Homemade Playdough

There is no Fearless Friday this week. Enjoy this guest post from Candice of Ragamuffin Design. Candice says: Yesterday was a beautiful day outside, but I was determined to stay inside and clean. My 4 year old despises when I clean so I knew he needed to be set up with a project. So, I … Read more

Knifty Knitter Long Loom Tutorial

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

You must congratulate us, this is our thousandth post here on Home Ec 101! So, y’all will get something special, a fab tutorial! Sorry it’s late, I was showing my mom how to “delete all” on my camera (she and I both have the same model) and I deleted everything instead of cancelling the delete. Whoops. Well, these pictures are better than the first ones I did anyway.

So, anyone that has ever bought a Knifty Knitter long loom set knows the instructions appear to have been written by a drunk sock monkey. They just don’t make that much sense. When I went online looking for help with it, I found one tutorial and a few youtube videos, but I had to go looking for all I needed. I figured I’d do a tutorial here so both starting and casting off can be found all in one place.

To see the full tutorial, just click the jump.

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Make It This Weekend: Basic Lined Tote/Purse

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

My kids constantly tease me about how many purses I own. Yes, I own a few. Okay, a few too many. And now that I know how to make a lined bag, I probably will own more than a few too many. But, I’ll make them for other people and give some away as well, so I figure it all works out, somehow.

This is the most basic lined bag. It has no pockets, and is extremely easy and fast to make. You can customize the pattern to whatever size you would like, from tiny to huge. My daughter wanted a tote bag to carry to school, so I made her this:

Finished Polka Dot Tote!Nifty, eh?

This project is good for the beginning sewer. It could even serve as a first sewing project.

Time needed to complete project:

As an intermediate sewer, this project took about 2 and a half hours to complete.

Skills Emphasized:

These are the skills you will use when making this project. It will help you learn:

  • Basic pattern making
  • Machine sewing
  • Sewing straight lines
  • Sewing corners
  • Topstitching

Materials Needed:


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This project is rated inexpensive-medium expensive. Depending on what sort of material you use, you could spend very little, or a fairly decent chunk of money. My cost of materials for the project as shown was $6. I bought remnants on sale to save money.

  • 1/2 yard of outer fabric (because you need a half yard or less of material, you can check the remnant bins to save big)
  • 1/2 yard of lining fabric
  • Thread (I used white)
  • Large piece of paper to make pattern (newspaper end rolls are perfect for this)
  • Yardstick or ruler
  • Scissors, or rotary cutter and rotary cutting mat
  • Pins
  • Sewing machine

Click the jump for the full tutorial:

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Make It In An Evening: Ninja Tutorial

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

Long has the debate raged about whether ninjas or pirates are cooler. I like them both, but sewing a ninja plushie is a whole lot easier than sewing a pirate plushie. Check this coolness out:

Completed ninjaAwesome, eh? This project is good for the beginner sewer, and could even be a good first project.

Time to make project:

As an intermediate sewer, this took me about 2 hours to make, not counting fabric shopping and general messing around.

Skills Emphasized:

These are skills you will use when making this project. It will help you learn:

  • Hand sewing
  • Button sewing
  • Machine sewing
  • Sewing curves
  • Sewing straight lines
  • Extremely simple pattern making
  • Stuffing a plush toy

Materials Needed:

This project is rated inexpensive. My cost of materials, gotten on sale, was $4. Material costs should not exceed $10, provided you have the common sewing supplies like a sewing machine and needles, etc.

  • 1/2 yard of fleece fabric
  • 1 piece of white felt
  • 2 buttons
  • Poly Fill stuffing
  • Thread, in black and white
  • Large piece of paper to make pattern (Newspaper end rolls are great for this)
  • Needle for hand sewing, medium sized
  • Scissors, or rotary cutter and rotary cutting mat
  • Sewing machine

Click the jump for the full tutorial:

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Make it this weekend: Ultra Easy Rag Quilt

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

Technically, this isn’t a quilt, since it’s not quilted. You can quilt it, if you want, but that takes the easy factor down a notch and takes the fast factor down a few notches. As an intermediate sewer, this took me about 4 hours to make.

Here’s what you’ll need:

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5 total yards of flannel material
Scissors or a rotary cutter and rotary cutter mat
Ruler or yardstick OR 8.5 inch quilting square
Thread to match or complement the fabric
Sewing machine (preferably with walking foot)
Spring action scissors
Seam ripper
Pins (optional, if you’re risky like me)

Click through the jump to get started.

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Tutorial: Granny Squares

Ivy says: Awhile back, a commenter requested a granny square tutorial. Right on! I love granny squares. They’re versatile and fast, and you can make one with virtually no thought or counting, so you can watch television while crocheting. Now, this tutorial assumes you know three basic crochet stitches: double crochet, chain stitch, and slip … Read more

Sewing 101: Pattern layouts

Ivy says: Remember I said I was going to show you how to do something? Um, yeah. Well. Life kinda got in the way and now my camera won’t come on. I’m thinking it’s battery related- keep your fingers crossed. Once I finally get some batteries, there will be pictures with this post. Before you … Read more

Sewing 101: What equipment do you need?

Ivy says: So, to begin my “How to sew for people who have no clue” series, let’s talk about what you are going to need. The first thing that comes to mind usually, other than a sewing machine, is material and patterns. Because, come on, there’s nothing more enticing than a pattern for a gorgeous … Read more

Notes from the sewing table

Ivy says: I’ve been working on my sewing skills, so I can do some photo tutorials. I’d like to be able to show people who have no earthly idea how to sew or where to start with sewing, what to do. Now, my sewing skills are both rusty and new all at once (I’ve hardly … Read more