Sewing Projects

Sewing Friends:

I just helped my neighbor dress up her bathroom.  I think one of the most fun and easiest rooms to decorate and dress up is the bathroom.  It is probably the least expensive room to do, too.  With a little fabric, you can have a totally different and unique look.  Most of the items are really very simple sewing projects that even a beginner can sew. 

If you have been away from sewing for a while and want to get back to it, this is a great way to get your creative juices flowing once again.  The sewing is easy and the rewards are great.  Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Add a special touch to your bathrooms with a special fabric theme or your favorite sewing techniques.  Use a floral or stripes or a combination of plain and fancy fabrics.  For kids, teens or adult bathrooms, decorate with printed sheets of their favorite characters or sport. 

Linens are a great source of fabric for a lot of your sewing projects.  However, you might prefer to use home dec fabrics or other everyday or special fabrics as well . . .whatever you like.

Sew shower curtains, window curtains, tissue box covers, wastebasket covers or decorate your towels.  You can even cover your toilet seat and water tank or add a fabric covered frame on your mirror.  The choice is yours.  You are the designer. 

Pillow cases are great for sewing small window curtains.  Why not use some of those old embroidered vintage pillow cases with crocheted edges that you have in your cedar chest?

Pillow cases make great laundry bags, too.

Use that old lace table cloth to make valances for your bathroom window and for the shower.  Add a rich color like burgundy and deep green or blue or even old rose for the shower and window curtains for an old world, elegant look.

If you have a small table, chest or shelf unit, dress it up with fabric.  Recover the bathroom stool or vanity chair.  Put a skirt on it.  Sew it, glue it or staple it.  There is no end to what you can do with a little imagination. 

For you quilters, think about making a patchwork bathroom and use up some of your stash.  That quilt top that you made and never quilted might just make a glorious shower curtain.

For those of you who appliqué or do machine embroidery, here is your chance to really do your thing and show off your work.  Instead of making a wall hanging, turn it into a shower curtain.

Even those of you interested in heirloom sewing, wouldn’t a bathroom decorated with heirloom sewing techniques be just lovely?

Draw out your design plan on paper to determine what fabric and notions that you might need.  Check out what you have on hand and then, make a shopping list for the rest.  You might already have some “good stuff” that you can recycle into a really special bathroom décor. 

Why not use your favorite things in the bathroom?  It just makes sense!
 

Sew A Shower Curtain 

See this post to learn how to sew really simple custom shower curtains:

http://sewingprojecttips.com/2007/04/06/easy-way-to-sew-custom-shower-curtains/

Sew A Tie Back For Your Shower Curtain

• With the piece of fabric that is left from the sheet that you used to make the shower curtain, sew a tie back.

• Decide how wide you want the tie back to be.  Example:  4 inches wide finished.
• Double that number plus add two 1/2 inch seam allowances or 1 inch.  Example:  2 x 4 = 8 + 1 = 9 inches wide.

• Decide how long you want the tie back to be.  Use a tape measure to hold back a curtain to see what length you like.  Example:  38 inches for a 19 inch finished tie back.  Add two 1/2 inch seam allowances or 1 inch to that number.  (38 + 1 = 39)

• Cut the fabric about 39 inches long by 9 inches wide to have a finished tie back 19 x 4.

Note:  You may want to interface the tie back to give it a little more body.

• Bring the long edges together and make a 1/2 inch seam.

• Sandwich press and then press the seam open.

• Turn the tie back right side out centering the seam in the middle of the back of the tie back.

• Recheck the length of the tie back to see if this is how long you want it to be.

• Fold in the raw edges at each end and stitch closed.

• Sew a small curtain ring at each end of the tie back.

• Install a cup hook or a stick-on hook to hold the rings of the tie back in place.

Note:  If you are designing a dressy or vintage bath room, use a decorative drapery cord tie-back holder and a drapery cord with a tassel as the shower curtain tie back.   Use decorative braids, trims or fringe, too.

Decorate Towels

• Purchase some plain towels of different sizes to match your décor or use some you already have.

• Make sure to preshrink the towels and all decorative trims prior to sewing them

• Dress up your towels to match or contrast with your new shower curtain. 

• Monogram them, appliqué them, embroidery them, stitch some trim on them or whatever.

• Cut strips of fabric left over from your shower curtain project to stitch across the border of your towels.

• Add some braid or other trims like rickrack or ball fringe.

• Keep in mind that these towels may be going through the laundry quite often unless they are strictly decorative towels that won’t actually be used.

Sew a Shower or Bath Mitt

• Decorate small fingertip towels and sew them into shower or bath mitts.

• One fingertip towel makes two bath mitts.

• Fold the towel in half lengthwise and cut.  You now have two halves.  Each half will make one mitt.

• Place right sides together folding the half towel width wise.

• Stitch a 1/4 inch seam across the bottom and up the sides leaving the top open.

• Round the corners at the bottom of the mitt, if desired.

•  Lay a small saucer along the edges to draw the right curve on each side.

•   Stitch along the drawn line.

•   Trim away the excess fabric leaving 1/4 inch seam allowance.

• Finish the bottom edge with zigzag stitches to keep from fraying.

• Turn the mitt right side out.

• Add a matching fabric or a bias tape loop to one corner of the mitt if desired.

Enjoy your new bathroom décor!  It just makes sense!

To Your Sewing Success,
Marian Lewis

1st Step To Sewing Success
http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com

Sewing Projects Tips Sewing Blog
http://sewingprojecttips.com

Sewing Success Sewing Blog
http://1ststeptosewingsuccess.blogspot.com
 

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 at 10:00 am and is filed under Sewing Projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.