Fat quarter Project One : The Headband

 My daughter unwittingly issued me a challenge - how many projects could I make from one fat quarter?  I took the challenge and together we came up with three projects (really they were her ideas - I just made them happen :-)

My teenaged daughter LOVES all things camo.  And she thinks I can sew anything her heart desires.  On one of our trips to Walmart, she found a camo fat quarter and asked me to make her a headband.  I was busy perusing other fabrics and absent mindedly answer "sure" and kept perusing.  The poor camo fat quarter sat on my desk at home for weeks - with my daughter frequently reminding me about the headband I promised to make.  Finally, I found the time to make her headband.  After cutting out the headband, my daughter asked if there was enough for some other projects.  She told me she would also like a sunglasses case for her new shades and a pouch for her garmin watch, extra bands, and charger.  So I put on my creativity hat and these are the projects we are able to do with one fat quarter (and a scrap from another project).  I am actually going to turn this tutorial into three posts because there are a lot of pics.  So here is project number one:  The headband

Here is the fat quarter I started with:

First cut 2 pieces at 3" x 22".  

here they are cut, but folded in half so they actully look shorter

Then fold each end in about 1/2" and iron - this makes the edges finished when you sew in the elastic

Next, fold one of the pieces in half on the long side and sew into a long tube.  Repeat with the second piece.

Flip the tube right side out

Place the seem in the middle of the tube and iron flat - like this

Nest you are going to lay the two tubes across each other in a big "x" shape

the one on the bottom should be facing seem up and the one on the top should be facing seem down

Next you are going to fold the two pieces over each other - the result looks like a knot

Now we are going to add the elastic.  Cut a piece of elastic about 2-3" long.  Insert one end of the elastic into one end of the tube.

then align the 2 tubes on top of each other and stitch across - make sure to stitch across several times so the elastic won't come out when you are stretching the headband to put it on.

Do the sme thing to the other end.  At this point, I put the elstic in and pinned it with a safety pin.  Then I had my daughter try it on to make sure it was the right size.  After it was the right size, I stitched that end also - making sure to stitch several times again so it waas secure.

And there you have it!!  A finished headband!  

Let me know if you have any questions.  Also, if you make one, I woudl love to see it!

Hppy Sewing!!

Recycled Dish Scrubbies

I just love a project that uses everyday items and recycles them into something else that is very useful.  I have seen these dish scrubbies all over the internet and even made some following tutorials by using cotton fabric and tulle.  I love them!!  However, the tulle seems to wear quickly.  My mom suggested using produce bags - you know, the plastic mesh ones that oranges, grapefruit, and apparently Babybel Cheese comes in 😎.

I took her suggestion to heart and decided that rather than using cotton fabric, I would use terrycloth and make the scrubbies more durable and more, well, dishcloth-like.

I found these washcloths at Wal-Mart.  They were 18 in a pack for $3.97.  Not a bad deal if I do say so myself.  Plus I can use the leftovers as cleaning rags.  

I made some of these for a friend of mine and she uses them to scrub her bathroom, so they are really versatile 😉.

First I prepped the mesh bags by cutting the metal ends off the Babybel bag and cutting the citrus bags even.  Then I trimmed the bags into *roughly* 5" squares (once you cut one of these bags, you'll understand why I say roughly 😟)

Next I trimmed some of the washcloths into 5" squares.  Then I tried two different ways of sewing the scrubbies together.  For the first way, I laid down one piece of washcloth, two layers of the plastic mesh, and another layer of washcloth.  

Kind of like a mesh sandwich 😂

**Note - When I put the two mesh squares down, I turn one of them.  It helps give it a little more scrub power.  

Then I stitched around the entire square leaving an opening for turning.

Turn the whole thing right side out thru the opening

then top stitch around the whole thing, stitching the opening closed

Voila!  One dish scrubbie finished!

 The second way of making one is very similar to the first.  This time I stacked two washcloth squares with two mesh squares on top.  Then I used wonder clips and clipped the stack together

Then I zigzagged around all the edges.

These whip up very quickly! I made several in a very short amount of time.

 I like the first method better - I think they look more finished, but either method works.  I guess its just a matter of personal preference.

Hope this tutorial is helpful to anyone who wants to make some recycled dish scrubbies!

Twisted Squares

A friend of mine sent me a picture of a quilt and asked me how to make the block.  I had never seen the block before (to my knowledge) and had no clue.  So what did I do?  I called my mom (who knows everything about sewing and quilting - hi mom!  love you💗).  She found the name of the block so I did some research and found a pin on Pinterest  (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/344032859043155986/).  But alas, it was not exactly what my friend wanted.  So, I had to play around and get creative.  The above link is for a disappearing four patch with a twist.  My friend just wanted the "twist".  So this post is all about how to make The Twist (I have no idea what the real name would be called LOL).  **update - I found the official name of the block - its called The Old Italian Block**

Here are two samples of the disappearing four patch with a twist and how you can vary it just by turning the center square.

Disappearing Four Patch

Disappearing Four Patch variation

If you want to know how to make one of those blocks, follow the link above.  The tutorial here will be about how to make a similar block.  I couldn't find anything online about it, so I thought I would make my own.  Ready?  Here goes.

I started with two 7" squares from coordinating fabrics.  I cut these down from some 10" squares that my mom gave me.  

The first thing you want to do is mark 1.25" in on each corner.

 Make sure you mark both the top and the side as in the pic below.  Do this on all four corners.  I use a Pilot Frixion pen because the marks disappear when you iron.  Perfect!!

the arrows are pointing out the marks on all four corners.

Once you have the corners marked, take a ruler and line up the top right hand mark with the bottom right hand mark - diagonally.  Like this

Go ahead and cut along your ruler.  Without moving your fabric, lift the ruler and rotate your entire mat.  (I have a rotating cutting mat and it makes it really easy to do this.  If you don't have a rotating cutting mat, just carefully swivel your mat or use a surface that you can walk around all four sides.)  Line up your ruler with the top right hand mark and the bottom right hand mark and cut again.  Do this a total of four times.  Your fabric should now look like this:

Repeat these steps with the second fabric.  If you know you are going to make several blocks, go ahead and stack 3-4 fabric blocks and cut them all at once.  Super time saver!!

Next, you are going to swap the triangles and the center square.  It should look something like this:

Then you will sew the block together by strips, like this

After you do each strip, iron the seems for each strip in the same direction, alternating the direction for each strip.  For example, the top strip you would iron the seems to the left, the middle strip iron the seems to the right and the bottom strip iron the seems to the left.  That way when you pin and sew them together, you won't get bulky seems.    

Then sew the strips together to make the complete block.  I always pin at the seems to be sure to get them lined up as I sew

Once all the strips are sewn together and ironed well, it's time to square up your block.  I cut mine to a finished size of 5 1/2"

And there you have it - the "twist" to the block.  Once I got started, I may have gotten a little carried away.  Here are the others I made from this 10" layer cake 

and here are two I made from a 5" charm pack - aren't they adorable?? 

 I may turn these into mug rugs. Do you want a tutorial on that?  let me know and I'll put one together. 

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will answer

 them to the best of my ability.  Happy crafting!!