Envelope Pillow Tutorial

Quick. Easy. Washable. Cheap. This pillow is so easy, I made about 4 in an hour! It's so nice too because you can slip it off and wash it, and if you're a mom with young kiddos that is a must! 

I bought THIS pillow at Joann's with a 50% off coupon. Then I got THIS fabric on sale for only $6.74 a yard. 

Supplies

2/3 of a yard (19.5 inches actually) 45" wide fabric

1 Pillow form - 18 x 18 inches

Rotary cutter and mat (unless you can cut super straight on your own - which I can't!)

Sewing Machine

1. Cut your fabric: 45" x 19.5" 

2. Finish both of the ends that are only 19.5". To do this I folded the end over twice about a 1/2" and sewed two seams to give it a nice finished look.  

3. Lay the pillow flat, with the right side of the fabric facing up. Fold over one edge, and the other so that they over lap about 6".  Pin where the two edges meet on one side. 

4. Remove the pillow. Measure exactly how many inches from the end folded under to the other end folded over. Should be about 6". Now measure the other side to make sure they are exactly the same distance. 

5. Pin both side in place.  

6. Sew right along the edges, with about a 1/2" seam allowance. One I sewed each side, I went back and did a zig zag along the edge to keep from fraying. (Even though you won't be able to see the inside, I want to keep the threads from fraying when I remove the cover to wash it).  

7. Turn inside out.  

8. Stuff your pillow inside and enjoy! 

Camera Purse

I just bought a new D-SLR camera (Yay!). I didn't want to have to lug around a camera bag, and a purse. So I decided to make a cute purse into a camera bag! I found this purse at TJ Maxx:

My main criteria was that it needed to have a flat bottom (this happened to be 8" x 12"), it needed a long strap so I could have it over my shoulder, and it needed to zip closed.

Your measurements may differ depending on what camera you have and what size purse you choose to use. I have the Canon Rebel T2i, and two lenses. 

Supplies

Purse

3/4 of a yard of fabric

15" x 30" foam

1 foot of Velcro

1. I actually used 3 different fabrics (the coral color isn't pictured, it was an afterthought), each 1/4 of a yard.

2. Cut a piece of fabric 11" x 33"

3. Fold in half length-wise so it's now 5.5" x 33". Then sew along a short side and a long side, so there is one short side still open. Clip your corners and turn inside out. 

4. Cut 4 pieces of foam: (2) 6.5" x 5.5" - Piece A, (2) 8.5" x 5.5 - Piece B

5. Put Piece A in and all the way down to the sewn end. Sew right next to the foam so it's tightly enclosed in the fabric. Take Piece B, push it down all the way to the seam. And sew right next to that piece of foam so that it is tightly enclosed. Repeat with Piece A and then the other Piece B. 

 6. At the end of your foam-filled piece of fabric, sew the edges together. Sew the loops of the Velcro on the inside of one side. Then on the far side sew the hooks of the Velcro on the outside. So when you put them together it forms a little box.

 7. Cut 2 pieces of fabric: (1) 4" x 11", (1) 6.5" x 11"
8. Cut 2 pieces of foam: (1) 3.5" x 5" - Piece C, (1) 6" x 5" - Piece D
9. Take your smaller piece of fabric and fold in half (so it's 4 x 5.5), and sew the two long sides inside out. Clip corners and turn inside out. Put your smaller piece of foam inside. Sew last side together, then sew on a hoop of a Velcro piece.
10. Take the larger fabric piece and in half ( so now 6.5 x 5.5), and sew inside out along the two shorter sides, leaving one side open. Put your last piece of foam inside. Sew shut. In the middle of the piece sew on the hook side of the Velcro. The two pieces should then connect perpendicular.

11. Place your two little perpendicular pieces inside your little box. Just enough space for a camera and two lenses! 

I decided afterward to add an extra piece of foam on the bottom to add a bit more protection. Now I have just enough room for my camera, two lenses, my wallet, my phone, and keys! I am so happy with how it turned out! Now I won't feel like it's a hassle to lug around this camera. It's great!

 Email me if you have questions, I know my instructions might be a bit confusing :) 

My Little Mini-Me

Last month a made a skirt and had some left over fabric. So I made a little dress my sweet little girl so we could be twiners! I loved going to church all matchy-matchy. 

 Livy, "showing my her teeth". 

Hem Jeans with Original Hem

I just bought a pair of pants that I LOVE...but, they are way too long. I thought they'd be OK with shoes and folded up a bit. But they were driving me crazy, and the if they dragged they would just ruin way too quickly. Here's the before pics of my nice-long-bunched-up-dragging pants:

   

 1. The first step is to fold up and measure how much you want to hem. I needed to make them just under 2" shorter so that they just barely touch the floor. So I folded it just under 1" up so that they'd be 2" shorter.

 2. Pin in place. Make sure that it's the same measurement all the way around. Also make sure that each leg is measured equally (unless your legs are different lengths :).

 3. Then using your zipper foot, sew right along the edge of the original hem.

 4. After the hem is sewn, you could either cut off the excess fabric, or fold it inside (just in case you want to make them longer again some day).

 5. Use your iron to press the seam flat. You shouldn't see the seam, and your original hem is still there.

 6. To make sure the excess fabric stays in place, I took a needle and thread, and by hand I did a very small stitch every 1/4 inch - just grabbing a thread or two on the pant and the excess. By just grabbing a few threads, it will help keep in place, but won't show your stitches on the other side.

 7. All complete! Now I'll probably actually wear these pants now. :)

Woman to Child - Refasion

My mother-in-law had a big ole' pile of clothes she was going to give-a-way, so I took advantage and stole a few! There was a sweater vest that first caught my eye. It had such a cute print. So I decided to make my little girl a dress! Literally 10 minutes. I sewed in the sides. Cut off the excess, and used the excess to make a ruffle. Voila! 

High-Waisted Skirt

I bought a skirt a few months ago on clearance that was being discontinued. I love it so much that I made a copy-cat! This was super ambitious of me. But I basically traced the skirt, and piece by piece I was so excited to come up with this!! The fabric totally makes the skirt. The cuteness of the fabric hides my little flaws :) You can find the fabric here. Make sure to use a 50 % off coupon that Joann's has all of the time. I used just barely over a yard of fabric too. A cute skirt for under $10!

The pockets make me happy. I like this style I just might make another one! (If so, I'll try and do a tutorial).