Moon and Star Bracelet

Got some scrap fabric and a bracelet you never wear? Then today's refashion project is just the thing for you!

Here's what you need to cover your own bracelet:

 Materials:
-Bracelet or bangle
-remnant of cotton
-scissors

Steps:
1) Cut a strip of fabric 1/2".  I didn't have the full width of my fabric left over so I just tied some strips together.  If you have the full 45" width one strip should be enough.

 2) Place your bracelet in front of it at the halfway point of your strip of fabric and tie.  Then follow the instructions below~

 Pull tightly.  After a few knots you'll begin to notice that you'll be getting a lovely spiral rib forming.

At the end just knot your fabric twice and snip any ends.

That's it!  I like it much better now and can see myself wearing it with my hippie dippy weekend outfits easily.  This is a very basic macramé knot but in a new medium other than hemp it has a new life.  Have you ever tried macramé knots with other materials?  Leave a comment.

You can check out some of my other macramé pieces HERE.

Shopping for Fabric in Australia

One of the highlights of my trip to Australia last month was a day I spent in Cairns with fellow blogger Jill from Creating My Way to Success (Jembellish.com).  I've been following Jill's blog for quite some time and try to participate in her weekly linky party whenever I have a project to share, so I was thrilled when she agreed to meet up!

Jill from Creating My Way to Success & Me in Cairns, Australia!

 Jill was so lovely.  She even invited me to her home where we had a nice lunch and talked blogging and crafting. (I can't tell you how nice it is to talk to someone else who's into blogging and doesn't look at you like your nuts when you talk about things like linky parties, sponsors, and stats.)

Then I twisted her arm (pretty easily) and asked her to take me to her favourite fabric store in town, so we went to a place called Spotlight.

Spotlight is sort of like Micheals here in North America, except that Micheals doesn't have fabric and housewares like Spotlight does.

Look at this super cool fabric we found!

I know what you're thinking...Big deal, you found a crocheted throw...but no!  It's printed cotton!!

Isn't that cool?!?!?!  If the exchange rate on the Canadian dollar hadn't been so bad I definitely would've picked up a metre of this stuff.  You could make so many fun projects with it.

Luckily for Jill, I didn't turn out to be a big hairy and scary man (inside joke) and we had an awesome day.

Of course, I was on the lookout for fabric/craft stores everywhere I went though.

I just happened to glance up at the right time when I saw this sign in downtown Cairns.

It says "15 metres down the laneway"

Other than the massage sign, the laneway didn't look too scary so I went down to check it out.

JACKPOT!!!  Along with $3 fabric, this place is a trim lovers dream!

I broke my No New Supplies fast and bought a couple of metres of rainbow coloured stretchy elastic for more homemade undies.

I also found another great store in downtown Sydney.  For the life of me I can't remember the name but they  also had EVERYTHING you could ever need.

Love that pre-gathered, pre-shirred, pre-ruffled pink fabric at the top.  Just make it into a tube and you'll have a little girls dress lickety split.

I even managed to find the fabric store in Vanuatu!

The prices were great here but I only had a little bit of Vanuatu currency left so I had to settle for only 1 metre of the green floral in the bottom right corner.

The great thing about travelling with a backpack is that you really have to consider every purchase, because you'll be lugging it around with you everywhere you go.  So, even though I kept my purchases to a minimum I had a ball just checking things out.

Do you search out fabric stores when you travel?  Have you ever met up with a fellow blogger?  Tell us all about it below!

PS...thanks again to Jill for a wonderful day!  Make sure to check out her blog (she knows how to refashion an recycle like a pro) and join her linky party every Monday~

Easiest Napsack Ever

Last month I got some great waterproof fabric from Wholeport.  With school and all kinds of kids activities starting up, I knew right away what I wanted to make with it.

Here's what you need to make your own bag in no time flat.

Materials

-.5 metre of fabric ( doesn't need to be waterproof)

-2 metres of 1" wide webbing

-4 D rings

-ruler, fabric pen, scissors, thread etc.

Steps:

1) Cut two pieces of fabric 11" x 14.5". (This is kids size, if you're making this for an adult, increase the size to fit.)

2) Use your fabric pen to make a mark on the side 2.5" up from the bottom.

3) Cut two pieces of webbing 3" long each.  Seal the ends with fray check or melt them so that they won't fray.

4) Loop your webbing through 2 of the D-rings and attach to the outside of your bag at the markings you just made.  Have the  length of the webbing towards the inside, raw edges should be even.  Sew with a 3/8" seam.

5) Repeat step 4 on the other side.

6) From the top edge, measure down 1 1/4" mark and measure again another inch down.  Lay both pieces of fabric right sides together and stitch the sides, skipping the inch between your two marks.

7) Stitch across the bottom and snip the corners so that they'll lay flat once you turn everything right side out.

8) Turn right side out and turn top edge down 1 1/4" and stitch.  You should end up with a hole on the outside of the upper casing on each side seam.

9) Cut the remainder of your webbing in half.  Don't forget to seal your ends.  Attach a large safety pin and guide one piece of webbing through a side hole ending at the opposite side seam.

10) Stitch down the webbing on the opposite through the hole to secure it.

11) Repeat on the opposite side.

12) Weave the ends of your webbing through the D-rings to act as adjustable should straps.

That's it!  You've created the Easiest Napsack Ever!!

I was a little nervous that this fabric would be difficult to sew with a regular presser foot but I had no major glitches or slips.  Check out all the other great waterproof fabric you can choose from over at Wholeport.

*This is a sponsored post however I have not received any compensation other than the product shown and all opinions are my own.

Floral PJ Pants

Take a look at the pretty fabric that Wholeport sent me this month.

It wasn't quite what I was expecting so I had to think fast to come up with a project to make with it.

I thought I could use it to make so great pj pants but then quickly realized there was only a metre and wasn't sure it was enough.

Aha!  I remembered I had an old pattern from New Look in my collection that would be perfect.  I used to love New Look patterns, even though they often started at sizes that were way too big for me.  They're hard to find now though.

New Look 6060

When I put the pattern pieces on the fabric I quickly realized it was much wider than the 150cm shown in the product listing.  This was even after pre-washing to shrink it.

That meant I could run both leg pieces side by side with plenty of room to spare to make a drawstring, pockets, or any other little embellishments I needed.

I ended using a really wide blanket binding ribbon for the waistband to add some contrast.

So cute!  Even though I wasn't expecting it, it turned out to be exactly the fabric I needed~

After 3 years of blogging, standing
around outside taking pictures of myself
in my pj's is pretty normal as far as
my neighbours are concerned~

I quickly threw the little tank top together from the same pattern, but it's a little too little, so into the donation pile it goes.  I'll make another one the right size and add this cute little iron-on transfer that I also got.

Check out the quilting fabric section at Wholeport.com for more pretty fabric choices.

*This post is a sponsored post however I did not receive any compensation other than free product as shown and all opinions are my own.

This project was featured here:

Old School Trivet

Like many of you, I have a stash of fabric that is waaaaay too big.  Part of the reason is because I can't bring myself to throw away any scraps left over from other projects.  So, I pulled out my half metre of cotton leftover from my dining room chairs makeover and decided to put it to good use~

This is such a simple project but I love it when I can put the things I make to really good use.  Plus it reminded me of the kind of thing I used to see at church sales with my grandma when I was a kid so it brought back some good memories.

Here's all you need to make your own trivet:

Materials:
-.5-1 metre of cotton fabric
-scissors, thread, needle
-optional: thimble (not shown)

Steps:
1) If you're new to working with fabric this first step might scare you a bit but just go for it, once you start you won't want to stop.

You're going to make strips of fabric from your cotton by tearing it on the grainline.  Just cut an inch two perpendicular to the selvedge of your fabric.  I made my strips 2.5" wide.

Make sure to start with a straight
torn edge so that your strip
will be an even width throughout.

2) Now just pull the fabric apart and it should tear easily, and straight, along the grainline.  It might look like it's crooked compared to your print, but trust me, the fabric itself will be straight.

I made 6 strips but you can make any multiple of three that you want.  The more you make the bigger your project will be and the more hand sewing you'll have to do.  (3 strips makes a nice little coaster size piece.)

3) Start with 3 strips of fabric by folding the ends into a T shape and securing with a few stitches.

Ideally you should use a matching colour of thread.
This lovely lilac was on my machine though
and I was too lazy to change it.

4) Now just braid your strips together, folding in the raw edges as best you can as you go.

5) If you want to add more strips of fabric to make your braid longer just weave them in near the end of your first set.  When you're happy with the length of braid you have, secure it with a few hand stitches.

6) Now just coil your braid into a circle, hand stitching on the BACK or bottom of the piece as you go.

There will be a top and bottom (or front and back).  Keep your stitches to one side and don't worry too much about how it looks under there.  Do be careful not to let your piece take on a bowl shape though.  It will curve a tiny bit and that's OK but try your best to keep it somewhat flat.

7) When your done, just fold the ends to the bottom and stitch down.  Now steam the heck out of it and will flatten right down.

Steam your glasses up if you have to~

And now you have something to set your hot pots and bowls on when making dinner tonight!

(This photo was taken before I steamed it)

It's such an easy project and easy to do.  In fact I did most of my hand stitching while watching bad TV shows throughout the week.  I didn't use a thimble but I sure wish I had.  Depending on your cotton there may be some bits that are harder to push your needle through than others and a thimble will save your tender little fingers from bearing the brunt of that work.

Of course, I still have some fabric left over and I haven't thrown it away so now I'll have to come up with another scrapbuster to use the rest of it up once and for all~

On another note, the snow has finally melted here and now I can get outside to do some gardening and get some fun outdoor crafts done!!!  I have loads of fun ideas planned for the coming weeks so I hope you'll keep stopping by to check them all out.

Have a crafty week everyone!