Patchwork Underground

Here’s a fun little project I’ve been meaning to post for a while now.  I made these in several colors since the first ones I made in purple.  I had to edit out my face in this picture because I looked super silly.  Don’t laugh!

These earrings sell themselves.  They’re big, they’re light, you can make them to match any outfit and they use up those pesky scraps you’re saving for no reason.  What more can a girl ask for?

Materials you’ll need to make these guys:

• scraps of ribbon, lace, cord, sequins or what-have-you
• ear bobs
• a 1.5″ x 1.5″ scrap of felt
• matching thread

Get er done:

1. Cut out your 1.5″ x 1.5″ square of felt.  (Excuse the pic, it’s Oregon and it’s February.  Light?  What light?)

2.  Choose your trims.  Be sure to vary the lengths of the scraps so that they hang in tiers.  Finish the ends of ribbons by cutting across them on the diagonal; the bias edge doesn’t unravel.  Knot the free end of the strand of sequins or else they will fall off one by one at inopportune moments (been there, done that).  Don’t shy away from using something you think isn’t that fabulous - if it matches in terms of color, it will probably look awesome once it’s mixed in with your other “conversation” trims.  You’re aiming for an interesting mix of textures.

3.  Knot your thread and whip-stitch along each piece of trim so that it is secured along one edge of the felt.  Stitch them at slightly wonky angles if you want them to flay out like the ones in the first picture.

4.  Wrap the free edge of the felt around the whip-stitched edge so that your stitches are hidden.  (The action is a lot like rolling a cigarette or a sushi roll.)  Whip-stitch the free edge down.  Continue stitching to the top end of the earring and draw the felt inwards with a few stitches so that it purses shut and you can’t see the free ends of the trim inside the felt casing.

For an optional wrapped texture wrap the remaining thread around the felt itself.  Wrap towards the top and knot.  With a needle, pass the free ends through the mass of felt.  Remove the needle from the thread and trim the threads that peeks out on the other side flush with the felt.

5.  Stitch the ear bobs to the top of the earrings.  Make sure that there is NO GAP in the circular link on the ear bob - thread can pass through really small places and your earrings will wind up on the ground!  If there’s even a tiny gap, push the link closed with a pair of pliers.

All done!  Enjoy.

I’m so excited to share my new tutorial with you guys! It just might be my favorite so far. This vintage-inspired project is wonderful for using up those little scraps of fabric, batting and ric-rac you already have laying around the house. Throw an orphaned vintage button on top and you have a seriously cute pin cushion that looks good enough to eat!

Ever since I found this vintage yo-yo-faced pillow at the bins, I’ve been itching to try my hand at yo-yos. When one of my best friends, Lara, told me she was buying an AMAZING 1920’s farm house outside of Eugene, OR I decided to make her something to celebrate. I wasn’t sure what exactly I was going to make but she was moving in with her husband and her 6-year-old twins this month so the pressure was on. After some tinkering, I settled on a pin cushion…with yo-yos on it, of course! Here’s hoping it’ll warm her new home some.

~~~~*The Tutorial*~~~~~

Materials

• One 12” x 12” scrap of light blue fabric (or enough in any shape to make six 3.25”-diameter circles)
• Two 6” diameter circles of yellow fabric
• One 3.25” diameter circle of yellow fabric
• 12” of matching light blue ric-rac
• 2 buttons (one for the top, one for the bottom)
• Matching thread
• Pencil or fabric marker

Instructions
1 – Cut out six 3.25” diameter circles from your light blue fabric and one 3.25”-diameter circle from your yellow fabric.

I used the mouth of a Ball canning jar as my template for the yo-yos and just traced the shape with a regular pencil. You can use a fabric marker or chalk for this, too.

2 – Cut out the two 6” diameter circles from your yellow fabric. I just marked a center point for my circle, lined it up with the 3.25” mark on my ruler and spun the ruler around that center point, marking out the circumference of the circle as a I went.

3- Fold a ¼” seam allowance in towards the center of your yo-yos, pressing them flat as you go. Don’t stress about perfection here, any imperfections will be hidden in the gathers.

4- With a hand sewing needle and knotted thread, sew a running stitch all the way around the circumference of your yo-yo. Pull the string taut and make a few back stitches to secure the gathers.

5 - Flatten out the yo-yo, even out the gathers and press with steam. Repeat this process for all 7 yo-yos.

6 – Attach all of the yo-yos together using small whip stitches. I used one long piece of thread for this purpose and just hid the “jumps” on the reverse side of the yo-yos. (See picture) Remember to put the yellow one in the center!

7 – Attach the ric-rac to the right side of one of the large yellow circles before you join the top piece of the pincushion to the bottom piece. To do this, I lined the edge of the ric-rac up with the very edge of the yellow circle and stitched around the circle using a 1/4” seam allowance. In doing so, I only caught one side of the ric-rac in my seam, generating the “petal” effect you see in the finished pictures. When you’re sewing the ric-rac down, arrange the ends of the ric-rac so that the tails will be tucked inside the pincushion when it’s turned inside out. (See the second image below.)

8 – With right sides facing, sew the two large yellow circles together, using a 1/4” seam allowance again. For extra accuracy, I stitched directly into the line of stitching I created in step 6 when I attached the ric-rac. When you’re joining the top piece of the pin cushion to the bottom piece, make sure to leave an opening so that you can turn it right side out when you’re done.

9 - Turn the pin cushion right side out and stuff it with polyfil or cut up chunks of quilt batting. Whip stitch the opening closed with matching thread.

10 – Center the mandala of yo-yos you created in step 5 on the stuffed pin cushion. Pin it in place and tack it down using a hand sewing needle.

11 – Attach the buttons. To do this, I knotted a thread around a plain button and passed the thread through the bottom of the pincushion to the top so that the plain button was on the bottom of the pin cushion.

There, I passed the thread through my vintage button and back down through the center of the pincushion and through the bottom button again.

I went back through the bottom button one more time, pulled the thread taut so that I created a dimple in the pincushion and then wrapped the thread around the shank of that bottom button a few times, knotting it as I went.

(Note: You may be asking yourself, “Why two buttons?” Well, my inclusion of the bottom button is designed to take the pressure of the “pinch” off the fabric - otherwise, the knot would eventually pull through the fabric, undo the “pinch” and leave a nasty hole in the bottom of the pin cushion.)

12. Trim off any excess thread and you’re done!

This is a sweet little summer project! I got the itch to make it when I found this interesting granny square in my mother-in-law’s old 1967 Mon Tricot needlework book…..

I like that the open cross granny square in this project is bit different than your run-of-the-mill granny square. Unfortunately, the instructions in my mother-in-law’s book were written in British crochet notation. I only speak American, so I just made mine up and wrote it down to share with ya’ll. It looks a little different than the one in the book, but it’s definitely working with the same idea.

(Pssst! Stash-addict: This top is a great opportunity to use up all that random, sorta ugly, funky-feeling acrylic yarn you’ve managed to accumulate, too. Even though it is made of acrylic yarn, this top will never give you that weird I’m-Wearing-Spun-Plastic feeling because its fully lined with your favorite old tee-shirt.)

Stuff you’ll need:

Good ol’ fashioned acrylic yarn.
G crochet hook
Donor tee or tank top (or other scrap of complimentary knit material)
Handsewing needle
Matching thread

Step #1: Crochet your granny square. Here’s what you’re going for:

Round 1
CH 7, sl st into circle.

Round 2
CH 2, 2 DC into center circle.
*CH 1, 3 DC into center circle.
CH 3, 3 DC into center circle.*
Repeat from * to * 2 more times.
CH 1, 3 DC into center circle, CH 3 and sl st to close round.

Round 3
Ch 3,
*3 DC into Round 2’s CH 1 (the small space inbetween sets of 3 DC), Ch 1
3 DC into CH3 loop, CH 3, 3 DC into same loop, CH 1*
Repeat from * to * 2 more times.
Ch 1, 3 DC into Round 2’s CH 1 (the small space inbetween sets of 3 DC), Ch 1
3 DC into CH3 loop, CH 3, 2 DC into same loop, sl st to close round.

Careful! This is where things start to change!!!

Round 4

Ch 3,* 2 DC into 1 CH space. 1 DC into each of the 3 DCs below, 2 DC into 1 CH space below.
CH 1, 3 DC into 3 CH loop, CH 3, 3 DC into same 3 CH loop, CH 1.*
Repeat from * to * sl st to close round.

Round 5

Work the same way as round 4, except this time work 1 DC into each of the 7 DCs below, ultimately forming 11 DCs (2 new ones + 7 old ones + 2 new ones) on each side. The corners stay the same with each round - the only thing that changes is the number of DCs on each side.

How many rows until I’m done?!

For my top, I worked a total of 10 rows. You could add a row or two to make the top bigger or subtract a row or two to make it smaller. I recommend holding the work up to your body as you go (preferably in front of a mirror) so that you can get a better idea of how big it will need to be.

Step # 2 – Add Straps.

Once you’re happy with the size it’s time to add the halter part. Starting at one corner, CH 25 and sl st closed at about 18 stitches in from the corner. (See the pic for clarification!) Try it on before you snip the yarn to see if it’s working on your body. Too long would mean that your top is exposing parts of you meant to be covered up and too short would mean that you can’t get your head through the hole.

My halter strap looks like this:

For the tie closure in the back, I just looped about 7 or so inches of spare yarn around either corner. You could braid the ties or even crochet them if you felt like it. You’re just looking for something you can tie in the back to hold the top closed.

Done? Now you’re ready to….

Step #3 – Attach the lining.

Lay your donor tank or tee on a flat surface. Whatever you use, make sure it’s a knit (i.e. stretchy) NOT woven.

Cut one side of your tank/tee open and lay it flat if you need a bigger piece of fabric to work with.

Use your granny square as a template and cut the lining to size. (Don’t cut into your granny square!!!!)

Using a slip stitch, sew the lining to the granny square.

Don’t worry about finishing the edges of the knit fabric – knits don’t unravel and if you sew it right, the unfinished edges won’t be visable when you’re wearing the top anyway.

All Done! Wear dangle earrings and rock it.

Back View!…….

mmm…crochet photography…so much pattern….

Enjoy!!!!!