Framed Crochet

My mother used to crochet (and knit) a lot, until she got arthritis in her hands.  Now I enjoy what she's given me in the last 20 years in the ways of doilies, or better known as dust collectors.  Now and then she would start something but never finished it, so in a bag and into the cupboard it went and never to be seen again - until recently.  She gave me a bunch of old and unfinished doily pieces that she had intended to sew together but just didn't get around to doing so.  So what can I do with these sweet little things?  Frame them, of course!

Let's begin the tutorial.

You'll need your crochet piece / pieces, some dark fabric (ironed) for the backing and a picture frame with glass.

First cut out your fabric exactly the same width and length as the inside of your frame.  To make this easy, just carefully take out the glass from the frame, place it on top of your ironed fabric, trace around it with white chalk then cut it out - make sure you have sharp scissors because you don't want yukky edges.

Now make sure your glass is nice and clean - especially the side that you'll be placing your doilies onto, then place it back into the frame and arrange your little doilies how you'd like them on top; meaning the inside of the frame that is facing you.  Don't forget to place the good side of the doilies downwards, so the bad side is facing you when you are arranging them on the glass.

When you're happy with your design, place the ironed fabric on top as carefully as possible and try your best not move your doilies, then place the frame backing on.  Before securing the frame backing, pick up the frame securely and have a look at what the front looks like, then if you're happy with what you see, pop the frame backing on.

Tip;  My doilies and fabric kept sliding a little which meant I had to place a thick layer of cardboard between the fabric and frame backing.

And there you go - one cute way of preserving your mother's (or aunt's, or sister's, or yours, or whom evers!) lovely doilies!

Well, crafty me!

Fimo Earrings

When I was in my teens in the 80's *cough, cough*, I thought I was very clever and crafty.  There were times when I couldn't believe just how darn crafty I really was, and then there were times when I just horrified myself.  Yet, the later never stopped me from having fun.

I had discovered 'Fimo' (or polymere clay) back then and I really went to town with the stuff... I just couldn't get enough of it and made all sorts of things which I won't go into, but my favorite thing to do with it was make earrings.  Lot's were destroyed as the years passed, so I don't have a lot to show you today unfortunately - and maybe that's a very good thing.

But I can show you these;

Not the prettiest things as you can see AND I had passed them onto my mother back then.  She pass them back just recently and I was horrified - not because she gave them back, but because I had forgotten just how unattractive they were.  Did I blame her for not wearing them?  Not one bit!

Ok, they are not totally horrifying, but they aren't pretty either.  :(

Well, crafty me!

Idea : Yarn Cone Holder

 I was almost thumping my head on the wall out frustration last year when I was using a cone of yarn to knit with.  It was terribly annoying and also time consuming having to unwind the yarn from the cone every so often.  Knitting is supposed to be fun and certainly not a chore.  

So, what did I end up finding tucked away in the kitchen cupboard recently?  A wooden mug holder.  Yes, I thought!  Screw off the six mug holders and stick a cone on it, then hey presto!  Pure genius.  All you have to do for it to work is pop it on the floor next to you when you're on the sofa knitting.... because it won't work while it's elevated on the sofa next to you. (logic, yes??) 

Of course it helps if you have one that actually comes apart, but unfortunately some don't.  So next time you're shopping at the op shop (second hand store), don't forget to keep an eye out for one that comes apart.  If you find one that doesn't come apart, well all you'll have to do saw off the six mug holders - too easy!  Knitting with a yarn cone on a mug holder never felt so good....

 

Well, crafty me!

Shower Cap Basket Covers

Today I'm posting about my very first crafty project!  Not only is it a recycling project which is fantastic, but it's also functional - and who doesn't like that? 

Best of all, it's simple and can be made in under half an hour assuming that your sewing skills are up to scratch.

So how many times have we bought disposable things, used them and then thought gee, what a waste of money?  Must I throw it out? Then you think of little ways you can salvage/reused/remake etc. But nothing cute and functional comes to mind. Well do I have a cool idea for you! 

Take the humble plastic shower cap. They come in so many lovely designs (or at least they do where I live) and I find it difficult to throw them out. The idea hit me like a brick and I do not know why or how. I just had to make a small basket cover. 

Note: You'll see a 3 different shower cap styles in the photos, just for kicks!

Let's begin the tutorial. 

 Choose a pretty design, because you'll have to look at it often.  If you are one of those people prone to making sewing mistakes, then of course choose one that you won't mind ruining.  It's always a good idea to experiment first anyway.
It will also be a good idea to wash it first, seeing that it probably have a soap residue on it.  I popped mine in a little water with about half a teaspoon of bleach and it did the trick at removing the soap scum.

 

Now you'll cut the elastic on the inside.  Don't sit there and cut for hours... just every inch or so will do.  Be very careful not to accidentally cut through the plastic and don't pull out the elastic too roughly causing the plastic to rip.  I did this once and I wasn't too pleased with myself.  :(

 

Now that you've pulled off the elastic successfully, neatly cut off the yukky edge.  The neater the better, so take your time here.

 

Here she is all nice, neat and flat.

Go grab your basket.  Does it look small enough for the plastic to cover?  My basket seen in the last 2 photos is about 12 inches long and 3 inches high.

 To check, place your plastic on top and as centered as possible on the basket.

 Then while holding the plastic firmly in the center of the basket with one hand, flip it over to see how much overlap you have.  Mine was a little too long for this particular basket; you really don't need that much covering because you still want to see your pretty basket.  Although if you have an ugly basket, then go right ahead and leave it at that length.  But in my case, I want it reaching about half way down the side of the basket.  With a pen or pin, mark where you'd like to cut the plastic.

So as mine was too long for that green basket, I folded the plastic in half, then in half again, then again until it resembled what you see in the photo below.

The basket in the last two photos was the perfect size so I didn't end up cutting anything on that shower cap.

 Assuming you have a smaller basket, cut nice and neatly where you've marked it and cut with a very slight curve so when you unfold it, it's still nice and round when you unfold it.  After you unfold it and see that you haven't quite cut round enough and have little pointy ends here and there, just cut them off nice and round.

 You'll now pin the entire edge down for a neat finish and please make sure you pin down on the wrong side!  If you think you can get away with not doing this step (and the step below) if you are experienced in sewing, then go right ahead.   Pinning down about 2cm should be enough, depending on how thin or thick your elastic is.

 I'm a somewhat perfectionist, so I actually tacked it down with cotton and thread as well just to be safe.  I think it's some kind of phobia.... lol.

You'll now sew the edge down with the sewing machine.  I used a cotton thread and my longest stitch on the machine because there really isn't much of a point or need for a small stitch for this.  Before you reach the end of your circle, remember to leave about an inch for an opening for sliding in your elastic.

You will find that because the edge isn't straight, you'll need to overlap the plastic a teeny bit once in a while, as you can see in the photo above.  Don't worry too much about neatness here, because it will be on the inside of your work and won't show on the outside.

 As you guessed, next comes the sliding in of the elastic.  ;)   Grab a safety pin and thread it through the elastic and most importantly, close your safety.  That tip was obviously for the sewing newbies out there!  You'll notice my elastic is fairly thin, but feel free to use something thicker.

 Thread the elastic through the seam but keep an eye on the other loose end of the elastic every so often, otherwise you might find that the whole thing will thread through because of the constant pulling with the safety pin and then you'll need to start again.  You don't want to create more work for yourself so just to be safe before you start threading, wrap the end of the elastic around your pinky holding it as securely as possible.  When you've completely thread it through, either tie a knot or if it's thick elastic you'll have to hand (or machine) sew the elastic edges together, making sure that it's not twisted.  Your aim is to keep the elastic nice and flat so there aren't any obvious small bumps in the seam.  Lastly, sew down your opening with your sewing machine.

 And here we have the final product!  Cute, yes?  Functional, right?

Pop in some goodies like chips, nuts, fruit, sewing supplies, your knitting, bits and bobs, whatever tickles your fancy.  :)

 

 Well, crafty me!