DIY: Embroidery Hoop Pin Cushion

A couple of weeks ago I was trying to brainstorm how I could make a pin cushion that I could attach to the wall by my sewing machine. In the past I made one that I could wear on my wrist, but I felt it got in the way. The ones I had made for the table (out of a mason jar) always got knocked off, so I was on a mission to find an alternative. I decided to keep it simple and go with a pin cushion out of an embroidery hoop.

Here is what you need to make your own:

Once you gather your supplies you just need to follow a few simple steps…

Step One:

 First get your embroidery hoop and cut two pieces of fabric with about an inch extra all the way around. One piece is for the front, and one piece is for the back.

Step Two:

 Next you make a sandwich out of your pieces so far. On the bottom is your back piece of the embroidery hoop, then your back piece of fabric, about a handful and a half of stuffing, your front fabric, and lastly the front piece of the embroidery hoop.

Step Three:

 Once your ‘sandwhich’ is put together take your needle and thread and sew in a single stitch all the way around (twice) to tighten the fabric). Knot and cut.

Step Four:

 Take your piece of felt, cut to size of the embroidery hoop, and hot glue to the back to hide the mess.

That’s it! Next just hang and sew!

 

Happy Sewing!

xoxo.

Embroidery Hoop Picture Frame

This week all of my pieces will share a common thread- the fabric. I attempted hand dying my fabric for the first time. It was  a pretty good experience, I took white fabric and soaked it in water with tea. Each piece of fabric turned out different- which I was really happy with.

The first project I did on the fabric was an embroidery hoop as a picture frame.
 The picture is from a photo booth at my cousin’s wedding last year (it feels so weird to say that still!).  The dye job on this fabric was very mild, which I really liked.  I normally hate the look of plastic hoops, but I was okay with it for this style.

xoxo.

Skirt Turned Pillow

Confession time: I’m a pack rat. I’m not nearly as bad as I used to be, but I really do keep way too much crap. For example, this skirt.
I got this for my 17th birthday…eight years ago. I decided it was time to admit I never wear it. It was too big, and the zipper has been busted for two years now. So, I turned it into a quick DIY project.

 I really liked the linen fabric, so I didn’t want to change too much about it. I added in some embroidery in the stripes, and a button from an old sweater for the middle.
I got this new gold floss that I had been wanting to try out, and I have to say I was pretty let down. It is basically floss wrapped in a hard layer of gold, which made it pretty much impossible to work with. I’m happy with the result, but it was such a pain in the ass to work with I’ll probably never use it for embroidery again.

Now I’m off to see what else I can upcycle!

xoxo.

Costume Party Take Two

This weekend I had my second round of Halloween Parties to attend. I threw together a really cute costume on Saturday evening before heading out! I made a fox costume, Bryan said like I looked like the Pokemon fox, and others said I looked like the fox from Sonic.

 The mask I made out of felt, and elastic. The dress I made out of fleece, and the white “fur” is felt. I was working on a budget, and all of this cost me under $20.00!
I also had orange gloves I turned into paws, but forgot to wear those for the photos.
Since I made the dress out of fleece it was so comfy, and I didn’t have to worry about hems, which made it so easy to make! It is just two stitches up top, and one stitch on each side.
Bryan and I’s roommate, Lauren, was a babushka (a nesting doll). It was so cute.
Bryan was the Devil Robot from Futurama. His mask was pretty awesome, it’s hard to tell what it really looks like in this photo, but it has big ole teeth underneath there, too.

Did you guys do any halloweenie stuff this weekend?

xoxo.

DIY: Push Pin Bracelet

Today I have a tutorial for you that will be really useful to all of you sewers out there…a push pin bracelet! For a couple of years I’ve been using the same one. It is tiny, and uncomfortable. The band was made of plastic, dug into my skin, and never stayed on. I finally decided it was time to make a new one!

To get started you will just need to gather up a few supplies:
(if you don’t have elastic around you could always use a ribbon!)

Got your supplies? Now here’s what you need to do:

1. Cut out a circle with your felt for your base, and a slightly smaller circle out of another piece of felt, or fabric.

2. Cut a small flap that is slightly wider than your elastic for the back. I messed up on mine, and forgot to do this until the end. So, mine looks like a hot mess, but if you do yours in the correct order it won’t!

3. Attach the fabric to your felt, leaving enough room to put in your stuffing (about an inch).

4. Add your stuffing, you won’t need too much because the bracelet is pretty small. After it is stuffed you finish sewing the fabric to the felt.

5. Measure the elastic to your wrist to cut the appropriate length. I cut mine the same size as my wrist without any extra, because it is elastic after all. Once it is cut, thread it through your opening on the back.

6. Sew the ends of the flap together.

7. Pull the elastic so the sewed part is hidden behind your flap of felt.

And you’re done! Now you’re ready to sew in style, and comfort.

Happy Sewing and Pinning!

Oh and remember! Tomorrow is the last day to enter this months giveaway!

xoxo.

Embroidered Florida Pillow

When I first started Too Crewel I decided I wanted to make a series entitled “Know Your Roots,” where I would embroider the states and their landmarks. I made it as far as Michigan and Florida, then I moved onto something else. A few months ago I turned the Michigan embroidery into a pillow, and this week I did the same with my Florida piece.

  

I’m pretty sure I gave up on this series because I started these when I first really started embroidering, and it used to take me so long to finish a piece. It takes me about half the time now though, so I’m thinking it is time to start them back up. I just need to order some more linen for them, and pick the next state.
What state would you guys like to see?

ps! You can check out more photos and details of the Florida pillow on Etsy, where it is now up for sale!

xoxo.

Handmade Purse

It’s been awhile since I’ve made anything using the sewing machine, so earlier this week I decided to have a go at making another purse. I can’t decide if I actually like it or not, this version may just end up being a mock up.
I was thinking if I give it another go I might fill the whole flap with felt triangles, what do you think?

  The inside had two pockets…one chapstick size, and one cell phone size.

  I used a skinny belt that didn’t fit has the strap, and decided to keep the buckle to give it a little something extra. The purse just feels like it is missing something though, doesn’t it? What are your thoughts, what should I edit for my take two?

xoxo.

Embroidered Characters: Daria

Lalalalala, time for a new embroidered character! Yesterday I finished my crewel embroidery of Daria! I had a little bump in the road, I ran out of the color green for her jacket, so I had to change up my design a little bit. I think I wound up liking it better this way, though.  I did the piece on white/pinkish fabric, cut it out and, used the sewing machine to put it on a piece of olive green fabric.
Now all I want to do is watch Daria!
What did you guys make this weekend?

xoxo.

Sloth Brooch

For those of you who don’t know, I pretty much love sloths. They’re by far my favorite animal. A few months back Bryan made a sloth stamp, and last night I decided to put it to use. I made a few different sloth brooches, I think they turned out pretty awesome… but I’m biased because of the whole sloth thing.
So some of them the print is hard to make out in the photo…it is a sloth with it’s limbs wrapped around a tree.

 I used fabric paint for the stamp, and printed on just plain cotton fabrics. I then sewed it to a larger piece of felt, and then sewed that to a larger piece of felt.

  (this one is my favorite…the print turned out the best, the purple fabric definitely took the paint better than the red)

Now what to do with all of these little sloths?!

xoxo.

Without Art Earth is Just “Eh”

Recently I read the quote “Without art earth is just ‘eh,’” and I really, really, liked it. It’s so true, right? So of course, the first thing I did was plan our an embroidery for it.

I did the embroidery on a “needle point” fabric I got from Sew, Mama, Sew , and put it in a vintage frame my dad found while thrifting.   

I finished it off with a layer of batting underneath the fabric to give it a little bit more dimension, and used a piece of lace to hang it.

This one is up for sale in the shop, and don’t forget this month to celebrate Too Crewel’s one year anniversary use the code YEARONE45 for 45% off!

xoxo.

ps. The 100th person to ‘like’ Too Crewel on Facebook will receive a special little gift!