Fall is a Great Time for Felting

This new post is for you Dee Dee. She has noticed my blog absence and has requested (on many occasions) new posts.

My friend Carly got me into felting two years ago. I have always loved wool. Now I love it even more because I enjoy the possibilities of what I can turn a tired old sweater into.

After rummaging through tubs of old wool sweaters from college, I was armed with just what I needed for this project. I began felting the wool sweaters by washing them in the washing machine on hot. Once the load was complete, I dried them in the clothes dryer on hot for a full cycle. Most of the sweaters turned out perfect. Then there was this one...

Seriously it was a disaster. I had originally planned on making a sweater jumper for my 18-month-old daughter and had to come up with a new plan for this mess. I stared at it for months and finally got an idea. I turned the sweater inside out and the wool wasn't as pilly and looked a million times better. I cut the usable wool down to a square size and decided to make a fun felted wool purse.

After cutting, I turned the wool so the pilly part was on the outside and hand-stitched the two sides of the purse together. The bottom part of the purse was the fold and the top was left open to insert a lining and handle for the purse. Felting this wool caused it to get really thick and when both sides were sewn together I was sewing through a full inch thickness of fabric - unfortunately my sewing machine was unable to handle that. I had a gorgeous callus on my finger for quite some time.

Next I made a lining and eventually added a cell phone pocket. I inserted the lining into the purse (after turning it so the pretty side was on the outside) and had to hand stitch the lining to the wool all the way around the opening.

I then cut out a bunch of circles from other wool felt I had made.

Cut each circle into a giant spiral (see below).

Once cut, hot glue around in a circle to form a flower.

I did enough flowers to cover the perimeter of the opening of the little purse. 

Last I added a felted wool handle.

And done! I will probably go back and add a magnetic snap closure but doing so will require me to tear away half of the lining, add in the snap and then re-sew the lining to the wool.

I love fall. I love felting. Fall is a great time to repurpose an old wool sweater or make a trip to a second-hand shop to pick up some fabulous wool to cut up and make into something you love.

This project is entered in an Upcycle contest. Please click on the botton below to vote for my Upcycled Felt Purse.






This project is linked up at:




I heart Naptime

Upcycled Abercrombie Skirt

Found this cool Abercombie and Fitch skirt recently at an area thrift store. I love the cotton fabric that almost looks like linen. I also love that the fabric was cut on the bias and then sewn in a chevron pattern. Since I cannot wear a juniors size XS I decided to refashion it into a halter style sundress for my little nugget.

The buttonholes where the drawstring exits the casing is completely torn and unsalvageable so it needs to be removed.

I started this refashion by tearing out the casing at the top of the skirt which holds the drawstring. Use your seam ripper and pull out the stitching.

Next I used my rotary cutter to cut away the fabric above the fold that made the casing. This removed approximately 1/2" of fabric.

This next photo shows the actual cut and which fold you are cutting on. Continue this around the entire width of the skirt.

Now make a fold along the stitch mark just below where you just cut. Use your iron to make a permanent crease and then pin in place.

Next use your elastic (I used 3/4" non-roll woven elastic) to measure out above the chest, under the arms and around the back. Subtract an inch, cut and set aside. Use a hem gauge (one of my fav sewing tools ever) to measure 3/4" (width of elastic) plus 1/8" to form the casing for the elastic. Iron the fold then pin.

Straight stitch the casing as close to the lower edge of the casing as possible.

Remember not to stitch the entire casing closed. Leave a 2" opening to feed the elastic through.

Now use a safety pin on the end of the elastic to feed the elastic through the casing.

Once both ends are through, redistribute the fabric around the elastic so it is even. Overlap the two ends of the elastic by an inch and pin.

Sew a box with an "x" through it to secure the elastic.

Now push the elastic into the casing and stitch the casing closed.

Next I used the drawstring to make a halter. Fold in half as you see in the photo below. I stitched it into place with a machine along the casing stitch marks. Then I handstitched up the rest of the ties.

I then cut the ends of the drawstring to a good length, cut them and tied knots at the ends.

Finally I added a cute coordinating fabric flower. Avery loved it so much that she wore it around the rest of the day. This dress can be hemmed to any length you like and will grow with the person wearing it because of the elastic and adjustable length. Mine is almost floor length on my daughter and therefore she'll be able to wear it for several years.

Now I want one so I will have a "mommy" version coming soon.

This project is linked up at:

Needing Me Some Spring!

I am needing me some spring. Since Mother Nature isn't cooperating I decided to take matters into my own hands and start some seasonal decorating. My front door has been bare since the Valentine's Day wreath came down and it is begging for some eye candy. After rummaging through my basement I realized that apparently I don't own a spring wreath. Me not owning a spring wreath, now that just doesn't  seam right. I was actually trying to think of a fun project to do for my first blog post and this could be perfect. Everyone could use a nice springy wreath - particularly on a gray day like this. About a month ago I was visiting my friend Rachel and really took notice of her decor on a console table in the foyer right inside her front door. I just couldn't stop thinking about the robin's eggs.

See what I mean? Gorgeous. So Rachel's table is serving as my inspiration for today's project.

How To Make Robin's Eggs...I went back down my basement stairs for the second time today and grabbed some small-sized plastic Easter eggs. We have an overabundance of these eggs anyways - ever notice how they seem to multiply? First plan of action was to grab some gray primer spraypaint and give the plastic eggs a coat of it.

Since the blue I will use for the eggs is a water-based acrylic craft paint, it needs a better surface to stick to rather than plastic.  Spray them and let dry. You will probably have to spray half the egg, let it dry, then return later to spray the other half.

I used a craft paint brush to dab on a light blue acrylic craft paint to the eggs once the primer was dry. I did half of the egg, set it down to dry and came back later to paint the other half of the egg. Once the eggs were completely painted blue (I did a touch up layer once both sides were dry), I used a toothpick to dot on a few brown speckles. I also used a craft water-based acrylic paint for the speckles. Then finally and very importantly I used a clear acrylic spraypaint on the eggs once the blue pint and brown speckles were dry. If this clear coat isn't sprayed on, the acrylic craft paint will simply fleck off if anything comes into contact with it and it will run and smear if it gets wet (in the rain or snow). The clear coat serves as protection.  Now take a moment to admire your fabulous robin's eggs.  

In the meantime while all the drying was taking place, I planned to make a trip to Michael's to look for a nest. After getting my daughter fed, dressed, packed up and bundled up, we got out to the car only to find a dead car battery. Turns out one of my boys left the light on in the car the previous day. Awesome! 

Making a Nest...So we went back inside and I was forced to make due with what I already had on hand. I made the trip down the basement steps once again and noticed a bag of long strands of raffia. I also contemplated gathering twigs in the backyard and making a nest that way.

With a little coercing I was able to craft a perfect little nest. I simply started with a few strands of raffia and wound them around and kept adding a few more strands. Use very small dabs of hot glue here and there to help hold the nest together.

Stella, my hot glue gun, has burned me once or twice. Please be so careful.








Lastly I used brown spray paint to give the nest a more natural color and one that coordinated better with what I was envisioning. Once it was dry I used Stella to glue the robin's eggs into the nest. Insert smile here - this makes me happy.

When I went back downstairs to my basement (yet again) to check on the drying paint, I found a grapevine wreath.

My intent was to spraypaint the wreath a cream/neutral color but was unable to locate my cream-colored spraypaint.

So instead I used an old can of Behr indoor house paint in a similar color. I used the oldest and cheapest paint brush I could find.

Since the wreath is already textured on its own, I didn't need to worry about a perfect finish. I dabbed and squished paint onto every surface I could reach.







After several hours when the paint was mostly dry, I flipped the wreath over and did the same thing. Don't worry if you can't cover every millimeter of the wreath's surface. This just gives depth and adds to its character when the dark brown shows through a little.

To make the fabric flowers...I used a cream-colored polyester apparel lining fabric I found in my "stash". For my pictures I used colored fabric for ease of seeing what I was doing.

Cut similar-sized circles. I used about 40. They do not need to be perfect (notice the wrinkles, fraying and irregular shapes of my circles). Once you have them cut out, you will use your hot glue gun to turn flat circles into fabulous flower buds.

First put a bead of glue near the center of the flower. Fold the flower in half and press down gently where the glue dot is. Be careful because this is a great way to burn yourself if the glue seeps through the fabric.

Next on the flat side of the semi-circle run a thin line of glue parallel to the flat surface.

Fold the right 1/3 of the flower towards the left, then fold the left 1/3 of the flower towards the right.

Pat down with your fingers so the glue adheres well. Again watch out for hot seeping glue.

When you pick up the flower, it should look something like this.

Do this with all of the circles you cut out. I cut out about 20 originally. Then cut and added more until the wreath looked the way I wanted it to.

Once they are done you can glue them onto your wreath. I first figured out where I wanted to glue the nest. Then I clustered the blossoms thickest near the nest and spread them thinner and farther from each other as I got farther from the nest.

When your blossoms are done, glue on your nest.

Go ahead and take a moment to admire your project. Mine took me about an hour and a half in total work time. I used only items I had on hand so it didn't end up costing me anything. Gotta love that!

And finally a photo of the wreath hanging on my front door. 

Maybe you could use a hint of spring on your front door. Maybe you just want to see what I'll come up with next. Please become a follower of my blog and feel free to invite friends and family to join if they might enjoy it as well.  If you use any of my ideas above, please do not portray my work as your own. All photos are copyrighted so they cannot be used without my permission.  I'd love to see photos of your spring wreath and hear your comments.