SEW & TELL: Vintage Button Crush

I have an ongoing love affair with vintage buttons. There’s something about an old box or jar filled with buttons that’s like a time capsule. Little threads hanging off a discarded shirt button, an oversized coat button, evening wear rhinestone buttons all meant to be used again.  Over the years, I’ve shared quite a few projects using buttons from my collection. I hope you enjoy this trip through my archives as much as I did.

SEW & TELL: We are Knitters Review & Giveaway

I’m so excited to share this review and giveaway with you today. If you know how to knit or if you don’t know how to knit but have been wanting to learn, you’re going to love these kits by We Are Knitters. For this review, I got to choose a kit and I have to say, it was hard to pick. All of the kits are gorgeous, contemporary and tempting.

SEW & TELL: Yarn Scrap & Paper Mache Paste Nest

A few years back I made a yarn bowl and it is still one of my most popular posts. You can check it out here. It’s been a while since I’ve made a batch of paper mache paste and I’ve been wanting to make some nests so I revisited that yarn bowl project and adapted it to make some fun crafty nests.

SEW & TELL: DIY Sewing Kit Gift Box

Hello friends! Today I’m sharing this quick and inexpensive gift idea. A Sewing Kit Gift Box.

Sew & Tell: Felted Acorns without wool or water

Every time I see a picture of  darling felted wool acorns I fall in love with them all over again. I’ve always wanted to make some but I was missing a few key supplies. Wool yarn and acorn caps.

Sew & Tell: Vintage Covered Buttons

I made some covered buttons and some combination covered buttons. They aren’t truly vintage because I made them but the metal button caps and backs are The Original Prims Cover Your Own Buttons.

Sew & Tell: freshening the patio for spring

It’s definitely spring in my neck of the woods. The weather went from gloomy to fresh and sunny recently. Although I was ready for the change in seasons, my patio wasn’t. The cushions and pillows on my patio furniture have had it. They were old, faded and dingy. I would show you a picture but honestly, they were so bad it’s horrifying.

Sew and Tell: embellished sweater

It’s always fun to give new life to something you haven’t worn in awhile.

Sew and Tell: old sweater ~ new storage

I’m sure you’ve seen many, many beautiful “old sweater” projects. Sweaters can be used to make pillows, vases, cozies and more. Every time I visit a thrift store I check for cable knit sweaters or other pretty knits to make some of the beautiful items I’ve seen on Pinterest and on other creative blogs.

Sew and Tell: vintage chenille no-sew stockings

I love vintage linens. In fact, a long time ago – in a galaxy far away, I used to make and sell pillows using vintage fabrics.

Sew and Tell: tiny sweater ornaments

Aren’t these just the cutest little tiny sweater ornaments? My friend Vicky made these and I had to share them with you.

Sew & Tell: needle felted penguin

Have you ever tried needle felting? This is something that I’ve been wanting to try for awhile but I never got around to. Thanks to EK Success Brands, I was able to make this little penguin fairly easily.

Sew & Tell: sentimental vintage treasure

My friend recently gave me a bag of vintage linens and sewing notions that were her late mother’s. Although they were treasured items she had no need for them and told me to make some pretty things with them.

Sew and Tell: rag rug pillow

This rag rug pillow was so easy to make and it turned out so bright and cheery!

Before you get too impressed, I didn’t make the rag rugs. I bought them at the dollar store. But I did put them together to make the pillow.



The colors are bright and vibrant and the fabric is soft t-shirt material. I’m not sure how long these would hold up if they were actually used as a rug but they should be fine for pillows.



I bought two rugs and with the wrong sides together (right sides out) I hand stitched the top and bottom together. The fringed edges were very loosely stitched and needed reinforcement. I used my sewing machine to close up one side and left the other side open to stuff the pillow. Once stuffed, I pinned the final edge and sewed it closed. Super easy!


My teenage son has decided that a whole bunch of these would look good on his bed. He has a daybed and piles of these pillows would be great for reclining. Teenagers love to recline on unmade beds with piles of pillows.


Anyway, I thought it would be fun to redecorate his room on a mood board. Navy blue bedding with piles of the rag rug pillows and a few accent pieces. Fun!

It would be nice to be able to just go out and buy all new things whenever the urge to redecorate hit. It’s also fun and challenging to recreate these looks on a budget.

• The rag rug pillows will only cost a few dollars each.
• The clock can easily be made with an existing clock and spray painted paint sticks or dowels or even craft paper rolled into a cone.
• The pendant lamp can be made with an upcycled lamp and spray paint or fabric.
• The blue table – a thrift store or existing piece spray painted.
• The yellow ottoman can be made from a thrift store purchase and new fabric and stuffing.
• The orange frame is an easy project using a dollar store frame and craft paint or spray paint.
• Baskets, vases and other knick knacks can be found on clearance at big chain stores or at dollar stores.

The first step is to start making that pile of pillows.

Thanks for visiting.

Carolyn

I link at the wonderful parties listed here and 

 

Sew and Tell: diy fabric eyeglass case {no sew}

All my life I’ve had perfect vision. It was only recently that I started needing reading glasses. And it’s quickly progressed to stronger lenses and completely relying on them.



I have a pair in every room in the house because I’m not the type to wear a little dangly chain around my neck for my glasses. But for some reason, I’m always misplacing the eye glass cases. I lost my last one during my recent travels. I’m sure it fell out somewhere at the airport while I was fumbling for my boarding pass or at a restaurant while trying to read a menu.



When I got back, I made a mental note to go buy a new case. Then I thought, duh, I’ll just make one. My first thought was to sew one, but why bust out the sewing machine when there’s glue…

To make a quick and easy no-sew eye glass you’ll need:

• Paper towel tube or wrapping paper tube
• Fabric
• Craft Glue

 

• Cut your tube to the desired length to fit your glasses.
• Cut open your tube down the long side
• Glue your fabric to the outside of the tube and tuck in all edges gluing them to the inside.
• Use a small line of glue to the inside edges and secure with binder clips.
• Let dry.

This is much prettier than those silly cases they sell at the drugstore. The cardboard tube adds just the right amount of stiffness so the case will stay upright in your purse.

Plus, I love this fabric. It was in the remnant bin and I’ve been eager to use it on a project.

This is great way to use up a small piece of fabric and very budget-friendly. Add a monogram or other embellishments to make a nice gift.

Thanks for visiting.

Carolyn

I link at the wonderful parties listed here and 

 

Sew & Tell: refashioned t-shirt {summer navy & white}

I love navy and white. It’s so crisp and summery. I was cleaning out my drawers and found a navy blue t-shirt that had barely been worn. It wasn’t a fashion t-shirt but one of those logo t-shirts that you would wear to paint the house. The redeeming quality about this t-shirt was that it was the perfect shade of navy blue.

I decided to refashion a plain white t-shirt so I could have a new navy and white summer top.

To make a t-shirt like this, you need to first cut t-shirt yarn from your throw away shirt.

To make t-shirt yarn, you cut one long continuous strip going around and around the bottom of the shirt. I drew a little diagram above. 

Here’s what you end up with – t-shirt yarn. You can knit or crochet with it or do just about anything you would do with yarn or ribbon. 

For step-by-step instructions, here’s a little graphic you can save.

Once you have your strip, start pinning it to our t-shirt in whatever design you want. I chose rosettes in a continuous swirly pattern. I hand stitched the rosettes into place and then machine stitched the entire ribbon down.

I love it. I think I'll wear this with jeans or denim capris, espadrilles and a straw hat!

Thanks for visiting.

Carolyn

I link at the wonderful parties listed here and