Fabric buckets

From vintagericrac.blogspot.com

For each bucket you will need:
· 5 ½ x 18 ½ inch strips of outer fabric, light wadding and iron–on interfacing.
· 6 x 18 ½ inch strip of lining fabric (note it is a bit bigger so you get the nice trim at the top.
· Circles measuring 6 inches across in outer, wadding, interfacing and lining for the base.

Step 1.

• 
  You may do this differently but I prefer to iron my interfacing to my wadding rather than my fabric – I hate those little wrinkles I always get if I iron onto the fabric.
  Do the same for the bucket bottoms as well.

Step 2.

With outer fabric and lining right sides together (and the wadding interfaced piece under the outer fabric) sew along the long (18 1/2 inch) edge that will be the top of the bucket.

You can see the layers here. The black is the lining (face down) linen is the outer (face up) and then the wadding/interfacing on the back of the linen.

Open up and press the seam.

Step 3.

Take the short (5 1/2 inch) sides together and sew along creating a tube. Almost done now –

Step 4.

Sew the bottom into the outer fabric end right sides together. I do this by dividing the circle and the outer into fourths and than matching up the pins. You can clip this seam after you have sewn it if you like. Do the same at the other end with the lining base BUT leave a turning space (I leave about 1/4 of the circle).

(the brown is the lining in this photo)

Step 5.

Turn the whole bucket back through the space you left in the bottom. Then you simply tuck your lining into your bucket and slip stitch the opening closed. I like to top stitch around the top.

You can stitch-in-the-ditch for a nice finish.

Book Sling

From the Sewing Dork

Tools:
-A 47-inch by 42-inch piece of fabric (I used Amy Butler's daisy bouquet). (When you're buying the fabric, ask for 1 1/3 yard, then wash and dry it before cutting it to 47" x 42". It will shrink a bit.)

-Two double curtain rod brackets. I bought mine for about $5 each at Lowes.

-Two, 4-foot long wooden dowels or curtain rods that fit into the brackets. Shouldn't cost more than $3 each.

Drill and drill bits

-Level

-Stud finder

-Pencil

-General sewing supplies, like a sewing machine, thread and scissors

-Optional: paint, paintbrush and sandpaper (options 1 and 2) and wooden balls or other end caps for the dowels (option 3).

Steps:
We’re bonkers for books at our house, but allowing our 3-year-old daughter to choose her own every night before bedtime can be a lesson in patience. She’s a dilly dallier as it is, but what makes it harder is that her bookcase, like most bookcases, only displays the spines of the books. Since she can’t read the book titles, she pulls every book off the shelf until she recognizes the cover art of the one she wants.

I made this hanging book display to help solve that problem. It’s modeled after school-grade book display cases that show the fronts of books, and hopefully will make choosing a bedtime book easier (and faster!).

Instructions:

-Fold the fabric lengthwise, with right sides facing, so you are working with a double thickness rectangle that is 47 inches by 21 inches.

-Using a 1/2-inch seam, sew the fabric together around one of the short sides, the long side and about half-way down the other short side.

-Turn the fabric right side out through the opening, poking out the corners with a turning tool (a pencil will do—just don’t poke all the way through).

-Sew the opening shut by folding the raw edges toward each other, then top stitching down that short end of the rectangle.

-Now you’ll need to sew casings for the dowels on the two long ends of the rectangle. Working with one side at a time, fold the long end over so it overlaps by 2 inches. Pin, then stitch all the way down the length of the fabric. Repeat on the other long side.

-It’s time to hang the hardware on the wall. Locate two studs 47 inches apart on the wall where you want to hang the book holder. (Note: my studs were four feet apart. It’s not a bad idea to find your studs before you start the project and make a book sling that aligns with your studs. Or just use those little plastic things they sell to hold screws in the wall. The bracket packages I buy come with them.)

-Using a level, mark the locations where you'll need to drill lightly with a pencil, then drill the holes for the screws.

-Screw the brackets onto the wall. Hang the fabric on the dowels, then insert the dowels into the brackets. The brackets should come with tiny screws that tighten onto the dowels, holding them in place.

-Load with books. If you screwed the hardware into studs your book holder should be able to handle a good amount of weight, but don’t go too crazy.

Dining Table Redo

From Do It Yourself Divas

I needed a change!! I have been dreaming of a new kitchen table for a while now. Due to the fact my husband is in school, it is not in the budget to buy a whole new table. I decided to take matters in my own hands, and do it yourself diva it!

Here is the Before. The legs and all chairs were painted an off white color. I thought that painting the cream color black, and staining the wood color would look simply beautiful. Here's hoping!

1. Before I painted or sanded or stained ANYTHING, I scrubbed and cleaned every surface. Warm water, soap and a sponge did the trick. I also removed all seat cushions as shown above.

2. I then sanded down most surfaces. I used a very fine sandpaper, aka 220 grain.


3. After sanding make sure to clean the surface again making sure to get rid of ALL dust!

4. Before painting I stained the table top. Below are the items that you need for a successful staining experience. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE CAN OF STAIN TO ENSURE PERFECTION :)

5. Paint in the direction of the wood grain.

6. Let it set for the allotted time.

7. Wipe stain away once the time stated on the can is up.

8. I repeated these steps 3 times to get the rich color I wanted.

(Note to all: Stain is extremely strong smelling!! I learned this the hard way! Make sure that the area you are working in is well ventilated! I found it helpful to have a couple fans going, and windows open while the stain dried.)

9. Here's what you need to paint. Lots of newspaper, favorite color of paint, and sponge paint brushes. The lady at Home Depot advised me to use real paint brushes, but I found that the sponge paint brushes worked wonderfully, especially for the detailed parts of the chairs.

9. Paint away making sure you are always painting along the grain of the wood. I did a grad total of 3 coats of paint on each chair and on the legs of my table, plus touch ups.

10. While my paint was drying, I decided it was time to change up the fabric on my cushions!!

11. After measuring and matching my cushions with fabric I LOVED, I folded it tightly around the cushion.
12. I stapled the fabric in place until I felt that it was smooth and under control.

13. Because of my baby, and babies to come someday I felt it necessary to preserve my lovely fabric with plastic. You can buy this at Walmart by the yard in the fabric/craft section. I measured, and fit it to wrap around my cushions just like I did the fabric.
14. Grab your staple gun and get busy again!

15. TADA! So shiny!
16. After cushions are wrapped up and stapled, fasten them to your chairs again... and you have completed your TABLE MAKEOVER!!



I AM IN L-O-V-E with my new table. BTW, this took about a week and a half from start to finish! All in all it cost me around $35-40 to complete this dream come true!

Recliner Reupholster

From Do It Yourself Divas

DIY

Reupholster an old lazy boy recliner

Here it is before

After!

Total Price: $40

This old sucker has been in my family for years; in fact I think it is as old as I am. This was the first reupholstering project I have ever done and I did it because I am nesting and I have to get the baby's room done! After searching on KSL.com for months without finding anything, and not wanting to spend hundreds of dollars on a brand new rocking chair, I decided to ask my parents if I could have their old La-Z-Boy recliner. My husband and I got to work right away.

Since every chair is different, I can't really say how you can reupholster your very own chair, but this is basically what we did.

Step 1: Take the chair apart! It is helpful to have a handyman around if this is not your thing. Make sure you keep all hardware. You would not believe what I found inside this chair. Clumps of dust, sunflower seeds, and yes, a butter knife.

Step 2: Measure all parts covered in fabric and estimate how much fabric you need. Add extra fabric for seam allowances, or in other words, staple allowances. No sewing required. :) I used about 5 yards of very wide upholstery fabric.

Step 3: Rip off old fabric and cover with new fabric! Or you could even cover the old fabric with new fabric. I cut squares of fabric that cover the area of the piece I was working on and went at it. This takes a lot of tugging, pulling, folding and stapling. (Note to self and those reading: An electric stapler would be awesome for the next project. )I even used a hot glue gun to attach the fabric to the cardboard pieces. I didn't realize just how much cardboard was used to make this recliner until I gutted it. You would be surprised at how easy it is to just follow what the manufacturer did. Once the chair is in pieces, it is clear to see how the chair was upholstered in the first place.

Step 4: The hardest part about this particular chair were these buttons. I bought hardware called Cover Button Refill. This allowed me to use the same fabric as the rest of the chair for my buttons. The hard part was putting the buttons on the chair. It would have been nice to have a super extra long needle with a very wide eye to string these buttons on, but we didn't have one and I don't even know if they exist, so we got creative. We used a long skinny screwdriver to stab through the thick chair. We then taped the button parts onto the screwdriver and pulled it back through to the back of the chair and into place. Hard work! If there is an easier way, I would love to know.

Step 5: Once you have everything covered, put it back together. What do you think? Since this was my first reupholstering project, I would have to say that I am satisfied. This chair even has moving parts and it still worked out. :)

And if your not completely happy with the way it turned out, add a pillow. It may add a little something and make you feel all better. So have no fear with your reupholstering project. Hack away at that old Lazy Boy chair and create a beautiful new one.