Dress Form Wall Hanging Tutorial

I got busy recently!

A dress form wall hanging with a lot of pretty laces hanging down to form a beautiful skirt.

Here is the video I made showing how I made the base for it.

A video with the measurements for the pattern is here.

Hope you give this a try! Let me know if you do...I want to see!

Blessings!

Doni

Tutorial For Lace Book

Originally posted April 14, 2014
Edited January 2016 to add:
I am amazed at all of the interest that this post has received since I first
posted it!  Thank you each of you who have visited my blog.  I would like
to let you know that I have recently posted new lace
books that you might be interested to see.
And I would so very much love to hear from you!
Feel free to leave a comment or email me.  My email is located in the About Me box on the side bar where you can click to see my complete profile.  And be looking for me to announce my new You Tube videos that I am working to share with you.  I will post a notice on my sidebar when it's up and running!
 All the best to you in your crafting fun!

Hello to you all!  I hope this finds each of you doing well, and staying warm again!!
Can you believe the weather this year??
We've been trying to slowly get the yard looking nice...no easy task!!
But the weather has been lovely...until NOW!! ARGH!!
Anyway, on to the tutorial for the lace book.
This tutorial is only going to be with pictures, because I have no clue how to make a You Tube video!!

Anyone want to let me in on the secret, then I might be able to utilize that avenue!

OK...the Lace Book that I made which I showed you completed on my previous post here, was a lot of fun for me to make.  It was my first try at a lace book, and I was quite pleased with the result!

I began by going to Pinterest and starting a pinboard called Fabric and Lace Collage which you can look at here.  I pinned any picture that was related to making books, journals, collages, tags, etc. which utilized laces, fabrics, trims, etc.  I wanted a place where I could go to for inspiration, ideas, and how to's.  The number of people who make these lovely books and journals and wall hangings astounds me with their ideas, tutorials, and gorgeous images.  I wish I could talk to each person and thank them for their time and their willingness to share their ideas!!  If you are one of them, then THANK YOU!!

To start, I found a You Tube video by Scrappin Happyxo which you can view here.

Jeannette gave a list of other tutorials (located in her description box).  Her use of cloth napkins and doilies for pages made the base for her book.  She clearly explains how she makes her books and the ideas were terrific.

I will show you pictures of my own lace book now, and how I continued on her ideas.  Please note that I did not copy her ideas exactly, but I did use her basis for pages ideas.  I did not use glue to attach any laces to my pages, but I did use it for the flowers on the front (above).  Again, great tutorials out there on flower making!  Please note: you do NOT need to use fabric napkins for your book, you could use any type of fabric.

For this book I used some old thin lovely lace edged napkins as the pages.  Between the folds of the napkin I sandwiched two pieces of felt (see below) cut to just smaller than the lace edges, sewing with a machine around the edges to keep shut.  I had to pin the felt and napkin "pages" together to keep the felt in place while I placed the rest of my laces etc. on the pages.
Below is an example of the beginning of a lace book that I am working on now, as I did not think at the time to take pictures as I started the first book!

Using napkins with matching designs made this project easy.  First, I folded each napkin into a square so that the prettiest corner was located in the upper right hand corner, and I could open it from right to left like a page in a book.

Once the "page" was open, I lowered the inside part of the folded napkin down, then cut pieces of felt for each side, left and right.  The felt is pink in the examples below.

Fold the lower portion back up, to cover the felt, and align.

Below is the napkin with the two pieces of felt inside, and folded together.  I am peeling away the decorated upper right portion of the front so that the felt is exposed.

Note: If you want the felt to be seen through your design, leave it in place.

If you do NOT want the felt to be seen behind your design, now is the time to trim the felt along the design edge allowing the design to be without felt behind it.

For this example, I would trim the felt along the folded portion to remove it from the design area.

But I decided to leave the pink felt behind the flower motif to show through.

Here is the example of the napkin with the felt pieces inside, ready to be sewn around the outside edges.  In the picture above I would sew around the bottom left, across the top, then down the right side, making sure the felt stays where it belongs by pinning it in place before sewing.  I found it fine to leave my pins in the felt while I worked on the rest of the book, but you can tack it down with thread if you prefer.

All napkin pages are now stitched together and the felt inside still pinned.

When the napkins are all stitched with the felt inside each "page", I then cut a piece of muslin in a length long enough to be folded like an accordion (folded back and forth, back and forth), with enough left over to go over the front and back of the book.  This is a way to attach each napkin page to the next napkin, making the actual book form.  This example was a piece of bleached muslin cut across the folded original piece of yardage.  The width of the material from the bolt was kept in tact, and a piece approximately 5 inches was used.  I eyeballed the cut, and made sure the piece was shorter than both upper and lower edges of the actual napkin pages so that when finished, it would not show (see above).

I had 6 napkins to work with, therefore the center of my book was three pages in.

 I wanted the folds that would be attached to the inside of the napkin pages to be just large enough that I could easily stitch them to the insides of the pages, attaching them to both sides of the pages.  One on the left page, one on the right page.  These were used between two napkins, making them into the book form.  After trying a number of times to calculate the actual size, I found it easier to eyeball it, thinking ahead about how thick I wanted the pages to be, allowing for things I would attach later.  I left enough looseness between for what I thought I would need.

approximate size of each accordion fold

pinned on the left side of a napkin

Starting at the middle of the book, I pinned the center accordian fold to the left side of a napkin (above), then another accordian fold to the right side (below).

Matching the width of the previous fold, then using a ruler or straight edge to help make the entire length straight.

finger press along the edge, then pin in place on the right side, making two napkins attached to each other with the two folded pieces.

 I continued pinning folds to the napkins, making the backing of the book from the accordion folds.  When the napkins were all attached (pinned), I made any changes that I thought were necessary for the thickness of the book.

The extra material left over on the front and back of the book from the accordion folds I pinned in place.  It makes a nice "work cover" for while I am handling it so much and saves the extra material to the outside of the book in case I want to use it there.  I found out that once it is cut...there is no going back!

Then I got out my needle and thread and sewed the whole book together with stitches through the folds into the napkin 'page' and felt.  The felt gave me a place to sew into similar to a quilt batting center.  I did not want the stitches to show on the other side of the page where I was sewing, so the felt made an easy place to sew to.  I used a double row of stitches on each fold, following the exterior of the folds, and leaving a slight bit of material between each fold for the width of each page.  It made a very nice way to attach the napkin pages to each other.  A final backing or binding of the book will come later.

Now.  Once the basic book was finished, the fun part of decorating and embellishing comes.

PART 2 Can be found HERE

This post is long enough!  So, get out your old lovelies and try your hand at making a lace book.  I am so glad I decided to try one.  Let me know if you have any questions!
Thank you so much for joining me!
I hope you each have a lovely spring (as soon as old man winter gets through with his last huff!!).

Blessings,
Doni

Tutorial For Lace Book Part 2

Previously Posted May 2014
Reposted because of high interest to be included with the part one post 
please see January 24, 2016


In my previous post I showed the construction of a Lace Book made out of fabric napkins.  The process of sewing the accordion folds to the napkin pages took me one day.

Here is the result:

As you can see, there is plenty of room allowed for adding laces and trims, whatever I desire.  After the pages are completed on the inside, I will finish the outside of the book, including the binding and covers.

Now that the book construction is finished, it's time to embellish and decorate!

This is the time to get out any and all of your stash of lovelies and pick and choose what you might want to use.  Remember, at this point, it's important to decide on your color scheme, arrangement, and placement of items BEFORE you permanently place the item in the book.

I will be sewing my laces and trims in place, but first I will pin them where I think I want them to go.  This is the part that takes me the longest, as I decide what to use and where I want it be located.  Be as creative as you want here.  It's a whole lot of fun, and the results are wonderful to see as you go. 

Layers are important.  Starting a page with a background of a lace piece, fabric, or whatever that you can build upon is a good starting place if you want.  Decide if you want to use the same background on each page, or different ones for each, or none at all.  I used a few in the first book I showed you HERE, but for the most part I left the pages plain and just added embellishments of laces and trims, etc.

When I made my first book, it was at this point I decided that I needed to go back to Pinterest and see what other people were using in their books, and as I did, I made a list of items I saw.

I have printed it here below so you can get an idea of what I gleaned:


Collage Items
Vintage rulers, rusty parts, buttons, papers, book pages, tags, music, fabrics, binding, ribbon, cardboard, cardstock, denim, net, photo album pages, book covers, ric rac, metal elements, burlap, flowers, jewelry bits and bobs, beads, wire, keys, chain, dress pattern tissue, wooden bits, muslin, quilts, batting, leather, corrugated cardboard, vintage wallpaper, handkerchiefs, fabric ribbon (ripped), fibers, tassels, stamens, millinery, velvet, felt, ripped fabric, stamped fabric, children's book pages, crystals, embroidery, measuring tape, spools, bobbins, floss, patchwork, small tiny pillows, stitching, silverware, file folders, pockets, library cards, greeting cards, heart shapes, memory chatelaine w/glass vials to hang

and the list is quite endless.  Use whatever you want to use.

OK.  Now let's see how far I can get on this next part of the book!!
Hope you are each having a wonderful spring!!
Blessings,
Doni



Pearls and Lace Thursday #131 Crochet Rose Tutorial

Do you want to try to make a crochet rose?  I was asked for the pattern by Teresa (thank you!!), and now I have a bit of a tutorial ready to share.  Let me stop right here and say this though:  I am not a great crocheter, I only look at things and 'try' to make them.  I don't know what to call certain stiches, but I can usually figure it out by looking, so please please forgive my mistakes!  Any help y'all can give me to make this correct would be appreciated.  And please forgive the less than stellar photos!!

I'm posting earlier than usual this week because I have satellite internet....
and there's a storm coming, and I wanted to be SURE and post my efforts this week!!

OK.  Here is what I'm making.

This is a three rowed crochet rose.

In the picture above, you can see 5 finished roses, the bottom one shows the back of the rose.

I will type out a copy of the complete directions at the bottom of this post if you want to copy and paste it to your computer to keep.  All I ask is that if you use it to please give credit back to me and this blog.

I used size 10 thread and a size 6 metal crochet hook.

Start with a chain of 7 stitches, and close to make a ring.  Chain 3 and then treble crochet (tc) 14 more for a total of 15 stitches into the middle of the ring.  ch. 3.  (picture below)

We will make a series of 'loops' next by skipping over three stitches of the completed tc's and then single crochet (sc) in between the stitches.  (see picture below, green stitch).  There will be a series of 3 chains, sc, for a total of 5 loops around the circle. 

Below is a picture of the completed loops around the circle. 

The loop is where the first row of petals will be stitched (below).

In the first loop, sc, 3tc, sc. Then move to the next loop (petal) and repeat all the way around.

You should have a row of five petals making the first round of petals. 

You are now back at the beginning of the first petal.  Turn your work face down and bend the first petal down.  Slip stitch over (blue thread) to the middle of the first petal (see both pics below) aiming for the loop encased in the petal stitches.

Here you can see the green loop inside the petal stitches where I am slip stitching toward the middle of the petal.

Begin a series of chain loops with 4 chains, then a slip stitch into the base of the middle of the back of each petal on the first row.  You will actually be making these loops on the back of the rose. (below, blue thread)

Inside each loop, sc, 5tc, sc. until all 5 petals are complete.  This will be your second row of petals.

Again, bend the first petal over and slip stitch over to the middle of the petal, and begin making loops for the third row of petals using 5 chains for each loop. (yellow thread).

Here is a closeup of the back of the rose, completed.  I usually slip stitch over and then tie off to finish.

Doni's Crochet Rose

http://faithgracecrafts.blogspot.com

Ch. 7, close to make ring, ch 3 then tc 14 more for a total of 15 stitches around ring.  Close circle and ch 3.

Count over 3 stitches and sc inside the tc stitch, repeating around the circle for a total of 5 loops where the petals will be made.

In the first loop, sc, 3tc, sc, repeat making the first row of 5 petals.

slip stitch behind the first petal along the loop or base of the petal to the middle of the petal. 

ch 4, then one slip stitch in the back middle of the next petal all the way around.

Make the second row of petals inside the loops by sc, 5tc, sc for each loop or petal.

Slip stitch along the back of the first petal again to the middle of the base of that petal, then ch 5.

Make these loops around the petal bases by slip stitching in the back middle of the next petal all the way around.

Third row of petals, sc, 7tc, sc in each loop all the way around.  Slip stitch a few behind the petal and tie off.

Your rose will curl up by itself, but you might want to shape it to look nice.

***

Knowing that I am inclined to making mistakes, please watch for corrections during the next week...and please let me know if you see something that needs to be changed!!

Let me know if you try this!!  I'd LOVE to see what you do!!

You can email me pictures of your roses and creations!

I am so excited to be making new friends each week as new followers come to see my blog, and as each of you leave such lovely comments!  Thank you to each of you too who join the Pearls and Lace Thursday party.  It's not a party without you!

This week's party is ready to go, so just link your url code to the link below!

Blessings,

Doni




Parties I like to join:

Mosiac Monday at http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/
Make it Pretty Monday http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/
Today's Thrifty Treasures at http://southernhospitalityblog.com/
Craftastic Link Party at http://www.sewcando.com/
Show Off Your Cottage Monday at http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/
The Scoop Party Monday http://farmhouseporch.blogspot.com/
Just Something I Whipped Up http://www.thegirlcreative.com/
Knick of Time Tuesday http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/
Open House Party http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/
Cottage Garden Party http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com/
Hope in Every Season http://www.hopeineveryseason.com/
Blissful White Wednesday http://www.timewashed.com/
Adorned From Above http://www.adornedfromabove.com/
What's It Wednesday http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/
Home Party http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/
Whatever You Want Wednesday http://www.freeprettythingsforyou.com/
What We Accomplished Wednesday http://www.greenwillowpond.com/
Grace at Home http://www.impartinggrace.com/
Time Travel Thursday http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/
Vintage Thingie Thursday http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/
Minute for Me Thursday http://marciascraftysewing.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
Feathered Nest Friday http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
Show and Tell Friday http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
It's a Hodgepodge Friday http://itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com/
Frugalicious Friday http://decormamma.blogspot.com/
A Crafty Soiree http://www.katiesnestingspot.com/
Vintage Inspiration Friday http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/
Inspiration Friday http://www.atthepicketfence.com/
Thrifty Things Friday http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/
Simple and Sweet Fridays http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/
Shabbylicious Friday http://shabbyartboutique.blogspot.com/
Potpourrie Friday http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/
Flaunt It Friday http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/
Pink Saturday http://www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com/
Sew Darn Crafty http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/

Pearls and Lace Thursday #129 Fabric and Lace Collage Construction

Hello all you wonderful ladies!!  First off I want to say a huge thank you to each of you who left a comment on my previous post.  Y'all are so sweet!!  You really know how to make someone feel wonderful!
And if you are a lace lover, you might want to stick around to the end of this post!!!

As promised, here is how I made this Fabric and Lace Collage:

It started out in my mind as to the color scheme and the verse I wanted to use.  I picked out these colors because I'm in love with pink and cream together and wanted to have something lovely to hang in my living room.

I got all the bits and pieces of laces, trims, buttons and etc.'s  I might want to use and put them all together to play with SEE how they looked.

Here is the post I did on that grouping.  Mind you, I did not use everthing I started with, and added other things to what I originally had picked.

 

Using the freezer paper method of printing on plain muslin (found directions on Pinterest), I printed out sections of the Bible verse I wanted to use, then cut them into the size I wanted.

The background fabric I used was a fleecy pink piece from Walmart, and I covered it with a gauzy piece of patterned white organza that I found from an Etsy shop.

As I laid out the verse on the background pieces, I started to cut other fabrics to go behind the patches until I had them like I wanted them.

At this point I decided that these patches of words needed a darker pink background, so I cut pieces of the darkest pink fabric to put under each word or phrase to unify the whole piece.  After sewing each patch together with dark mauve thread (using the machine), I took each piece and sat down to start the really fun part!!  A few containers loaded with laces, trims, buttons, pearls, etc. and some light pink thread to attach them with.  Each patch got special attention and details that differed from all the others.  I had enough lace trims to use a unique one for each patch!  But the colors unify the whole.

After a few evenings of sewing the doodads and goodies to the patches, it was time to pin them on the base piece.  Here is where I realized that I should probably have waited to cut the base fabrics until I could determine the arrangement.  But it all worked out because it fit nicely and still had room for the OTHER laces and trims and appliques I wanted to use.

Laying them loosely on the background, moving things here and there, rechecking the order of the words (And how to spell Philippians and make a corrected piece!), I began to pin things down.

I wanted to make sure of the whole thing, so I left it for the night.  It was amazing what sunshine and another day did for me.  I was looking at it again with some ideas for a few changes, but it stayed primarily the way I had left it.  After finishing the pinning of each object, I began the sewing and tacking.

I brought my jars of pearl buttons, a dish full of trims and other pieces to my chair where I was sewing. And I didn't drop a single button between the cushion of the recliner!!

Using the light pink thread, I started at the bottom of the piece and hand sewed (tacked) each row of lace or patches to the foundation piece. I started at the bottom so I wouldn't have pins sticking me while I worked.

This is a fun part too, as I get to touch and play with each of the laces and trims, add a button or pearl here or there as I go, and before too long, it was nearing completion!

All I had left to do was to hang it on a hanger of some type.

I found a ruled piece of wood from my Birthmother's sewing items that looked like it was a hem measuring device without the stand.  PERFECT!!

After sewing quick loops to the top of the collage piece it was ready to hang.

And here you have it!

You can see the post of this collage finish on my previous post.

 

I already have another one in mind!!!

I'm picking out the pieces for it now!!

But in the meantime, how about a GIVEAWAY???

I put aside pieces and snippets of some of the laces that I used for this current collage so that I could pack it up and send it to someone that wanted to play with some pretty laces and trims!!

All you have to do to be entered in this giveaway is to leave a comment telling me what you might do with the contents of the bag!  Simple and easy!

The giveaway will end on Tuesday night April 2nd at midnight, just six days from now so I can pick a winner next week.  Here is a quick picture of what is included in the goodie bag! Dish not included!

I have more to add, and will do so during this week.  Be sure I have your email address when you leave your comment, either include it with your comment or make sure your correct email is on your profile.

A big hug to all of my new followers!  I hit 700 followers this last week!!  WOOT WOOT!!

Y'all are all so wonderful!!

Now on to the Pearls and Lace Thursday party!!

Link up is below.  Just add the url code from your post, not your blog to the link and show us your pretties!!

Blessings to you all,

Doni

I'm joining some parties too!!

Have a look!

Mosiac Monday at

http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

Make it Pretty Monday

http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/

Today's Thrifty Treasures at

http://southernhospitalityblog.com/

Craftastic Link Party at

http://www.sewcando.com/

Show Off Your Cottage Monday at

http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/

The Scoop Party Monday

http://farmhouseporch.blogspot.com/

Just Something I Whipped Up

http://www.thegirlcreative.com/

Knick of Time Tuesday

http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Open House Party

http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Cottage Garden Party

http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com/

Hope in Every Season

http://www.hopeineveryseason.com/

Blissful White Wednesday

http://www.timewashed.com/

Adorned From Above

http://www.adornedfromabove.com/

What's It Wednesday

http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

Whatever You Want Wednesday

http://www.freeprettythingsforyou.com/

What We Accomplished Wednesday

http://www.greenwillowpond.com/

Grace at Home

http://www.impartinggrace.com/

Time Travel Thursday

http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

Vintage Thingie Thursday

http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/

Minute for Me Thursday

http://marciascraftysewing.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home

http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Feathered Nest Friday

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

It's a Hodgepodge Friday
http://itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com/

Frugalicious Friday

http://decormamma.blogspot.com/

A Crafty Soiree

http://www.katiesnestingspot.com/

Vintage Inspiration Friday

http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday

http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

Thrifty Things Friday

http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/

Simple and Sweet Fridays

http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/

Shabbylicious Friday

http://shabbyartboutique.blogspot.com/

Potpourrie Friday

http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

Flaunt It Friday

http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/

Pink Saturday

http://www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Sew Darn Crafty

http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/