Book Sling

I finally make one of those book slings that everybody seems to have.  At first I thought that it would be a lot cheaper than investing in another bookshelf, but come time to buy those double curtain rod holders, I might be second guessing that.  But either way it is a super cute and easy way for books not to get destroyed in our house. 

What you'll need to make your own: 

-2 dowel rods, that are pretty thick to support the weight.

-Canvas material, however long you want it to be, but cant be longer than your dowel rods)

-Ribbon, if you want to spruce it up a bit.

I actually had some random couch cushion pillow covers that my mother-in-law gave me and they are a canvas material of some type, so I thought I could finally use them up.  I just cut the largest rectangle I could out of one side.

Then you need to have some test books and figure out how high you want the books poking out.  I didn't want my small books to disappear too.  It's hard to get those little suckers out sometimes when they fall down!

Measure how tall you want it. Remember this number.  Add about 3 inches (which will become the casing for the dowels to go through) Cut off any excess fabric you're going to have.

Fold down and pin the short sides. Sew. Then fold down and pin the long sides (not necessary as this will be turned inside but it still makes it cleaner inside for books not to snag on) and sew.

Here's what it will look like:

Then taking that measurement from earlier, make sure you fold down the long edges enough that when you fold it in half (as if it were hanging) your books will sit as tall as you want them.  If it's too short, fold it in more, if too high then let more out (making sure you still have enough room for the dowel to go through).

Simple sew on the edges, leaving an opening in the middle. Place the dowels through and let your toddler test it out.

"Wow Mom, this is awesome!"

You can add a large ribbon under the casing if you want to and then buy the double curtain rod holders at Lowe's or Home Depot. Hang it up and now you have the perfect reading center for your kiddos!  Now I just need to have my hubby cut down the dowels and it's prefect. Happy book reading and 

God Bless!

Playroom Transformation #7: Bakery Canopy

I previously posted about the Sweet Sisters Bakery stand that my husband and I had made for our girls for Christmas. The entire thing was just an experiment but we're happy with how everything turned out. I wasn't really sure how to do the canopy. I just winged it really. So, for all of you really gifted at sewing I'm sure there might be an easier way to what I did but just know I go for the results and I'm learning the techniques along the way. I made it with a scallop edge on one side with four straps underneath to tie it to the two dowel rods that it rests on.

Start with your fabric cut to the length you need it to be. I just threw a piece of fabric over the two dowels to where I would like it and then doubled it. Place it right sides together.

Draw your scallops onto one edge. This is the wrong side of the fabric so you don't have to worry about it showing. I did this by measuring my width dividing by how many scallops I wanted (it ended up being 8) and then you get the approximate width of what each scallop should be. I drew one that length and then just traced it repeatedly next to one another the whole width of the fabric.

After you trace it's time to sew along your scallop edge.

Next, you need to cut all the excess fabric off from around the scallops. Now this is where my novice ness shows and it seemed to bunch up for me, so I REALLY had to go in there in the little nitch between each scallop so it didn't gather up. It took some time but after working at it and then ironing it down I think it turned out okay.

 

Next, I top stiched all the way around, leaving a large gap open, so I could sew on the tie backs.

For the tie backs you just need a long, fat rectangle. Sew down the side. Cut the excess off, flip inside out and iron flat. Then flip the ends underneath and top stitch those down. Now make 3 more.

Now take those 4 ties and take your piece of fabric. No rocket science here, but place the fabric over the two rods see where you want it to sit and then pin them where you want. Make sure to pin in to one side. Then sew them on, only going through one side.

After you sew the steps on turn the whole canopy inside out and then turn in the last edge, pin and straight stitch the seam closed.

I should have taken picture when I attached the ties but what I did was throw the canopy on the top.  Lined up where I wanted them to be and just pinned them on.  Then I just opened the large piece up and stitched the ties onto the back side only, so not stitching shows on the top.  Once my four tie backs were sewn on I turned last edge under on the side and top stitched it all the way closed.  And viola!  All done!

 

Happy sewing and God Bless!

Heather Joy

Saturday Market Skirt

I found this adorable link for a market skirt at Made Blog.  I love all the bright colors and decided to make one for Kara to wear come next Spring.  Here it is.  I wanted to make the pockets with buttons but I ran out of white fabric, so I added a 'K' for Kara.  I used white felt and just sewed it one.  Super simple.  I can't wait to make another one with the pockets and buttons.....hmm...I feeling like orange would be cute. 

I'll add a couple picture of Kara wearing it come Spring.  It's a little big for her now because I planned it to fit her in 3-4 months or so.