sewing Archives - Feathers in Our Nest

New Kitchen Curtains

June 4, 2014 by Aliesha

After living in our home for four years, I finally made some curtain valances for our kitchen! I am not a seamstress at all, but I try to at least make curtains since custom curtains can be really pricey!

It’s super simple to make this kind of valance. Just cut your fabric to the size you want (mine worked out perfectly so I was able to get 2 panels out of one 45″ wide and 2 yard long piece of fabric). Hem all four edges, then attach curtain clips to the top edge, then hang on the rods. That’s it! It took me an hour to make the panels and iron them, and then Tad hung the curtains for me (which took another 30-45 minutes).

I’m in love with this fabric!

Sources:

-fabric: Hobby Lobby

-clips: Target

-curtain rods: Hobby Lobby

Creating a Pillow from a Placemat {the Easy Way!}

October 28, 2013 by Aliesha

I’m all about SIMPLE crafts/DIY projects these days, mainly because I’m too busy for anything crafty that takes longer than 10 minutes!

I whipped up this pillow in less than 10 minutes, and my sweet mother-in-law insisted I blog about it. It’s nothing earth-shattering, but I always enjoy reading about frugal, easy home decor projects, so I’m sharing it!

I found a placemat on clearance at Target (Threshold brand) for $1.18, and I was immediately drawn to it. The fabric is printed, but the texture makes it look embroidered.

I checked the back, and I realized that because of the layers (the back was a light-weight fabric), I could easily turn it into a pillow just by cutting open part of a seam and stuffing it.

If you want to make a pillow like this, you’ll need to find a placemat with a fabric back that is not fused to the front of the placemat. You’ll also need some stuffing! (I actually unstuffed a cheap IKEA pillow and used that for filler.)

Note: A slightly more difficult way of converting a placemat into a pillow is adding a piece of fabric as the backing, sewing it right sides together leaving an opening, turning it right side out, and stuffing.

Using a needle and scissors (or a seam ripper), carefully remove the threads on one seam to create an opening wide enough to allow you to stuff the pillow.

Fill the pillow with stuffing, then hand-stitch the seam closed. Fluff the pillow, and you’re done!

This project cost me $3.18 total, but your cost may vary.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, feel free to pin it!

Little Gifts

June 30, 2011 by Aliesha

I was able to go to Youth Camp last summer and be a chaperone for our girls, but unfortunately I was not able to go this summer because Vera couldn’t go. I was disappointed about not attending, so I put together some little gifts for our youth girls who went.

I made them little zippered pouches and put some other small goodies inside. I wanted them to know I still cared about them even though I couldn’t be there this year!