Showing posts with label tutorials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tutorials. Show all posts

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Thanksgiving and a Cravat

The title pretty much sums it up. Between going home, the Thanksgiving festivities, a smattering of other events, and still trying to cram in as much homework as possible, I stayed pretty busy this weekend!

As I positively pine away for sewing while I'm at school, I did fit a few quick projects in while I was home. The first was to hem up a little tree skirt for my mom, which emerged out of a remnant from her stash. After that, the sewing machine was out and threaded, so I decided to keep going. I wanted to make a few cravats for my brother (he just started reenacting, and I couldn't resist the irony of giving him "ties" for Christmas) so I went to the great wealth of knowledge that is the internet and tracked down a tutorial. I found a marvelous one from Sarah over at Romantic History (check it out here!), and after tweaking it a little for a different look, here is the result!

I am quite in love with it!

For the fabric, I used a remnant from my Swiss Body project. The burgundy/black changeable taffeta looks quite sharp in cravat form! It still wants a neckband... I'll add one after I give it to him, to make sure that it will be the right length. I'm planning on making a similar one for myself, too, to wear with the Swiss Body of the same color. It was a quick project--I'd say easily under an hour, even though it was my first one. I'll definitely be making more... lots more! I have a whole stack of fabrics that are now waiting to be transformed into a colorful variety of cravat shapes. Stripes, solids, prints, plaids, single bow, double bow, loose ends, small, large, wide, thin... the possibilities are endless! I have a feeling that my brother will soon have a different necktie for every day of the month. I hope he likes them ;)

Friday, March 2, 2012

Fabric Flower Friday

As I have a rather large fabric stash (and equally large stash of small pieces with no purpose) I am always looking for new things to make. I've recently gotten into fabric flowers, which are (sometimes) quick, (generally) easy, and always cute! Here is the quickest type:

(But don't sew the button on so badly...)

Materials:
- Needle and Thread
- Five fabric circles (a lightweight fabric will work best. Mine were cotton and about 2" across, but you can vary the size as desired)
- A button or bead for the center


1. Fold one of the circles into quarters
2. Put a gathering stitch across the raw edge
3. Gather the edge and repeat for the other four pieces, keeping the same piece of thread going
4. Voila! Tie it off, and add a button, etc. to the center

You can vary the size and number of petals, and create a whole bouquet of these in no time!

Happy Friday!