pieces. Let dry
completely.
3. For
monogram: Type the letter you want to use in a word-processing document
on your computer, choosing a font size that will leave 1"–2" of space
above and below the letter and the design (for this bag, we used Times
Roman font, 550-point size), and print out on copy paper. Layer an 8 1
/2" x 11" piece of freezer paper, matte side up, over the printout and
trace letter onto freezer paper. Discard printout. Lay freezer paper
over cardboard and use X-Acto knife to cut the letter out of the freezer
paper. Discard letter so you’re left with a stencil. Place stencil
matte side up on bag, centered in doily design, and press down with an
iron on the highest setting; don’t move iron back and forth. (The heat
will slightly melt the freezer paper’s plastic coating so it adheres to
the bag for easier painting.) Fill in letter with paint. Let dry, then
remove freezer paper.
4. With
iron on high, press down on doily design and letter for 20 to 30
seconds. This sets the paint so it doesn’t come off when you wash the
bag.
Project courtesy of Ashley Campbell, a photographer, crafter and writer of the blog Under the Sycamore
Add a burst of color to your room with this crafty pouf! At 17” wide
and 10” deep, it’s large enough to serve as floor seating or a foot
stool. (And if you have pets, I have a feeling they may want to make
this their new favorite spot!)
This project is a little challenging to sew, but it’s not too
difficult, so if you’re comfortable with the basics of sewing, give it a
try. You can make a colorwheel effect with a range of solid colors, or
choose a variety of patterned fabrics for a louder patchwork effect.
Medium-weight cottons work well for this design (check out quilting
shops for great selections of solids and prints).
I love the idea of making a set of these poufs in a range of sizes,
for a sculptural stack of cushions that will become a room element in
their own right. Or if a pouf isn’t your thing, you can make this in a
smaller size for a cute throw pillow for the sofa or bed. Let’s get
started! -Brett Bara
Finished Dimensions: 17” diameter by 10” tall What You’ll Need
¼ yard each 12 coordinating fabrics (I used quilting cottons)
1 yard muslin
3 pounds fiberfill stuffing
2 large buttons (approximately 1 ½”)
2 flat metal washers, slightly smaller than your buttons
12” upholstery needle (get this where upholstery supplies are sold)
fishing line
sewing thread
hand sewing needle
sewing machine
sharp scissors
iron 1. Print the template DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE HERE
Download and print the template above. This template will work if
sized to any dimension, so you don’t have to worry too much about
getting it to print to the exact size specified. (And if you prefer a
smaller or larger pouf, just size the template accordingly!) 2. Cut & Arrange the Fabric
Using the template, cut 2 pieces from each of the 12 fabrics, and 24 pieces of muslin.
Arrange one piece of each of the 12 fabrics in the order you plan to assemble them. 3. Assemble the Wedges
To stabilize the fabric and discourage stretching, a piece of muslin
is sewn behind each piece of colored fabric. To do this, just align a
piece of muslin on the wrong side of each piece of fabric, then sew
them together as one as you assemble the pouf.
To sew the first two wedges together, make a little fabric sandwich
with a piece of muslin, the first wedge right-side up, the next wedge
right-side down, and another piece of muslin. Pin all four layers
together along one side. 5. Sew the Wedges
Beginning at the wide end of the wedge shape, sew the layers
together using a ¼” seam allowance. Sew a gradual curve along the angle
at the base of the wedge (rather than sewing a distinct point). Stop
the seam when you reach the point. 6. Iron
Iron the seam, pressing the seam allowance to one side. 7. Sew the Remaining Wedges
Place the piece you’ve just sewn right-side up on your work surface,
and align the next color wedge right-side down, then place a piece of
muslin on top of it. (Be sure to take a moment and double-check that
you’re assembling the pieces in the correct color order; I found it
was easy to get mixed-up and accidentally sew the pieces in the wrong
order!)
Continue to assemble the wedges in this order until you’ve assembled
six wedges for a half-circle. Then, assemble the other half circle
separately. When both half circles are assembled, place them together
along the straight edge, and sew them together. (Assembling them in
this way ensures that you won’t have a hole in the middle where all the
points meet.) 8. Sew the Other Half
For the other half of the pouf, you must arrange the colors in the
opposite direction as you did for the first half. To test if you have
the order correct, lay out the pieces in the reverse placement, then
place the first half right-side down on top of the pieces to be sewn.
If the colors are matched up, you’ve got it right.
Sew the wedges for the second half in the same way you did for the first half. 9. Join the Two Halves
Pin the two halves with their right sides facing together, aligning the pieces so that the seams meet. 10. Join the Two Halves
Sew the two pieces together around the perimeter, ¼” from the edge.
Leave an 8” opening to stuff the pouf, backstitching at the beginning
and end of the seam so that it doesn’t unravel during the stuffing
process. 11. Iron the Seam Allowance
Turn the fabric under ¼” on each side of the opening and press.
(Folding and pressing this edge will make it easier to sew the opening
closed after the pouf is stuffed.) 12. Stuff the Pouf
Stuff the pouf, pulling off handfuls of stuffing and adding them in
smallish clumps (to avoid a lumpy appearance, it’s best to add the
stuffing little by little). Take care to spread the stuffing into the
far edges of the pouf so that each nook and cranny is fully stuffed.
When the pouf is nice and firm, sew the opening closed using a hand-sewing needle and matching thread. 14. Make the Tuft
(SAFETY NOTE: Be very careful when working with the long upholstery
needle. I nearly poked myself in the eye as I struggled to push the
needle through the pouf while leaning over it to observe – yikes – NOT a
good method! Always insert the needle AWAY from yourself, not toward
yourself!)
In this step, flat metal washers are used to hold the tufting in
place in the center of the cushion. The tufting is sewn with fishing
line because regular thread is not strong enough to withstand the
pressure of the tufting. The buttons, which are decorative only, are
added later.
Thread an approximately 60” piece of fishing line (here I’m using
heavy thread since fishing line wouldn’t show in the photos) through
the long upholstery needle. Tie both ends of the fishing line onto one
of the washers and loop it through the washer twice.
Insert the needle all the way through the center of the pouf, so
that the washer lies flat against the center point of one side the
pouf. On the other side, loop the thread through another washer.
Looping through the center and around the edge of the washer, insert
the needle back through the pouf and out through the center of the
other washer. Pull the fishing line tight while pressing down on the
top washer to create the tufted effect. Keeping the tension, insert
the needle around the washer and back through the other side. (It’s
helpful to have someone else lend a hand at this stage, though it’s not
impossible to do yourself!)
Make a few passes with the needle and fishing line, each time
looping through and around the washers. Tie off the line on one side,
knotting it onto the washer. 15. Add the Buttons
Cut an approximately 30” piece of matching thread and loop it
through the upholstery needle, doubling it. Insert the needle through
the pouf, going through the center of the washers. Next, loop it
through a button, then back through to the other side of the pouf.
Finally, loop it through the other button. Tie the threads in a knot so
that the thread is pulled taut and the buttons are nestled against the
washers.
And poof — you’re done!
The instructions are only for the pleats but you can find patterns and tutorials
for A-line dresses all over the internet (just google it!) or you can draft
your own pattern using a dress you like (that’s what I did).
These pleats can also be done in other projects such as handbags (here is one)
or pillows. And, one day, I will turn them into pockets for a skirt...
Besides the pattern, you will need:
-Fabric (see quantity in the first part of the tutorial)
- Thread matching the fabric color and (optional) thread in a contrasting
color,
- Sewing machine and iron,
- Scissors, pins and hand sewing needles,
- Tape measure, ruler and a water-soluble fabric marker,
- Scotch tape (for an unconventional technique...)
CuttingStart
cutting the fabric having in mind that, in the place where the pleats
will be executed, you'll need a piece of fabric 3 times wider than the
final width of the dress in that same area. This dress will have 9 pleats and each one will be 1cm wide, ie: 3 x 9 pleats x 1cm wide = 27cm It means that a pieceof fabric with 27cm is required, to obtain a final width of 9cm at the place where the pleats will be done. You
can adapt the original pattern to this version of the dress, simply
subtracting the total width of the fabric necessary to form the pleats
with the final width of the pleats (because that final width is actually
already included in the pattern), ie: 27cm - 9cm = 18cm In
conclusion, you will need to add 18cm to the original pattern in order
to make the 9 pleats without changing the width of the dress.
At this stage, it is not necessary to cut the fabric in the neck area according to the original pattern. It is better to leave some extra fabric, cutting it in a straight line, and "trimming it" only after finishing the pleats.
Pleating For
the pleating, you should start by tracing the vertical lines that
define all the pleats. Trace them on the right side of the fabric with a
water-soluble fabric marker (or use your daughter’s super-washable
pens, as I do!) As this dress pleats are 1cm wide, the tracing should
be done like this: starting at one edge, trace 0.5cm, then 2cm and 1cm
and then trace alternately spaces with 2cm and 1cm. When you reach the
other edge you should have a final space 0.5cm wide.
It
is also time to trace the pleats’ height. To do this you will need the
dress pattern. Start marking the lowest point of the collar (don’t
forget to deduct the seam allowance). Then mark the pleats’ horizontal
upper edge, roughly 1cm or 1.5 cm below that neck line mark you did
earlier. And finally, mark the pleats’horizontal lower edge. This dress
will have 7 folds, 2cm height each, so the total height is 14cm.
Make
the pleats folding the fabric (wrong sides together) with the 2cm marks
aligned. Pin and sew with running stitch along the traced line of each
pleat. Do not forget to finish off the seam at the bottom end. I usually
like to handmade this (because I'm kind of picky ...) but it is
perfectly fine to finish it with the sewing machine. In this dress, the
upper end of the seam does not need to be finished off as it will be cut
out later (when assembling the dress this will be where the main fabric
and the lining fabric will be sewn together in order to form the neck
line). Repeat this step with all the pleats.
The pleats are made! Now it’s time to "flatten" them. Start by
holding the fabric tight to the ironing board with some pins. Then iron each
pleat trying to distribute the fabric evenly to both sides of the stitching (if
you are using plastic headed pins, be careful not to iron them!). When finished,
the pleats should touch each other, without ever overlapping themselves, and
have a homogeneous look.
Finishing
For sewing the
horizontal lines that define the pleats you should try an unconventional
technique ... Instead of attaching the pleats with pins and marking the sewing
line with a water-soluble fabric marker, try using scotch tape. The scotch tape
is a "two in one" tool as it keeps the pleats in place and it also works
as a guiding line.
You should definitely try this! Cut 7 strips of scotch tape and stick them to
the fabric at the exact place where the pleats are supposed to be (use the
marks you did earlier with the help of the pattern). Now sew carefully in between
the strips of scotch tape, starting and ending just before and just after each
pleat. Hand finish each one of the seam lines.
Remove the scotch tape and iron the pleats (this will be the last time you will be able to do it!).
The pleats’ "pitching" technique is all handmade. Start inserting the needle, back to front, in the center of the pleat, then insert it in one side edge and then on the other, and pull the thread in order to join those edges. Then just make a few more stitches to attach those edges tight together and finish it with a little knot at the wrong side of the fabric.
Repeat this for the remaining pleats. It is a bit time consuming
technique, but it is also great to see the fabric getting three-dimensional ...
Sewing
You can now return to the original pattern by putting it on top of the
pleated fabric, so you can trim the neck line to the right shape. Then just
follow the instructions to finish the dress.
I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and, if you have any questions or suggestions, feel
free to tell me!
Have a great time sewing! (Can’t wait to see you’re results!)
