Tag Archives: felt

Love For Lily, A Thank You

Two weeks ago, I told you about Lily, the kitten my sister and her husband adopted after finding her abandoned near my parents’ home out in the country.

This is her story, and our thank you.

We now have all the money we need to pay for Lily’s medical expenses. We might even have a little left over to donate to our local Humane Society.

We quite literally can’t thank you enough.

Click here to learn more about Lily’s story.

Here’s a little something I made for Lily. I was lucky enough to act as her post-surgery kitten sitter this week while my sister and brother-in-law were at work. She was a joy to be with every day and I will miss my mid-day kitten break!

Don’t miss my Blog Hop Party Giveaway! I have a free pattern and a fun giveaway, too!

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Join me for my workshop:

Registration is open!

Sewing: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle a Thrift Store Sweater

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The Recycled Sweater Bag isn’t quite old enough to be considered a Way Back Craft. I first started making this bag last year. It works great with a felted thrift store sweater, but you can also make this bag out of denim, upholstery fabric, or just about any other heavy duty material.

Do I need a reason to make a new bag? Not really, but recycling is a darn good incentive!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle a Thrift Store Sweater
© Jennifer Ofenstein
http://www.sewhooked.org

You will need:

1 old or thift store wool sweater – felted
fabric for lining & pockets
magnet purse snap
2 buttons
sewing machine
thread
scissors
chalk
pins
rotary cutter (optional)
walking foot (optional)

Cut a square or rectangle out of the body of the sweater, cut the same dimensions from lining fabric, remove sweater armss.

Split sleeves up seam and cut off the tops for pockets.

Cut rectangles out of the sleeve tops, cut same dimensions +1.5″ in length for lining.

Using the remaining scraps, cut out 2 circles and trim circles into free form flowers.

Cut 2″ squares out of the bottom left and right, repeat for lining fabric.

Create a long tube from lining fabric for inside pockets, pin pockets to inside, mark center with chalk for stitching line.

Pin sides and bottom, stitch, leave 2″ corners open, leave opening in the side or bottom for turning.

Fold 2” cut out matching side and bottom seams.

The bottom and pockets should look like this.

Add magnetic snaps following package directions. Leave enough seam allowance at the top for stitching recommend 1″ or more, using a folded piece of scrap fabric to reinforce the snap. Stitch around snap to reinforce extra fabric.

Pin sweater pocket to lining, right sides together (lining should be 1.5″ longer), stitch ends.

Line up bottom of pocket, pin, then stitch sides. Leave an opening for turning.

Trim corners, turn pocket and pin openings.

Stitch side seams of bag, leaving bottom open.

Pin pockets over side seams (right side), then stitch to attach.

Stitch across bottom.

Fold 2″ cut out, matching side & bottom seams, pin & stitch.

The inside bottom should look like this.

Trim sleeves to desired width for strap – 5″ or 6″ recommended.

Pin ends of two sleeves together, stitch and trim seam.

Fold lengthwise, stitch, leaving approx. 6″ open for turning

Turn right side out and smooth opening.

Stitch closed with a tight whip stitch.

Pin strap to side seams, matching right sides, stitch.

Making sure the straps are inside, pin lining to outside, right sides together, stitch.

Turn bag right side out, through opening in the lining.

Pin opening in lining and stitch.

Turn lining inside, smooth and pin, top stitch ¼”.

Stitch flower to center of each side over snap, stitch button on top.

Done!

variation from a purple sweater

If you make this or any sewhooked crafts, I’d love to see a photo! Email me or add it to the Friends of sewhooked flickr group.

Happy Crafting!

also posted on cut out + keep and YouTube

Smiling Santa Gift Bag

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I’ve been making these Santa bags for a lot of years now, but this is the first time I’ve ever shared a how-to for it.

Other similar bags I’ve made include Rudolph, Christmas kitties and Christmas trees. Change the basic bag to any color and add polka dots or stars for an easy birthday bag!

Smiling Santa is reusable, giftable, and darn cute. He’s fast to make with simple embroidered stitches and a button nose. If hand stitching isn’t your thing, fabric paint will work in a pinch!

You’ll need:

Smiling Santa reference
9″ x 12″ acrylic felt – 2 white, 1 red, 1 flesh
scissors
large needle
embroidery floss: white, red, blue & green
red button
ruler
optional: sewing machine
optional: rotary cutter

supplies

I use eco-friendly acrylic felt. It’s easy to find, cheap (20 cents a sheet) and sturdy.

Find the bottom of your bag and cut 1″ squares out of the opposite corners for each white sheet. This will create a faux gusset and allow your gift bag to stand up.

Cut the flesh-colored felt sheet down to 8″ x 5 1/2″. Fold in half and cut a gentle curve.

Open flesh-colored felt. Align 1″ from top of bag, centering so that each side has approximately 1/2″ of white felt showing.

Using the white embroidery floss, hand stitch a running stitch around the two sides and bottom of the face.

Add eye details with a straight stitch (eyebrows) and chain stitch (eyes).

Add button nose with red embroidery floss. Add mouth, also with red embroidery floss, using the chain stitch.

Pin two pieces of white felt together, face inside. Machine stitch 1/4″ seam on two sides and across the bottom.

Optional: hand stitch on the inside OR hand stitch on the outside using red embroidery floss.

Fold the open corners on the bottom together, matching outside seams. Fold seams in opposite directions to reduce bulk. Pin in place.

Machine stitch bag corners.

Turn bag right side out.

Fold 1″ down on top of bag, overlapping face. Pin, then straight stitch around. Stitch under side seam.

Finished stitching on the top of bag.

Cut two 12″ x 2″ strips from red felt.

Fold straps lengthwise. Straight stitch along the length with green embroidery floss.

Pin handle to outside of bag 2″ in from the sides.

Straight stitch snowflake or asterisk to hold handles in place. Repeat for the back of bag.

Stuff with goodies and gift it!

Feeling creative? Try your hand at a Christmas Tree!

fun variations, Dec. 2000

Add your Sewhooked-related photos to my flickr group and you might be featured in a future post.

This is part of my “Way Back Craft” series; patterns, crafts, tutorials and general crafty memories before the days of this craft blog.

Halloween Bats Tutorial

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Every year, my family and I break out our big orange and black box full of Halloween decorations, cauldrons and punched aluminum candle holders. Folded and tucked into the side of the box are these sweet bats we made years and years ago. They’ve adorned several front doors, including our current home of almost ten years.

Halloween Bat Door Decoration

Super easy and adorable to boot, these anything-but-scary Halloween bats take about five minutes to whip up.

Supplies:

Felt Bat Template
1 piece of black acrylic felt for each bat
scissors
pin
hot melt glue gun & glue
google eyes
round magnets

Gather your supplies

Fold the acrylic felt lengthwise in half. Pin the Bat pattern on the fold.

Cut around the bat shaped pattern, leaving the fold intact. Fold fabric out.

Use hot melt glue to attach google eyes, being careful to use only a dot of glue. Use pattern placement as a guide.