I'm working on several new projects.
I have been wanting to start an internet business for a couple of years now. I've racked my brain as to how I can do this and until lately, NOTHING has presented itself as the solution to my quest.
Lately, things seem to be coming together on this point. I'm working for a friend whom owns an internet business, doing her data entry. So I'm learning a lot about how the data is stored and used on the website and what programs she uses to make it happen. I've acquired a CD on how to start an internet business. Then this past week, my daughter found Virtual University. We both signed up for courses. You may take up to 3 courses for $18 - total! Few of the classes require buying a textbook. Almost everything is on line.
I'm taking HTML - used to construct web pages (free to use); Perl - a language used to create hit counters and other little programs (free to use); and Corel's Paint Shop Pro - I'm learning how to use this program (that some one gave me!) to work with integrating pictures, graphics and text. I also am in contact with someone whom mentors people starting new internet businesses - the author of the CD.
Hopefully, these tools and resources are building within me the skills I'll need to finally get a business launched.
When I posted last, I forgot another great way to get a quilt. It's a rather old fashioned way. I've seen quilts that were just large remnants of fabric that were sewn together for the top and sometimes the bottom. You know all those pieces of cloth that you bought to make whatever (and now you don't even remember what it was you were going to do with it)? This is a great way to use them. You don't need to bother to cut them into smaller pieces. Just use several pieces to make the top as large as you want it.
I had a friend who was quite poor and she wanted to give me something for a wedding present. She didn't have any money, but she had access to large squares of cloth (about 36"x36") that were being thrown away. So she hand-stitched these pieces of fabric together and made me a quilt top. She told me that to finish it, I could take an old sheet and use it for the back. I could either not use anything for the batting or to take an old blanket (or several old receiving blankets) and use that for the batting. Then I was to lay the fabric either on my bed or on the floor and roll the edges towards the middle, until I had a small square left open, with all the edges rolled towards it. I could then start in the center and make a small stitch there. Then go outward making small stitches in the corners near the rolled edges - about every 4". Then I could unroll the edges once and stitch where I had just unrolled. Keep doing that until I got to
about 2" from the edge. I could then either fold the bottom edge over the top, tucking the raw edge of the bottom piece inside about 1/2" - 3/4" as I sewed. That makes it so that the bottom piece of fabric will show on the top side and it will have a finished edge. I could also fold all the raw edges to the inside and sew the edge closed, making sure I had folded the material inward by 1/2"-3/4" so that I could make a smooth edge on all 3 layers. I would be looking at a seam that when you looked at it sideways, all three layers would be showing a little. Or I could have used bias binding, in which case, the binding would be showing on top and bottom.
To do this on a machine, I would roll up my edges until I had about an 8" square. Then I would use a safety pin or spring-type clothes pin to hold my edges rolled. I'd slide one edge under the foot and sew the center of the square in what ever design I'd like - or I could just tack it like I would be doing if I hand sewed it. When the center part was sewn, I'd unroll each side one time, re-pin or clip it to keep the rest of that roll tight and sew that larger square. Keep doing this until you get 2" from the edge. Finish as above.
Either way, you have something useful for nothing.
The crazy world of a former homeschool mama whose babies are young adults. Come learn about baking bread, Once-a-month/bulk cooking, making soap, sewing, self-sufficiency, what food storage is and how to start your own. What a 72 hr kit is and how to create one. I'm not an expert but I have been doing most of these skills for a long time. I like to be as self-sufficient as I can. I love learning new skills or ways of doing things at home instead of having to buy at the store. Come join me.
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Home-sewn 'feminine protection" - pads
Earlier this week Sarah ask me how I made my feminine supplies. I forgot that I was going to do a blog on that. Thank you Sarah for reminding me.
I'm at that season of life where I need feminine protection infrequently, but I do sometimes need protection from wetting when I sneeze. sigh Ain't having had kids great. The little left-behind damage done to a woman's body. More stuff your mama never told you about!
I was wearing a disposable "incontinence pad" because I never knew when a sneeze would cause a little dampness. I started out with it happening once in a while then went to it happening a LOT. I found that over time, I was having a continuing problem that seemed to be getting worse, so I was wearing pads more and more often, until I was always wearing them.
I came to be using cloth as part of a challenge. The challenge was to try cloth wipes for the bathroom. I did and really liked using the cloth for wiping. I had already started using cloth napkins instead of paper towels. Which got me thinking again about cloth for feminine needs.
After thinking about this for a while and reading the praises of others, I decided that I would make myself some pads and the result was AMAZING. After a couple of weeks, I noticed that I wasn't leaking when I sneezed - until I was sick and sneezing REALLY hard and a lot of times in a row. When I got really sick with a respiratory illness and was just sneezing my head off and the cloth pads weren't enough, I went back to the disposable ones. After several weeks, even though I wasn't sneezing as much, I was still having problems. So I went back to my cloth pads and in less than a week, I wasn't having constant leakage with sneezing. I guess there's something in the disposable pads that causes me to have MORE of the problem. In fact, most of the time, I don't have any problems at all.
The pads I made were very easy to make and I like them a lot. The only thing I would do differently is that I would cut up a piece of those "diaper changing pads/crib mattress protection pads" that I used with my kids and use that to back 1/3 of my pad - as a leak protection. I had even found one of those old crib pads while cleaning my daughter's bedroom. And I put it ??? I've hunted high and low and I have NOT been able to find it. I decided to go ahead and make the pads without it. So sometimes I do leak through my pads. I don't have the money to just go by some PUL to use. My solution is to just change frequently.
To make my pads I used polar fleece and flannel. I found both in the remnant bin at Wally world. From 1 yard of 60"wide fleece and about 1 1/2 yards of 35" wide flannel, I made 14 pads. Oh, the last 2 pads I used a couple of old diapers I had left instead of the flannel - I ran out of flannel. If I had had it, I would also have used PUL or mattress protection padding.
What I did. First, I looked online at all the different patterns/sites that dealt with this subject. I decided what style I liked. Then I looked at how fussy the pattern was going to be and decided that, I really didn't need a "shaped" pad. Also, I didn't like the sizing on the pads. I'm a large size and the tiny pads that were out there would never work for me. So I got the bright idea of just going my own way and measuring myself so that the pad would fit ME.
I used a measuring tape to take 2 measurements. Measurement 1 was from where I wanted the pad to cover from front to back and the second was the inside of my legs - as in how wide was my pelvic region from the inside of one leg, across to the other leg?
I like a lot of coverage. I've always hated having leaks - front or back - because of skimpy pads. I hate side leaks because the pad was not wide enough or too wide and bunched up.
My starting point with the tape measure was in the back at the point that I wanted the pad to start, then I pulled it gently up between my legs (over my underwear so it wasn't tight) to the front where I wanted the pad to stop. That was the first measurement and for me, it was 18". Others might want/need it longer or shorter. It depends on a lot of factors, most of them personal choices and likes/dislikes. Just measure yourself - or if you have a commercial pad that you just love, measure one of them and make it that length. If you're not sure how long you'd like it, try different measurements and make 1 pad of that length. See what length you like best, then make your pads that length.
For width, measure yourself like you do for your inseam measurement, only instead of going down your leg, you're going from the crease of one leg, across your nether region to the crease of the other leg. Again, measure over underpanties. For me, 3" is about right.
So I made my pads 18" long by 9 inches wide. Why 9" instead of 3. Well I fold my pad in 3rds, which makes the 1/3 part be 3".
First, I washed and dried my material in hot water and in a hot dryer. This way, it's shrunk all it's going to. Next, I snipped into the selvage and tore the flannel off across the top, until I had the top squared, then did the same thing at the bottom of the piece. Then I cut my fabric into 18" lengths and then across to 9" widths. (Actually, I snipped into the selvage edge and just tore - YUP tore! the fabric across. Made nice straight pieces that way.) Now the fleece doesn't tear and it is sort of a pain to cut - unless you're fortunate enough to own a rotary cutter. Scissors are a pain, but that's how I had to cut mine. Things don't have to be exact. Who's going to see it?
Any way you do it, you want to end up with pieces of fabric and fleece the length you want by 3 times the width.
If I had found the crib pad or had some PUL, I would have cut it 18" x 3".
I did have some 18" x about 3" sections of "leftover" fleece that I used - why throw it away?
I made a "sandwich" of the 18x9 fleece on the bottom, then the 18x3 scrap I put down the middle of the fleece. If I had the PUL/pad, I would have put that next to the 3" fleece section, so that as I looked at it, there would be on the left edge the PUL/pad, next to it in the center 1/3 would be the fleece (those two together, side-by-side, would be the middle layer) and then the right 1/3 section would be the bottom layer of fleece showing up with nothing on top of it. The top layer is the flannel and it goes right side up.
I didn't bother to pin it, I just started sewing around the edges with a zig-zag stitch, near the edges. I used a small zig-zag stitch about 1/8" in from the edge. That made a large rectangle. The edges are not all "even", but they're close enough for my needs.
Next I sewed 3" in from the edge on both long sides of my rectangle. So I was sewing 3" from the edge of my material and down the 18" length. I turned it around and sewed down the other side, 3" from the edge. I did use a straight stitch to do these guidelines. After doing a couple of these, I got smart and marked 3" out from the side of my machine needle and it made it so much easier and my line is straight. Yup, right on Mr. Machine himself! You could use masking tape - if the kids haven't absconded with it. But failing tape, a Sharpie does a great job and won't smear off onto the fabric - just give it a minute or two to dry.
This straight stitching divides your rectangle into 3rds, so it makes it easy to fold and helps it to not unfold. When folded it makes the pad as wide as you wanted it by the length you wanted. By doing a trifold, you have at least 6 layers to better absorb moisture. (The ones of mine that I used the scrap piece down the middle is 7 layers thick and when I find that pad, I'm going to open up the side and add that so it will then be 8 layers thick.)
To use: just fold it in 3rds along your stitch line, lay it in the bottom of your panties, pull up and you're ready to go. Snug panties are a help in holding the pad in place. Also, if you used the PUL/pad - which I would REALLY recommend if you can at all afford it, make sure that the 1/3 section that has the PUL is in the bottom third. That way, it's farthest from your body. The flannel will keep it in place in your panties and the next layer will be the PUL/pad which will keep the pad from leaking. (or in other words, fold the 1/3 section without the PUL/pad in towards the center of the pad first, then fold the 1/3 section with the PUL/pad towards the center next. That way, the center 1/3 of the pad is on top and next to your body, then the second section is next, then the section with the fleece - pad- flannel is last. When folded properly and with a middle layer of PUL/fleece, you're pad will be: flannel, fleece, fleece, fleece, flannel, fleece, PUL, flannel.)
Nicest thing about this pattern is that it unfolds to wash and dry so that it doesn't take forever for it to wash and dry. I toss them in with my whites. I wash with 2 Tbs of grated Fels Naptha soap, 2 TBS of washing soda (this is NOT baking soda, but the box is similar to the baking soda box - the same company makes it.) and white vinegar in the rinse spot - where you'd put the fabric softener. I wash them in hot water and dry in the regular dryer. They've been being washed once a week since about Oct. and I've not had any trouble with them raveling or coming apart. I've got a couple that have a bit of very light staining, but that's my fault for not treating them or at least putting them in some cold water or rinsing the blood out. I was in crazy mode from the comings and goings I was having to do, and just tossed them in a special container I use and the blood dried on them. I then forgot and washed in hot without pre-rinsing them or treating the stain.
Some people worry about "germs". The soap/washing soda is alkaline and the "germs" don't do well with that. The vinegar is acidic and the "germs" don't like that. Then there's the heat from the washer and dryer and they don't like THAT either. By the time the laundry is done, you've got more bacteria on your hands than you do in the clean pads (or clean cloth wipes, even ones that you've used to wiped after a #2 with!)
I'm at that season of life where I need feminine protection infrequently, but I do sometimes need protection from wetting when I sneeze. sigh Ain't having had kids great. The little left-behind damage done to a woman's body. More stuff your mama never told you about!
I was wearing a disposable "incontinence pad" because I never knew when a sneeze would cause a little dampness. I started out with it happening once in a while then went to it happening a LOT. I found that over time, I was having a continuing problem that seemed to be getting worse, so I was wearing pads more and more often, until I was always wearing them.
I came to be using cloth as part of a challenge. The challenge was to try cloth wipes for the bathroom. I did and really liked using the cloth for wiping. I had already started using cloth napkins instead of paper towels. Which got me thinking again about cloth for feminine needs.
After thinking about this for a while and reading the praises of others, I decided that I would make myself some pads and the result was AMAZING. After a couple of weeks, I noticed that I wasn't leaking when I sneezed - until I was sick and sneezing REALLY hard and a lot of times in a row. When I got really sick with a respiratory illness and was just sneezing my head off and the cloth pads weren't enough, I went back to the disposable ones. After several weeks, even though I wasn't sneezing as much, I was still having problems. So I went back to my cloth pads and in less than a week, I wasn't having constant leakage with sneezing. I guess there's something in the disposable pads that causes me to have MORE of the problem. In fact, most of the time, I don't have any problems at all.
The pads I made were very easy to make and I like them a lot. The only thing I would do differently is that I would cut up a piece of those "diaper changing pads/crib mattress protection pads" that I used with my kids and use that to back 1/3 of my pad - as a leak protection. I had even found one of those old crib pads while cleaning my daughter's bedroom. And I put it ??? I've hunted high and low and I have NOT been able to find it. I decided to go ahead and make the pads without it. So sometimes I do leak through my pads. I don't have the money to just go by some PUL to use. My solution is to just change frequently.
To make my pads I used polar fleece and flannel. I found both in the remnant bin at Wally world. From 1 yard of 60"wide fleece and about 1 1/2 yards of 35" wide flannel, I made 14 pads. Oh, the last 2 pads I used a couple of old diapers I had left instead of the flannel - I ran out of flannel. If I had had it, I would also have used PUL or mattress protection padding.
What I did. First, I looked online at all the different patterns/sites that dealt with this subject. I decided what style I liked. Then I looked at how fussy the pattern was going to be and decided that, I really didn't need a "shaped" pad. Also, I didn't like the sizing on the pads. I'm a large size and the tiny pads that were out there would never work for me. So I got the bright idea of just going my own way and measuring myself so that the pad would fit ME.
I used a measuring tape to take 2 measurements. Measurement 1 was from where I wanted the pad to cover from front to back and the second was the inside of my legs - as in how wide was my pelvic region from the inside of one leg, across to the other leg?
I like a lot of coverage. I've always hated having leaks - front or back - because of skimpy pads. I hate side leaks because the pad was not wide enough or too wide and bunched up.
My starting point with the tape measure was in the back at the point that I wanted the pad to start, then I pulled it gently up between my legs (over my underwear so it wasn't tight) to the front where I wanted the pad to stop. That was the first measurement and for me, it was 18". Others might want/need it longer or shorter. It depends on a lot of factors, most of them personal choices and likes/dislikes. Just measure yourself - or if you have a commercial pad that you just love, measure one of them and make it that length. If you're not sure how long you'd like it, try different measurements and make 1 pad of that length. See what length you like best, then make your pads that length.
For width, measure yourself like you do for your inseam measurement, only instead of going down your leg, you're going from the crease of one leg, across your nether region to the crease of the other leg. Again, measure over underpanties. For me, 3" is about right.
So I made my pads 18" long by 9 inches wide. Why 9" instead of 3. Well I fold my pad in 3rds, which makes the 1/3 part be 3".
First, I washed and dried my material in hot water and in a hot dryer. This way, it's shrunk all it's going to. Next, I snipped into the selvage and tore the flannel off across the top, until I had the top squared, then did the same thing at the bottom of the piece. Then I cut my fabric into 18" lengths and then across to 9" widths. (Actually, I snipped into the selvage edge and just tore - YUP tore! the fabric across. Made nice straight pieces that way.) Now the fleece doesn't tear and it is sort of a pain to cut - unless you're fortunate enough to own a rotary cutter. Scissors are a pain, but that's how I had to cut mine. Things don't have to be exact. Who's going to see it?
Any way you do it, you want to end up with pieces of fabric and fleece the length you want by 3 times the width.
If I had found the crib pad or had some PUL, I would have cut it 18" x 3".
I did have some 18" x about 3" sections of "leftover" fleece that I used - why throw it away?
I made a "sandwich" of the 18x9 fleece on the bottom, then the 18x3 scrap I put down the middle of the fleece. If I had the PUL/pad, I would have put that next to the 3" fleece section, so that as I looked at it, there would be on the left edge the PUL/pad, next to it in the center 1/3 would be the fleece (those two together, side-by-side, would be the middle layer) and then the right 1/3 section would be the bottom layer of fleece showing up with nothing on top of it. The top layer is the flannel and it goes right side up.
I didn't bother to pin it, I just started sewing around the edges with a zig-zag stitch, near the edges. I used a small zig-zag stitch about 1/8" in from the edge. That made a large rectangle. The edges are not all "even", but they're close enough for my needs.
Next I sewed 3" in from the edge on both long sides of my rectangle. So I was sewing 3" from the edge of my material and down the 18" length. I turned it around and sewed down the other side, 3" from the edge. I did use a straight stitch to do these guidelines. After doing a couple of these, I got smart and marked 3" out from the side of my machine needle and it made it so much easier and my line is straight. Yup, right on Mr. Machine himself! You could use masking tape - if the kids haven't absconded with it. But failing tape, a Sharpie does a great job and won't smear off onto the fabric - just give it a minute or two to dry.
This straight stitching divides your rectangle into 3rds, so it makes it easy to fold and helps it to not unfold. When folded it makes the pad as wide as you wanted it by the length you wanted. By doing a trifold, you have at least 6 layers to better absorb moisture. (The ones of mine that I used the scrap piece down the middle is 7 layers thick and when I find that pad, I'm going to open up the side and add that so it will then be 8 layers thick.)
To use: just fold it in 3rds along your stitch line, lay it in the bottom of your panties, pull up and you're ready to go. Snug panties are a help in holding the pad in place. Also, if you used the PUL/pad - which I would REALLY recommend if you can at all afford it, make sure that the 1/3 section that has the PUL is in the bottom third. That way, it's farthest from your body. The flannel will keep it in place in your panties and the next layer will be the PUL/pad which will keep the pad from leaking. (or in other words, fold the 1/3 section without the PUL/pad in towards the center of the pad first, then fold the 1/3 section with the PUL/pad towards the center next. That way, the center 1/3 of the pad is on top and next to your body, then the second section is next, then the section with the fleece - pad- flannel is last. When folded properly and with a middle layer of PUL/fleece, you're pad will be: flannel, fleece, fleece, fleece, flannel, fleece, PUL, flannel.)
Nicest thing about this pattern is that it unfolds to wash and dry so that it doesn't take forever for it to wash and dry. I toss them in with my whites. I wash with 2 Tbs of grated Fels Naptha soap, 2 TBS of washing soda (this is NOT baking soda, but the box is similar to the baking soda box - the same company makes it.) and white vinegar in the rinse spot - where you'd put the fabric softener. I wash them in hot water and dry in the regular dryer. They've been being washed once a week since about Oct. and I've not had any trouble with them raveling or coming apart. I've got a couple that have a bit of very light staining, but that's my fault for not treating them or at least putting them in some cold water or rinsing the blood out. I was in crazy mode from the comings and goings I was having to do, and just tossed them in a special container I use and the blood dried on them. I then forgot and washed in hot without pre-rinsing them or treating the stain.
Some people worry about "germs". The soap/washing soda is alkaline and the "germs" don't do well with that. The vinegar is acidic and the "germs" don't like that. Then there's the heat from the washer and dryer and they don't like THAT either. By the time the laundry is done, you've got more bacteria on your hands than you do in the clean pads (or clean cloth wipes, even ones that you've used to wiped after a #2 with!)
Friday, November 9, 2007
Colds, rice bags and bedtime routines
Just gotta love getting sick. NOT.
I caught a cold a couple of weeks ago and it's still lingering on. Mostly in the guise of some serious coughing. I'm not running a temperature, so it's viral - no good to take antibiotics for it. I just have to let it run it's course.
In the meantime, I've not done any blogging. I thought I'd better check back in with everyone.
It's finally gotten cold here in the North Georgia mountains. The temp has been down into the low 30's at night, 45 during the day.
I've been very thankful for my rice bag and shrug that I made a while back. It was so easy to make these two items. During the day, when I'm up running around, I overheat and I don't wear/own many long-sleeve shirts. Once it gets dark and I sit in my chair typing, my arms get cold, especially my right hand that I'm mousing with. Then new shrug keeps my arms warm without adding extra covering to the rest of me.
While looking at some of my favorite blogs, Chrunchy Chicken had a bit on her blog about using Field corn to make the bags. The deer corn lady has a website that gives pictures as well as written instructions for making these. They are used the same way as rice is used.
I have trouble falling asleep if my feet are cold, so I've developed a new bedtime ritual. First, I take a warm bath. I like to use scented salts instead of bubble bath. Too much of an opportunity to develop a yeast infections with bubble baths. You can buy scented salts at Wallyworld for under $3. Or you can make your own.
To make your own scented salts all you need are Epsom's salt and some essential oil or fragrance that you like. You can buy the small boxes or bags of salts in the pharmacy area of any drug store or Wallyworld-type place for about $2. OR you can go to the plumbing section and buy a 50lb bag of water-softener for about $5-8. The water-softener crystals will need to be broken up a bit - they're too big to work well in the tub. Just put some of the crystals in a bag and whack it with a hammer or drive your car over it. I'd double bag it to drive the car over it!
When you've gotten the crystals smaller, bring them in, place them in a jar - a mason jar works well, and add your scent. It doesn't take a lot of scent. Several drops will do it. Then stir the salts around and close the jar up. Let it sit for a bit so that the scent will be absorbed by the crystals - several hours to a couple of days should do it. If you want it to fizz, add 1 tbs of baking soda to the crystals and stir that into them. A couple of tablespoons to 1/4 cup will make a nice relaxing bath.
After my bath, I heat the rice pack and place it at the end of my bed. If my room is extra cool, I'll also plop another heated bag above my head. This warms me up enough that I fall right to sleep. In the past, I've found that if I put on socks, I'll end up waking up in a couple of hours to take them off - I'm then too hot. But by then I've had enough sleep, that I can't get back to sleep. The heated rice packs seem to take care of the short-term cold feet without causing me to awaken later.
I caught a cold a couple of weeks ago and it's still lingering on. Mostly in the guise of some serious coughing. I'm not running a temperature, so it's viral - no good to take antibiotics for it. I just have to let it run it's course.
In the meantime, I've not done any blogging. I thought I'd better check back in with everyone.
It's finally gotten cold here in the North Georgia mountains. The temp has been down into the low 30's at night, 45 during the day.
I've been very thankful for my rice bag and shrug that I made a while back. It was so easy to make these two items. During the day, when I'm up running around, I overheat and I don't wear/own many long-sleeve shirts. Once it gets dark and I sit in my chair typing, my arms get cold, especially my right hand that I'm mousing with. Then new shrug keeps my arms warm without adding extra covering to the rest of me.
While looking at some of my favorite blogs, Chrunchy Chicken had a bit on her blog about using Field corn to make the bags. The deer corn lady has a website that gives pictures as well as written instructions for making these. They are used the same way as rice is used.
I have trouble falling asleep if my feet are cold, so I've developed a new bedtime ritual. First, I take a warm bath. I like to use scented salts instead of bubble bath. Too much of an opportunity to develop a yeast infections with bubble baths. You can buy scented salts at Wallyworld for under $3. Or you can make your own.
To make your own scented salts all you need are Epsom's salt and some essential oil or fragrance that you like. You can buy the small boxes or bags of salts in the pharmacy area of any drug store or Wallyworld-type place for about $2. OR you can go to the plumbing section and buy a 50lb bag of water-softener for about $5-8. The water-softener crystals will need to be broken up a bit - they're too big to work well in the tub. Just put some of the crystals in a bag and whack it with a hammer or drive your car over it. I'd double bag it to drive the car over it!
When you've gotten the crystals smaller, bring them in, place them in a jar - a mason jar works well, and add your scent. It doesn't take a lot of scent. Several drops will do it. Then stir the salts around and close the jar up. Let it sit for a bit so that the scent will be absorbed by the crystals - several hours to a couple of days should do it. If you want it to fizz, add 1 tbs of baking soda to the crystals and stir that into them. A couple of tablespoons to 1/4 cup will make a nice relaxing bath.
After my bath, I heat the rice pack and place it at the end of my bed. If my room is extra cool, I'll also plop another heated bag above my head. This warms me up enough that I fall right to sleep. In the past, I've found that if I put on socks, I'll end up waking up in a couple of hours to take them off - I'm then too hot. But by then I've had enough sleep, that I can't get back to sleep. The heated rice packs seem to take care of the short-term cold feet without causing me to awaken later.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
EASY Fleece shrug (like a shawl, but with arms)
Ok, it's getting cold here in North Ga. The temp was 51 at 9:30pm. I'm not going to running the heater until I can't put it off any longer. We need to put on more clothes to keep warm. So what does that have to do with a shrug and what the heck is a "shrug" anyway?
A shrug is sort of like the sleeves of a shirt/sweater, without the body of it. It goes from one wrist, over the shoulders and down to the other wrist. It's meant to add some warmth to arms and shoulders without overheating the rest of you. Unlike a shawl, it won't slip off with movement. The "sleeves" stop that from happening.
While I'm up and moving, I HATE long sleeves. Normally, I go out in the snow without a jacket, sweater or coat. I overheat very easily and really prefer to be cooler than hotter. Unfortunately, as soon as the sun sets, especially when I sit at the computer or read, my body temp seems to drop and I get COLD. To the point of miserable, cold! My right hand will be icy in no time, my feet freeze (ok, perhaps I should put some shoes/slippers on once in a while. lol) and my arms are goosebumped.
I've knitted slippers for the feet and a fingerless glove for the hand. Tonight, I realized that even with shoes on, my arms were just cold but that the rest of me was fine.
I happened to look over at a pile of material that I've been going through making various napkins, feminine protection, wipes, hankies, etc and saw a piece of scrap fleece. I bought this remnant for about $2.00 at Walmart. It's a piece that's 21" long and 60" wide. All of a sudden I got a really bright idea.
I picked up that scrap, put it over my shoulders with the 60" side going from wrist to wrist. I used a pin to mark where the "sleeve" needed to stop so that I could get in and out of it. I did that for both arms. I then turned the material so that the wrong sides were together (the sides that want to "roll" inward is the "wrong side") and pinned near where I had marked the material for the "sleeve" to stop. I held the two "sleeves" together to make sure they were even. I then zig-zagged from the wrist end to where the pin was, making sure to backstitch both at the start and end of the stitching so that the stitching wouldn't come out. I stitched about 3/8" from the edge and sewed a seam 12" long - before I ended the stitching. I just used the same thread I had been using to sew some light-colored material. (This is a black background with bright dots on it.) I trimmed the threads and turned it right-side out and slipped it on. It's working GREAT! my arms aren't cold anymore. My torso isn't hot and I have freedom of movement. The wrist ends are rather baggy, not fitted at all. When it gets really cold, I may make the wrist end tighter, but I don't think I'm going to need to.
So the mental picture is a piece of material that is a rectangle and then it's sewn up on each side so that there is a sleeve, then an open, unsewn piece of material and then a second sleeve as one continuous piece of material and that's a shrug.
I'm very heavy, so the wider piece of material is needed to cover me. If you're thinner, you could probably get away with a piece of material that was only 16"-18" long and 60" wide. If you're a smaller person and the 60" makes the sleeves too long, trim the sleeves down a bit to fit.
It's taken me longer to type this up than it did to make the shrug. I don't think it took me 15 mins from the time I thought about doing it until I was wearing it. My kind of project!!
A shrug is sort of like the sleeves of a shirt/sweater, without the body of it. It goes from one wrist, over the shoulders and down to the other wrist. It's meant to add some warmth to arms and shoulders without overheating the rest of you. Unlike a shawl, it won't slip off with movement. The "sleeves" stop that from happening.
While I'm up and moving, I HATE long sleeves. Normally, I go out in the snow without a jacket, sweater or coat. I overheat very easily and really prefer to be cooler than hotter. Unfortunately, as soon as the sun sets, especially when I sit at the computer or read, my body temp seems to drop and I get COLD. To the point of miserable, cold! My right hand will be icy in no time, my feet freeze (ok, perhaps I should put some shoes/slippers on once in a while. lol) and my arms are goosebumped.
I've knitted slippers for the feet and a fingerless glove for the hand. Tonight, I realized that even with shoes on, my arms were just cold but that the rest of me was fine.
I happened to look over at a pile of material that I've been going through making various napkins, feminine protection, wipes, hankies, etc and saw a piece of scrap fleece. I bought this remnant for about $2.00 at Walmart. It's a piece that's 21" long and 60" wide. All of a sudden I got a really bright idea.
I picked up that scrap, put it over my shoulders with the 60" side going from wrist to wrist. I used a pin to mark where the "sleeve" needed to stop so that I could get in and out of it. I did that for both arms. I then turned the material so that the wrong sides were together (the sides that want to "roll" inward is the "wrong side") and pinned near where I had marked the material for the "sleeve" to stop. I held the two "sleeves" together to make sure they were even. I then zig-zagged from the wrist end to where the pin was, making sure to backstitch both at the start and end of the stitching so that the stitching wouldn't come out. I stitched about 3/8" from the edge and sewed a seam 12" long - before I ended the stitching. I just used the same thread I had been using to sew some light-colored material. (This is a black background with bright dots on it.) I trimmed the threads and turned it right-side out and slipped it on. It's working GREAT! my arms aren't cold anymore. My torso isn't hot and I have freedom of movement. The wrist ends are rather baggy, not fitted at all. When it gets really cold, I may make the wrist end tighter, but I don't think I'm going to need to.
So the mental picture is a piece of material that is a rectangle and then it's sewn up on each side so that there is a sleeve, then an open, unsewn piece of material and then a second sleeve as one continuous piece of material and that's a shrug.
I'm very heavy, so the wider piece of material is needed to cover me. If you're thinner, you could probably get away with a piece of material that was only 16"-18" long and 60" wide. If you're a smaller person and the 60" makes the sleeves too long, trim the sleeves down a bit to fit.
It's taken me longer to type this up than it did to make the shrug. I don't think it took me 15 mins from the time I thought about doing it until I was wearing it. My kind of project!!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Rice bags for heating
A number of years ago, my then 10dd made us all some rice bags. She's 18 now and those bags have lasted this long and seen a lot of use.
Here's what she did:
Cut some cotton or poly/cotton fabric to a 10"x 10" square (or make a 10" x20" rectangle)
She put the wrong sides together and sewed almost all the way around the bag, left an opening to turn the bag and be able to fill it.
She then filled it with about 2 cups of rice. Just regular, long-grain, uncooked rice.
She then sewed over the opening.
Whenever we need some heat - either on an aching body part or to warm a cold bed, we place the bag in the microwave and nuke if for 1-4 minutes. The amount of time depends on the wattage of your microwave and whether or not you're using this for a heating pad or wanting to warm a bed.
BE VERY CAREFUL using this with small children or elderly person! The bags can get very hot - depending on how long you heat it. They can be heated hot enough to cause a serious burn on a child or elderly person.
Here's what she did:
Cut some cotton or poly/cotton fabric to a 10"x 10" square (or make a 10" x20" rectangle)
She put the wrong sides together and sewed almost all the way around the bag, left an opening to turn the bag and be able to fill it.
She then filled it with about 2 cups of rice. Just regular, long-grain, uncooked rice.
She then sewed over the opening.
Whenever we need some heat - either on an aching body part or to warm a cold bed, we place the bag in the microwave and nuke if for 1-4 minutes. The amount of time depends on the wattage of your microwave and whether or not you're using this for a heating pad or wanting to warm a bed.
BE VERY CAREFUL using this with small children or elderly person! The bags can get very hot - depending on how long you heat it. They can be heated hot enough to cause a serious burn on a child or elderly person.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Cloth napkins
Ok, I've been doing all kinds of napkins for my family and as part of a swap. And I'm throwing out the last set of instructions. Those instructions are good for the OCD types, but for someone with ADHD, FORGET IT! I got too antsy with all the burning of my fingers and tedious folding and sewing. Then I did some without doing the mitered corner and then some more without ironing. Both faster still.
One, folding down 1/2" hems is fine - if you're doing polyester and have a relatively low heat going. 1/2" on the cotton setting and I was getting scorched fingers. And I'm a VERY experienced ironer. Used to iron my dad's long sleeve white shirts he had to wear for work as well as the family ironing. This was before "wash and wear" and home clothes dryers. And I started at 9 doing that chore. If you want to make a single sided napkin, allow for a 1" hem all around, so cut them 12" x 12" and you'll end up with a 10" x 10" napkin and less burned fingers.
Two, hemming 1/4" hems is tedious at best. In the factories where they make napkins, they have special machines with special feet that make those neat little hems or they serge them.
Three, 10" x 10" napkins are too small for my liking. Yes, it is the finished size of a store-bought paper napkin. But that paper napkin is folded into 4ths and you can open it out bigger if you need to.
Four, templates are a waste of time and effort. I don't like wasting time, effort or material.
Do I really want to cut off and throw away 4" of material from the side of the material I'm cutting. Can't I just make my napkins bigger?
So after about 15 napkins, here's the new procedure.
1. I prefer bigger napkins. So I'm looking at cutting material anywhere from 13" x 13" to 18"x18". I'm not going to be measuring exactly. I will figure out how many napkins of near that size I can get out of my material. But if I have to choose between an exact square of 17", or 15" napkins that are a rectangle, I'm going with the rectangle and not wasting those never ending small pieces that we can't use, but don't want to throw away. So unless you're planning on doing fancy folds with your napkins or you've got Barbie dolls that you are making clothes for or you want the scraps for a quilt, adjust your napkin size to use the entire piece of material.
2. I've learned that the lady at the store probably hasn't cut the material evenly, no matter how hard she tries. (the person before her may not have cut it so well.) So I went through and after washing and drying the material on "hot" so it won't shrink anymore, pressing it so that it was mostly wrinkle free, I then cut a little snip at one selvage edge and tore the material across the top. Sometimes I had to resnip several times to get it to tear all the way across. Usually, after the 2nd time of running out of fabric, but still not having torn it all the way across, I'd switch sides and tear from the other side. Sometimes I'd end up with a tear that was 1" on the one side and as much as 5 inches wide at the end! I'd do this to both ends of the material. Only once did I have a cut edge that was already squared - even though some LOOKED squared. Now I'm left with "squared" material. And I want to waste time doing this why? Because I can then fold the material and know that all sides should be even. As you read on, you'll see why I want mine squared. So after squaring, I then fold the material over, selvage edge to selvage edge, keeping it even all the way down the length of the material.
3. I use a tape measure and measure across my fabric to see how much fabric I have. (Selvage edge to center and multiply by two. Then I divide that number by how big I want my napkins to be, to see how many pieces I can cut from that width. I really don't want my napkins much bigger than 17", nor smaller than about 12".
That means that if I have a piece of material that's 36" across, I can get three 12" wide or 2 that are just over 17" wide. I'm choosing just over 17". So I divide the material in two and know that when I'm ready to cut, I will cut up the middle divide to have two napkins. (The napkins will be smaller, as the hem will use up part of the original measurement.) If my material is 45" wide, I'll fold the material in thirds and have 3 pieces that are about 15" wide.
4. Next I will measure my material length. Lets say it's 2 yards long. That 72 inches. That would give me 4 napkins with a bit left over. So here's what I'm going to do with the length. I'm going to keep the material folded in half or thirds selvage edge to edge, and I'm then going to fold the material into fourths the long way by folding it in half, then in half again. Sort of like folding bed sheets. I'm going to get them as even as I can, then I'm going to place the folded material on a hard surface and start cutting apart the layers. I do this by cutting through the center of the folds. I keep the scissors so that my thumb is facing down and the back of my hand is facing up. To cut, I move the material - either sliding it forward as I cut or turning it so I'm cutting along the edge. I pull the material and scissors so that the material is taunt. I do this as I cut. I press down firmly with my free hand, near to where I'm cutting to keep the material from shifting as I cut.
Sometime, the cut isn't as straight or even as it would be if I measured, pinned and then cut. I don't care about that. We'll fix that in the sewing part.
5. Now that I have the material cut into pieces, I'm ready to sew it up. I got tired of tiny seams, so I started sewing my pieces together, making a front and back. Then I top stitched the material. It was SO much faster and easier. This means that out of the 36" x 2 yards of material, I would end up with 4 napkins, finished size would be 17" x 17". The 45" x 2 yards would give me 6 napkins, finished size would be 14" x 17".
6. Take two pieces of your material and place them with the right sides together. Start in the middle of one side and start to sew there. (There's method to this madness of starting in the middle of the material.) So if I have a piece that 17" wide, I'm going to start sewing at about 8" from the bottom edge of the material. I'm going to make my seams about 1/4" to 1/2" from the edge. I don't bother pinning the material. It stays together pretty well by itself. If the material is a little uneven when you have the right sides together, just make sure you sew far enough from the edge to catch the shorter piece of material. Sew from the middle to about 1/4" to 1/2" from the bottom corner, leaving the needle still in the material, lift the presser foot, spin the material 90 degrees, drop the presser foot and sew the entire length of that side. Do this until you get to about 3" to 4" from where you started. DO NOT sew over where you started - you've got to turn the material before you sew that opening closed.
7. When you've got to the spot you're going to leave open, clip your thread tails, then begin turning the material inside out. Personally, I start at a far corner, stick my thumb into the point and then use my fingers to "gather" the material towards the palm of my hand. Sort of like putting on a pair of socks. Then when I have the material gathered, I turn it right side out. So I have one point sticking through the opening. While I have the corner handy, I stick my trusty scissors into the point to make it "pointier". I don't snip the tip on the wrong side, nor do I get out a pin and pull the point all the way out. That's too OCD for me and napkins. If I was making a dress or wanted to fuss, I would do that. But I keep remembering my kids wiping up spills with them and then not rinsing the napkin out and it being stained. Keeps me in line with the importance of what I'm doing. Which is to say that, in a year, I'm going to be needing more that aren't stained. So don't go overboard, just get 'em made. They will be useful and you'll use them. This is for use, not for sitting and looking pretty. Unless this IS for sitting and looking pretty. Then measure and pick away, so they are perfect. I will comment, that after I'm done, mine DO look pretty. I'm the only one who would actually notice any imperfections. Well, me and anyone who doesn't have a life and wants to find fault. lol
8. So after you've turned all four points, your ready to close that opening. NO you don't have to hand stitch that bad boy closed. We're going to cheat and sew it closed while we top stitch this puppy. Here's what to do. Smooth out the napkin, turning in the edges of the opening. Now we're going to start sewing again. Start ABOVE the opening - an inch or so above it will be fine. You don't need to back sew it to lock the threads, we'll take care of that at the end. Just start sewing, keeping the two edges inside while you are sewing. You will be sewing about 1/8" from the edge. This will catch the open edges and sew them closed. Sew over the opening and continue on down to the corner. Turn it as before and keep on sewing until you get back to where you started. Now sew about an inch over where you first sewed. This will lock both the starting and ending threads, but still look nice. Trim the thread tails and you're done. No pain, no ironing - except when you pressed out most of the wrinkles before you started cutting. You will have a very pretty napkin. It probably isn't a square, it'll be more of a rectangle.
Tip on the top sewing. It bothers me to see edges that are "poofy" from not having the inside seam all the way to the edge. This happens when you top sew without ironing. So while I'm doing the top stitching, I will stop and gently grab the finished seam and work it to the edge, then do the top stitching. I can do this quickly while I'm sewing. If that "poofyness" doesn't bother you, just do the top stitching without worrying about the edge. Or you could iron it before you turn it. That would be a PAIN! (See, I CAN OCD over things! That's why I have to keep reminding myself of what the finished product is used for! I was raised with if you do it, do it "right". I like Flylady's reminder that we don't have to do things perfectly, we only need to get them done "good enough".) Yes, there is a time for perfection. If I were making a gift, I would take more care with what I was making. For myself, I find that when I try to make things that are "perfect", I then either don't finish them or don't want them being used, or I get upset with whomever "spoils" the finished product. We're making something to wipe greasy, tomatoey, sticky fingers and faces on. We want to be able to toss them in the washer and dryer.
There are other options for napkins. You can go buy them already made. You can buy the paper ones or you can buy wash cloths/dish cloths and use those. I made these out of material I already had on hand, either that I had bought for something else and never got around to making it (and have forgotten what it was I was even going to make with it!) or mostly I've been gifted with material from people who no longer sew. I've got enough to last quite a while. But I still found a remnant on sale at Wallyworld and got 10 napkins for 1.50 - that's when I realized that 10 x 10 napkins were rather small.
One, folding down 1/2" hems is fine - if you're doing polyester and have a relatively low heat going. 1/2" on the cotton setting and I was getting scorched fingers. And I'm a VERY experienced ironer. Used to iron my dad's long sleeve white shirts he had to wear for work as well as the family ironing. This was before "wash and wear" and home clothes dryers. And I started at 9 doing that chore. If you want to make a single sided napkin, allow for a 1" hem all around, so cut them 12" x 12" and you'll end up with a 10" x 10" napkin and less burned fingers.
Two, hemming 1/4" hems is tedious at best. In the factories where they make napkins, they have special machines with special feet that make those neat little hems or they serge them.
Three, 10" x 10" napkins are too small for my liking. Yes, it is the finished size of a store-bought paper napkin. But that paper napkin is folded into 4ths and you can open it out bigger if you need to.
Four, templates are a waste of time and effort. I don't like wasting time, effort or material.
Do I really want to cut off and throw away 4" of material from the side of the material I'm cutting. Can't I just make my napkins bigger?
So after about 15 napkins, here's the new procedure.
1. I prefer bigger napkins. So I'm looking at cutting material anywhere from 13" x 13" to 18"x18". I'm not going to be measuring exactly. I will figure out how many napkins of near that size I can get out of my material. But if I have to choose between an exact square of 17", or 15" napkins that are a rectangle, I'm going with the rectangle and not wasting those never ending small pieces that we can't use, but don't want to throw away. So unless you're planning on doing fancy folds with your napkins or you've got Barbie dolls that you are making clothes for or you want the scraps for a quilt, adjust your napkin size to use the entire piece of material.
2. I've learned that the lady at the store probably hasn't cut the material evenly, no matter how hard she tries. (the person before her may not have cut it so well.) So I went through and after washing and drying the material on "hot" so it won't shrink anymore, pressing it so that it was mostly wrinkle free, I then cut a little snip at one selvage edge and tore the material across the top. Sometimes I had to resnip several times to get it to tear all the way across. Usually, after the 2nd time of running out of fabric, but still not having torn it all the way across, I'd switch sides and tear from the other side. Sometimes I'd end up with a tear that was 1" on the one side and as much as 5 inches wide at the end! I'd do this to both ends of the material. Only once did I have a cut edge that was already squared - even though some LOOKED squared. Now I'm left with "squared" material. And I want to waste time doing this why? Because I can then fold the material and know that all sides should be even. As you read on, you'll see why I want mine squared. So after squaring, I then fold the material over, selvage edge to selvage edge, keeping it even all the way down the length of the material.
3. I use a tape measure and measure across my fabric to see how much fabric I have. (Selvage edge to center and multiply by two. Then I divide that number by how big I want my napkins to be, to see how many pieces I can cut from that width. I really don't want my napkins much bigger than 17", nor smaller than about 12".
That means that if I have a piece of material that's 36" across, I can get three 12" wide or 2 that are just over 17" wide. I'm choosing just over 17". So I divide the material in two and know that when I'm ready to cut, I will cut up the middle divide to have two napkins. (The napkins will be smaller, as the hem will use up part of the original measurement.) If my material is 45" wide, I'll fold the material in thirds and have 3 pieces that are about 15" wide.
4. Next I will measure my material length. Lets say it's 2 yards long. That 72 inches. That would give me 4 napkins with a bit left over. So here's what I'm going to do with the length. I'm going to keep the material folded in half or thirds selvage edge to edge, and I'm then going to fold the material into fourths the long way by folding it in half, then in half again. Sort of like folding bed sheets. I'm going to get them as even as I can, then I'm going to place the folded material on a hard surface and start cutting apart the layers. I do this by cutting through the center of the folds. I keep the scissors so that my thumb is facing down and the back of my hand is facing up. To cut, I move the material - either sliding it forward as I cut or turning it so I'm cutting along the edge. I pull the material and scissors so that the material is taunt. I do this as I cut. I press down firmly with my free hand, near to where I'm cutting to keep the material from shifting as I cut.
Sometime, the cut isn't as straight or even as it would be if I measured, pinned and then cut. I don't care about that. We'll fix that in the sewing part.
5. Now that I have the material cut into pieces, I'm ready to sew it up. I got tired of tiny seams, so I started sewing my pieces together, making a front and back. Then I top stitched the material. It was SO much faster and easier. This means that out of the 36" x 2 yards of material, I would end up with 4 napkins, finished size would be 17" x 17". The 45" x 2 yards would give me 6 napkins, finished size would be 14" x 17".
6. Take two pieces of your material and place them with the right sides together. Start in the middle of one side and start to sew there. (There's method to this madness of starting in the middle of the material.) So if I have a piece that 17" wide, I'm going to start sewing at about 8" from the bottom edge of the material. I'm going to make my seams about 1/4" to 1/2" from the edge. I don't bother pinning the material. It stays together pretty well by itself. If the material is a little uneven when you have the right sides together, just make sure you sew far enough from the edge to catch the shorter piece of material. Sew from the middle to about 1/4" to 1/2" from the bottom corner, leaving the needle still in the material, lift the presser foot, spin the material 90 degrees, drop the presser foot and sew the entire length of that side. Do this until you get to about 3" to 4" from where you started. DO NOT sew over where you started - you've got to turn the material before you sew that opening closed.
7. When you've got to the spot you're going to leave open, clip your thread tails, then begin turning the material inside out. Personally, I start at a far corner, stick my thumb into the point and then use my fingers to "gather" the material towards the palm of my hand. Sort of like putting on a pair of socks. Then when I have the material gathered, I turn it right side out. So I have one point sticking through the opening. While I have the corner handy, I stick my trusty scissors into the point to make it "pointier". I don't snip the tip on the wrong side, nor do I get out a pin and pull the point all the way out. That's too OCD for me and napkins. If I was making a dress or wanted to fuss, I would do that. But I keep remembering my kids wiping up spills with them and then not rinsing the napkin out and it being stained. Keeps me in line with the importance of what I'm doing. Which is to say that, in a year, I'm going to be needing more that aren't stained. So don't go overboard, just get 'em made. They will be useful and you'll use them. This is for use, not for sitting and looking pretty. Unless this IS for sitting and looking pretty. Then measure and pick away, so they are perfect. I will comment, that after I'm done, mine DO look pretty. I'm the only one who would actually notice any imperfections. Well, me and anyone who doesn't have a life and wants to find fault. lol
8. So after you've turned all four points, your ready to close that opening. NO you don't have to hand stitch that bad boy closed. We're going to cheat and sew it closed while we top stitch this puppy. Here's what to do. Smooth out the napkin, turning in the edges of the opening. Now we're going to start sewing again. Start ABOVE the opening - an inch or so above it will be fine. You don't need to back sew it to lock the threads, we'll take care of that at the end. Just start sewing, keeping the two edges inside while you are sewing. You will be sewing about 1/8" from the edge. This will catch the open edges and sew them closed. Sew over the opening and continue on down to the corner. Turn it as before and keep on sewing until you get back to where you started. Now sew about an inch over where you first sewed. This will lock both the starting and ending threads, but still look nice. Trim the thread tails and you're done. No pain, no ironing - except when you pressed out most of the wrinkles before you started cutting. You will have a very pretty napkin. It probably isn't a square, it'll be more of a rectangle.
Tip on the top sewing. It bothers me to see edges that are "poofy" from not having the inside seam all the way to the edge. This happens when you top sew without ironing. So while I'm doing the top stitching, I will stop and gently grab the finished seam and work it to the edge, then do the top stitching. I can do this quickly while I'm sewing. If that "poofyness" doesn't bother you, just do the top stitching without worrying about the edge. Or you could iron it before you turn it. That would be a PAIN! (See, I CAN OCD over things! That's why I have to keep reminding myself of what the finished product is used for! I was raised with if you do it, do it "right". I like Flylady's reminder that we don't have to do things perfectly, we only need to get them done "good enough".) Yes, there is a time for perfection. If I were making a gift, I would take more care with what I was making. For myself, I find that when I try to make things that are "perfect", I then either don't finish them or don't want them being used, or I get upset with whomever "spoils" the finished product. We're making something to wipe greasy, tomatoey, sticky fingers and faces on. We want to be able to toss them in the washer and dryer.
There are other options for napkins. You can go buy them already made. You can buy the paper ones or you can buy wash cloths/dish cloths and use those. I made these out of material I already had on hand, either that I had bought for something else and never got around to making it (and have forgotten what it was I was even going to make with it!) or mostly I've been gifted with material from people who no longer sew. I've got enough to last quite a while. But I still found a remnant on sale at Wallyworld and got 10 napkins for 1.50 - that's when I realized that 10 x 10 napkins were rather small.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Update
Well I haven't really dropped off the edge of the world.
We've been really busy. We have 2 inspections of our house in the next two weeks and we have had some deep cleaning to do. Fun stuff like make sure we move the fridge and stove and get the gunk that collects at the base of them washed up. It's a bit of a hassle, but this is the only place I can afford to live right now, so we deal with it.
We had fun at our homeschool field day. I was supposed to get a start of sourdough from my friend Charlene, and she did bring it. We just forgot to exchange it. It'll have to wait until the next event. lol
I've been knitting dish cloths. I just love the way they clean. I didn't think I would like them, but tried one and fell in love with how much easier they are to use. I think they clean better and they don't make my hands ache like the flimsy terrycloth ones I've always used do.
I'm also making napkins, place mats, hankies and dish towels out of some excess cloth. I've got to get my exchange in the mail to Australia by Monday. It will be fun to see what material my partner has picked out for me.
Now if I can just find the digital camera to take pictures for Rhonda Jean, organizer of the swap, so that she can put them on her blog. Actually, I know where the camera is, it's where is the connecting cord for the computer? It WAS on my desktop plugged into the computer - before kids got to it.
Well it's almost 4am and I guess I'd better go to bed. I've got to be back up at 8 to take my daughter to work and go to work myself.
We've been really busy. We have 2 inspections of our house in the next two weeks and we have had some deep cleaning to do. Fun stuff like make sure we move the fridge and stove and get the gunk that collects at the base of them washed up. It's a bit of a hassle, but this is the only place I can afford to live right now, so we deal with it.
We had fun at our homeschool field day. I was supposed to get a start of sourdough from my friend Charlene, and she did bring it. We just forgot to exchange it. It'll have to wait until the next event. lol
I've been knitting dish cloths. I just love the way they clean. I didn't think I would like them, but tried one and fell in love with how much easier they are to use. I think they clean better and they don't make my hands ache like the flimsy terrycloth ones I've always used do.
I'm also making napkins, place mats, hankies and dish towels out of some excess cloth. I've got to get my exchange in the mail to Australia by Monday. It will be fun to see what material my partner has picked out for me.
Now if I can just find the digital camera to take pictures for Rhonda Jean, organizer of the swap, so that she can put them on her blog. Actually, I know where the camera is, it's where is the connecting cord for the computer? It WAS on my desktop plugged into the computer - before kids got to it.
Well it's almost 4am and I guess I'd better go to bed. I've got to be back up at 8 to take my daughter to work and go to work myself.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Home-sewn cloth napkins, dish towels, and handkerchiefs
Making cloth napkins, dish towels, place mats and handkerchiefs and feminine needs are all easy projects.
They can be made from various materials, but the most absorbent ones will be 100% cotton. The higher the polyester content, the less absorbent your final item becomes.
Over the years, I have acquired a bunch of fabric that either I had bought or that had been given to me. I had no idea which were 100% cotton and which were blends. So I went online and found a trick for telling if a material is a natural fiber or a man-made one. That trick I shared with you in a post last week. I have different lengths of fabric, in different patterns. I also have a set of sheets that a friend gave me. They are too big for my bed and she doesn't want them back. They will make a nice kitchen set for this dear friend who has done so much for my family. The computer I'm typing on is her old one. She bought a new one so that I could have this nice one. Without it, you wouldn't be reading this blog! lol
After I picked out my final materials I then sat down and figured out the size I wanted my finished items to be.
I have a napkin swap on another blog and those are to be 10" x 10". That's a nice size. I also have one cloth napkin I got in a tray for Mother's Day. I love it. It's 17" x 17". I want my hankies to be 9" x 9", I want my dish towels to end up being 12" x 18" and my place mats to be 14" x 24". I got these dimensions by measuring existing place mat, napkin, and dish towel. The hankie I was just arbitrary with. I have allergies so I sometimes sneeze a lot and need more to my handkerchiefs that a thin little piece of 6" x 6" cute linen!
The next thing I did was to make myself templates out of old cardboard boxes. I would start in one corner of the box measure over to where I wanted that template to end and make several marks from the edge so I'd get a straight line with my ruler. Then I'd go to the side and measure over several times. This way, I had a square template. They were a pain to cut, but they are sturdy and will last a long time. When I made my templates, I added an inch to one long side and an inch to a short side to allow for a 1/2" seam all around. I then marked on each template what it was for. Don't count on remembering which size was which. I made templates on Fri and by tonight (Mon) I had to look at what was written to know what I wanted that particular template for!
My next step is to iron the materials flat, decide which will be what item, and find my washable fabric marker. I can use chalk or soap if I want to mark the fabric, but a fine-tip, washable marker will make my finished project a little easier to sew up. I'm ironing the fabric so that it will be flat and easier to cut squarely. (I'm a person who loves short-cuts, so if I iron, it REALLY needs to be done - unless you're using a polyester fabric that just plain doesn't wrinkle, so it doesn't need ironing ever.)
Next step will be to place the template over the wrong side of the fabric and draw around the template. If you're fortunate enough to own a rotary cutter and mat, this step will be a breeze. You can stack your material or fold your material and cut several thicknesses at a time. For the rest of us, we have to mark each piece and then individually cut them. Or you can try a steel straight-edge and an Exacto knife (craft razor/knife), but watch your fingers, make sure that you cut on something that can't be damaged and don't make your stack too thick!
Ok, now we have a bunch of squares and/or rectangles cut out.
We will need a couple of items to do make these cloths up:
- An iron and an ironing board or place to iron
- A sewing machine and thread or needle and thread.
- A ruler or a second set of templates 1" shorter on one long side and one short side. (So it's the finished size you want your item to be. Make this template just like you did the first set, only use thinner cardboard - like what comes in a shirt. It should be rather flimsy, so that you can iron over it and make a sharply creased fold. You need to decide if you want squared-off corners or mitered corners. If you want squared off corners, do nothing else to the templates. If you want the finished item to have mitered corners, you will need to cut off 1/2" from each corner of your template. Simple measure down both edges 1/2" from the corner. Then draw a straight line between the two marks. Do this for each corner. Cut off the triangle that is made. Otherwise, you will have to measure the fabric the same way and FOLD the fabric down between the two point and iron it flat.
- Pins (opt) (I told you, I do short-cuts. I've finally lost the "perfection" drive. If you want "perfection" have at it. I'm making these so that people can wipe their faces, blow their noses and dry dishes - and with kids, you know they're going to mop up spills too. So I'm not doing "works of art" for them to ruin them with mustard stains that I won't find until I dig down to the bottom of the laundry bin, where they were hidden, to wash them. kwim?)
Here we go. Set up the ironing board and set the iron to cotton - because we're using cotton right. If not, set it to polyester or linen or whatever temp your fabric needs. While the iron is heating up, get your machine set up and ready to sew. Load the bobbin color you need on your bobbin and thread your machine.
You're going to work at the ironing board first. You will need either the ruler or the template. Your object here is to place the fabric with the wrong side up on the ironing board and then iron a 1/2" fold all around the fabric. Here's where you have to make a choice. Do you want mitered corners? If so, you're going to have to fold the corners down over the cut corners of the template and iron them FIRST. If you want a squared corner, just fold the fabric and iron. After deciding on our corner treatment, we're going to either center the template on the fabric, fold and iron each corner, then go back and fold and iron each length over OR use the ruler and fold down the fabric 1/2" and press. You will then remove the template or set aside the ruler. Then open up the longer folded edges (NOT the mitered corners, if you did those, keep them folded!) and fold the material over until it almost, but not quite touches the folds you just ironed in, and iron a second fold. This fold will be 1/4", but since your almost touching the 1/2" fold, you won't have to measure it. Did I tell you, I use short-cuts? now refold at the first fold you made, trapping that raw edge inside. You will now have a 1/4" finished edge that's ready for sewing.
Second choice. Either pin it or don't. Again, the choice is yours. I pin the corners, especially the miters, so they will stay mitered! I just pin on each side where the fabric meets in the corner. The rest of the edge I can get to pretty much stay put by how I feed it through my hands. I'm a very experienced sewer. If this is your first project, PIN IT. It will save you untold grief until you've learned to manipulate fabric and machine. Always keep the pins at a 90 degree angle (perpendicular) to the fabric, that way the machine will just jump the pins and you don't have to remove them before you've sewn that portion of the seam.
Finally, we're ready to sew! It's really not important where you start to sew on any of these things. I start along one side, in the middle. That way I've got the machine moving before I try to handle the corners. You're going to stitch along near the middle. Don't worry if the stitch "wanders" a little. You will learn to sew it straight line. As you come to the corner, slow down and use the hand wheel to catch the middle of the first side of the corner. You may have to do a couple of stitches by hand this way. Just keep turning the wheel until you get to the corner. When you get there, leave the needle IN the fabric, then lift the presser foot and turn the corner 90 degrees so that you're now going down the opposite side from where you just were. The material will rotate on the needle. Lower the presser foot and start sewing again. Do the same thing for each corner. When you get back to where you started, sew about an inch over the same seam to lock the stitching.
Remove any pins you used. Press it again so it will look nice and your ready to go with the next one.
Personally, I do stuff in batches. I choose which item I want to make first. I mark all my material for that pattern - say napkins. Then I cut out all of the napkins. Then I iron all my pieces around the template and pin the corners. Then I sew all the napkins. Then I press all the finished napkins, checking for loose threads.
You can do this any way you want to do it. Do one napkin at a time, one piece of fabric at a time, do sets at a time (napkins, place mats, dish towels - a table runner would be done the same way!).
If you want a bigger or smaller hem, add more than one inch to the finished size you are wanting to end up with. I wouldn't make the hem any smaller unless you have a serger you want to use.
You can make your items to whatever size you want. You can make your place mats out of a heavier material, line it, use fusible interfacing, etc. This is just the basics of HOW to do these type items. The sizes you want and the hemming you want are up to you.
I picked my favorite size items and that's where I got the measurements from. Pick your favorite items, favorite materials and customize these projects to your own liking. Then just have fun making them.
These will make great Christmas gifts. You can do them up in any holiday (T'day, Christmas, Valentine, etc) colors or fabrics. You can recycle material you already have, either new or gently used material. You can color coordinate it to the recipient's home or mix and match. Do just napkins or whole kitchen sets. If you use sheets, you can cut a top sheet for a table cloth and use a bottom, fitted sheet for the rest of the set. You can mix and match the colors - a top sheet from one set and the bottom sheet from another. Some colored, some white.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Testing fabric for natural or synthetic content
How to test fabric for natural fiber content:
(Mostly I'm looking at testing for cotton in fabric. You would have to look at other things as well as how the fabric burns to tell cotton from linen from wool.)
Note about handling fabric:
All fabric should be prewashed before you use it for anything. It removes sizing, allows the material to do any shrinking (it's nicer to have it shrink BEFORE you spend hours sewing an item rather than afterwards! If it shrinks before it's washed, you will be cutting the pattern to the size you need. If it shrinks afterwards, it may not fit or the fabric may pull or pucker the finished article.) Wash the fabric as you will the item you're making it into. So, if I'm making napkins, I put the fabric into hot water and a hot dryer. If I'm making a dress, the fabric would be cold washed and dried on medium heat.
You will need a couple of things:
a small swatch of the fabric you want to test.
a fire source, a lit candle is great, but matches or a lighter will work too.
tweezers or tongs to hold the swatch (so you don't burn yourself)
Non-flammable surface to work on
Set yourself up in a safe place so that you can burn a small swatch of the material you want to test. By this I mean, we're going to actually burn a small amount of the fabric to see how it burns, so set up where you have water close by in case you can't blow the fire out. Make sure you are standing where you can drop the burning piece without setting anything else on fire!
Standing over your kitchen sink is a really good place to do this kind of testing.
First, I use a candle. I had a bunch of fabric that I wanted to test and the candle is the best option - it leaves both hands free to work and you don't have to worry about burning yourself. Set the candle down into your sink (in a holder, if it needs one) and light it. Next, using tweezers, take the swatch of fabric and slowly start moving it towards the fire, the let it burn for a couple of seconds, then put the fire that's burning on the edge of the swatch out. (Leave your candle lit.)
You're looking for three things.
How did the material react to being burned
How the burnt part smells
How does the burned and cooled fabric react at the burned area.
How the material reacted to being burned?
The reason for slowly moving the fabric towards the fire is so that you can see if the fabric starts to shrink away from the fire, how close to the fire you can get before it catches the swatch on fire and can you just blow it out easily or does it want to keep burning. If the fiber starts to shrink way from the fire before it gets to the flame you have a high synthetic count in the fabric. Cotton/wool/linen have to almost touch the flame before it will ignite. Man-made fibers shrink - melts actually and wants to stay lit, even after you've blown the fire out. More about that in the last section.
How does it smell?
Man-made fibers, of which polyester is one of the most common, are made of chemicals and when any of these fibers burns, they have a chemical smell. Natural fibers have a milder, more natural odor.
How does it look and feel after being burned?
Fabric containing synthetic fibers will have a melted "ball" or "beads" at the ends of the burnt area. Make sure the fabric has cooled down, then if you run your fingers along the burned edge and it feels rough, or the fibers separate in "clumps", you have synthetic fibers in the fabric. Natural fibers will break off in an ash. The ends will feel soft and the fibers will separate individually, instead of looking like they have been glued together in small groups.
I read on one tip site that if the fabric sample being burned was natural, as soon as you blew on it to put out the fire, it would all go out. But that if it "glowed" it was synthetic. Usually, but not always so. If the natural fibers are unevenly woven - as when they ran out of thread and added another piece of thread to continue the weaving - it will cause the fibers to be thicker there than in the surrounding area, and thus not go out evenly. Also, if the fabric has been treated with sizing, it may also not go out as quickly. But the edges will be soft and the smell as it is burning is not "chemical" smell.
So, I took my many fabric samples and held them level with the side of the flame, but about 2-3 inches from it. I slowly moved the fabric closer to the flame. I didn't have any of the fabric swatches recoil from the flame, they had high enough cotton content that it didn't melt away from the heat. I would touch the edge of the flame and the material would ignite. I would blow it out. Some of my fabric, after being blown out, glowed for a few minutes. I knew that that fabric had a good amount of synthetic fibers in it (though it was still mostly cotton). I had a few pieces that glowed, for a moment or two. But then I noticed that the individual fibers were bunched closely together, as it does when I run out of yarn and have to add another piece to continue knitting. The edges were soft, brittle, grey-ashed, and there was no chemical smell. I know these are 100% cotton. (I know don't have any linen or wool fabric, just cotton and cotton/polyester.) Some of my fabric didn't smell, perhaps I just didn't let it burn long enough. But the edges did clump together or bead. I knew those have polyester in them.
Most of the 100% cotton did extinguish as soon as I blew on it. They all had a softer smell to them and the edges were soft with the fibers separating as I ran my finger across the edge. The fibers were also brittle and would discinerate to ash when touched.
I hope this helps someone distinguish between their materials, natural, combination and synthetic.
(Mostly I'm looking at testing for cotton in fabric. You would have to look at other things as well as how the fabric burns to tell cotton from linen from wool.)
Note about handling fabric:
All fabric should be prewashed before you use it for anything. It removes sizing, allows the material to do any shrinking (it's nicer to have it shrink BEFORE you spend hours sewing an item rather than afterwards! If it shrinks before it's washed, you will be cutting the pattern to the size you need. If it shrinks afterwards, it may not fit or the fabric may pull or pucker the finished article.) Wash the fabric as you will the item you're making it into. So, if I'm making napkins, I put the fabric into hot water and a hot dryer. If I'm making a dress, the fabric would be cold washed and dried on medium heat.
You will need a couple of things:
a small swatch of the fabric you want to test.
a fire source, a lit candle is great, but matches or a lighter will work too.
tweezers or tongs to hold the swatch (so you don't burn yourself)
Non-flammable surface to work on
Set yourself up in a safe place so that you can burn a small swatch of the material you want to test. By this I mean, we're going to actually burn a small amount of the fabric to see how it burns, so set up where you have water close by in case you can't blow the fire out. Make sure you are standing where you can drop the burning piece without setting anything else on fire!
Standing over your kitchen sink is a really good place to do this kind of testing.
First, I use a candle. I had a bunch of fabric that I wanted to test and the candle is the best option - it leaves both hands free to work and you don't have to worry about burning yourself. Set the candle down into your sink (in a holder, if it needs one) and light it. Next, using tweezers, take the swatch of fabric and slowly start moving it towards the fire, the let it burn for a couple of seconds, then put the fire that's burning on the edge of the swatch out. (Leave your candle lit.)
You're looking for three things.
How did the material react to being burned
How the burnt part smells
How does the burned and cooled fabric react at the burned area.
How the material reacted to being burned?
The reason for slowly moving the fabric towards the fire is so that you can see if the fabric starts to shrink away from the fire, how close to the fire you can get before it catches the swatch on fire and can you just blow it out easily or does it want to keep burning. If the fiber starts to shrink way from the fire before it gets to the flame you have a high synthetic count in the fabric. Cotton/wool/linen have to almost touch the flame before it will ignite. Man-made fibers shrink - melts actually and wants to stay lit, even after you've blown the fire out. More about that in the last section.
How does it smell?
Man-made fibers, of which polyester is one of the most common, are made of chemicals and when any of these fibers burns, they have a chemical smell. Natural fibers have a milder, more natural odor.
How does it look and feel after being burned?
Fabric containing synthetic fibers will have a melted "ball" or "beads" at the ends of the burnt area. Make sure the fabric has cooled down, then if you run your fingers along the burned edge and it feels rough, or the fibers separate in "clumps", you have synthetic fibers in the fabric. Natural fibers will break off in an ash. The ends will feel soft and the fibers will separate individually, instead of looking like they have been glued together in small groups.
I read on one tip site that if the fabric sample being burned was natural, as soon as you blew on it to put out the fire, it would all go out. But that if it "glowed" it was synthetic. Usually, but not always so. If the natural fibers are unevenly woven - as when they ran out of thread and added another piece of thread to continue the weaving - it will cause the fibers to be thicker there than in the surrounding area, and thus not go out evenly. Also, if the fabric has been treated with sizing, it may also not go out as quickly. But the edges will be soft and the smell as it is burning is not "chemical" smell.
So, I took my many fabric samples and held them level with the side of the flame, but about 2-3 inches from it. I slowly moved the fabric closer to the flame. I didn't have any of the fabric swatches recoil from the flame, they had high enough cotton content that it didn't melt away from the heat. I would touch the edge of the flame and the material would ignite. I would blow it out. Some of my fabric, after being blown out, glowed for a few minutes. I knew that that fabric had a good amount of synthetic fibers in it (though it was still mostly cotton). I had a few pieces that glowed, for a moment or two. But then I noticed that the individual fibers were bunched closely together, as it does when I run out of yarn and have to add another piece to continue knitting. The edges were soft, brittle, grey-ashed, and there was no chemical smell. I know these are 100% cotton. (I know don't have any linen or wool fabric, just cotton and cotton/polyester.) Some of my fabric didn't smell, perhaps I just didn't let it burn long enough. But the edges did clump together or bead. I knew those have polyester in them.
Most of the 100% cotton did extinguish as soon as I blew on it. They all had a softer smell to them and the edges were soft with the fibers separating as I ran my finger across the edge. The fibers were also brittle and would discinerate to ash when touched.
I hope this helps someone distinguish between their materials, natural, combination and synthetic.
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