Lace Headband (for Small Heads)

I'm in the mood for a super quick and easy project today.

If you have a small head then you know the trials and tribulations I put up with when trying to wear a headband.  The hard style just don't fit right and usually end up giving me a headache, and the soft style (like I made here for my niece) usually go flying off the back of my head.  So, I've come up with a fast and easy way to get around all this.

Here's what you need if you have a small head too!

Materials:
-lace or other trim
-bobby pins
-measuring tape, scissors, needle and thread or a sewing machine

Steps:
1) Measure your head from about an inch above your ear to the same spot on the other side of your head.

Do you know how hard it is
to take a picture of yourself like this?

2) Add about an inch to your measurement and cut your lace (or other trim) that length, then turn over the ends 1/2" and sew down.

My serger just happened to have black thread on it so I quickly finished the ends.  This is not totally necessary and there's no way I would've bothered if I had pink thread on my machine~

3) With your ends sewn down, simply slip your bobby pins into the little pockets at each end.

Now you can slip your headband onto your head where you want it and pin it in place easily!

I'm growing out my blonde hair...dark roots!

If you don't like bobby pins you can try butterfly style snap barrettes.

That's it, beyond easy, and you don't really even need a sewing machine.  You could hand-stitch it if you really had to.  You could really go to town and glue some flowers or other 'accoutrements' to your lace if you want to get fancy.

How about you?  Do you have a hard time with head gear?  Leave a comment below~

Crochet Collar

Next up for lace week is the super cute sparkly crochet collar you see on top of my lace pile from Wholeport.

I love the sequins on it.

You could sew this directly onto a blouse or other top but in order to give you the most options here's the easiest thing to do.

Just add a hook onto the back corner!  You don't even need an eye~

Now I can wear it with any top or dress I feel like.

You can find this item over at Wholeport for less than $2 each!

*This is a sponsored post however I did not receive any remuneration other than supplies and all opinions are my own.

Lace Boot Socks

I've got some bigger house and garden stuff I've been working on the past couple of weeks so I only have time for a quickie craft today (sorry, nothing exciting, just digging up flower beds and painting the porch).  And I have to admit, I have no idea what these things are called, but they're all the rage (at least on Pinterest) so I made a pair.  I call them boot socks.
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Update:  I really, really appreciate all of the new visitors coming over from Pinterest, but before you leave a comment asking me where I got my boots or the lace to make this project, please take a moment to actually read the post (especially if you are a no-reply blogger or anonymous).  All of the information is right here in the post~
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For those of you who aren't quite as trendy as I am (which would be difficult to accomplish), these babies are a way to add a layer of somethin' somethin' (do people still say that???) at the top of your boot without adding bulk inside of your boot.

Here's what you need:

Materials:

-extra wide elasticized lace

-thread and needle

-sewing machine or serger

-scissors (not shown, why do I always forget one thing??)

-optional: buttons, bows, ribbon, etc.

Steps:

1) Wrap your lace around your calf, just under your knee.  Don't worry about doing it over top of your pants, you're going to wear these on top anyway.

2) Cut two lengths of lace to fit.

3) With right sides together, sew or serge the raw edges of your lace together.

Please ignore the messy stitches.
My serger was on a rampage.

4) Iron your seam towards one side and turn right side out.

If you want to stop now you can and there you go, you've completed the whole thing in about 60 seconds flat!

If you want to add a little bit more interest, read on.

 5) Decide if you want your seam to be on the inside of your leg or at the back and then add some pretty buttons or bows or other embellishments.  Just make sure to keep it towards the top of the sock so that it won't cause any discomfort inside your boot.  Flat buttons work best.  I put mine on the side but you could put them right down the seam at the back too!

Tah dah!

So pretty!

 This project was so quick and easy that I made a pair in black too!

This is also a great scrap buster if you just have a bit of lace left over from another project.  Have fun making your own and have a crafty week~

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**Update:  a few people have asked where I got my boots....they're actually a few years old but I'm pretty sure I picked them up at a shoe store in Canada called Spring. I don't think they have them anymore but there are a few styles that are similar~

The lace is from the bargain bin at my local fabric store.  If you don't live where I live this is pretty useless information.  So just do a google search on "Wide Elasticized Lace" or go to Wholeport (link in my sidebar), sometimes they have it.
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This project was featured here:

          

Show and Tell: New Clay Jewellery

Before the Christmas rush began I was hard at work coming up with new molds for my polymer clay jewellery designs.  My plan is to fill my Etsy shop with these cute accessories when I get back from my big vacation in March.

Until then, here's a sneak peek at what I've been working on:

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Unfinished pieces, playing with paint, sparkle,
and embedding crystals.


Blogger is doing my head in these days.  I finally got my photos the way I wanted, and then I had to take a very circuitous route to upload them, and now Blogger has decided to throw some random border lines around.  Please ignore and let me know what you think of the photos, sans weird borders~

Come back tomorrow to find out how I added those cute little banners~

Super Simple Summer Sack

OK, once you've mastered that tongue twister you're ready to make one!  This is one of the simplest designs but so cute, with lots of room for all of your beach stuff or little things you pick up at garage sales.

Here are the supplies I used:



+ a sewing machine

I used .8 metre (31.5") of 115cm (45") wide cotton fabric, but you can use any length.  The longer your rectangle, the bigger your bag will be~

Steps:

1) Create a tube with your fabric by folding it along the long edge, right sides together, and closing the open edge.

2) With a straight edge, mark a diagonal line from one corner to the other and cut along this line.

    

3)  You now have two large triangles.  Hem the two sides.  You can just zig zag or serge, turn over, and sew down for the basic purse.  I lined mine for a more finished look.  I just followed the first two steps again with contrasting fabric, laying one lining on top of one outside fabric, right sides together, and stitching up the two triangle sides.  Just ignore all of this if you're going for the super simple version and do a simple hem.

4) Once your sides are hemmed, lay one triangle on top of the other, lining up the bottoms, and having the bottom point of the left triangle match up with the centre of the right triangle.  Pin along the edge.

5) Turn over your triangles and overlap the same way on this side as you did in step four.

6) Stitch along the edges where the fabrics overlap, attaching the two fronts together.  You can continue to the end of the strap if you like.

7) You're almost done, just the bottom to close up.  Turn your bag inside out, pin along the bottom.  You may need to trim your fabrics to line them up.  This is normal because when you cut your diagonal lines you cut along the bias of the fabric.  That can sometimes cause the fabric to stretch.  Just trim what you need to, pin, and sew through ALL of the layers of fabric.

If you  have a serger, serge your hem.  Make sure to cut your corners so that when you turn your bag right side out the corners won't bunch up.

(If you want a flat bottom, just use the technique I showed you when I made this cushion.)

8) Here's what you should have.

9) Just tie the straps, fling it over your shoulder, and away you go!

 I made another one for my friend Gen who gave me the Vintage Dress and Silk Blouse to transform that you all liked so much.

There are sooooo many ways you can make this your own.  You don't even need to buy new fabric, you can make these using a pillow case if you want.  Add some piping or lace along the edges, play with the proportions of your rectangles, add fabric embellishments...the list goes on and on.

Have fun with it and check out loads of other great projects on the linky party tab.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Extra Special Obi Belt

It's been awhile since I've done a sewing project with you so today's the day! 

I think one of the most flattering belts out there is the Obi belt.  Not only are they pretty, but they're super simple to make.  Today I made one from scratch and added some extra special embellishments just to take it to the next level.

This is going to seem like a long tutorial, but trust me, it's a very easy project.

Here's what you need:


And a sewing machine

Steps:
The Pattern
1) First we'll make a quick pattern, because once you make one of these, you know you'll want to make more.  I used tissue paper for my pattern but you can easily just tape some regular old office printer paper together and it'll work just fine.

Draw a rectangle on your paper.  I'm a bit on the small side so mine measures 13" (33cm) X 4 1/4"(11cm).  Add another inch or two for medium or larger.

2) Now extend your rectangle another 6" (15cm) on each side but just draw a dotted line.  Find the centre of the side and draw a line that is 5.8" long (1.5cm).  Now connect each side of that small line to the corners of the original rectangle.

3) You can either do step 2 again on the other side, or you can just fold the original rectangle in half and trace the end piece.  Once that's done, just cut your pattern out

The Belt
1) Fold your fabric with wrong sides together.  Lay your belt pattern on top, pin, and cut.

2) Cut two pieces of ribbon that will go around your waist one and half times.  Lay one piece of ribbon flush with one end of your belt body and sew across with a 5/8" seam allowance.  I'm using 1" wide ribbon only because that's what I had on hand.  I suggest something narrower or gather the end so that it matches the width of the end of your belt.  (Make sure you have right sides together and the length of the ribbon is towards the centre of your belt.)

Do the same on the other end.

3) Fold your ribbon pieces towards the inside and secure with a pin just so that you won't catch it in your seams when you sew the belt together.

 4) Place the other belt body, right sides facing, on top and pin.  You will now sew the sides, leaving a small opening for turning, with a 3/8" seam allowance.  (I'm using a great taffeta fabric that is reddish on one side and black on the other.  For added flexibility I'm making one side of my belt red and the other black to make it reversible.  If you're new to sewing, just keep things simple and put right sides together.)

Turn it right side out, press, and hand stitch the opening closed.

That Extra Special Touch

To take your belt up a notch we're going to add some pretty flower embellishments that you can remove if you want.

1) Draw a flower template on a piece of paper. 

2) Place on fabric, pin, and cut.  Don't worry about being perfect here.  In fact the messier the better.  Cut out 3-4 pieces for each flower you plan to create.

3) I was going to stitch around each flower and then pull threads so that they were frayed at the edges, but I didn't care for the look.

So, instead I singed all of the edges with a candle flame.  This works best with man-made fibres.  You don't even have to touch the flame, just get close enough so that the fabric starts to melt and curl a bit.  Of course, my fabric did actually catch fire more than a couple of times.  Just keep a close eye on it as you're going, and blow it out quickly. 

Be careful.  The edges will be hot for about a minute or so.

4) Hand stitch long gathering stitches in a circle in the centre of one of your flowers.  Gather, secure, and repeat the process with another flower on top without cutting your thread.  Do this with 3-4 flowers pieces.  This won't be visible so, again, don't worry too much about it being pretty.

Gather some more from the back if you want a fuller flower and secure with  hand stitching.

5) Hand stitch a stick pin closure onto the back of your flowers if you want the option of removing them from your belt.  If this isn't a concern you can just hand stitch your flowers right onto your obi belt.

And now we're finally done!



Totally BLAH~

 Version 1:



Sophisticated and Pretty

Version 2:



WOW!!!!

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And when I flip it to the black side I'll have even more options!  I can take off some flowers or add more on.  You could make them in contrasting or matching fabrics.  Really, the possibilities are endless.

 What do you think?  I think this'll be the perfect accessory for my new LBD  .  I know it looks like a lot of steps when you write it all out but it actually all comes together very quickly.

I'll be posting this project at all the linky parties throughout the week. 

Make sure to click on the tab up top to check out the parties for even more fun ideas.