Tag Archives: upcycling

Not so Little Birdie from Reclaimed Yarn

Posted on by
Reply

Last week I shared a great pattern with you from jjcrochet.com, I used the pattern to make a little pink birdie from reclaimed yarn. But the problem was, it is just too darn small. At two and a half inches I can’t do anything functional. Now, not everything in the world has to be useful, but it’s nice if it’s both pretty AND useful. So I made a new bird pattern based off off the one I did last week.

Bird from reclaimed yarn

Bird from reclaimed yarn

I had to make it bigger so I changed the DC to TC, which in turn changed how many stitches were need to make a ring. Then I had to add another round to make the bird bigger. After that I had to add a new stitch, because TC just wasn’t enough. But I figured it out, and I thought that if anyone wanted more than just a little birdie, you might want it too.

Free Crochet Pattern – Not so Little birdie

So if you want to make this birdie, that’s big enough to be a scrubby at about 5 inches from beak to tail, I’ve listed the pattern below.

I have one unique stitch in here. (It may have another name but I don’t know it.) I’m calling quadruple stitch (QC). It like TC, but you add another yarn over, so you’ve got three YO’s instead of two. So when you take two strands each time you pull the yarn through a total of four times instead of three. (I hope that makes sense. If not leave a comment and I’ll work on a better explanation )

BODY:
Chain 4. Join with SL st to form a ring
Round 1 – Ch 3 (acts as first TC). 20 more TC into ring (21 sts)
Round 2 – Ch 3, in same stitch TC, *TC, TC twice in same stitch*, repeat the pattern between the asterisks until the round is complete. Sl st closed to form a circle
Round 3 – Ch 1, in same stitch {DC, TC, 3QC} then in next stitch {3QC, TC, DC, SC} (This makes the bird head) SC next 21 stitches. In the next stitch {sc, ch1, dc, tc}, then in next stitch {DC, sc}, then SC remaining sts in round.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

BEAK:
Join yarn at base of bird head. Ch 4, sl st back into same stitch where you joined the yarn.
Fasten off. Weave in ends.

EYE:
If so desired take small amount of yarn and weave in where an eye would be. Fasten off and weave in ends.

birds from reclaimed yarn

birds from reclaimed yarn

And just so you can see the size difference between the two birds, look at this photo. The one on top is from the little birdie pattern, and the one on the bottom is the new, bigger pattern.

Hope you like it. It’s the first on the fly pattern I’ve written down. It looks more duck-like than song bird like, but it’s still cute and far more useable.

Di you make a birdie from my pattern? I’d love to see it. Leave a comment below.

Little Birdie Crochet from Upcycled Yarn

Posted on by
1

So last week I showed you my dishcloths made from upcycled yarn. Well I still have alot of yarn…about two sweaters’ worth. But as I said, I’m still learning crochet. So I made a cute little birdie based off this pattern by jjcrochet.com.

reclaimed yarn crochet birdie

reclaimed yarn crochet birdie

The pattern was easy to follow, even for a beginner like me. I only had to start over once. The whole bird is less than 2 1/2 inches square. The only problem is, now I’m not sure what to do with it. I’m thinking of putting it on a hair clip for one of the girls.

So go check out that pattern. I think it might be addicting. I’m working on something else based off of her pattern. And please leave a comment below. What should I do with little reclaimed yarn birdies like these?

Sherbert upcycled dishcloths -Crochet

Posted on by
1

I made a couple of dishcloths from some cotton yarn I reclaimed from a pink and a yellow sweater. Once you know how to frog a sweater, you can upcycle the yarn into all kinds of things. (“Frog” means to unravel a knit sweater.)You can learn how over a Crafting a Green world.

upcycled dishcloths

upcycled dishcloths

Both of these dishcloths are simple triple crochet dishcloths. The yellow one was using one strand with a G crochet hook and 22 stitches across. The yellow and pink one was using two strands at a time with a G crochet hook, and it was 32 stitches across.  After 3 rows of triple crochet I switched from using pink and yellow to just using yellow, then switched back after another 3 rows and continued until it was square.  It was less of a design decision, and more of a Make Do Craft. I started with a yellow and pink, then ran out of pink. (I was on vacation so I couldn’t go up to the craft room to get more.) so I started using two strand of yellow. Then a I ran out of yellow the second ball of yellow. So I had to set it down until I got home and got some more pink yarn. (The yellow yarn wasn’t unraveled yet.)

The smaller yellow one is more airy and may end up in my daughter’s play kitchen. The larger one is hefty, generous, and ready for battle with greasy dishes.

I’m just learning crochet. What patterns would you suggest? Do you have a blog with fabulous crochet stuff? Post a link below!

 

Upcycling a Dust Ruffle Skirt – Part 2

Posted on by
Reply

If you saw the post a couple of weeks ago, you know I found a great dust ruffle at a thrift store of $2. I made a great twirly type skirt out of it. Well I had one long side left over. I couldn’t let it go to waste.

pokla dot and roses dress

polka dot and roses dress

I paired it with a turtle neck that fit my daughter. But since it’s summer, it probably won’t fit once it gets cold, so I carefully trimmed the sleeves and turtle neck off, leaving just the serged edges. Then I cut it about an inch and a half from the armpit seams. I sewed on the dust ruffle (about 2/3 of it anyway, to make the skirt part of a dress.

Then I took little four inch sections of the black polka dot material and made little rosettes. I added a pearl to the center of each one. Then I added them to the front of the shirt part.

The funny part is I just realized that the baby has an outfit with these same fabrics, Oh dear crafting gods, we could all match! I almost never go for that, but since everything is a different outfit using the same fabric it might just work without being too weird. What do you think?

Please leave a comment below.

 

 

Upcycling a Dust Ruffle Skirt

Posted on by
1

I went thrift store shopping and found a great twin dust ruffle for $2. What’s so great about a dust ruffle? It was a white background with black polka dots and had a black fabric with white polka dot ruffle. So it was a dust ruffle with an extra little ruffle. I saw it and immediately thought skirt.

dust ruffle skirt

dust ruffle skirt

So I went home and literally ripped it apart. (Good woven fabric will rip on the grain so if it’s stitched right you can snip it with your scissors and rip the rest off easy)I used the short part for the first tier of the skirt and a long side for the bottom tier. All I did was sew the rough edge of the second tier onto the serged edge of the first tier where the white and black ruffle met. I pleated and gathered the second tier as I went along with the help of a few pins. Then I rolled over the top edge for a casing, sewed it shut and added elastic from an old pair of underwear. (Yes, I save everything.)

Have you made a skirt from a dust ruffle? how do you like this one? Leave a comment below.

 

Upcycled headband

Posted on by
1
Two minute headband

Two minute headband

Crafting a Green World had a great post about upcycling men’s ties. I mean, really, how many men still wear ties? My husband might wear three a year. Yet he has more ties than shoes. This may say more about his shoes than his ties though.

Making a headband

So anyway, after seeing a great shamrock tie at the dollar tree, knowing I couldn’t give it to my husband since he already has way too many, I decided to make it into something for me using  5 Minute Headband tutorial.

shamrock headband craft

shamrock headband craft

Honestly, I think it took more like two minutes, and that included threading the machine! It was the definition of easy, looks good enough to give as a gift (or sell for the Etsy people out there), and unlike all the other headbands I own, it doesn’t either slip off or constrict my brain. WIN! I love this upcycled headband.

Have you made one? Have another project with ties? Leave a comment and link to your project. I’d love to see them.

 

More Doll Clothes from Socks (Part 2)

Posted on by
Reply

Ok. So last time I showed you how to make tiny dresses for dolls about 3″ high from baby socks. You should have the heel and sole of the sock left. I hope you didn’t throw that out. You can use to to make more doll clothes!

Making doll clothes from socks

This time I’m going to show you how to make a headband kind of hat and a shirt for the 12″ fashion, barbie doll type dolls.

Now you just need the rest of your sock and some scissors.

Making the hat/headband

cut heel to make a hat

cut heel to make a hat

  • Cut off the heel, making sure to cut all the way across the sock so at the point of the heel there is a thin strap. that’s it. There’s your hat. You can hide the strap behind the hair and use it as a head band, or put it under the chin and make it look like a helmet. Or you can cut strap, give it a little tug and make the hat look like it has earflaps.

 

 

Making the shirt

cut holes in toe to make a shirt

cut holes in toe to make a shirt

  • Now you have the sole and foot of the sock.
  • Clip a small hole at the very tip of the toe for the head
  • clip two holes on wither side of the toe for the arms. (Keep high up on the toe for a sleeveless look or lower down for a cap sleeve.)
Doll hat and shirt

Doll hat and shirt

And that’s the shirt. Depending on the size of baby sock it may show Barbie’s belly.  Here’s a picture of the “Mom” doll modeling her new threads. Making these takes very little time and makes a great surprise gift for a little girl. If you are on the lookout for stocking stuffers or basket fillers, you can make a couple of dozen of these in less than an hour, all for free.

DIY Doll Clothes from Socks

Have you made doll clothes from socks? I’d love to see. Leave a comment below with a link to your doll clothes project.

 

Tiny Doll Clothes from Socks

Posted on by
1

My kids have lots and lots of dolls. They have Barbie dolls, princess dolls, baby dolls, and little tiny dolls that are under 3 inches high. And every single one of them needs clothes. Of course they come with cute doll clothes. One, maybe two outfits.  But my daughter wants them to have swim suits and pajamas and party dresses, and dance clothes….

Baby Sock Doll Clothes

So there is always more to sew. Being the Make Do crafter I am, I decided to use something I had on hand to make doll clothes for the itty bitty dolls she has. Baby socks!

One baby sock that lost it’s mate can make two dresses for itty bitty dolls and a hat and shirt for Barbie or other 12″ fashion dolls.

First I’m going to show how to make the dresses. I’ll show the rest in another post.

Baby sock doll dresses

Materials:

  • 1 baby sock
  • sewing machine threaded with matching thread
  • scissors

Procedure for making baby clothes from socks:

  • Cut the sock cuff off where it meets the heel
cut sock

cut sock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Flatten the sock inside out so any image is folded on the side (do as I say not as I show, inside out!)
flatten image to side

flatten image to side

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Sew two lines down the sock cuff, close to the middle
cut sock

cut sock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Cut the sock between the two lines (This would be vertical in the picture above)
  • Turn right side out and flatten so any image faces front
    clip holes for arms

    clip holes for arms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Clip a hole 1/8″ to 1/4″ from the top of the cuff (for the arm holes) – sorry this fuzzy buzzy picture was the best I had.

tiny doll dresses from socks

tiny doll dresses from socks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now her tiny dolls have matching penguin dresses. Save the rest of that sock and I’ll show you how to turn it into more doll clothes later!

Have you made doll clothes from stuff around the house? I’d love to see. leave a comment and link to your project below.

 

Inspiration board tutorial

Posted on by
Reply

What is an Inspiration board?

Inspiration board

Inspiration board

An inspiration board is any contained area that inspires you toward your goals. Your goals can be professional, creative, or personal in nature. Some people make one for each project they do, such as interior designers might put on paint samples and fabric swatches to put a room together. I made one as a part of an organizational exercise. the idea was to have your goals and desires right out there for you to always see, always remind yourself why you are doing what you’re doing,(or at least what you should be doing.)

What do you need to make an Inspiration board?

Materials:

  • backing – this can be foamcore, canvas or cardboard. It should be sturdy enough to take a fair amount of glue and big enough accommodate a lot of pictures
  • Adhesive – glue sticks or photo mounts work well here. Repositionable glue might be good if you like to switch it up now and again.
  • scissors – regualr kitchen scissors will do, but if you have ones meant for fine paper cutting, go for it!
  • words – from magazines, books, newspapers, or from you computer. Inspiration can come from a single word, a favorite phrase, or song lyric.
  • Pictures – Again magazines, catalogs, books, and computer images will help you on your way.
  • pen – optional; if you can’t find the words you need, you can write them. Best to have a sharpie or marker that won’t bleed onto the other images.
  • Frame – this is optional. I framed and hung mine so I could see it everyday.

You also need about two to four hours of time to sort, glue and design your inspiration board.

How do you make an inspiration board?

Process:

  1. Gather the supplies listed above
  2. Cut out images and words that speak to you. My inspiration board was about what I wanted to have in my life, why I wanted an organized life, and what I wanted to accomplish. So I have images of a woman writing, a clock to represent time, pictures of fabulous crafts and such.
  3. Group the images and pick the best ones. If you want to be a better cook, you don’t need four images of filet Mignon. One will suffuce.
  4. Layout the images on your backing. Don’t glue until you are satisfied with the arrangement.
  5. Happy? ok, now glue it down one image at a time.
  6. Let everything dry
  7. Add any writing you want to add, Heck add glitter if it inspires you. then frame it and hang it.

Dollhouse Construction

Posted on by
1

Want a Dollhouse?

dollhouse construction

dollhouse construction

I’ve always loved little things. While I never considered myself a “Doll person”, if it can be made tiny, I love it. so, I’ve been drooling over all the lovely dollhouses with perfect replicas of the Victorian era inside. Not only can I not justify the price, but I cannot justify the space those things take up. What’s a Make do kinda crafter to do?

Why not make one? Or at least that’s what I thought to myself one day when I realized the wall curio cabinet I picked up at the thrift store to showcase a few of my miniature creations was the perfect size for a dollhouse. This one won’t fit  12 inch barbies (1:6 scale) , or even standard dollhouse furniture for 6 inch dolls (1:12 scale). The cabinet is perfect for half scale, or 1:24, wher 1 inch equals 24 inches (2 feet) of real space. So an adult doll in half scale would be about 3 inches tall.

cabinet to dollhouse

cabinet to dollhouse

An 18″ tall cabinet that’s 3 inches deep is perfect for a cutaway view of a house. I’m planning four floors:

  • Ground floor – exterior garden, front door, antique shop
  • first floor – living room/study, bath, and dining area (I’m pretending the kitchen and other rooms are not in view)
  • Second floor – The former starlet’s room (she now runs the antique shop below), and her uncle’s room, the explorer. (He never married so he just has a room in her house.)
  • Attic – includes exterior view, chimney, and large attic room for the teenage girl that’s been sent to her aunt’s for the summer.

Half Scale Dollhouse Construction

    1. First take out the shelves that came with the curio.
    2. Then cut either basswood or balsa wood to fit using the shelves as a guide. I used basswood. both are light and easy to cut without real tools.
    3. Measure the distance between the shelves and cut the walls for your rooms. They need to fit snug, since only a bit of glue is going to hold them in place.
    4. for the attic, I eyeballed the distance to the peak and cut the wood. Then I sanded down one edge so it was at an angle and would fit correctly into a roof shape.
    5. Dry fit everything together. DO NOT GLUE!

Ok, that’s the basic construction. Think of this as the frame of the house, with the two by fours up, but not the walls. It’s important not to glue yet, because you want to attach anything to the wall before you put things inside. This is twice as small as regular miniatures and trying to place things can be a pain if the wall is in an awkward spot. This is slow going for me, but I’m hoping to post more, as I get rooms done.