Tag Archives: tutorial

easy Easter sewing projects

Here are a few last minute projects my crafty 13 year old daughter has her sights set on. With Easter just 2 days away, easy and quick is the name of the game.
She can taunt her Peep lovin’ brothers (and me) and leave their mouths watering with these inedible imitations. I somehow want to add sparkles to these guys, maybe a little glue and appropriately colored glitter would do the job?

Peeps plushies:

Full plush Peeps sewing pattern and tutorial from Dandelions and Lace here.

Sewn Carrots:

M has already dug into my fabric scraps and managed to sew up a few of these carrots this week using this tutorial from Claire’s Craft Room. She even found some of the exact same orange polka dot fabric in my extensive collection of scraps.

AND… I really want to make a Peep garland, seriously, with my obsessions with garlands (one on every window) and Peeps (even though they aren’t chocolate) why haven’t I made one already?

Peeps garland or bunting:

Find the full and very easy tutorial here from Dana Made It.

tutorial: foundation quilt block piecing

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I just learned how to foundation piece by another gal in my quilt guild named Noelle but spelled Noel, a fairly serious situation for someone who doesn’t usually have to share her name. Anyway, this is how my ‘Confetti quilt’ (with foundation pieced blocks) is looking so far. I’m feeling unreasonable euphoric as I use up scraps like crazy, reliving memories as I pick through smallish leftovers from previous projects.

If you want to know more or try it for yourself, check out the tutorial with detailed instructions on how to make this kind of block with foundation piecing, here.

tutorial: pom-pom bows from scraps of fabric

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I’ve been waiting for this idea for so long… finally a use for all those discarded quilting (or otherwise) strips of fabric- a reuseable pom-pom bow.
And it couldn’t be easier to make. Follow these easy steps:
If using strips of fabric, find something to wind the strips around. (you can also use small scraps instead of strips and just stack them up instead of wrapping) I used a roll of paper but any sort of bottle or small can will work. The more strips of fabric you use, the fuller the pom-pom will be. Alternate the ‘right’ side of the fabric facing in and out as you add strips.
You want a pretty fat stack by the time you’re finished wrapping layers. My pom-pom ended up being very full (from the layers you see above and below).
Slide the layers of fabric off roll and hold then in place in the middle, wherever you decide that will be. I made the middle right where my thumb was and where I started wrapping each layer.
Tie the middle off tightly with a small piece of fabric, string or medium gauge wire. Make it as tight as you can.
With sharp scissors, snip all of the loops, a few layers at a time.
Once all the loops have been snipped, your pom-pom should now look like this (above). At this point you can trim the longer outer layers to match the shorter inside layers or wait until the pom-pom has been shaped.
Hold the pom-pom on it’s side and with both hands (one on either side) begin to pull the layers out of the middle with equal force on either side.
Separate a bit in all areas and sides first, then go back and separate the individual fabric layers until you have a nice round shape. Loose pieces of fabric will fall out here and there, don’t worry, they’re the pieces that didn’t quite wrap with perfect length. Trim the lengths to even up the look of the pom-pom.
And there you are- a pom-pom bow made from junk, leftovers, stuff you were going to throw away.

For variety add ribbon, tulle, rick rack in with the layers or even glitter. You could make them in any size- decorate a room, a party, use them instead of bean bags, as an indoor soccer ball on rainy days… and the list goes on.
We had some spray glitter laying around from a previous project and a bit of sparkle really added to the charm (hard to see, very subtle but elegant).