Pretty Fabric Flower Attempt

I attempted to create a few fabric flowers over the weekend that had been on my 'to do' list for awhile now. I started with three different fabrics that I thought would make nice flowers.

I cut 2 strips 2 1/2" x 24"of each fabric. The I sewed two strips together to make one long strip. Next I folded the strip in half and zig zag stitched the edge and sides.

Then I needed to gather the strip and this was the most amazing and frustration step of all. Per the instructions you are to increase your stitch length on you machines to the highest it would go and increase the thread tension as high as it would go as well. I did this and began to sew. I was amazed as the strip gathered beautifully off the back of my machine. It came out looking like this! Perfect!

My next attempt was not so perfect. The fabric did not gather and my machine just sewed along doing nothing. It came out looking like this.

Well maybe I made it look worse since I think I balled it up and threw it a few times. I am not sure what happened. I tried it numerous times and it still didn't work. I think two things may have been working against me. One is that I was working outside and maybe my machine was getting too hot in the super hot and humid heat and the other was that I was on verge of getting the stomach flu (that kept me in bed for two days!) and I might not have been thinking quite clearly. I will revisit the two other strips and see if I can fix them this weekend. I did at least finish one flower before sickness took my motivation.

The last step is to wind the strip it around itself and sew together. (sorry not photos,like I said I got sick) It turned out very lovely and pretty. I think it would look lovely on a cardigan this fall or maybe late summer. For right now I have it on favorite garden hat for the summer.

Easy and simple and plan to make more once I figure out that machine trick. I will make sure I post more of my fabric flower attempts,maybe next week.

Comments

Ipad Pillow Stand

I like to watch tutorials on my Ipad and although I have a cover that converts to a stand, it isn't always the best solution for viewing. So I decided to make one of my own inspired by these Iphone stands I found on Etsy. They are sold by dognamedbanjo and are really unique and lovely. So I thought I could make one similar to it and here is how i did it. First I started with a 1 yard of a fabric in my two favorite colors. Then I cut the following pieces 1 Pc 13" x 13" 1 pc 29 x 13" 2 Triangle pieces 13" x 13" x 13" Next I sewed the top square to the two triangles. This is will be the sides and the base. Next I took the large rectangular piece and sewed it to the bottom of the square. Now I don't have photos of the last few steps since once it start forming a pillow it is difficult to photograph, but the process is not that difficult. Next I sewed each side of the the rectangle to one side of the triangle on both s...

T-shirt Upcycle to Cardigan

I have had this large long sleeved t-shirt for about a year. I paid $2.99 for it at the Salvation Army and appeared to be new. I had thought about embellishing it with a flower or two but could not come up with a original or cute idea so I decided to make a cardigan out of it. So lets get started and upcycle another piece of clothing! First I laid the shirt out and measured from under arm to under arm to find the exact center. Once I found the center, I cut right up the middle. This step always makes me nervous ever since I was a child and tried to cut a collar on a coat to make it narrower. It was a disaster but I try not to think about it that much and just cut. Once it was cut, I decided to use the hem from another t-shirt that I had cut up for another project. I cut two pieces of the hem of the t- shirt long enough to cover the edge of the cardigan and wrap around the top and bottom edge. I folded over the edge and pinned Then I pinned it to one side of the cardigan. Making s...

Ikea Magazine Re-do

I recently was at Ikea and purchased two set of FLYT Magazine holders. The completely white and come in packs of 5 for $1.99. I knew that I could spruce them up with something and had a perfect idea for them. This fabric panel that I purchased at an Estate sale a few weeks ago. It was one large curtain panel that really wanted to use as upholstery for something and the magazine holders were just the perfect match. I first assembled two and stapled them together. Next step was to lay them on my fabric to figure out how much I needed. The best thing about this fabric was that it had hemmed edges and it would make my Re-do look more finished. I cut the fabric about 2-3" longer at the top to make sure it covered the entire piece.Next I lined up the hemmed edge to the bottom and stapled it top and bottom. This okay since it's the back of the holder and I will cover it up later. As you see I had to open the bottom up so I could staple the bottom. Next I used good old Mod Podge...

Janet of All Trades

Search This Blog