I love the children's book by Simms Tabak called Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. The moral of the story is that "You can always make something from nothing." I try to live by that principle, or at least by making do with what I have. So, when I was given a nice white cotton sheet with a tear in it, I knew that it still had lots of life. I didn't quite make something from nothing, but it's close enough in my opinion.
Sorry, the tear is not shown, I already starting cutting into the sheet before I thought to take a picture of it. |
At my house, we use a lot of cloths to wipe sticky hands and faces. We were in sore need of a few more. So, face cloths were the first of many projects that I will undertake with this ripped sheet.
Now, you can probably tell by the imperfect looking stitches on my cloths that I am a beginner sewer. This is a project that even the most beginner of sewers can undertake, as face cloths for babies don't really need to look perfect. Most of you who read this blog don't need a step-by-step on how to make cloths, but if you do, read on. Click through for the rest of the tutorial.
Start by tearing the sheet into 9 inch strips. I wanted the cloths to be study enough to withstand a super sticky face, so I made them "2-ply." (Is that a term outside of the toilet paper world?) To do this, cut each strip into 18 inch sections - you'll have a 9x 18 inch rectangle for each cloth. Fold your rectangle in half.
If you only have enough fabric to make a 7 by 9 piece, that's okay too. |
Next, take your fabric square and sew around three of the edges leaving a hole on one of the sides. You don't need to sew around the folded edge. You'll turn the cloth inside out through the hole - so make it about 2 or 3 inches long. I usually use the edge of my presser foot as a guide, and that's what I did this time too.
Now, you'll turn your cloth right side out, and top-stitch around all four edges. Again use the edge of your presser foot as a guide. Your finished product will look like this:
You can stop here, or you can have fun with your sewing machine's decorative stitches. My sewing machine is pretty basic, but it does have a cute scallop decorative stitch that I had never used before. I made a bunch of cloths - some to use as rags, and some to use for faces. I used the decorative stitch to tell the difference between the two.
When you are finished - admire your handy work - you've just made something from (almost) nothing!
3 comments:
I don't think I've ever used any of the decorative stitches on my machine and I actually have quite a few. This seems like a good way to distinguish what each cloth is for.
fantastic idea! I love the little extra pop that the scalloped stitch adds. and I agree it's a great way to organize which cloth is for what.
i made mine from a printed flannel sheet so the top stitching wasn't necessary I'm a bit on the lazy side
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