I am pretty sure my 8 yr old will be able to improve in her skills enough to make the Doll Quilt but I think the 6 yr old will need a lot of help or I will have to find a much simpler project for her. She really wants to learn to use the sewing machine though. So we will do the needle book and the pincushion and see where we are from there. I might preview this reversible tote class and see if I think she could handle it, when it gets to that time.
I am super excited to get started with them! I put together little sewing kits for them and can't wait to pass them out!
How did you learn how to sew? Do you still sew today?
Unbeknownst to most of you, we recently moved to a new home. Hopefully this will be the last move for a long time. I'm giving you a quick tour(I'm showing most of the rooms empty because I still have random boxes here and there!) and then I have some fun info for you!
What I really love about this house is that I have a room set aside for our homeschool, plus a room that we use as a library and storage.
Our new school room.
Library and Storage
View from our Kitchen into the Living Room
I am also excited about the fact that I have a permanent sewing area with the intention to take over the dining room table for bigger projects! Here's a little before and after of my sewing area and you can see some of the
aprons I'm working on that will be listed soon.
After - Not loving the weird mirror.
Before
So here's the fun part! I am in the process of beginning a business where I will create and
sell many different kinds of handcrafted items. I am sharing a compilation of really helpful resources I found for starting your own craft business. I've been listening to podcasts and reading articles like crazy! I guess I had better get busy with sewing as well.
Without further ado, here are some that I have liked so far!
April Bowles-Olin- 9 part YouTube video series on how to create a blog to go along with your business.
Blacksburg Belle - A site worth browsing through for articles and inspiration.
Tara Gentile- Another site with lots of info. This article explains that price is about so much more than cost.
While She Naps- List of podcast interviews with designers and makers about what it really takes to build a creative business.
Tara Swiger- A helpful article on how she plans in order to get everything done.
CreativeLive - Need some inspiration to get you started?
Craftsy - Some free and paid patterns and tutorials. The video tutorials I have seen so far have been amazing. And they often send offers for free classes or patterns that you normally have to pay for.
Today I've gathered some of my favorite resources for making a rag rug. These are places I found when I was learning how to make my own rugs and a couple of sources for purchasing needles, patterns and even finished rugs. Do you have any to add? Let me know and I will put them on the list!
Rag Rug Cafe: This is one of the places that helped me finally figure out how to do the stitch for the rag rug. You can find lots of great tutorials and tips here.
Aunt Philly's: Basics of making the rug & tips to help you.
Pattern and Wooden Toothbrush Needle: has easy step-by-step written instructions and color picture illustrations for making your own oval toothbrush rug. The needle is also included. The pictures are clear and easy to follow. There are also round rug patterns, needles and starters available here.
Finished rugs, patterns & needles: Pattern kit includes instructions (with lots of photos), a started piece, some prepared fabric - both core and working fabric and most of all - your very own handmade Nalbinde needle.You can also see some of her other beautiful projects on her website at http://stonewoodstudio.weebly.com/
I'm so excited to get started on this with you guys! Rag rugs make such a pretty addition to your home and also make a lovely gift. And each one is as unique as the person making it. I can't wait to see what colors everyone chose and how the rugs will turn out!
I have made some video tutorials on how to make the rug in case you don't know how. If you do know how you can skip those and just get started with us!
You can post pictures, ask questions, or just join the conversation at the The Chicken Wire: Craft Along Group Page. Also, feel free to share here in the comments. I will be checking in to see how everyone is doing and sharing the progress of my rug as well. My goal is to finish mine in two weeks. But I know some of you will be faster and some will need more time. There's no time limit, we are just here to support each other and enjoy working on our project!
*This giveaway is over but you can still buy the wooden needles using the following links! Thanks to crafters, Mona at Rugs in the Woods and Sally, I am able to offer you two chances to win a handcrafted toothbrush rug needle! I use a homemade plastic needle but I drool over the gorgeous wooden needles these gals make.
I will also be offering a toothbrush rug trivet as part of each giveaway.
So go ahead and enter the giveaways, make sure you have all of your supplies and lets get started!
Hello fellow crafters! Saturday we are going to get started with our Craft-Along. You can join us on Facebookor check back here to follow along.
Today I am going to go over the supplies you need. If you prefer a written version, that's available here too!
So first, let's go over what you need.
Supplies:
-2 Sheets
-Sewing Scissors
-Large Safety Pin
-Ruler or Yardstick (optional)
-A good podcast or something
to listen to while you roll up the
strips. ;)
Instructions:
We are going to be using old sheets to make the rag rugs. I have been able to find them for free or cheap at garage sales and thrift stores. I also have a couple from our linen closet that are too worn or torn so they are part of my collection as well.
1. Choose two sheets that you want to make your rug with.
The size doesn't matter, unless maybe it's a crib sheet. And it can be flat or fitted. When I choose the sheets for my rugs, I like to choose a dark and a light color that complements each other. For the red & white rug, you can see that I have hints of red/pink in the white that helps pull it all together.
2. Remove any elastic or hems on the sheet.
You either need to cut them off or take out the stitches. I normally just cut them off but if you want to try to save every bit, you can tear out the stitches.
3. Cut notches along the edge of the sheet.
Find the shortest side of your sheet to cut notches into. You are going to tear along the long side of the sheet. It frays less and gives you longer strips of fabric to work with.
So, thankfully we don't have to try to cut a whole bunch of straight lines. We will just be cutting notches every 1-1 1/2 inches along the edge of the sheet and then tearing them.
You can break out the ruler or yardstick here and make a snip 1-1 1/2 inches here or just wing it and estimate the whole way.
4. Tear the strips.
Once you have all of the notches cut, take about 5 strips and distribute them by taking every other strip into each hand. (Watch the video if that doesn't make sense!) Then you just pull the strips, moving your hands down the row, until you get to the end.
5. Cut slits in the ends of each strip.
Take one strip of fabric and gather both ends in your hand. Fold over approximately1 inch of fabric and cut a 1/2 inch slit into the fold. This will allow you to join the fabric strips.
6. Roll the strips into balls.
The first time I made a rug, I just put the strips into bags and would pull them out. I ended up with a huge tangled mess. Now I roll them into balls before I start. This is a little time consuming, but it makes the actual making of the rug go much more smoothly. So take the strips and roll them up like a ball of yarn, making sure they are mostly laying flat as they are rolled up.
You are ready to make a rug!
There you have it. Now you should have your supplies gathered and your sheet strips ready to go.
If you want to buy a toothbrush rug needle, they are available on Amazon and I also put together a giveaway for you guys to win a gorgeous wooden rug needle! {Affiliate Link}
