All our local friends, we need your help.  We are headed to Maker Faire at The Henry Ford July 31 and August 1.

1. We need t-shirts to turn into shopping bags…so clean out those closets and drawers.   Any size, any condition.  this is a great way to get rid of the kid’s team shirts that seam to multiply.

2.  Volunteers to help greet and instruct attendees through the process (we will be in the air conditioned Automotive Hall of Fame next to Xyron and Craft Magazine).

Contact us for more info or to arrange a pick-up of t-shirts.

Welcome to everyone who just found us via Lish’s fab blog post on Craft about our appearance at the Ann Arbor Mini-Maker Faire a couple weeks ago.

We had a blast teaching folks to make over 200 t-shirt bags.  We met loads of great people, many who never had attempted using a sewing machine before and couldn’t believe how much fun and easy it was.  Plus the bags were the perfect accessory for Mini-Maker to carry all the loot from other booth’s make and takes folks tried.

To make your own t-shirt bag, grab any old t-shirt (kid’s shirts work especially great, just the right size), cut off the sleeves just on the inside seam and cut out the neck, just a bit below the ribbed collar, keep the shirt lying flat so hole is uniform in size, front and back.

Next turn the shirt inside out and sew a straight seam along the bottom.

If you want to get a little more fancy, you can square off the bottom of bag, by opening the bottom seam and creating a triangle at the corner and stitching this on both sides and trim the excess material.  Repeat on the other corner.

Step 2-3 - Sew bottom & corner

TaDaa! T-Shirt bag is complete!

If you want to do a mass event of turning t-shirts to bags, ask to collect the bags from local schools.  I placed a box near my kid’s school office and in less than 2 weeks I had collected over 200 t-shirts in all sorts of sizes and motifs.  Many parents were thrilled to clean  out their kid’s closets of old sport team t-shirts.  This is a great project for kids and adults to sew.  Let me know if you try this as a school or scout event.

This is the time of year to go through the kid’s closets and try on summer clothes and shoes to figure out what doesn’t fit and move it down to the next child in line. To give the old shoes a little bit of new attitude, here is an idea to remake girls dress shoes.

In our case, we had a barely worn pair of white dress flats that mysteriously had glitter and nail polish all over them, hence making them unacceptable, in the opinion of the next child. Fair enough. So, I went digging and found some leftover bright colored spray paint and went to work.

Step 1: Clean shoes and scuff up surface if it is glossy, then cover any part of the shoe you don’t want paint on with tape (heel and sole) — masking tape or clear packing tape works well. Also think creatively to use tape to create stripes or circle stickers for polka dots.
Step 2: Stuff shoes with newspaper to protect interior from paint.
Step 3: Spray a light coat of paint over entire shoe. You will need to pick up shoe and spray near the sole. Let that coat dry and repeat until shoe is completely covered.

Step 4: Let paint dry overnight.
Step 5: Spray shoe with a clear coat polyurethane for a little shine if painted surface is a little flat. (optional)
Step 6: Let dry overnight to completely cure.

TaDaa! Fun and sassy shoes that make an older sister search for shoes to remake for herself.
Other ideas to embellish is to glue on some jewels or flowers to add more pizzazz. I recommend to start simply and aim for fun and not perfection.

It always happens that in the midst of a sewing or craft project that neat stack of materials and supplies that I have gathered becomes scattered all over the place: thread in one spot, notions covered by fabrics, pattern packet and instructions separated from each other.  Sometimes I feel like more time is spent searching for the pieces I need than actually sewing.  Here is a simple way to be stylishly organized.

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Time: less than an hour

Materials:

• Chunky Picture frame 11” x 14”
• 4 -2-1/2” finish nails
• 4 cup hooks
• 2 clothes pins & 2 1″ finish nails to attach these
  
• Spray paint

Step 1: Clean the frame

Step 2:  Figure out which side will be the top of the frame.  On the sides of the frame, screw in cup hooks, two per side on short sides of frame, 2 per side, place 1 one each side about an inch down from the top a corner and couple of inches from the bottom corner.  These can hold scissors, buttons, safety pins or anything else you might have to organize.

Step 3: Nail 2-1/2″  nails along bottom edge of frame at an angle, you may want to pre-drill so the frame wood doesn’t split

Step 4: Spray paint.

Step 5: Attach clothes pins, by taking them apart and nailing one side into the frame and then assemble again with the spring, this takes a little fussing about but they will be secure.

Step 6:  Hang frame in craft room and add your current project notions, pattern and tools to all the hooks and clips and be a little more organized for your project.

TaDaa!

Finished Sewing Square