ottoman cover

Now I know you all think I'm a deadbeat Crafter. I havent published a tutorial since well August. But I'm back in action. Heck I even have a new recepie for you but I'm waiting on photos. And I have a give away going on. Also before I get bashed on my photo taking abilities I have an excuse. 1. its been raining all week and the sun was not cooperating. 2. the lighting in my new place is well awful. 3. maybe just maybe I wanted to give it a 70's vibe okay?!?!? So bear with the photos and ill try to get up some better ones of the finished project once the sun shows its smiling face once more.

Ottoman Cover

So I have this

Yes its a card catalog that I got for FREE. It is now converted into this...

And This is the tutorial so you can make an ottoman top for a piece of furniture you might want to transform.

Materials needed
Sewing machine
Scissors or Rotary Cuter
Thread
Pins
Pencil
Glue if you make boo boo's like me
Bread knife or if you have a electric turkey cuter it will be quicker
Marker
Foam: you pick a size
Fabric: you pick how much of what
Accessories: ie ribbion or buttons or whatever you want to decorate with.

Lets get started with that lovely green foam (did I mention foam is expensive I mean like this one piece was almost $30 yes I chocked when I went to the fabric store)
So for my ottoman I wanted it to fit inside the little lip at the top so I measured the inside of the lip which came to about 31 3/4" x 17". So i got a piece of foam that was 32"x24"x5" I wanted it to be extra thick. From there I had to measure out my square. I decided to skip trimming off 1/4 inch because it just seemed like a waste of my time. So I measured out the 17" and marked off with a pen.

Now this is your new best friend. Be nice to her be kind and most of all Be CAREFUL she is sharp!

You now get to cut down as straight as possible and remove the excees foam

Or you can be like me and not cut so straight...its okay just cut off some extra foam and glue it into the holes. No one will notice its going to be covered anyways!

Next up Iron your fabric so its nice and pretty. I have used a linen here because it was the only thing I could find in mustard yellow but you could use anything cotton to drapery whatever floats your boat.

Lay the fabric down on the ground and place your foam on top place it close to the edge but leave enough room for a 1/2" allowance. Trace the foam on the fabric.

I swear there is pencil mark but here is a photo that i added the pencil mark to be more dramatic.


So from there you need to cut a 1/2 inch seam allowance from the outline you made. I used a ruler and rotary cutter if not go ahead and use a ruler and draw the seam allowance and cut out shoule measure 32 3/4" x 18" .

Next the sides of the ottoman pieces. Now this is a little trickier and math is of the utmost importance. Now for the sides. You need to take these measurements from the piece of fabric you cut which should now measure 32 3/4" x 18". For the 32 3/4" side you want to add 1" to it for a 1/2 in seam so 33 3/4". Rember also you have to account for the 5 inch height of the foam so I went ahead and added 1 1/2" to that to make that 6 1/2". So you will need two of these pieces and the measurement is 33 3/4" x 6 1/2 inch. Now for the shorter side you take the 18" and add 1" to make it 19" and again account for the foam height of 5" by adding 1 1/2" to make it 6 1/2". You need to cut 2 pieces with those measurements of 18"x 6 1/2"

Now you want to lay it out like this so you can see the visual.

You want to pin the sides down so the right sides are together and sew with a 1/2 inch seam. Please note you will have overhang on the sides of about 1/2 inch which we will use later to sew the perfect corner. You want to sew right to the end of the piece but not onto the over hang. And make sure not to sew it down to another edge.

Once you have all the pieces sewn together get the trust iron out and iron flat.

Now lay it down and get to accessorizing ive decided to use some brown ribbon (note I had not yet realized how much my ottoman was starting to look like charlie browns shirt). I just laid it out and pinned it down and then sewed into place. You can do something like this or embroider the top or add decorative stitching.

Well your almost there you did some math (trust me not as bad as the geometry I made you do for the sleep over sac) and your about to make some perfect corners! This is probably the trickiets part for me just trying to explain how to do this but it will all come together i swear.

so when you lay the corners flat with the right side facing you you should have something like this.

now what you want to do is take the top part where my had is and pull it towards you like so

you should then be able to match up the edges and sew them down. Make sure you start right at the seam you put in to attach the pieces and go straight down with your 1/2" seam allowance.

Now turn it right side out and you have dare I say a pretty perfect corner (i should have pushed it out more because it was perfect!) Repeat on the other three corners.

Your all done now slip it over that ugly green foam and place on top of whatever you are transforming. You should have an excess which can be folded under you can pin it glue it whatever you please i just shoved it under and into the lip of the card catalog and WHOO HOOO I have an ottoman (this is when I realized my ottoman was charlie brown themed).

Comforter Bag

I thought it was time for another tutorial. This one is quick and dirty (okay not dirty but its quick). Some of us live in area's where there is a need for winter bedding. I am in one of those area's. Yes I know what your saying "but you live in California", yes this is true but this is northern California. In the winter it rains and is COLD!!!! So I have a comforter for the winter which is very bulky to keep me and my toes nice and toasty. Well the plastic bag it came in has decided its had enough and ripped and is not exactly doing its job of keeping the dust off.

I was left to come up with a solution so 1 1/4 yard of fabric, Velcro, and a sewing machine later. I had this...


A nifty bag for my comforter (Twin Size) that subsequently is a great decorative pillow item for BT's bed.

So here is a quick tutorial to make a bag for those winter comforters or whatever else you want to pack away.

Supplies

1. 1 1/4 yard fabric (i used decorator fabric because its heavier but and old sheet would do or just plain quilters fabric.)If you are doing this for a comforter larger than a Twin you will want to add more yardage.
2. 1 1/4 yard of Velcro any width I used left overs (you need the two pieces of Velcro that make it "stick" together rough and soft pieces)
3. Thread
4. Sewing Machine.
5. Pinking Shears

The steps
Iron the fabric to get out folds

Remove all but 1/4 of the selvage. This is considered the long side of the fabric.

You want to make a finished edge. turn fabric over so the wrong side of the fabric is facing you. Now fold down the 1/4 inch of selvage you left on the edge and iron flat.


Now fold under again (aprox 1/5-4 inch) so that the raw edge is encased and iron flat you can also pin down if you like.



Now you need to sew down the finished edge. I make my stitch go down the center of the finished seam.


Velcro Strips are next. You want to attach then to the wrong side of the fabric on top of the finished edge you just created. Sew down on both edges of the Velcro so it wont pull off over time.



Now fold the fabric in half so the right sides are together and the Velcro should be at the opposite side of the fold at the top. (in photo Velcro is at top and the fold edge is at the bottom)

Sew down the side edges with a 1/4 or 1/2 inch seam. Use Pinking Shears or a Serger to finish off seams. Turn right side out and your done!

Put comforter in the bag and now you have something to store or show off! Great project for a kids room , a basement or even your bed

Sleep Over Sac

BT and I are in the process of gathering up camping supplies, in particular sleeping bags. So I searched and then one day on Woot they had a deal 2 summer sleeping bags for $20 bucks! This was right up my alley because I’m not going to camp in the winter (no way no how!) and were not exactly the hiking sleeping on the floor type. So I snagged them! They arrive yesterday and were in these perfectly little bags or sac’s.

Well I couldn’t wait to see the sleeping bag so I took it out and inspected. Then it cam back to stuffing them into the tiny little sacs, I officially failed! BT took a shot at it and failed as well (plus the bags aren’t made all that well).

We arrived at the conclusion there was no way we could get them back in and that it was a perfect opportunity for me to be crafty. So here I present the Sleep Over Sac. Big enough for the sleeping bag, PJ’s, Tooth Brush, and some other essentials. I would have loved to have this as a kid perfect for the My Little Pony Sleeping bag I had as a kid. The other advantage of this is that kids can actually get the sleeping bag in the bag cause its oversized!

The directions are pretty simple I finished 2 in about and hour. I’ve made the directions so you can measure your own sleeping bags and make the bag. One thing you may want to be familiar with if you don’t have a Serger is French Seams. If not no worries I will walk you through it!

Supplies

Fabric (this will depend on the size of your sleeping bags ours were pretty small so half to three quarts of a yard were used.

String/Ribbon and Clip (I reused the string and the clip from the bags we originally got)

Thread

Sewing Machine

Scissors, Pinking Shears, and Rotary cutter if you have one

Ruler

Iron and Ironing Board (this is a MUST!!!)

Safety pin (a small one)

(You could also plan to add ribbon or ric-rac in the process as well. Another option would be to do some hand/Machine embroidery on the bag especially if you have kids)

Measuring

First things first get out that Ruler and the sleeping bag you plan to make a new bag for. Roll up the sleeping bag as best as you can so you can get the measurements of the cylinder shape.

Here are the measurements you will need

1. Height + Radius of top of bag (Remember radius is ½ the diameter see geometry does come back to haunt you!)
2. Diameter of the bottom
3. Width of the Ribbon/String you will be using (if string just follow my directions)

My Measurements were as follows:

Height + Radius = 13+3 = 16inches Diameter of bottom = 6inches

From this we create the new measurements now this is where you have to get a little inventive on your own:

First increase the Diameter of the bottom by at least 1.5 inches (I increased by 3.5 and found a 9.5 round plate) . Use this to make the circular pattern piece for the bottom (I traced the plate on the fabric I had)

Second you have to calculate the Circumference of the circle which is Pi*Diameter or 3.14*Diameter = 3.14*9.5 = 30 inches (aprox) and then add a seam allowance of half an inch so 30.5inches

Third Add at least 4 inches to the height 13 + 4 = 17inches (you can add more to the height if you want the bag to be deeper to fit more items.

With the Second and Third measurements you will cut one large rectangle measuring 30.5x17 inches (or whatever the measurements you came up with)

Fourth if you are using string or cording that is pretty thin you need to cut a strip of fabric that is 1.5inches x 30 inches. If you are using ribbon take the width and multiply by 2 and add 1 inch (if you have ribbon that is half an inch wide then your strip should be 2 inches wide)

Here is it mapped out on fabric:

Now for the Easy part assembly.

First if you want to add embroidery or some ric-rac this is the time to do it! I would add it only to the large rectangle and the circle

Take the small rectangle and fold the short edges over so they are ½ an inch, iron flat, and sew down.

Next fold the long edge over in ½ and iron flat.

Take the large square and on the long edge fold over ¼ inch and iron.

Pin the raw edge of the small rectangle under the flap on the large rectangle. Make sure you center it (there should be some of the large rectangle on either side)

Sew the flap down. There really is no seam allowance here just try to make it in the middle of the flap. This makes a casing for the cord/ribbon.

From here you are going to enclose the raw edge of the flap on the large rectangle. This is going to sound difficult but its really easy. Iron the casing so its going up.

Next Flip over the fabric so you are looking at the right side of all the fabrics and iron the seam you just made up over the raw edge. This will enclose the raw edge of the flap.

You can either pin this down or hold it down as you sew. When you sew it down you want to sew close to the first seam you made (you can do it on top of the first seam if you like. This will completely enclose all the raw edges on the top of the bag.

(Image 2562, 2564)

Now for the French Seams

Fold your bag in half so the short edges meet up with the wrong sides of the fabric together. Sew a quarter inch seam on the edge of the fabric (you will be sewing on the right side of the fabric). Next take pinking shears to the seam you just made cutting it down a bit. Turn fabric so the wrong side of the fabric is on the outside and the right sides of the fabric are together. Iron the seam and sew down with a quarter inch seam. Turn so the right side is out and notice the seam is enclosed. Easy Peasy right? Well if not take a look at these tutorials: Here and Here

Now you’re ready to attach the circle to the bottom. Turn the tube you just made so the wrong side of the fabric is on the outside. Pin the circle to the edges of the bottom of the tube (where the raw edge is). Use lots and lots of pins!!! It should look like this

(You may need to make some adjustments to the tube if its too big. I just add a new seam that make the tube smaller at the bottom and then angle off to the old seam)

Next sew the circle to the tube using a 3/8 seam. Add a zig zag stitch to finish the edge and using pinking shears to finish edges as well.

You’re almost there now take the safety pin and ribbon and thread through the casing you made add your clip or tie a bow and you’re done.

This project can be modified to make a dirty clothes bag, gift bags, makeup bags, ect the options are limitless!