Finding Pins and Needles

I was in the mood to up-cycle some old clothes, and sweaters have so  many possibilities. In my pile of too worn out, too small, too dated clothes, I found my husband's sweater that has shrunk. It was an XL, it looks more like a large now. The sleeves are perfect for making 18" doll clothes (American Girl).  So, here's what you've been waiting for... the Sleeve Sweater Dress tutorial... Materials and Tools: A sweater: Mens large or bigger or a Woman's equivelant size A doll for fitting (This is designed for an 18" American doll) Scissors Pinking Shears (optional) Snap Sharpie Marker Thread Sewing Machine Ruler Pins Optional Materials (see Accessorize ) Cutting: First measure and cut about 12" up from the bottom of the sleeve (this will be the body of the dress). Next measure about 6" up from the remaining sleeve and cut again (the arms of the dress). None of these measurements are real exact for 2 reasons, 1) you're deali...

The embroidered Christmas pillow, a gift for my mom. Click to see a larger version. From the moment I pinned   this , I knew I wanted to embroider it! Pin It

I was in need of small handmade gifts to give my kid's bus drivers. I figured I'd make hand warmers and dress them up with a novelty bag. SEW SIMPLE! Credit , but I've added my own twist. Materials & Tools Flannel (2) 3.5in x 7in Scrap flannel and felt Muslin or other solid fabric for bag 11in x 7.5in White rice Essential oils (I used cinnamon vanilla), you can find this by the candles in Walmart Brown paper bag (optional) Thread Fabric glue Sewing machine Scissors Bowl Spoon or popscile stick Small funnel (optional but really nice) Hand Warmers  Cut the fabric for the hand warmers from a soft flannel. Take your 3.5in x 7in piece and fold it in half creating a 3.5in x 3.5 in square. Pin front sides together and top stitch all around the edge, leaving a small opening. Turn your square right side out. Do this again for the second bag. Take your rice and mix in a bowl with a few drops of your chosen essential oil. You'll want to use ...

I got this idea from this site , a knock off of a Pottery Barn pillow . I wanted to change a few things, so I created my own tutorial. I wasn't so keen on the idea of gluing the pieces on (my kids would pluck those suckers off in no time), nor using buttons for the berries. So here's my version... Materials & Tools: 2 cuts of fabric (back and front) for your pillow (I used tan for the front and a red stripe on back) stuffing thin cardboard or card stock for leaf template green felt (varying green colors optional) an 8x10 sheet is sufficient red pom pom fringe (I used 3/4) a circle template (I used an embroidery hoop, a plate or bowl will work also) green and red thread sewing machine scissors pins pen (preferable disappearing ink or water soluble pen ) Freehand a simple leaf for a template. I drew it on thin cardboard. Using a disappearing ink pen, I traced leaves on my green felt. I would also recommend using varying colo...