Sewing Tutorial: Omma's Seat Belt Cushion

Sometimes, no matter how you position them, seatbelts rub up against your neck or shoulder the wrong way. For me, it's the ones at work (I drive school buses); for my cousin, it hits her chemo port. When I found out my cousin had cancer, I wanted to do SOMETHING to help, and a dear friend told me that her mom had used a small pillow to protect her port from the rubbing of the seatbelt. Perfect; a quick project to make things more comfortable. This project is named for my friend's mom.

In this example, the side with the hearts goes against the area you want to protect

SUPPLIES

4 charm squares

Velcro: about half an inch by an inch and a half
Polyfil

I think it took longer for me to pick fabric than make the project

DIRECTIONS

Sew the Velcro on your strap charm squares, about an inch and a half from one edge (from here on referred to as "the top"), and centered between the two sides. Repeat for the other strap.

Fold the strap charm squares right side together. so that the two edges are touching, and sew along the edges (i.e.; NOT the top or bottom). Repeat for the other strap.

Now, move that seam you just sewed so that it's centered. The Velcro should be laying flat opposite that seam. Sew the top. Repeat for the other strap.

See that seam from the last step, now in centered in the middle?

Turn both strap pieces right side out. 

Now you're going to layer all four pieces of fabric together. Lay one pillow charm square right side up. Attach the Velcro pieces to each other, and lay over the center of the pillow charm square (it doesn't matter which side is up for the strap). Lay your second pillow charm square right down, matching its edges with the first pillow charm square.

It'd be smart to pin the layers, but I like to live dangerously

Sew around the perimeter, leaving a space for turning and stuffing. The strap pieces will stick out a bit from the edges; this is fine.

Trim the excess fabric, turn right side out, and stuff loosely.

Top stitch around the pillow charm squares to close the hole and give it a nice finished look.

And you're done!

Sewing Tutorial: Charming Hot/Cold Pack

 Here's another project to use up charm squares: a simple pouch filled with rice or similar grains that can be used as an icepack or heated and used at a hot pack.

The red and panda packs are six charm squares each; the blue one is eight with the "extra" two squares cut in half and sewn in between the full-size squares.

SUPPLIES

Six to eight charm squares

Rice, fennel, or other grain--about half a cup per section

I used rice for this one, and fennel for the others pictured above

DIRECTIONS

Sew the charm squares for each side together into a strip. You should have two strips of equal length when you're done.

One strip done, one nearly there.

Put the strips right sides together, and sewn around the perimeter. Leave room for turning--this will also be how you put the grain in.

Turn right side out when you're done.

Now, pour about half a cup of grain into the pouch, and work them down into the far end, opposite where you left the opening for turning. You'll be sewing the first section closed next, so don't overfill it--needles don't like going over hard grains, and will revolt by breaking.

You'll also be top stitching around the perimeter. Don't overfill!

With the grains between two charm squares, sew along the seam between the two charm squares (or wherever you've decided to close off the first section).

See how the section is loosely filled? This is about how it should look.

Repeat for the remaining sections. Finally, top stitch around the edge, taking care to close the opening. Now it's ready to soothe an ache!

Sewing Tutorial: Charming Trivet

 Have a pack of charm squares and need a project? Here's a way to use six of them to make a little trivet to protect tabletops from hot serving pans.

Three charm squares per side

SUPPLIES

6 charm squares
Batting
Insul-brite
Cutting tools: ruler, rotary cutter, cutting board, and iron

For this trivet, I have two sets of three matching squares

DIRECTIONS

Cut four of the charm squares in half diagonally, making eight right triangles.

One side will have the US flag in the center with the stars on the edge,
and the other the reverse

Now cut the triangles to fit against the uncut charm square: center the right angle on your cutting mat and trim so that the hypotenuse (opposite the right angle) is five inches long. You'll be cutting about an inch off the smaller angles of the triangles.

Does that make sense? Like in the picture.

And cut half an inch off the hypotenuse. Repeat these steps for all eight triangles.

Three inches tall, five inches long at the widest part

    
Now sew four triangles to each side of the two remaining charm squares, right sides together.

I have my needle in the default position, and the fabric lined up with the foot.

Iron both sides flat.

And of course, square up the sides if needed.

Layer the two pieces with the batting and Insul-brite: both pieces of fabric right sides together, then batting, then Insul-brite.

Or Insul-brite then batting; doesn't matter

Stitch around the edges, leaving room for turning. Flip right side out, iron, then top stitch.

Stitch along the seams too; it holds the layers together better and looks nice.

Trim any loose threads, give it another press, and you're all set!

Sewing Tutorial: Fidget Mats

I love the marble mazes I posted two months ago, but they might not be appropriate fidget toys if you need to worry about choking hazards--enough chewing can get the marbles out, and babies and some older people are going to chew. Here's an alternative sewing project for when that's a concern. It's also a great way to use up small amounts of fabric and ribbon.

No choking hazards here!

SUPPLIES

Four pieces of different textures of fabric
Six (or more) ribbons of different texture and width--none with wires
Fabric scissors
Regular scissors
Rotary cutter
Cutting mat with grid and ruler
Clean potato chip bag

Regular scissors lest your sewing ancestors haunt you
when it comes time to cut the bag.

DIRECTIONS

Cut the ribbon into four-inch (10 cm) long pieces. If you only have a small amount of ribbon, three inches  (7.5 cm)will suffice, but four is easier to work with.

If possible, have each ribbon a different texture than the other.

Using your regular scissors, cut the potato chip into a ten inch by ten inch (25 cm) square. The bag should already have been wiped clean and run through the dishwasher or washing machine. You can also use any sort of bag with the same feel as a potato chip or buy crinkle paper outright.

USE REGULAR SCISSORS, NOT FABRIC SCISSORS

Next, cut three of your fabrics into three-inch (7.5cm) wide by nine-inch (23 cm) wide strips, and the fourth into a nine-inch by nine-inch (23 cm) square. 

I used fleece, a silky piece, and minke for the strips,
and flannel for the square.

Now you should have six lengths of ribbon, one chip bag square, three strips of fabric, and one square of fabric. Time to start assembling the fidget mat.

Ready to go

Sew the strips along the long edges with the right sides facing, to make them into a square.

I chose to order them fleece, silky, minke

Square up the edges.

See-through rulers with grids are the best.

Fold the ribbons in half and pin then around the perimeter, leaving a little bit of each raw each hanging over the side, to ensure they get caught when you sew them in place.

You can sew them in right now and remove the pins,
or after the next step and just take extra care to watch for pins when turning.

Layer your pieces with the chip bag on the bottom, fabric square right side up, strips with ribbons right side down. 

The bag might try to curl, which is why having it bigger than
the fabric pieces is nice.

Pin or clip the pieces together and sew around the perimeter, leaving a space open for turning.

If you haven't already sewn in the ribbons, watch for those pins.

Trim the extra edges of the chip bag.

USE REGULAR SCISSORS. DO NOT USE FABRIC SCISSORS.

Trim any bulky pieces of ribbon and fabric as needed.

Back to fabric scissors.

Use a zig zag to top stitch the perimeter...

The ribbons are very secure now!

...and the seams between the strips, and you're done!

This also helps the chip bag piece stay in place.

Now the fidget mat is ready to be played with. The bag inside the fabric makes a fun crinkly noise when bent or squeezed, and the ribbons and fabric provide a variety of textures to rub.

Sewing Tutorial: Sleeping Mask

 My daughter had a great idea: sleeping masks as party favors for a sleepover. They're not hard to make either! You can even embroider a fun design on the fabric prior to cutting and sewing.

Try to guess her favorite animal.

SUPPLIES

Elastic (I used 1/2' wide knit)
Less than a fat quarter's worth of flannel
Tracing paper or similar

Washed, ironed, and all the boring prep, of course.

DIRECTIONS

Take a couple measurements of the person you're making the sleeping mask for: temple-to-temple around the front of the face, and temple-to-temple around the back of the head. For my late-elementary aged child who wears a size 12, those measurements were 9 inches (23 cm) and 15 inches (38 cm).

Next, cut a template for the mask, making it a touch longer than your first measurement.

You could just do a rectangle, but a little shaping is nicer.

Fold it in half and check for symmetry, trimming if needed.

Trace the mask template on your flannel (if you want an embroidery design, do that prior to cutting) and cut out two per mask. Also cut a piece of elastic the length of your second measurement.

If you have embroidered something, be sure to center it.

I found that a 10x10 inch (25x25cm) square was 
a great size for hooping for embroidery,
and yielded fabric for one mask.

Now, layer the two pieces of flannel and the elastic. The flannel will be right sides together with the elastic in the middle. Be careful to place the elastic so that it will be evenly attached on both sides AND so that you won't sew over more than just the two spots where it will be attached (at either temple). Pin or clip the layers in place.

The elastic just barely extends past the edges of the flannels.

Now, sew around the perimeter, leaving a little space for turning.

Be sure you catch all layers, especially where the elastic is.

Turn right side out, iron, and top stitch around the entire perimeter.

I made this seam narrower than the previous one.

Another quick press with the iron and some thread trimming, and you're done!

Good night!