I get sentimental about things that other people would probably not even think twice about throwing away or donating. I have old ticket stubs, concert programs, newspaper clippings – those things I can put in a scrapbook. But I’ve been known to hoard be sentimental about clothes too, and only recently have I been purging all our closets. Sometimes there’s just that one article of clothing you want to keep. See this old collegiate sweatshirt…

Julie Tiu in 2002

…Became this pillow. (I know, after 10 years, right?)

An upcycled sweatshirt made into an envelope pillow – meaning, you can slip the cover on and off. Very easy for washing. Could be a cute gift for Valentine’s Day, too.

Recycle Your Favorite Sweatshirt (I didn't even attend this school. Got the sweatshirt because it had my last name!)

And here’s how I did it.

1. Take your clean sweatshirt of choice and lay it on a table or on the floor.
2. I cut the sleeves off first. Then set aside.
3. Next cut along one of the side seams of your shirt and along the shoulder seams. This will open everything up. I did it this way to give the largest piece of continuous fabric.
4. Cut off the bottom hem and collar (cuff material) also. At this point you may need to iron the shirt (highly recommended).

   

5. You may need the sleeves for extra fabric. Cut off the cuffs and cut along either side of the seam.
   

   Sweatshirt sleeves cut open

6. For a 16 x 16 pillow, you will need three pieces of fabric: (1) 16-1/2″ x 16-1/2″ for the front, (2) 12-1/2″ x 16-1/2″ for the back. (See my fancy sketch below.) I needed to use the extra sleeve material for one of the back panels. Just piece together if you need to.
7. Try to center your focal point. I didn’t have too much choice – just went as high as I could.

   

8. Prepare the back pieces first. Fold along the length (16-1/2″) and press 1/2″, then fold 1/2″ again, pin and edgestitch. Do this to the other piece. Press both pieces. Note: I found the zig-zag stitch easier to do with the stretchy sweatshirt material.

   

9. Lay the front piece down, right side up. Next lay one of the back pieces, wrong side up, matching the raw edge with your front piece. The finished edge should be somewhere in the center area. Lay the other back piece with its raw edge along the other side of the front piece. Now the finished edges of your back pieces should be overlapping one another.
10. Stitch around the perimeter with a 1/2″ allowance. Backstitch as you start and finish. When complete, remove and clip your corners, and turn rightside out.
11. Stuff your pillowcase!

So here’s the thing – you can adjust the size of your fabric for any size pillow by just adding 1/2″ to your finished size. The back pieces take a little math.

16″ x 16″ pillow – cut 16-1/2″ x 16-1/2″ (front) and 16-1/2″ x 11-1/4″ (two pieces for the back)

14″ x 14″ – cut 14-1/2″ x 14-1/2″ (front) and 14-1/2″ x 9-1/4″ (two pieces for the back)

12″ x 16″ pillow – cut 12-1/2″ x 16-1/2(front) and 12-1/2″ x 11-1/4″ (two pieces for the back)

12″ x 12″ pillow – cut 12-1/2″ x 12-1/2(front) and 12-1/2″ x 7-1/4″ (two pieces for the back)

]]> http://www.julietiu.com/2012/02/02/sweatshirt-recycling-upcycling-project/feed/ 2 http://www.julietiu.com/2011/04/16/30-days-of-creativity-day-10/ http://www.julietiu.com/2011/04/16/30-days-of-creativity-day-10/#comments Sat, 16 Apr 2011 17:37:03 +0000 Juliet Tiu http://www.julietiu.com/?p=3764

Day 10: Create something today inspired by nature!

We had a few days of fantastic weather, but over the last few days, it’s been cold, damp and gloomy. April showers bring May flowers, right? Well, I thought I’d make my own with some party streamers from our stash of supplies. They’re easy and fairly quick to make!

Supplies: Party streamers, pair of scissors and/or Martha Stewart fringe scissors

1. Cut 6″ lengths of one color for the center of the flower, then cut 36″-40″ lengths for the main color of the flower.
2. Using your fringe scissors or regular scissor, cut fringe about 2/3 of the streamer width. Crepe paper is delicate and difficult to work with. I found using regular scissors was quicker than the fringe scissors, but I like the texture of the fringe scissor cut better. If you cut the streamer from bottom up, you may have an easier time.
3. After cutting the fringe, roll the inner section then add the outer section. Keep rolling until complete.

For a little variation, I like layering two colors.

To finish them off, use floral tape or a little glue. You can either make into flowers with thick floral wire or even bamboo skewers. I strung them on some covered wire…

Happy crepe paper flowers from party streamers

Happy Spring!

My daughter loves the peace sign, ☮. So when I found this fabric at the local JoAnn Fabric store, I knew she’d like it. She asked if I could make it into a tote bag…uh, earlier this winter. *sigh* Fortunately, I made some time over the New Year weekend and was able to finish it.

What you need

1/2 yd cotton or canvas fabric – print
1/2 yd cotton fabric for lining
1/3 yd cotton fabric for handles
Tools: iron, ironing board, sewing machine (unless you’d like to sew by hand *grin*), large safety pin

What to cut

1. Cut two rectangles, 12″ x 15″, out of the printed fabric
2. Cut two rectangles, 12″ x 15″, out of the fabric for the lining.
3. You’ll need (4) straps cut out of the handle fabric, cut 3″ x 34″.

Sew it up

1. Put your printed fabric right sides together, pin, and sew up the sides at 1/2″ seam allowance. Press.
2. Pin the bottom edge (12″ side), and sew 1/2″ seam along the pinned edge. Trim your corners at 45 degrees.
3. Your tote should be looking tote-ish now, except inside out and the top edge is raw. At your ironing board, fold/flip back the top edge by one inch or so, so that the printed side is showing, press. Then tuck the raw edge in toward the fold. Press. You don’t have to edgestitch now.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 with the fabric for the lining.
5. For the straps: Pin two handle pieces, right sides together, and sew 1/2″ seam along the long sides. Press seams open and flat on both sides. Turn the straps right side out with the help of a large safety pin, or if you have a loop turner, that works well, too. Finish the other strap the same way. Press both pieces.

Put it together

1. I attached the handles inside the bag. Take your printed bag, and turn it right side out. Press. Play around with the straps… Once you figure out where you want the handles, pin the bottom raw edge of your handle about 1-1/2″ below the top edge of the printed bag. Stitch in two locations to make sure the straps stay in place (see pictures?). Do this at each of the four ends.
2. Now take your lining, turned inside out, and drop into the printed bag, so that the wrong sides of each bag are together. Your tote should look just about finished.
3. Pin the bags together, lined up at the side seams. Be careful with the straps. If you have a free arm on your machine, this would be a good time to use it. Topstitch the bag 1/4″ from the top edge. This will attach the lining, secure the straps and finish the tote. Don’t forget to press to finish.

I was inspired by the glittery garland wreaths in the Holiday issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. My version is quick, easy and afforable: $3.50, courtesy of the bargain bins at Target. $1.00 for the garland, and $2.50 for the wreath. No need for glue guns or scissors, either!

At the store, I found red and green wreaths, and silver and gold garland. Choose the combination you prefer… I liked the green and gold which incidentally are my high school colors. (Shhh… my husband thinks I have a ridiculous amount of high school pride.) Red and gold would have been nice, too, for a bit of an Asian flair.

The How-To

1. First, the wreath will be completely packed down. You will need to “fluff” or gently pull out the branches.
2. Find the end of your garland and keep it on the cardboard (much easier this way).
3. Wind the garland around the wreath, in between branches.
4. When you reach the end, just tuck the end into the wire base or around a branch. It will be secure.
5. Hang and enjoy!

This wreath is going on my son’s bedroom door since his big sister has a wreath on hers. I might use some ribbon and hang the wreath a little lower. Did I mention, they each have their own little tabletop Christmas trees in their rooms, too?

I finally finished these pillowcases, and taught myself how to do French seams from the Pretty quick pillowcase tutorial (& bonus french seam instructions) at Film in the Fridge. Think of the possibilities for the holidays?! I may be busy sewing for the next few months.

Notice anything? The design is upside down on the left hand pillow. Yes, lesson learned. Now I know what one of the tutorials meant by “good with non-directional prints”. I didn’t really stop to see how it was going to look. Abby didn’t seem to mind. She said, “That’s okay, Mom.” What a relief. Besides that, I turned the main fabric (apple print) 90 degrees contrary to what most of the tutorials showed. I don’t know if it matters. It’s just that if I didn’t, the apples would be sideways, and that’s not really what my daughter wanted.

Here’s a detail of the cuff from the inside. Nice and clean.

Basically, what you see right-side out is normal. What you see when the pillowcase is turned inside-out is this: the French seam. No raw edges.

Looking to add something to your list of projects? Here are some more sites that I scouted:

• This tutorial at jcaroline creative
• The pillowcase tutorial at Little Birdie Secrets shows a “tube” technique.
• To take my pillowcase skills to the next level, I want to try these two patterns at The Lazy Organizer. They’re just too pretty to not try!