New Button!

I'm so excited. I finally got around to making a Sew Much Ado link button that both of you who read this blog can post onto your own website or blog.  It's super easy, see the button on the right?  All you have to do is copy and paste the text in the box below the button into your layout.  In Blogger you click on "Add a Gadget" and then on "HTML/JavaScript" and paste the code there.

Ottoman Slipcover Tutorial.

Description:

As promised when I posted the before and after, here is a tutorial for a simple and contemporary ottoman slipcover.  No pleats, ruffles, or tassels!  It is an easy project to complete and can give new life to an old piece of furniture.

Materials:

2-4 yards of pre-washed home decor fabric, depending on the size of your ottoman

thread

measuring tape

Pieces to Cut:

1. Measure the length and width of the top of the ottoman.  Add 1" to each measurement to allow for 1/2" seam allowance and cut out of fabric.  For example, my ottoman was 26" wide and 42" long, so I cut my top piece 27"x43".  If the ottoman is rounded at the corners instead of square as pictured, use a bowl or lid as a guide to cut the corners into a rounded edge.

2. Measure the length and height of the ottoman sides.  Add 1" to the length measurement to allow for 1/2" seam allowance and 3" to the height to allow for a hem, and cut out of fabric.  If you have a square ottoman you will have 4 equal pieces, if your ottoman is a rectangle as pictured, you will have 2 pieces of 2 different sizes.

Directions:

1. Right sides together, pin two side pieces together along their sides.  If your ottoman is rectangular, make sure to pin one shorter piece with one longer piece, rather than matching up the two equal pieces.  Stitch two pieces together using a 1/2" seam allowance.  You will continue to use a 1/2" seam allowance for the entire project.  If your ottoman is rounded at the top corners as mentioned above, gradually sew from your 1/2" seam allowance up to a 1" seam allowance on one end on the last 2-3" of the seam.  Press seam open and topstitch 1/4" along each side of pressed seam.

2. Pin and sew remaining two side pieces together as you did with the first two.

Note: If you sewed the wider seam allowance on one end for a curved top ottoman, make sure to lay the pieces out on the ottoman so that the wider seam allowance ends will all be at the top of the ottoman and not near the hem.  This will save you the hassle of seam ripping when you get to step 3 :).
3. You will now have two long pieces for the ottoman sides.  Matching up short and long sides again, pin and sew the two pieces right sides together, press seams open, and topstitch 1/4" along each side of seams.  You will now have one long tube of fabric that will be your slipcover sides.

4. Pin slipcover side piece to slipcover top piece, matching up side piece seams with top piece corners.  Stitch two pieces together.  Press seam open and then toward top piece.  Topstitch on top piece, 1/4" from the seam.

5. Fit your slipcover over the ottoman to ensure the fit is proper.  If you measured correctly, you should have room for a 3" hem.  If you need to make any adjustments to the hem length, now is the time.

6. Fold bottom edge of slipcover 1" toward wrong side of fabric and press.  Fold your pressed edge 2" more toward wrong side of fabric and press.  Stitch close to inner folded edge to form your hem.  Stitch again 1/4" down from the first hem line.

7. Admire your new ottoman slipcover!

Ottoman: Before and After

Before:

After:

We got this ottoman for free with some other furniture that we bought a few years ago when we first moved to Arizona.  We loved the style of it because it is so big and has storage inside.  As you can see, the top has some stains that didn't come out when we had it cleaned.  At the time I made a slipcover for it, and unfortunately I chose the color burgundy for the fabric.  Yikes...  So it definitely needed a makeover.  I considered re-upholstering the entire ottoman, but I love being able to take a slipcover off and wash it so that made my decision.  I chose a corduroy fabric because I've always wanted a corduroy couch because they just seem so cozy.  A tutorial for you to make your own ottoman slipcover is in the works, and should be posted soon!

Update: To see the tutorial for an ottoman slipcover, go here.

Panang Chicken.

I know this is a sewing blog.  Every time I post something that is not directly related to sewing I feel like a big phony and feel like I need to add a disclosure to the post.  Even if it's about home decorating but doesn't involve sewing, I feel guilty.  Not guilty enough to stop doing it though I guess!  If you like Thai food you should try this recipe for Panang Chicken.  Thanks to Joel we had it for supper tonight.  It was sure nice to not cook for a change, and of course he made enough for his lunch tomorrow too, so I don't have to worry about that either!

Dresser: Before AND After.

Before:

After:

Wow, since I designated September as "Before and After Month" at Sew Much Ado, I thought I better get my dresser finished so I actually had an "after" to post before the end of the month. Yikes. I've had it painted and mostly antiqued for a couple of weeks now, but hadn't found the perfect handles for it. Well last night I lucked out! We were at Ikea getting table legs for my new sewing table (which I'll have to post about later, it is huge and already covered in projects), and we happened upon the drawer handles and pulls. They had a bunch on sale, which also happened to be the ones I liked the best! I had been wanting glass pulls, but in the back of my mind I knew they probably were a terrible match for the dresser, so I'm glad I found something else. Can you believe that they were only $1.99 for 2 handles? So it cost me less than $6 to get new handles for the dresser. A $10 dresser and $6 handles makes for a pretty good deal, eh? The dresser had been previously painted white, blue, and black, so those colors all showed through when I distressed the dresser. I don't know if I'd do the same shade of pea-green again, but I guess I can paint it again if I get sick of it.

Oh ya, and for the sake of full disclosure, I did all the dirty work sanding and distressing and wood-filling the dresser, and Joel painted it with the spray gun. He was just "getting it ready" for me to use, and before I knew it, he had the first layer painted. Men are funny, aren't they? Can't say I minded his help though! He also dropped a garden tool or two on the drawers to help distress them. I was so nervous to start distressing the dresser, I Googled about it a ton and everything said the same thing... There is no wrong way to do it. I was sure if there was a wrong way, I would find it. But I think it may actually be true, it's just scary actually taking the plunge after you've spent your time sanding and painting your project, to go and ruin it all! I guess next time I wouldn't spend so much prep time, since you just re-wreck it anyway :).
We're excited to refinish another dresser now.

Made by Rae Backpack Giveaway!

To win this adorable Jackpack by Made by Rae, go to the link below at Grosgrain Fabulous.  Made by Rae sells the patterns for the backpacks as well so you can even make your own!

Grosgrain: Made by Rae Jackpack Backpack GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Knitted hat.

My sister Ada knitted this hat for Wyatt's birthday. She made one for Weston as well, but I'm really smart and didn't even think to have him wear his for the picture. She is an expert hat knitter, and I'm sure that most of the siblings and grandkids in my family have touques ("beanies" for any Americans) from her. I honestly thought the hat was from Gap when I first saw it. Funny enough, when I told her that, she said she copied a Gap hat when she made them. I guess she did a good job! Wyatt loves it too, he's been wearing it around the house all week.

Fondant fishies.

I can't believe that Wyatt has turned two years old!  Wowsers, where has the time gone? I debated and debated whether or not I would make Wyatt a fondant cake for his birthday or not. I didn't have any great ideas for one, so I decided unless something popped into my mind then I wouldn't worry about it. Well unfortunately for me something did pop into my mind. He loves fish and water, so I came up with this underwater theme. Keeping with my usual style and laziness, it's still pretty simple. Like his cake last year, which was my first time attempting a fondant cake, for this second attempt I used 6" cake pans to keep it small and, frankly, easier to make.  It was fun, I actually made my own fondant this time instead of using the disgusting store bought fondant that I used last year.  I don't know how they can sell that stuff as edible, because it shouldn't be.  I used this recipe from All Recipes for the fondant, recommended by This and That.  I also used the changes that reviewers recommend, using corn syrup instead of glucose syrup and decreasing the 1/4 cup of water to 3 Tablespoons.  It turned out great, and was surprisingly simple to make.

I had told Wyatt about the cake yesterday, and he actually asked for it this morning when I reminded him it was his birthday.  He was so excited to see it and cried when I made him get down off the counter.  I guess that makes it all worth it.

Rag Edge Receiving Blanket Tutorial.

When Wyatt was born my MIL gave me a blanket and burp cloths that were similar to this.  I loved them so much that I made a bunch more burp cloths the same way (I even found the exact same camo fabric that she had used!).  Here's a tutorial so you can make your own too.  They would be great for your own baby or for a gift.  Leave me a link if you use this tutorial, I'd love to see your finished project!

Description:

This tutorial will guide you through the steps to sew your own rag edge receiving blanket.  It is a perfect beginner project, and I promise it will be the simplest receiving blanket you'll ever make!  It can easily be done from start to finish in less than an hour.  At 40"x40" when finished, this blanket will be perfect for swaddling your baby as he or she grows and outgrows other smaller receiving blankets.

Materials Needed:

1.25 yd flannel fabric

1.25 yd co-ordinating flannel fabric

matching thread

Directions:

1. Pre-wash your flannels.  Cut each piece of flannel to a square 40"x40".  Make sure that the selvage edge is cut off, or that edge will not fray properly when the blanket is finished.

2. Fold each piece of flannel in half into a rectangle, and then in half again into a square.  Stack the two pieces of flannel on top of each other, matching up the 8 free corners.  Using a round bowl or lid as a guide, trace a curved line onto the top layer of the free corners.  Cut along line, forming curved edges.

2. Open up both pieces of fabric and lay flannel squares on top of each other, wrong sides together.  Match up the four sides, and pin in place.  Using a ruler stick, trace a line from each corner to corner, forming an X in the middle of the blanket.  Pin near the X lines to hold the two layers together.  If you're too lazy to go find a ruler stick like I am, just fold the flannel in half into a triangle, and pin along the folded edge to mark your sewing line.  Next fold the flannel into a triangle using the opposite corners, and again place pins along the folded edge to mark your sewing line.

3. Sew along either your marked lines or your line of pins from each corner to corner, forming an X in the middle of the blanket.

4. Using either a narrow zigzag stitch or a decorative stitch, sew around the entire blanket 0.5" from the edge.  If using a zigzag stitch as is pictured (for a farm themed blanket I thought it was more appropriate than a decorative stitch), adjust your stitch length to be short enough so that the stitches are fairly close together.  On my sewing machine, I set it at a "1".  Whichever stitch you choose, just be sure that it will be sturdy.

5. If desired, stitch again around the entire blanket using a co-ordinating thread, 0.25" in from the first stitch line.  Depending on which type of stitch you use, you might want to skip this second row of stitching.  I thought it would be cute with this particular blanket, but use your own judgement.

6. Now for the fun part... Get out the ol' scissors and start hacking.  Just kidding, that would be very counterproductive.  Every 0.5", make a small snip around the edge of the blanket perpendicular to your sewing line.  Clip fairly close to your stitch line, but not through it.

7. Wash and dry the blanket 1 or 2 times to allow the clipped edges to fray.  The best part about this blanket is that it gets better and better with each wash.  Great work, you are done!

Amy Butler Rugs.

Seriously, area rugs have never been my favorite thing.  It stinks considering our last house in Arizona had no carpet at all, and now our house has hardwood in the living room, so rugs have pretty much been a necessity for us.  I'm more of a fan of normal carpet, until I saw these new rugs from Amy Butler that Melissa posted about on her blog.  Have you guys seen these?  I had no idea they existed!  Wow, it would be like living in a big sea of Amy Butler happiness.  They are so beautiful.

Tacky to Spectacky...

Before:

After:

Okay, at least I am being true to my obsessive and one-track minded self.  I have decided I am just going to designate September as "Before and After" month at Sew Much Ado.  Since I've been looking for home dec ideas I have come across so many great blogs that I had no idea existed.  There are seriously some really creative and talented people out there.  Here is an amazing before and after from Life in the Fun Lane.  Check out her post about it here.  She has decorated her whole house in white, grey, and some black tones.  So pretty and fresh.

Another Before and After.

Bad hair day?  Unfortunately poor little Weston has been having one every day lately.  His hair has gotten out of control.  No matter how I try to comb it, it ends up in a big poof on top of his head.  After much pleading from my family, I decided I'd give him a haircut today.  Something just seems wrong about cutting a 2.5 month old baby's hair, but it needed to be done.  Since before and after seems to be my new theme lately on Sew Much Ado, I thought I'd post some pics to give you all a nice chuckle for the day.

Before

After... he really does look happier, doesn't he?

Chairloom chair.

Since home dec projects have been on my mind recently, I wanted to post this adorable and un-child friendly chair that was reupholstered by Chairloom, a company that specializes in bringing back life to antique chair and other furniture.  Go here to see the before pic as was posted on Design Sponge.  While you're there you should check out the rest of Design Sponge as well.  You'll find lots of great inspirational ideas and fun before and after pics.  Aren't before and after pics the best, no matter what they're about?  They're my favorite.