You may remember that about seven months ago I replaced the brim binding on Goen's sun hat because it was falling apart from so much use (it had already been worn for a few years before he was born, so it had a head start). (By the way, I'm still laughing about the little pun I just made.) This past week I had to revisit the hat and replace the circular top piece because it was paper thin and had a hole. After removing the bound seam and the circular piece, I traced a new one from the old. The fabric I chose is similar in color, so it's difficult to notice it isn't the original. Goen didn't even notice, and I decided not to bring it up. I'm sure it won't be long before the hat needs more love, though. The whole thing is close to falling apart. But every time I fix it, it adds more personality and I just can't see myself parting with it yet.
You may remember that about seven months ago I replaced the brim binding on Goen's sun hat because it was falling apart from so much use (it had already been worn for a few years before he was born, so it had a head start). (By the way, I'm still laughing about the little pun I just made.) This past week I had to revisit the hat and replace the circular top piece because it was paper thin and had a hole. After removing the bound seam and the circular piece, I traced a new one from the old. The fabric I chose is similar in color, so it's difficult to notice it isn't the original. Goen didn't even notice, and I decided not to bring it up. I'm sure it won't be long before the hat needs more love, though. The whole thing is close to falling apart. But every time I fix it, it adds more personality and I just can't see myself parting with it yet.
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With the start of a new school year, the typical illnesses have made their way into our family. One after another, we have all come down with a slight cold. Nothing major, luckily. But it certainly makes life a little harder for a short time. My husband's cold is just gearing up while my little one and I are on the mend.
Speaking of mending, I did a quick fix on a hat this week. Although Goen has many hats, he has only one sun hat, and it has seen a lot of wear this summer. It got to the point where the binding on the brim was shredded in places and threatening to tear right off. I removed the old binding and put on some bright, cheerful binding left over from another project. The hat looks so much more "him" now than it did before. And it certainly gave the hat new life. I thought about writing a full tutorial, but it seems so easy that I decided a picture tutorial would be enough. If it's not, just drop me a line or leave a question below and I'll answer. Of course, as soon as I finished that fix, I noticed another hole wearing through at the top. But that's a fix for another day. I'm going to have all of you close your eyes in a moment, but first I'll ask this question: have you ever made a mistake that took a finished project from "awesome!" to "oh, no!"? Now close your eyes. Raise your hand if you answered "yes" to this question. Okay, you can all put your hands down and open your eyes. Don't worry. I'm the only one who knows your secret. But, just so you know, you're in good company. Last year, when I made a fabric memory book for my son's first birthday, I decided to make my own printable fabric. I looked at dozens of tutorials and tips, and all of them seemed to say that you just had to iron to set the ink. And I did. They all said that pre-treated fabric was unnecessary. So I didn't do it, despite all the nagging doubts in my head. I've been regretting it ever since. Within a few weeks of finishing all the hand embroidered edging around the pictures, I noticed a few small spots on the printed images. It took me a while to realize that drool had caused the ink to bleed. So I put the book away, only taking it out when I could supervise my toddler to make sure he didn't chew or drool on the pages. It was a disaster just waiting to happen. All my hard work could be obliterated in moments. I searched and searched for a way to fix my mistake. Luckily, I had several extra pictures to test on. First I tried spray fixative, the kind used for artwork. It smelled terrible and didn't stop the ink from bleeding when I dripped water on the test piece. I tried clear, iron-on vinyl. It protected the picture, but it looked weird and would have taken a long time to put on around all the embellishments I'd laboriously applied (some would have been impossible). After thinking about it for months, I finally hit upon the idea to use fabric medium, the kind that can be added to acrylic craft paint to make it permanent on fabric. I applied it to a test picture, and it worked! The series of images below shows one of my tests where half the picture was painted over with fabric medium and the other half left alone. Although the ink in this particular test piece didn't bleed like the rest, a quick dab with a paper towel was all it took to remove all the colored ink from the untreated half. The water basically turned it into a drab black and white image. So, I guess the tutorials I read were right...as long as you are only printing in black and white. If you use color ink, you have to use pretreated fabric to keep the pictures safe from water. If you find yourself in a similar situation, here are some tips for protecting your fabric-printed pictures from water.
I went ahead and did all of the pictures, so now my little guy can finally enjoy his book without me hovering over him to make him stop putting his mouth on it. It's such a relief not to have to worry about it. And now that I've learned from this mistake, I'll be sure to use pre-treated fabric for my projects. I'm curious, though. What was the mistake you made? 'Cause you did raise your hand, right? Choose an embroidery stitch to outline the design and secure it to the fabric to prevent it from lifting off through washing. If there are still visible puncture holes from the old design, use a finger nail to rub the knit fabric and ease the fibers back together. Your unbranded jacket is now ready to show off your style, or, um, your child's style. Once you are satisfied with the placement, iron the design onto the knit material. Make sure to avoid any plastic zippers or other meltable parts. I love to see projects from my tutorials. If you make something, send me a link to your picture or post. It's great to see other designs. It inspires me to come up with more ideas to share. Place the fusible shape over the spot where you removed the old design. If you ripped any threads in the knit fabric, strategically place the piece over it. Also, try to cover up as many of the puncture marks as possible. I'm not a fan of overtly branded clothing. I don't want to be a billboard for corporate advertising, and I don't want my son to be either. When I was given a few toddler clothes a few months ago, one of the items was a jacket in a pretty two-tone blue color. It was a nice jacket, but it had a large appliqued logo on the front. I kept the jacket with the intention of removing the design and putting on one of my choosing. Now, with my sewing stuff in disarray from the move, this simple project rose to the top of the queue. Here's a quick tutorial so you can join my unbranding revolution. How to Unbrand a Knit Appliqued Jacket Materials: - Seam ripper - Fabric scrap (knit or woven) - Fusible web - Embroidery floss or thread - Needle Steps: Use the seam ripper to carefully remove the stitching from the embroidered and/or appliqued design. Be careful not to cut through the knit material; however, if you do, it's easy to cover up and prevent raveling. Measure the area you want to cover. Since the puncture marks from the original design will still be visible, try to make your new design at least as big to cover up as many of the marks as possible. Choose a scrap of fabric for your new design and iron fusible web to the back side. Draw a box outlining the outer limits of your new design. Trace your chosen design in reverse on the paper of the fusible web. Cut out the design and remove the paper backing from the fusible web. Many months ago, our 50mm lens succumbed to gravity. It was only a short fall, but a decisive one. I was so sad that it was broken because it produced many of my favorite pictures. It worked even in low light, without having to open the aperture to maximum and losing the beautiful fuzzy background that gives photographs such great dimension. And I could take pictures of fast motion without compromising image quality by increasing the ISO. It is by far my favorite of our two lenses. Although the 50mm still sort of worked after its fall, it wouldn't focus beyond a few feet. We agonized over what to do. Buy a new lens? Too expensive. Get the broken one fixed? But what if the life expectancy was greatly diminished as a result of the fall and we end up having to buy a new one anyway? Back and forth we went, and the lens sat on a shelf, until we finally decided to send it to Canon to get it fixed. After a week and over 600 miles of travel through the mail, my beloved lens is back and working. Of course I had to take it for a spin. I spent the last couple days reacquainting myself with the settings and trying to break my habit of zooming in and out, which this lens doesn't do. It was just in time, too, because the weather and longer days are perfect for evening visits to the park, for low-light action shots, for capturing his big, blue eyes. Did I mention I love my 50mm lens? I'm so glad to have it back.
Do you have a favorite lens? One that takes exactly the picture you were hoping to capture? For me, my 50mm is it. After looking at dozens of different sewing machines and the different stitch options available, I decided that I can't afford the sewing machine I want. Permit me a sigh will you? So, I thought to myself that I should try getting my broken machine fixed while I save up money to get the one I want. I took it in on Friday and the guy took one look at it and told me that, it may have the Kenmore logo on it, but it was definitely made by Janome. He also said it is a pretty good, solid machine. Maybe he says something like that to everybody, but it did make me feel a little better about spending money to fix it. He said that it was likely just in need of a tuneup, which, I'm ashamed to say, has not been done while I've owned it. I should get it back later this week, hopefully in perfect working order. Until then, I'll be staring at the empty space on my sewing table and dreaming of a new fancy machine in that space in the not-to-distant future. And I'll be prepping other projects, including putting together a tutorial on a felt needle book that I'm making.
My sewing supplies are always one step away from chaos and disorganization. I've been telling myself for years that it's time to sort it all out. Well, I'm finally taking a small step in that direction. The fabric and craft store near me had a sale on photo storage boxes in colors and prints that I love. I like the photo boxes because they are sturdy, stackable, and don't fracture like plastic. And they have a spot to put in a label. So I picked up a few (okay, ten). Some of the boxes will be for current projects, including one to carry around the house and work on when I have a moment. The rest will be for ribbon and bias tape and fabric and felt bits and, and, and...
I might have too many odds and ends in my stash, but a little organization will go a long way towards making it all more manageable. Wish me luck! My little runner has already worn a hole in his leather moccasins. The cause? A combination of standing on his toes to reach for things and jogging on the balls of his feet on pavement. It's small, but you can just see it in the picture. Right below the stitching at the toe. I had to do something before it got bigger. The rest of the leather is in great shape and I did not want to scrap them just because of a little hole. This is the second pair of these beautiful moccasins we bought (he grew out of the first pair pretty quickly) from Starry Knight Design on Etsy. They get so many compliments everywhere we go. I love the way they look and the way they wear. I highly recommend them. If you already have a pair (or something similar) that your toddler has worn a hole through, check out how I fixed these.
Patching Leather Moccasins: The first thing I had to do was turn the moccasins inside out. Since the elastic goes all the way around the ankle, this was pretty easy. I cut a couple small pieces of scrap leather to patch the hole on each one. I still had a tube of shoe glue from sewing a pair of shoes and was able to use it for a quick fix on this pair as well. Following the instructions on the package, I put a thin layer of glue on the inside toe where the hole is and a thin layer on the leather patch and let it sit to dry for several minutes. I ignored the application instruction to use a cotton swab to apply the glue. Been there, done that. It doesn't work. I just put the spout up against the surface and squeeze very gently (or let gravity do it) while moving the tip around. Once they were ready, I put the patch against the toe seam, covering the hole. A large binder clip held it all together nicely while it dried for 24 hours. Even though some of the stitches came out as a result of the holes, the glue should hold the seams together. And the patch is small enough that it does not alter the look of the moccasins when they are being worn. The perfect quick fix! |
Carley Biblin
Hi. My name is Carley. I love to sew, craft, and create. As a Jane-of all-crafts so to speak, I enjoy sewing, writing, cooking, drawing, photographing. But the constant thread (if you'll excuse the pun) throughout my weeks is needle arts. Archives
January 2017
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