(Don’t miss the free PDF at the bottom of this post!)
The newest free sewing pattern and tutorial for Superbuzzy is finally here! About a month ago, I made the trek to the Superbuzzy warehouse, and Kelly and I had a great time picking out all of the supplies for this project. This time, we worked up a trio of felt ice cream projects that serve double duty: The ice cream cookie sandwich is a gift card holder. The “Tasty Treat” ice cream carton is a gift box, and the waffle cone has a small loop so it can be tied to a gift as a present topper.
If you’ve been wanting to make some cute felt food, but were intimidated by directions in Japanese, this may be the perfect gateway project. An added bonus? This is the first of the everkelly-superbuzzy tutorials that doesn’t require a sewing machine (although a few of the steps can be sped up by machine if you’re in a hurry). As for me, I enjoyed relaxing with a hand sewing project and a good movie in between trips to the freezer for some real ice cream.
We’d love to see your photos if you make some felt ice cream of your own! As always, feel free to contact me with any questions. I really hope you enjoy this one! Looking for our other free projects? So far, we’ve made eco bags, place mats, and a zakka lunch kit.
Also, I just want to give one more shout out to the opportunities to contribute to the relief efforts in Japan. Yesterday, I mentioned that Superbuzzy and Knitting Fever Inc. are matching donations (so your $5 donation can turn into $20 for the American Red Cross Japan relief fund). Kelly covered some more donation opportunities in her latest newsletter, and I wanted to share them here as well. There is an opportunity to purchase sleeping bags for $6 from Exxel Outdoors which will be shipped to the tsunami and earthquake victims through Missions Unlimited. Missions Unlimited is preparing several cargo planes full of supplies, and they are accepting donations (see here for a list of needed items).
Missions Unlimited requests that, rather than donating one of several different types of items, that donations be quantities of 1 item (i.e., 10 jars of baby food, instead of 1 jar of baby food and 1 roll of toilet paper). If you are in the Ventura, CA area, Kelly can accept your donations at the warehouse. If you are not in Ventura, please send donations to:
superbuzzy Japan Relief
c/o Missions Unlimited
251 21st Street East
Jasper, AL 35502
Thanks!
Filed under Fabric & Sewing, I Made This, Tutorials & Downloads.
Tagged with DIY, felt food, free download, free sewing pattern, gift box, gift card holder, ice cream, superbuzzy, tutorial.
As we begin 2011, I wanted to make sure I had a place to record all of the good things that happen each week. I am finding that the more thankful I am, the less little problems and setbacks seem to bother me. I know this is not revolutionary, but it definitely requires practice. And repetition. Kind of like embroidery.
Yesterday, I shared a little sneak peak at the embroidery I did for the cover of this journal. It occurred to me that some of you might want to make your own gratitude journal, so I decided to write up a tutorial. However, I realized that the beauty of this project might be in using materials and a notebook you already have on hand. So instead of sharing all of my measurements and instructions, I created a worksheet so you can make your own custom pattern for any notebook you’d like to cover.
Click on the image below to download the worksheet (PDF file).
[This pattern is designed to work with a notebook that has a little heft to it. If your notebook is very thin, you may want to adjust the "ease" measurement in the Calculate & Cut section of the worksheet.]
After you use the worksheet to measure your notebook and determine what size to cut your fabric, you can follow these simple instructions to sew up your fabric book cover.
1. For Option 2, stitch the three pieces of fabric together to create one long piece the same size as your lining.
2. Optional: If desired, embellish your cover with embroidery. To embroider the words “give thanks,” I wrote out the words in pencil directly onto the fabric and back-stitched the letters using 2 strands of red embroidery floss.
2. Pin your lining and front cover pieces together right sides together. Stitch around the top, side edge, and bottom of your fabric leaving one edge open.
3. Turn your work right side out and press. Fold in the raw edges by 1/4″ on the open edge and top-stitch.
4. Fold the flaps in around your notebook cover to determine where the folds will be. Top-stitch along the top and bottom of the book cover as close to the edge as possible (1/8″ or less). The top-stitching will hold your flaps in place and create a nice detail along the bottom and top of your covered book.
I hope you enjoy. If you have any questions at all — or if you catch an error, please let me know. Best wishes for a year of many thankful moments.
Filed under Fabric & Sewing, I Made This, Tutorials & Downloads.
Tagged with fabric book cover, fabric covered notebook, free download, free sewing pattern, gratitude journal, sewing tutorial, sewing worksheet.
By Kelly
January 12, 2011
[Don't miss the free PDF instructions at the bottom of this post!]
Today, I’m really excited to share with you the latest project from the superbuzzy + everkelly collaboration. This time, we came up with a cute applique placemat — just in time for Halloween crafting. Kelly has a new Accu-Quilt die cutter in the shop, so she pre-punched the cats out of yummy wool felt, and I satin stitched them onto the placemats. (If you want to try this project at home, Kelly will punch out a cat for you, too.)
The instructions (below) include a cat template in case you’d like to use felt already in your stash. There are also detailed instructions for creating and attaching your own bias tape.
I had been daydreaming about these cute Halloween Matryoshka fabrics, so I was really happy to be sewing with them. Mixing and matching the fabrics is half the fun of projects like this, so I would love to stitch up a few more in different fabric/color combinations.
This was a great project to get in the October mood. I only wish I could have invited you all over to share in the Halloween candy and cupcakes. ;-)
Click here to download the Halloween Placemat Tutorial (PDF)!
Hope you have a very safe and happy Halloween!
Filed under Fabric & Sewing, Holidays, I Made This, Tutorials & Downloads.
Tagged with cat, felt applique, free sewing pattern, halloween placemat, Japanese fabric, superbuzzy, tutorial.
By Kelly
October 11, 2010
[Don't miss the free download at the bottom of this post!]
Last week, I hinted at a special collaboration I have been working on with one of my favorite fabric people. Today, I am super excited to announce that I have been working on some fun tutorials with Kelly of superbuzzy! As many of you know, I have been a huge superbuzzy fan for a long time, so I was honored to be able to create some free tutorials for all of you Japanese fabric fans. (Of course, any project where the postman shows up with a box full of Japanese fabric and accessories is a dream project in my book!)
For our first collaboration, we came up with an adorable Zakka Lunch Kit. The tutorial includes all of the instructions to make a bento bag (above) and a sandwich wrap that folds out to a place mat (below). The projects are beginner-friendly, but we’ve included some nice finishing details so that they will hold up against rough-and-tumble little ones and frequent trips through the washing machine. I know a lot of us are thinking green these days — so I love that these fabric bags and bento boxes help cut down on all of the lunch time trash. (It doesn’t hurt that the projects are seriously cute, too!)
After you sew up these projects, you may want to take a look through the superbuzzy shop. I am loving these mushroom clips and magnets! (I also heard a rumor that there might be some new Echino goodies!) Maybe you’d even like to try your hand at making cute bento-style lunches. superbuzzy has some cute bento books (in English!) that show you how. I was inspired to give it a try too. Here’s my little hedgehog sandwich:
We had so much fun putting this one together that we’re going to be making this a monthly thing. So I hope you’ll visit us again to see what we have in store for Halloween!
Click here to download the Zakka Lunch Kit tutorial!
And you can always find the free superbuzzy patterns right here on the free pattern page. We hope you enjoy!
Filed under Fabric & Sewing, I Made This, Tutorials & Downloads.
Tagged with bento bag, free sewing pattern, Japanese fabric, sandwich wrap, superbuzzy, tutorial, zakka lunch kit.
By Kelly
September 2, 2010