Fabric ABC Fun!

Here are some cute sets of fabric alphabet my daughter made for her nieces and nephews.

It all started with this trial set that we have in our family room, created with black and white fabric scraps.

From there it branched out to one set for each of our "married with children" children.


Animal Print

Chevron






Bunting Love

Fish and Flowers

Puzzled
(though I didn't get a finished pic, I'm just using the scraps here)

We had fun choosing and purchasing the fabric for each of these sets - we didn't want to stop.  However, this project does require a lot of time, so for that reason we were happy to be done for awhile since there were other things in need of our attention.

These would make a cute garland in a play room or child's bedroom.  Clip them on some ribbon or twine with clothes pins so they could be played with and rearranged to make names or some fun words.

Bunting and Tablecloths from Vintage Sheets

I have been collecting vintage sheets for a few years now.  Every time I can go to a thrift store I check out their selection and purchase any that catch my eye.  
(There is a piece of fabric or two and a shower curtain and maybe a window curtain as well in this collection, but they were all great pieces with great color for something I might want to create some time.)

I chose from my collection a few that worked well with the ideas we had for our daughters high school graduation party and created some table covers, then with the leftover portions I created some bunting - as many pieces as I could fit.




I purchased a serger (from Amazon) for this project because I knew I had a lot to do and didn't want to ask someone else to do this for me.  It worked like a charm for me, but I didn't try to learn any other stitches because of the time it took to do what I had to do ..., so maybe I'll have more fun with that later when I have some extra time (but I'm not holding my breath).

I serged the four sides of each of the 10 square and/or rectangular table covers and each of the three sides of the bunting pieces (I think one section has about 44 pieces and the other has about 47 pieces). 

I spent all of one day with this project - I had no idea it would take sooooo long, so I was especially glad I hadn't asked someone else to help me out here.  Though it was time consuming, it was so much easier and faster than folding and ironing and sewing and turning right-side out and ironing again ..., and I loved that the serger cuts and finishes the edge at the same time ..., and I really do love the finished look.

When the serging on the tablecloths were done they were complete so I washed and folded them, ready to use.   They looked lovely in a pile and they looked lovely on the tables, ready for the event.  You can see here that I paired them up with solid 100% cotton napkins in assorted colors, each to match the cloth they were on.  And those cute striped paper straws were placed on top the napkins. (RePurposed Book Centerpieces)

Serging the bunting took a little longer than the table covers did ..., I had several.  I used some of every tablecloth fabric, including pieces from the buffet table cloths I had prepared (I think there were a couple I didn't end up using).  When I was done serging the edges of each triangle piece I sorted them and sewed each piece onto a folded bias tape.

 

The bunting is double sided so that it could be hung in the center of a room and look nice from any view.   

Our tent doesn't have tall enough walls to put it back and forth across the room from one side to the other, so I wrapped it around the side walls and I love the touch of color that it gave to the walls and the way it brought everything together.  It gave the area character.

It was a little long for the wall, so we just folded it back a few feet ..., and that was cute too.

... I was so happy with the overall look ...

Vintage sheets helped us create a great look for a HAPPY GRADUATION!   (A Graduation Party)

And ... when I washed them after the event was over I realized how great sheets are for table covers because they don't come out all wrinkled, in need of ironing.  AWESOME!    They are folded and stored away for the next use ... some day!



Quilts

I love the quilting on this quilt.  The colors are wonderful.  The pattern is not necessarily my favorite, but the white could be playing a big part in making this Finished Scrappy Rainbow Quilt look so colorful and bright. From Diary of a Quilter

The back is really bright too.

And the edges look lovely with different patterns.  She didn't plan it that way, but ran out of the first pattern and used the small piece of a stripe.  I think it could have had a few different patterned sections throughout.

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Here is a quilt from Moda Bake Shop that has some white in it, framing each color.

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The white in this lovely quilt from Lucy & Norman is in the background.



One of my favorite things about this quilt is the strip of pieces in the back side.  What a sweet addition to create color and character.

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 This quilt from One Shabby Chic uses the same technique as the quilt above (I might have found it from a link on that site above).



Scrap Quilt

 

Throwing out fabric scraps can sometimes be hard, but hanging on to them can sometimes be harder.

 

Here is a way to use some of those fabric scraps, as seen at Sew Mama Sew

 

 

Scrap Buster Project ~ Tiny Ticker Tape Quilt Tutorial from Amanda Jean

 

 

Another way to use fabric scraps -
Scrap Buster Gift Tags From A Spoonful of Sugar


 

 



Blue Jean Pumpkin

awesome jeans ... or, I mean awesome pumpkin

 

denim pumpkin from Denim Do Over

 

 

 

If pumpkins aren't your thing, but jeans are, then check out Denim Do Over for more ways to repurpose your jeans.

 

 

Thread Tension +

I found this awesome info that could be quite helpful in time of need - from



Their tabs include how to, gallery, tools, patterns, blog, videos, forum, teach yourself to sew, and sew stylish.  There will surely be some great helps throughout their site, including some great info about

 Understanding Thread Tension





Check it out!  There is more to learn!
 

Light Strand Garland

Put shades on your strands of lights for a fun and colorful look.

I've shown this look before, but here it is again, with fabric (not paper) and with plastic cups (not paper).  From Rebeccas DIY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yarn Garland / Fabric Wrapped Chandelier

Pom yarn garland and a lightless fabric wrapped chandelier from A Blog Full of Weldons

 

 

 

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Fabric Yarn

 Have you heard of fabric yarn?  It's a first for me - I'm intrigued!
I have seen things like it, but never heard it called fabric yarn.

FreshStitches shares info about making your own fabric yarn.

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One more at Craftsy

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These fabric baskets from The Red Thread Blog look so fun! 
She shows how to make them, and I just might have to give it a try sometime.

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Check out Heather Knitz Pattern Shop for fabric yarn projects like this lovely colored bag.

she also shares how to cut your fabric in one long piece here, which is much like the t-shirt post above.

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I think fabric yarn is what these rugs (I purchased at Ross) are made of.
I love the colors in them.

And my most recent rug (also from Ross) - made a bit different - it is sweater fabric that creates this look that I love.

close ups

back side

I confess ... I bought it without having a place for it, but I loved it and wanted it and thought that I could put it over a trunk or other box for a great look, or even on a bale someday when we need more seating.  It was just so unique that I didn't know if I'd find another one like it anywhere again. I secretly hope that I do, and maybe it will find it's way to my home too.  ;)

For now, it hangs on my quilt rack ..., but not for long. 

Use Up Your Fabric Remnants

Fabric Remnants can hang around for a long time if you can't think of what to do with them. Sometimes it seems that throwing them away would be a good choice.  Here are a few ideas I came across and thought I'd save for a rainy day - just in case I need help remembering what to do with all of my scraps.

 Drawer pulls - made with fabric scraps.   I think they are pretty cute!  From Anna Maria

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A hand bag is another idea - patch together some pieces and then create a bag like this from Crafterholic.

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Tipnut has a post with 50 ideas for using fabric scraps.

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Another post from Tipnut shares 40 fabric flowers to make.

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One idea from The Art of Homemaking shares a fabric wreath.



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I have seen and created my own paper covered clothes pins, but here are some fabric covered pins - sure wouldn't take a very large piece of fabric.  Maybe we should keep some clothes pins on hand to make up some of these with the tiny scraps after our sewing projects are done.  Collect them in a pretty glass bowl or vase or bottle and give an assortment for gifts when the need arises.
These are from etsy

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Decorate your gift cards like these from Art and Blog.
These could be hearts, stars, flowers, or bear shapes, or any outline shape including a simple circle. How about a men's tie for Father's Day?

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Personalize a picture frame with scraps of fabric like this from Moda Bake Shop


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Or, leave the frame as it is and decorate the inside of the back board like this from Little Big Town Designs

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