Archive for the ‘tutorials’ Category

I have been thinking of writing a series of posts on mending for a while.  Last year, I wrote about how to mend jeans with a rip in the rear… that really rolls off the tongue…. which was practical, but not at all stylish.

For those mending projects I don’t have a clue on- such as darning a sock or mending a sweater, I want to find an expert who will show me (and you) how.  If you think a series like this would be useful to you, let me know what mending jobs trouble you…

For the first in my series of Make Do and Mend, I was inspired by a friend:

Last spring, Amy of Diary of a Quilter shared a tutorial on how to mend a torn out knee.  I asked Amy if I could show her technique, which is cute as well as practical.  Amy told me that her daughter’s mended jeans are still going strong, the patch is perfectly in place, and they are one of her favorite pair.

Here’s how to mend a hole in the knee:

You’re going to need jeans with a hole in the knee, of course.

Iron on patches are widely available.  I picked these up a my local Walmart.  If you’ve ever used these before, you’ll find out the hard way, that they don’t stay on long when you just iron them on.

That’s OK.  This technique will make them much more permanent and stylish too.

You can use just about anything as a template.  But today, I am using cookie cutters.  They have simple lines, and are the perfect size.  You can also find many templates online too.  I found a skull template on Martha Stewart that I am modifying to mend my son’s jeans.

I traced around the butterfly on the back side of my patch using a Sharpie.  This may shock a few of you, but I tried pencil, and a Mark B Gone pen and they just didn’t show up.  The Sharpie worked great, I was just careful to cut inside the line of black.  You could use a white fabric marking pencil, but I couldn’t find mine.  –Do what you can with what you have, I guess.

I also cut out a flower for a different pair.  This one I embellished with another fabric too.

I had a scrap of fabric with a perfect flower.I used a small bit of Wonder Under on the back side of my chosen flower.  Iron it on.

Then cut around the flower.  The Wonder Under isn’t strictly necessary for a piece this small.  It’s peace of mind that it won’t fall off.  Peel off the paper backing…

DON’T try to iron it onto your patch yet!  Your patch will get sticky on the back, and be stuck to your ironing board.  (No, I didn’t do that… but I wouldn’t put it past me.)

Stitch your embellishment onto your cut patch using a blanket stitch or a zigzag.

Now you can iron the whole thing over the hole in your jeans.

Just as Amy suggests, I rolled the jeans up, to make the sewing easier.  Also just like Amy, I used a heavier weight- DMC thread, a heavy needle…

and a thimble to stitch around the flower.  I kept my needle working from the top as shown.  It’s a little tough to sew through the denims, but not too bad.And the jeans are done.  This patch is as cute as can be.  Because it’s been stitched, it’s not going to fall off anytime soon.

My daughters think they look super cool… and won’t feel embarrassed to wear clothes that have been mended.

Mending is good for your pocket book… and environmental, too.

So Make Do and Mend!  It’s a good thing, Martha.

Holy cow, it’s almost time for my kids to head back to school… and that means one thing:

My project list is very long.

Since I might be the most hairdo challenged person on the planet (my girls can only dream of french braids), the only hope my girls have of looking cute is hair accessories.

Last spring I saw a darling headband made by Amy on Diary of a Quilter.  The rose tutorial had come from Betz White.  That little project has stuck in my mind all these months, and last night I made a few hair clips out of the roses.

I loved making these clips.  The roses are easy and so very pretty.  And any chance to use my scraps of wool is a happy day.

Here’s how to make these sweet little clips:

You are going to need:

• scraps of wool (I’ve found that wool with a tighter weave works best… thicker, tight weave wool especially works best for the roses.)
• craft glue (I used Tacky Glue)
• generic hair clips
• embroidery thread

Measure a rectangle with rounded ends that fits your hair clip in the center, leaving room for stitching all the way around.  My hair clips are 5 cm long by 1.5 cm wide, so my rectangle was 6.25 cm x 2 cm.  It’s best to err on the larger side, as you can always cut down the wool after you’ve stitched it.

Trace your template on the paper side of freezer paper.  (I love freezer paper for wool!)

Cut out your template and place it on your wool, waxy side down.  Press with a warm iron until the template sticks to the wool.

Carefully cut around the template.  Peel the template off… it magically leaves no trace.

Using the same template, repeat the process of pressing it onto the wool and cutting around.

(You can use the same template multiple times… until it runs out of stick.)

Lay your hair clip on the piece of wool and center it.  With a pencil, or marking pen, mark where the back of clip joins the front.

Clip a small opening at that mark…

Just wide enough to slip your clip back through.

Making your knot in the center, between your pieces of wool, stitch together the front and the back around your hair clip.

I used an easy running stitch.  I’ve used two strands of embroidery thread, and because I’m lazy, I’ve doubled it by tying the two ends of my thread together.  It looks better to have all that thickness of thread.  Once around, tie a knot and push your needle into the center of the clip and pull it through.  Clip the thread so it disappears into the center.  This will hide your knot.

Now it’s time to make the rose. I used a 3 inch wide cup bottom to trace my circle…. use what you have…

Cut out the circle.

Following Betz White’s tutorial, I cut my circle in a spiral, about 1/2 wide.

Starting from the outside point, roll until you reach the center circle.

It should look like this.

Using a bit of craft glue, glue the back circle into place.

I added a small leaf.

I love how the this rose turned out.

Next using a small dab of glue, glue the flower to the clip.  Don’t use too much or you’ll have trouble with the next step.

Once the glue is dry, stitch the flower to the clip using a blind stitch.

And it’s done. I love that I can match my clips to the girls outfits.  I also love that these clips are so quick and easy to make… but they really look special.

I could be tempted to make one in every color.

Check one thing off my list…  99,999 more things to go.