REMAKE A PILLOW SHAM INTO A PLASTIC BAG HOLDER

Hello everyone!

I hope you all are well. I have been

super busy this week. My granddaughter Elise

and my grandson Cohen have both graduated

within a few days of each other.

Hopefully now things can get back to normal.

Jen Kerstin has a website called
Store Business Hours. Take a look at this
site and see if you can use it. It looks pretty
handy to me!
http://www.storebusinesshours.com/us/
Also take a look at her Fit and Fab site. There
is some good information in here.
http://fit-and-fab-kirsten.blogspot.com/

 

Ahhh Pillowshams! Some of them are so

lovely. There are many kinds of styles and colors

out there to choose from.

But, I bet that you already have 1 or 2 sets of

pillow shams just sitting on your linen shelf!

 

Keep in mind that for this project that you can

also use a piece of an old quilt! That would be

lovely, but just remember perhaps this bag

holder will get a lot of washing. If you are a

clean freak, then do not use anything that

is delicate. Use that fabric or quilt piece,

or any laces for a more fragile project.

 

Please read all of these directions because

I see that I have left out a photo when it comes

to how I attached the loops for hanging.

You can refer to tutorials from other blogs on

how to attach loops.

 

On this project I am not concerned with beauty.

I am all about functional and not so much fu-fu

when it comes to this sort of craft.

However, on these bags you can decorate them

up if you wish. The choice is up to you.

 

Materials needed:

1. Pillow sham (1 or 2)

2. Strings to use for loops to hang.

3. Sewing needle and quilt thread (optional)

4. Straight pins for pinning

5. Sewing machine

 

As you can see there are 2 styles.

One style has the traditional pull-out

on the bottom and the other is sewed

across.

They are super easy to make!

My pillow shams are old and are full-size.

If you would like longer and wider to hold

mounds of plastic bags then use queen and

king size shams.

Believe me, these full-size shams are about

22 inches wide X 28 inches long.

These are big!

So, have fun and decorate them up however

you wish!

I will be starting with the bag holder on the

left that has the opening at the bottom to

pull-out the bags. These bags hang in my

pantry.

 

Here are my 2 pillow shams that I am using.

 

The great thing about using pillow shams is that the

inside of the bag holders are lined.

 

First thing you do is cut off the tags.

 

Next lay out one pillow sham on your table. Straighten

up lining and pin down the lining. It is okay if your pins, pin

through to the design side. Make sure everything

is straight.

 

To sew the lining. I always hand sew it closed. It

does not take long at all to hand stitch it. You can

 machine sew this down if you like. I do not

like to see the stitching on the pretty design side, that

is why I hand stitch it closed.  You do what you like

for the design.

 

I save a lot of things and sometimes it is a few years

before I find a use for it. That is the case with this

cute string that I pulled out of a pair of bad pajamas.

This tie or string is a little stretchy and when I

stretched it - it became a yard in length.

Well, that was what I needed so this is what I used.

 

Once the lining stitching is completed, then the

rest goes pretty quickly! Fold the pillow sham

lengthwise with the design in the middle. As you

can see by this photo, the blue checked is my selvage

edge.

 

Old pillow shams can become a little stretchy over

time because you are putting pillows in and out of them.

So, just put those edges together the best that you

can and stitch down the length.

(sew at least an inch away from the stitched seams

because they are bulky. So stitch about an inch

away from those seams and you should be okay).

Be sure to back stitch all seams at the beginning of the tube and

the end of the tube.

 

See, how I did it here. Remember these pillow shams

stretch. Do the best that you can on stitching.

Do not stress.

 

Now turn the long tube to the right side so you can

see the design. This is the back of my bag holder. I

am not worried about the checks lining up - this is

just a bag holder.

Do not stress it.

 

It is hard to believe that these ties when stretched

equal a yards length. Now, take those ties and cut

them equally into 4ths. I only needed 3, but if you

like the gathered bag more than you will use all

4 ties. I did not hem any of the ties.

If you zoom into this photo and look at the upper

right hand corner you will see where a tie is already

tied on.

 

Sorry about this photo. I took it plenty of times

and this is the best picture that I had. I hope that

it does not hurt your eyes too much. There is no

bow on this tie. I tied it in a knot. Just try to note

how far that

In tying the knot take a tie and wrap it around the

upper part of the bag holder at least 2.5 inches down.

There is a lot of bulk here. The tighter you tie the

string will give you a smaller opening. So this is

left up to your discretion.

Tie the tie around the

bulk and tie into a knot.

 

With your fingers arrange

the gathers to give you a hole for the inside.

When that is finished to your liking, go to the

open side. This is where you put the bags in. Refer

to my first picture to see that there is nothing done

to the top.

For loops: take another string and this is how I sew

it down. I place the string at the top, one side of

the loop on the open side of the seam and sew it

down. Then I make sure that the string is straight.

I then sew down the other side of the string to the

inside of the seam on the other side. If you do not

understand what I am trying to say. It is okay,

just sew it down like a potholder.

 

I have used plastic bags as trash bags, since they first came out

with these type of bag holders. I have never bought

a trash bag in 18 years or so. My trash is always taken out

daily. We always double up the bags because sometimes

there are holes in the bottom of the bags. So I have

never liked getting rid of my plastic bags. Sometimes

my grocery shopping is erratic and many years ago

I found myself running a little low on plastic bags.

I have a plastic bin in the garage that holds my excess

plastic bags should I run low.

 

I like how my cabinet stays clean like this all

the time.

 

The other side stays clean also.

 

 

TO MAKE THE 2ND BAG HOLDER. Sew down

the long seam as in the first bag you have made.

 

At the bottom instead of ties, simply make sure that

the seam is in the middle. Line up the edges and sew

across from edge to edge.

 

As you see here. Again do not worry about the seam.

It hardly shows on the outside. Turn the bag to the

right side and poke out those corners.

 

As you can see with the 2cd bag holder, the only

difference between the 2 of them is at the bottom.

My preference is the bag holder on the right.

To make a bag this big to me, does not require

an opening at the bottom.

 

Have fun.

Thank you for visiting me!

Conny



Making Lace Spools

Hello Everyone!

It is a nice Spring day outside. I went outside for

just a few minutes and already started sweating

to death. Not my cup of tea, so I went back indoors.

 

Today I thought that I would show you how I make

Spools to wrap lace or ribbons around.

If you thought that these are hard, well they are not.

They are super easy and fast to make according

if you have the stuff.

 

I love the vintage spools and I do not care if there

is writing on them or if one side of the end piece

is bent or broken. To me it just adds character.

 

These are the Lace Spools that I made yesterday.

They are easy, peasy!!

 

 

Materials are few. You need a tacky glue, (I use

Aileen's tacky glue),  an X-acto knife, and

cardboard. For cardboard I generally use the

cardboard that is on the back of these note pads.

And of course you need these - Reynolds wrap or

a plastic wrap roll. You want to use stiff and sturdy

cardboard rolls. I like using the Reynolds wrap rolls.

That is my preference. A note to thyself, unless you

use Reynolds wrap a lot and go through it quickly,

then it takes time to collect these rolls. So if you

have a lot of spools you want to make then ask a

friend to give to you their cardboard rolls. Then you

can make tons of them.

 

I have a short cardboard roll and a long one. It took

me a while to collect these. But that is okay because

I do not want to spend a week making a hundred of

these at one time.

Today I will be using the short cardboard roll.

Try not to waste any of the cardboard rolls that you

use. Also keep in mind that if you accidentally cut

the roll too long, then you can cut off excess. And

then you can always glue it to another cardboard

piece to make the roll longer if needed. I did this

for the tiny lace spool as in the first photograph.

From this short cardboard roll - I made 4 spools

of different sizes.

 

This cardboard on the back of the note pads are

thin and can be cut with scissors. So do not fret.

There are many ways to make the end pieces thicker.

One way is when you cut out 2 pieces then glue

one piece to the other and let dry. Be sure to place

something heavy on top to keep it flat.

If you want something thicker then try a note pad

with thicker cardboard or buy some cardboard

if you do not have any.

You can use corrugated cardboard if you want to.

That would give dimension and texture. It could

be quite pleasing to the eye.

However, on the vintage lace spools - the end pieces

are not thick. They seem to be the same thickness

that is on these note pads.

 

These are the laces that I will be putting on

the spools. I have to get rid of that plastic

blue thingy. That blue thingy is not for me.

Here are the sizes for the lace just to give you an

idea for the spools that I need to make my lace

spools.

The beige cluny lace is 1.5 inches wide.

The rolled white lace is 4 inches wide.

The off-white lace on the plastic blue thingy is

almost 5 inches wide.

The little tiny one that you see in the first

photograph, that lace is not quite 1.5 inches

wide.

 

I used a Morton salt box to use as a

template for the round ends at the end

of the cardboard rolls. This is a nice size

for the beige cluny lace that you see above.

I did not have that much lace to wrap

around the cardboard spool, but I wanted

the cardboard end to be bigger, because

I know I have more of that cluny lace

somewhere to finish wrapping around

that cardboard roll.

A rule of thumb is - not to make the

outside cardboard to much bigger than

what you need.  Take note that on the

tiny lace spool in the first photograph

is the perfect size, since I do not own

anymore of that lace. So keep this

in mind when cutting cardboard for

those ends.

As you can see, I have already drawn

around the bottom with an ink pen,

you can use a pencil if you prefer.

 

Be sure to cut out 2 pieces. One for the top

and one for the bottom. Do not fret any if they

do not totally match or if you accidentally cut a

piece off. No body is going to notice unless you are

selling them.

If you want to apply decorative scrapbook paper or

paint them, then do so. You can cover the cardboard

roll with paper, or paint it to match if you prefer.

This would look very pretty!

I prefer my lace spools to age gracefully. So I do not

do anything with them, except to make them. Later

I might write on them.

 

Here are 2 of the spool ends with one end cut out

already.

 

Both spool ends are cut out. Ready to go for me!

 

Here is my Reynolds wrap cardboard roll. I put

the rolled lace beside it and marked it.

 

Here you see the mark.

 

I drew the line all around the roll. It was fast and easy

because of that darker area that you see - which was

double-sided tape.

 

Be careful with the X-acto knife!!!!! They are sharp.

Probably all of us at one time or another have stuck

our fingers or cut ourselves with this knife.

Anytime that I cut myself - I call it

"MY BATTLE SCARS"!

 

Done - it is cut away now and straight.

Good job Conny!

Now is the time to paint or paper this piece

if you prefer it better than just plain cardboard.

Remember to let it dry first before proceeding on

to the next step if you do so.

 

Okay - so now butter up one side with your

glue.

 

Stick the glued side down onto the cardboard in the

middle as you see here. Be sure to add some pressure

or place a 'not too heavy' book on top. To me it

dries fast. Anyway let it dry.

 

Since the one side is dry or almost dry. I then proceed

to buttering up the other side of the roll with glue.

 

I hold it and blow on it till dry. Which only takes a

few minutes. I watch a little television with it, so it

does not bother me to hold it. You might would like

to blow dry it with a hair dryer.

 

When the glue is dried thoroughly on the ends, then

take a piece of clear tape and apply to the lace and the

round roll and start winding your lace around it.

 

All done!

One down and 3 more to go.

 

For the white lace I used this tall plastic container

for the end spools. It holds some of my buttons.

Eventually I will make me something to hold

my buttons and get it out of this plastic thingy.

 

Am sorry for the blurriness. As you see here on

the top of my button box - it is almost 5 inches

across.

 

Again, measure your lace. For this one, I rolled

the white lace onto the cardboard roll. I put a

small mark there. I did not like this mark, cause

when I pushed down on the lace, I realized that

I could make it smaller. So I made another mark

much lower and I cut on that lower mark.

 

Here is the lace spool finished.

 

For the really TINY LACE SPOOL as is in

the first photograph - for those SMALL end

pieces - I used the BOTTOM of one of my large 8 ounce

bottles of acrylic paint for the template. That

was a perfect size!

 

For the OFF-WHITE LACE that was on the plastic

blue thingy - Again, I used the Morton salt box for the

template. I have no more of this lovely lace.

 

FOR RIBBONS - you can use the entire cardboard

roll. Just wind many ribbons around the cardboard roll.

Make your cardboard end pieces according to how much

ribbon is rolled around onto the roll. In other words, if

you have ONE ribbon that has many yards of it. Then,

that is going to be bulky.

If the other ribbons that you wind around the roll

are under a yard long, that it is okay. It does not matter.

Just make sure that the cardboard end pieces are big

enough to hold what you need to put on the roll.

The end pieces help keep the ribbon on.

I think you understand what I am saying.

If you want to paper or paint be sure to do that and

let it dry THOROUGHLY before winding your ribbons

around the roll. You do not want your ribbons to stick

to the paint or the glue.

 

You can also glue FABRIC around that cardboard roll and

tuck the ends on the inside of the roll. That would be

very pretty. If your ribbons are under a half-yard, you

probably would not need any end pieces.

 

This ribbon idea is not my idea. I have seen it on many

French blogs and they are gorgeous. Many times

google does not translate properly so I do not know

if they have directions or not - so I thought that I would

do so in case they did not.

Sorry that I did not think to make one of these to show

you.

 

HAVE FUN making the spools.

I would love to see a photo if you make any of them

in cloth, paper or paint.

 

HOPBLOGGER

 



MAKE 2 SHABBY LINEN APRONS - TAKES ME ABOUT 30 MINUTES TO MAKE BOTH!

Hello Ya'll

Hope everyone has been well.

 

I have been meaning to make this tutorial for quite

awhile now, but things kept getting in the way.

A while back I bought a lovely linen skirt. I just could

not resist this beautiful linen skirt from Chaps.

 

I bought this white lovely skirt from the thrift

store. It is 100% linen. These linen skirts

run about 3 to $4 at my thrift store. It is a steal

at that price!!! Just make sure to buy a skirt

that does not have any stains and buy a big skirt!

Sorry ladies, no pun intended.

And wash or dry clean them first before using!

Yea - I know that you will do that.

I know that I have said it

many times, please do not get tired of listening to

me say it. BUT I LOVE LINEN!! Especially

white, blue or pinks!!

 

This time I am going to take this long lovely skirt

and make 2 SHABBY APRONS!! The idea here

is to make each Apron different. These would make

great CHRISTMAS PRESENTS!!

 

This particular linen skirt that I am using says to Dry

Clean. I will wash it because I do not care if it shrinks

a little. It will have to learn that I will wash it in my

washer or hand wash it. It is just an apron so there is

not any need to get picky with it.

Just have fun!

 

Also this skirt had a side zipper, so look for that if

you are going to make 2 aprons. Which 2 aprons

are more economical and price thrifty!

Make one for yourself and a friend.

The only materials needed is a large linen skirt,

sewing machine, matching thread, lots of cotton lace.

 

This is Apron 1. It has only a center pocket.

 

Still Apron 1, just a close up.  

The back of Apron 1. Shows ties.

This is Apron 2. Not a good photo

I admit. This Apron has 2 pockets. Sorry
that the photo and the next 2 photos are
a little blurry.

Both pockets are aligned side

by side leaving a few inches

between them.

Hopefully a better view of the bottom.

There are 6 rows of cotton lace

sewed to the bottom.

This is my white skirt showing the tag.

The lining which was slinky showed the Dry Cleaning

tag. NOW LETS GET STARTED.

STEP 1 - is to turn the skirt inside out and cut out

the slinky underskirt. Be sure to cut close to the stitching

of the waste band - BUT DO NOT CUT THE WASTEBAND

or you are in trouble!! (chuckle)

STEP 2. Now, turn the skirt right side out and place it on your

table. Smooth it out so there is not any wrinkles

on it. Then place an existing simple

 apron on top of the skirt making sure there are

not any wrinkles. If you notice you will see that

my blue band on this old apron top aligns with the

waste band on the white linen skirt.

STEP 3. Now, follow your old apron and

cut the sides all the way to the top of the skirt.

If you notice I cut my apron bigger than my

old apron. I like them a little roomier and not so

form fitting. Also I did not touch the hem area.

Leave it hemmed. If the skirt is a little longer,

then that's okay. Now you should have

2 APRONS cut out.

STEP 4 - these are the sides left from cutting the

white aprons out of the skirt. DO NOT THROW

THESE AWAY!!!!

You will need to use these sides for ties.

STEP 5. For your neck and waste ties.

Take one of the sides above and leave it

folded. On the outside edge cut strips 2 or 2.5 inches

wide down the long length. Cut 6 strips. Repeat

this for the next side and cut 6 more strips. These

6 strips are for the other apron.

STEP 6. I took 2 strips and sewed them together, one

on top of the other. NO HEMMING. See how I sewed

them together. I sewed twice so that nothing would

unravel. Repeat this step again. These are your waste

bands. They need to be longer. The other 2 strips are

for the neck.

Now, repeat this STEP for the ties for the next apron

if you are making 2.

STEP 7. Now I know you cannot see it on the above

photo, but I did just run a running stitch down the

length of each tie so the sides would not ravel any

further than the stitching.

 Now, lets look at the waste band of the skirt which

should be the top of your apron.

STEP 8. Your waste band should open like this on

both sides.

STEP 9. Just slip in one of the ties.

STEP 10.Start at the top of the apron and sew

down all the way to the bottom of the skirt.

STEP 11. See I sewed all the way down to the

bottom. NOW, REPEAT STEPS 9 AND 10

for the other tie.

STEP 12. For the first Apron, (no photo,

sorry). I cut one pocket out of one of the existing

white sides of my skirt. Remember those

sides. This pocket is cut on one of those

seams. This pocket is big. Try your apron on,

and see where you would like to put a pocket

or look at your existing apron and put the pocket

in the same place. I pinned my pocket down

where I wanted it I did not turn under the sides.

Remember these Aprons are shabby!

The photo of the Apron is a little

more straighter. I hope you can see it

okay.

STEP 13. Now just sew the pocket down. Do not

worry about any hems. Just do not break your

sewing machine needle while sewing over the

pins.  

See, all done.

STEP 14. Sorry, I forgot a photo for the neck ties.

Just run a seam down the length of each tie so as

they do not unravel any further than the seam.

Then position them where you want them. Look

at your existing Apron to get an idea of where

to place them. Also hold the Apron up to you

to get an idea. Once you know where you want

the neck ties, then sew them down on the under-

side of the top of the Apron. Do not turn under any

seam - just sew it down!!

If you choose you can

sew these ties on the front of your Apron and

add a button for cuteness!!!!

Then take the ends of the ties and tie a bow!!!

ALL DONE.

Now, since you have finished the first Apron, you

will be much faster sewing the second Apron.

To make the Aprons different, all I added was

white cotton lace that I have had for years.

I cut 2 pockets from the left-over

side of the white skirt. Cut any size that

you want allowing that your skirt has enough

fabric for you. If you need to, use the seams like I did

when cutting out your pockets. Before sewing the pocket to this

Apron, all I did was sew a strip of this white lace

to the top of the pocket. Pin the pockets down

onto your Apron where you want, spacing them a

few inches apart. Again do not turn the pockets

under for a hem unless you want to.

After you sew on your neck ties like is stated above.

Then just add a strip of cotton lace

to the top of the Apron.

Place the lace on the hem of the waste band

that is located at the top of the Apron. Do not

turn under for a hem unless you want to. Add

as many layers of lace as you want. I only

added one strip.

At the bottom of this Apron - I added 6

rows of cotton lace. I did not turn under any of the

lace for a hem. Just start each lace strip at

one end of the Apron and sew to the other

side. Cut it. For the next lace strip position

the lace strip a little above the other lace

strip and sew down like before. Sew as many

lace strips as you want.

I hope you make these Aprons. They

turn out very pretty!!