Organizer for Chopsticks, Crochet Hooks, or Knitting Needles

Hello, and welcome to another tutorial on Straight Eight!

Today I will be showing you how to make a neat little roll-up organizer for your long pointy objects that need a home other than loose in the bottom of a drawer. In my case, it just happens to be chopsticks. One of our friends recently went on a trip to Asia, and came back with beautiful chopstick sets for DH and I. Add that to a few that we've had lying in the silverware drawer because we didn't want to keep buying the throw-away take-out kind, and we are now swimming in chopsticks that don't have a proper place in our kitchen! So, what to do other than at least make an organizer for them all?

Cute holder for all our chopsticks... or half.

The nice thing is that by tweaking a few of the measurements, you could just as easily make a case for crochet hooks or knitting needles, which I know from experience can get lost under several balls of yarn in a craft drawer, as well. And you can choose whatever fabrics you like for this project to make it as simple or fancy as you like!

Simplicity 4192 Pants Sew-Along

Welcome to the first in a series of sew-alongs I will be posting as a result of my busier-than-ever schedule! Today's sew-along will the the View D pants of Simplicity 4192. With summer winding down I wanted to make these as a final send-off of sorts. Plus, who doesn't want wrap pants to wear to the beach or pool (or lake, if one of those is available) instead of skirts like everyone else has. Ha!

We're doing the pants in view D

The whole idea of having no outside side seams had me very curious, but now that I've made these, I think they're ingenious. A little awkward looking to put on if you don't have 4 pairs of hands, but super simple and great-looking once they're tied.

Let's get started!

New Patterns and Sew-Alongs?

If you are still somewhat new to sewing, or even if you're an old pro, you might have looked through the pattern bins at your local craft/fabric store a time or two. Or forty. Just saying, there's some cute patterns I've been having my eye on. In any case, I've decided that since I don't have a ton of time to make my own patterns anymore (and there may or may not be a 99 cent sale on Simplicity patterns this week at my local fabric store), I'm going to get a few patterns together and do some sew-alongs.

Just a few of the ones I picked up this week!

I can still give good tips on construction and techniques this way, and you might even find a pattern you like and can see how it really turns out. I'll be upfront about any tweaks I make to the patterns, as well, since it wouldn't be a fair representation of the final product otherwise. Also, as far as sizing goes, I've realized that it ranges from company to company. One size in Simplicity patterns may not be the same as your size in Vogue. So there goes my blog name...

So, what patterns might be showing up on the blog soon as sew-alongs? Follow along...

Sewing a Simple Pair of Pants

And the pants are finally complete! 

Finished pants

A quick word about the fabric that I used for this project, and a confession: these pajama pants are not for me. They're actually for a friend of mine who is turning 25 this week and has been complaining about "getting old". I know, the nerve. His girlfriend (my best friend) and I are going to have a good laugh when he opens these. After all, how many old men still have Star Wars jammies? As a result though, I used his measurements for the pattern, not mine, so they were a bit big for me. But I still wanted you all to be able to see what they looked like on a person, so there.

So, how did I sew these bad boys up? Well, grab your pants pattern (either self-drafted from the last post, or copied from an existing pair), and we'll be on our way. First though, let's get the rest of the supplies together...

The Long-Awaited Pants Pattern!

Well, that was certainly an unexpectedly long hiatus! I thought I'd be gone from this for maybe a week, I didn't realize how much things would pile up once I started working regularly again... even my little patio garden was starting to wilt with neglect! Now that I am back though (and hopefully regularly once a week again), I did promise a pants tutorial in the near future. So, today is the lucky day to begin that tutorial! The chess set will have to wait until temperatures outside drop below 85 degrees again.

Good weather to go to the lake!

These pants will actually be more of lounge or pajama bottoms than true pants (like work trousers or jeans), but they are super simple to make, and really nice for summer if you use a light fabric. Or, if you're lucky and live in a region where the coming September means cooler weather, cozy house pants if you use flannel!

About the Absence

I am terribly sorry I haven't kept up at all with my posts, I know I'm at least a week behind! I promise I will get better about it, but for now I sort of have to focus on my new job so I keep it. As important as my sewing is to me, I also really want to help DH with the bills again, and start saving more for a house (so I can have my own craft room, of course).

This is where I've been spending a lot of time, hanging out with my husband at work

I'm still working on the chess pieces for my chess set, but it's taking forever because we don't have a garage I can work in and I am not going out in 95+ degree heat to cut and sand and work. So I've been limited to a little time in the mornings and a little in the evenings (if the mosquitoes aren't eating me alive). As soon as I finish I will post the rest of that project.

Some of the pieces cut and sanded, preshaping

I'm also planning a pants pattern that I will be sharing with you all once I finish the chess pieces. Although, if the heat doesn't let up, I might just jump into that first. All I can say is that I will probably be splitting that project up in two, as well. One post for making the pattern, the second for sewing it together.

Alright, that's all for the update. I do hope you'll forgive me, and come back to visit when I've got new materials for you to enjoy!


Happy Sewing,
Lea

Chess Set Tutorial -- The Board

Welcome to a very special tutorial on Straight Eight!

The beginnings of a wonderful chess set!

If you guessed that I'm making a chess set from yesterday's post, congratulations! A checker board would have also been correct, I suppose. Yes, I know it's not sewing, but you know what? I haven't played chess in ages and that has to change! What with all the apps and games for phones and tablets and computers, we haven't had a proper board game in this apartment, and I think that's a shame. So, since we've decided we want to do a game night every week, I set about to make a chess set. I know I could have just gone to the store and bought one, but I haven't seen a pretty set that I liked for less than $70. And we're not swimming in money for games (although I guess Xbox games cost about that much new... huh).

We just so happened to have an old TV tray table that hasn't been used much. You can use any piece of wood that's big enough for the size board you want though. And since I planned to finish the board with some kind of sealer or polyurethane, it's not like we couldn't still use it as a TV tray table once it had the board on it. Just put away the chess pieces first!

New Project Coming Up...

What? No posts this week?!

No, no, don't worry, of course there will be a post this week. But it will be a bit different. Let me just explain myself before you decide never to check out another tutorial on this site again.

I just started a new job this week, so I've been trying to juggle that along with my usual sewing and crafting. I'm thinking I'll have to slow down the posts a bit though, maybe to just one a week from now on. DH and I have also decided to have a game night every week now for fun, so I've been working on a whole new project (which I will share here as well, although it doesn't involve sewing in the slightest). It's been a while since I last busted out my woodburners for a bit of pyrography!

Sorry for the poor lighting, it was late by the time I got this far...

So, care to guess what game I'm currently making? Guesses in the comments section, please!

I'm really looking forward to sharing a very different kind of tutorial with you by the end of the week (hopefully), and as always...


Happy Sewing,
Lea

Headband Tutorial with Woven Fabric

I have been seeing these headbands all over Pinterest for weeks now! I love them, they're super cute, and they look pretty simple to make. Problem is, almost all the tutorials I've seen are using stretchy knit fabrics, and well, I had a great woven fabric I want to give this a whirl with.

Love these!

Being a firefighter's wife, I could not resist this silky print (with all those fiery colors) on one of my trips to the local Joann's. It was begging to come home with me. So it did! Well, like most of the fabric in my stash, I did not have solid plans for it when I got it, but I've made a lovely kimono-like robe out of a big portion of it since. It's gorgeous, if I do say so. Since I had some leftovers, and I've been itching to make these headbands, I decided to combine the two. My solution for the lack of stretch? A simple hair-tie. Like the ones you get at pretty much any store in a 50-pack for $5. I'm sure there's a few lying around in every home. So, let's get this tutorial started!

Summer Top Tutorial -- Finishing the Top

Welcome back to the Summer Top Tutorial!

Cute top, huh?

I finished the top yesterday, and if I say so myself, I'm pretty darn pleased with it. Finishing this perfectly breezy top is pretty simple, once the yoke is completed. So, let's continue where we left off, shall we?

Summer Top Tutorial -- The Yoke

Whew, it is hot out here in South Carolina! It's cool having fireflies swarm every evening, but the days are absolutely brutal what with the humidity. So, I'm making a cool new top to enjoy while hurrying from the air-conditioned car to the air-conditioned grocery store. Seriously, I've never been so happy to stand in front of the veggies or milk!

Those summer clouds turn into thunderstorms real quick

If you saw my last post, then you saw one of the fabrics (the main one, really) that I'll be making my top out of. It's deliciously soft and flowy, but as I've been working with it, I can only say it's more fun to wear than to sew. I wanted the yoke to stand out a bit, so I made it with some plain black knit fabric I had lying around. It's just as soft as the woven fabric, so it's a good match!

I've split the tutorial into two parts (making the yoke, and putting the top together) to make things easier and give people a chance to breathe. Now, on to the tutorial!

Sneak Peak!

As you may have noticed, it's taken longer than usual for my posts this week... well, I promise there's a reason!

Hmmm, what is this, you say? It's one of the most wonderfully soft, woven fabrics I've worked with in a long time. I picked it up ages ago at Joann's (always use those coupons!). No, I did not have a project in mind when I bought it. I was just walking around feeling fabrics and admiring patterns after having put the fabrics I needed in my cart (doesn't everyone?) and this one leaped off the shelf into my cart. Well, that's what I tell DH. I couldn't resist, and I still had one unused coupon.

So, this week I've been taking out my lovely impulse fabric and draping it around my dress form, trying to think of what it should become. 

Hot or Cold Rice Packs

Great relief for upset stomachs and sore muscles!

Well, I certainly didn't expect this week to turn out quite this busy! Earlier in the week we had birthdays to go to, and festivals to see, and yesterday (being the 4th of July, and fireworks being legal in the state of South Carolina) DH and I had a party for two ending with a call from the volunteer fire department for help with a motor vehicle accident.

That last bit is pretty normal actually. DH is a career firefighter and volunteers with the county in his free time. Last week we were having some pretty bad thunderstorms, and every time a power line went down his pager went off like there was no tomorrow. Even at 3 in the morning. Yay for sleep deprivation!

Anyway, with all that running around, my knee hasn't been feeling so hot. Figuring that I hadn't completed my second project for this week yet, I whipped up a quick rice hot pad (you can toss it in the freezer as a cold pack, too). It's sitting on my knee all toasty as I'm writing this now. Mmmm, cozy. And it took less than an hour to make! That's pretty rare for me, seeing how even the smallest projects turn into epic sagas with my less-than-stellar sewing skills and techniques. But hey, I'm learning every day!

So, what do you need to make your very own Hot and Cold Pack? Follow along!

Kitchen Towel to Apron

Does anyone else have a favorite kitchen towel? Like, one that you use until it's absolutely filthy and you HAVE to wash it, and you're just waiting for the laundry to get done so you can hang it right back on the oven door? Well, we could just about make a quilt with the number of kitchen towels we have stuffed into our drawers, but I only ever use 3 or 4 of those. And only those 3 or 4. So I'm trying to find a better life for the dish towels that don't get used otherwise.

Now, I also happen to lack a proper kitchen apron. Not a cute, frilly apron that you're worried about getting grease splatters on because it's so beautiful. A real, simple, no-nonsense apron that you can wipe your hands on even if they're covered in eggs or bacon grease. In other words, a kitchen towel! Ah-ha, I did have a point after all, didn't I?

So, how to turn a plain kitchen towel into a handy apron that not only covers your clothes but can withstand heavy use? Easy!

The finished kitchen towel apron

Horse Plushie Tutorial

I'd meant to post this yesterday, but DH surprised me and took me to a Pre-4th party (with fireworks and everything), so I never got around to writing this post. I am very excited to share this tutorial with you, though, so I do hope you'll forgive the tardiness!

The newest addition to my plush-making adventures

A year ago, I decided to make a stuffed animal for my sister on her birthday (yes, she's an adult, but even us adults like something cute once in a while). I made a little giraffe, as it's her absolute favorite animal, and it stands proudly on her little worktable in her room now. The difficult part -- other than finding a nice pattern that wasn't too child-ish -- was figuring out how and in what order to sew all the pieces together. I'd never made a stuffed animal before! Recently I've been getting requests to make plushies for friends again (a horse, this time), so I decided I'd photograph the process and share it, to make your lives a little easier, too.

Potholders Here, There, Everywhere!

Happy Humpday!

Wednesdays are usually pretty good for me, despite the aforesaid moniker. I mean, back when I was in high school or college, yeah, Wednesdays weren't so cool. They just meant 3 long days until the weekend. But now? Wednesdays are practically lucky. No long lines at stores in the mornings, no one at the pool in our apartment complex until the evening, it's just dandy by me!

Wednesdays are also a good day for me to get some of my smaller projects done. I don't have the time to do anything super big or time-consuming (save those for the weekend), but I can always do something small with a new technique I haven't tried yet. Like potholders.

Lots of Pockets Apron Tutorial -- Part 3

Hurray! It's the final stretch of this fantastic stash-busting project!

Alright, if you felt a little overloaded from last time, let me preface by saying this one will be shorter. Although still pretty photo-heavy. Enjoy!

Starting with the back apron pieces, line them up so that they will coordinate with your front pieces. So, if you did a rainbow like me and went in order from left to right with purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red? Your back pieces should be arranged (right side up) from left to right as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. When you connect them, the purple will be on the backside of purple. and red on the backside of red. Sound pretty obvious? Guess who had to unpick a whole bunch of stitches to remember this lesson.

Pin pieces together at the corners first, then add pins in between

Lots of Pockets Apron Tutorial -- Part 2

Welcome back to Part 2 of the Lots of Pockets Apron Tutorial!

Fabrics should be cut out, too, of course!

We left off with all of the pattern pieces drawn and cut out, so now we'll get on the the assembly of the front of this apron. The basic idea is to get the chevrons attached to the main fabric pieces, and then make up the pockets and attach those. Just a heads up, this isn't necessarily a super long post, but it does have a lot of photos to help you along each step. It might be overkill for more experienced sewists, but since I taught myself when I was younger, I want this to be doable from a newbie's perspective.

Lots of Pockets Apron Tutorial -- Part 1

Hi Everyone!

Today's special. It's my first tutorial! DH and I just got home from California, where we were visiting family for a bit (boy are people happy to see you when you live a few states away), and inspiration hit.

Let me preface this by making a small confession. I love chickens. Like, really love chickens. I have a coop planned and everything. Well, DH's aunt has chickens. So when we visited them, I helped collect eggs. And I couldn't help but notice that they didn't even use a basket to collect them. Just hands. That makes closing up the coop doors behind you once your hands are full of eggs super difficult! Since I've been looking for projects to drastically reduce the crazy amounts of fabric I have in my stash, I came up with the idea of an egg-collecting apron in lots of colorful prints and with nice pockets for eggs. They don't have a lot of chickens and they collect eggs twice a day, so they didn't really need space for more than 3-4 eggs, but I figured I'd give them as many as I could. The final product:

Lots of Pockets Apron using rainbow quilting cottons collected over the years

Welcome to Straight Eight's!

Backpacking in the Sierra Nevada in college

There are things you do because you feel obligated, and there are things you do because you're feeling selfish, right? This blog is definitely the latter, for me. And selfish isn't bad, it's honest. I could say that "I feel happier" or "I'm fulfilling my dreams" by sewing and writing about it, but I feel happy doing a lot of things, and I certainly never dreamed of starting a blog when we did career day in elementary school. Did blogs even exist the way they do today back then? But it's still a little selfish of me to leave cooking dinner tonight to my dear husband in favor of testing a new pattern I'm working on. I don't do it every night (although he's clearly a better cook than me), and I'm still responsible for helping him clean up. I feel justified.