TUTORIAL ~ Make your own Ballet Slippers

Here is a wonderful tutorial for those of you who are looking for that perfect handmade gift to give to the girl who has everything.  This tutorial is so well put together that even if you don't sew, you can probably still figure out how to make a pair of these cute slippers.

I found this tutorial and many other wonderful items at Shabby Raggy Roses and I recommend that you check it out.  I absolutely love this slipper tutorial and hopefully will try to make me a pair after Christmas is over and life is back to normal.

If you do make these, please let  her know how they turned out by emailing her at: 
charjen1@optusnet.com.au ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ballet Slippers

Here's an easy way to make some really cute slippers! Hopefully my instructions will be easy to understand! There are other ways to make these, but this is probably the easiest way. Make any changes where you prefer.

I'm a size 7.5 ( My foot measures 24.5cms) so the pattern is to fit me - please adjust to fit.

First of all, download 'Slipper base' template & 'Slipper top' template. Print, this will be your template to cut your fabic. If your foot is larger, I would say adding the extra length of your measured foot to the tails of the slipper top and to the sole would make for a perfect fit.

I'm using a cute print form Moda's Wonderland Bloom! Along with Moda Essential Dots for the inside fabric.

You will need to cut:

Base ~ 4 from wadding, 2 from interfacing, 2 inside peices and 2 bottom peices - You may want to find some non slip fabric for this, or something a little more durable.

*Make sure you flip your template so you have a left & right foot peice!

Slipper top ~ 2 from you feature fabric, 2 from wadding, 2 from the medium interfacing & 2 from your inside fabric to match the base.

Once you have all your peices cut, assemble them as shown below -

Base: Bottom peice, Interfacing, 2x wadding peices (for extra padding) and then your inside peice.

Slipper top needs to assembled - wadding peice, Inside peice (facing up) and the feature peice (facing down) so fabric is right sides together, then interfacing on top.

Once you have pinned them, stitch around each base holding all 5 layers together

Then sew around the inner curve of your top peice

Unpin the top peices, and you will need to pull the top fabric around to the other side ~ wiggle and press till nice and flat.

Topstitch around the inner curve...

Pin the tails of the top peice with feature fabric (top fabric) right sides together, sew along the edge securely - here I've added a binding to hide the edge or you can leave it raw.

Pin the top section to your base with your feature fabric and outside of bottom peice to the inside.

Carefully sew around the outside edge ensuring you're sewing through all layers really well, overlock or zig zag around the edge too.

Turn inside out - and you have a lovely pair of Ballet Slippers

Now embellish! These ones got a little bow on each side.

These got some cute crochet lace...

Again some crochet lace with some little buttons!

And finally some pink Ric Rac! Yo-yo's would be a great idea too!

Well I hope that was easy enough to understand - a bit confusing when I read back through it afterwards, but I tried.

I'd love to hear your feedback, and see pic's of finished slippers! Please feel free to email me at charjen1@optusnet.com.au if you need any further info.

Pearl Rosette Bib Necklace By: Helen Slabodukh for Blumenthal Lansing

Here is a tutorial that just blew me away.  I found it on FaveCrafts and just knew I had to repost it here for you to try.  This would make everyone stand and take notice agains a boat-necked black dress!

I think I may have to make this to give at Christmas to one of my special friends who loves to dress up and dress fancy.  She will absolutely love this and look divine in it!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How do you make fabric rosettes? Find out with this tutorial, then arrange them into a chic pearl rosette bib necklace, perfect for a special occasion like your wedding day. This feminine necklace is so simple to make!
Materials:

• Glamour Gems Buttons: #5210 (2 cards)
• La Mode® Buttons: #4612 (5 cards)
• ½” yard soft white fabric
• Kunin felt square: white
• White tulle
• Premade chain with pearls
• Toggle clasp
• 2 7mm jump rings
• Scissors
• Ruler
• 2 pairs chain nose pliers
• Wire cutters
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Pencil
   

Instructions:

1. Tie an overhand knot in the center of a strip of fabric. Hold the fabric at the knot with two tails together. Twist a short section of the two tails. Wrap it around the knot, which will be the center point of the rosette. Tack in place with glue. Continue wrapping and tacking until rosette is the size you want. Repeat for four more rosettes.
    
2. Lay the rosettes on the felt. Loosely trace with pencil. Cut felt a bit smaller than the traced line. Cut out.
    
3. Glue rosettes to felt. Folding pieces of tulle in half, glue them under and around rosettes. Glue buttons as rosette centers and accents.
    
4. Cut two lengths of chain to make the necklace the needed length. Glue the end of one chain on the back of the necklace piece at the top left. Repeat with other chain at top, back right.
    
5. Use jump rings to attach toggle pieces to loose ends of chain.

Tips:

• Refer to photo for placement and assembly.
   
• Cut tulle into 2” x 6” pieces.
   
• Cut or tear white fabric into 2” strips. The length of the fabric will determine the diameter of the rosette. Make them any size you desire.
   
• When tacking rosette with glue, use a tiny amount, trying not to let it show on the surface of the rosette.
   
• when gluing chain to necklace, use a lot of glue. Let it dry before continuing.
   
• Using a jump ring: grab ends of jump ring at either side of cut with pliers. Twist ring open. String through loop of toggle clasp. Twist tightly closed.

Related articles

• Rosette Envy (emilyjsimpson.wordpress.com)
• Definition: Rosette (fabsugar.com)
• Be a Romantic Bride (socyberty.com)
• Christmas day gift helix pendant wish pearl necklace (jcgift-fundraisingblog.com)

A Faux Fox Stole Tutorial!

Here's a wonderful and funky tutorial I found over at Craftster.
This post is by a wonderful crafter named p.kok and I absolutely love this faux fox stole!
To see this post on the original site just click the link. 

I can see many of these in my future.  I can't wait to go look at fabric.  Can you just imagine what you could make?  Oh, my!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I wanted it to have eyes, but i couldn't find them in any store in town (i orderd some form etsy, since I plan to make more of those scarfs), but i kinda like it the way it turned out.



If you want, i can make a tutrial and post the pattern for the head in the next days. C&C very welcome

edit: THE TUTORIAL!

1. cutting the fabric:
You will need approximately half a yard of some soft warm fabric like wool (fake fur would also probably work pretty well). So first you cut out two head shapes and two rectangles. the rectangles should be around 15 cm wide and the length depends on your wishes (or on the width of the fabric you chose, if you actually bought just half a yard:)). Then you fold the rectangles in half. (you can cut both at once if you have scissors good enough to cut though 4 layers of fabric). Cut them as shown on the picture (that is really really bad, but stupid illustrator won't work so i had to use paint instead:))).



also a "pattern" for the head. just copy it to a word document and size it the way you like.



2. embelishing

If you want to put eyes or noses or any other embellishments on anything (like contrasting fabric on the paws or on the tail) or do any embroidery, do it now (so the stitches won't show later).

3. sewing

put the right sides of the fabric pieces for the head together and sew almost all the way around- leave a gap to turn everything inside out. Then turn everything inside out, iron it and top stitch around the edge and close the gap that was left. Now do the same with the body. Sew the head to the body and voila- you're done!:)

*i hope you understood everything- english is obviously not my first language:) if you have any questions, feel free to ask:)

Related articles

• How To: Make Fabric Shopping Bags (casasugar.com)
• DIY: Sweater Blanket (casasugar.com)
• ♥ Not Quite Couture! (justaddattitude.com)
• How-To: Sew Knit Fabrics without a Serger (craftzine.com)
• Fabric Fower Tutorial: It is National Sewing Month Afterall (cosmocricket.typepad.com)
• The Julieanna Bag (adaynasmile.wordpress.com)

Tuesday Tutorial -- Felt Dolls

Tuesdays' posting will be some type of craft tutorial that I find as I surf the net.  You'd be surprised at the number and the quality of the tutorials available for crafters on the internet.  As a newbie doll maker, I am always interested in new ways to make dolls, so for this posting we will learn how to make felt dolls.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a posting from SnipSnapHappy.blogspot.com.  I hope you make several of these dolls.  I know I will be trying them out!

Matryoshka Doll Tutorial

After all the fun I had making my matryoshka style dolls a couple of weeks ago I thought it would be mean not to spread the fun a little. So I am going to do my first ever tutorial and try to share with you how to make one!

I have tried to be nice and clear, use lots of pictures and not to over-explain things (as I have a tendency to do) but do let me know if anything can be improved. When I was first starting out with mosaics and sewing and crochet I was desperate for free simple tutorials that made sense so constructive criticism will be most welcome and I promise not to sulk ;)

Right, lets get started…

Snipsnaphappy’s matryoshka doll tutorial

You will need:

• 1 A4 size (about 21x30cm) piece of felt in the colour of the main body of your doll
• 1 A4 size piece of felt in the colour of the hood of your doll
• Some small scrap bits of black or brown felt for the hair (or red, yellow, green or whatever colour you like!)
• Fabric for the face – I use a lovely light canvas hemp fabric (which I buy from Hemp Fabric UK) but some plain cream cotton or linen would do just as well
• Paint for the face (I use acrylic)
• Ribbons, trims, buttons and bits for decoration
• Stuffing (not the sage and onion kind)
• Embroidery threads for the visible hand-sewing
• Plain thread for hand or machine sewing your finished pieces together
• Scissors
• Fabric glue if you intend on gluing your embellishments.

First you need to cut all your pieces. I have done a PDF for you with the shapes you need.  As I can't work out for the life of me if it is possible to somehow upload this to Blogger I have popped it on Scribd.  Click here to go get it.  This pattern is hand-drawn and a little rough round the edges but it should help you get the job done :)  Do let me know if you have any problems retrieving this.

For the front hood, fold your felt in half then pin the pattern piece with the dotted line along the fold…[...]

Related articles by Zemanta

• How-To: Nesting Doll Pin Cushion (craftzine.com)
• More zipper flower tutorials to try! (beadinggem.com)
• Shrink Plastic Jewelry tutorials (beadinggem.com)
• Wire wrapped bangle tutorials (beadinggem.com)
• Spring flower necklace tutorials (beadinggem.com)
• Crafty Links and Friends! (cathiefilian.blogspot.com)