How to Make a Simple Bolster Cover with Drawstring

Before we start making the bolster cover, we have to know the circumference and the length of the bolster. If you want a spacious bolster ,add 3 inches more for the circumference and 2 inches more for the length. The correct way to get the length of the cover is making measurement from the middle point at the top of one end to the middle point at the top of the opposite end of the bolster. The width of the rectangle is equal to the circumference. Base on the measurement, draw a rectangle on a piece of paper.Then cut and put the pattern on the wrong side of the fabric. Draw along the pattern with fabric pen, leave three-quarters (3/4) inch seam allowance for the long sides and two and a half （2-1/2) inches for the short sides. Then cut out the fabric piece.

1.  We will start sewing at the long side. Place the fabric piece wrong side up. Double fold the long side to make a quarter inch hem (this is to prevent fabric fraying). Repeat the same for the other side.

2.  Fold the fabric hem to hem (lengthwise) and right side facing in. Then sew a seam along the folded edge as shows in the picture. Once finish, press the hems open either with your thumb-nail or a hot iron. you will get a tube shaped case.

4.  It is time to make tunnels(casings) for drawstring. Double fold the short edge to make a bigger hem. The first fold should be half inch wide and the second fold should be around one inch wide. Pin the hem. Mark the opening as shown in the picture. The size of the opening should be around one inch wide. Then, sew the hem about 1/8 inch from the folded edge. You should start sewing from the second mark and stop sewing at the first mark so the opening will be formed automatically. Repeat the step for the other short edge.

5.   Thread a length of drawstring or ribbon through each tunnel. You can use a safety pin to lead the drawstring through.

6.  Now, put on the cover for your bolster, pull the drawstring and tie in a bow. Then keep the bow inside the bolster cover so it always looks neat.

Sliding Square Knot Closure for DIY Cord Jewellery

Sliding square knot closure is a great adjustable closure for your DIY cord bracelets, necklaces and anklets. I like this adjustable closure because it looks neat and tidy. To make a sliding square knot closure, first of all we must know how to make a square knot. In short, it name says it all. This closure is created by making a row of square knots. For those who already know the technique to make the knot will be very easy for you to create a sliding square knot closure for any of your cord jewellery projects. The size of the sliding closure will be determined by the type of cord or string that you are using and the number of square knots that you are going to make. You can also try to make the sliding knot with a single twine or double-twine, both of them will give you different looks and feels.

Instruction:

Put both ends of the twine jewellery in parallel. Then, cut a strand of tying cord about 12" long and put the cord underneath the two ends as shown in the photo. Both parallel ends will be the center cords. If you want the ends to be more decorative, you can string a bead for each end before you make the sliding closure.I didn't string any bead for the ends, but I made a simple knot for each end once I finished the sliding knot.

Now, begin the knot with the left strand. Pass the left strand over the center cords and lay it underneath the right strand, making a loose loop.

Then, pick up the right strand and pass it up through the loop that you made on the left from underneath the left strand and the center cords.

Pull the left and right strand. The center cords will be captured inside. This is just a half square knot. A square knot is not complete yet. There is a few steps to go.

Let's continue to the second part. Pick up the right strand. Pass the right strand over the center cords and lay it underneath the left strand, making a loose loop.

Then, pick up the left strand and pass it up through the loop that you made on the right from underneath the right strand and the center cords.

Pull the left and right strand. The center cords will be captured inside again. Now, a square knot is completed.

Keep on making square knots until you get a desired length. Cut the left and right strand, melt  the tips with lighter and press the melted tips against the knots to stop it from unraveling.

Twine-wrapped Plant Pot & Bottle

Do you have any unwanted items like empty bottles, instant noodles cups or cans? What would you do with these unwanted items? Throw them away or keep them for other purposes?  We usually throw away what we no longer make use of. Do you know these "useless" items can be used to make a lot of great DIY projects?

I have some empty instant noodles cups stuffed into a drawer that I purposely keep for my DIY projects. I used these empty cups to make two rustic-looking plant pots in different designs. This is an inexpensive and easy craft, you can finish it in less than half an hour's time.

You can grow flowers or herbs in the twine-wrapped plant pot. Anyway, I prefer a low-maintenance greenery like a cactus.

Let's start with the simple materials that stated below...


Materials: 
1. Empty cups/ bottles
2. Twine
3. Super glue/ hot glue
4 Self-adhesive tape (ribbon)
5. Buttons 

This craft does not require any special skill. What you need to do is wrap the cup in twine and put on your decorative accessories.

By referring to the above photo, you can see two different designs of twine-wrapped plant pots. The first one is decorated with a piece of self-adhesive tape and a twine-braided bow. You can braid the twine and knot the both ends before you tie it on the pot. The second pot is decorated with a piece of self-adhesive tape and a button flower. It is very easy to make a button flower. You just need to get ready four pieces of twine and a four-hole button. Do cross stitch on top of the button and make two bows with the twine's' ends at the bottom of the button. Arrange the loops evenly and attach to your desired point of the pot.

The above twine-wrapped bottles are my daughter's masterpieces. These are her own ideas. She finished this project during her school holiday a few months ago. Making this kind of craft is simple, easy and inexpensive. Furthermore, it is suitable for younger children and adults. Do you agree on training a child to reuse some unwanted items is a great way to reduce the environmental issues? Let's make some unique home decors for ourselves and at the same time make some effort to protect our earth.






 

How to Make a Sock Rabbit

Sock rabbit is my recent project. I did think of making a sock rabbit quite some time ago but never took action to make a try. One day of last month, one of the members in my facebook group requested me to make two sock rabbits for her. I promised her and charged her a friendship price. Her request gave me a motive force to make a start. Hmm... I should thank her for giving me a push.

I like big ears rabbit, so do you? This project is easy to pull off. You will need 3 mid-calf socks to create a sock rabbit. If you have some unwanted or mismatched socks, now you can recycle those socks and turn it into a sock rabbit. If you think you want to make a pair of brand new sock rabbits as a gift for someone, then you should buy three pairs of mid-calf socks. Let refer to the material list below and follow the guided picture and instruction to get it done.


Materials:
1. Three mid-calf socks
2. Two shank buttons (for eyes)
3. Decorative button (for shirt)
4. Felt cloth (for nose)
5. Poly-fill material
6. Matching embroidery thread and sewing thread
7. Ribbon (optional)

First, turn a sock to the wrong side with the heel facing up. Lay the heel part towards the calf part and sew a curved line along the curved heel part. After that cut it into 3 parts as shown in the photo. There are the parts for rabbit's shirt, head, and one of the ear. Set the parts aside.

Turn the second sock to the wrong side with the heel facing up. Draw the pattern as shown in the photo onto your sock. Follow the yellow line and sew, then cut out the pattern by following the red line. It is about 1cm apart from the yellow line. Now you should have two different parts, one is for the body and legs and the small part is reserved for making a tail.

Turn the third sock wrong side out ( the photo shown above is not with the wrong side out, I forgot to turn the sock wrong side out when I took the photo, sorry for that 😅). Then, put the ear part which cut out from the first sock on the third sock as shown in the photo in order to cut out the other ear part in the same size. After you have cut out the ear piece, draw the hands and the sleeves patterns (the yellow line) on the other cut out piece. Try to push the front heel layer towards the back layer as deep as possible so you will have enough place to draw the hands. Follow the yellow lines and sew. Once you have finished, cut out the pieces follow the red lines.


Follow the instruction below to create a sock rabbit step by step:

Step 1. Start to make the bear's head. Turn the head piece to the right side and stuff up the head with poly-fill material, then run stitches along the raw edge. Before pulling it tight, fold the raw edge inwards. Tighten up the opening by pulling the thread fully and then make a few stitches across, knot and cut thread.

Step 2. Turn the body part to the right side. Stuff up the body. Then, run stitches along the raw edge.Tighten up the opening. Do it the same way as you made for the head. Now, join the head and the body together with a slip stitch.

Step 3. Turn the shirt to the right side. Put on the shirt with the raw edge facing the legs and fold the raw edge inwards.

Step 4. Turn the ear piece right side out and roll it up. Secure the base of the rolled edge with needle and thread. Do the same for the other ear and attach the ears to the head.

Step 5. Turn the hand piece right side out, stuff up and close the opening. Press the point near to the opening to form a flat-shaped upper arm. Repeat the steps for the other hand and sew the hands to the body

Step 6.  Put on the sleeves and secure them in place. Then sew the decorative butoon on the shirt.

Step 7. Take the tail portion and simply cut out a circle. Run stitches along the raw edge and put some poly-fill material on it. Pull the thread tight to close the opening. Don't cut the thread, sew it to the lower back with the same thread.

Step 8. Sew the eyes on the face.

Step 9. Cut out a nose (small love shape) from a piece of felt cloth and sew it on the face.

Step 10. Sew the mouth with the matching embroidery thread. Done!!

Water Bottle Bag

A new semester has begun. My youngest girl asked for a new water bottle bag to carry her new water bottle since last two weeks. She had a few requirements for her new water bottle bag. It must be a stiff and round bag, the height of the bag must be a little higher than her bottle and she didn't want the ends of the strap to be visible on the outer bag. In fact, this is a very simple water bottle. Besides her requirements, I wanted to try out a new method to sew the inner bag. Therefore, I had spent some time to think about the sewing method. I am not sure whether the method that I was using is a good method for you. Basically, I just want to share with you a new method that I had tried out.



Materials:
1. Linen fabric (for outer bag and strap)
2. Lining fabric (for inner bag)
3. Non-fusible woven interfacing
4. Batting

Making a Water Bottle Bag Step by Step

According to your water bottle size, cut out a piece of round linen fabric with 1.5cm seam allowance. Then, cut out a piece of round interfacing and batting without seam allowance. Place the wrong side of the linen fabric facing up, sandwich the batting between linen fabric and the interfacing. Top stitch the layers with three circles so that the layers can be held in place. This is the base of the outer bag. After you have finished this, cut out a piece of round lining fabric exactly the same as the round linen fabric. Set these two bases aside and continue sewing the body part.

Now, it is the time to sew the bag's body. You need one piece of rectangle linen fabric, one piece of rectangle lining fabric and one piece of rectangle non-fusible woven interfacing. The widths of the linen and lining fabrics should be equal to the circumference of the round linen base with batting and interfacing (the round fabric with allowance) that you made just now and the heights should be your desired height plus 5.5cm (4cm for the top seam allowance and 1.5cm for the bottom seam allowance). Then, cut out a piece of rectangle non-fusible woven interfacing without seam allowance and sew onto the wrong side of the linen fabric. I just sewed a horizontal line at the bottom to held the interfacing in place. Make a double fold hem for each top edge by folding the fabric 1cm towards the wrong side and fold it over 3cm again to encase the raw edge inside of the hem. Pin the hem in place and sew the hem about 0.2cm from the double folded edge.

After you have finished the top edges, place the two fabrics wrong sides together and align the top edges properly. Then, sew a vertical line at the middle of the layers. Start sewing from the double folded edge (about 3cm from the top) and stop before the 1.5cm seam allowance. Please don't start sewing the straight line from the hem top, just leave about 3cm from the top edge unsewn. Then, fold the lining fabric right sides together as shown in the photo. Sew a 1.5cm seam along the edge. Repeat this step for the outer fabric.

 Now, you should have two fabric tubes as shown in the photo. 

After that, pin the round lining fabric that you made onto the bottom of the lining fabric tube as shown in the photo and sew along the round edge. Repeat this step for the outer fabric tube. Once you have finished sewing the two bases, turn the outer bag right side out. Automatically, the inner bag will be fit into the outer bag.

Lastly, make a long shoulder strap with the linen fabric. The length of the strap would be your desired measurement.  Align the top edges properly and pin each end of the strap between the layers at the appropriate position. Sew the top edges together with a 0.2cm seam and sew a triangle at where you inserted the strap ends. 

 A simple water bottle bag is done.