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Animal Sock "Pom-Poms": A Tutorial

February 15, 2010 by Ashley Hackshaw

I love these little socks that I pick up at our local street fair in Palm Desert. They are from Japan and I adore the Japanese writing on them! They come with ducks, pandas, pigs, rabbits and other animals and each one is just adorable.

Boo loves to mix and match the animals:

You can easily make a similar simplified version using some felt and thread. I started with these simple shapes for a pig:

First I stitched the light pink pig head to the dark pink background (will become the pig’s body):

Then I stitched the light colored snout piece into place with contrasting thread for the nostrils:

I used the same thread to add some contrast to the ears:

I added eyes using black thread:

Then I trimmed the large dark pink felt piece down into a smaller oval shape for the body……

………and cut an identical piece for the back:

I place the two oval pieces right sides together and began stitching them together at the outside. As I stitched towards the bottom I placed a small dark pink ovals halfway in to make a foot:

I stitched a few times around the foot to secure it in place:

Continuing to stitch along the bottom….until it was time to insert the other foot:

I stitched all the way around to the other side of the pig, leaving an opening at the top. I turned the pig right side out and inserted a small amount of stuffing:

Pinching the opening shut….here is what my little pig looked like at this point:

I carefully folded the front top edge over the back edge and stitched it shut:

I used some light pink DMC thread to add a little tail at the top:

Finally I stitched the pig to the back of a sock:

A finished animal “pom-pom” for your sock!

These would be great a great way to re-purpose your mismatching socks!

Roll Up Your Sleeves

February 12, 2010 by Ashley Hackshaw

Ever save something for years and years never having an idea for them and then it just hits you one day? For me it was these name patches I picked up at a flea market in 1996 (so I’ve been holding on to them for 14 years!!!). My college roommate Seema and I loved looking for eclectic finds and these were a great one. Seema put one on her jacket she wore all the time….I’ll have to ask her what the name was.

If there are any traits I hope my daughter takes from myself and her father they are: self sufficiency and determination. Is there any greater feeling than being able to fix something yourself? Don’t get me wrong, I like to outsource things to the experts too….but I also like being self sufficient and I know I can do almost anything with just a little research and determination. I’m not afraid to roll my sleeves up and figure out a plumbing problem or a appliance issue. This morning I was just staring at these and thought what a great homage they would be to the self sufficient hard worker!

I made this “roll up your sleeves” dress….for the little girl who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty!

These patches still had some iron-on adhesive left on them, but I added some additional fusible adhesive and stitched around the edges.

Thanks to “Lonnie”, wherever you are, for passing the torch…or wrench.

Reupholstering a Nursery Rocker

February 8, 2010 by Ashley Hackshaw

I recently recovered these outdated cushions for my sister-in-law to surprise her while she was in the hospital recovering from a c-section:

My brother-in-law had repainted her black and adding these new cushions completed the whole pink, black and white nursery look for my new niece!

The easiest way to recover foam cushions is to use a seam ripper to remove the old covers and use them as your pattern….then you’ll get a perfect fit!

I carefully removed each cushion cover and pinned each piece to the new fabric to cut out an identical piece:

I marked any pleats with my disappearing ink pen….

….and then pinned them into place.

Matching the pleats, I place the two pieces for this particular cushion together and then sewed all the way around the edges leaving the back open to re-insert the cushion.

Here is the finished bottom cushion turned right side out:

To close the backside of the cushion…

……I turned the edges inward on the backside of the cushion, pinned the together and used a blind stitch to close.

Some cushions are made of multiple pieces and are slightly more difficult….but if you break the cushions down into pieces you can easy recover them as well. Just approach each cushion as its own project!

You can see how this one had two pieces:

I left the cover on the top piece (the piece with all the fancy stitching):

I simply stitched any indentations into the cover…..

……by just adding a stitch through the new fabric and straight through the foam, knotting the thread in the back of the cushion.

Here you can see the stitched indentations. Then I basted the edges of the zebra fabric to the edges of the original cushion cover using a needle and thread.

I laid the 2nd piece of the cushion cover on top of the one just finished…….

……..and pinned the edges together.

Then I carefully sewed the edges together (a little awkward with the thinner cushion attached….but go slowly and it works fine).

Turned the pieces right side out and then inserted the other foam piece.

I didn’t want to have to buy new hardware for the straps that attach the cushion to the chair….so I made tiny sleeves for them….

….and opened up a small area on the back of the cushion with a seam ripper to slide each strap into place and then resewed the cushion shut.

For these side pieces, I didn’t want to mess with the hardware either, so I made slipcovers for them. I just traced the pieces, added seam allowance…..