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Beginners Crochet and Knitting Tutorials Poll

by VioletLeBeaux | Jun 3, 2011 | Craft, Notices

I’ve been promising to do a basic how to knit and crochet tutorial for quite a while now and here I am with the first step.

What I want to do is rather than just have the standard “how to” that you could find anywhere online is that I want to show how to actually make something useful so it’s more interactive like a big knit-a-long and by the end of the tutorial you’ve got something nice to show for it. I wanted to make something that you guys would actually like so rather than picking myself I figured we would have a poll and whatever gets the most votes is what we will make for the project ^_^

I’m not sure whether more people are interested in crochet or knitting so that’s the first section of the poll. All of these projects can easily be done with either knitting or crochet so it doesn’t matter.

These are the projects and their positives and negatives, you can cast your vote below after you read through.

#1. Striped scarf with pockets on the end.
Most beginners start with a scarf, I started making scarves for my dolls when I was 3 in England. This one is super easy but still has cute elements to make it interesting. It can be as long as you have patients for and there are pockets at the ends for your hands. Depending on the yarn and needle size you use you can make it suitable for most seasons. The downside to this one is that it does take a very long time to make, this isn’t a quick project if you are a beginner! While it’s an impressive end project it’s very tempting to not bother to finish a project like this when you get half way and realize how long you’ve been doing it!

#2. Heart face washer.
I did a brief tutorial on this one before but it wasn’t very detailed. This is very quick to make and doesn’t take much yarn so it’s cheaper too. The end product is cute too because you can use it as a wall decoration to remind you of your first project ever!

#3. Small basket
Again on the smaller and quicker side of projects so you won’t want to quit half way. This is a very little basket which can be used to hold hair accessories or trinkets. Not much yarn needed here either.

#4. Bunny Toy
Lastly we have the bunny toy which would make a really cute present for a friend or just a present for you! While it doesn’t have much actual use it’s still adorable and a good keepsake for remembering learning how to knit. Again this one doesn’t take up much yarn so is quick and cheap to knit.

All of the projects have the same skill level (they are all basically just knitting squares or rectangles) so just pick the one you like best!

Ok so please cast your vote in the poll below if you are thinking of taking part and I will do my best to come up with something easy to follow. I’m planning both video and also photos to make it easy for everyone.

and…

How to Make Drawer Liners

by VioletLeBeaux | May 31, 2011 | Craft, Storage/Utility-Tutorials, Tutorial

Another mini tutorial today while I try to get back into the swing of things. I started a small project last night (crochet bunny scent holder) to get me motivated to start some of the larger ones in the mean time here are photos I dug off my phone of how I lined my dresser drawer with leopard print.

The finished project:

What you need:

The drawer you’re planning to cover
Pretty paper
Clear sticky tape or thin double sided tape
Scissors

I was able to pull my drawer out of the dresser to make things easier.

First thing to do is measure out enough paper to cover the bottom and up all of the sides. It’s much better to overestimate and have to cut off the excess later than it is to have to try and add more so be generous with your measurements. I am using wrapping paper I found at a junk store, you can use pretty much anything including pretty fabric.

Now lay the paper over the drawer and poke the middle down until it touches the bottom. It’s easiest to start with one side and poke gently it until you can feel where the base of the drawer meets the side. Then run your fingernail or something that shape (but not sharp like a pencil) along the corner so the paper is creased into the correct shape.

Continue around the edges doing that for each one. You’ll notice there are big extra triangles of paper in each corner. Push them to one side and press flat so the crease holds.

If the pattern on your paper doesn’t match up because of the corner triangles you can unfold them and bend the creases the other way so the triangle is on the outside. Mine looked ok so I didn’t bother. Repeat until you have done all of the sides/corners and the piece of paper is the correct shape.

Now pull the paper out and place a few strips of double sided take on the bottom to prevent it all moving around. Repeat on the sides and stick everything down securely. Use the scissors (or a sharp knife if you’re careful) to slice off all of the extra so it it’s the same height as the tops of the drawer. I decided to tape around the edges to make sure it was all secure, it’s only really necessary if you think your drawer will get a lot of use.

Slot it back in and you’re done!

A quick and easy way to decorate a plain drawer! Now I’m scheming what else I can cover with the leopard print paper because I’ve got like 3m left XD

Purikura Cross Stitch Frame DIY

by VioletLeBeaux | May 27, 2011 | Craft, Other-Tutorials, Tutorial

Finally managed to finish one of my long term crafting projects. Embroidery is something I either go crazy with and do all the time or just leave and don’t look at for months and this was one of the ones that took me months to get the motivation to finish!

Basically it’s a little cute frame with cross stitch to hold purikura photos. I found the frame at a thrift store around 2 years ago for 50cents 😀 The pattern inside was to test out some random stitches and try out my skills because I haven’t done cross stitch since I was a kid!

What you need:

Pretty frame
Counted embroidery fabric
Needle
Various colours of embroidery thread
Purikura or photo for the inside
Embroidery hoop
Pen/pencil

Measure a big square of fabric which is enough to cover the frame and fit in the embroidery hoop and cut it. Using the pen draw around the outside of the frame to use as a guide.

Flip it over and draw around the inside hole too. You will want to find the center as well and mark it with the pen too.

I drew a cross so I could have an obvious guide.

Line the photo you’re going to use up in the middle and draw around it.

So you’ve got something like this…

Because I was pretty much winging it I drew a design on the fabric but if you are following a pattern you can just count.

Now it’s time to put it on the embroidery hoop. The hoop I’m using is a standard wood one and it cost around $0.60

Untwist the screw and sandwich the fabric between the wood pieces, the big one should be on top.

Push them together and pull the fabric tight. Screw the top to hold it all in place. It should be very taught like a drum!

So let’s get stitching! At this point it should be mentioned that you can stitch with the full thread or you can split up the thread and just use one or two strands depending on the size of the weave of your fabric.

I started off using the whole thread but decided later to switch to a couple of strands because it was too thick.

So pick a place you want to start, I started with a small heart. Pull the thread from the back to front leaving a few inches as a tail. If you want you can knot the end of the thread but I prefer to hold it so the finished project isn’t lumpy.

I’m starting at the bottom of the heart.

Stitch into the hole that is diagonally opposite to the first. My preference is to stitch diagonally from bottom to top but whatever is more comfortable is fine.

Now pull up from the back in the hole next to where you just went down.

And diagonally over into the last hole. That’s it! You just made a cross ^_^

Repeat this over and over again to make your shape.

2 crosses! Now it’s important to note that you need to keep the method consistant through the whole design or it will look odd. So if you start from bottom left and go up to top right as the first stitch then do that the entire thing.

Heart #1 done!

If you keep going things will start to take shape after a while.

I prefer to do all of the main elements eg. hearts, sparkles, roses first and then worry about the background afterwards.

I also find it easier to do all of the stitches with the same colour at once, it saves having to switch needles so much!

All of the main bits are now complete so it’s time to start the background.

Going up and down from left to right like this keeps everything nice and even…

But sometimes if I’m impatient I will go ahead and do a bunch of the first stitch in one go and then work backwards and cross them all off XD For some reason it just feel quicker!

Progress..

And done! It’s not a perfect oval but as long as the shape fits in the frame it doesn’t matter.

Now cut your purikura down if need be. I lost the one I started this with so I had to dig for another shot. This is from back when I had black hair and James had… *some* hair mwahahaha!

Place it over the space and if you need to pin or glue it in place.

Stitch the corners to hold it in place…

And then fill in the gaps with more stitches.

That’s all the stitching part out of the way thank god! Remove it from the embroidery hoop.

Cut it down to the size which actually fits into the frame.

I overestimated the stitching area so I had to cut the fabric very close XD

And there it is in the frame!

Quite pretty if I do say so myself… but I think I won’t take up any more embroidery projects until I finish all my half done ones XD I need more motivation to finish the big projects! The pattern for this will be available in the first upload lot too.

Hope you enjoyed, let me know if you make your own!

Liz Lisa Themed Tea Bag Wallet Tutorial

by VioletLeBeaux | May 26, 2011 | Craft, Storage/Utility-Tutorials, Tutorial

Tea… my number 1 obsession. Craft… my number 2 obsession. When the two of them intersect it makes me a very happy girl. So how to make that happen? Craft a tea wallet for my purse! Some people are really particular about their teas blends, when I was little I had an adopted grandmother who loved lemon juice in her tea and rather than ask when she visited other people’s houses she would carry a bottle of it in her handbag… not even a small bottle… one of those big yellow squeezy bottles. Following on from that there are sometimes when I just desperately feel like a particular blend. When I worked in an office I had a huge collection of my favorites in my desk draw just in case! Now that I work for myself it’s all about portability and thus the tea wallet was decided upon.

This was my end result, it folds in half and fits neatly into a bag pocket…

Indeed the stitching is not particularly neat but I think this was more of a test run for a better, prettier version so I didn’t want to spend a huge amount of time on it only to find out the end result sucked and I never used it! I’ve also just had no patience for crafts lately, hence the lack of tutorials >_< Now that I know it does get used I’m going to spend more time on a re-make and machine stitch it all :DWhat you need:

Fabric scraps
Needle/thread
Scissors
Tea bags to get measurements from
Felt for decoration

First step let’s make the little bag part. You need two rectangles of fabric, one which fits two teabags with enough gab around them like this:

And one which is as wide but around 3cm shorter so it can form a pocket like this:

Working with the pocket, take your needle and thread and fold one of the long sides over twice to form a rolled seam. Stitch down to keep it in place. I’m using white thread so you can see where I’m stitching.

Taadaa…

Lay it on top of the larger piece with the seam facing up.

Stitch around the edges of the pocket like this…

And flip the whole thing inside out ^_^

You should have something like this!

Next fold the edges around the top and sides in and stitch all around the outside. Also stitch a line in the middle so it becomes 2 pockets.

You should have something along these lines…

Now it’s time for decorations. I chose to use the Lizlisa mascots because they are adorable and the girl has her hair in my absolute favorite style! I love the little lamb and girl mascots so much they are my phone background too XD You can see the originals on the Lizlisa tumblr here.

So I cut out my felt pieces to match, you can use anything though. If anyone wants a pattern for these let me know and I’ll add it to the list. I’m planning to put up around 10 patterns for old tutorials at a time starting in the next few weeks once I’ve stopped moving around so much.

Very easy to do… just stitch the felt characters on.

The girl was too big because I didn’t really think it all through so I decided to just leave her hair sticking up over the top as a point of interest. Big hair for the win XD

After everything’s in place just stitch on their faces and any details they’re missing and you’re finished!

When I re-do it I’m going to add a lot more detail to the faces and maybe do full on embroidery in the various colours.

And inside…

So there you go, a tea project for tea tragics like me XD Hope that was a useful starting point for some of you and fingers crossed I get time for more crafting next weekend so I can maybe get my groove back with it >_<

How To Make A Woven Laptop or iPad Case

by VioletLeBeaux | May 13, 2011 | Craft, Other-Tutorials, Tutorial

I love working with pretty yarn and I love knitting and crochet but not everyone has those skills so I sometimes hesitate posting tutorials that need those skills here… but I still love working with yarn so I try to do other techniques that use it. Things like the heart and strawberry shaped pompoms, no knit yarn strawberries etc are really fun to do and don’t take much skill at all 😀

With that in mind today I’ll show you how I made a simple woven slip cover for my ipad. You could use this same technique for a laptop, phone or anything really!

What you need:

Yarn
Scissors
Whatever you’re making the case for, I’m using my iPad (yay for early birthday presents!)

I wanted to get this done quite quickly so I decided to use this really thick squishy yarn, it’s super soft and kind of looks like a big rainbow pipe cleaner. If you use thin yarn it will take longer to put it all together and weave tight enough to avoid holes. Whatever you use the technique is the same.

So grab one end of the yarn and tie it around the ipad/laptop. Knot it in place so it doesn’t move. Don’t do this too tightly because you want the gadget to be able to slide in and out of the case easily.

Next keep wrapping the yarn around in a big spiral so it forms several straight lines across the ipad. Tie the last loop to itself so the whole thing doesn’t come undone.

Now the case I made has a fancy end part which is woven in a different direction to the bottom, if you want to do that then you can cut the extra yarn off but if you want to have the whole thing woven in the same direction leave it attached. The reason for this is that when you weave it all together it will compact and it won’t be long enough to encase the whole ipad anymore so it’s easier to just work with it in two sections.

Next it’s time to measure out the cross pieces, if you’re doing the fancy end weaving you want them to be around 3-4 times as long as the gadget so there is lots of room for mistakes. If you just want it to do regular weaving then 3 times as long should be fine. Folded in half mine was this long:

Cut a *heap* of them. I needed about 3 times as many as shown here to do the whole case. In fact I used a whole ball of yarn for this project.

So let’s get to the actual weaving part. Take one of your lengths of yarn and start weaving it horizontally across under, over, under, over, under, over etc until you reach the other side.

Do the same with another piece but if you started by going under, this time start by going over. It should be the opposite to the pattern you did with the first yarn.

Close up you can see what I mean.

At the end, take the two pieces of yarn and wrap them over the end of the gadget.

… and continue the weaving pattern over the back. if you ended on an “over” on the front then make sure to start on an “under” on the back to keep the pattern going. Also make sure the loose ends on the yarn are roughly the same length so we can use them later.

Now go crazy with the weaving! I did about half of them on one side working form the middle to the edge then flipped it and continued them on the back.

At around this point its a good idea to add a couple of cross yarn lengths to the bottom so it strengthens it a bit more.

All I did was cut 2 more lengths of yarn and just weave them into the bottom from left to right.

I knotted them and left the ends loose so I could knot them with the yarn on the sides to form more sturdy corners.

The sides need to have a nice tight weave to protect the ipad/laptop/whatever from damage so when you get to that point make sure the yarn is very close together.

In the photo below you can still see gaps so it’s best to add another strand or two just to be on the safe side!

Repeat the process until the whole thing is covered nice and tightly. You can see that by pushing the strands together tightly to form the fabric the whole thing has shrunk leaving around 1/3rd of the ipad exposed. At this point if you want to keep the straight weave all you need to do is move the case a little further down the gadget so you have room to wrap around another lot of vertical strings to weave the ends in to. Keep going in this way until it’s as long as you want 😀

I decided I wanted something a little more decorative at the ends so what I did was tie each pair of end strings into a knot. Then from each pair I pointed one diagonally right and one diagonally left. Having them all pointed at an angle like than made it very easy to weave them together. Same concept as before: over/under/over/under etc but on an angle.

I kept doing it around the edge, slowly getting them all into place. Once it was long enough I broke them into pairs again and double knotted all of the ends together to prevent it from just coming undone.

At that point it looked like this…

I trimmed all the ends down so they were even but I left them around 5cm long to make a kind of frill at the end. Lastly I just pushed the couple of loose ends from the bottom corners in.

All finished!

And that it, the techniques can seem a bit complicated at first but once you get the basic idea down you can make pretty much anything. The fact that you’re actually weaving onto your ipad/laptop/whatever means you know it’s going to be a perfect fit every time. Easy! ^_^

Sailor Style Super Cute T-Shirt Surgery

by VioletLeBeaux | May 6, 2011 | Clothing-Tutorials, Craft, Tutorial

As sad as it is and no matter how much I wish otherwise, sometimes favorite pieces of clothing are un-savable. My Metamorphose sailor cutsew is one of them. It met with an unfortunate accident with a delightful 9 year old’s icecream cone and hasn’t been the same since. I’ve been carting it around for 3 years now thinking maybe I could fix it or meet a magical dry cleaner but in the last wardrobe clean out I decided to bite the bullet and give up. To be honest it never really looked great on me to begin with because it had wide shoulders and no shape in the waist but it’s hard to shake brand love as an ex-Lolita XD While I no longer wear the fashion, some pieces just have too much memory in them to give up.

So I salvaged the parts I liked (the sailor collar and sleeves) and spliced it with another nautical shirt which Is started customising many years ago (added the bottom frill and made it tighter) in my “to do with at some point” pile ^_^

The offending icecream stain 🙁I cut the sleeves, collar and ribbons off leaving as much fabric to use as a seam as possible. This is roughly the layout I decided on…

Collar was nice and easy, just overlock the raw edge…

Pin it along the inside of the current collar…

and stitch it in place.

Bam! New collar ^_^

Now the sleeves!

I cut off the cuff of the sleeves on the anchor shirt and overlocked the seams together. Insanely simple.

And that was it. Nothing earth shattering and I haven’t decided if I completely like the end result yet but at least now my poor Meta shirt didn’t die in vain XD

The back:

And co-ordinated…

Ugh I need to remember to take outfit photos before I go out so my clothes aren’t always so crinkly looking XD Normally I’m in a rush to leave and by the time I get home I’m all disheveled and I just want to get it all off and sit down haha!

So that’s it, two unwearable shirts into one that I actually like ^_^

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