sewing – Melodrama

DIY Vintage Christmas Ornament Throw Pillow

Published on December 8, 2017December 8, 2017 by KrysLeave a comment

If you don’t know by now, I’m totally obsessed with vintage Christmas ornaments.

My favorites are the ones with the indented reflectors in the middle. I just love how unique each one is and how they sparkle and reflect colors when hanging on a lit up tree. It’s magical! You might remember that Ornament Tree Skirt I made a couple of years ago, but this year I wanted to bring that theme to life as a throw pillow.

What you’ll need:

-Fabric. (The amount depends on the size of pillow you want to make. I used fleece, but you can use any non-stretchy fabric you want. I got two 18″ pillows out of 2 yards of 45″ wide fleece.)
–Metal Christmas light reflector cups
-1” Silver buttons
-Snowfake shaped crafting buttons
–Metallic Braid Trim
-Ribbons, rickrack, and felt/fabric to decorate
-Embroidery thread and long needle
-Fabric glue
-Sewing Machine and thread (or you can glue the edges for a no-sew attempt)

What you do:

First draw a circle. The best way to do this is to use a tape measure or ruler and the compass method. Remember the way we learned in math class? HA I bet you thought you’d never need that. Then sketch out a little top piece (about 5″ wide), like an ornament would have. Then cut it out!

Sew the edges together leaving an opening at the top. Turn it right side out and iron. Stuff with polyfill through the top and then close the opening using a slipstitch. (You can try gluing all of these edges for a no-sew attempt, but the results won’t be as clean.)

In order to make the indented middle you need to tuft. Use a silver button and a light reflector to do this. Put the silver button in the middle of the reflector and use embroidery thread and a long needle to pull the button and reflector through the middle of the pillow. Pull it tight to make the indent, and use a triple knot to make it stay. Trim the excess thread. You can also use another button on the other side to keep it all in place if the triple knot isn’t enough.

Now you can have fun decorating it! Glue the snowflake buttons around the indent for extra sparkle. Use the metallic trim around the top to make it look like the ornament cap. Use rickrack, ribbons, and fabric scraps to create lines and shapes.

And voila! A cute little ornament throw pillow!

Easy DIY Felt Pom Pom Pillows

Published on December 14, 2016December 14, 2016 by Krys4 Comments

Accent pillows are one of the easiest things you can use to change the look of a sofa or chair in your home, and they’re also one of the easiest DIY projects to do. I wanted to bring a little color and fun to a bench I have in my living room so turned to my fabric scrap collection for something to make pillows with. I had some felt and pom poms and thought they would be perfect pillows for the holiday season. To be honest they might stay well after that.

To make a basic pillow you just need to cut a piece of fabric to the size and shape of the pillow you want to cover. Leave about an inch on each side for seam allowance. Sometimes I cut the fabric on a fold so I end up with one longer piece rather than two pieces. Either way works fine.

Sew the pieces together at the sides, leaving one side open.

Turn your pillow case inside out so the seams are inside. By the way you can do these steps with fabric glue like liquid stitch if you don’t have a sewing machine.

Insert your pillow stuffing and then use a slip stitch or fabric glue to close the open end.

Next figure out where you want to apply your pom pom trim and use fabric glue to adhere it! Easy!

I also cut some of the pom poms off and glued them on in a random pattern.

There you have it. Easy pom pom pillows!

DIY Yellow Fringe Blackout Curtains

Published on August 15, 2016August 15, 2016 by Krys3 Comments

You guys, let me start by saying I’m bummed because I lost all of the how-to pics from this project when my old computer died, BUT I still wanted to share how easy it is to make your own curtains.

I couldn’t find any light blocking curtains that I liked for my bedroom so I took on the task of making my own. Curtains are the easiest thing to make if you can sew a straight line. All you need is enough fabric to make a panel long enough to fit your window and hem all four sides, leaving a big enough loop at the top to fit a curtain rod through. I found a really nice and inexpensive fabric in the perfect shade of buttercup yellow, but the problem was that it was too thin and let a lot of light through. We’re not morning people so this was a no-no. To remedy the problem all I did was lined my fabric with an old black out curtain from IKEA. Easy enough!

Doing that completely blocked any light from coming into my bedroom and also added some much needed weight and heft to the panel.

For some extra flair I added a strip of vintage looking rope fringe to the top.

Tada! Stay tuned for more bedroom decor updates and be sure to follow along on Instagram.

DIY Striped Bed Skirt and Headboard

Published on August 12, 2016August 12, 2016 by Krys6 Comments

If you would have told me that finding a bed skirt would be the most difficult part of my bedroom makeover I wouldn’t have believed you. I thought I would just be able to pick up your run of the mill white skirt at any home goods store and be done with it. Nope. Of course not. Story of my life.

I had to exchange 3 bed skirts before deciding I was better off making one on my own. Either they were too short, too long, too sheer, or the wrong color. Who knew?! Luckily making your own custom bed skirt isn’t as hard as it may seem.

First of all, I wanted it to match my new DIY headboard so I picked up the same striped fabric from IKEA. The headboard isn’t really new, it was previously used as the backboard to my dining room banquette IKEA hack. The fabric for the bed skirt cost me about $16, much cheaper than bed skirts I was finding in stores.

The first thing you need to do is figure out how long your skirt needs to be. Measure the distance from the top of your box spring to the floor. Then add 3-4 inches for seam and stapling allowance.Mine was at 16 inches, so I cut 20 inch long strips of fabric. The fabric is 58 inches wide, so I needed 3 of these strips in order to cover 3 sides of my box spring.Next you need to make the hem. Fold over the long edge at 5/8″ and press.

Then fold the raw edge under itself and press again. This creates a nice clean hem. Stitch at 3/8″. If you don’t have a sewing machine you can use iron-on hem tape.

Once that is done, stitch the strips together at the ends to create one long strip. Then staple the raw edge directly to the box spring, making sure the hem just barely touches the ground. If you don’t have a staple gun you can use flat head tacks.

Continue all around the box spring. The mattress should cover the staples and it’ll look like a normal bed skirt!

Finally, make your bed as usual and reward yourself with a nice nap.

For instructions on how I made the headboard, click here.

DIY: Microwavable Rice Heating Pad

Published on October 18, 2013August 4, 2015 by Krys7 Comments

Owwwwie!! Ouch. I hurt. Why? Because I sprained my back doing ballerina stretches on my kitchen counter like a cool guy. I can’t bend, sit, lift, or do anything you do in normal life without pain. On top of all that, I broke my gallbladder and it needs to be removed, soooo I really need to get my back in working order STAT. Heat always helps my frequent aches and pains disappear so I’m always using my heating pad for something. Cramps, pulled muscles, tension headaches, etc etc etc. You name it. Even my abnormally low body temperature benefits from a heating pad from time to time.

I haven’t used an electric heating pad since mine got run over by a semi-truck after a road trip luggage accident a few years ago. One night I was in need of a heating pad and in a pinch went back to something I remembered from when I was younger. I had a toothache a family friend told us about making heat packs since our heating pad wasn’t comfortable on my face. She recommended trying salt but that was a dirty lie and the sock/salt combo that I tried burned up in the microwave. My mom was pretty mad. Anyway, I tried the rice version and it worked! It’s awesome and molds to your body so the heat really gets into the contours (and I have plenty hehehe). It’s also cordless so no annoying cords get in the way and it only costs pennies to make. You can use a sock, a pillow case, or make your own pouch as I demonstrate below.

All you need is fabric and rice.

Cut your fabric (I use muslin) to the size you want. This one is for my lumbar and pelvic area so it’s about 10″x5″. Sew together at the sides leaving one end open. Turn it inside out so your seams are facing inside.

Mix a few drops of your favorite scented oils into your rice. Without the oil the rice can smell rather…well…ricey when heated.

Fill the muslin pouch with the rice. Be careful not to over pack it. You want it to still be flexible to mold to your body. Sew up the open edge.

You can leave it just like this or you can make a cute changeable/washable pouch for it, like I prefer to do.

Cut fabric pieces 1/2 inch larger than your muslin pouch on each side. Fold over open ends and sew.

Fold over a few inches on one side.

Then bring right sides together and sew bottom and side edges together.

Turn it right-side out and it’ll look like this.

Finish turning it right-side out and you’ll see you’ve created an envelop pouch! It’s like a small pillowcase for your rice pad.

Slip your rice pad in it like a rice-y little pillow.

Microwave it 30 seconds at a time until it’s as hot as you want it. I usually heat mine for 60-90 seconds and the heat lasts around 30-60 minutes until I feel the need to reheat it. The weight from the pack helps the heat really sink it, so PLEASE be careful not to make it too hot the first time you use it. I don’t need hate mail about how you burned yourself. Just kiddingggg. Now go enjoy your DIY heating pad!

DIY: Banquette Seat EXPEDIT/KALLAX IKEA Hack

Published on October 10, 2012August 4, 2015 by Krys263 Comments

And the dining room saga continues…

Because we have a small awkward space, I thought it would be a good idea to use a banquette style seat to complete our dining set. I’m that person who always requests a booth at restaurants, so I was set on it. We shopped around for one but none were right for us. The size, color, style, and price were always off. I started thinking about how I could pull off a DIY version. I thought about using kitchen cabinets or building a frame like the kind I’ve seen in custom kitchens, but Jvee said NO. We don’t have the tools or the space to pull that off. During a trip to IKEA, I noticed one of the EXPEDIT shelving units was turned on its side (I’d seen it used before as window and bench seating) and seemed durable enough to sit on. It measured at the right size! And it had cubbies! We bought it. [Note: The EXPEDIT has since been replaced with the KALLAX.]

I immediately thought of how I was going make the back for it. I wanted it to be comfortable to lean against and high enough to make a statement. A few years ago we made a DIY headboard for my cousin’s room using plywood, foam, and fabric. That’s how I was going to do it. So simple!

I started with a 4’x6′ piece of plywood. I padded it with 1″ thick foam and covered it with batting. My indoor/outdoor canvas fabric measured 55in wide, which would have been fine if I wanted to run the pattern horizontally. Since I wanted to run the pattern vertically, I needed to cut 2 pieces of fabric to 4 1/2 feet long and sew them together at the selvages, being sure to match up the pattern. I made sure the seam ran down the center of the board.

I started by placing a staple in the middle of each end of the plywood, pulling the fabric taut, and then working my way around with staples to secure it. You can use flushmount brackets to secure the piece to the wall if you want. We felt the EXPEDIT was heavy enough to hold the backboard up, so we decided to forget that step. If you have kids or want the peace of mind, by all means mount it to the wall.

Now it needed a comfy seat! My first plan was to sew an entire seat cover for the foam, but I decided against it. Mostly out of laziness. I considered upholstering the top (side) of the unit like you would a chair, but ultimately I didn’t like the idea of messing it up with staples. That’s when I stumbled across similar types of projects on Pinterest that used a piece of MDF board. Genius! I didn’t screw the MDF into the EXPEDIT because, again, I wanted to preserve the bookcase. But, if you have kids I recommend securing it. I also decided against legs so it’s sturdier by being directly on the floor. We don’t use this piece every single day, but we’ve had game nights and dinner parties and it has successfully held 3 full sized adults with an estimated combined weight of at LEAST 400lbs, several times. Obviously the risk is all yours.

I had the piece of MDF cut to the right measurements at Home Depot and covered it with 2 inch thick pieces of foam and covered it with batting. The 2 inch foam added to the height of the EXPEDIT brings the seat height up to 19 inches, which happens to be the exact height of our dining chairs.

Then upholstered like you would a chair seat. Upholstering pieces like this is super easy. It’s like wrapping a present but with fabric and staples inside of paper and tape. It’s really that simple. Promise!

I added the pillows that I made with the left over fabric pieces for extra lumbar comfort. Look how perfect the cubbies are for storage boxes! [Edit: The fabric has since been changed to the striped black and white fabric I’d been looking for.]

Ahhh yes, restaurant style banquette seating. Yay!

Edit:

I wasn’t planning on sticking with that fabric and I’ve since changed it. I found the perfect black and white striped fabric that I’d had in mind, at IKEA, for $8/yard. Find the updated look that was inspired by my favorite cafes in Paris, below:

See! It’s totally versatile and easy to change when you get the whim.

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