Tutorial » by elke

Billboard Bag

This bag is definitely not a cutting edge design, rather it is just about the most simple. The reason I made this was because some time over the holidays I misplaced all my reusable shopping bags. A while ago, someone gave me a giant old tyvek billboard that was headed for the dumpster. Of course I thought ,”this could be used someday!”

So here we are in “someday”. I took some sissors to it & made myself some super heavy duty reusable bags. One down & one to go. The challenge was turning it inside out after it was all sewn together. The material is incredibly tough & not the least bit pliable. Perfect for carrying home the groceries. The straps are from a roll of great heavy nylon harness webbing. This is just the first project of many to come with this billboard…..I have about 15 feet left!

Photoshop Tutorial

I am by no means a photographer. I have a little Canon that I tote around with me & learn as I go along. I stumbled across this Photoshop tutorial here & thought it was especially brilliant for those of us that may need some extra help in making their photo’s look like something worth framing. Here are the results of some photo’s I tried it out on….

DIY Fur Muff

Yes folks, the Muff is back! I had one growing up in the north east. It was the white rabbit fur type & we got to use them when we’d head into New York City at Christmas time. My friend came over last week with a challenge. She has been holding onto 2 sleeves from an old fur coat & was convinced that we could create a muff out of them. After ripping out the lining & cutting the cuff seam a tad wider we were able to literally fold it inside itself & the muff was born! I cut a thin piece of leather cording to loop through it & secured it with an antique shirt stud so she could wear it around her neck. She is singlehandedly committed to bringing the trend back & so far she’s told me that we have 3 more customers. Now we just need some old fur coats……

I’m not so sure the trend is actually back in the true fashion sense, but it should be!

Cashmere Baby Hats

Here are the first trials of making a baby hat from the top part of a cashmere turtleneck. After making some of the animals, I have kept all the extra pieces just knowing that they were good for something. The more I looked at those neck pieces the more that started looking like baby hats. I finally just did it! Below is a visual tutorial- It couldn’t have been easier & they look so cute & boy, trust me, they are super soft. Now I just have to find a baby to try them on…..

It definitely pays to invest in these beautiful sweaters as it’s a quality of knit that you never get tired of touching.

Home Made Paper Bag

Just before the Gypsy Farm Market I had a bunch of the braided bracelets ready to sell then realized that I had no bag to offer them in. I looked around my office & saw a roll of craft paper. I cut out long rectangles & sewed them together with red thread. When I was finished, I thought they looked like they were missing something so I printed a braid pattern from a rubber block in silver paint. At the show, I closed them of with a nice logo sticker.

Easy Pom-Poms

I needed a detail on a pillow I was making & thought pompom’s would be just the right touch. Saying that, I have never made one. I looked on line & all the tutorials were very labor intensive. They all wanted you to cut out a doughnut shape & wrap the yarn around evenly until thick. Well, half an hour later & I was still wrapping, trying to fit the yarn through the doughnut hole. There has to be a better way! So, the below tutorial is how to make a really easy, FAST, pompom.

Lazer Printed Fabric

I have read here & there on some crafty blogs about printing onto fabric from your regular desk top printer. Well, it was too tempting to resist. First, I made some animal repeats on photoshop & then took some cotton sheeting fabric (the lighter weight, the better) which was cut into 8 1/2 x 11″ piece. Next, take some freezer paper & iron the fabric onto it so now it’s nice & stiff. Cut the edges so it will fit nicely into your paper tray & press print. I admit that I did try this a couple of times with sloppy results before I got some clean prints. the pieces are pretty small but maybe it would make a nice lining inside a small zipper purse? The ideal ink to use is Permanent quality which my printer won’t take. I’m kind of guessing it might wash out easily. All in all, I don’t know about the usefulness of such small pieces of fabric that aren’t permanent, but it was a fun experiment.

DIY Leather Bracelet

I saw these really cool “Screw Posts ” on a DIY for a cool net bag here. I went out & got some & when I brought them home, I absolutely fell in love with all the possibilities. I’m a big user of rivets & these look just so much better.

I had some natural leather strapping laying around, 1/2″ thick. You can also cut down an old leather belt which would have a great worn in look.Measure a length that would fit over your hand & add some extra for a lap over where the screw will go. Mine was 9 1/2 ” long.
Cut one end of the strap in a point. I used a rotary cutter.
Punch holes on both ends about 3/8″ in. I have a heavy duty “Crop-A-Dile” tool which seems to punch through just about everything.
Put masking tape around 1 3/4″ from the end of the point.
Paint any color you like. Don’t forget to paint the edges too. My color for the summer keeps leaning toward yellow.
When paint is dry, remove the tape.
Bend the leather around to make a bracelet shape. Line up the holes & push the female part of the screw through the back. Add the front of the screw & tighten.

Hair Band Tutorial

A couple of weeks ago I was at a store & saw a jar full of very pretty covered button type hair bands. It was definitely one of those moments when you say, “I can make that!” So, today I did & below there’s a tutorial so you can make your own too!

You’ll need a thin elastic hair band, a covered button kit the size you want, a scrap of fabric, & scissors.
Cut out the template on the back of the covered button kit & trace onto fabric.
Place fabric into silicone button mold with right side facing dow. Put top part of button on top & press down into mold.
Once metal button is snug on the bottom, fold over fabric toward the middle.
Place back of button on top of fabric & put the blue plastic “cap” on top & press down hard until you hear it click into place.
Pop button out of mold & you’ll have the top part done.
Thread elastic through back wire hole then pull through one loop into another & pull tightly.

I had some embroidered buttons so decided to put those on the elastic since I wasn’t using them. Now I just have to find a little girl to share them with.