Monday 30 September 2013

Easy Felt Flower Tutorial

 
I recently made a lovely felt flower for a blogger friend of mine. We decided to do an Eid Gift Swap with a theme of 'handmade'. So I decided to make a felt flower brooch as one of the gifts. This is a really easy item to make and could be made from other fabrics not only felt!
 
I used the technique of hand sewing to make this, as this is the most easiest option for everyone to have a go.  You could also do the same design using a hot glue gun, but not everyone has one of them so I decided to do the hand sewing technique for my blog post.
 
Requirements:
  • Felt (or other fabric) One colour or a mixture.
  • Needle and Thread
  • Metal Clip or fastener / safety pin
  • (Glue Gun - optional)

 
Step 1: Using a lid (you can use any circle) draw 6 circles from your fabric - all the same size.
Step 2: Fold one circle in half and then in half again. Secure this to make sure it stays folded with a few stitches in the bottom corner. (If using glue gun, then secure the folds with glue at the bottom.
Step 3: Secure the folded circle onto another full circle of fabric.
Step 4: Repeat Step 2 and 3 another 3 times, so that you have 4 folded circles placed in the centre of one of the other circles.
Step 5: Repeat step 2 and 3 again with the last circle and place this into the very centre of the other folded circles. You now have 5 folded circles hand stitched securely onto one circle. (or glued on!)
Step 6: Now turn the flower over and secure, glue or hand stitch a  clip/fastener onto the back piece.
Step 7: You now have your felt flower brooch! You can now proudly wear this as an accessory.
 
PS: You could also use this as a hairband, by attaching a bobble onto the back instead of a clip. Or attach to some fabric and make a stylish bracelet or headband!
 
I will do a blog post shortly talking about the 'Eid Swap Gift', Insha'Allah.
 
 
 

Monday 23 September 2013

Easy Lycra Leggings Tutorial

 
I wanted some more leggings for my eldest daughter, I can never buy the right size for her from the shops so I have started making my own leggings now. They are so easy to make, so I decided to share a quick tutorial for you to see for yourself!

If your body shape doesn't fit with the shop bought leggings then this is a brilliant way to get a pair that fits you perfectly!  My daughter is really thin and I am quite tall so it is great to have some that fit you exactly right! These leggings can also have many uses: I have used these style leggings as swimwear for my children and they are also great to wear to keep you warm under long skirts and dresses (and trousers) in the winter time! You can buy your Lycra online or from Fabric shops.

You could use this pattern for other types of fabric not just Lycra but you may need to add an elastic waist to them if they are not stretchy enough. If you do this then make sure to add extra inches above the waist line so you can fold it over to hide the elastic.

Requirements:
  • Lycra
  • Sewing machine and Matching Threads
  • Scissors
  • Elastic (optional) 
  • An old pair of leggings


Step 1) Take an old pair of leggings to use as a template and measure to make sure you have enough fabric.
Step 2) Fold the leggings in half, and place onto the lycra (also folded in half!) See Pic. Make sure that the outside leg is the side that is along the folded edge!
Step 3) Cut around the leggings leaving extra space for hem. (if you are wanting leggings to be made longer then add extra inches at the bottom of the legs.
Step 4) You now have one piece of fabric, you then need to place this fabric back onto the lycra to make an exact copy, so you should have 2 pieces of lycra.
Step 5) Place the two pieces of fabric together (shiny/pattern sides touching) Pin the fabric along the top side edges (hip area). Sew (I use zig zag stitches for easy stretching) along the 2 pinned side edges. (not along the length of the leg!)
Step 6) Now you have a joined piece of fabric, you need to then open the leggings so that the sewed seems are now in the centre, so you can now see the trouser shape (see pic). Then pin along the trouser edges from the crotch area to the ankle. Sew along these edges. Make sure that you give extra stitches at the crotch area as this is the area the stitches can come away easier.
Step 7) Fold over the waist and sew along a hem. (you could add elastic if needed - depending on how stretchy your fabric is!)
Step 8) I don't normally add a hem to the ankle, as Lycra doesn't fray, but if you wish to make it look neater then you can add a hem at the bottom of the legs.

You now have your own pair of personalised fitted leggings. Here is a great YouTube Video I found which shows you how easy these are to make. The video actually sews the leggings at the leg first and then sews the hips second - it doesn't really matter which way you do it - you still end up with the same result! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvILgAiJzR4

If you don't already have a pair of leggings, here is a tutorial showing how to make some by using your own body measurements: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duyJ4ILQfxE
 
 

Monday 16 September 2013

Easy Half Apron Tutorial


 
The photograph above shows an easy half apron I recently made for a good friend of mine. I needed a quick gift and this was what I produced. I also remembered to take some step by step photos so that I could make an easy blog tutorial too!
 
As usual I love making things from recycled fabric and this was from my fabric stash from an old curtain. The piece of fabric I cut out was from the bottom corner of the curtain so this made things even easier as I only had to sew up one hem on one side. The bottom hem and one of the side hems was already done for me! I already had some apron string which I purchased a while ago and used for the last aprons that I made. I made a gathered waist for this particular apron - this is the first time I have done this for an apron!
 
Requirements:
  • One rectangle piece of fabric - The size can vary - just make sure it is long enough to fit around the front part of the waist and long enough to reach the knees.
  • Apron String - Or make your own fabric waist ties.
  • Sewing Machine


Step 1) Cut out your rectangle piece of fabric.
Step 2) Iron and sew hems on the bottom and the 2 sides of the apron. (As I was recycling - my hems were already done on 2 sides!)
Step 3) Machine stitch gathering stitches all along the top of the apron. Then pull the threads to gather the apron to the correct size (to fit across the front waist)
Step 4) Pin another piece of fabric (I used yellow fabric) to the new waist line and sew it into place (on the wrong side of fabric). I did this to keep the stitches in place and also as I only had a small piece of fabric. If I had had longer fabric, I may have made a neat hem at the top as an alternative.
Step 5) Then cut some apron string - enough to tie all the way around the waist and enough to tie into a bow! Alternatively if you made a nice top hem - you could add 2 separate strings to the end of each side of the Apron.
Step 6) Pin the Apron string to the Apron evenly (Front part of Fabric) then sew the String to the Apron.
Step 7) Fold the ends of the Apron Strings over and neatly secure with stitches.

You now have your Easy Half Apron.

 

Monday 9 September 2013

Easy Headband Tutorial

easy headband tutorial muslim blog

My 6 year old daughter has just completed her first sewing project on the sewing machine - A Headband.  These are one of the easiest things to make and children love them! We just used some spare fabric she liked which was from an old top no longer needed. She decided to embellish it with buttons which she hand sewed onto the headband by herself too!

Unfortunately I don't have any step by step photographs as this was my child's project and I had to supervise her whilst using the sewing machine and hand sewing decorations onto it. I ironed the fabric for her as I wasn't ready for her to also use the iron quite yet!

easy headband tutorial muslim blog

If you want to make one of these easy headbands here is a photo and a link to a really good detailed tutorial: 3-days-of-free-easy-headband-tutorials



All you need for this project is a wide piece of rectangle shaped fabric - the size should be able to fit around the head. You also need a piece if elastic to attach to both ends of the rectangle. This enables the headband to stretch over the head and stay in place. If you look at the link I shared with the full tutorial you will be able to see for yourself how easy these are to make.


Monday 2 September 2013

Reupholstered Dining Room Chairs Tutorial and More!


dining chair reupholstered muslim blog
I recently bought some curtains from a Charity Shop / Thrift Store and the fabric was brilliant just what I needed for reupholstering my Dining Room Chairs.  I have never reupholstered dining room chairs before, but my friend did it recently and said how easy it is, and because my chairs were becoming very distressed that I thought I will give it a go!

My original chair fabric was blue but I really liked the rich colour of the curtains I found and thought the colour would match with some of the gold décor I have downstairs! Each curtain piece was 250cm drop and 450cm width! That is a lot of fabric!

I bought the fabric originally for my dining room chairs but had that much left I managed to also cover a living room chair and make 2 pairs of smaller curtains! I posted last week about the living room chair that I gave a makeover - photo is further below.

The photograph below shows the 6 chairs that I reupholstered and you can also see in the background one pair of the curtains that I made! I also bought a new wipe-down tablecloth with a similar colour in to make it more matching. I haven't got a photograph of the Living Room Curtains that I made, simply because every time I tried to take a photograph the sunlight ruins the photograph!

dining chair reupholstered muslim blog

Below is the photograph of last weeks post - Chair Makeover using the same fabric: chair-makeover


Below is a short tutorial on this post, you can also find many online tutorials available on the internet. The only things that you require are a Staple Gun and a tool to remove old staples. Removing the old staples was the worst part and longest part of this project - everything else was so easy! There was a black cover on the bottom of each seat - which I then reused once I had recovered with the new fabric.

Requirements
  • New Fabric
  • Screwdriver
  • Staple Gun
  • A tool to remove the staples.
  • Sewing machine (not always essential - if required for back!)

Easy Tutorial:

Step 1) Remove the seat and the back from the frame - most likely screwed together.
Step 2) Remove the old fabric from the seat of the chair and the back of the chair if it has fabric.
Step 3) Use this fabric as a template to cut out your new fabric
Step 4) Staple the seat fabric onto the seat in the same way as it was originally secured. You need to make sure you are stretching the fabric tight. The video link below shows you the best way to do this!
Step 5) Screw the seat back onto the frame.
Step 6) The seat back part involved sewing a slip on cover - which went over a piece of wood. A lot of seats don't have fabric on the back!
Step 7) Secure the back part fabric over the wood by stapling it tight. This was then secured to the chair using the original dowels and screws.

Here is a link to a brilliant video tutorial showing you how to do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtZdUeBzyqY

 Below are a few photographs I took whilst doing this project:

dining chair reuphostered muslim blog





I am really pleased with the amount of projects I a managed to complete with just one pair of bargain find curtains!

dining chair living room curtains reupholstered muslim blog