How to Sew Ruffle Butt Undies

I finally got this tutorial uploaded to Youtube without problems. YAY!

This two part tutorial will show you how to make a damn cute pair of  ruffle butt underwear. (Or plain butt underwear if you’re not feeling ruffly. But ruffles are fun, so don’t neglect the ruffles.)

Thank you to rufflefabric.com for providing the ruffle fabric. Check out their site, it’s like a candy store for us fabric fiends!

If you want to skip the pattern drafting part, check out the Cheeky Bikini undies pattern in the WhatTheCraft shop!

Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel!  I have a crap ton of tutorials on the way (including drafting your own custom tube dress pattern, no-sew hair bows, sewing and hemming knits without a serger, making homemade limoncello and vanilla extract, and more)!

And if you have any tutorial requests, leave me a comment!

Part 1:

ruffbutt1

Part 2:

ruffbutt2

This tutorial was filmed using a Creative Labs Vado HD Digital Video Camera, a Canon Rebel (for still shots), and edited in Sony Vegas Movie Studio.

How to Crochet a Chain

by Stacey Trock

Hi there! Today, we’re going to crochet! Never crocheted before? Don’t worry! This tutorial is written for total crochet-newbies, and by the end of this post, you’ll be crocheting chains that you can use as necklaces, headbands… or whatever else you imagination comes up with!

Getting Started

To get started crocheting, grab some yarn and a crochet hook.  It’s easiest to use the size hook that’s recommended on the yarn label.

To begin, make a slip knot (check out the video if you don’t know how!).  All crocheting begins with a slip knot.

Step 1

Now, we’re going to start crocheting! Insert your hook into the loop created by your slip knot, and tug on the tail (the short little piece of yarn that’s not connected to the ball) until the loop fits snugly around your hook, as pictured.

Step 2

Now it’s time to chain! Hold the working end of the yarn (the really long end that’s attached to the ball of yarn) and wrap it around the back of the hook to the front, so that it wraps around the top of the hook, as pictured.Read more…

Tutorial: Sun-Printed Batik Fabric Painting and Dyeing

by: inkodye

Batik is a traditional technique that uses Resist to prevent dye from reaching the fabric. You can use this method to create detailed patterns on textiles, wood and unglazed ceramics. With specially formulated Inkodye you get to use the power of the sun to develop the full vibrance of your colors and make them permanent, no other steaming or fixing is required!

Decide how to apply the resist. We used fine line applicators, also try brushes, stencils and sponges.

 

Choose your design. We printed out an illustration to use as an underlay, if you’re brave try freehand!

Flatten your work surface. We used a mild spray adhesive, you can also use stretcher frames.

 

Apply Resist. Try not to smudge your work as you go! Fine lines dry to the touch in minutes.

Finishing touches. Check your work for gaps, dye will bleed through gaps in lines. Sign your work!

Read more…

How to Design and Sew a Slipcover, Part 1 – DIY Home Decor Tutorial

So you’ve got a perfectly comfortable, functional couch… it just looks like hell. With a custom made slipcover, no one will know what evil is lurking underneath all that handmade awesomeness!

We scored a couch, loveseat, and chair set at a secondhand furniture store when we first moved in.  The upside is that it’s the most comfortable couch I’ve ever had the pleasure of napping on. The downside is that the couch takes quite a beating, especially from our two cats. It also doesn’t help that we’re total movie and tv junkies, so we spend a lot of time EATING on it. So even though it was in Like New condition when we bought it, five years later… not so much.

I’d been thinking about slipcovering it for a while, and once Spring Fever hit me, I decided now was the time to do it.

Step 1
I decided on the fabric first. Actually, I decided on the fabric, and then I started doing rough estimates of cost and started asking myself if it was worth it. I even decided I wouldn’t make my own. I started looking at some of the “cheap” slipcover options (meaning not custom made and under $200, which was my estimated fabric budget). I liked none and all had mediocre-to-bad reviews, so I made the final decision that DIY was the way to go.

I saw a commercial a few years ago that featured two women sitting on a couch that was covered or slipcovered in a sort of crazy quilt type patchwork. I fell in love. I was initially going to cover each surface with a different print (left side plaid, right side polka dot, one cushion in damask, another cushion in stripe), but after doing a few sketches I decided to scale it back. It was looking busier than I wanted, and would have required more extra fabric/expense to do it that way. I decided I’d do the base of the couch in one fabric, the cushions in another, and the back pillows in a third fabric.

Too busy.

To choose my fabric, I did a few sketches on the computer, inserting various Home Dec fabrics I found online, until I found the ones I liked. After I sketched it out, I decided to also do the backs of the pillows in a different fabric.

Read more…