Tutorial / T-shirt Pillow (just because I found an old t-shirt)

I have been going through my house on and off for the last several months. To get rid of things I usually have a system... There are three piles, such as "Donate", "Sell", "Throw away". Any other place in the house is not hard to do this except in Mr. TRH and my closet.

I have a weakness for fabrics, and there is no exception when I am trying to get rid of some clothes. Even though an item hasn't been worn for such a long time, I start to think "uh, I can use this to make this" or "ah, I bet if I do this and this I can still wear it".

So, this is one of those projects that I just had to try and see. :)

I found this old t-shirt on Mr.TRH’s side of closet. It was in good condition, but he hadn’t worn it AT ALL for several years.



1. First cut it apart.


2. Cut 2 -- 15" X 22" rectangles for the pillow, and many 1" wide strips. If the t-shirt you have is smaller, you can cut smaller rectangles to make a smaller pillow.


3. On one of the rectangles, you can start "drawing". When you stretch the strips, they will curl up; I think this gives an interesting effect to the pillow. I didn't have any plans whatsoever, but I just eye balled the middle, and pinned the first strip and started to sew.



Keep drawing with strips...



4. After I did lots of "drawing" with strips, I made some ruffle strips to fill in some spaces. To make ruffles, sew in the middle of the strips with large stitches and pull one of the threads. Gather the fabric to make ruffles.




5. Put the front and back fabrics right sides together. Pin them and sew all around it with 1/4" seam. Make sure to leave 3" - 4" opening for turning.


7. Snip the corners for a neat finish.


8. Turn, press the edges with an iron. Stuff, slip stitch closed...and ta-da!


When the kids came home from school, Rachel noticed the pillow right away; the boys couldn’t care less about such minor details in life. I thought it was so funny to see the difference. Although, the pillow is loved by everyone, it is so soft and cuddly and perfect for a pillow fight. :)

Lucy’s Very Hungry Caterpillar, pt. 2

Before I get to the staircase reveal, I thought I ought to finish up the Very Hungry Caterpillar project!  If you missed part 1 (the creation of the fabric picture), you can find it here.

Part 2 was the creation of the Very Hungry Caterpillar stuffed toy…which turned out to be SO big he’s more like a body pillow!  I will admit that the way he turned out was not the way I originally envisioned him, but it must have been the way he was meant to be.

There is no pattern for this, so I can only share with you what I did!  If you have more questions, feel free to e-mail me and I will try to help as best as I can.

I purchased the wonderful soft “minky” fabric for my caterpillar.  Not knowing what I was doing beforehand, I purchased amounts that “looked right.”  I think I bought about 1/3 yd of red and 1/2 yard of the green polka-dot.

When I got home, I realized that I had fabric to make a far bigger head than the body would support!  I had to dust off my long-neglected math skills to figure out how to make the best use of my fabric to make the biggest caterpillar possible.

There were ratios involved.

I had to figure the circumference of a circle.

I think I even worked in two equations and two unknowns.

It was a hairy business, folks!

Suffice it to say…I cut off a third of the green material (lengthwise), cut that piece in half (also lengthwise), stitched the halves together, and added that new piece (widthwise) to the remaining green material so I could have a nice, fat caterpillar (that piece because the “belly panel”).  Clear as mud?  I hope so.

I scientifically traced a circle for the caterpillar’s head (thank you, Tupperware), and then I also cut a long strip of red fabric (I think I had to piece this) to be his “neck.”

I curved one end of the caterpillar’s back for his tail (top right picture), and also tapered the belly panel (bottom left) before I stitched the pieces together.  Then I ran a gathering stitch width-wise all down the caterpillar’s body to create his “sections” (bottom right).  If I were to do it over again, I would stitch in a narrow piece of elastic, as the gather stitches un-gathered more than I would have liked.

The caterpillar’s feet, face, and antennae were created out of felt.  I actually liked having the “belly panel” as it was an ideal place to insert the feet (bottom left).  I left his “tail” open so I could stuff him…he didn’t always appreciate it (bottom right)!!

Finally I stitched his tail closed…it was a moderately painful process (for me, not him…I kept pricking my fingers!)…and then I invited my beautiful girl to “test him out.”

She didn’t seem to mind!

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This project has been featured at I’m Topsy Turvy!

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Linking up here.

Link Love No.72!

Hello, hello friends, how has your week been? I am still on the path of recovery, but enjoy doing more for my family and of course some sewing now. Where I live, the scenery has changed so much in the past few weeks and I love looking at the beautiful fall colors outside.

There were many fall and Halloween projects and recipes on this week's link party. I enjoyed them a lot, thank you for your participation!

Here are the 5 loves for this week.

I love how pretty and easy it is to make this wreath! Polka Dot Bungalow shared a step by step tutorial on her blog. Great job!


I couldn't resist the cuteness...meet baby princess Leia from Lauren Inspired. Simply irresistible, hands down cute!


First of all, I must say I love unique titles. See Kate Sew shared her "Sweatshirt Liposuction" project with us. At first I thought "What?", then, the picture on her blog post explains it all... funny. The result of this operation is big but "smaller in size" success too!


Our Home's Cool shared this fun scrappy lampshade with us. I love the look of this lampshade, but fell in love with the effect on the sealing when the light is on. Head over to her blog to see what I am talking about.


I have been going through our house to organize for a few months now (on and off). It was pretty easy except for Mr.TRH and my closet. I kept finding clothes that I think I can make it into something and it is just so hard to put them in the "throw away" or "donate" bag. Anyways...Orlosubito did such a wonderful job turning a man's shirt into a pretty tunic. I love the simplicity of it. Thank you for sharing!


See you at the next post everyone!

Shutterfly Holday Cards Giveaway!

I am doing a giveaways (3 prizes!) for Shutterfly today. Go here to find out more details about the exciting giveaway!

Making an Entrance

I have posted about my front room “design dilemma” on a couple of occasions (see here and especially here)…well, I have finally been working on a solution!

Before you get too excited…the whole room is not ready. I’ve just been working on my “entrance” (or lack thereof). You never get a second chance to make a first impression, right?

I posted a teaser yesterday, and the suitcase wall definitely seemed to capture the most attention, so I’ll focus on that first!

I don’t claim credit for the idea of turning vintage suitcases into shelves. That came from this magazine…

…which my neighbor purchased, and I, shall we say--commandeered for several weeks!

Here are the things I needed for this project:

Vintage suitcases

1x10 wood

Painter’s tape and scrap paper (for templates)

2 1/2” screws (big ones)

3/4” screws (little ones)

Level

Jigsaw

Table Saw

Electric drill with a screwdriver bit

The hardest part—emotionally, that is—is that in order to get this look, you DO have to cut innocent luggage in half.

You can call me the Suitcase Slasher.

That may be my Halloween costume.

I don’t have pictures to share of that process. It is very hard to take pictures while running a table saw!

I measured approximately 6 inches from the front of each suitcase and drew a line, then I used the table saw to cut each half of the suitcase as far as it was able. THIS IS SCARY!! No joke. If you can, remove as much of the lining as possible before cutting, as when the table saw hits the fabric it will catch and make a funny sound and send your stomach leaping to your throat!

Now, my blade wasn’t high enough to get all the way through even one-half of a suitcase, so I used a jigsaw to finish the cuts (I originally tried to use the jigsaw alone, but my jigsaw couldn’t walk a straight line for a policeman). Since some of my suitcases had metal banding, I used a metal blade on my jigsaw (you DON’T want to send metal through any saw that isn’t fitted with a metal blade).

Next step: measure the opening at the back of your poor mangled suitcase, then cut a board to fit the opening (I cut my backs out of a 1 x 10 pine board).

I enlisted helpers to begin arranging the suitcases on the wall…

…and I actually used wrapping paper cut to size to get the layout right on the wall (I lived with that up for about a week).

There is more than one way to mount your suitcases to the wall. The magazine suggested cutting keyhole hangers in the backs of the boards, screwing the suitcases to the boards, and then hanging.

I didn’t do it that way.

I used a stud finder to mark out the studs in my wall, and then I screwed the boards directly to the studs. Your boards DO NOT have to be centered on the studs, they just have to cross over two of them. Start one screw (I used 2 1/2” screws), then level your board, then screw in the next one. It’s very helpful to have a teenage daughter help at this point!

Eek! A mouse! I promise, it’s just a Halloween decoration.

Once the boards are in place, I used four 3/4” screws to attach the suitcase to the board (one top, one bottom, on each side).

These things are sturdy!

I had fun “shopping” my house for accessories for my new shelves! My folding yardstick star (I tried to fold it into a pumpkin—major fail) from Suzanne at Meridian Road looks great next to my grandfather’s cloth tape measure.

A wooden spool is pressed into service as a makeshift vase.

Glittery spiders and pumpkins have taken up residence everywhere!

I haven’t decided what to do about the open space at the bottom. Either I need another suitcase (or two), or a narrow bench. What do you think?

I think it’s official…I am a despoiler of suitcases (remember this one that I painted).

But….I can’t summon up any remorse. I am in love!

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This project has been featured at Las Vegas Review Journal,  Whimsically Creative, Oh My! Creative, Recyclart, Dude Craft, Flea Market Style, Pamela Joyce Designs, Funky Junk, House of Hepworths, Décor Hacks, My Repurposed Life, Eye Heart Today, Mod Vintage Life, Sisters of the Wild West, Unconsumption, Charming Zebra, Simple Home Life, I’m Topsy Turvy, 2805, Shabby Love, Stylish Once Again, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Hating Martha, and Renewing Your Find Cafe.
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Linking up to these great parties:

Coastal Charm’s Nifty Thrifty Tuesday	Topsy Turvy Tuesdays
From My Front Porch to Yours	Someday Crafts’ Whatever Goes Wednesday
Hookin’ Up with House of Hepworths	No Minimalist Here’s Open House Thursday
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off
Primitive & Proper	I Heart Naptime
Beyond the Picket Fence’s Under $100 Party	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	{Primp}
CoE - Creative Final Resting Place	Mod Vintage Life
Stylish Once Again	Reasons to Skip the Housework
DebbieDoo's Copycat Challenge	Thrifty Décor Chick

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In case you’re wondering…I bought three of the suitcases for $10/each, one was $18, and the other two were given to me. It was not an expensive project!

Updated to add: You can see the staircase part of the project HERE!

Just teasing!

Want to see what’s been consuming my time for the last two weeks? 

Well, I’ve been turning this:

into THIS!

More to come!

Link Party No.72!

Hi everyone, the Link Party is baaack! I am not recovering quickly enough, but I am better enough to host a link party. :) I will take a break from "Untold story of my medical history" today... What do you have up your sleeves this week?

I have a small tutorial that I want to share too!


I found this embellishment for a scrap book section at a craft store a while ago, and I think it was 75% off, so it was really, really cheap.


1. Take the navy one and sew with big stitches. Pull the thread to gather the ribbon, and sew the ends together.


2. To make the leaf part, fold one end of the zipper as the picture is showing (about 2") and stitch it to hold it in to place.


3. Take the rest of the zipper and fold it towards the center and stitch.


4. Repeat the process to make the third leaf.


5. Sew the flower onto the leaf portion.


6. Sew large button in the middle.


7. Take the studs and cut off the unwanted part. Flatten the access metal. I used E-6000 to glue it on the button.


8. Sew the pin onto the circular felt and glue that on the back of the flower.


I like the uniqueness of this brooch; I could decorate one of my bags or baskets with it. :)

OK, now it is your turn, go ahead link up, visit each other and have fun! Please play it by the rules, sometimes there is clearly just advertisement for business websites linked up, and that is not fair to others.

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


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