One [...]]]> I’m going to say something silly, but I’m sure there are others out there feel the same. I have a hard time throwing out wool scraps. I don’t feel the same about cotton or acrylic yarn and I’m not sure why. There’s just something about the wooly ends. It pains me to toss them.

One night after amassing a large pile of granny square ends, I had an idea. I pulled the plies apart, walked over to the sink where my husband was doing dishes, and doused them with hot water. I added a tiny drop of soap and started rolling them in my hands. Within seconds I had the most adorable little felted bead! Just recently, I made some while the camera was out, and decided to take a few pics for the blog.

How to Make Felted Beads

1. Collect your wool ends. Here are a few from recent projects.

2. Separate the plies. Skip this step with single ply yarn.

3. Pull apart the individual plies until you’ve got a fluffy ball of wool. The fluffier the ball, the more even it will felt.

4. Felt them by hand. Sometimes I use hot water from the tap. Other times I heat a small mug of water in the microwave. Get the wool wet and then squeeze out the excess water. Roll the wool between your palms until it starts to felt. Sometimes a little bit of soap helps get the process going.

Rinse out the soap and you’re left with these little cuties:

I have great ideas for these, but I must admit that they are currently in a jar with a rainbow of other colors. I’d like to make a bracelet or necklace with them. I’d also like to use one as a center for a crochet flower hair tie. In the meantime, I just keep felting and collecting, happy that I’ve found a use for my wooly ends.

What do you do with your yarn scraps?

The bike shorts pattern is finished and ready for download! It’s been over two years since my original Easy Kids Shorts pattern and I do a few things differently now.

So, I survived this crazy project. Actually, the only thing that was really difficult was the bias trim, especially around the corners. But I’m not very good at bias trim to begin with, so there’s that.

I was surprised how easy this insulated-plastic-foil material is to sew. I picked [...]]]>

So, I survived this crazy project. Actually, the only thing that was really difficult was the bias trim, especially around the corners. But I’m not very good at bias trim to begin with, so there’s that.

I was surprised how easy this insulated-plastic-foil material is to sew. I picked out the original trim stitches and all of the pieces fell apart. I cut everything down to size and serged around all of the edges, then I serged the pieces back together. I know that sounds like overkill, but the material was made up of three layers and I didn’t want manipulate six layers of slippery stuff when I did the trim.

Some very important things to keep in mind for a project like this:

• Remind yourself how much you love your child. I found this especially helpful sewing around those corners with the trim.
• Have a friend close by via text for encouragement. Send her pictures of your bent sewing machine needle just for fun.
• Keep chanting the mantra: It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to make my child happy.
• Embrace your organic style as breaking the rules and your wonky stitches as a design element.
• Remind yourself that some kid in China probably put this together the first time. If she could do it, so can you.
• Let go of the little things, like matching the black and pink trim in the handle. It’s just another design element.

That’s about all I’ve got to say about this lunch bag. My daughter loves the pink and she stuffed it in her backpack this morning with no problem.

stash: Finally digging into my thrifted stash of bias trim. It’s about time!

I’ve been waiting for this dress to fit my daughter for two years. When she tried it on this Spring, it was just above her knees, but still too big in the body. The only way she would be able to wear it would be if I took it in at [...]]]>

I’ve been waiting for this dress to fit my daughter for two years. When she tried it on this Spring, it was just above her knees, but still too big in the body. The only way she would be able to wear it would be if I took it in at the sides. It was actually very easy. All you need is a seam ripper and some matching thread.

Step 1
Unpick the facing under the arm and the bottom hem a few inches on either side of the seams.

Step 2
Unfold the fabric. Press the facing and hem flat.

Step 3
Mark the new seam and stitch. (My daughter is kind of squirmy. I measure in thumbs, not inches. I took this dress in one thumbnail on each side.)

Step 4
Re-fold the facing and hem. Stitch over the original holes.

See? Really easy! I didn’t even trim the new seam allowance. The edges were already finished with a serger, so I just pressed them toward the back of the dress before stitching everything back together.

I have a feeling I’ll be doing this to a lot of my daughter’s dresses this Summer. Let me know if you try it!

In my creative space this week, I altered this cute dress to fit my daughter. She hasn’t been that interested in dress up clothes, but there were a few times at the children’s museum that wore a dress almost exactly like this.

I snagged this one at the thrift [...]]]>

In my creative space this week, I altered this cute dress to fit my daughter. She hasn’t been that interested in dress up clothes, but there were a few times at the children’s museum that wore a dress almost exactly like this.

I snagged this one at the thrift shop, even though it was a few sizes too big. I took in the shoulders and body, but left the skirt as is.

She was really excited when I brought it home and couldn’t wait until it fit. Now, of course, she doesn’t want to wear it. Maybe I should call it a Fancy Nancy dress instead. If that doesn’t work, it can always be transformed into a twirly skirt.

What’s happening in your creative space this week? Play along over at Kirsty’s.

The Thrifting Fairies must have been on Easter vacation last weekend. I did a lot of trying on and left with a lot of nothing. It made me think that refashioning what’s in my closet might be a better way to spend my time. So, on a trip up to Omaha, I [...]]]>

The Thrifting Fairies must have been on Easter vacation last weekend. I did a lot of trying on and left with a lot of nothing. It made me think that refashioning what’s in my closet might be a better way to spend my time. So, on a trip up to Omaha, I grabbed two skirts and my seam ripper.

First to come out were the bulky pockets. Then I unpicked the waist and elastic casing. This week I’m going to take in the sides and insert a zipper (yikes!). Currently on the chopping block are these two linen skirts. Stay tuned!

It had to happen sooner or later. I melted my silicone crayon mold. I guess even silicone can’t handle melting and freezing wax over and over. Luckily I was keeping an eye on things and turned it off before it got really messy.

I kept my eyes peeled [...]]]>

It had to happen sooner or later. I melted my silicone crayon mold. I guess even silicone can’t handle melting and freezing wax over and over. Luckily I was keeping an eye on things and turned it off before it got really messy.

I kept my eyes peeled at the thrift store for another one. I liked using the microwave because it seemed silly to heat up the oven for just a few crayon shapes. Instead, I found a little mini muffin tin. So mini that it fits in my toaster oven. I didn’t even know something this small existed. I got some mini muffin papers and made my first batch last week. LOVE THEM.

The one thing that I didn’t like about the hearts is that they were a little too cutesy for boys. I’d been giving them as small gifts with handmade journals to some of my daughter’s friends, but boys her age are more into Hot Wheels. The mini muffin shapes are a little more gender neutral.

They take a little bit longer than in the microwave, but I really like not having to heat the whole kitchen to make crayon shapes. My little tin was a definite thrift store score.

In my creative space today I’m fusing plastic grocery bags. Am I the only crafty person on the planet who hasn’t tried this yet? So far, I’ve had mixed results. I think it might be worth the extra effort to spring for some parchment paper.

Play along with your creative space over [...]]]>

In my creative space today I’m fusing plastic grocery bags. Am I the only crafty person on the planet who hasn’t tried this yet? So far, I’ve had mixed results. I think it might be worth the extra effort to spring for some parchment paper.

Play along with your creative space over at Kirsty’s blog.

These pants are from the mending pile. They fit my daughter in length, but were too big in the waist. They looked like an easy fix: open up the waistband, take in the elastic, stitch the casing closed.

As I started with Mr. Seam Ripper, I noticed that there [...]]]>

These pants are from the mending pile. They fit my daughter in length, but were too big in the waist. They looked like an easy fix: open up the waistband, take in the elastic, stitch the casing closed.

As I started with Mr. Seam Ripper, I noticed that there were a lot of stitches. In fact, it looked like a row of regular stitches over a serged row of stitches. What the? Then I realized there was no casing. The elastic was sewn directly into the waistband and pants.

If I took them in the correct amount on only one side, the back would look lopsided. I decided to take them in half the amount on either side, just like darts. (In hindsight, sewing darts over the elastic would have been easier!)

I got things put back together fairly well. On the hanger they look a little bunched up, but when my daughter wears them they look just fine.

Next time, I will pay closer attention to the construction before I start ripping out stitches.

What have you finished this week?