Handmade
Happiness
Happy Holidays! As I attempted and failed to get last minute
shopping done out there I decided instead to just craft a few extra items, raid
the craft shop and and finish this gift giving thing on up! So, while I am
crafting a little bit more I thought I would pop in and send some happy wishes
and crafting ideas to help you finish up your lists as well. That way we can
all get out of traffic and into fabulous fashions with egg nog in hand by nightfall.
Here are a few fun crafting gift ideas for making the holidays a
fun time for those close to you and for crafting up some handmade
gifts!
Gangster Coloring & Activity Book
Velvet Totes
Baby Hip Hop Outfit
So if you are going to go to one more spot..perhaps it should be the craft shop? Here are some hopefully helpful ideas...
For Her-Clutches & Purses perhaps?
Here are the instructions for making the clutch shown above.
Materials:
stiff interfacing, outside and lining fabric, thin batting (optional),
scissors, zipper, thread, sewing machine, fabric to make yourself a pattern
(optional)
Lay a piece
of your outer fabric on the table folded and cut yourself a set of two rectangle
that are about 1.5” wider than the size you want your finished clutch to be. Put
one of these pieces aside and repeat. Cut out the matching batting pieces (2)
in the same manner and size, as well as 2 lining pieces. Cut a front and back
front overlay piece that is as wide as the front panel only comes up about 2”
shorter in length and if using a batting cut a piece for the front and back of
the overlay as well. Cut a long strip for the handle and fold and sew so you
have a thin strap. I also like to cut a small front and back plus matching
batting piece for a small pocket that I sew down inside the clutch under the
outer flap. I prefer to tuck my clutch strap into a small pocket under the front
flap but the choice is yours. If you prefer to use a beaded handle or even a
strip of a thin gold cord or something it should look fab! For all areas you
want to stiffen, cut one matching piece of the stiff interfacing or use a thin
but stiff plastic insert (a plastic cross stitch panel for front, back and the
outside overlay will work fine for support).
Begin sewing
by making the inside clutch handle if needed and put aside. Take the front flap
front panel -fabric facing up- and
place the piece of batting behind it, and the right side of the back panel facing inward and sew along
the sides and bottom. Turn right side out and press and sew the top edge
closed. Put aside and take the materials for the pocket, placing the fabrics
the same as you did for the flap and sew yourself a little pocket, and then sew
that pocket onto the front panel B-which is the front panel under the flap.
Make sure you have sewn the pocket small enough so as to be hidden when you
have the overlay added on. Take the front overlay piece and with the fabric
facing in, line the visible seam side up with the top of the back panel-fabrics
facing in toward each other. Sew the seam and then take your zipper, lining up
the back panel (with front flap now added) and sew the zipper seam. Add the
lining fabric to the other side and sew to the underside. Keeping your zipper
opened slightly and the ends lined up properly, add a long seam to the
underside of the front under panel B and then add the inside lining piece to
the underside as you did with the other side of the zipper. Sew around the
outer edges and bottom of the front and back panels so as to keep all of the
layers of fabric flat and together, add the handle to the side of the front
under panel B at the top where the zipper is going opening is going to be (*sew
the handle 1/3-1/2” below the zipper if you have a wider handle) and then turn
the piece inside out and open it up so you have the inside of the both the
front and back (flap tucked in) and sew around the edges starting on one of the
corners of the lining and working your way up towards the outer panel piece,
closing up the bottom of the clutch, up the other side towards the inside
lining area again and stopping when you have reached the bottom of the other
side *leaving the bottom opening of the lining fabric open. Flip right side out
and check to make sure no seams are showing and then pull the lining out and
sew up the bottom inside and then you have yourself one fabulous clutch!
For Him-Hawaiian
Shirt’s anyone? (I'm finishing this one up..photos to come ;)
Materials:
Fabric, interfacing, thread, buttons, sewing machine
I picked out
this tropical fabric a while back and have been meaning to make my cutie a
Hawaiian shirt so here we go! I happen to have made a Hawaiian shirt pattern I
personally like for him but you can easily pick one up at the fabric shops.
Altering based on the needed size is not too hard either. I find cutting the
materials a bit larger will ensure the item will fit in the end as I can easily
size it down as I go and pattern sizes tend to be smaller than the finished
garment you were shooting for if you simply follow the sizes on the back. The
pattern you are using may or may not have you top stitch those outer seams but
I think it looks really nice so assume a smidge larger and your finished
project won’t be too small for the person you’re making it for. If you want a
specific size for a friend but don’t know how big that is in real sizes,
judging the pattern along with the American sizing standard (wiki it-it’s easy
;) will prove useful in that area. Usually if you cut the materials a smidge
bigger you’ll be alright when finishing it up and don’t forget cotton will
shrink so I always like to remind you to either wash your fabrics before you
sew them or make the items with the shrinkage allowance taken into
consideration. These shirts might seem rather detailed and time consuming but
it wasn’t nearly as bad as I originally expected. I learned from the first
shirt I made that I should have made the collar and lining a smidge bigger when
originally cutting the fabric but other than that, it was not too challenging.
When top stitching the seams I definitely recommend ironing the seams before
sewing them down so you get a nice straight stitch. Also, take your time and
make small clean little button holes and it will look professional and like
something he will want to wear.professionng that the gifted
party will actually want to wear.
And then we
have a few gifts for everyone, because they’re
awesome…
Footsie Pajamas-Grab yourself a sewing pattern at your local sewing
shop for a pair of adult zipper down the front pajamas. If you are unsuccessful
at finding a pattern for this style in the pajama section of the pattern books
then check out the costume patterns section for adults and you will find an
appropriate pattern to use. Don’t forget to pick up about ¼ yard of additional
fabric if the pattern you are using does not include footsies. When making the
feet to add on you are going to want to cut an upper foot piece to add on and
then a bottom piece that is the full size of your foot, or the size of the foot
of the person you are making them for. Cut the feet big-you can always size
them down-and though everyone likes the slipper bottom foot material, I always
found a soft material best so my feet don’t sweat from that thin pleather-type
fabric used for the pjs when I was a little one. Don’t forget to pick up a
smidge of elastic (under a yard will do) in order to add hidden elastic around
the ankles of the pjs. You can add the elastic around the ankles if desired after
you have made the rest of the outfit. A sewing pattern like this will work... http://goo.gl/fUH92
Pillow Cases with Messages-Whether you are hoping to bust out some Star Wars themed
gear for the friends or ‘wake me for kisses and coffee’ messages to your
sweetie, it’s not a bad gift giving idea and all you need are some plain pillow
cases and some fabric paint, a paint brush and a stencil and you’ve got
yourself a sweet set of pillow cases as gifts. They will make all your
non-messaged pillow cases seem boring I assure you and if you want to craft
yourself up a few new plain pillow cases it’s even nicer-all handmade baby! All
it takes is about ¾ yard of fabric and some thread and sewing the inside seams,
folding over the top opening and then adding your images or designs is easy
peasy! If you’re planning on making your own pillow cases then I recommend
adding the designs to the fabric panels before sewing them together but if you
happen to have a set of made pillow cases you won’t have that option. Everyone
can use pillow cases and if you theme the gift appropriately such as chemistry
designs for the chemist and such you just might have yourself a winner. Ohh you
think this idea is dull do you? Let’s just see what old images I have kicking
around here that will work for these…
Ohh yeah, the Ponch will do just fine for these...
Ohh yeah, the Ponch will do just fine for these...
Uh-huh. Not
so bored now are you?
I didn’t
think so.
Now go get
crafting ya maniac, and think up something clever for your ohh so funny
friends…
If you have
art work you would like to add to a pillow case then I always recommend taking
a photo of the art and printing it on iron on material (don’t forget to reverse
the image first so it’s the right way when the print is ironed on) and then
sewing the pillow cover front and back panel together but again, if you are
working with pre-made pillow covers then slipping the pillow case over an ironing
board with a towel or layer of cotton fabric on the underside will do the
trick. Follow the directions on the packaging for iron on transfers. http://twistedsifter.com/2010/06/the-saturday-strip-week-11/
These images work well added to glass prayer candles as well ;)
Gangster Coloring & Activity Book-Do you know how difficult it is to
find yourself a Gangster Coloring Book? It’s really rather difficult. I saw these
years ago and totally wanted to give a few as gifts but they were at one point apparently
voted one of the worst gifts so they seem to have fallen out of circulation
since. Lame. So I made my own and it is totally awesome! Once you’ve finished laughing
feel free to make you own. The real question is how creative are you? Imma
listenin’ (continues to color)…
Here are a few photos from mine to help you along...
Happy Holidays & Happy Crafting!
Thank you so much for stopping by. As I finish
up this post I would like to wish all of you the happiest of holidays and a
fabulous New Year. For any of you
looking for last minute gifts I have a number of items shown in this blog post
listed in the shop so order away and for those of you crafting your own, best
of luck but I know you won’t need it as your items will look great no matter what you decide on whether it's clutches, pjs or even Baby Hip Hop styles for the munchkins!
xoxo-Lindsay ;)
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