Handcrafted Projects and Ideas
Handcrafted
Eco Brick
Hello crafters!
I’ve been wanting to do this tutorial for a while but it has taken me a while to save up enough plastic! While you may be fooled into thinking that this is not at all crochet related, I have still found a way to work the topic of crochet into here 🙂 I am planning to use my eco bricks as the building blocks for a sturdy crochet ottoman!
What is an Eco Brick?
When I first stumbled across eco bricks online I thought it was such a great project! I starting reading up on them a bit more and now I am totally sold on the idea 🙂
An eco brick is essentially a plastic bottle packed tightly with any type of clean, dry plastic waste. The resulting sturdy block can be used as an affordable and long-lasting solution for any sort of building / construction.
In developing countries eco bricks are used to build houses and structures. I also read that the United Kingdom uses eco bricks to build playgrounds, crazy!
Now I don’t expect you to go and build a house from this tutorial, but if you want the challenge then go for it!
What items can go into my eco bricks?
The purpose of making and using eco bricks is to make use of plastic that would otherwise end up in the landfill. The fact that it is packed so tightly will pretty much ensure that your eco bricks will last forever!
Any type of clean and flexible plastic can be used to stuff your eco bricks as long as they are soft plastics that you can compress down into the bottle. Here is a quick list of stuff that I have used to get you started:
- bread tags
- milk bags
- netting bags from fruit (lemons, avocadoes, etc.)
- plastic grocery bags
- toilet paper packaging
- ziplocs
- produce bags
- chip bags
- cling film
- chocolate bar wrappers
If you have other ideas for eco-brick fillers I would love to hear from you in the comments below!
How to make your own eco bricks
Supplies for one eco brick
- Approx 600 grams of plastic (see above for which type of plastic to use)
- 2 x 2L soda bottles
- duct tape (or other heavy duty tape)
- scissors
- stick or wooden spoon to pack plastic with
Filling the bottle
Gather up your plastic and start stuffing it into the top of the first 2L bottle. As you put plastic into the bottle, frequently press it down with your stick to make sure there is as little air in the bottle as possible. I keep a 2L bottle under the kitchen sink and just fill it as I come across plastic waste.
If you have bigger pieces of plastic you will need to cut them in to smaller pieces so that you can stuff them into the bottle. As long as it fits into the bottle it is fine so you don’t need to waste a ton of time with cutting.
Continue stuffing your bottle until only 1cm of space remains at the top. Screw on the lid.
A few sources say that an eco brick should weigh .33g for every ml in the bottle. That means that a 2L bottle should hold about 660g of plastic. I wouldn’t worry too much about the weight of your eco brick but if you want to check if you are packing it tightly enough then weighing it would be a good guideline. Mine were closer to 560g but they seem pretty firm!
Finishing the eco brick
Once your eco brick is stuffed you could just leave it as it is. This is how they are typically used for building. I wanted mine to have flat tops and bottoms as I am planning to use them as an ottoman. For this reason I did one extra step to finish off my eco bricks.
Take your second 2L bottle and line it up with your filled bottle, pointing the other direction.
You want the second bottle to fit over your first bottle and join somewhere in the middle, so somewhere near the middle of the two bottles draw a line.
Cut along the line so that you have two pieces. You only need the bottom part so you can put the top part in your recycle bin 🙂
Stuff some plastic into the bottom piece of the cut bottle. Obviously you won’t be able to pack it as tightly as you did with the full bottle, but try to put enough plastic to fill the space.
Then press the half bottle onto the top of your full bottle. If you are making multiple bottles you will need them to be uniform in height so make sure you press it on tight enough to be the same as your previously made bricks.
The final step is to tape over the edge of you eco brick to make sure it stays in place. Any sort of heavy duty tape will work!
That’s it! It’s surprising how much plastic can fit into one bottle! If you want to reduce your plastic waste but don’t feel like making anything with your bricks you can always donate them!
There are organizations that happily collect eco bricks, just have a look online to see if there are any near you. Be sure to read their guidelines and procedures for how they want their eco bricks made if you do decide to donate them 🙂
Happy crafting!
DIY iron-on patch
Hello crafters!
Today I am going to show you how to make your own iron-on patches from a few simple supplies. Making your own patches opens the door for so much creativity! Literally any topic that you can think of can be turned into a cute patch 🙂
Supplies you will need for DIY Iron-on patches
- Heat and Bond
- water soluble stabilizer (optional)
- material to embroider on (any material will work but I find a tight weave, low stretch fabric to be the easiest to use)
- iron
- embroidery thread and needle
- embroidery hoop
- scissors
Starting your embroidery
First you need to decide what image you would like to embroider, if you would like to use the smiley face template that I used in this tutorial you can find a free pdf download image over on the members page!
I like to use water soluble stabilizer to draw out my designs for a few reasons but if you prefer to just draw the image straight onto the fabric that is perfectly fine.
Benefits to using stabilizer:
- you can trace images through the stabilizer
- dissolves away (along with your pen marks) when you are done sewing
- prevents wasting fabric if you make a mistake with your drawing
- helps hold the fabric in place so that it doesn’t stretch while sewing
Now get to sewing! If you are using my smiley template I used the following stitches:
- Pink flowers – daisy stitch
- Black smiley outline and detail – backstitch
- Yellow outer circle – backstitch
- Green and blue dots – french knot
Cutting out your patch
You can cut your patch out as close to the edge as you would like, as long as you don’t catch any of the stitches. You will be sealing the edges later so you don’t need to worry too much about fraying.
Applying the iron-on backing
Cut out a piece of heat and bond to fit the back of your iron-on patch. Place the glue side against your patch and iron for 30 seconds.
The back of your patch will look like this once you peel the backing off. Now it is up to you; if you would like to leave it like this that is fine! If you are selling your patches and want them to have a cleaner look you can cover the back with more fabric.
To do this, put your patch face down and lay some extra fabric over it. Iron for 30 seconds to seal.
Now cut another piece of heat and bond to fit the back of your patch. Iron on for 30 seconds.
Finishing touches
Now that you have completed your iron-on patch you want to make sure it lasts. I like to leave the paper backing on the patch until I am ready to attach it to it’s new home to ensure that the backing remains sticky.
The very last step is to go around the edge of your patch with Fray Check. This step is very important if you want your patch to last. One little bottle of fray check with last you through tons of patches so it’s worth the investment!
I hope this tutorial has helped you out! I would love to see your creative patch ideas in the comments below 🙂 As always, leave your comments if you need any help or just want to say hi!
Happy crafting,
Scrap Yarn Ball
Hello crafters!
Anyone who works with yarn has that scrap pile lurking in the corner with all the odds and ends that are too short to make anything from. My circumstances are a little more extreme than most as I made a VERY bad decision regarding my yarn stash.
I typically run all my yarn through the washer and dryer when I first purchase it so that it can do whatever shrinking or stretching that it plans to do BEFORE I turn it into it’s new self. One day while digging through my excessively abundant stash I realised that I had a ton of yarn with the labels still on, meaning that I had never washed it. I then decided it would be an excellent idea to run ALL of this yarn in one giant laundry batch and have it all ready to use. After removing all of the labels I ran it through the washer. No problem, nice and clean! On to the dry cycle while I relax with some crochet and a cup of tea.
I then returned to the dryer to collect what I thought would be my assorted balls of delightfully soft and clean yarn but what I came to find was this:
Yes, that is a 70lb dog hidden behind my stash.
Let’s have a moment of silence for what must have been hundreds of dollars of yarn. Unfortunately the dryer had completely unravelled and re-spun my yarn into one massive (thoroughly blended) log of yarn. I have to admit, as I brought my boyfriend down to the laundry room to show him the log of yarn that just seemed to keep coming out of the dryer I couldn’t hold back my hysterical laughter. But once I had it out of the dryer and took a step back, I burst into tears. That’s right, I actually cried over yarn. I really don’t cry easily but you fellow crafters can probably feel my pain, right?
After managing to wrestle my yarn into a garbage bag I shoved it to the back of a closet and figured I would deal with it later. My first attempt to unravel the pieces was clearly not going to work so I have come to accept the fact that I need to cut it all apart which will leave me with a yarn scrap pile bigger that anyone has ever seen.
All this trauma has had one positive outcome! Now I can show you how to create a yarn scrap ball 🙂 I have so many scraps that I will even be able to share three different joining methods with you! Each of these methods has it’s own pros and cons which I have shared below so that you can pick the method that will work best with your scrap yarn ball project 🙂
Method one: Reef knot
Anyone who did girl guides as a child knows how to do the reef knot! This is probably the easiest and most obvious way to tie your yarn scraps together.
Pros:
- effective at connecting different yarn weights
- easy to do
- works up quickly
Cons:
- yarn ends stick out at each join (some people prefer this is if trying to make a ‘scrappy’ looking project) Could resolve this issue by crocheting over all of the yarn tails as you go.
Method two: Russian Join
This method weaves the two ends into the plies of the yarn for a seamless join.
Pros:
- Seamless join with no ends sticking out (better for projects such as clothing where you don’t want stray ends)
- Very strong join
Cons:
- More time-consuming than other methods
- Doesn’t work as well with low ply yarns as there aren’t as many strands to weave into
- The yarn is slightly thicker at the join, may be visible depending on the project
Using a yarn needle weave the first yarn end back through itself, working your needle through the layers of yarn. Loop second yarn through open loop and repeat to make another closed loop. Pull the ends to tighten. Tie any excess ends.
Method three: Weaver’s knot
The weaver’s knot is tied and then the yarn ends are cut off close to the knot.
Pros:
- Works up quickly
- No ends sticking out
Cons:
- Chance of knot untying are higher than with the reef knot as the ends are cut so close
- Knots may be visible in work
- Lots of yarn ends to cut off
- Doesn’t not hold well when connecting different yarn weights
Start by making a loop with the first yarn (purple) and then weave your second yarn (blue) through as shown in the picture.
Other ways to make your own yarn balls
While you are turning waste into yarn you might want to click the links below to check out my other tutorials on fabric yarn made from your old clothes or plarn made from plastic bags!
I hope this tutorial has been useful in helping you manage all those yarn scraps! I would love to hear what projects you have in store for your scrap yarn ball in the comments below 🙂
Happy crafting!
DIY Wallet
Hello crafters!
I’m always on the lookout for any oppourtunity to craft so when my wallet finally wore out enough to be considered un-usable I just knew what my next project would be! Since I was planning on making my own unique DIY wallet in “just a couple of days” I carried my wallet contents around in a plain old ziploc bag until I had my DIY wallet ready.
Unfortunately a couple of days turned into a couple of months and my ziploc bag eventually ripped so I knew it was finally time to snap to it and get this thing made! I love the way it turned out and buying stuff is so fun now that I don’t have to shamefully rifle through my torn ziploc 🙂
If you need a new wallet or you want to make one as a super cool gift follow along below!
**Just a quick side note, I attached my button in the wrong place and had to re-attach it in the last stages so pay close attention to where the button is placed in the ‘button’ section of this post and ignore any other stray buttons you may see in the other photos. Sorry 🙁
Supplies needed to make your DIY wallet
- Exterior fabric
- Interior fabric (more explanation on fabric choice below)
- Thread in a matching colour
- Hair elastic
- Button
- Sewing Machine
- 10″ zipper (If your zipper is too long I will show you how to adjust it below)
Fabric choices
You will need two types of fabric to make your DIY wallet: a more durable outside fabric and a thinner inside fabric for all the pouches and slots. I love buying upholstery fabrics because they are cheap and sturdy! I was in luck when I went to the fabric store because all their summer patio fabric was on sale. I purchased enough fabric for three wallets and it only cost me $3, now that’s my kind of price!
As for the interior fabric you can get creative! Just make sure that your interior fabric isn’t too thick because we will be folding it over multiple times to make the card slots and your machine might have a hard time going through that many thick layers.
Cutting your fabric
This tri-fold wallet is composed of a few different pieces: the coin pouch, cash pocket and the card holder all held together with a button and elastic clasp! If this sounds overwhelming it’s ok! It took me some time to figure it all out and I will try to explain it as simply as possible below!
Below is a diagram of all the pieces you will need to cut out. You don’t need seam allowances on every piece so pay close attention to the diagram and measurements!
Once you have cut out all of your fabric pieces you should have something that looks like this:
Don’t worry; I will show you how to fold up your card slot piece down below!
Embroidery
Before you start any sewing the first step is to embroider your cash pouch. The cash pouch consists of two 20cm x 23cm pieces as per the diagram. You will only need one of the pieces to work your embroidery on; simply fold it in half on the fold line and work your embroidery on one of the sides with the open edges at the top.
Keep in mind that you will be folding down a 1cm seam on the top and you will be sewing over about a 1/2 cm of fabric on the sides so don’t embroider too close to the edges!
I drew out a few different bird doodles that you can use for inspiration.
This embroidery design template is available as a free PDF download on the members page if you want to print it out. If you aren’t a member yet simply sign up for my seasonal newsletter to be included!
If you need a little bit of embroidery help you can head on over to my Beginner Embroidery Stitches post to find some inspiration 🙂
Assembling your wallet
*Disclaimer: I am new to using my sewing machine and am still working on making neat lines so don’t be alarmed when you see some funky sewing in the pictures below!
Preparing Outer Fabric
Before you get any of the other sections ready to attach you can get the outer fabric ready. Each piece of the outer fabric should measure to 37cm. This will create three 12cm sections and a half cm allowance on either end. My lines are a bit hard to see because I just used a regular pen.
Once these sections are marked out use your iron to fold on each line. Fold your outer fabrics so that one has the pattern on the outside and one has the pattern on the inside.
Set these pieces aside while you continue onto the cash pouch section.
Cash pouch
Since you already have your cash pouch on the table (hopefully with a cute embroidered creature on it!) we might as well start with that. Find the second piece of the cash pouch and line it up with the embroidered piece with your embroidery facing inwards. Sew a straight line along both the top and bottom of the two pieces of fabric.
Flip the fabric tube that you just made right side out and iron the seams to flatten. Fold the pouch in half from top to bottom and iron along the fold.
Find your outer fabric that has the pattern on the inside. You will attach the cash pouch to the middle section. Center your pouch on the outer fabric and pin just the back fold of the cash pouch. Sew along the top of the pinned fabric.
Fold your pouch back up into position and pin the sides in place. Using zigzag stitch sew up both sides of the pouch to seal it closed. *Test the width of your zigzag stitch on some scrap fabric to make sure you are happy with it before you use it on your wallet or you will spend half an hour unpicking your stitches 🙁
I went just a little bit past the pouch on the top corners to make sure they won’t fray over time.
That’s the cash pouch complete, you have definitely earned a break! Head onto the next section when you are ready to start working on your card slots.
Card slots
Right now your card slot fabric is just one long rectangle. With each fold that you make you will need to iron it flat to make sure it stays in place and has a clean edge. Here is what your fabric will look like when it has been ironed.
Start by folding over the first 1cm edge and ironing it down.
Flip your fabric over so that the 1cm flap is on the bottom. Following along with the measurements on the diagram fold each section up like the pictures below.
When you reach the end you will have five rows of card slots and an extra 10cm of fabric. Fold this 10cm back behind the entire piece to reach the first 1cm edge that you folded. Here is a view from the back of the card slots:
Without sewing the back flap, sew one straight line up each side of your card slots just to keep all of your folds in place.
Center your card slots on the bottom section of your inner fabric, below your cash pouch.
Fold the card slot section down and sew along the bottom fold of the back flap.
Fold the card slots back up and sew a line along the top of the slots.
Now go back to your zigzag stitch and sew up the sides just like you did for the cash pouch.
Finally grab a couple of cards and put them in the slots. You want the slots to be fairly close in size to the cards so that they don’t fall out. You may need to just sew one line down the center or a double line if your card slots turned out wider than mine.
Attaching button
Put aside your work so far and take out your other outer fabric piece. Attach the button in the middle section of the fabric about one inch from the bottom fold.
As I mentioned above; I attached my button in the wrong spot and had to re-attach it at the end so please ignore my button placement in the photos below.
Making coin pouch
If you have made it this far good job! You are in the final stages of your DIY wallet 🙂 You should have one piece of inner fabric left for the coin pouch, grab that fabric and your zipper. Cut the coin pouch fabric in half along the fold line. You will also need a couple of small scrap pieces of fabric (two pieces about 3 square inches each)
If your zipper is too long for your wallet simply close the zipper and cut the excess zipper off from opposite end of the zipper pull. It doesn’t matter that the end of your zipper no longer has a stopper; you will fix that with your scrap squares.
Take one of your scrap squares and fold it in half. Lay the folded edge across the end of your zipper.
Repeat with other end of zipper. If you are using a zipper that is slightly shorter than your wallet (like I am) you will just need to make sure that your scrap square is long enough that the zipper with the scrap square extensions on the end is the length of your wallet.
Sew a simple straight line across the end of your zipper, up the sides and across the end of the zipper fabric to make a square.
Repeat this process on the other end of your zipper. Trim any excess fabric on the sides of the zipper.
Now grab your coin pouch fabric and fold down a 1/2 cm seam on the two top edges. Center your zipper along the edges and sew straight across.
Next sew up the sides and bottom of your pouch and trim any extra fabric.
Finishing up your DIY wallet!
Now grab the two outer pieces of fabric. Lay them out with the pattern side up on the card slot piece and the pattern side down on the button piece.
Line the two pieces up and sew along the bottom and both sides leaving the top open. Don’t go straight to the top edge, leave about an inch open so you can add in your pouch.
Turn your wallet the right way round and iron the edges to flatten the seams.
All you have left to do is attach the coin pouch to the top of your wallet! Insert the coin pouch into the top of the wallet. Fold the outer fabric sides inwards and then fold the top edge of the outer fabric down all the way around the top of your wallet. You might want to iron/pin into place.
Next; tuck your hair elastic in between the coin pouch and the outer fabric and open the zipper of your coin pouch.
Now use your sewing machine to sew a straight line around the top of your wallet. The corners might be a bit tricky to fit under your sewing machine; I just sewed the corners by hand to make things easier.
Congratulations! You have completed my DIY wallet tutorial 🙂 Please comment below if you need help with any of the steps. I would also love to see your completed wallet; if you want to share your photos in the comments or by email I will be happy to add them to this post!
Happy crafting!
Unpaper Towels
Hello crafters!
Lately everyone is trying to be more conscious of their waste. I think this is really great and I am loving trying out all these zero waste products. Of course my favourite things are the things that I can make myself. If you haven’t already you might want to check out my other zero waste DIY tutorials. I have had great success using my DIY wool dryer balls and my washable twine scrubbies!
This tutorial will walk you through the process of how I made my own roll of unpaper towels! I am definitely guilty of using paper towels to wipe up small spills that could have easily been wiped with a reusable unpaper towel! I’m sure I will still keep some paper towels on hand for extra messy cleanups (like for when my dog decides to eat grass and then throw it up in the house 🙁 ) But having these unpaper towels as my first go-to should save a bunch of paper towel from going in the garbage while also saving me some dollars!
On a side note our city actually takes paper towel in the green compost bin so I don’t have to feel as guilty about throwing it out but I’m sure no waste is still better than composting!
Supplies needed to make your unpaper towels
- Stiff plastic mesh (I used garden mesh)
- Snaps and snap pliers
- Thin cotton fabric for backing
- Thread in complimentary colour
- Sewing machine
- 100% cotton dishcloths (10)
- Ruler
- Iron
- Hot glue gun
Cutting out fabric
The dishcloths that I used are 12″ squares. For this reason I cut my fabric into 13″ squares to give a half inch seam allowance all the way around the outside. If your dishcloths are a different size simply cut your fabric to whatever size your cloths are plus a half inch seam allowance around the edge.
Once you have cut out all ten squares you will need to trim the corners off of each square so that it folds in without too much bulk.
Next fold in each of your seam allowances and iron the seams flat.
Sewing your unpaper towels
Now it is time to sew your cotton fabric backing to your dishcloths!
Take one dishcloth and one fabric square and line up the first edge. Sew a straight line around the entire outside of the cloth.
Then sew one diagonal line from corner to corner. This will prevent the two pieces of fabric from moving around when you wash your unpaper towels.
Repeat with each of your dishcloths.
Making inner roll
Now that your unpaper towels are ready you can make the inner roll to hold all of them! I’m sure you could find a variety of materials that would work for this but I used a stiff garden mesh that I found at the dollar store.
Start by cutting out your mesh. Since the towels are 12″ squares you will want your tube to be 12″ long. A paper towel tube is about 5″ around but you will need an overlap when you roll it up so I cut mine to be 6″ width.
Once you have cut your 12″ x 6″ piece of mesh you will need to roll it up with the 1″ overlap and attach your first snap 1″ from the end to hold it together.
Then attach a snap 1″ from the other end. (I am aware that I accidentally put one female and one male snap on my tube :/ doesn’t make too much of a difference but try to use the female snaps on your tube)
Then use a small amount of hot glue to seal up the middle part of the tube.
Attaching snaps
Onto the final step, time to attach all of the snaps to your towels and snap them onto the roll!
Take your first towel and attach a male snap to each of the top corners 1″ from the sides. The caps will be on the fabric side of your unpaper towel.
Snap these two snaps onto the roll. Eeeeeek so exciting 🙂
Move down to the bottom of the first towel and attach two female snaps on the corners 1″ from the sides. These snaps will have the caps on the dishcloth side.
Repeat this process all the way down attaching and rolling up your unpaper towels as you go.
There you have it! Your own roll of super cute reusable paper towels 🙂
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I enjoyed making it. If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear them below in the comment section!
Happy crafting!
Twine Scrubbies
Hello crafters!
Patterns for crochet scrubbies are turning up all over the internet! Not only is crochet (and crafting in general) becoming more popular but a lot of people are trying to shift to a more eco-friendly zero waste lifestyle. Making your own reusable scrubbies is a great way to reduce waste and save yourself a trip to the store 🙂
I love the new scrubby yarns that are coming out and they definitely do the trick if you want some handmade dish accessories but these yarns aren’t the cheapest so if you are like me and you want to be a little more eco-friendly but you also want to be wallet friendly you will love these twine scrubbies!
I purchased my twine from the dollar store for $1.25 and it made me four of these scrubbies; making them 31 cents each! Now that’s a great price!
Supplies you will need to make your twine scrubbies
- Crochet hook (I used 5mm but it will depend what thickness of twine you have)
- Twine
Twine scrubbies pattern
I have done my tutorial photos with regular yarn just because it is easier to see the stitches. I used this exact pattern with the twine and it worked perfectly 🙂
Make magic ring.
Round 1. Make a magic ring. Chain 3. (double crochet into ring, ch1)Repeat bolded brackets until you have 8 double crochet stitches. Close magic ring. Slip stitch to 2nd chain from chain 3 at beginning of round.
Round 2. Slip stitch into first space. Chain 2. Work one double crochet but only pull through first two loops. Repeat 2 mores times until you have 4 loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all 4 loops. This is your first cluster stitch!
(Chain 2. Work a double crochet in the next chain space only pulling through the first two loops. Repeat 3 times until you have 5 loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all 5 loops.) Repeat bolded brackets until end of round. Slip stitch into top of chain 1 from beginning of round.
Round 3. Chain 1. Single crochet 3 stitches in each space and 2 stitches in top of each cluster. (The two yellow marks show where to place your two stitches on the top of each cluster) Tie off and weave in end.
There it is!
This project is pretty easy but I do have a couple of tips for working with twine:
- Try to keep your stitches loose because the twine has absolutely no stretch so it can be tricky to work stitches in if you make it too tight.
- Keep your beverages out of the range of all the flying fibers or you will drink a mouthful of fluff!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Please comment below with any questions or thoughts 🙂
Happy crafting!
Wool Dryer Balls
Hello crafters!
Lately people really seem to be getting into the eco-friendly / DIY sort of lifestyle and I have to say I’m really excited about it! If I can prevent waste and save the environment while also creating more excuses to craft then I’m definitely on board 🙂
Wool dryer balls have been around for a while but seem to be growing in popularity. I have seen many products for sale both online and in store but they come with a ridiculous price tag. I’m all for saving the environment and cutting waste but I can’t bring myself to pay $20 for two dryer balls (even if they do last forever!).
This tutorial will show you how to make your own dryer balls for just a few dollars and a few minutes of your time. Let’s get to it!
Benefits of using wool dryer balls
- agitate your clothes to promote air flow between items
- absorbs excess moisture for shorter drying times
- reduces static
- much quieter than plastic dryer balls bouncing around
- reduces drying time by up to 30%
- all natural materials, no more chemicals in the dryer or on your clothes
- eliminates need for dryer sheets saving you some big bucks 🙂
- waste free
- lasts for years; easily recharged by running through a hot wash and dry cycle
Those are just some benefits off the top of my head but I’m sure there are more! Have I convinced you to switch to wool dryer balls yet?
Supplies you will need to make your wool dryer balls
- 100% wool yarn *VERY important that your yarn is 100% wool or it will not felt properly
- Old pantyhose
Process to make wool dryer balls
Step 1: Roll yarn into a ball
Step 2: Pull the tail of the yarn through the center of the ball so that the end disappears. Simply thread it through a yarn needle and poke the needle through the ball from one side to the other.
Step 3: Put your first dryer ball inside your pantyhose. Tie a knot as close to the ball as you can. Then put your next dryer ball in the pantyhose and tie that one off too.
Step 4: Wash your dryer balls in the pantyhose in a HOT wash. Then throw the wool dryer balls (still in the pantyhose) into the dryer on HIGH HEAT.
I just waited until I was doing a load of towels anyway so I didn’t use any extra utilities that I wouldn’t have already been using!
Step 5: Repeat step 4 to ensure that the balls are completely felted.
Step 6: Remove pantyhose and use your awesome wool dryer balls 🙂
Tips for using your dryer balls
- To recharge your dryer balls you can simply redo the felting process by running them through a hot wash and then a high heat dry
- For the most effective results use 4-5 dryer balls at once
- Many people recommend using essential oils to scent your dryer balls. This sounds like a very zen idea but most essential oils are flammable so I would do this at your own risk.
I hope this tutorial has taught you everything you need to know about wool dryer balls! Please comment below if you would like to share your experience or if you have any questions; I love to hear from my fellow crafters 🙂
Happy crafting!
One-Day Messenger Bag
Now that Christmas is done for another year I can finally post tutorials for the gifts that I made this season. This bag in particular was really fun to make and I was really excited to give it away! This gift is for my sister who not only works full-time but is now doing some more schooling in the background. I imagine she is quite busy!
I wanted her to have a bag that would carry everything she needed for her full day of work and study so I designed this two pocket messenger bag to help her through the day while also looking so stylish 🙂
Supplies needed to make your messenger bag
- Fabric (2 meters of main fabric)
- Small amount of fabric to line the inside flap of your bag
- Thread for embroidery design
- Yarn for crochet edge
- Thread to match the bag (black in my case)
- Sewing machine
- Button
- Strap for the bag
For this bag I used a thicker felt material that was actually marked as coat fabric. I wanted it to be sturdy enough to carry things but I also wanted it to be a good template for my embroidery embellishment. For the inside lining of the closing flap I actually used a silk napkin.
Cutting fabric
The main pieces used to create this bag are 2 rectangles that are used to make two interior pockets and then a larger rectangle to construct the outside and closing flap.
Here are the measurements you will need to cut out your three rectangles.
*Remember to make a 1/2″ seam allowance around each rectangle.
Assembling messenger bag
Inside pockets
To form the inside pockets you will first need to sew up the sides of each pocket leaving the top open. To make the pockets have a square bottom I simply trimmed the corners like this:
After trimming the corners pinch the edges together and sew shut.
Outside of messenger bag
To form the outside of your messenger bag you will sew up the sides and form the corners the same way that you created the inside pockets. The only difference is that the outside piece has the closing flap.
After sewing the corners seams closed you can flip the outside of your bag round the right way and you should have something that looks like this:
I sewed a quick seam along the bottom of the two inside pockets so that they would stay together while in the bag.
Now you can put all the pieces together! Put both pockets inside the outside piece. Using A LOT of pins you will need to fold all of the seams together. I started by folding in the seam between the two pockets and sewing that together. Then fold in all the seams that connect the pockets to the bag edge. Leave the back seam open for now so that you can attach the lining for the closing flap.
Closing flap
At this point your bag will look mostly assembled but you will still have an unfinished closing flap. I took a glass to draw small curves on the corners of the flap.
Cut out the curves remembering to keep your seam allowance.
At this point you will need to add any embroidery design that you want before you attach the lining. I made a flower and bee design but you can be totally creative!
Pin your lining material to the closing flap while folding in both edges.
Sew all the way around to secure the lining.
Strap loops and buttonhole
Now for a few small finishing touches! I sewed small strips of fabric into the two back corners of the bag so that I could attach the strap.
I also used the buttonhole footer on my sewing machine to make a quick buttonhole in the closing flap of the bag. There are plenty of tutorials online showing you how to make a buttonhole with your machine or you can simply read the manual. I sewed the button onto the front side of the bag by hand.
Crochet edging
Even though I love trying out new crafts I can never stop my obsession with crochet! I decided to add a little flair to this project by putting a crochet edge around the closing flap. Adding a crochet edge to any fabric is super easy you just have to sew a starting edge on first and then you can crochet whatever you would like. I used crab stitch because I’m obsessed with it but you can use any type of edging you can think of!
Here’s how I attached my yarn to the fabric.
Continue this along the entire edge of the closing flap and tie off at the end.
There you have it! A beautiful, sturdy bag made with your own hands 🙂 I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and learnt something new from it. Please comment below if you have questions or comments to add.
Happy crafting!
Photo Coasters
Hello crafters!
I am SO excited to share this tutorial with you! My dad’s birthday is December 26th, aka Boxing Day! With it being so close to Christmas we always try to make his birthday extra special so he still gets to enjoy a special day for himself. This fall we went to England and it was truly an amazing vacation! I got to see a million beautiful sites and had a blast the whole time I was there. I also got a TON of crafting inspiration while we were there. Even getting to go to the Greenwich Market which was so cool!
I thought the perfect gift for my dad who has everything was a great souvenir to remember the trip by that can also double as something useful around the house. That’s where these super awesome marble tile coasters come in! You can literally put any image on your tiles but I think the photo idea is really cool 🙂
Let’s get started!
Supplies you will need for your photo coasters:
- Unfinished stone tiles (I got marble tiles at Home Depot)
- Photos printed on regular paper *see below for more details on how to format your photos
- Matte gel medium
- Paintbrush
- Scissors
- Sandpaper
- Dupli-Colour Acrylic Enamel Clearcoat All-Purpose Coating
Formatting Photos for Your Photo Coasters
You need to find your tiles before you print your images. Measure your tiles and size the photos to match. My tiles are 4″ tiles so I made my photos square and then sized them to 4″.
To make sure your images come out the right way around you will need to mirror the images (flip them horizontally). If you need an easy way to make your images head over the Canva.ca It’s what I use and it is free and easy!
I added a little tag at the bottom of mine with the location of the photo. I used a typewriter font and it looks pretty cool! You can also add text to your photos using Canva 🙂 Note that if you are adding text you don’t want to put it too close to the edge of the image. I put my text right at the bottom and because the stone tiles have some irregular edges some of the text was cut off by chips out of the edge of the tile.
Now to print! Just print on regular paper with regular ink.
Now just cut all of you photos out leaving only a small border around the edge. The closer you cut to the edge of your photo the easier it will be to center on the tile.
Prepping Your Tiles
There was some glue on my tiles because I bought them glued to a mesh so if you did the same you will need to sand the glue off the edges.
Wipe your tiles with a damp cloth and then a dry cloth to remove any dust. Lay your tiles out on something to protect your table (I just used cardboard).
Transferring Images to Your Photo Coasters
Time to put your images onto your tiles! Using a paintbrush apply a layer of gel medium to your first tile. Not too much that there are lumps but enough gel medium to ensure that the tile has no dry spots.
Put your image face down onto the tile and press gently over the whole image to make sure that it is firmly attached. Now leave your tiles at least 24 hours to make sure they are fully dry. I left mine for 48 hours to be certain that they were ready. Once your tiles are dry use a sharp knife to remove any paper that is hanging over the edges of your tiles.
Now for the fun part: the photo reveal! You will need a small bowl of water and a cloth. Moisten the cloth in the bowl of water and dab the water onto your coaster until the paper is translucent.
Gently use your fingers to rub the paper off of the tile. The paper should disintegrate from the water leaving just the ink on your tile!
This step is a bit tricky because if you rub too hard you will remove the ink leaving blank spots on your photo. If you don’t remove enough paper then you will have a cloudy cover over your images. What worked best for me was to remove what seemed like all of the paper and then leave the tiles to dry overnight. After the tiles are dry you will be able to see a cloudy cover over the spots where some paper still remains.
Just dampen your fingers in a bowl of water and gently rub these areas to remove the last of the paper and then wipe gently with a paper towel to remove the last of the paper pieces.
Finishing Your Photo Coasters
By now your coasters are probably looking pretty awesome, (I know mine are!). Now for a few finishing touches to make sure all of your hard work lasts a lifetime 🙂
Sealing
You will need to seal your tiles not only to preserve the image but to make sure that your coasters can stand up to all of those hot cups of tea that will be sitting on them! I used DupliColour Clearcoat Acrylic Enamel which is made for automotive use. I chose the matte spray just as a matter of preference but it also comes in a glossy version if you want that sort of finish.
I wouldn’t recommend using this spray indoors so I headed out to my garage to do the sealing process. I used disposable gloves and a small face mask to make sure I didn’t breathe in too many fumes 🙂 I simply followed the instructions on the can to apply 2 thin layers and then a 3rd wet layer. Waiting 10 minutes between each coat. After spraying your tiles you will want to leave them at least a few days to cure.
Bumpers
I used small bumpers on each bottom corner of my coasters. These bumpers are available anywhere; they are the type that you put on your drawers to stop them for slamming or the bottoms of your furniture to protect the floor. 
These ones I purchased from the dollar store for just a couple of dollars! Because they are from the dollar store I used a small dab of hot glue to affix them even though they have their own adhesive on them.
Crate
Now that your coasters are finished you will need some sort of container for them. I found a small wooden crate that was plain unfinished wood. With a little bit of wood stain and a layer of felt to line the bottom it became the perfect carrier for my coasters!
Another idea that I had for storing the coasters was to use a photo shelf to display the coasters on the wall but since I’m always giving my dad wall artwork I opted for the wooden crate option 🙂
I hope this tutorial helped you out in creating a one-of-a-kind gift! Please leave a comment below if you need help with any of the steps or if you just want to chat 🙂
Happy crafting!
Hook Holder
Hello crafters!
This tutorial is for all the sewers and crocheters out there! I love to crochet but I like to have a variety of different projects on the go so I can switch it up when I need a break. This easy sewn crochet hook holder will only take you an afternoon to whip up with your sewing machine so you can get back to crocheting!
Supplies you will need to make your hook holder
- Cute fabric (half a meter will be enough)
- Thread to match cute fabric!
- Sewing machine
Cutting your fabric
Start by folding your fabric in half with the print on the inside.
Draw out the template shown below:
I used a small cup just to curve the edges of the closing flap. Cut out your pattern leaving a 1/2 cm seam allowance.
Sewing your hook holder
Starting at the bottom corner sew your seam up the side, around the top and down the other side. Leave the bottom seam open. Turn your hook holder inside out so that the pattern is on the outside.
Pin the bottom seam inwards.
Sew the bottom seam up and then fold the base up at the 8cm mark. Use a crochet hook to make sure you are happy with the height of the flap.
Sew up the side seams. You will be able to make 11 sections for your crochet hooks. I chose to make the first two sections a little bit wider for the larger crochet hooks. Simply sew a line from the seam to the bottom to create the first section and repeat across.
Following the template from above you will need to fold the closing flap at the 6cm mark.
Sew a line along the fold so that the fabric folds easily when you’re closing your hook holder.
To finish your hook holder you will need to make a simple tie strap to close the holder. Take a thin piece of fabric; fold the two edges into the middle and then fold in half. Sew along the strap to close it up.
Attach the middle of the tie to the center of the outside of your hook holder with a few quick stitches.
And you’re done! Time to organize your hooks yay 🙂
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found it useful! I would love to hear any questions or comments in the comment section below 🙂
Happy crafting!