The Attempters DIY : September 2012

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Tee To Infinity - Step By Step

STEP BY STEP: TEE TO INFINITY

Materials:

a. an old t-shirt you no longer wish to wear.

b. fabric scissors.

STEP 1: Cut strips horizontally about .5-1 inch in width starting at the bottom of your t-shirt.

STEP 2: Continue to cut strips all the way up to the arm seam.

STEP 3: Take each strand and stretch it out so that the fabric curls.

STEP 4: Gather all strands but ONE that is going to hold all of the rest together. If the t-shirt you use has a seam, make sure to gather so that the seam on the strips are all together. You will cover them later. You can gather them as is (long) to make more of a t-shirt necklace or you can twist each strand to double the material that will create a t-shirt scarf.

STEP 5: With the remaining strand, loop it around the gathered strands so that it covers the t-shirt seam. Keep wrapping the loose strand until you just have about an inch of material left. Tuck the material in and you are ready to wear!

Thanks for checking out our blog! Remember you can go to our youtube to see this craft in action!

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAttemptersDIY

And don't forget about our Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/attemptersdiy

Our Twitter:

https://twitter.com/AttemptersDIY

Our Email:

theattemptersdiy@gmail.com

and

Our Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/attemptersdiy/

Love,

The Attempters

Lindsey & Ashlyne

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Frame Your Week

STEP BY STEP: “Frame Your Week”

Materials:

a. gather/purchase 8 frames (1 for each day of the week and an extra for “to do”). These can be your existing frames or all new from a craft store (or for cheaper ones, go to Walmart or Dollar Tree). You can paint the frames or leave them as they are.

b. scrapbook paper to fit into each frame (You can find 5 for $1 at your local JoAnn)

* you can even use some notebook or construction paper if you want!

c. scissors

d. dry erase markers (skinny ones work best!)

e. Super glue/ Wood Glue (depending on what your frames are made of)

f. poster board to glue on and transport

**Optional: For the days of the week, you can do one of three things. You can either type up the Sunday-Saturday and “To Do” on your computer’s word processor (ie. Word or Pages) in the font of your choice and size of your choice (we used ____) and print. Cut the words out and glue/Modge Podge them to each piece of paper you designate for that day. Do NOT glue the days to the glass (they will peel). OR if you are daring, take a Sharpie or other permanent marker and write the days on the paper yourself! (Hint: use a pencil first to make sure you are centered on the a paper!) OR If you can find them, buy some stickers!

STEP 1: After you choose your scrapbook/scrap paper, cut the paper to fit each frame.

STEP 2: After you decide whether to write the days of the week, print out the days, or use stickers... put each day and “to do” onto the paper you choose.

STEP 3: Put each paper into each frame.

STEP 4: Arrange frames in order and glue the edges together. It’s easiest to transport if you do this step on a piece of poster board.

STEP 5: Take your masterpiece to a dry place to dry for at least 24 hours. Make sure it is stored in a flat place so the frames will dry flush with each other.

STEP 6: Hang it up and use your skinny dry erase markers to plan your week!

Thanks for checking out our blog! Remember you can go to our youtube to see this craft in action!

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAttemptersDIY

And don't forget about our Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/attemptersdiy

Our Twitter:

https://twitter.com/AttemptersDIY

Our Email:

theattemptersdiy@gmail.com

and

Our Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/attemptersdiy/

Love,

The Attempters

Lindsey & Ashlyne

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Step By Step: "Cooking Matsters"

Materials:

a. thick ribbon or strong fabric

b. sewing machine

c. thread

d. needle (if you wanna go the amish route)

e. placemat ($3.99 at Target or use one from an old set)

f. remnant piece of fabric for pockets and/or design (optional)

g. iron

h. pins

i. scissors

STEP 1: Take your thick ribbon or strong fabric piece and measure about two times your waist. Wrap around your waist to double check that you have enough material to make a nice size bow.

STEP 2: Time to start sewing! ** Make sure your foot is up and place your ribbon/fabric on the desired end of your placemat. You want your placemat to be on the left side and out of the way, so you can sew as straight as possible.

STEP 3: Push the lever down, put your foot to the pedal, and slowly start to guide your materials through. At the start and finish of your sewing line, you're going to want to make a back stitch to reinforce (the back stitch button might be in different locations for each sewing machine). Once you're done sewing, push the lever back up and slide your "apron" out to cut the thread.

STEP 4: We're going to make pockets! Take your remnant fabric piece and cut about 2 inches longer than your length and half width of your placemat.

STEP 5: Fold down all sides of your fabric about 1 inch and iron to make a good crease. This will help when you go to sew. Pinning the fabric is an option but it definitely helps! Especially if you're not an experienced seamstress. You can sew right over the pins!

STEP 6: Start at one end of your apron and guide one side of your pocket (remember to back stitch at the start). When you get to the end of that side, put up the lever, twist, put lever back down, and begin to slowly guide the stitch on the next side. Repeat for the third and final side and back stitch. Push up the lever, pull and cut thread.

STEP 7: We're going to make two final stitches so that we can make 3 pockets. The pockets can be any size you want! We chose to make our pockets all different sizes. Start at the bottom of your apron (wherever you would like to make your first pocket) and make one nice straight stitch. Again, remember to back stitch the END of your sew line. Pull up lever, pull and cut thread. Repeat once more wherever you like. With scissors, cut any excess thread pieces.

You can also make pockets out of shapes or sew random patterns onto your apron. Once you know how to sew, its yours to create!

** Disclaimer: We are NOT seamstresses (not even sure if you can make 'seamstress' plural). Just Attempters who own a sewing machine. If you do not know how to sew, this DIY webisode might not be for you.