Fabric (lots of colors and patterns) Ruler and rotary cutter Scissors Sewing machine Glue + wooden clothes pins Twine
• choose fabrics • cut fabric in 1/4" wide strips; have them be at least 18" long. • chose three strands of fabric; tie one end in a loose knot. drape the knot over something to act as an anchor (unless you have a second set of hands to help); braid the fabric. • begin to create a closed, flat circle with the braid. once you achieve the size you like, use the sewing maching to sew a big X across the circle to hold it together. you can sew as many X's as you'd like. • glue to clothes pins. • attach string to the wall with nails or push pins, hang artwork and photographs with the fancy clips.
click the title of the video to watch on YouTube, you'll get the full frame.
BEAN BAGS you have shown us with your purchases from the m.o.m shop just how much you love our bean bags. kids love to toss them, they feel great in your hand, and they won't poke an eye out. here's our little give back to you: how to make bean bags -enjoy!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED: Materials- fabric (2 choices) -not to thick, not to thin. Ruler and rotary cutter (or scissors) Sewing machine + thread Lentils or split peas
• cut squares (2 needed for 1 bean bag) ours are 4" x 4". • sew 3 sides of the square together (right sides together), plus a little bit on the fourth side . • iron; cut corners off for ease in turning; turn right sides out. • fill with beans (to your desired weight). • sew closed.
Remember, you can view the whole video at YouTube, for some reason our blog cuts off a portion of the right side. :-(
MAKE A DOLL FROM A CHILDS DRAWING
Materials Xerox of child's drawing (so you don't ruin the original) Fabric (5-6 choices) Scissors or Rotary cutters Sewing machine + thread Embroidery floss and needle
• choose a drawing (simple, not intricate), get it xeroxed to your desired size, cut out adding 1/2 " seam allowance. • choose fabrics for the body (at least two). • lay out body fabrics, wrong sides together; place pattern on top and cut out -set aside. • choose fabrics for arms (we decided to have braided arms, so we are using 3 fabrics); cut into 1/2" wide strips, have the length long enough to get a 10" braid. • place strips on top of one another and sew together (this is to hold them together while you braid). • when you get a 10" length of braid sew the open end closed. • now cut the braid in half and sew each open end closed -set arms aside. • choose fabric for eye's and nose; cut out and sew in place. • place arms on the body and pin in place. • begin sewing at the bottom of the doll and leave a 2" opening for stuffing the doll. • stuff and sew shut. • embroider around the stitching if you like.
These two simple projects make for one seriously cute closet. We have found it difficult to find cute, inexpensive hangers for children; so we decided to make some ourselves. Not good at sewing? Don't worry, the wrapped hanger project is no-sew. And the hanger cover, is definitely a beginner project.
Go on... get to it!
HANGERS (COVER AND WRAPPED): Materials Hanger (we buy inexpensive plastic hangers) Fabric (left-overs) Ruler and rotary cutter Scissors Glue (Aleene's Orignial Tacky Glue is great!) Sewing machine
FABRIC WRAPPED: • cut strips of fabric into 1" wide strips, preferably at least 18" long. • glue one end of a fabric strip to the hanger and begin to wrap around and around and around, glue the end in place. • continue with a second and third fabric, gluing each end down. • let dry and use!
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COVER: • use your hanger to make a pattern (we use paper grocery bags); lay the hanger on top of
the paper bag and trace -keep in mind you will need a 1/4" seam allowance when sewing, so make the pattern slightly larger than the hanger. • place pattern on your chosen fabric; you'll want two pieces of fabric for front and back. pin pattern to fabric then cut out. • pin the two fabric pieces together, sew with right
sides facing each other with 1/4" seam allowance: 1) the two side seams
(remember to leave an opening at the top for the hanger hook) 2)
hem the bottom. • turn right sides out -viola!
Here is our third video with kin community. The classic flag banner was one of the first products we made way back in 2002. It has remained a favorite among our clients -it's so versatile!
Hope you like this one. As with the other video's, it's best if you watch it on YouTube.
CLASSIC FLAG BANNER (9ft long):
Materials: Extra Wide, Double Fold Bias Tape (1 pack = 9 ft) Fabric (lots of colors and patterns) Flag pattern (5" wide, 6 3/4" length) -we make the pattern from paper grocery bags Ruler and rotary cutter (or scissors) Sewing machine + thread
• choose fabric (you're going to want lots of different colors and patterns to choose from); flags are double-sided so consider that when making fabric choices. • cut flags (20 are needed) using the flag pattern you've made. • once the flags are cut out, arrange them in the order you like. • stack the flags in preparation to sew; sew each flag together (all 20) in one continuous stitch. • begin sewing the bias tape together from one end, mark 10" -this is where you will begin inserting the flags. • place the flags (which are all connected to one another) in-between the folds of the bias tape and top stitch. • continue stitch to the very end of the bias tape.
For today's How-To video on Kin Community we show you how to make the cutest little Kitchen Towel Apron (from 1 towel we got at the .99¢ store!) -I kid you not; 1 kitchen towel! In the 80's my mom made a small wardrobe for my little sister out of kitchen towels and washcloths. Mom wanted something cute and unique, but extremely easy and fast. I know we have pictures of Jessica in the cute outfits, but I couldn't find them in time for this post. I will keep looking because you need to see them. So in the meantime, enjoy our how-to video:
Here is a still photograph of the front and back of the apron; below are simple instructions that should make perfect sense after watching the video.
Let us know if you make an apron. We'd love to see photo's; post them to your blog or on Instagram. Leave us a comment with info on how to see your images. Hmm, maybe we will be inspired to do a little something special for the cutest apron?
KITCHEN TOWEL APRON: Materials- Rectangular kitchen towels Cotton tape or ribbon Scissors Sewing machine + thread Dress form or a kid
KITCHEN TOWEL APRON: • this uses 1 rectangular kitchen towel. • cotton tape or ribbon: 4, 12" lengths (this will vary depending on the size of your child). • cut 2" off the long edge of the towel. • cut that piece in half; hem the raw edge. these will be the shoulder straps. • hem the large piece of towel. • position the straps where they are best for your kid and sew in place. • position the cotton tape for the 4 back ties; sew in place.
A few months ago we were asked to share some of our favorite projects with the kin community DIY YouTube station. We went to Los Angeles for a full day of sewing and filming and hanging out with good people. if you follow us on Instagram, you were already given a peek at the day of filming -waking at 5am, sunrise over the LA freeway at 6am, behind the camera, and dinner with the producer (our good friend Robert) at the end of the day. It was a long, but fun day. Thanks Kin Community for inviting us to share some m.o.m with a larger audience -much appreciated!
So Hello! to anyone that is here by way of Kin Community and is visiting m.o.m for the first time -we're glad you're here! m.o.m is me, Bethany (Hiya!) and my mother Tere (Hello!). We have a little studio in Encinitas, where we make handmade clothing and accessories for little girls, plus whatever else comes to mind. Take a look around, see what we've been up to; we hope you stick around for a while, and come back often!
Today is the air date of the first How-To video: the Patchwork Belt. Mom and I are totally nervous because we haven't seen any of the finished video's! Thankfully, the shots were mainly of our hands (although we both have total old-lady hands -a family curse!) and not much else at all. So here it is -Enjoy!
(the right edge of the video is cut off on our blog format, so click the title link in the video box to get the full picture on youtube.)
Here are a few photographs of a finished patchwork belt, as well as simple bullet point instructions as a supplement to the video.
PATCHWORK BELT
Materials needed Fabric Ruler and rotary cutter (or scissors) Sewing machine + thread Iron
• choose fabric • cut squares (4" x 4") 12 are needed (use more if you'd like a longer belt). • arrange squares as you like. • sew all 12 squares end to end. • fold in half lengthwise and iron. • fold long edges in 1/2" and iron. • do the same with the short ends (fold in 1/2" and iron). • pin. • top stitch around the entire belt.
Ta-da! now you have a totally one-of-a-kind belt.... or headband, or scarf. Get creative!
*Come back this Friday for the next video. In that one, we show you how to make this cute childs apron from ONE Kitchen Towel we bought at the .99¢ store; seriously, ONE .99¢ kitchen towel. Oh yeah!
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