June 8, 2012

Fat Quarter Friday {Wrapping Paper Organizer Tutorial}

I’m so excited about today’s Fat Quarter Friday project. Like, I’m mildly obsessed with it, seriously! It just may be my most favorite thing I have ever made. See, I have been wanting a wrapping station for like… well, for forever. But all the ones I have wanted are just way too pricey for me. So the other day when I was reading my Flea Market Style magazine I saw the most in-genius wrapping paper bin made from an old wooden kitchen stool. Oh yes, I was in LOVE with this idea! It is cheap, practical, and oh so cute! I really should have taken a picture of the stool for you, but truly you should all just go and buy this magazine. It is great! I hardly buy magazines these days, but this one is always a must! So basically their wrapping paper bin was an old kitchen stool turned upside down. On the bottom of the seat part they added casters so that it could easily roll around. Inside of the stool they placed a bag made from fabric to hold all of the wrapping paper. Then they added some little S-hooks to the rungs of the stool to hold scissors in place. Yes, their idea was simply brilliant! BRILLIANT! So I came up with my own design inspired by their wrapping paper bin. My wrapping paper organizer fits my needs perfectly and hope it will fit your wrapping needs as well or at least inspire you to make one that will fit your needs. So enough explaining about this wrapping paper organizer, lets make one!

Wrapping Paper Organizer Tutorial

(allow 2+ hours to make)

Materials Needed:

* Kitchen stool. Keep your eyes open for one at the thrift store or yard sales. I used a stool we had but were no longer using. I actually bought it a few years ago at Walmart for about $20.  

* Fabric: To make two larger bags and two smaller bags like I did you are going to need about 2 1/2 yards of fabric or one $5 twin flat sheet from Walmart. Of course you will need more fabric depending on the size of your stool and the design of your fabric chosen. Read below to see how to determine the amount of fabric needed.

* 4 Casters. You can buy these at any hardware store.

* 2 packages of bias tape or about 4 yards of homemade bias tape. (Of course you could use ribbon as well.) And really the amount needed depends on how long your want your ties to be.

My stool was a light colored wood that I no longer like so I sprayed it white. Now here is how you determine how much fabric you are going to need. Take and lay your stool on its side. Measure from right under the seat part to the bottom of the last rung. Mine measured 18″ long. Now measure the length between the legs at the widest part of the legs. Mine measured 12″ at the widest part. Another way to measure is to lay a piece of fabric down on the table and then lay the stool (on it’s side) on top of that piece of fabric. Then trace onto the fabric right under the seat and then trace on the bottom of the last rung. Then trace on the outer edges of the legs of the stool. Confused? It’s actually really easy and once you see the second picture below you will totally understand what I mean.  See the piece of fabric below? This is the piece that I traced out and cut. You are going to want to cut out a piece of fabric like so as well. Now you are going to need 4 pieces cut like so to make one bag. Which means you are going to need 12 pieces the same exact size to make a gift wrapping organizer just like mine. So measure your piece of fabric or use your measurements to determine the amount of fabric needed. I actually used a $5 sheet from Walmart, but by my calculations I came up with about 2 1/2 yards needed per stool for a stool my size. But to be certain, do the math yourself by your measurements. Cut out your 12 pieces of fabric per your measurements. Take two pieces of fabric and sew right sides together on the sides and the bottom. Leave the top (widest part of bag) open. See picture below. Now you want to square off the edges to give the bag shape. To do this, fold your bag out like shown below.  Now measure in about 1 1/2″ from the tip of the bag. Draw a line across. Sew on the lines you just drew. Trim off the excess fabric. Now your bag has shape. Make 3 more bags like you just did. You will want a total of 4 bags with 4 pieces of fabric left over. The remaining 4 pieces will be cut later to make the smaller bags. Now gather your bias tape. You are going to cut your bias tape or ribbons to the length that you want your ties to be. I cut 6 pieces of bias tape 24″ long. Now top stitch your bias tape shut. Measure in 2″ from the edge of your bag on both sides. This is where you will want to attach your bias tape. Fold bias tape in half. Place folded part of bias tape on top of marks and tack in place. Now take one of your bags and turn it wrong side out. Place right side out bag that has ties inside. Pin both bags together at top. Sew around top while leaving an opening for turning right sides out. Turn bag right side out through opening. Press and top stitch around top edge. Now tie the bag onto the stool. Repeat with the other two bags. Now gather the remaining 4 pieces of fabric and fold in half like below. Cut on folded edge. Now you have 4 pieces of fabric in two different sizes. 4 smaller pieces and 4 bigger pieces. The two different sizes will give you the two different sized bags. So just like before, you are going to make 2 bags from the four pieces of fabric. Just make sure you are sewing the same sized pieces together.

Attach all of the bags to the stool and attach your 4 casters to the seat of the stool. Space them out evenly on the edges of seat. Now gather all of your wrapping supplies and start filling those bags. Use the rungs of the stool without a bag to store your folded tissue paper on. Place your wrapping paper in the middle. Use the smaller pockets to hold your siscors, tape, hole punch, cards, tags, pens, markers or any of your smaller items. And use the larger pockets to hold your ribbons, boxes or bags.

So what do you think? LOVE it? I know I do! Big Thanks to Flea Market Style for the great idea! *Just remember all of my tutorials are for PERSONAL use only! Please feel free to use any of my pictures, just link back and give credit where credit is due, thanks!*

Posted by 89 Comments
Filed Under: crafts, fat quarter friday, organizer, sewing, Tutorials
March 30, 2012

Switching to wordpress and Fat Quarter Friday is returning!

First of all, I wanted to let you all know that things are going to be looking a little different around here soon. I’m finally taking the big leap into the world of wordpress. I have been debating it for some time and after having issues with blogger I finally decided to do it. I’m a bit nervous and excited at the same time. I’m feeling like I need a little change with the looks of my blog and I’m looking forward to the security that wordpress offers. So hang in there with while I learn how to navigate my way.

And my next little bit of news is that you will be seeing this again!

That’s right, I’m finally bringing Fat Quarter Friday back. For those of you new here, I started Fat Quarter Friday a little over a year ago and sadly had to say goodbye to it only a few months into it due to some health issues. But now that I am feeling better, I think it is time for us to start showing those fat quarters some love again!
To see what I and some other guest bloggers shared in the past take a look at the Fat Quarter Friday tutorial page here. A few of those projects are still some of my favorites. I guess that is why I love the idea of sharing all of these projects with you, they are not only quick and fun to make, but they are also practical and useful.

So who wants to be a guest? Have a great tutorial you want to share?

Please send me an email at twolittlehooligans@yahoo.com. All I ask is that you try and make it be a new design or idea along with a detailed tutorial.

So now I have to ask, what would you like to see for Fat Quarter Friday? I’m always open for new ideas.

Posted by 10 Comments
Filed Under: fat quarter friday, wordpress
September 8, 2011

How to make burp cloths with piping {tutorial}

This is a tutorial I first posted over at Nature’s Heirloom as part of her baby series. Now im reposting it here for those of you that missed it the first time. I know there are a ton of tutorials out there for burp cloths, but these are a little different due to the piping around the edges. I love the sweet little rounded edges that the piping gives these burp cloths. Plus I love the size of these burp cloths. Since all three of my kiddo’s were breastfed and hardly spit up, I didn’t need a huge burp cloth. But what I needed was a little cloth to keep on hand for little dribbles or for those nursing accidents. If you prefer a larger cloth, just cut your fabrics out to the desired size and then follow the same directions for sewing the piping on. Just keep in mind that if you are going to make a larger cloth you might need more piping then one package. Now, let’s get started!
Baby Burp Cloths with Piping Tutorial
(allow 1-2 hours to complete a set)

Materials Needed:
*one large piece of cotton fabric, flannel and minky fabric all measuring about 14″ x 10″
*one package of piping (will make 2 cloths that are 12″ x 8 1/2″)

Start by making a template by taping two pieces of card stock together. Measure so that the length of the two pieces are 12″ long when taped together. Now round all of the corners. Take your piece of cotton fabric and lay it right side up and trace around the template onto the right side of fabric. Add your tag now. Open the package of piping and cut the piping in half to give you two pieces of piping. Make you only do this if you are making two burp cloths this size. If you are going to make on larger burp cloth do not cut the piping. Now start pinning the piping in place and make sure you pin a lot! You want the raw edge of the piping to be lined up with the line you just traced with your template. Overlap the piping like shown below when you get to that point. You want to make sure that you do not leave and raw piping edges showing. Now gather the minky fabric and flannel. It is time to assemble all three pieces of fabric together. Layer with flannel on the bottom, then minky fabric right side up and then place the cotton fabric on top with right side down. Pin all three pieces in place. Here is a closer look of how the fabrics should be lined up. Change to a zipper foot and move your needle so that it is even with the edge of your foot and will line up right against the piping. When sewing, make sure that you take your time and sew right against the edge of the piping, just make sure not to sew into the piping. You wont be able to see the piping underneath the top piece of fabric so just take your time here and always make sure the edge of your foot is right against the piping underneath. You will be able to feel where the piping is with your sewing foot. Sew all around the burp cloth, but make sure to leave a 1 1/2″ opening for turning right side out. Trim off the excess fabric and leave the opening a little longer then the rest of the trimmed edges. This will make the opening easier to fold in and sew shut. Don’t forget to use your lint roller and get rid of all the excess lint, especially when working with minky. Now turn right side out and iron flat. Now change back to your regular foot or you can just adjust your zipper foot so that you are top stitching close to the edge. Top stitch as many times as you would like. I usually top stitch mine two times. And now your finished! See the pretty little piping edges? I think it gives the burp cloths a professional and clean looking edge.



**Please feel free to use this tutorial for your personal sewing projects. You may link this to your blog and use any photo’s. Just please be kind and give credit where credit is due.**
Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me. If you make one using this tutorial, please add it to my flickr group. I would love to see it and you just might see it featured on my blog someday!

Posted by 5 Comments
Filed Under: clothespin tutorial, fat quarter friday, guest post, how to make a burp cloth with piping, natures heirloom
August 12, 2011

Fat Quarter Friday (fabric i spy book tutorial)

I wasn’t going to post anything this week for Fat Quarter Friday but I found a tutorial for a fabric i spy book that I made about 6 months ago and never posted. At the time I had seen a few bloggers making their own i spy books by setting up a scene and then taking pictures of them. Those seemed a little too high tech for me, so I came up with these i spy books made of fabric and filled with some fun little items move around. The kiddo’s ended up loving them and they make a great little book to use in the car or the doctors office. Fabric i spy book {tutorial}

(allow 1-2 hours to complete)

Materials Needed:

*small-med sized fabric scraps or a few fat quarters (see cutting instructions below for exact sizes of scraps needed)

*iron-on interfacing or batting

*little i spy items (see my below)

*make a 7×5 & a 16×6 template out of card stock Cut out the follow pieces:

*Cut out three pieces of plastic 4″x4″, or to your desired size

*Cut four pieces of fabric 8″x 6″ (pages of book)

*Cut two pieces of fabric 17″ x 7″ (cover of book)

*Cut two pieces of interfacing or batting 8″ x 6″ (pages of book)

*Cut two pieces of interfacing 17″ x 7″ (cover of book)

**Switch to a Teflon foot.** It will make sewing on top of the plastic much easier. Now take one piece of the 8x 6 fabric and one piece of plastic. Sew the plastic in place on one side, then place a few of the i spy items under the plastic. Now sew the other three sides. Just take your time sewing the plastic on and move the items around if you need to. The fabric will stretch slightly whereas the plastic wont, so just take you time at this point. Add embellishments to the fabric if you want to. I didn’t on this piece, but wish i would have. Now take another 8×6 piece of fabric and iron on the interfacing. If you are going to use batting then just pin it onto the wrong sides of fabric. Now add some ric-rac or embellishments to the piece of fabric if you want. Now take the two pieces of fabric and place them right sides together. Make sure the piece of fabric with the interfacing is facing up. Take your 7×5 template and trace around it onto the interfacing. Sew directly onto the marks you just made from your template, but make sure you leave a 3″ opening for turning right side out. Trim those edges, except where the opening is. Turn right side out and iron flat. Be careful around the plastic, you don’t want to melt it. Top stitch around outer edges. This is what the back of the page looks like.

Repeat with the other two pieces of 8×6 fabric. This time I added more embellishments to the fabric pieces before sewing right sides together.

Now that you have your two inside pages it is time to make the cover of the book. Take the two 17×7 pieces of fabric. Iron on your interfacing to one of the pieces of fabric or pin your batting onto the wrong side of the fabric. Now embellish the pieces of fabric however you would like. Have fun with it. Once finished embellishing, place the two pieces of fabric right sides together, with the one with the interfacing or batting on top. Now trace the 16×6 template onto the interfacing. Sew on top of marks while leaving a 2″ opening for turning right side out. Trim excess fabric.

Turn right side out and iron flat. Top stitch around outer edges.

Back side looks like this.

Now lay the two pages inside of the cover like shown below.

Fold the cover over and make sure all of the pages are lined up on the inside and none of them are sticking out.

Sew in place on the left hand side. Make sure all of the pages were sewn in.



I wouldn’t suggest adding more then two pages to the book or you wont be able to sew the book shut. Just a little tip.





**Please feel free to use this tutorial for your personal sewing projects. You may link this to your blog and use any photo’s. Just please be kind and give credit where credit is due.**

Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me. If you make one using this tutorial, please add it to my flickr group. I would love to see it!

Posted by 14 Comments
Filed Under: fat quarter friday, how to make an i spy book, i spy book, Tutorials
July 15, 2011

Fat Quarter Friday

Unfortunately I don’t have a tutorial to share with all of you this week and its not because I haven’t been sewing…because I have. I have been making the ultimate handmade baby gift for my sister in law who is due with baby #5…that’s right five…FIVE! It’s going to take a bit for me to finish up all the tutorials, plus I still have a few more things to make. Believe me, you will all know once it is finished. But for now, if you didn’t get a chance to see my guest post with Nature’s Heirloom this week, head on over there and have a little peek at one of the many goodies I have been making for my new niece or nephew. Make sure you take a little time to check out the other cute tutorials that Nikki has shared this week while getting ready to welcome her 3rd little one.

Have a great weekend!

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Filed Under: fat quarter friday
July 8, 2011

Fat Quarter Friday {Cooling Mat Tutorial}

This week I’m sharing a tutorial for something that I desperately needed. Most of you know by now that when I bake or preserve our veggies and fruits, I do so in large quantities. That means my kitchen usually becomes a huge mess and I end up using every pan and bowl in sight. The only problem that I usually run into is the lack of cooling racks and the size of the racks. I get so irritated because even though I have a bunch of cooling racks I still never have enough cooling space. I knew there had to be an easier way of cooling pans and that’s when my crafty mind came up with some cooling mats. The cooling mats are made the same way as hot mitts or hot pads, just increased in size to 24″ x 14″. Can I tell you how much I already love these mats!! Seriously! I made the mats big enough so that I could place two muffin pans or two pie pans side by side. The mats will also fit one large jelly roll pan, perfect for when we make pizza’s. These mats are also going to work great for canning. And for those of you that are lucky enough to eat at a dining room table how fabulous would these work for putting your hot dishes onto the table? I made one mat with bias tape and two without. I love the looks of the bias tape trimmed cooling mat, but love how much quicker the other two mats without bias trim came together. Of course you could really spice these mats up by quilting them before adding the bias tape. Ok, I think you all get the point…I love these mats!

Cooling Mat Tutorial
(allow 1-2 hours depending on which mat you make)

Materials Needed:

*2 large pieces of fabric (a little larger then a fat quarter) to your desired size for your mat.

I cut my pieces 25″ x 15″ to give me a 24″ x 14″ mat.

*Insul-Bright (same size as fabric pieces)

*Warm and Natural cotton batting (same size as fabric pieces)

*Bias tape about 85″ long (about 1-2 packages if store bought) I made my own bias tape.

Cut your two pieces of fabric, Insul-Bright and 2 pieces of cotton batting to your desired sized. I cut mine a little larger then a fat quarter 24″ x 14″.

Layer all of the pieces together like so: Fabric piece right side down, cotton batting, Insul-Bright, cotton batting and then the other piece of fabric on top, right side up.

Pin pieces together.

Trim any uneven edges.

Grab the bias tape and start pinning onto the fabric pieces, just until you get to the first corner.

If you are using homemade bias tape make sure you sew in a little from the middle of the crease in the bias tape. If you are using store bought tape, make sure you pin the smaller side onto the pieces of fabric first. This will keep you from seeing the stitches on the other side of mat.

When you get to the corners, take your time and square the corners off like shown here. This is a great tutorial if you are new to using bias tape.

This is what the front looks like when the bias tape is sewn onto the front.

Flip mat over and fold bias tape over and under. Start pinning bias tape in place again. The more the pins, the better! Top stitch bias tape and that is it! Super easy, right?!

Now, the next cooling mat is for those of you that do not want to take the time to sew with bias tape. Follow the first few steps above. Except this time you only have to cut the top piece of fabric to the size you want. You are going to use that top piece of fabric as your guide when sewing the pieces all together. Then once the pieces are sewn together you can trim the excess fabric off. I have found it much quicker to do it this way, less cutting and easier to do because you dont have to keep the edges lined up perfectly when sewing.

You will still need to cut two pieces of fabric, two pieces of cotton batting and one piece of Insul-Bright. I cut mine 25″ x 14″.

This time you are going to layer them a little different.

Layer the pieces like so: cotton batting on bottom, Insul-Bright, cotton batting, One piece of fabric right side up and then the last piece of fabric ontop right side down.

Pin all the pieces together.

Sew all the pieces together, leaving a 2″ opening for turning right side out. The pieces don’t have to line up perfectly at this point. Just make sure the cotton fabric piece on top is the size you want your mat to be. Another little trick I do is make the sew seam a little bigger on the side you have the opening on. That way when you go to tuck the opening in it is easier to sew shut when your top stitching.

Trim off excess fabric, but leave a little extra fabric at the opening. This makes it easier to fold the opening in when top stitching.

Turn right side out.

Iron flat and top stitch and the edges two times.

And that is it, your finished!




**Please feel free to use this tutorial for your personal sewing projects. You may link this to your blog and use any photo’s. Just please be kind and give credit where credit is due.**

Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me. If you make one using this tutorial, please add it to my flickr group. I would love to see it and you just might see it featured on my blog someday!

Posted by 12 Comments
Filed Under: canning, cooling mat, fat quarter friday, sewing, Tutorials
July 1, 2011

Fat Quarter Friday {Guest Post from Suburbs Mama}

I’m so excited to have Rita from Suburbs Mama here today! When I first stumbled upon Rita’s blog I was shocked by the amazing dress refashions and skirts she makes. I’m still such a newbie to sewing clothes and was immediately drawn to how detailed her tutorials are and how she makes refashioning look so easy and actually doable. Here are a few of her creations that I’m loving, to see more head on over to her blog.




Hi! I am Rita from suburbsmama. I was thrilled when Christina asked me to do a guest post on Fat Quarter Friday. I absolutely love her blog and everything she makes.
Today I am going to show you how to make a elastic waist, color blocked children’s skirt.
(my daughter is a 4T):

OK, lets get started!

Take your 2 pre-shrunk fat quarters (you need two coordinating prints):

Measure your little girl and determine how long you wanted the skirt to be. Then add 2 1/2 inches to that, then cut off the access (there is a longer side to a fat quarter, that will be the waist, the shorter side is the length):

Then you need to divide your fabric squares into 3 even sections each. (6 1/2 inches wide):

Cut them all, now you should have 6 pieces:

Next you need to pin them all together (alternating the print):

Here is the wrong side all pinned:

Here is how the right side looks all pinned:

Sew all the sections together:

Then when you have sewn all of the pinned sections, put the last to ends together and sew:

Next, you need iron open all of the seams:

Ok, now we need to make a elastic casing, fold and iron down a half inch:

Then fold and iron an inch :

Sew the casing, leaving about 2 inches open:

Insert your elastic:

Once you have pulled your elastic all the way through, over lap the two ends about an inch and sew and back stitch a few times:

Then stretch the elastic and sew the casing closed:

Next, we need to create a hem, fold and iron a half inch:

Then another half inch:

Sew the hem:

At this time I attached my label (optional):

All Done:


I made a matching shirt with some of the scraps:

Come and visit me at Suburbsmama
Thanks for joining us today Rita! This is the most perfect little outfit for this weekend. Happy Fourth of July!

Posted by 7 Comments
Filed Under: dress, fat quarter friday, guest post, suburbs mama, Tutorials
June 24, 2011

Fat Quarter Friday {Clothespin Bag Tutorial}

A few weeks ago our store bought clothespin bag finally gave out and I have been storing our clothespins in a plastic Walmart bag…cringe! Even the hubby made a comment last weekend on how he was shocked that I haven’t made a clothespin bag yet. So this week, I made a clothespin bag. I wanted a bag that was not made with a clothes hanger and one that would have ties to attach to my laundry basket as well as my clothesline. I also knew I wanted it to have a drawstring on the top to keep the clothespins from falling out. I really love how this little bag came out and I think it fits my laundry needs perfectly. This bag is very quick to make and will definitely make hanging the clothes out on the line much easier…or at least prettier. Clothespin Bag Tutorial(takes about 1-2 hours to complete)

Materials Needed:
* 2 fat quarters in contrasting fabrics

Cut your two fat quarters into the following sizes:

Main fabric:
1 piece at 20″ x 14″ (bag)

1 piece at 21″ x 3″ (part of the drawstring)

Contrasting fabric:
3 pieces at 20″ x 3″ (large ties and button flap)
1 piece at 7″ x 3 1/2″ with rounded edges (bottom of bag)
2 pieces at 20″ x 2″ (ties for the drawstring)

Start by making the large ties for the bag. Take 2 of the 3 pieces that are 20″ x 3″. Fold right sides together and sew along one side. Make the ends pointy if you want. Leave one side open for turning right side out. You do not have to do anything to the open end since it will be sewn into the bag later. You should now have two ties.

Now take the other piece that is 20″ x 3″ and fold the two ends together with right sides facing. The piece should now be 10″ long by 3″ wide.

Sew along all 3 sides and once done, turn right side out. Iron flat and then top stitch around 3 sides. This is going to be the buttoned flap.

Gather the main fabric piece that is 20″ x 14″ and pin right sides together. Piece of fabric should be 10″ x 14″ when pinned together. Sew just the open side.

Now take the 7″ x 3″ piece of fabric and round the edges slightly. Pin in place onto the bottom of the bag piece. Sew. Searge or zig-zag unfinished edge.

Turn right side out.

Take the 21″ x 3″ piece of fabric and fold both edges in twice to hide raw edges. Top stitch ends.

Now gather all of the pieces you have put together so far.

Pin the ties and buttoned flap onto the bag like shown in the picture below.

Now take the 21″ x 3″ main colored piece of fabric and fold it so that the wrong sides are touching and right sides are facing out. Working with the folded edge on the bottom pin around the top of the bag. You are going to pin right over the ties and buttoned flap that you just pinned in place.

Sew. Searge or zig-zag stitch unfinished edge.

Fold piece inside of bag and iron flat. Top stitch all around the top of the bag. Make sure you don’t sew the ties or flap down by mistake.

Now gather the 2 pieces of fabric that are 20″ x 2″. Sew the two pieces of fabric together to make one long piece of fabric. Now fold right sides together and sew along the open side. Turn right sides out and iron flat. Fold edges in or make them pointy.

Pull tie through opening in the top of the bag. Now you have your drawstring bag.

Add a button or some Velcro to the flap piece.

Don’t forget to add your tag if you have one and add any embellishments.

Now fill with clothespins and your ready to do some laundry!

I love that my clothespins will no longer be falling out.

And that it ties perfectly around my laundry basket handle.

Or will secure perfectly onto my clothesline.



**Please feel free to use this tutorial for your personal sewing projects. You may link this to your blog and use any photo’s. Just please be kind and give credit where credit is due.**

Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me. If you make one using this tutorial, please add it to my flickr group. I would love to see it and you just might see it featured on my blog someday!

Posted by 11 Comments
Filed Under: clothespin tutorial, fat quarter friday, sewing, Tutorials
June 17, 2011

Fat Quarter Friday {Pillowcase Tutorial}

This week for Fat Quarter Friday I am sharing a tutorial for a pillowcase I made to donate towards Pillow Fight…For a Cause over at Ladybird Lane. Each month Ladybird Lane features a charity, service organization, or project to spotlight during the month. What a great idea right?Well this month they are featuring a friend of theirs, Malynn. Malynn is a 14 year old girl that is currently having some medical issues and has been in and out of the hospital for the past 6 months. Malynn is a very talented seamstress and has set a goal to donate 100 pillowcases to Primary Children’s Medical Center, to brighten up the patients rooms. Maylnn needs a little help reaching her goal and is asking others to pitch in by making pillowcases to donate and brighten up someones day. Want to donate a homemade pillowcase or to learn more about the Pillow Fight…For a cause? Head on over to Ladybird Lane.

Ladybird Ln

I knew I wanted to make something different then just your standard pillowcase so I came up with a pillowcase that has a pocket on the front for storing pj’s or hiding their “treasures” when they are not using it as a pillow. I also added some ties on the inside of the pillowcase to keep the pillow from falling out. Anyone that has spent more then a few nights in the hospital knows that hospital pillows never stay inside of their pillowcases and are constantly falling out. Instead of using a cotton fabric I used some leftover pieces from a towel instead of a cotton fabric. I just love how soft and comfy the material as well as how bright and cheery it is! I’m really hoping that this pillowcase will brighten some childs day.

Pillowcase Tutorial
(allow 1-2 hours to complete)
**Pillowcase is intended for an older child. May be a chocking hazard for small babies!**

Materials Needed:

*2 fat quarters (2 different contrasting cotton fabrics)
*2 larger pieces of fabric the same size as a standard pillowcase mine was 31″ x 17″
(I used leftover scraps from a towel I cut up. I just loved the softness and colors of the Terri cloth)

Use a pillowcase that you already have on hand as the template and cut out two pieces of fabric slightly bigger then the pillowcase. You want to add an extra 1/2″ all around the pillowcase to account for your sew seams. My pillowcase ended up being 30″ x 17″.
Since I was going to use a whale printed fabric I decided to embellish the pillowcase with a large whale on the pocket. I made a whale template by drawing a whale onto a piece of card stock and then cut it out.
Now gather two pieces of fabric and place them right sides together. Trace the whale template onto the fabric. Now stitch on top of the marks you just made. Make sure to leave a 1-2″ opening for turning right side out. Once sewn, trim very close to the sewn edge, except where the opening is. Leave a little extra fabric at the opening for tucking in once turned right side out.
Turn right side out and iron flat. Make sure you push all of the edges out and it lays flat.
Take your other fat quarter and cut two pieces into your desired size for the pocket. My pocket piece was 13″ x 11″.
Sew all four sides of the pocket piece, make sure to leave a 1-2″ opening for turning right side out. Turn right side out and press. Pin whale onto pocket piece and sew all around the edges of the whale to attach it to the pocket piece. Now pin the pocket piece onto the pillowcase in the desired location.
Attach pocket to pillowcase by sewing the sides and bottom of pocket piece. Make sure you do not sew the top shut.
Now make 4 ties or you could use some ribbon. I decided to make my ties. All I did was make four pieces of bias tape and then sewed the sides. My ties are 13″x 1/2″.
To attach the ties you want to secure them on the inside of the pillowcase. Turn pillowcase wrong side out.
Working with the top piece of fabric first measure 4″ in from the right side edge and 4″ up from the bottom, pin one tie in place. Now repeat on the left side. Now working with the other piece of the pillowcase, repeat the last two steps. Sew ties in place just where your pins are. You do not want to sew the entire tie onto the towel, just enough stitches to keep the tie secure and in place.
Turn pillowcase right side out.
Now add a little more color by sewing on a strip of fabric to the edge of the pillowcase. This strip will also cover up the stitch marks from the ties. I sewed two pieces of fabric that were 17″ x 4″ together and then folded the raw edges under to conceal.
Pin strip in place about 2 1/2″ in from the edge all around the pillowcase. Sew strip on both edges. Make sure you hold the ties out when sewing strip on. You do not want to accidentally sew the ties up in an awkward position.
Now your finished. Place your pillow inside of the pillowcase and tie in place. No more slipping pillows. **Of course I would not recommend this pillow with ties or pocket for any young children due to it being a possible chocking hazard.**



And a cute little pocket for holding your little ones treasures or pj’s.

Special thanks to Ladybird Lane and Malynn for allowing me to donate this homemade pillow. I’m hoping it adds a little brightness and cheer to some child’s day.

**Please feel free to use this tutorial for your personal sewing projects. You may link this to your blog and use any photo’s. Just please be kind and give credit where credit is due.**

Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me. If you make one using this tutorial, please add it to my flickr group. I would love to see it and you just might see it featured on my blog one day!

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Filed Under: fat quarter friday, pillow case dress, Tutorials
June 10, 2011

Fat Quarter Friday {The Dahlia Dresses}

This week for Fat Quarter Friday I thought it would be fun to share with you my favorite use for fat quarters lately…dresses. And more specifically pillowcase and peasant dresses. I made these two dresses the other day to participate in Pattern Remix Challenge over at Me Sew Crazy. How many of you are following along? Isn’t Jessica great and how lucky are her little girls?! I mean really, they are the best dressed girls I have ever seen and all of their outfits were made with love from their momma! Seriously that momma has some mad sewing skills as well as being one of the sweetest girls in blog land!

If you get a chance head on over and check it out the series, she has had some amazing guests.

So when it came time to remix a pattern I new I was going to remix the infamous peasant and pillowcase dress. Mostly because I don’t know any other patterns as well as these and also because my two girls are only one size apart right now. So these types of dresses make it possible for my girls to share both dresses…LOVE that! I used a pattern that I purchased a few years ago from Whimsy Couture (which are great) but there are also a ton of free tutorials out there as well. Here is a great tutorial for making a pillowcase dress and here is a good one for making a peasant dress. Due to copyright reasons I will not be able to show you the measurements and the templates that I used to cut out my dresses, so you will be following your pattern to give you those and then once you have determined how to measure and cut out your pieces then that is when I mix things up a little with my dresses and can start showing you step by step how I did it.
So who wants to learn how I remixed the peasant dress and pillowcase dress into these sweet little Dahlia Dresses?
So lets start with the peasant dress and I will walk you through the basic changes that I made in order to make my Dahlia Peasant Dress.

The Dahlia Peasant Dress Tutorial
Here is what you will need:
*Cotton knit fabric (2 fq or more depending on size of child)
*elastic (refer to pattern for amount)
*fabric scraps for making flower embellishment
*button for flower embellishment
*basic pattern for a peasant dress

When cutting out your fabric for the peasant dress make sure that the knit cotton fabric is cut so that the dress stretches width-wise when pulled. In order to make the edges lettuce ruffled they need to be stretched. So once all of your pieces are cut out, sew the sleeves on and sew the sides of the dress together. Now take the raw edges on the sleeves, neckline and bottom of the dress and sew them using a lettuce edge ruffled trim. Here is a great tutorial on how to make a lettuce edge ruffle if you need one. It really is easy to do and it makes the cutest little ruffles.
All the edges should now be ruffled.
Now take the top of the dress and fold down about 1 1/2″ and pin in place. Normally you would fold the unfinished edges the other way to hide them, but you don’t want to hide the pretty ruffled edges on this dress.
Sew around top of dress using the ruffled edge as the guide and place the left side of your foot on the ruffled edge. Make sure you leave a 1″ opening to feed elastic through. Cut elastic per length determined in your pattern.
Feed elastic through neckline hole and sew up seam.
Pretty easy right? Now skip down a bit to see how I made the cute little dahlia flower.

So now I will show you how I made changes to the pillowcase dress.

The Dahlia Pillowcase Dress Tutorial

Here is what you will need:
*cotton knit fabric (about 2 fq or more depending on size of child)
*1 fq cotton fabric for ties and bias tape for arms
*elastic (refer to pattern for amount)
*button for dahlia embellishment

Cut out your pillowcase dress per pattern direction, just make sure that you cut out the fabric so that is stretches width-wise. You need to make sure that the bottom hem and neckline stretch in order to make the lettuce edged ruffle trim. Now that you have your two pieces cut out sew them together at the sides, right sides facing. Now use the lettuce edge ruffled trim technique on the bottom hem line and the neckline, do not do the arm holes. Those will be covered up with bias tape. Here is a tutorial on how to make a lettuce edge ruffled trim if you need one.
Now that your edges are ruffled, make some bias tape out of one of the fat quarters. Measure the length of the arm hole to determine how long to make it.
Pin bias tape onto arm hole and sew in place.

Now repeat with other arm hole. Once those are finished fold down the top of the dress about 1 1/2″ and pin in place like shown. Repeat with the back piece.
Sew in place by placing the left edge of your foot even with the ruffle trim.
Now make your tie with the remaining fabric or use a ribbon. I made my tie about 30″ long.
Slide tie through the front and back of dress and make sure tie is lined up on one shoulder. Put on your little one and tie in place.

Now that the dresses are finished gather your remaining scraps and lets sew on those pretty little dahlia flowers.

Adding dahlia flowers to the dresses:

Using your scraps cut out some pieces like above. The two biggest sizes will be used on the pillowcase dress while the smaller pieces will be used on the peasant dress. Cut out about 10 pieces of each size.
Line up your petals to get an idea of how you want your layout to look.
Now take one petal and sew in place on the dress. Keep overlapping each petal a little until you have a dahlia flower. Then add a button in the middle.
If you have more scraps why not make a little lettuce edge ruffled trim headband too.






So whatcha think? Is this a great way to remix the infamous pillowcase and peasant dress? Got a great remix idea of your own? Make sure you head over to Me Sew Crazy to enter to win some great goodies and while your there make sure you check out all of the amazing remixes that have been shared. Thanks Jessica for a great series and for inspiring us with your amazing creativity!

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Filed Under: fat quarter friday, me sew crazy, peasant dress, pillow case dress, the dahlia dresses
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