The Circle of Life (of T-Shirts)

I didn’t post in December at all.  I was on sabbatical in Brazil, living in the rain forest among toucans and those giant sloths you see in National Geographic. Just kidding.  I was just busy. I did, however, find time to get a little crafty with some old t-shirts before heading home for the holidays. 

This first little bit of fun is yet another fabric flower, good for a pin, hair clip, or perhaps as a bunch in a vase.  All you need is an old t-shirt and some scissors!  Basically, you just cut strips, pull them so they get curly on the edges, wrap around your hand, tie a strip around the middle, and cut the loops on both sides.

The previous sentence is an example of how to maximize comma usage.

Cut

Pull

Wrap

Tie

Cut

I seem to be in a craft rut of making scarves and flowers, so for our next feature....a scarf!  My mom saw these on pinterest and she made me a green one.  I liked it so much I made a gray one too!  They are very easy to make.  Just cut off the bottom of a t-shirt (maybe about a foot of shirt), cut off the hem, and then cut strips to about halfway. It’s hip, it’s happening, it’s now.  I’m not saying you should wear it to a fancy dinner, but to the video store? Sure. I find that the relative hipsterness of my apparel is positively correlated with the talkativeness of the video store employees.  

Chiffon Part Deux: Let it Burn

and other things.

 A while ago I posted about some chiffon flower hairclips I’d made (Check it out here). I had picked up a whole yard of chiffon in the remnant bin at Hobby Lobby.  I think it’s weird to call an entire yard a remnant.  I thought the whole point of a remnant was that it was less fabric than anyone would conceivably want to purchase, which is why most remnants are less than a yard.  It’s not like Hobby Lobby is selling chiffon in great quantities.  Oh well, I shouldn’t complain, because I got it for half-price since it was a “remnant”.  After making the two aforementioned flowers, I had quite a bit of fabric left. Not enough to make any clothing, of course (besides, I don’t have a serger and chiffon looks sad when you hem it the regular way).

I made another flower with the remaining selvage-side, like last time.

Expect the photography to go downhill from here, okay?
And yes, I totally got this sweater at target. 

And then I thought “I must seek out a new, more challenging method!”

With this method, you cut out somewhat concentric, somewhat circular shapes and then burn the edges with a lighter until they curl up a little.

Concentric Circles!

I don’t usually bring fire into my craft projects.  Hot glue? Sure.  But fire? That seems a little risky.

Cut to me, sitting cross-legged on my bathmat, holding a piece of chiffon in one hand and my super cool 3-way candle lighter in the other, tentatively touching the flame to the fabric all while learning over the bathtub, which I’d partially filled with water in the event that everything caught fire and I had to drop it.

It all went very well, really.  I only had to blow out tiny little fires once or twice and the precautionary bathtub of water was quite unnecessary.

I really need to take a photography class or something.  

The first flower I tried was small, cream-colored, and I used a button for the center. (I attached the layers with a few small stitches prior to adding the button)  For the second flower I was feeling a bit more adventurous (more adventurous than FIRE, you ask?), so I pulled out my watercolors and painted the chiffon before burning (singeing?) the edges.  I fixed the layers together with fabric glue this time and left off the button. (but I did put a cute little bird holding a letter in the middle)  For both of them, I glued a felt circle to the back before adding a hairpin/regular pin

Painted Concentric Circles!

It looks better in person. I hope.

I’ve still got a fair amount of chiffon left….so….let me know if you’re in need of trendy accessories.

AND NOW FOR MORE THINGS!

Hey, I was on a kick today, and I couldn’t stop.  I finished up (almost) all my schoolwork like a good girl so I could enjoy (almost) all the weekend, so as soon as I got home I reached for my sewing box. What’s that? You’re laughing at me for spending my Friday afternoon sewing? Well, whatever.  We all have our things.

Here’s some more pins and clips made with the leftover fabric from my Scottish Hipster shirt.  

Also, I finally broke down the steps for how to make this kind of flower- and they are as follows:

1. Cut out a circle
2. Fold the edge over ever so slightly, and do a basting type stitch along the folded over edge.
3.  Pull tightly and gather.
4. Sort of push it into shape, and tack it down with a few stitches.
5. Add a button. Or don’t. I just like to add a button.

I love these sweet little flowers, I use them in projects all the time.  Like this shirt I made last summer:

"Hey, Take a picture like I'm just casually sitting here" "But you are just casually sitting there" 

AND NOW THE LAST THING

I bought some new stamps the other day, further expanding my custom-stationary horizons.  How precious are these birds?

Salvage a Selvage

Make a pretty chiffon flower with your fabric scraps to decorate a headband, hairclip, cardigan, or blouse!

Top: Salvaged selvage flower. Bottom: Regular scrap flower.

sal·vage

  [sal-vij]  noun, verb, -vaged, -vag·ing.

–noun

1.

the act of saving  a ship or its cargo from perils of the seas.

2.

the property so saved.

3.

compensation given to those who voluntarily save  a ship orits cargo.

sel·vage

  [sel-vij]  

–noun

1.

the edge of woven fabric finished so as to prevent raveling,often in a narrow tape effect, different from the body of thefabric.

2.

any similar strip or part of surplus material, as at the side of wallpaper.

3.

Also called margin. Philately . the surplus paper or marginaround a sheet of stamps: The number of the plate blockappears in the selvage.

I’m talking about definitions 2 and 1, respectively.

Cut off selvage (about 1.5 inches wide, ¾ yd or so).  Stitch along the edge. Gather. Sew in place. Done! (The second flower is made in a similar fashion from a long sort of weirdly triangular scrap.)

A less beautiful, but more instructive view.

Court's Favorites of the Week!

I really like this no-sew fabric flower tutorial from Disney at Ruffles and Stuff.  I'll be trying this very soon!

Check it Out HERE!

I've made curried chicken salad before, but this recipe caught my eye because of the fruit.  It's also on the list.

Check it Out HERE!

I really like this song...by Hanson. Hanson! You know, the boy-band that was so popular back in elementary school?  Well, they're still making music....and it's pretty great!  This video is sort of adorable.

My friend Jess showed me this Sugarland video the other day, and I have to say, it makes kidnapping look hilarious.  Also the song is pretty cute.

I continue to be impressed by A) Melinda Sullivan's tap dancing and B) Sara Bareilles' voice in this video.

And finally, to close things out, I'm a tremendous fan of the newest Hellogoodbye album.  So, here's one of my favs off of it, "Getting Old." Just listen to it, it's not a video.

And those are my favorites for the week.

Thank Goodness for Professor Bhaer

The MySpaceness of this picture kills me. Softly. (with its song?)

"...and she came walking in with a very queer expression of countenance, for there was a mixture of fun and fear, satisfaction and regret in it, which puzzled the family as much as did the roll of bills she laid before her mother, saying with a little choke in her voice, 'That's my contribution toward making Father comfortable and bringing him home!'

'My dear, where did you get it? Twenty-five dollars! Jo, I hope you haven't done anything rash?'

'No, it's mine honestly. I didn't beg, borrow or steal it. I earned it, and I don't think you'll blame me, for I only sold what was my own.

As she spoke, Jo took off her bonnet, and a general outcry arose, for all her abundant hair was cut short.

'Your hair! Your beautiful hair!' 'Oh, Jo, how could you? Your one beauty.'"

- Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

Her ONE beauty. Can you imagine if someone told you your hair was your ONE beauty? I’m all about inner beauty and razor-sharp intelligence, but I’ll admit if someone told me my hair was my ONE beauty AFTER I cut it off, I might feel a bit…low…for a while. I mean, that’s like saying “before, you were barely tolerable, and now you’ve sunk to new lows!”  

I know that isn’t what the good March sisters really meant, but it lingers with me, you know.  I feel for poor Jo.  It makes me so happy at the end when Professor Bhaer says “but I have nothing to offer you. My hands are empty” and she put her hands in his and says “Not empty anymore” and then they get married and open a school for underprivileged boys (have you read Jo's Boys or Plumfield? You ought to).

But I digress.

This post is intended to be about a flower hair clip. Please accept my apologies for the long and only vaguely related intro.  Hair accessories seem to be very, very in right now.  You know what I’m talking about.  Those headbands with the little flowers on the side? Everybody’s wearing them.  And the clips! The pins! Flowers, beaded do-dads, feathers! We’re decorating ourselves very liberally these days.  This is a trend I’ve largely avoided because for some reason I think these things look sort of odd on me.  That said, in moderation I like them very much and with the right outfit I would wear them if I had them.  The other morning I got dressed and felt my outfit was calling for a hair accessory, so I made one, right then and there, that morning. (and yes, I did make it to class on time).  This flower is a variation on fabric flowers I’ve talked about before on here.  HERE is a link to a site that shows you how to make them!  I sewed a bit of lace on the middle and also stitched on a few pearl beads.  I hot-glued it to a hairclip, and that was it.  30 minutes, tops.

http://kindawonderful.typepad.com/pink_paper_peppermints/2008/06/rounded-petal-fabric-flowers-31-crafty-flowers-in-31-days--day-23.html