Tutorial: Rouched Fabric Flower from a T-Shirt

I have a huge pile in my bedroom of old clothing that I don't wear anymore that I am hoping to re purpose. I dug around in my pile and was able to turn this:


into this:

I think my tshirt is looking much cuter as a flower. What do you think???

This little flower is perfect for adding to a cute dress, a purse, a headband, a belt, a gift box... and just about anything else you can think of!

Want to make your own?
Here's how I did it.

First, cut the bottom seam off your shirt.

 Then cut a strip about 1-1/2" wide off the bottom of your shirt.

Grab a scratch piece of felt and cut a small circle. Mine was about 2" in diameter. It does not have to be perfect - as you can see.

Then take your strips and sew a straight stitch {with the largest width you can} down the center of your strip.

 Here's how it should look. Since my shirt is made of stretchy knit, it ruffled a little as I sewed.

 Then grab a hold of the bottom pieces of thread on either side of your strip and scrunch your fabric so that it gathers a little more.

 Make sure you start sewing on the outside edge of your felt circle. Place one end of one of your gathered strips on your felt circle and begin sewing along the gathered stitch in the center of your strip. Turn your felt circle as needed to get all the way around the outside.

When you are ready to start another trip around your felt circle, simple fold over the two side of your strip that has already been sewn so that the next circle you sew INSIDE the one you just finished IS NOT sewn on top of any of the fabric that is already sewn on.

When you reach the end of your first gathered strip, simply back stitch the end. Then grab the new strip and overlap it just a little and start sewing again. Just make sure you don't sew over the fabric that is already sewn on to your felt circle.

 When it starts to get a little too touch - and your fingers are just a little too big for the space they need to fit it - it's time to stop sewing by machine, and finish sewing by hand. {moan, grumble grumble}. To finish off the work on your machine back stitch your last stitch cut your thread and remove it from your machine.

You need to start by trimming off the excess gathered fabric. Depending on the opening you still have left in the center, you want to leave an extra 1-2" of gathered fabric to use.

Then grab your trusty needle and thread and start stitching. Start by threading you needle up through the center of the opening in your felt circle.

Grab a small bit of the next part of your gathered strip of fabric and tack it in place sewing through it and down through your felt circle. Then bring your needle back up the the top of your flower through the center opening in your felt again.

Then use your needle to stitch through the rest of your gathered fabric. Don't sew through your felt, just through the left over fabric strip.

Then stick your needle down the center of your felt circle sewing the rest of your fabric strip down.

Now it's time to close off your hand stitching. There are probably a ba-zillion different ways to do it, but here's how I usually tie it off. I start by sewing through the back layer (in this case the felt).

 Then pull the needle through the felt so that it creates a small loop.

Then take my needle and thread it through the loop.

Pull it tight and ta da! You have just tied off your thread. I usually do it one more time just to add an extra knot in there. Trim your thread and you are done!

Now you have a cute, fully rouched fabric flower just itching for a craft or sewing project to be attached to. If you find that your ruffles are a little wonky, just trim them up a bit.

How would YOU use this flower?
Watch the blog tomorrow for how I used my flower! 
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Tutorial: How to Make A Crib Sheet

A couple of months ago Joann Fabrics had a BIG sale on their clearance fabric. It was 50% off the clearance price. Well, I couldn't pass that up. I am always looking for cheap fabric for sample products, pattern testing, and home decor projects. I was shocked when I came across a Diego print on clearance for $4. With the 50% off it came to a whopping $2/yard. I could not just walk past it. My little guy loves Diego. So, I bought two yards to make him a crib sheet.

Unless you can find a crib sheet on clearance, one sheet ALONE will cost close to $10. This one cost me about $5... and it's in a cute print!


New bedding is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to change the feel of a child's room or a nursery. When you can create the bedding yourself, not only do you get the prints you want, but you have a feeling of pride and satisfaction every time you walk in that room! PLUS, you get to show off your handywork to all your friends when they come over!

You can find my tutorial for the crib skirt here.

This pattern is for a standard sized crib mattress. It also works for the standard toddler bed {which uses the same size mattress}.

Want to make your own? Here's how.

You will need:
• 2 yards of 42-44" wide cotton fabric
• 2-1/4 yards of 1/4" braided elastic {available at your sewing store}
• sewing machine, pins, scissors, thread
• hot iron and ironing board


Make sure your fabric has been washed and ironed. Then cut a piece that is 67"x43". {If your fabric shrinks to only 42" that's fine too, but the wider the better!} To cut mine I fold it in half like a hot dog and measure out 37". Then slide it down to measure the other 30" and cut there. If you are great at cutting straight lines, then use your measuring tape and cut away!


Next you are going to make the corners. The same way I did here. Cut a square out of scratch paper that is 7-3/4"x7-3/4". Line it up on each of the 4 corners of the rectangle you just made, and cut out around your square removing a 7-3/4" square from each corner.


Take one of the corner of your rectangle. You now have essentially two NEW corners for every original corner. Place right sides together and fold the new corners together so that the corners line up and you have a fold at the top.  Then sew it all the way down. You can refer to this tutorial if you need help. Make sure to double stitch at the top where the fold is. You don't need to worry about doing it on the bottom {where the corners meet} because you will be stitching over it in a couple of steps.}



Your finished corner should look something like this when you turn it right side out.


Repeat those steps for each of the 4 corners of your sheet. You are creating the pockets that hold the sheet on to your mattress. Once done, use your iron and press each of the pockets to seal the stitches.

Now you are going to create the casing for your elastic. I used my handy ruler to iron a fold all the way around the edge of my sheet that was 3/8" wide. If you don't have a ruler, you can use your elastic to create the right sized casing like I did here.


Once you have gone full circle, you need to fold it over again creating a nice finished edge to your casing. You don't need to measure this time, just fold your fabric over making sure that your new fold isn't any wider than your first fold.


This time around I pinned my casing as I ironed... that way I didn't have to go back around a third time! I am all about making things easy!!


As you pin, choose one of your corner pockets as your starting point. Place double pins on either side of the pocket seam leaving yourself about a 1-1/2" gap between them.


Now you are ready to sew your casing. Set your inseam width to 5/16". Start at one of your double pin sets and sew all the way around to the other set of double pins. This creates an opening around the bottom of your sheet 5/16" wide that you can now slip your elastic into.


Use a small safety pin and pin one end of your 2-1/4 yards of 1/4" elastic. Insert the safety pin into your casing via the 1-1/2" opening. Then, kick up your heels, settle into a good seat and start sliding the safety pin through your casing scrunching up the fabric behind the pin as you go. It has a long trip around that sheet, so put on a good movie, make sure you go to the bathroom before you start... okay, it doesn't take that long, but it took me about 15 minutes to work it all the way around.


Once you see the safety pin popping out of the opening where you started you can let your sliding and scrunching muscles take a little rest.

Line up the two ends of your elastic - but make sure your elastic lays flat... you don't want it all twisted inside your sheet - and sew the ends together about 1/4" from the ends. Then fold the edges over and sew them down, holding them in place. You can add a third stitch between the two if you like ... just to be sure.


Lastly you need to sew that opening closed. Simply refold your casing back to where it was and sew it closed making sure that you don't sew through your elastic.


All that's left now is to put it on the mattress! As you stretch it to get it around the corners of the mattress the fabric scrunching will even itself out.



If you try this tutorial out, please send me a picture of your finished product! I would love to share it!!

Are you working on updating a room in your house on a budget? What do you have planned so far!?

{This pattern is for personal use only. Please do not use it to sell crib sheets. Feel free to link to this post on your blog if you wish to share it with your readers. THANKS!}

- - - - - - - - - - - 

Want to learn how to make your own crib sheet using soft muslin fabric like Aden and Anais crib sheets? Check out my post of where to buy the fabric and how to use it to create your own super soft and light weight crib or toddler bed sheets! 



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Mingle Monday 8.29.2011

Welcome to another fun filled week of Mingle Monday!!! Now that the kids are back in school and we all have a little bit more "free" time on our hands, here is a sneak preview of posts in store for this week:
• DIY Home Improvement project: how to make your kitchen/bathroom tile look new again
• Sewing Tutorial: Crib sheet
• T-Shirt repurpose: make a flower headband

So, make sure you come back this week and learn how to do some new things!


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Make sure you are a GFC follower {on the right sidebar}.
Add your blog to the linky list.
Visit whomever you want making sure you tell them you are visiting from Mingle Monday!
Be nice, and have fun!

{*Open to family friendly blogs only, PLEASE!}

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Have You Heard of EtsyKids!?

EtsyKids is a fantastic website for anyone selling on Etsy who sells kid oriented products! I became a member about a month ago and it is a lot of fun!

Benefits to joining:
• meet sellers in your geographical location
• join in forum discussions
• ask questions to others about Etsy or selling in general
• advertise for your own products
• browse the wonderful things that others are selling
• talking to other sellers and forming a bond
• find fun giveaways and promote your own
• take part in design challenges
• create fun treasuries
• and MUCH MORE!!!

Interested in learning more? Click here and visit the EtsyKids wesbite.

If you are an Etsy seller crafting kid oriented products, you absolutely need to look into it!!

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Freebie: Craft Subway Art Printables

I am always looking for fun and creative ways to decorate my craft room/office. Lately I have been seeing A LOT of subway art and I don't know about you, but I love the look! It is the perfect addition to my craft room... as soon as I get a picture frame that is! I am thinking it might call for a trip to IKEA... my favorite store!!!  I created 5 different designs so you have options to choose from. Don't you just love having options? I do!






Each printable is sized for an 8"x10" frame but is centered on an 8.5"x11" page for easy printing.
Feel free to share my downloads with your friends. I just ask that you please do not place the actual download link on your webpage. Just link your friends back to this post so that they can download their own from here. I appreciate your respect of the time and effort that was put into these FREEBIES!

If you decide to hang yours up in your craft area, I would love to see a picture or two! You could even be featured in a post of your own on here! Send pictures to kdbuggieboutique at yahoo dot com!




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Recipe: Pumpkin Cookies

If you are a pumpkin fan, or even if you aren't, these cookies are delicious! I have adapted this recipe from the Food Allergy Momma's cookbook. It is a great way to disguise something healthy so your little ones {or not so little ones... ya, my hubby, ha!} will eat a little bit healthier.

Don't they look delicious? Who wouldn't want to try one of these!?! Especially with all of that yummy, gooey frosting glaze on top!!


Recipe: (Makes 2 dozen 2" cookies)
1/2 c. dairy-free shortening
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce {one of those little applesauce cups is 1/2 a cup}
1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin puree {NOT pumpkin pie filling}
3 c. flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1-1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
{I used a Kitchen-Aid mixer to make mine, but a hand mixer would work just fine}

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Mix together the shortening and sugar. Then add the pumpkin and applesauce and mix well.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
Add flour mixture to the pumpkin mix and combine well.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper {my baking best friend!} and use a spoon or one of these guys {my second baking best friend} to scoop your cookie dough balls on your baking sheet.





Then place them in your warm oven and set the timer for 12-15 minutes. When the cookies are done they will be lightly browned -- and your kitchen will smell di-vine thanks to the cinnamon!!


Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 2 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before drizzling your glaze on top.

Glaze Recipe:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract {use the clear stuff if you want your glaze to stay white}
3-4 Tablespoons soy, rice, or regular milk {add as much or as little to get it to your desired consistency}

Whisk all ingredients together and drizzle over your cookies. ENJOY!

The cookie is a little crispy on the outside and soft, moist, and fluffy on the inside. It's almost like eating a tiny bite-sized piece of cake! Then add that frosting too it .. and YUM! If you want a more substantial frosting instead of just a glaze, I would absolutely recommend trying out a cream cheese frosting. These cookies with a little cream cheesy goodness will knock.your.socks.off!!!



My son (2 1/2 yrs old) scarfed down two of these bad boys before the glaze was even on them! Yes, they are that good! Then once the glaze was on, DELISH! We discovered that they are even better when cold. So, drizzle on that glaze and pop them in the fridge for about an hour -- if you can resist eating them for that long!

The best part for our family is that they are dairy and egg free!

Happy baking!!


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