With Glue Gun in Hand…

The last few weeks have proven rather busy and the last week in general has been one of the hottest of the season-a very bad time for the a/c to be on the fritz. Since it was a bit too hot to be in the sewing room amidst piles of fabric, I decided to hide out in the shade sipping margaritas and playing with my glue gun and all things glueable. Just a few words of advice before we get started on glue guns though. Be careful, follow the instructions, don't leave the glue gun on unattended, wearing gloves helps you from burning your fingers, and of course, if you are not an adult, find one and go from there. Also, if you are planning on hot glue gunning while in shorts or a short skirt while lounging in a patio chair, make sure you cover your legs because those hot whispy glue streaks can burn those pretty little legs if you are not careful (and you might spill your drink).

A friend brought by a few bags stuffed full of the cutest silk flowers she came across and they happily sat around in the shop while I fussed on other projects, waiting for their purpose to come about. I seem to have found so many uses for them that I had to share and I have even listed a few on the Craftzies etsy shop so if you are feeling tropical or whimsical, looking for a few items for an upcoming event, or even just need a flower fix, I do have items listed in the shop and new items will continue to be listed until all of these babies have left the building.

Here are a few of the hair clips I have made so far. The first two photos below have been left long-measuring at a length of about 7" (17.8 cm). I know it seems a bit too long but I thought they might look cute at the base of the neck holding together a french braid since the plastic frame the flowers are on can be bent on the ends and tucked in. The longer rose clips also give you the option of holding up a bit of hair while also giving the look of a headband when the plastic flower frame is bend slightly to frame the shape of the head. If you don't want the hair clips that long, you can simply cut the ends and you get a shorter version. I didn't make any small rosette hair clips but I have a few of the pink rosettes on a few magnet clips below to give you an idea of how cute the shorter version is as well. 

As I went through the random Craftzies stash I found wooden laundry clips, hair clips, magnets, coconut shells, and sea shells. If you are looking to make some of these items yourself, I would say try looking at a place like the $ stores locally and possibly $ stores online. If  unsuccessful in either of those places then I would say hit up Michaels and joanns, home decorating stores and maybe even etsy? If I find some of the flowers out there myself I might even list them in my shop unglued for all of your creative ideas.

I found that each flower had plastic pieces between the silk petal layers so in most cases I removed those so that the flowers could be pressed down a bit as I glued them. In some cases I found the center piece in the flower to be too bulky as well, in which case I removed it. For almost all of the flowers I glued, I found I needed to glue the petals down a little bit so they would hold their shape. In some cases a petal just needed a tiny dash of glue behind it to hold its shape. The only ones I did not need to glue down in order to hold their shape were the purple rose hair pieces with the small yellow and pink rose buds below. 

For the flower magnet clips I glued the magnets onto the wooden clips, and then I glued the flowers onto the clips. Once dried, I removed any extra little glue strands. They work really well for decorating bags, decorating tables, fridges, calendar save-the-date reminders easily clipped onto the calendar, and a cute way to keep reminders elsewhere around the home and office. And if silk flowers aren’t your style, well, be creative with it. The fun is in the gluing.

And that brings me to the cutest little decorated coconut shell sets, the last of my glueing aventures for this post. I have been saving these coconut shells for a while now and though I had no idea what I would use them for at the time, they do make cute little shells for decorating inside your home and outdoor areas and also for displaying items such as business cards at shows and for photographing jewelry and other small items. The coconuts were washed inside the shells with just a dab of watered down white paint. This isn’t necessary however it does sort of add to the natural look of the shells in that it looks like a coconut milk wash inside. I just took a little paint mixing area such as a baby jar and added a tiny dab of paint and then more water and swished it around with a paint brush until the paint was a bit foamy and then I tested the color on a piece of paper to dab it a little, added a little more water as needed, and then just added a light wash to the inside of the shells. Remember, for something like this, less is more so go light with the paint wash and have a cloth or paper towel and water on hand to dab any off if you add too much.

 

Next I wanted to make a base for the coconut shells. They naturally want to rock and that really bugged me so I definitely had to do something about that. When I originally thought about a base for the shells I visualized something like three little feet that were made of clay or maybe little paper machete feet-something to prop the shells up off the ground a little bit to provide some balance. I wasn’t quite sure at first but as I laid down a few pieces of brown kraft paper onto the surface I was working on (brown kraft paper grocery bag to be exact) I figured I would just try making a base all out of the glue. I added it really close to the center of the base in more or less four areas. I then turned the coconut shell into the brown kraft paper (make sure you have a number of safe layers between the brown paper and the surface you are working on-you don’t want to ruin the counter or table you are working on) and pressed down so the glue on the bottom of the shell would dry into a shaped base.

Once you think the glue base you have just made is dry, peel it from the paper and test it on a flat surface to make sure it doesn't rock. If it still rocks, add a little more glue to the bottom and then press the shell down again and let it dry. If the shell does not pull easily from the kraft paper then you have not let it dry enough. If worse comes to worse and you have added too much glue to the bottom or the little glue stand is just too crooked, simply pry the dried glue glob off and start the process over again. If you care enough, you can also paint the base of the coconut shells brown to enhance the shells or add a small brown piece of felt on the bottom as desired.

Now all you need to do is add the shells and the flower. In the photos I put a little tea light in each shell when I took the pictures, and I included them in the sale of the sets in my shop however because the silk flowers are so big, do not attempt to light candles in the shells if you have the flowers glued on. I have included the tea lights in the sale of the shells online but have included tags so the customer knows the candles are only for display purposes and I have also cut the wicks so there is only a small top piece for display/photo purposes. I have not picked any up since making these shell sets but small LED tea lights will work just fine for lighting a small area without being a hazard so if you do want an actual light in each, go with LED lights. The tea lights are not glued down in case you want to use these for something other than as a little candle display set. I have the LED lights on my shopping list so as soon as I pick some up I will get a few photos up with them lit on the back patio during the twilight hours.

Some of the things glued didn’t turn out all that amazing and others went better than I originally expected. I also made a flower magnet set in which I took 4 silk flowers and glued the petals underneath just slightly so the flowers stayed upright a little more and then I glued a magnet to the bottom of each. These turned out cute however I would say the flower magnet clips worked best as the wooden clip made the magnet more useful in that it could hold up fridge material both by slipping material underneath the magnet and also via the wooden clip. It also proved a better base for the silk flowers and I felt the silk flowers were a little floppy with just the magnets. The clips felt much more useful with the clip than without it too. In the end I felt as though I should have gone with the wooden clip/ magnet combo because you can use it in more ways-clip it onto gift bags, you can use it on the fridge, they’re great for keeping organized at the desk and well, the possibilities seem endless.

So, that about wraps this post up. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking a look. If you have any questions or suggestions, let me know ;)

The Marilyn and Beyond...

This classic Marilyn Monroe inspired halter styled dress is really quite lovely, and the most popular dress in my shop so far. The dress features a full skirt, halter styled bodice, hidden pockets at the waist, zipper up the back, a cute little button at the back of the neck for accent, trim as accent at the waist and a fully lined bodice so you will feel really comfortable as you look your very best ;) 

The dress above is in the classic white color, and features a sparkle waist band with satin trim for accent, hidden pockets, and a diamond button at the back of the neck for accent. This dress has also been made from a cream silk duponi and it turned out really nice and was worn as a wedding dress for a garden wedding last Summer.

The Pink Hyacinth dress above is also a favorite and a nice change from the traditional pink prints in that it has really dynamic orange-pink hues. This dress has white trim as accent at the waist, hidden pockets, lined bodice, and a button at the base of the neck as accent. I currently have one of this dress in stock in my shop as a ready-made item.

I love the soft  blended hues of the Pacific Batik dress shown above. I saved every last bit of this fabric and it is such a nice cool, clean cotton and the batik print...well, let's just say the print is even better in person...if you can believe that! I only purchased enough of the fabric to make one dress, but that dress is currently listed on the shop as a ready-made item.

As much as I love this halter dress, I recognize that the halter styled bodice and full skirt as not for everyone and so I have ventured out to create a new dress that is similar, however a little different for those who need another choice. I have customers from a size 4 to a size 18 that have purchased (and LOVED) this dress so I think a halter style bodice is just a matter of preference and simply depends on the woman. But let's be honest here. A new dress style is like a new pair of shoes..it only makes the day better! And I will remind you all that  new shoes go really well with new dresses. It's sort of funny how that works ;)

Just in case you were wondering, that is my absolutely lovely sister modeling for me in the photos. It’s hard to tell that it was an incredibly rainy day here in Portland when the photos were taken! The fact that the photos for this dress turned out so radiant is truly a tribute not only to the dress but also my sister’s love for this dress. You can always tell when she likes an item because one of two things will happen-she will start to jump around and go play with accessories (anything from purses and jewelry to finding herself a new pair of shoes), or she becomes the elegant princess you see in the photos above, and simply radiates a grace that makes it hard to believe that she was actually born a rather mischievous imp! 

If it goes well I will be carrying the new dress in the shop in the next few weeks! Photos to come…

Until then, you can purchase ready-made and custom items in my clothing shop @ www.SophiaDeLaMer.etsy.com 

Spring Jute Totes

 As Spring is right around the corner I wanted to include a post on the process by which I made my Spring Jute Totes.  These are perfect for friends and family and you can make them whatever size you wish-smaller or larger and they make perfect Easter Totes as well. I made these for a bride last summer and she wanted a total of 6, three in lime green accent and three in hot pink accent. For those of you who don’t know, there are varying grades of jute and burlap is considered a jute, which is a natural fiber. In order to make this project for the woman I purchased about 3.5 - 4 yards of the lightest shade of burlap fabric I could find. This particular fabric was purchased ad Joann Fabrics for something like $2.50/ yard. I ended up dying both the lime green and hot pink pieces as the only colors available other than the natural shades of the burlap were red, black and a very light pink. None of the colors I needed were available so my other option was to dye the fabrics.

Dyeing fabric materials for projects was a new one for me and after consulting with a worker at the shop I decided to go with an iDye for natural fibers. The directions were included with the package and it also required a 10-12 oz bottle of white vinegar. Since I knew I was going to be dying two sets of fabric, lime green and hot pink,  I got a large 32 oz bottle of vinegar for the project. Plastic gloves are also a must have and I used a pair of dish washing gloves for the dyeing process to project my hands. You will also need a bucket or plastic container of some sort that you can mix the dye, water and vinegar in. I found a dish cloth for drips was helpful as well as some newspaper to cover the surface in which you are working, and then a bit more to lay out under where you are going to be drying the wet and newly-dyed pieces of fabric. Just be careful because the dye can stain surfaces, hands, etc. After I was finished dyeing the pieces, I hung them to dry in the sun, pinning them up with laundry pins and I placed paper underneath so it wouldn't stain the surface below. 

As a side note, I find laundry pins to be very helpful on the organizational front, as well as hanging craft projects as they dry so if you have some, hold onto them because we will use them as we craft together in the future. As you can tell from the photo above, I also use them to organize my zippers. A brilliant move on my part as I can finally see what zippers I have available. You might be thinking this is the work of a mad woman, but trust me, after sorting through an entire box of zippers every time I need a specific color, this is an awesome alternative. Who’s the sane one now? Huh?...Don’t answer that!

So, moving on, here is a breakdown the materials you will need for the project:

1)      1) Jute Fabric-The amount depends on how many totes you plan on making and if you decide on going with a trim, you will need less than you would if you decide to dye segments of the natural burlap yourself. See below-Determining how much fabric you will need for this project:

2)      2) Fabric for the inside lining. I went with about 4-4.5 yards of a cream colored cotton for the lining as I wanted it to be as invisible as possible, but as these make really great beach bags, going with a really cute printed cotton for the inside that matches the trim and the sides works well too (see above for amount of fabric needed).

3)      3) iDye fabric dye-1 packet for each color you intend to make.

4)    4)  white vinegar

5)      5) Gloves and a bucket (for dyeing the fabric-skip this is you decide against dying the fabric and opt for a trim being sewn on instead)

6)      6) A rack or rope with clothing pins…something in which to hang the fabric pieces up so they can dry (for the dying process-skip this step if you are going with a fabric trim instead)

7)      7) Scissors

8)      8) Thread-you will need a cream colored thread to match the natural jute color and then another spool of thread to match whatever color you have picked for your dye (I used green thread for the green trimmed totes and pink for pink trimmed totes, as well as a cream color for both), or if you have opted for just purchasing a trim, if the trim is going to require a different color of thread, pick out a matching color. 

9)     9)  Fabric trim-If you have decided on dyeing pieces of the burlap bright colors then you can skip the trim. The amount of trim is determined by how large you want your tote to be. If you are going to a 12” x 14” (30.5 cm x 35.6 cm) tote, then you will need about 80” (203.2 cm) for the sides and bottom on each side, and then an additional 12” (30.5 cm) for the front and back, and then an additional 3” (7.6 cm) for each side, and then about 2-4” (5.1 cm x 10.2 cm) extra to tuck in and under at the end of the seam. So for each tote, you will need about 104” (264.2 cm) total, per bag.

**Determining how much fabric you will need for this project: It’s pretty easy to determine how much fabric you need once you decide if you are going to dye your own fabric segments or if you are only going to go with the jute for the front, back, sides, and handles. For the set of 6 bridal totes I made, I intended for each tote when finished to be 12” in width (30.5 cm) and 14” in length (35.6 cm ) with a 3” gusset (7.6 cm ) for the depth. For each tote I cut 2 pieces of natural jute that were 13” width x 15” length (33 cm  x 38.1 cm ) (the outside front and back of the tote), 4-16”x 3” (40.6 cm  x 7.6 cm) jute (handles), 2-15”x 4” (38.1 cm  x 10.2 cm) jute (sides-outer fabric) and 1 piece of fabric that is 13” x 4” (33 cm   x 10.2 cm) (bottom-outer fabric). For the inside lining, cut one piece of fabric that is 13” x 34” (33 cm x 86.4 cm). If you also want a pocket or two on the inside of the bag then you would cut the fabric for the pocket, and sew it onto the lining. You also need trim, and if you have decided on dyeing the burlap to match the other colored areas, then you will need 4-16” x 3.5” (40.6 cm  x  7.6 cm) fabric strips for the sides vertically, and 2-32”x3.5” (81.3 cm x 8.9 cm) fabric strips for around the top and bottom. As an estimate, you should be able to make one tote that is 12”x 14” (30.5 cm x 35.6 cm) out of about a yard of jute.

So, you have your fabric cut and we can start the dyeing process. Take the dye, water, and vinegar and mix them together in the plastic tub. Follow the directions on the back of the dye mix for the correct amounts and be sure not to water down the dye. If the dye package does not say how much vinegar to use, then I would say a cup and a half will do. When I dyed the lime green it turned out perfect. After I dyed the hot pink I felt like the color was too light so I re-dyed the pink pieces a second time. Take the fabric you cut for two of the handles (I only dyed the top piece of each handle), both sides, bottom, and the strips of extra fabric that are to serve as the trim and dye them, taking care not to agitate the burlap pieces too much. I found that the burlap is at a very sensitive stage with the cut seams and the more I agitated the fabric pieces the more the weave wanted to fall apart on me. 

Once the dyed pieces are dry and ironed with all strands trimmed, we move onto sewing. At this stage, you will want to pay attention to what color of thread you are using in relation to the color of fabric you are sewing. For example, when I was sewing the top of the handles that were either green or pink with a natural colored underside, I used a cream colored thread in the bobbin and used either lime green or hot pink for the top stitches so the thread color would match. You will want to alter the thread colors as needed. 

Then make the handles, and you will take both a 3.5” (8.9 cm) strip of natural burlap and a strip of colored burlap and make sure that both pieces are ironed. Put one piece on top of the other and trim down the sides to 3” (7.6 cm).  Do this with all four handle strips and then for each strip, turn it over and iron down ½” (1.3 cm) under. Next, align one colored burlap piece (edges turned in) up to a natural burlap strip (edges also turned in) and sew both strips together so that the turned in edges are sewn inward. Do this with the other set of two handles as well and put aside. If you decided you wanted a pocket on the inside lining, or perhaps a loop to attaching keys, or magnetic closure or Velcro or something of that nature,  then you would add that at this time to the lining, before you sew the lining in later on. Put the lining aside. 

Now we move onto sewing the bag itself and you start by sewing the bottom colored burlap piece to the front and back natural burlap panels, keeping the seams outward facing. Add the colored sides, again all seams should be facing outward, starting with sewing the bottom pieces on and then sewing up the sides. If, before you add the handles to the top of the bag, the sides look uneven or anything, you want to trim them up a bit at this point. We also calculated a few extra inches for trimming when we measured out the pieces so go ahead and trim around the top and at the outward facing seams around the bottom and the sides as needed. When I made the set of 6 totes I sewed the seams once, followed it up with another seam for good measure, and then I sewed each seam one more time on a zigzag stitch. Just keep in mind that you have that be a narrow zig zag stitch if you can because the trim will be added afterwards and the width of the trim isn't too wide (if you can alter the setting on your machine). By having a narrow zig zag stitch you ensure that the stitching won't appear on the sides out form under the zig zagged seams. I also found the colored burlap was tough to sew with because the weave was weak after having been dyed and all of the seams started to fray so the extra stitches were definitely needed. 

Once all of the seams have been checked to make sure they are completely sewn, then I added the side trim vertically, and then I added the rest of the colored burlap trim all the way around the bottom, and then all the way around the top, tucking in that last bit before you have reached the end. 

Next, you will  take the handles which you already made, and sew the handles to the top of the bag. You can alter the spacing of the handles as you wish but I usually sew each handle-colored burlap facing outward-about 2.25”-2.5” ( 5.7 cm x 6.4 cm) on each side from the middle of the front and back panel. Finally, you will turn the bag inside out and line up the inside lining with the outside bag. If you find at this point that the lining is bigger than the outside shell of the bag, sew the seams up a little bit so the inside and outside panels will fit well together. You also want to leave about 5” (12.7 cm) of an opened seam toward the bottom of one side of the lining. Pin and sew along the top of the bag, and then once more for good measure. Turn the tote right side out via the 5” hole you left in the lining, and sew up that seam. 

You are now officially finished! 

You can now iron on a patch or pin on a pretty flower...feather…whatever your crafting heard desires really! The only other last things I would mention with this project you should be aware of is as tempting as it is to go with a really bright fabric print for the inside lining, keep in mind that a lighter color works best because the burlap tends to be a wider weave and is a bit thin so it is possible that a printed fabric for the lining will be somewhat visible on the outside of the tote. You can modify this however by adding a piece of interfacing or lightweight, light colored solid fabric as a middle layer between the inside and outside pieces of the tote.

Definitely keep in mind as you work on this project that burlap is a bit itchy when you are working on it so I would recommend wearing an sewing apron and cleaning your sewing area after you have finished this project. Also, if you decide to make one tote and have some excess dye, you should be able to save some of that dye in a jar for a day or two in case you need a re-dye or decide you want to make more colored strips.

When I dyed the hot pink burlap strips originally they came out too light and I had to re-dye, but I had to pick up another packed of iDye since I had watered down the first dye lot. It was an easy mistake so definitely be careful not to water the mix down and I would even recommend having the mix be too concentrated as you can easily rinse some of the dye out before you set the pieces to dry. I did this with the lime green and it worked well. I didn’t with the hot pink and I had to spend another $2.80 or so another pack of dye, use more vinegar, and it took an additional day to re-dye and let the hot pink pieces to fully dry again. Also, one more thing and then I am definitely done giving you advice, keep in mind that once the fabric pieces are dyed and dried out, iron them on a scrap piece of fabric. When I went to iron the pieces I found that some of the excess dye stained my ironing board cover. I beat mine up on a regular basis so it wasn't a big deal but if you have a nice one you don’t want to stain it, go with something that you don’t mind ruining. I found a tea towel or old t-shirt worked well for absorbing any additional dye. Spray the dried dyed pieces of jute with a water bottle as you iron them to get the best results.

In looking back on this project I have to say that having dyed the colored jute was a very long process and I probably would go with a trim instead of the colored jute. It turned out well in the end and even  inspired me to whip up some beach bags as we get closer to the warmer months. The itchy factor with the burlap was ...well..super itchy! I don't recommend shorts on the hottest day of the year...while sewing burlap, so if you can cut and sew this project outside with a sewing apron or spare pair of clothes I would recommend all of those!

All for the love of crafts, I know...

Lindsay

A Corset of Course (or A Flair for the Dramatic)

McCall's 8832 blouse/ corset pattern

I have been meaning to try out this pattern and style C (corset) is the one we are going to try today.  I have a black with hot pink embroidery fabric picked out, along with a lightweight black fabric for the lining, and a tiny smidge of black interfacing. I am not a big fan of boning as I find it uncomfortable, so I am going to skip it, and the pattern is vintage and calls for buttons up the side. I think I am going to replace the buttons with another type of closure running up the side, but since this is the first time I have made this item, I am going to think about the closure when I am nearing the end of the project. 

I have cut out the pattern,  (made myself a backup copy), ironed the pattern pieces, ironed the fabric, cut the fabric, and now we're ready to get started sewing. A few tips if you are a beginner sewer-follow the directions, read them thoroughly, and read the text that is printed on each pattern piece as well. As with all crafts, if you take your time, the chances of your project turning out well are greater. 

Now, many people prefer to try a sewing pattern out first with an inexpensive fabric such as muslin -this is perfectly fine and I always recommend it. The human form, and especially that of a woman, is the hardest to dress so practice makes perfect. I have a few favorite little devices I keep at my side while sewing and they are a stitch cutter, and a sewing marker and or fabric chalk. The stitch cutter is great for all sorts of sewing projects and the sewing marker is great for lighter colored fabrics but you can basically draw all over the fabric and then spritz the fabric with water and the marker will disappear. I prefer to keep the use of pins to a minimum in my craft shop if I can so after I have cut the pattern and ironed the pieces. I lay out the pattern accordingly and then this is where I would use my fabric pen or chalk (chalk pens are recommended for darker fabrics), but you can also pin and then cut the pattern pieces. 


For this particular item, the directions have you sew the lining pieces to the front pieces individually, and then sew the pieces together vertically. This way you know the front and the lining will fit perfectly and offer a nice tight fit. In order to make sure your corset pieces are the perfect sizes in relation to one another, once you have sewn the front pieces to the lining pieces,  press and lay the pieces (now front and lining pieces basted together) out on top of one another and trim the pieces so the right and left side of the front pales are pressed together and he same exact size, the side pieces are the same sized pieces, and again for the back pieces. If when trimming down the pieces to make sure they are exact and find you have trimmed the stitching from an area, go back and touch up the area by sewing the edges together again before proceeding. You don;t have to be a nut about it, but taking the extra time to make sure each panel is exact in relation with it's opposite side and making sure each front and back panel is stitched down really makes a difference between a really nice top and one that looks like it was handmade. 

Once the pieces are all cut out then simply follow the instructions, in this case basting the front and lining pieces together and trimming, sewing the panels vertically together (*except of course the right side where the closure is going to be). The pattern had me add a small panel folded over on each side (one of these pieces with interfacing), then I added the top inside bodice piece of fabric and the corset together, and then pressed and hand sewed the top inside flap down. After that I took the skirt piece and turned it inside out and stitched the ends up. I flipped the piece right side out and stitched the opened end up, gathered, and then added the gathered skirt to the corset part, stitching wrong sides together, turned the top inside out, added hook and eyes to the inside of the side closure, and wha-la! You now have yourself a fabulous new top to wear out, or in this case, a fabulous new styled corset top I now feel confidant remaking and offering on my clothing site @ www.SpohiaDeLaMer.etsy.com. 

So all in all, this pattern is definitely a keeper in my book. I plan on making more and introducing different colors and variations as Spring approaches. Unfortunately this top turned out too small for my sewing doll,  so I don't currently have a model for it. Instead, I have taken photos with it laid out flat, and that makes it look like the torso is shorter in relation to the image but in fairness, the image in the picture looks like it has also been drawn out Barbie doll styled to a certain degree. 

Now that I have finished the test and have deemed it worthy of remake in the clothing shop, I'm off to make more. Just a few little notes before I head off to the craft room here. When remaking this item (or any corset pattern really as you will probably not be using this exact pattern I have here), make sure to expand each of the pieces equally in width, and each piece slightly longer. If you are going to add a zipper at the side then you're going to want to add another side piece on the right hand side of the closure area inside to cover the right hand side of the zipper seam. I would do this by placing the left side of the zipper facing up and facing the right side up on the left side panel. Sew those together and then do the same for the right side. When stitching the inside flap down you can hand stitch that zipper down a little bit or pop in a zipper foot and stitch it down flat. Just remember when picking up a zipper that you go with one that opens at the bottom. These are usually marked as parka or coat zippers. If you wanted to add lacing and holes you can do so. I would probably switch the closure to another area in the garment if I were going to add lacing to the front or back seam. Here is a photo of the back lacing on my new Romantically Involved Dress. I added the lacing to the back zipper area by sewing down some of the lace I used throughout the dress to the right and left hand size of the zipper vertically, and then I took a satin type twine and used the holes in the lace to lace up the back with a bow at the top. This style will work in front or back really well.

Lindsay ;)

Weaving a Throw Rug

When I started weaving I found I had years worth of fabric scraps that I could use to make rugs and improve my weaving skill before I moved onto more delicate woven projects. It was exciting because I finally had a craft that used those previously useless scraps and with over 4 huge bins full of scraps at the time I had a lot of material in which to work with! Today, I usually collect at least one if not two big bins worth of fabric scraps and then make a bunch of fabric balls so as to condense my sewing scrap pile. I have also found that sometimes the colors and patterns that you would think would not look good together end up looking really cool together so definitely feel free to experiment. In many cases when I am gearing up the loom I plan one rug and then go completely freestyle in design with the other. The results are really interesting and completely different and you can see this currently in my shop in that The Waves in the Sand and the Color Me Happy Woven Rugs are from the same reel but the Waves in the Sand was planned and the Color Me Happy was not, but I was very happy with the way both rugs turned out.

There are a series of basic steps when setting about making a woven rug and those are as follows:

1) Warp the board-check how many slots per inch your heddle has before you determine how many strands of warp you need looped up. Once you have that number, multiply it by the number of inches you want for the width of the rug and the resulting number is how many loops you need.
2) Gather/ sew together waft (fabric balls)
3) Thread the machine (bring your crochet hook)
4) Wind the machine (bring along brown paper and a pick)
5) Re-thread the machine and tie off the ends (bring your crochet hook)
6) Weave
7) Tie off and retie the warp for the next rug

The woven rug is comprised of the warp, the thinner strands that run through the heddle, and the waft, which for this particular project is comprised of strips of fabric that are sewn to make long fabric strips that are then woven through the warp. The fabric strips for the waft are cut to about 1-2 inches wide (2.50-5.1 cm) or, when the fabric strip is twisted in your hand, it is as wide as a pencil, if not a little wider. If the fabric strips are too thin then the rug will end up being too thin. You will also find you want the strips to be of similar thickness so as to keep the thickness of the rug constant throughout.

Sew all of the strips together and wind around into a ball until it about the size of a softball, maybe a little bigger. If you want a rug made from all one color, the fabric balls will be comprised of all the same fabric, or at least the same color. If you want to make a rug similar to the white and red All You Need is Love Woven Rug pictured above, you will cut random sized pieces of white fabric and mix in a few pieces of random sized colored fabric as you sew the fabric strips together. I say to go with random sized pieces of fabric specifically because it is the element of randomness that gives the red and white blended look. When you go to tie more waft on make a point of making a soft knot as that will flatten out but a hard knot feels tough on the feet.

If you have some experience weaving, then the rest will come easily to you but for others that might be new to the process, one of the hard parts at the beginning is determining how much warp and waft material you will need for the project. It is always hard to say but I have found when making a woven throw rug that is approximately 25" in width by 40" in length (63.5 cm width x 101.6 cm length), that I will need about 4-5 larger sized fabric balls, and (this is depending on your heddle of course) but for a rug that is 25" in width, that means that I warp each loop on the warp board (this gives us the strands in which you weave between) 250 times, 10 times for each inch (2.50 cm). I also found when making a meditation mat which has a width of about 30" (76.2 cm), I am able to get about 6" of woven rug out of each fabric ball, as an estimate. For a meditation mat, I have found that I need about 2 yards per 30” x 30” woven material. It always helps to have a little bit extra of waft ready to weave before you begin your project as well so you don’t have to stop weaving and go back to the sewing machine to make more for the project.

Now that I have a stand for my weaving loom that’s not such a big deal but for a while I was using a craft table for both sewing and weaving and would put one machine away while I was working on the other. Because of this, I found it to be quite a pain to have to pull the loom off the craft table only to put together another 10 yards or so of waft to finish a rug. You can always use extra waft in another project so in most cases it’s just easier to make a little more. When it comes to the fabric used for the woven rugs, I only weave with cottons for the most part. You can weave with some stretch fabrics as practice but you will see as you go along that the natural fabrics are your best bet and stretch fabrics will end up pulling in the sides and making the finished rug look uneven and a bit warped if you don’t take great care not to stretch the fabric across as you are weaving, and even then, you might find the sides pulling inward a bit

I also take great care as I am weaving to pull the sides out evenly as I go. Every 4-5 woven strips or so I give the sides a tug just to keep them from pulling in, and more often if it looks like it needs it. A lot of weavers don’t really care about this so much because they will block the rug down on a board after they’re done to set it for a few days. I don’t bother doing this however with some of your first projects if you find the sides bow in a bit, blocking the item is an option you might consider. Some knitters also block knitted pieces as well. I am pretty sure there are a few sites out there that provide instructions for how to block an item but if you can’t find one or still need help feel free to let me know and I can put a post up on how to block a piece.

Unlike other weaving projects, woven rugs are also a lot heavier than something lightweight like a shawl and I have found that a pick (I use a metal pronged pick that I just picked up from the $1 store) really helps pull the rug tight as I am weaving. And remember, the tighter the rug, the better. You want this to be machine washable if possible, and the tighter it is the better it will withstand the wear and tear associated with laundering. The pick also comes in really handy when winding the machine when you have to gently brush out all of the warp fibers. I used to use a wide plastic comb but I found the pick to be the best tool so far.

I also use brown kraft paper when winding my loom and save that brown paper because it is reusable. I picked up a few rolls right when I got my loom and still use them today. The rolls of paper are usually 29”-30” (73.7 cm-76.2 cm) in length and my loom is 32” (81.3 cm) in width. If I am going the max width for a rug then I use a wider roll of paper in which I had to tape an additional 2” (5.1 cm) to one side. It is critical that the paper covers all of the strands of the warp as you are winding or the wound strands could intersect and get all intertwined and become unusable.

My warp board allows for a length of about 10 ft in woven material and I have made rugs that long, though I usually make smaller ones as those seem to sell in the shop more quickly. If I were going to make three woven rugs that are about 34” (86.4 cm) in length each, I would expect to have about 5 fabric balls for each rug. If I were going to make one long runner that was 10 ft in length, I would expect that I needed about 20-21 fabric balls total as I wasn’t losing the warp strands I lose when I am tying off and re-tying each new rug. Since the meditation mats are about 30" (76.2 cm) in width I went with warping the board until I had 300 loops, and then you tie it off so the strands stay in place until you thread and wind those strands on the loom. Threading the loom takes about another 45 minutes, and then comes the winding process. My instruction in weaving included the recommendation to have a partner help you wind the loom and this is the easiest way. This last set of rugs I made were wound by myself as my cutie was at work and I didn’t want to wait until he got home to get the loom ready to weave, but if you can have another set of hands for this part it is a lot easier than doing it yourself and your chances of getting the warp wound taut is increased when you have someone holding and brushing the warp as the other person is winding the machine.

Winding the machine by myself takes about 30 minutes or so but with that extra set of hands it takes about 15-20 minutes. This process is usually pretty boring for the person winding the loom but the person on the other side brushing out the warp fibers has to go slow and make sure all of those fibers are taut. Once the machine is wound then you are left with about 2 ft (61 cm) of warp strands hanging from the heddle. You have threaded the machine once but you still need to thread the machine a second time, taking one strand from the long slot in the heddle and moving it to the smaller slot directly to the right. Do this for each double strand until every slot from the original slot you started with has one thread in the long slot and one in the small slot. Now, slip the round dowel into the front area of the loom and then tie down about an inch worth of warp strands to the dowel. Make these knotted sections tight and try to get them to be equally taut across the entire width. If some of the knotted pieces are tighter than others, adjust them so they are all tight. You can also wind the loom a notch or two in order to tighten it up a bit as well. Do this after you have tied all the warp strands down evenly.

So, at this point we are going to assume that you have made the waft ready for the project, have warped the board, threaded the machine, wound the machine, threaded again and tied off and you are now officially ready to weave!

This is where it gets fun. In and out, moving that heddle back and then forward and you can see your beautiful rug begin to develop. Wind as you weave until you have wound enough rug and have the length you want, you can pull the rug out from the front area and then pull out the warp through the heddle until you again have about a foot and a half, provide some slack and then clip the warp. For the rug you have just cut off the loom, tie the ends and then for the other end, retie the strands so there is no loop and you are all set. If you have any little scrap pieces sticking out of your new rug you can pull on them a bit and trim them off but just be careful not to cut any of the warp or it will ruin the rug. Once you have cut one rug off the loom you will simply repeat the original process of tying off the strands onto the dowel and beginning the weaving project over again. Do be careful though that you do not pull the warp strands out from the heddle or you will have to take the additional time to rethread the machine before you make the next rug.

Some people like to use a material such as yarn in the beginning of the weaving process with the intention of getting a tight weave right towards the ends of the rug. I usually add a few smaller strips of fabric to the beginning as I have found they are easy to pull out when you are finished weaving and are just re-tying the strands on the ends up again. If you do not add something to the beginning and end you will probably find you will end up getting a bit of a v shaped design from the warp at the beginning of the rug and though I usually even this design out a bit before I send a rug out in the mail, if I were to use a thinner material and weave a few lines at the beginning and end of the rug, I can pull out the knots of the warp after I am finished, pull out the woven material and then retie the ends off again and you get rid of the v pattern. This same concept of adding a thinner bit of weaving material on the ends is similar to the salvage area of fabrics you would buy in a fabric shop from the bolt and would be cut off and disgarded when the pattern for the garment has been cut.

So, to weave a set of 2 rugs that are about 4 ft in length each (121.9 cm), we would have made about 14-16 fabric balls, warped the board 10 loops for every inch (2.5 cm) we wanted for the width, and then threaded, wound, and then threaded again before we could even start weaving. In regards to the time required, I have not documented all of the time for this last set of rugs but I have all of the time up until the actual weaving documented. Well, I have about 4 fabric balls for a meditation mat made so far and I usually whip up some fabric balls when my fabric scrap basket is busting at the seams so after I make the Golden Louts Meditation Mat (and I know I need at least 1 more fabric ball in order to complete that mat), I will hopefully find some fabric balls I can use for the second rug. I think for that rug I will make it a little longer as opposed to shorter and that one is not a custom order so it will most likely be listed in my etsy shop, unless a friend stops in while I’m working on it and decides they want it in which case I try to take a few pictures for the photo blog, but it won’t be listed for sale in the shop.

I have found that the red and white striped All You Need is Love woven rugs are really festive for around Valentine’s Day. I really love the scattered cheerfulness the Festival Throw Rugs offer as well as those are made mostly with white strips of fabric for the fabric balls but I mix in small pieces of colored fabric usually about 5-6” in length (12.7 cm  - 15.2 cm) and I make sure I keep the color sequence random so it blends well. It was only after I had made a number of the Festival Throw Rugs that I wanted a different look, something less white and instead more tribal, or more natural and Tibetan fibers sort of look. I found that by mixing a variety of colored fabrics including navy blue, darker purple and greens-but no black, white or cream-I got the look I had hoped for. I recently made a woven rug that I absolutely love. I have since named it Color Me Happy and it is currently listed in my shop.

This is one of the rugs that was completely unplanned but turned out cheerful and completely unique none the less. In fact that rug and the Waves in the Sand Woven Rug were made at the same time with the navy blue warp. When I was making the fabric balls for that project I had a number of cream, beige, tan and blue fabric strips and so I made a series of fabric balls with that blend of fabrics sewn together at random, and I thought it turned out nice with the navy blue warp. In fact, using a navy blue or any color other than white or cream was rather exciting for me and I just happened to find a spool of it at a thrift store for a quarter of the price of the natural off white colored twine I usually get. I have not explored local weaving shops lately so maybe we will go on a fiel1d trip one of these days and see what we can find in the way of weaving supplies. I find a lot of materials at thrift stores and garage sales but I also purchase a lot of the warp at a few local shops.

Working with the navy warp made me want all sorts of colors for upcoming projects and since I have found the cotton twine to be the most durable fiber for the warp while keeping the rugs soft on the feet, I would love to find some colored cotton twine. The Festival Throw Rugs sold in my shop are made with a smooth white acrylic twine and the meditation mats are made out of the cotton twine, but I have also begun to weave a variety of larger rugs with the cotton twine. The cotton twine is a little bit thicker and ends up making the finished rugs heavier but it’s a nice weight and gives a sense of substance under your feet. The cotton warp also launders well. If you like the idea of the bound ends though then I recommend using a thinner fiber for the warp such as a crochet yarn. I have not bound the ends of the cotton twine rugs because I personally like the ends on, but also because the knots are a bit bulky and I don’t know how they would sew down, even when my sewing machine is a pretty good chomper of thicker materials. I would say at this point, if I really wanted it bound, I would pull out the knots and braid the waft strands down the width of the rug until I reached the bottom, and then add one small knot, and then bind the ends in a material that covered that braided spine. Perhaps we will have to try this and see how it goes.

I hope I find some because I feel if I do not I will have no other choice but to dye my own twine, and I don’t really want to have to do that. It shouldn’t be that hard to find colored woven twine.-this is Portland after all-but dying fibers is not a project I really like to do as I find it to be messy, but when it comes to the crafts..sometimes there is no stopping me.

So, now that I have rattled on about some basic weaving concepts for what seems like forever, the important thing to remember is to go slow, have fun with it and remember, keeping it random and trying new ideas really helps you learn the art of weaving, blends new colors together and brings about a whole new world of unique ideas and projects. For those of you out there that sew excessively and have so many fabric scraps you don’t know what to do with yourself, get yourself a weaving loom! I can’t say really why I could never bring myself to throw out my fabric scraps but this craft is the ultimate in fabric recycling. I don’t feel guilty anymore when I have some fabric salvage because it’s not being tossed out. I have been mixing extra fabric scraps into throw rugs, quilts, pockets, quilted totes, baby blankets and so many more little projects but now those itty bitty scraps come in handy as well! And for those of you who do not sew a whole lot but like the idea of weaving, I highly recommend it even if you don’t want to take on sewing. If you do not sew then you can still purchase yarns and other fibers in which to weave with or you can purchase fabric balls at some locations.

This post is intended as a beginning weaving project and for additional instruction on how to set up a weaving loom feel free to email me. When I got my weaving loom it came with video instructions and I followed those on how to warp the board, thread the machine, wind the machine, re-thread and tie the ends of the warp to the dowel, and beginning the weaving process in which you tuck your first strand in after you have woven your second line in. This post is assuming you already understand these basic principles. If you need a better understanding let me know and I can put up a post on how to do that. When I first started weaving I remember being rather intimidated by the entire process and it wasn’t until I had made at least two projects that I really began to gain some self confidence in weaving. You also might have picked up an older loom and it has come with no instruction and you can’t find basic instructions online let me know.

Craft on!
Lindsay

Welcome to Craftzies!

Hello and thanks for visiting Craftzies where I hope to share with you some of the crafted items that I have made and the processes by which I have made them. I have been hoping to find a nice little internet corner in which I can document my crafting mania, share my photo portfolio of over 700 clothing patterns currently at my disposal (a collection not entirely my own, some borrowed temporarily), and connect with other crafters that share common interests. Perhaps my craftzies will even motivate some of you out there to get crafting and share some of your handmade creations and experiences as well.

Many of my handmade items (including woven rugs, chair covers, accessories, geekery and more) can be viewed in detail and purchased at www.Craftzies.etsy.com. You can also view items that are in many cases no longer available for purchase, but none the less still viewable on my Craftzies photo portfolio at: http://picasaweb.google.com/lindentree.portland/CraftziesPortfolio?feat=directlink. If you like an item and do not currently see it listed in my Craftzies shop, feel free to contact me via etsy or at Craftzies@gmail.com and I will be happy to help.

My two main crafting passions are sewing and weaving and I expect that my crafts here will predominately be made from those sources. I do not claim to be an expert in either field as I constantly find myself in a perpetual state of learning new crafts and techniques, but I do try my best and when in doubt, seek advice from a more experienced crafter. As I always say, ‘a smart woman knows how to handle her craft, but an even smarter woman knows when it’s time to seek help.’

If you like the clothes I make here, feel free to check out www.SophiaDeLaMer.etsy.com and clothing inquires can be sent there or via email at SophiaDeLaMer@gmail.com. The sewing pattern collection is comprised of many fabulous patterns including such beauties as the original 1940’s vintage sarong dress (McCalls 4425), as well as many other classics. I hope to explore many of these clothing patterns here in the future, and you are free to check out the pattern collection at your leisure @: http://picasaweb.google.com/106680090666649009492/SewingPatterns#

Thanks again for checking out Craftzies and have a great day! Don't forget to check out www.Craftzies.etsy.com where I have a free customer appreciation gift set drawing held each month!