fabric crafts

Burlap Calla Lilies are Easy to Make

April 8, 2018 by Tracy Lynn DeGarmo 3 Comments

With the arrival of spring and seeing the spring flowers starting to poke through the ground, I wanted to make a bouquet of something to put in my office. I love the bouquets of calla lilies that are made for brides. That is my inspiration for this bouquet of burlap calla lilies. It turned out to be so easy to make these that I made enough for a whole bouquet.

One of the nice things about this project is that you can adapt some of the materials and supplies to whatever you have on hand or whatever suits you. Read through what I did then decide how you want to make them for yourself.

Materials and Supplies for the Burlap Calla Lilies

(This post contains affiliate links to one or more of the items I used in this project – which means, if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission. There is no added cost to you!)

Fine-weave white/ivory burlap — I tried using coarse-weave burlap and they did not look as nice as I wanted. I also tried with laminated burlap and a combed cotton cross stitch cloth. I’ll show you pictures of all these at the end.
Skewers or thin dowel (bamboo skewers are less expensive)
Florist Tape
Turmeric (for dying the stamens)
Burlap fibers — I used the ones I pulled out and saved from the burlap flowers post. I’ll talk about other options later in this post.
Hot glue gun (low temp will work) — You can also use a regular glue but it will take longer for you to make these flowers
Scissors
Pattern for the flower shape — The pattern is available in my Resource Library
Spray-On Fabric Stiffener — I used Aleen’s Stiffen-Quick

Step 1 – Dye the Burlap Fibers for the Stamens

Turmeric is a spice I always keep in my kitchen because of its anti-inflammatory properties, which helps reduce my arthritis pain. It also makes a beautiful yellow dye. If you do not have Turmeric in your spice cabinet, you will find it at any grocery store and it is not an expensive spice.

Measure out two teaspoons of Turmeric into a glass or ceramic microwave-safe container. Do not use a plastic container. It can stain your plastic. It will also stain your clothes. Pour in a cup of water and stir. The Turmeric does not dissolve into the water.

Pre-wet your bundle of fibers in water then squeeze out as much of the water as you can.

Stir your Turmeric and water mixture then lay your fibers into the Turmeric water. Be sure the fibers are completely covered by the Turmeric water. Use a spoon to push the fibers down into the yellow water to get them completely soaked.

You may need to add more water if you have a lot of fiber. I used enough fiber to make a dozen burlap calla lilies. Let the fibers sit in the Turmeric water for five minutes. Because the Turmeric does not dissolve into water, the spice will settle to the bottom. Gently shake the container or stir the fibers. Place the container into the microwave and heat for one minute. Give the container a shake (or stir) and microwave for another minute. Repeat the shake or stir and microwave for a final third minute. Set aside to cool for five to 10 minutes, until it is cool enough for you to handle.

Pour out the Turmeric water and rinse the fibers until the water runs clear.

Allow the fibers to dry completely. If you are eager to get started, you can squeeze out all the water, separate the fibers and iron them between layers of paper towel.

Step 2 – Cutting the Burlap

Print and cut the pattern from my Resource Library.

Trace the pattern onto the burlap. Burlap can be a bit shifty as you try to draw on it. I use a felt-tip pen vs. a ball point pen.

Cut the burlap just inside the traced line (so you don’t have any ink on your finished flowers).

Step 3 – Making the Stamens

I’m using the burlap fibers that I pulled out and saved from the burlap flowers post.

You can make the stamens however you want and with whatever goes best with your decor. I am using the ivory colored burlap fibers from the other burlap flower project and dyed them yellow using Turmeric. I tried a few stamens for the calla lilies with the natural colored burlap but I prefer the yellow stamens.

Below are some alternate options for the stamens:

Yarn
Twine or string
Pipe cleaners
Dyed cotton swabs

The fibers are 10 inches long. Pull out one strand of fiber and make a slip knot close to the end. Set it aside.

Lay out six of the fibers and align the ends. Fold the bundle in half then in half again.

Place the slip knot over one end of the folded bundle, close to the end, and tighten the slip knot.

Wrap the bundle with the long end of the slip knot strand. You do not need to have the wraps close to each other. You want to wrap about 1 to 1-1/2 inches of the folded bundle. Secure the end with a small dot of hot glue.

With your scissors, trim the opposite end close to the slip knot. You can secure the slip knot with a small dot of glue if you are concerned about any unwinding.

Note about the “skewers” — I used 10-inch bamboo skewers because that is what I had on hand. Real calla lilies have pretty thick stems. You could use dowels or chopsticks to achieve a thicker stem. It will mostly depend on what you plan to do with the flowers after you make them. If they need to stand on their own or if you plan to use them in a bridal bouquet, you may want to use something thicker than the skewers.

Place a small dot of glue on the pointed end of a skewer.

Insert it into the fringe end of the stamen.

Step 4 – Making the Burlap Calla Lily Flower

Lay the stamen and stem along one side of the burlap petal at the base of the petal and secure the stamen to the petal with hot glue.

Roll the stamen across the petal, wrapping the burlap around the stamen.

Secure again with hot glue.

The flower is now ready for the florist tape.

Step 5 – Wrap the Stem

Using florist tape, start wrapping close to the base of the calla lily. Florist tape sticks to itself and sticks best if you give it a slight stretch as you wrap.

Wrap at an angle and continue down to the bottom of the skewer.

Step 6 – Shaping the Calla Lily

In my first experiment with making the burlap Calla Lilies, I used hair spray as a fabric stiffener. That was okay for an experiment but not really a good idea for a final project. Hair spray is flammable. Use a spray-on fabric stiffener for crafts.

Spritz the flower with the fabric stiffener.

Curl back the sides a little and roll back the tip.

You can also add a little twist to the tip.

You can trim off any loose ends or pen marks.

Looking into the flower, you can see the spiral that real calla lilies have.

Step 7 – The Burlap Calla Lilies Bouquet

Repeat the above steps for as many flowers as you want in your bouquet.

Video Tutorial

I created a video making one of the burlap calla lilies. You may find it helpful to watch how I did some of the things I described above.

My Experiments with Other Types of Cloth

I told you earlier that I tried these flowers with some other fibers. I used all the same steps and techniques described above. Below are my comments about the other three fabrics I tried followed by a picture of all three next to the ones I made in this tutorial.

Coarse-Weave Ivory Burlap

Because of the coarse weave, these were not as tidy looking. They seemed too messy to me after I started shaping them. The coarse weave allowed them to unravel a bit.

Laminated Burlap

The laminated burlap does not ravel and has a finer weave but did not want to hold the shape I gave it. It also has that lamination layer that I did not care for. I wanted the burlap look to be visible on both sides.

Combed Cotton Cross-Stitch/Embroidery Fabric

Finding fine weave ivory burlap is hit-or-miss for my local craft stores. I found it one day I was in the stores but not there another day. That’s what made me decide to try some other fabrics that would be more consistently available. I actually like the look of the flowers with this fabric. They are whiter and the cloth is finer. Some people will like this look much better. Others will really want the more rustic look of the burlap. It’s totally up to you and the look you want for your flowers.

I hope this inspires your to make some spring flowers to brighten your home.

I would love to see your burlap calla lilies when you make them! You can post pictures of your calla lilies in my Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TracyLynnCrafts

You can get my 5-page set of tips for working with burlap plus get the pattern to this and all my DIY and craft projects in my Resource Library by signing up for my weekly newsletter.

You can pin these instructions in Pinterest so you have the link handy when you’re ready to make your own burlap calla lilies bouquet.

A Square Bowl Cozy That Fits Square Glass Bowls!

March 11, 2018 by Tracy Lynn DeGarmo Leave a Comment

I am so excited about my square bowl cozy! I used it today for the first time and what a difference it made in heating up my lunch at work. It sounds like a silly thing to be excited about but it really turned out great and I am eager to tell you about it!

Maybe I should have picked a more attractive lunch for taking this picture. LOL I don’t know how food bloggers take pictures of food! 🙂 This is my homemade cabbage soup made from my own stock. It’s one of my favorite lunches!

So, why are all the bowl cozy patterns for round bowls? I really needed a square bowl cozy. Almost every day, I take my own lunch food to work so I can eat healthy. The latest news is that heating up your food in a microwave in plastic containers is bad and glass is good. It made sense to me so I switched to glass.

I usually pack my lunch in the 30-ounce or 26-ounce GlassLock® containers. They are square glass containers with a plastic locking lid and they fit in my lunch tote so much better than the round containers. The drawback is the glass gets so hot in the microwave. The first few times I used them I rolled up some paper towel to get my container out of the microwave. Then I started using an old potholder. That worked a little better but I am often worried that the container will slip off the pot holder, especially when I’m trying to take it out of the upper of the two microwaves at work (seriously, why do the really tall guys use the bottom microwave?).

Then I thought a “bowl cozy” might work better than a pot holder. I have seen a lot of bowl cozies on Pinterest but none of them were for square containers.

Time to DIY!

Since I could not find a pattern for a square bowl cozy I decided to make my own! And, I’m going to share it with you because no one needs burned fingers carrying a hot glass container to a lunch table or a desk for lunch. My pattern even has carrying handles!

The pattern I created is designed around the GlassLock® 26 and 30 ounces size square containers. Since I don’t expect to only have those containers, I made it a little loose to accommodate something a little larger for when I acquire more glass food storage containers. If your glass containers are similar in size, they will likely still fit. You can take the pattern and scale it up or down to fit your square glass containers.

Materials and Supplies to Make Your Own Square Bowl Cozy

You will need the following to make your own square bowl cozy.

Fabric
Cotton batting (do not use thermal batting – it is not safe in a microwave)
Thread
Bias Tape
- Make your own: Using my instructions for making bias tape, plan for 60″ of 2-inch wide bias tape, or
- Purchase: You will need 1 package of bias tape (extra wide-double fold)
Scissors
Straight pins — optionally, you can also use Sewing clips (these are great! for the top edge)
Sewing machine
Pattern – The pattern is available from my free Resource Library

If you have fabric scraps from other projects, you probably have enough to make this project. You could also upcycle old jeans or old cotton flannel shirts. I dipped into my stash of scraps to make this square bowl cozy. If you need to buy fabric you will need a third of a yard (to account for shrinkage of the fabric when you pre-wash it).

I made my own bias tape which meant I also needed a 13″ square of fabric.

Constructing the Square Bowl Cozy

Step 1 – Cut out the Fabric and Batting

Using the patterns in my free Resource Library,

Inner Layer: Cut 1 on a fold
Outer Layer: Cut 1 on a fold
Batting Layer: Cut 1 on a fold

My pattern pieces reference cutting on a fold because there is not enough space on a sheet of paper for you to print a whole pattern. You can print two copies of the pattern pieces and tape the “fold” edges together.

Step 2 – Mark the Corners

For both the inner and outer layers of fabric, you will stitch a dart in each of the four corners. To make this easy, mark the dart. I poke a hole through the paper pattern at the point of the triangle. Using a pencil, mark the corner then and draw the lines to the points.

Step 3 – Stitch the Corners

With right sides together, fold the fabric and and stitch along the dart marks. Repeat for all four corners on both the inner and outer layers of the square bowl cozy fabrics.

Press the seams to the side. You should press them so when you put the layers together, the darts from the inner layer are not folded in the same direction as the outer layer. That would cause you to have to stitch through too many layers of fabric on one side of the dart. In the picture below, the dart from the inner layer is folded and pressed in the opposite direction as the dart for the outer layer.

Step 4 – Assemble the Layers

I found this easiest to do by laying the inner layer on my GlassLock® container, then positioning the batting layer, and finally the outer layer.

Place the “right” side of the inner layer against the glass container.
Lay on the batting layer, lining up the cutout to the darts.
Place the “wrong/back” side of the outer layer against the batting layer, making sure you have those darts positioned so they are not on top of each other.

Pin or clip the layers together. If you have read my previous posts on making pot holders or pan handle holders, you know how much I love using these little clips.

Step 5 – Quilting Stitches

To make sure the batting layer does not shift around over time, I did some quilt-like stitching. You can do this with your sewing machine, do it by hand or even just stitch/tack it down in a few places with needle and thread. I prefer to do it with my sewing machine.

Find or mark the center of the square base and place into your sewing machine.

Start your stitching from the center and work out toward the straight edge. Move the needle back to the center and stitch to another edge. Repeat for the next two edges.

Optionally, you can add stitching from center of the base to the four corners.

Step 6 – Top Basting

Using a basting stitch on your machine, stitch along the top edge using a 1/4″ seam. You can see here that my darts are pressed in opposite directions in the corner.

Step 7 – Adding the Bias Tape Around the Top Edge

If you are making your own bias tape, head over to my instructions for making your own bias tape before proceeding.

Open the bias tape and attach it to the inside of the square bowl cozy. Pin or clip into place. Make sure the starting point for the bias tape has a fold that is about 1/2″ deep. This gives you a finished edge instead of a raw edge. This is NOT a required step. It’s “just” a bowl cozy. Mine isn’t fancy. It’s functional! 🙂

Stitch along the first fold line in the bias tape.

Fold the bias tape over the edge of the square bowl cozy, lining up the fold in the bias tape to the stitching you can see that you just made. Pin or clip into place. Stitch close to the folded edge.

Step 8 – Adding the Bias Tape Handles (Optional)

The handles, if you choose to add them, require around 30″ of bias tape — if you use bias tape.

I wanted the handles to match so I just used the bias tape. Bias tape is, as the name describes, but on the bias — at an angle to the straight grain of the fabric. That means it can stretch, which is why it is so useful for going around corners!

I don’t want my handles to stretch. You could use some strapping left over from another project or make your own fabric tubes for the straps. But, if you want to use bias tape, like I did, you can “stabilize” the bias tape by stitching it. I stitched three rows into my bias tape. This picture is a close up so you can see what I’m describing.

I wasn’t super-precise in the positioning of the handles. The only part I was careful about was the length of the handles so they were the same length. You might want a longer handle. I wanted to be able to carry it with one hand from the microwave in the kitchenette to my desk.

Stitching the handles to the cozy is just something you have to do patiently because of the 3-dimensional nature of the item. Take your time and it will turn out fine.

Your New Square Bowl Cozy is Now Complete!

I made this on a Sunday and took it to work the next day. This turned out great! I don’t know why I didn’t think to make a square bowl cozy sooner. My fingers are nowhere near the glass now so I can’t burn myself. It’s so easy to take it out of the microwave and carry it away using the handles. I think I will make another one so I can have a backup cozy for the days I need to take the cozy home and toss in the laundry… because sometimes I have boil-over in the microwave. 🙂 Any ideas how to prevent that!?

I noticed an unexpected benefit that it keeps my food warm longer because less heat is escaping from the container into the table. It’s insulated by the cozy. Bonus!

If you make this, I would love to see yours. Post it in my Facebook group.

If you want to remember this post so you can make your own square bowl post, pin this to your favorite Pinterest board.

Pan Handle Holders with an Extra Feature!

March 6, 2018 by Tracy Lynn DeGarmo 12 Comments

If you made my easy pot holders, you can also make a companion set of pan handle holders to protect your hands from hot pan handles.

I have a couple of cast iron pans. They are very heavy and those handles get really hot. Both of the pans have the short tab-like handle that sticks out from the pan, opposite the handle. That tab-handle also gets too hot to handle.

My pan handle holders are designed to hold that tab-handle, too. That’s the extra feature! I made two of these so I can use both of them when lifting the cast iron pans. And, they both have the extra feature that allows me to use them on the tab-handle without having to guess which one is which. They are both the same. Let’s get started!

Materials for the Pan Handle Holders

This list of materials is mostly the same as the list for the pot holders. I have detailed explanations about these materials on my pot holders post.

Cotton Fabric – Prewash and iron the fabric
Thermal Batting – Insulated batting such as Insul-Bright. NOTE: Thermal batting contains metal foil. Do not use these in the microwave.
Thread
Bias Tape – If you have leftover from the pot holder project use that or make your own bias tape following my instructions
Pattern – use mine or make your own (I will tell you how I made my pattern)

Tools to Make the Pan Handle Holders

Scissors
Straight pins or Sewing clips (these are great!)
Sewing Machine

Pattern – Make Your Own?

I think most pan handles are close to the same size. I have two cast iron pans and I picked the bigger one for my pattern. When I finished making the pan handle holder I fit it onto both pans and the size works well with both. If you use my pattern but think it needs to be a little wider or a little longer, just add a little extra around the total dimensions when you cut out the pattern.

How to make your own pattern

Making your own pattern is pretty quick. This is how I came up with my pattern. I started by drawing the outline of my pan handle and measuring the widest dimension. My handle’s widest point is 1.75 inches. When I stitch the bias tape around the edges, that will need half an inch on each side, for a total of 2.75 inches. My final pan handle holder is a perfect fit. If your pan handle is the same size and you aren’t sure if you can stitch half an inch consistently, you can add a little extra width to this dimension. Something you can try is a test on some scrap fabric. Make just a single “sleeve” and try it on your pan handle then adjust if necessary.

For the length of the pan handle holder, I measured from the end of the pan handle to where it connects to the pan. I then added half an inch for seam allowance at the opening end. This came to 6.5 inches. My other pan has a shorter handle and this length still works okay on that pan. The “pocket” is half the length of the total length plus enough allowance to do a double hem.

To make the arc at the end of the rectangle, instead of looking for my protractor, I found a glass in the cupboard that had a diameter the same width as my rectangle and used it as a template for drawing the perfect arc.

Cutting the Materials

My pattern has three parts. These instructions walk you through how to make two pan handle holders so you can use one on each handle of the pan.

The pattern pieces are marked A, B, and C.

A: Cut 8 pieces from your cotton fabric
B: Cut 4 pieces from the thermal batting
C: Cut two from your cotton fabric

Assemble the Pieces of the Pan Handle Holders

Step 1 – Assemble and Stitch the “A” Pieces

Lay out four stacks of your “Piece A” fabric with right sides together. Here I show two stacks and folded back a corner so you can see I have right sides together. Along the straight edge (opposite the curved edge) stitch a half-inch seam and press open the seam.

Step 2 – Lay in the Thermal Batting: Piece B

With the four sections of “Piece A” pieces laid out, right side down, place one piece of thermal batting (Piece B) on one half of the fabric. Fold the other half of the fabric over the thermal batting (Piece B). This picture shows two of these. You should have four stacks.

Stack two of these folded pieces on top of each other.

Set these aside for now.

Step 3 – Make the Pocket

Take your two “Piece C” cutouts and press a double-folded 3/8″ hem into the straight edge and stitch close to the edge of the fold.

Step 4 – Assemble the Full Stack

Lay piece C on top of the stack of pieces A and B and attach with pins or clips. You should have two sets of the stack you see in the picture below. Stitch 1/4 inch starting along the long edge, continue around the curved end, and finish along the other long edge. Do NOT stitch across the edge with the folded seam allowance. This row of stitching is just to hold the pieces together to make it easier to handle when adding the bias tape.

Step 5 – Apply the Bias Tape

Following the same path as the stitching in step 4, apply the bias tape. I had bias tape left over from my pot holders project. Again, do not stitch across the short edge that is opposite the curved edge. That is the opening that you will slide over the pan handle.

Your pan handle holders are now complete and ready to be used!

These two pictures show how to use the pan handle holders.

Since both of the pan handle holders have the pocket for your thumb, no matter which one you grab out of the drawer, you can can use either one on either handle!

Free Pattern for the Pan Handle Holders

Get the password for the library with the free pattern by filling out this form:

Remember to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board so you can remember to make your own set of pan handle holders!

Pot Holders You Can Sew Today!

February 25, 2018 by Tracy Lynn DeGarmo 8 Comments

At the time of the writing of this blog post, I am almost 57 years old and I have not bought any pot holders. Ever.

I have two thread-bare pot holders I received as wedding gifts and I have one made by my youngest daughter from one of her early elementary school classes (she is 25 now).

Why do I still have this in my kitchen?! It doesn’t even match any kitchen I have ever had.

It’s almost embarrassing. I know how to sew. I have been sewing since I was in fourth grade. Why have I never made pot holders?

I decided that had to change. I can make them to be whatever I want. And you are invited to go with me on this journey to get rid of the tattered pot holders and make nice new ones. You can make a set for your kitchen, too, or to give as gifts!

This is what I made and I will teach you how you can make them.

Materials

Fabric: Buy cotton. Popular fabric for pot holders is the cotton you find in the quilting fabrics. Make sure it is 100% cotton (no synthetic fibers that can melt). Other plant-based fibers such as linen or hemp will work but they are more expensive and do not come in all the fun patterns you can find in the cottons. If you want to make this exact project, buy half a yard of fabric.
Thermal Batting: Insulated batting such as Insul-Bright. NOTE: Thermal batting contains metal foil. Do not use these in the microwave.
Cotton Batting: I bought crib size cotton quilt batting. It is enough for this project and a couple of other things I plan to make.
Thread: Pick a color that matches or complements your fabric.
Bias Tape: You can make your own using my instructions for making bias tape (the fabric yardage above assumes you will make your own). You can also buy pre-made bias tape.

Tools

Scissors (or you can use a rotary cutter)
Straight pins or Sewing clips (I love these!)
Sewing Machine

Preparations

Prewash and iron the fabric. Prewashing will shrink the fabric before you make the pot holders. Pot holders get messy and they get washed. Ironing the fabric after washing will give you an even surface for accurate measurements and cutting.

Prewash the cotton batting, also to preshrink it. Follow the instructions for the brand of batting you buy.

Cutting the Materials

I chose to make 7-inch pot holders. I cut out 6, 7, and 8-inch squares of paper as test-sizes and decided that 7-inch pot holders suited me best. No other reason than that. You get to do whatever you want. They are YOUR pot holders.

For these pot holders, I am binding the edges with bias tape made from the same fabric as the pot holders. Because of this, there is no need to deal with seam allowance of the pot holder squares themselves. The size you make them is the size they will be.

For two pot holders, you will need:

Four squares of fabric
Two squares of thermal batting
Two squares of cotton batting

Assemble the Layers

Assemble the pot holders into layers. Make two of these stacks and pin or clip them together.

Fabric with right side down
Cotton batting
Thermal batting
Fabric with right side up

Using a seamstress chalk or the edge of an old piece of soap, mark one center line down each of the pot holders.

Time to Start Sewing!

Stitch along that center line you marked.

Shift the pot holder over and stitch another row, parallel to the one you just stitched. This creates a channel that will keep the batting in place over the years. You’re doing “channel quilting” on a pot holder.

Continue to work out from the center toward the edge, stitching more channels. The distance of the channels is mostly up to you. I made mine around 5/8″ apart.

Working with so many layers, you’ll want to be sure your layers are secured well. It’s okay to add more pins or clips to help keep the layers intact while you are sewing.

Adding the Binding

For this project, I made my own bias tape. You can read how I did this at my post on making your own bias tape.

Pin or clip the bias tape to the edge of the pot holder.

Stitch the first side of the bias tape to the pot holders.

Wrap the bias tape to the other side of the pot holders and top-stitch in place.

Complete!

Now I have two new pot holders! The two thread-bare orange ones are in the trash.

Now that you know how to make these, you can make a matching set of pan handle holders!

If you would like to have a quick guide to remind you of the steps, you can download it from my resource library. Sign up for your free access password here:

If you want to remember how to make these, you can pin this to your favorite board and share it with your followers.

Make Your Own Bias Tape!

February 25, 2018 by Tracy Lynn DeGarmo 4 Comments

A very long time ago, I learned to make quilts from an amazing quilter who made her own bias tape for binding her quilts. Her method did not require any special tools beyond scissors and a sewing machine. She taught me how to do it and I continue to use what she taught me to make my own bias tape for most of my projects that need some sort of binding. What’s cool about this is you aren’t limited to the few selections in the stores.

In this post, I will teach you how to make your own bias tape using the same technique she taught me.

Materials and Tools to Make Your Own Bias Tape

Fabric (determine the amount using the calculator below)
Seamstress chalk or a pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Sewing machine
Iron

How Much Fabric Do You Need?

Your starting piece of fabric to make bias tape needs to be a square. You need to know two pieces of information to determine how big of a square.

Total Length

You need to have an idea of how much length of bias tape you need. Measure all around your project and add about four inches. If you’re making multiple items, you’ll need to add the four inches for each item. If you are adding loops, like for a hanging pot holder, be sure to include that length in your total. On a seven-inch pot holder, that is seven inches for each side (total of 28″), plus four inches total for the loop, plus the extra four inches. That adds up to 36 inches. But, that is for only one pot holder. Let’s assume I’m making two. Now I need a total of 72 inches of bias tape.

Bias Tape Width

How wide do you need your bias tape? If I go back to the pot holder example, I want my bias tape to bind half an inch of the edges of the pot holder. But, I need to double that because it’s half an inch on each side (front and back) of the pot holder. Plus, I’m sewing it on to the pot holder with a 1/2″ seam allowance. All total, that width is two inches.

Calculate the Size of the Square

This is the formula for calculating the size of the square of fabric. The calculator below will do the math for you.

I also made a chart for doing some quick look-ups you can download from my resource library.

In my example above, I need 72 inches of 2″ bias tape. For the purposes of the calculation:

Length = 72 inches

Width = 2 inches

In my example, the result of the calculation is 14. That means I need a square of fabric that is 14 inches on each side.

Making the Bias Tape

Step 1: Mark-up the Fabric

For these types of marks, you do not need a marking tool that provides precision. You just need to be able to distinguish the marks from each other. A seamstress chalk works fine. I sometimes use a light pencil. I do not use any of the air-erasable or water-erasable markers because pressing them can set the color permanently.

On the back side of the fabric, make the marks shown below in the picture. The placement of the marks is important to indicate the edge you’re working with or aligning to in later steps. The positions of marks along those edges is not important.

Arrows (->): Against the left and right side
Circles/Dots (o): Along each side of the diagonal
Pluses (+): Against the top and bottom edges

Also mark the diagonal so you get a precise cut.

Step 2: Cut and Realign

Cut the square along the diagonal that you marked in Step 1.

With right sides together, line up the edges with the plus (+) symbols marked along the edge and secure. The points of the triangles of fabric will hang off each side by a quarter of an inch.

Step 3: Sew and Press

Sew the edge with the plus (+) symbols using a one-quarter inch (1/4″) seam allowance.

Press open the seam allowance and place the fabric on your work surface with the right side of the fabric down. Place the seam vertically as shown in the picture.

Step 4: Mark the Bias Tape Width

Along the left edge that is marked with the circles (o), measure in from the edge the width of your bias tape and mark it lightly for about 5 inches from the edge marked with the arrows (->).

Step 5: Mark the Off-Shift with Xs

You have two more marks to make.

Place one “x” in the corner to the right (as shown in the image) of the line you drew in Step 4.

Place the other “x” at the top end (as shown in the image) of the seam (from Step 3).

Step 6: Initial Cut

Along that 5-inch line that you marked in Step 4, cut along that line for those five inches.

Step 7: Reposition the Fabric

Turn the fabric over so that it is right side up and rotate it so one of the edges marked with circles (o) is closest to you and the cut you made is to your right.

Step 8: Fold in the Sides and Align the Xs

Take the left point and fold it over to the lower right end of the seam.

Take the right point and fold it over to the upper left end of the seam.

While still holding the right point (the one marked with the “x”, shift the point up to line up the Xs.

Place these edges with right sides together.

Secure the edges with pins or clips.

Step 9: Sew and Press

Sew the seam using a one-quarter inch (1/4″) seam allowance.

Press open the seam allowance.

Step 10: Turn, Mark, and Continuous-Cut

Turn the tube so that the fabric is facing right side out.

Starting at the point where you have the initial cut, using your ruler, continue to mark your bias tape width and cut along your marks.

Continue marking and cutting.

Complete!

You now have a continuous strip of fabric cut on the bias.

Fold the bias tape in half and press.

Optionally, you can now fold in each half again and press to achieve the final product.

Your bias tape is now ready for your project that needs binding.

If you want to remember how to make your how bias tape, pin this post and share it with your followers!

Easy Ombre Burlap Flowers to Decorate Your Home

February 4, 2018 by Tracy Lynn DeGarmo 4 Comments

After my post on how to make burlap flowers, I tried to think of something new for more colorful flowers. Ombre is very popular and a beautiful look so I decided to try to make ombre burlap flowers. It turned out to be very easy so I am sharing what I learned with you!

I also have a tip sheet about working with burlap is my Resource Library that you can get.

Materials and Tools to make DIY Ombre Burlap Flowers

Dye
Protective Gloves
Small cup
Work Surface
Burlap Flowers

Details about the Materials and Tools

Dye: For my dye, I went to my stash to see what I had on hand. I choose Evening Blue RIT dye. Whatever brand you use, read the instructions.
Protective Gloves: I keep latex gloves on hand for messy projects
Small cup: Use a cup that will fit a single burlap flower. I use glass when working with dye so I can get them completely clean after the project.
Work Surface: I worry that some day I will spill a dye project so I work on a surface that has “walls” to contain a spill. In this case, it’s a jelly-roll pan lined with parchment paper
Burlap Flowers: You can learn how easy it is to make these in my DIY Burlap Flowers post.

I started by making a few new flowers but without stems. The stems can easily be added later. Because I wasn’t sure how the burlap would take dye, I made three of the white flowers from burlap that I washed first, just a light rinse and squeeze to help remove sizing, then let dry before making into flowers.

Use your dye at full strength. For the RIT dye, the instructions are to mix the dry packet with two (2) cups of hot water. I did not dilute it further. I poured the dye into small cups that were just the right size for a single flower. Pour enough of the dye into the cup so that it just touches the bottom of the petals.

Wearing the protective gloves, grab one of the burlap flowers by some of the petals and lower it into the dye. You will need to hold the flower in the dye bath for a few seconds as the burlap begins to absorb the liquid. If you just set it in the dye, there will be too much air in the burlap and the flower will float and tip over.

In less than a minute, you will see the capillary action taking place as the burlap fiber pulls the liquid up into the petals.

Leave the flowers in the dye for about 15 to 20 minutes. I tried leaving them in longer and did not get any more capillary action.

The “natural” color burlap did not take the dye up into the petals. It did a great job of accepting the dye but no capillary action. I may have to try pre-washing some with a detergent to see if that helps.

With my second natural color burlap flower, I dipped the tips of the petals into the dye for just a few seconds. This one is not an ombre burlap flower but I really like how it looks!

The picture above is the final result of my test flowers. I think my attempt at Ombre Burlap Flowers was mostly a success. The burlap that I pre-rinsed was the best at getting the ombre effect.

The next step for these flowers will be to add stems and centers then add them to my bouquet.

You can get my 5-page set of tips for working with burlap plus get the patterns to all my DIY and craft projects in my Resource Library by signing up for my weekly newsletter.

For the holidays, I dyed burlap in red and green and made them into a centerpiece lit with LEDs,

If you want to remember how to make your own ombre burlap flowers and share the idea with your friends, Pin this DIY Ombre Burlap Flowers to your favorite Pinterest Board.

DIY Burlap Flowers Are Easy to Make

January 28, 2018 by Tracy Lynn DeGarmo 29 Comments

I recently remembered making burlap flowers with my mom when I was in my early teens and decided I wanted to try to make them again. The burlap flowers were easy enough for us as kids to make and our mom was good at teaching us DIY projects and crafts. As a trip down memory lane, I set out to reproduce the DIY burlap flowers that I remembered. I also put together five pages of tips for working with burlap. You can find the tips in my Resource Library.

Materials and Tools to make DIY Burlap Flowers

Burlap cloth – You can often find burlap in fabric stores or online
Florist stems
Florist tape
Tacky glue
Buttons
Scissors
Pliers
Tweezers
Freezer paper

How to Make Your Own Beautiful DIY Burlap Flowers

Step 1 – Cut the Burlap

When cutting burlap, you need to cut between the fibers… cut in the weave. This prevents most of the fraying.

Cut a piece that is about 4″ x 10″ (about 10cm x 25cm).

Step 2 – Remove the Center Burlap Fibers

Lay the piece out and, starting in the middle of the short side, pull out one of the threads. I prefer to use tweezers to grab the end of the fiber.

I make sure I lay my hand on most of the burlap piece to hold it still while I pull out the fiber.

The fiber will slide out fairly easily.

I have a very short video to show you how easily these pull out.

The result is that you will have a whole “row” of burlap fiber that is now gone from your burlap cloth. Time to pull out some more! Oh, and if you end up losing the end fiber while you are pulling these out, don’t worry. Having one or two of these fall off is not a big deal.

Continue until you have about half an inch (a little over 1cm) remaining on each long edge. I keep all those leftover pieces of burlap. They make interesting tassels or ties for other projects.

Step 3 – Glue

Because burlap is a very open-weave cloth, working with glue will seep through those openings in the burlap. I have found using freezer paper (shiny side up) under my messy glue projects works to protect my project surface and my project is less likely to stick to the shiny side of the freezer paper.

Lay down a bead of Tacky glue along one edge.

Fold the other edge over to the glue edge and press with your fingers as the glue takes hold.

You will only need to hold it for about a minute.

Step 4 – Roll onto Stem

I found a few types of florist stems at the craft store and bought more than one type. For my first flower, I used a raffia-wrapped florist stem that is 18 gauge. I liked it because it was close in color to the natural color of burlap.

Lay the stem down perpendicular to the glued edge and begin rolling the glued edge onto the end of the florist stem.

Continue rolling…

And more rolling…

When you get to the end, simply hold it for a few seconds as the glue begins to set.

Step 5 – Flower Center

User your fingers to open up the flower by pulling back on the burlap loops.

When I was a kid making these flowers, my mom had us put brightly colored pom poms into the centers of the flowers. I have a lot of odd buttons and decided to try using those instead of the pom poms. Squeeze some glue into the center of the flower.

Place a button into the glue and press into place.

Step 6 – Enjoy Your New Burlap Flower!

Except for some dry-time, this flower is done and ready to become a part of your home décor.

Another Burlap Flower — With Leaves!

I am happy with how my first burlap flower turned and it was a fun walk down memory lane, thinking back to my youth and doing crafts with my mom. But, I wanted to try to do a little bit more. I wanted to add leaves to my flower stem.

Step 1 – Make the Leaves

The 22 gauge coated florist wire pieces are 18″ (46cm) long. I cut two of them in half to make four (4) burlap leaves. Starting at 4″ (10cm) from the end, bend the wire with your fingers or pliers to form the point of the leaf. Slightly arc the two ends to form the leaf shape. Cross the two ends of the wire at approximately one inch (2-3cm) from the end of the shorter part of the wire.

Twist the ends together. This forms the leaf shape and gives you some leftover wire for the stem of the leaf.

Repeat for the remaining leaves.

When working with the wire, it can get a little bent out of shape. Do your best to make sure the leaves lie flat. You’ll get to curve them later in the project. For now, they need to be flat to attach to the burlap.

Cut a piece of burlap to a size that will hold all your leaves with a little bit of space between the leaves. Put this piece of burlap onto some freezer paper.

Run a bead of tacky glue around the leaf part of the leaf — not the stem part — then lay it glue-side down onto the burlap.

After gluing all the wires to the burlap, lay another piece of freezer paper on top of the leaves and press with a book or similar object. Keep it there for about three (3) minutes. After those few minutes, remove the top layer of freezer paper. Also, lift the burlap up a bit to ensure the glue is not sticking the burlap to the freezer paper. I haven’t had it happen yet but I think it’s because I catch it before it sets too much.

Set the leaves aside while they continue to dry and you make another burlap flower.

Step 2 – Make the Burlap Flower

This burlap flower will be very similar to the first one I described but there will be some differences so you can see that there are other ways to make these.

The steps are the same up through gluing the edges of the burlap together.

For this flower, I used the string-wrapped 18 gauge florist stems and I attached the button to the stem before rolling. Using a shank button, slip it over the end of the stem and bend the end of the stem using the pliers.

Lay the stem against the glue edge of the burlap and roll up as before.

Step 3 – Prepare the Leaves

When your leaves are dry enough (mine took about 10 minutes), cut them out of the burlap, leaving a small amount outside the wire. Don’t cut right up to the wire.

Using the florist tape, start at the base of the leaf, where the leaf meets the leaf stem (where you twisted the wire) and begin wrapping the florist tape. If you have never used florist tape, you need to give it a slight stretch as you wrap the stems and it will stick to itself. Keeping the tape at an angle as you tape to the end. Cut the tape when you reach the end.

Step 4 – Wrap the Stem and Add the Leaves

Starting at the base of the burlap flower, start wrapping with the florist tape.

Getting from the bulky burlap base of the flower down to the stem requires some back and forth and some building up of a taper using the florist tape.

Once you have transitioned down to the stem, continue to wrap for a couple of inches (4-6cm) then lay a leaf stem against the flower stem. Continue to wrap the stem and the bottom inch (3cm) or more of the leaf stem.

After a little more wrapping, incorporate another leaf and work your way to the end of the stem.

After both leaves are on, you can shape them.

Step 5 – Enjoy!

You now have a second burlap flower! You also know a new craft and can make more burlap flowers so you can make a bouquet of burlap flowers. I made four burlap flowers for this DIY with TLC project, one of which I made with white burlap. Burlap takes dye well. I also made Ombre Burlap Flowers. You can make your own by following the steps I describe here!

For the holidays, I dyed burlap red and green and made these loopy burlap flowers into a centerpiece lit with LEDs.

You can get my 5-page set of tips for working with burlap plus get the patterns to all my DIY and craft projects in my Resource Library by signing up for my weekly newsletter.

For Valentine’s Day, I made a Loopy Burlap Flower wreath.

If you liked making these burlap flowers, you can also try making burlap calla lilies.

fabric crafts

Materials and Supplies for the Burlap Calla Lilies

Step 1 – Dye the Burlap Fibers for the Stamens

Step 2 – Cutting the Burlap

Step 3 – Making the Stamens

Step 4 – Making the Burlap Calla Lily Flower

Step 5 – Wrap the Stem

Step 6 – Shaping the Calla Lily

Step 7 – The Burlap Calla Lilies Bouquet

Video Tutorial

My Experiments with Other Types of Cloth

Coarse-Weave Ivory Burlap

Laminated Burlap

Combed Cotton Cross-Stitch/Embroidery Fabric

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Time to DIY!

Materials and Supplies to Make Your Own Square Bowl Cozy

Constructing the Square Bowl Cozy

Step 1 – Cut out the Fabric and Batting

Step 2 – Mark the Corners

Step 3 – Stitch the Corners

Step 4 – Assemble the Layers

Step 5 – Quilting Stitches

Step 6 – Top Basting

Step 7 – Adding the Bias Tape Around the Top Edge

Step 8 – Adding the Bias Tape Handles (Optional)

Your New Square Bowl Cozy is Now Complete!

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Materials for the Pan Handle Holders

Tools to Make the Pan Handle Holders

Pattern – Make Your Own?

How to make your own pattern

Cutting the Materials

Assemble the Pieces of the Pan Handle Holders

Step 1 – Assemble and Stitch the “A” Pieces

Step 2 – Lay in the Thermal Batting: Piece B

Step 3 – Make the Pocket

Step 4 – Assemble the Full Stack

Step 5 – Apply the Bias Tape

Free Pattern for the Pan Handle Holders

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Materials

Tools

Preparations

Cutting the Materials

Assemble the Layers

Time to Start Sewing!

Adding the Binding

Complete!

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Materials and Tools to Make Your Own Bias Tape

How Much Fabric Do You Need?

Total Length

Bias Tape Width

Calculate the Size of the Square

Making the Bias Tape

Step 1: Mark-up the Fabric

Step 2: Cut and Realign

Step 3: Sew and Press

Step 4: Mark the Bias Tape Width

Step 5: Mark the Off-Shift with Xs

Step 6: Initial Cut

Step 7: Reposition the Fabric

Step 8: Fold in the Sides and Align the Xs

Step 9: Sew and Press

Step 10: Turn, Mark, and Continuous-Cut

Complete!

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Materials and Tools to make DIY Ombre Burlap Flowers

Details about the Materials and Tools

If you want to remember how to make your own ombre burlap flowers and share the idea with your friends, Pin this DIY Ombre Burlap Flowers to your favorite Pinterest Board.

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Materials and Tools to make DIY Burlap Flowers

How to Make Your Own Beautiful DIY Burlap Flowers

Step 1 – Cut the Burlap

Step 2 – Remove the Center Burlap Fibers

Step 3 – Glue

Step 4 – Roll onto Stem

Step 5 – Flower Center