Brushed Twill Sofa Slipcover

I do not enjoy making slipcovers. This is my second one for a couch.

This sofa is GIGANTIC! It is probably bigger than a twin size bed. A much needed redo of my living area began with a palette of neutral colors. I ordered brushed canvas from House of Fabric on line, "natural canvas". It was just under $200. Sure beats Pottery Barns slipcovered couches for $1500-$2500.

I had to cut huge peices and prewash them. UGH! There were strings of fabric in front of the dryer and all over my carpet. Before the fabric arrived I made a muslin pattern. The cushions were a pain, but it's the body of the couch that is so heavy and hard to maneuver on the machine. The front corners are not right because it is too thick for the machine. I am scared I will break my machine. I will go back with tapestry needles and hand sew.

Now you know why slipcovers are so expensive.

Recommendations:

1. Make a muslin pattern of the couch. I did this, and it was much easier than pinning and cutting the canvas which is much heavier.

2. Make sure your machine can handle heavy duty fabrics. Try stacking 2-3 layers and running it through your machine.

3. I made a grid of my pattern with measurements to figure out how much yardage I needed. Don't forget to calculate how much cording you will need.

4. Save your cushion covers and pluck out the stitches to use as a pattern. I even reused the original zippers.

The knit pillows are from Pottery Barn.

Ode to Playdough & Recipe

Ode to playdough

Not on my carpet, or in the mouth,

Just give me a few moments of peace in this house.

Cut out some cookies, bake some bread too.

Roll out a ball, make dumplings for stew.

Little fingers mold and press

while mommy sits down to rest.

by Amy Kissinger

My mom had a recipe she gave me on an old index card when my teenagers were toddlers. I don't remember playing with it at home, it was made for preschool Sunday School.

Here's the recipe if anyone needs it:

1 cup flour

1cup water

1/2 cup salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tbsp. oil

food coloring

Combine dry ingredients, add others. Cook 3 minutes at medium heat. Stir until it starts to come away from the pan. Knead 5 times. Store in air tight container.

Still working on the petticoat. I have changed a few things from the

vintage McCall's pattern 2389.

I am attaching netting that I gathered under the taffeta layers.

I found some pink tacky tulle with sparkles for my little fashionista. I think I am going to put it it over the white tulle on the red lady bug dress that she loves so much.

I found this fabric at Hancocks the other day. It's prewashed but not pressed, obviously. We like the doggies. The pink bandana fabric is going to go with a little cowgirl outift I want to create. Using leftovers from my camper redo, I have a cow print that I will make into a vest.

Mad Hatter hat

A snow day spontaneous crochet project that turned out kinda weird. So, I call it the "mad hatter" hat. After all, she is in love with that story.

To give her something else to do, I cut out copies of Richard Scarry's, "Busy Town" book pages and glued them to a cardboard box to make our own busy town play thing. Some things turn out to be not as amazing as I imagine them.

The overall jumper is an older pattern and the fabric is a remnant of decorator fabric that I have had for about 18 years.

I am currently working on a petticoat from a 60's pattern that was my great Aunt Margie's. Having a stash of 60s kids patterns, my grandmother decided I should be the recipient of Aunt Margie's sewing stuff. It's a treasure to me to see the design details of that era.

The pettitcoat is cut out and is sitting on my sewing table waiting for me to finish this post. The petticoat is a necessary item for another idea in my head, a clover leaf dress for St. Patrick's Day. I want to do shadow work embroidery on a collar. The crinoline or petticoat I'm making will help the dress to "puff out". I love frilly, puffy, girly dresses and luckily, so does my little girl.

Lady Bug Dress (Upcycle a nightie)

Matching head band for my Lady Bug

Using a rotary cutter, and a few measurements, I quickly set to upcycling a cute dress up costume.

Tip: I hand stitched the tulle onto the dress so the netting would stay in place without moving under the presser foot.

This idea conceived on Valentine's Day, came to me when my baby entered my closet and grabbed a red nightie I had hanging in my closet. I never wear it, I bought it on clearance for about $5 but it didn't fit well. As I've said, she dresses up ALL day, she wears dress shoes to sleep in. I can't go near a shoe store without her insisting on putting on heels and finding a matching bag. I have to remover her, screaming. I have to come up with all kinds of incentives to get her to take her necklaces and hats off to take a nap.

So, I decided to make a play dress out of the nightie that she has repeatedly brought to me saying, "mommy this is sooooo pretty". I used a rotary cutter and cut the top of the gown off. It was a short nightie (right above the knee). That's not a lot of fabric to work with. I noticed that the fabric was already on the bias, so I was able to follow the seam lines and cut pieces for bias strips around the yoke. It was already hemmed and cut in a circular fashion which made construction quicker. She had picked out lady bug ribbon at Michael's for $3.99 and I had some netting sitting in my stash. I had to sew the bias strips by hand on the inside so the seams wouldn't show. I kept telling myself not to fuss over a play costume, but I couldn't help it. I put elastic in the back and hand sewed the ribbon to the top. The only problem is, it's not stiff satin or taffeta. It was a nightie, so it can be "staticky" (if that is even a word). It turned out cute, she loves it, and it only cost me around $11.

Easy Upcycled Leg Warmers

It's snowing! We have abut 5" of snow in eastern Carolina. Not wanting to spend
money on boots, because it rarely snows here I set out to make leg warmers for Eliana. I had to make them fast because she was standing at the window begging to go outside. I took an old sweater of my son's and cut the sleeves off. I turned them under on the cut end, leaving enough room to run a piece of elastic through. Then I attached a bow and a button. They were made super fast, and a little sloppy but they work to keep her legs warm around the ankles.

Panda Dress

This panda dress was made for my baby as a tribute to our visit to the National Zoo. She loved the pandas and so did I. Funny thing is, Gymboree came out with panda clothes at the same time and when I saw them I was so excited. I bought her panda socks and a shirt to go under the dress. New Look pattern 6768 is what I used. I changed the buttons to snaps and put metal overall hooks on the front bib. I also added pockets trimmed with rick rack. The applique is a photo that I found on the net. I traced it onto freezer paper, ironed it on the felt and cut it out. I used that cheap craft felt, I probably should have used nicewool felt. Oh, well.

Toddler Sewing Project

I pretty much am getting nothing done around the house with my toddler at my heels, climbing on the kitchen counter, or with potty training. So, I wanted to just sit with a cup of hot tea and read a magazine, but that was just too much to ask from Miss Busybutt. I had some cardboard that was sitting by the trash, I decided to cut into a "sewing" project. I have seen lacing cards on the net and in stores. I already had the cording from a project my older daughter never completed. I just had to cut out shapes with a knife. I use a "tester" knife from a model building kit I had. I tied one end cord around one of the holes and wrapped duck tape around the other end so that she can easily stick them through the holes. Just as easily, someone could use a shoeshtring. She loves it!! She told me, "mommy don't touch my sewing stuff, o.k.". Funny, she's only repeating what she's heard from me over and over again.