Fat Quarter February: Armommy's fabric-covered button projects

Fat Quarter February continues this week with a tutorial from Rae Friis at Armommy on how to make fabric-covered buttons from a fat quarter of pretty patterned circles, and then use them in assorted cute projects.  Enjoy the DIY ideas that Rae shared with us below, and then head on over to her blog to view one more button project!

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Today’s post is all about buttons! If you haven’t made these fabric-covered cuties before, you are in for a real treat. Why do I love them so much? They're super-easy to make, require few supplies and once you’ve finished making some, there are endless ways to use them.

I’ll get into some project ideas in a bit, but first a button-covering tutorial….

SUPPLIES:

• fabric scissors
• this fat quarter of button patterns (as pictured) or scraps of fabric with small patterns
• a button-making kit (You'll need one for each size button you want to make.) My local craft store doesn’t have much of a selection, so I shop for mine on Etsy.  This is a good shop, or just search for “button kit."

INSTRUCTIONS

NOTE: Each button kit includes a mold & pusher along with the button shell and back. You will also find a pattern on the back of the packaging so you know how big to cut your fabric. The button pattern on our fat quarter is made for a 1 ½-inch button. To make a smaller button, just trace and cut around the pattern that came with your buttons!

1. Get out your supplies. Using the button template, cut the fabric to the appropriate size.
2. Place the button shell over the center of your fabric and lay on top of your button mold. (Our mold is white here.)
3. Using the pusher (ours is blue), push the button shell into the mold. Then tuck the raw fabric edges into the shell and place the button back over the top.
4. Next, use the pusher again to secure the button back.  Push hard!  Finally, turn the mold over and pop your new button out!

So cute and simple, right? And like I said, once the buttons are covered there are so many ways to use them.

Here are some ideas!

DIY BUTTON EARRINGS

SUPPLIES:

Fabric covered buttons (12mm), pliers, Crazy Glue (or other similar glue), earring findings (found in the jewelry section of the craft store or on Etsy). If you or the person you are making these for don’t have pierced ears, look for a clip-on earring back to glue on instead!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Use the pliers to remove the loop from the back of each button. 2. Glue the earring findings to the back of each button and let dry.  3. Wear or gift with pride!

DIY TUFTED PILLOW

SUPPLIES:

Large fabric-covered button, tufting or large doll needle, non-stretchy thread or floss, a pillow that needs some tufting, a pencil.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Using a pencil, mark the front and back center of your pillow with a small dot.  2. Thread the needle. If using a thin thread, double it up a couple of times to make it stronger. (I used 4 strands.)  3. Poke the needle through your marks, back to front.  4. Thread the button onto the needle and then back through the pillow. Repeat steps 3 & 4. Cut the thread from your needle and pull the ends of your thread taught so the front is tufted, then tie off!  5. Find a cute place for your newly tufted pillow!

DIY BUTTON NECKLACE (Perfect for any little ladies in your life!)

SUPPLIES:

Ribbon or shoelace, fabric-covered buttons in a variety of sizes, hot glue gun, felt and scissors (optional).

DIRECTIONS:

1. Arrange your buttons and hot glue them into an arrangement that pleases you. Let dry. 2. Thread the buttons onto a ribbon or shoelace. 3. If you wish to keep the buttons from moving around  (as in a bib necklace), then cut felt rounds to the size of the buttons and hot glue them over backs of the buttons to hold them in place on the ribbon. (not pictured)

And last but not least...,

A DIY CIRCLE GARLAND

If you have leftover fabric circles from our fat quarter, this is a great way to use them!

Like most DIY’s, there’s more than one way to skin this cat. For those that are spatially challenged while sewing (like me), here’s a good method.

SUPPLIES:

Sewing machine, thread, strips of lined paper about one-half to one-inch wide (they don't need to be precise), glue stick, cut fabric circles

DIRECTIONS:

1. Run the glue stick down one long edge of the lined paper strips. (You'll be stitching down the middle of the paper strips, so gluing along an edge will keep your needle from getting sticky.)  Arrange the circles along the paper so they are spaced evenly. (We fit 4 circles per strip.) 2. Head to the sewing machine and sew down the center of your circles and the strips they're attached to. Continue feeding each strip through until they are all sewn together. 3. Carefully tear the lined paper strips from the backs of your circles and hang your new garland!

Phew, that was a lot of fun! I hope you enjoyed our fabric-covered button tutorial and DIY projects!  We'd love to know (in the comments below) how you would use your fabric covered buttons.  We'd also like to see you over at Armommy where we’ve shared one other project idea.

Thanks so much for “hangin’” with me on Spoonflower!

Xo . Rae

Fat Quarter February: Kaleidoscope pillows

This week's Fat Quarter February project comes from Diane Gilleland of CraftyPod, who shows us how to make pretty pieced kaleidoscope pillows from just two quarter-yard pieces of fabric!

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I’ve been a little obsessed with the idea of kaleidoscopes lately. It’s so intriguing how you can take a wedge shape, multiply it by six, and create endless new patterns. So I thought it might be fun to replicate this idea in fabrics. I might be cheating on this month’s fat quarter theme just a little by using two fat quarters, but I really love the result, and using these large scale prints give it a very graphic look. I’m using four Holli Zollinger fabrics here: Chevrons Red and Chevrons Burlap from her Kunda Linen fabric collection in one pillow, and Mint Arrow and Arrow Marine from her Native Spirit Linen collection.

Materials (per pillow):

• Two coordinating Kona® Cotton fat quarters with matching print
• 18” x 18” backing fabric
• Kaleidoscope pillow pattern PDF
• Low-tack painters tape or pattern weights
• Ruler and mechanical pencil
• Sewing machine and thread
• Hand sewing needle
• Fiberfill 1” covered button kit
• Nylon upholstery thread

All seam allowances in this project are ¼"

1. Begin by downloading and printing the PDF pattern. I recommend tracing it onto tissue paper, which will make it much easier to place the pattern precisely on your fabric before cutting. Iron all wrinkles out of both fabrics.

2. Now, align the tissue pattern where you want it on your fabric. You’ll want to choose a section that will form a nice pattern when it’s repeated six times. It’s also wise to take a moment and make sure you can get three identical pieces from your fabric. Here, I’ve taped the pattern to the fabric and traced the main outlines of the design. This will help me align the pattern exactly the same way when I cut the next two pieces.

3. Pin the pattern to the fabric and cut it out (I’ve already added a ¼” seam allowance to the pattern for you, so cut around the outer edge.) If it helps you to label sections of your tracing like I’ve done here, go right ahead.

 4. Repeat this process to cut three identical triangles from each of your fat quarters. 

Sewing the pillow: 

5. Pin one triangle of each fabric together with right sides facing. When you pin, pay close attention to matching up all the elements in the fabric design – here, I’m matching the edges of the stripes.

In fact, you may notice that by matching the designs, you end up with little gaps in the edges of the pinned fabrics, as seen above. Don’t worry! You can gently stretch the fabrics so they’re flat as you sew. Just keep those designs aligned.

6. Sew each pair of triangles together along one side, creating three units. Press their seam allowances in the same direction. As you sew, pay special attention to where you end your seams at the tip of the triangle. They should end ¼” away from the edge of the fabric, as shown above. This will make it easier to match all these points at the center of the pillow.

 7. Now, sew the three triangle units together, making sure the two fabrics alternate. Do your best to make sure the tips of the triangles align in the center. If you have a mismatch, like you see above, you can remove some of the seam and stretch the fabric gently as you re-sew to get a closer alignment. But that said, getting six points of fabric to line up perfectly is tricky! So please don’t make yourself too crazy over this. We’ll be covering the center of the pillow with a button, so perfection is not a requirement here!

8. When you’re done assembling the pillow front, check the back of your work to make sure all the seam allowances are laying in the same direction. That will allow you to neatly press the center flat as you see here. Go ahead and reorient and press any seam allowances.

9. Cut your backing fabric to match your finished pillow front. Pin them together with right sides facing and sew around all six sides, leaving about a 4” gap in one side for stuffing. Trim away the fabric at each corner and press the seam allowance open. Fold and press the edges of the fabric at the opening so they match the seam line.

10. Turn the pillow right side out, poking all the corners out so they’re nice and sharp. Press the pillow flat before you stuff it. 

11. Stuff the pillow firmly and then sew the opening closed with a ladder stitch.

Tufting the Pillow:

12. Follow the instructions in your covered button kit to make a 1” covered button from a leftover scrap of pillow fabric. Thread a hand-sewing needle with about 20” of upholstery thread, which is strong enough to withstand the pulling we’re about to do. Regular sewing thread isn’t a good choice for this step.

Pass the needle straight down through the center of the pillow, bringing it out at the back. You can compress the pillow so the needle reaches through.Take a little stitch on the back, and then bring the needle back out through the front of the pillow.

13. Thread your covered button on now, and then remove your needle. Tie the two ends of the thread into an overhand knot.

Pull the threads to tighten this knot, which will also compress the pillow center a bit. When you have the center compressed as much as you like, tie a second knot to lock the thread in place. It’s very helpful to have a friend hold the button down as you tie this second knot. Cut the ends of the thread short enough that they can hide under the button.  

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About Our Guest Blogger

Diane Gilleland blogs, podcasts, publishes, teaches, and makes videos about all things crafty over at CraftyPod.com. When she's not doing those things, she's doing whatever her cat tells her to do. And what's wrong with that?

Fat Quarter February: Baby kimono

Fat Quarter February continues! Stay tuned all month long for creative projects that use just a quarter yard of fabric. This week Emma Jeffery, from the blog Hello Beautiful, shares a tutorial for sewing up a sweet and simple baby kimono. 

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Kimonos are a great item for newborns because you get to avoid the awkward, over-the-head dressing techniques of tops and tees and this one uses a Velcro fastening which is great when speed is of the essence.

To make this raglan sleeve kimono, you'll need: 

• Raglan sleeve kimono pattern
• one package of Ric Rac (I used medium size)
• a small amount of Velcro

The pattern will squeeze neatly onto one fat quarter of Spoonflower’s combed cotton. I used some small-scale prints by Heather Dutton. You will have three pattern pieces. Begin by pinning the raglan sleeves to the shirt back and sewing.

 Press the seam allowance towards the back piece and topstitch down.

Next, pin the two shirt front pieces to the sleeves and sew. Press the seam allowances towards the front and again, topstitch down.

Hem the sleeves, shirt back and shirt fronts by turning the raw edge ¼” to the wrong side, pressing and turning another ¼” hiding all raw edges. Stitch the hems. 

To make a neat finish along the shirt fronts and neckline, I like to use ric rac. It easily curves around the neck and adds a sweet little detail to the finished kimono. You could also use a thin bias tape, but I find it unwieldy on small projects like this. Start by pinning the ric rac to the right side of the shirt, starting at one bottom edge of a shirt front, up around the neck and down to the bottom of the second shirt front. Turn the ends of the ric rac under to make a neat finish. Sew the ric rac to the shirt. You are aiming to sew a straight line through the middle of the ric rac.

Next, fold the ric rac towards the wrong side of the shirt and pin down. Sew the ric rac in place from the front.

Fold the shirt together with right sides facing. Sew the back and shirt fronts together at the side seams and underarms. Make sure to match the hems at the sleeves and bottom edge. Trim and finish the seam allowance with a zig zag stitch or serger.

Complete the shirt by sewing two Velcro tabs to the front, making sure to put the scratchy side of the Velcro away from the baby’s skin and you are done!

Note: With two fat quarters, you could mix around the fabrics to make contrasting sleeves on your kimono like I did with the pink and gray versions in the first photo.

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About Our Guest Blogger

Hi! I'm Emma, and as well as working on the Fiskars Design Team, I blog over at hellobeautifulblog.blogspot.com/

I'm an obsessive sewer, often leaping into projects with more enthusiasm than talent, more bravado than skill and more good luck than anything else. This technique has worked well for me so far and more often than not, I make things I love, even if they're not absolutely perfect. And though I'm no expert, I have a passion for fabric, color and design. I know what I like and what I like makes me smile.

Fat Quarter February: Armommy's hand warmer project

Last week, we spotted the most adorably cozy hand warmer project on the blog of Rae Friis, aka Armommy.  Created to keep the little fingers of her four young children warm and cozy in their coat pockets, Rae's hand warmer design uses just a quarter-yard of fabric to produce 12 little hand warmers, or six sets of two.  They're such a cute and easy way to show some love as we approach Valentine's Day!  For the full tutorial and a free downloadable insert to turn your hand warmers into the perfect Valentine's Day present, visit the Armommy blog. 

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Rae Friis together with her mother Jane started the Armommy company to help women be the designing mamacitas they are destined to be!  They create products and offer DIY projects that merge timeless concepts with a modern twist & a little whimsy, finding inspiration in their own desires & experiences as moms & those of the mamas they know and serve.  You can connect with them via the Armommy blog, on their Facebook page or via Twitter.

 

Fat Quarter February: Knit baby leggings tutorial

February is still feeling very much like winter in our part of the globe, and chilly temperatures outside mean that staying inside with a warm beverage and the whir of a sewing machine to keep us company still sounds like a pretty great idea. If you need a few excuses to stay inside just a little longer yourself right about now, then join us on the Spoonflower blog this month for Fat Quarter February! For this whole month, we'll be inviting guest crafters and bloggers to focus on projects that can be created out of just a quarter yard of fabric. Smaller projects mean that you can act on inspiration when it strikes and enjoy near-instant sewing gratification without getting too bogged down. We’re starting this series today with Anda Corrie's sweet knit baby leggings project. Read on for your adorable project fix below!

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Let's make baby leggings! First, you want a stretchy fabric. I’m obsessed with Spoonflower’s interlock knit at the moment— it’s super soft, a little thicker than many jersey knits, and I find it makes awesome baby clothes. The pattern I’ve included for download is for size 6m. If you have a favorite pair of leggings that already fit your child, try folding them in half like the pattern demonstrates and tracing them instead. It will be hard to make any sizes larger than 9m with a fat quarter, however.

Supplies:

• baby leggings pattern
• one fat quarter Sponflower Organic Cotton Interlock Knit fabric
• matching thread
• 17.5” of ¾” wide elastic

Lay the fabric out and fold each end inwards like shown. Cut two pieces of the pattern piece on each fold. From the remaining fabric in the center, cut two 4” x 6.25” rectangles.

Open up the pattern pieces and place with right sides facing. The wider edge is the waistband. Pin from sides of waist to where the fabric makes a point and sew with a straight stitch.

Next, open up the pants so the seams you’ve just sewn are now in the center instead of on the sides. Line up the legs as shown, pin, and sew along the inseam. 

Turn leggings right side out. Fold about ¼ - ½” of the waistband over and straight stitch around the top. 

I like to stitch the elastic directly to the back of the leggings to keep it in place.  After doing this, fold over about 1” of fabric around the elastic and stitch. Be careful not to catch the elastic as you go! 

Straight stitch along the short end of each 4x6.25” rectangle, making two little tubes. 

Fold them in half like this. And then put them over the bottom of each pant leg, with raw seams all together. 

Zig zag stitch around raw seams, turn right side out and you’re all done!

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About Our Guest Blogger

Anda Corrie is an American illustrator, Etsy designer, and émigré living in Berlin, Germany with her small family. In her spare time she obsesses over vintage children’s books, makes homemade schnapps, sews tiny dresses that her 4-year-old stubbornly refuses to wear, and draws. Visit her Spoonflower shop for some lovely hand drawn fabric designs and her Etsy shop, Boosterseat.