Breast Cancer Awareness Gifts

I can’t believe it’s been over a month since we've talked!  I am sorry for neglecting you!  I've been busy working on projects and taking pics to upload, I promise!  And I will share them with you once they are finished.  Right now I’m working on several lampshades (and another I need to start for myself lol).  That will be my next project to share with you.  After those are finished I will be working on pillow covers and after that I’m going to start quilting again.  One big one for my bed and smaller ones for pot holders I think.  Maybe even some mug rugs too once I get on a roll!

 Today I would like to share the gifts I made and gave to my step mother for Christmas.  She is a double breast cancer survivor and I wanted to make her something with a breast cancer awareness theme.  I found this really pretty fleece with pink ribbons and hearts at JoAnn Fabrics in the clearance rack and I snatched it up right away.  I knew immediately who I wanted to use it for, but not yet what.  I decided to make her, my sister and one of my future niece-in-laws, each a winter scarf out of it.  I had just enough to make 3.  But then I ran across some patterns online for a hat, mittens and then an eyeglasses case so I decided to make them all for my SM for Christmas.  It also worked out well that I got her name in the family gift exchange! lol

So I measured out my own scarf and cut one out of the fleece in the same dimensions as mine.

 After cutting it to the correct dimensions, I trimmed up the edges and cut off the selvage and measured how long the end-fringe should be.

 I then put my handy-dandy quilting cutting tool/ruler over the fabric and used my rotary cutter to cut precise cuts every half inch.

The fringe turned out perfect! I was very pleased!

 Then I cut out the material for the hat.  I found the directions HERE.

Now this turned out to be a bit too small because I didn't have my SM there to measure her head, so be sure to get an accurate measurement before you cut the fabric!

Motto of the day??? - “Measure twice; cut once!”

Make the hat fabric into a tube by sewing the two sides together, but I left room unstiched at the bottom for the cuff. 

Why you say??  I have no flippin' CLUE! rofl 

After sewing across the top, this is the “pleating” they talk about in the pattern. Just take each corner and fold them to the center and pin in place.

 I turned the hat right side out and “stitched in the ditch.”

 I didn't want those stitches to show so I didn't back stitch.  I instead pulled all the threads to the inside of the hat and knotted them at each end of the stitching.

The following pic is of me trying to make a cuff on the bottom of the hat because the measurement they gave me to cut the material into was not long enough in my opinion.  Especially since it was so tight I couldn't pull it all the way down!

Next up was the eyeglasses case!

HERE is the pattern and instructions for the eyeglasses case.

I trimmed down the seam allowance; one side trimmed down further than  the other as it calls for in the pattern.

And stitched it down to the correct side.

 Be sure to transfer the marks from the pattern to your material.  You will definitely need them as it was a bit confusing to me how the directions read.

You have to sew between the mark and the sewn edge you just made (see the small line of stitching in the upper left hand corner of the above pic.)  Don’t get confused that it is only a couple inches to sew; the directions for that threw me at first because I hadn't pinned the material where the marks were.

 After you sew that, turn and fold and this is what it should look like.

 Then you pin it like this and sew all the way up to that little flap you just made and then sew from the flap to the first pin you transferred from the marks on the pattern then from the other pin down and around to the fold.

Then turn it right side out and sew the opening closed. Then, tuck the lining fabric into the case fabric and wah-lah!

A perfect little glasses case!

The last thing I still had to make was the mittens.  They concerned me the most because they looked a little intimidating and I didn't have any ink for my printer so I couldn't print out the pattern!!!!! [rolls eyes]  I had to use the graph on the online pattern pieces to recreate the pattern with my fabric.  

I think I did pretty well; what do you think?

 I sewed the 2 pieces for the palms first.

 Then I laid them right sides together with the pieces for the backs.  

I have no clue how the backs turned out longer than the palm pieces rofl.  Ya think it might be because I didn't have a paper pattern to use?????

 Then I sewed the backs to the palms (actually there is another step to do before you do this but I forgot it until it was too late!)

  This is when I was sewing past the thumbs.

 Here they are on my hands.  I think this was like the day before I needed to have them done!  Nothing like waiting until the last minute right??

Procrastinators Anonymous

[raises hand]

"Hello, my name is Denna and I'm a procrastinator!"

I failed to sew the elastic into the wrists of the mittens BEFORE I sewed them together so be sure not to make the same mistake I did!

They looked like professionally made mittens with the exception of that darn elastic.  Well, I’ll know better next time!  This is the first of any of these items that I've ever made so it has been a learning experience!

 Here are a couple pics of the items right before I wrapped them up.  Sorry for the low light but I couldn't wait for the morning for better picture-taking conditions!  That’s what I get for waiting  until the last minute I guess. J  

I asked my SM to get a picture to me of her wearing the hat, scarf and mittens so that I would have better “after” pics of them but I have yet to receive one! Hmmmmmm…..  Maybe if she reads this it will remind her! lol

Now, back to the lamp shades I've been working on!  Hopefully I can post those results soon so that I can move on to the pillows!  

Oh, and in the meantime, during TV time, I've been working on a crochet rug from cotton material that I had been braiding into a rope to make a braided rug.  (I actually started that project about 20 years ago and still didn't have it finished!)   I decided the material would go a lot farther if I crocheted instead of braided, so I've been doing some material “ripping” the last several nights! BTW, that is a great way to work out any aggression you might have built up!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!