New Pillows in our Lackluster Front Room

Our front room, though nice, is lacking desperately in color.  Since we are building a house this summer (I know I’ve said this forever, but it looks like it is really going to happen), I don’t want to put a lot of time or money into this room.  But it’s just so boring and brown!

I’ve never liked the pillows that came with the couches.   The fabric has a hamburger patty pattern.  Or lips.  Take your pick. 

Plus, they’ve frayed in such a way to resemble a cat clawing them on the edges.

We don’t have a cat.

So, I’ve started to try and bring some color into the room.  And looking at these pictures, I’m not sure I love it because the fabric is cool tones, which would work with the black portion on the couches, but not so much the brown.  Hmm…the dilemma of having black and brown couches. 

They are great spring pillows, however.  And they bring some nice, bright, happy color that is needed. 

I found the green vase at the thrift store a couple years ago that I thought would help tie the pillows in more.

For the pillows, I used THIS tutorial from Sew Katie Did, putting in my first invisible zippers.  One of them went great.  The other three are questionable, but not very noticeable, so I guess that’s something! 

I also put up a print of THIS quote.  I’m thinking the lamp shades and glass on the other lamp need to be different.  Any thoughts? 

I’d love to have a great, colorful quilt in here as well. I am not going to paint it, though that would help brighten it up.

So, let’s hear your thoughts on livening up this room!  Maybe painting the little table or doing something about the lamps? 

Pillow fabric is Nicey Jane Picnic Bouquet by Heather Bailey. 

Frumpy Shirt Refashion and Tutorial

Ever realize you haven’t posted a guest post?  This was one from Cheri’s blog, I Am Momma—Hear Me Roar, during her Refashionista even last fall.  Thought I’d bring it on home!

I found this thrifted shirt that was too big and a bit frumpy, and turned it into something that I love.

The tie-neck was what appealed to me initially so I kept that feature and got to work on the rest.

I’m sure there are more correct ways of altering a shirt to fit, but here is how I do it every time. First, I needed to take in the sides and the arms were a bit too large as well. I like to try on the shirt and get an idea how much I need to take off. Remember that it is always better to sew little by little—I’d much rather not have to unpick! You can see how I curve the stitching so that I will get a better fit around the bust and waist.

Try it on and see if you still need to take it in a bit. I needed to and so I just stitched with my pressure foot edge along the already-stitched line. This way it’s little by little and I don’t end up taking the shirt in too much. Repeat on other side of shirt.

Now for the shoulder seams. It was too large on the shoulders, so I took the top of the sleeve and sewed about a 1/4” stitch from the original seam.

You can see I only sewed about 2”- 3” down either side of the middle of the shoulder. Since I’m not sewing too far in, the sleeve will still have that nice gathered portion at the shoulder.

Next we’ll do the sleeves. I cut off the bottom portion first. Then I cut a 4” piece of the sleeve to use as the cuff. So you’ll have two pieces now for the sleeve cuffs.

I figured out where I wanted the cuff to fall and measured around my arm to make sure it would be big enough.

I pinned the cuff where it needed to be sewn to fit my arm, and zig-zag stitched the edge after cutting off the excess (next 3 pictures).

I folded each cuff in half so the wrong sides were together, right sides out, still forming a circle.

I tried on the shirt again and took note where I wanted the shirt to fall, minus the cuff portion and cut off the excess fabric.

See how my cuff is smaller than my sleeve?

I sewed a basting stitch around the arm-hole and gather by pulling on the strings until it is the same size as the cuff.

I pinned the cuff onto the gathered portion, matching up seams and placing the raw edges together evenly.

I stitched 1/4” and zig-zag or serge the edges to help control fraying.

And there you have it! A really easy way to refashion a shirt. It looks much better now!

 

Even better belted.

And my favorite—with a cardigan and belt!

Such a quick and easy refashion!  So next time you see a shirt that has great fabric or great details, don’t pass it up because the fit isn’t right or it’s too big.  Chances are you can work with it for a few minutes for something great!

Whimsy Couture Pattern Review and Giveaway

(giveaway closed:  comments deleted to protect commenters’ email addresses)

I was asked if I wanted to review a pattern of my choice from Whimsy Couture.  I’ve been wanting to make Poppy a jacket, so I thought the Hooded Jacket pattern for Boys or Girls (Reversible) was a great option. 

You are sent the pattern via email, which is very convenient.  The pattern and instructions were clear.  I love that it is reversible, though I didn’t have enough buttons the same size to make it so just yet.  I used a thick knit and a thinner knit for my jacket and it worked out just fine.  I believe the pattern recommends cotton for one side, and fleece for the other, but the knit worked great.  I think it helps that the turquoise knit was so thick. 

The jacket came together quickly after cutting the fabric out.  The only items I would change is to maybe taper the jacket out a bit so it isn’t so snug around the bottom (it has to fit around those cute toddler bellies!), and I’d make the hood smaller.  I’d also do a better job at placing my buttons, but that was entirely up to me and not by fault of the pattern!

I love how you can see the inside fabric on the hood, and by folding the cuffs. 

And of course we have to see if it pleases the most important critic… 

Yep, she loves it.  It’s been a while since I’ve sewn anything for my kids other than smaller things, so it was fun to make time for that again!

 

Whimsy Couture has SO MANY cute patterns!  Some that stick out to me are:

The Apron Twirl Peasant Dress

 

The Over Top/Dress (the apron part, not the entire thing)

or the Criss Cross Tunic

Lots and lots of great patterns. 

WANT A CHANCE TO WIN YOUR CHOICE OF A THREE PATTERN BUNDLE (WORTH $20.00) FROM WHIMSY COUTURE?

To enter, you must “like” Whimsy Couture on their facebook page, then leave a comment letting me know you did that, along with your thoughts on what pattern(s) you like.  Please leave an email address where I can contact you if you win. 

Giveaway runs through Friday, May 11th, at 5:00 pm MST.  Good luck! 

*You can also enter the code SAVE50 to receive 50% off your purchase in their PATTERN SHOP.  Yay!

Bike Basket: Tutorial

This was post I wrote for Kate’s Ruffle Series a few weeks ago. 

 

I know I’ve done a couple variations of bike baskets (check the tutorial archives), but I’m kind of in love with bike baskets.  I love how they are so convenient and practical, but can be totally cute at the same time.  But having recently stopped by Walmart and seeing the price tags of bike baskets, you could easily make your own for much cheaper!  This time I wanted to keep it really simple—a project that can easily be done in an hour or less.  And since ruffles are such a beautiful compliment to so many items, I thought a ruffle would be perfect to liven up this bike basket.



First you’ll want to choose the right basket.  One that has a somewhat flat side to lay against the bike’s front, one that is wide enough and deep enough.  I found this basket at the thrift store for $1.50. 

What you’ll need:


-basket
-fabric (I used 1/4 a yard, but how much fabric you need depends on how far around your basket is)
-about one package extra wide double folded bias tape
-glue gun

First measure around the top of the basket where your ruffle will be added.



Take that number and add half of it to itself, so mine was about 40”, I added half of that, so 20” and came up with 60”.  So I cut a strip 4” x 60”.  If you want a wider or thinner ruffle, adjust the 4” number I gave you.  You’ll have to cut two strips of fabric most likely and sew them together. 




Fold the strip of fabric in half length-wise, wrong sides together.  Sew two basting stitches close to the edge, making sure to stay close enough to the edge that the bias tape will cover your stitching.



Pull the two basting threads to gather the strip, measuring it against your basket to make sure you gather it enough or not too much.



Next sandwich the raw, gathered edge between the bias tape and sew (narrow edge of bias tape on the top).  I decided I’d use cream instead of the navy blue in the first pictures ;). 



Heat your glue gun and starting in the middle back, start gluing on the bias tape and sticking it onto the basket.  Keep in mind that you’ll be using ties and will need a small gap in two places to stick the ties through. 



When you get to the end, cut off any excess if there is any, fold the raw edge under, and glue the rest of the way. 



I just used some leftover bias tape for the ties. 



Tie it onto your bike, and you are done! 



A cute, quick, and inexpensive bike basket!  I’ve always wanted to ride my bike to a field and gather some wild flowers to put in my bike basket, with some fresh bread or something.  Happy ruffling!