DIY Geeky Pillow Cases

There is an often a dearth of practical geek goods that don't cost you an arm and a leg, like bedding. There are some out there, but they are often made for child size beds. The adult size geek bedding is often made out of crappy fabric --- I'm looking at you ThinkGeek and your polyester bedding! And I've been longing for my old Star Wars, Batman, and Holly Hobby ones (hey, don't judge...:-P)

(Edited to add: Someone just pointed to PotternBarn Kids, where they have QUEEN size sheets of the old Star Wars prints!! http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/star-wars-sheeting/)

I've been wanting to remedy the situation for myself. So I was at the fabric store the other day and found some geeky type fabrics in the remnant bin of soft cotton flannel with each one was about not-quite 2 yards in length. I knew the perfect projects for them, and they only cost me $5.00 per remnant.

So I got to serging and sewing.

Since standard pillows measure 20x26, the amount I got was more than enough to make a good size pillow case. Plus, as pillow cases are rectangular, it took a total of 20 minutes to make two pillow cases.

The following diagram shows the dimensions I used for the pillow case.
 

(Note: This is a quick and dirty tutorial. There are more elegant ways to make a pillow, and certainly one with more construction effort. However, this is what I did.)

1. WASH and DRY your fabric first before you start sewing. So, you know how much you actually will have before you start sewing. It'll be tragic to sew your case, then have it shrink in the wash.
2. Measure & cut your fabric per the diagram.
• I simply folded the fabric so I would have less sides to sew. However, you can also cut out two pieces of fabric instead.
•  Pinking shears are your friend!
3. (Optional) Serge all of the edges or use an zig-zag stitch (on your regular sewing machine)
4. Fold over the fabric, as shown in the diagram, and measure accordingly.
5. Pin the wrong sides together along the longer side. Sew both the long sides.
6. Turn the Top Hem by 1" all around the edge. Pin in place then sew. (You can have a bigger top hem than what I did with mine. I was just constrained by how much fabric I had.)
7. Turn right side out.

Viola! Finished pillow case!

I love flannel fabric. It's so soft and warm. Even one of the Boys helped me test drive it.

DIY: Travel Case for Pens, Pencils, and Knitting Needles

I am about to travel soon to Gallifrey One (the Doctor Who convention). This year, we are flying and I realized that I have to do some safeguarding of my knitting through airport security. Although knitting is allowed on airplanes by U.S Federal rules, whether you can take your knitting on the plane is still at the discretion of the individual security agents. I don't like taking chances, and there are many helpful pieces of advice that many knitters have imparted.

Personally, I like to stow my knitting needles in a pencil case along with a few pens and pencils. I use interchangeable needles, so I take the needles off the cables and stick them with pencils. (I also bring a small notebook for sketches and note-taking despite the electronic age in which we live).

I couldn't find my pencil case, not remembering the last time I used it, so I opted to make another. A pencil case is just single rectangle folded over with a closure (either buttons, zippers, or cord).  It took me about 15 minutes to finish this project.

1. I took a pencil and crochet hook and measured it out  -- 6 inches or ~ 15cm long. I would need fabric at least 7 inches wide (assuming a 1/2 inch  (~1.25 cm) seam allowance).

2. I found some left over fabric when I was making my ditty bags for the holidays. I trimmed it to 7" x 12".
I serged them wrong sides together into a single piece. (Make your pencil case as big as you want.)

• If you don't have a serger, you can baste it together OR
• Sew the pieces right sides together along three sides and turn it right-side out and then sew shut the open side. Make sure to press all seams.
• (I like using the serger in this manner because it's one less step for me to take.)

3. Fold over 1/2 inch (1.25cm) and sew along all other edges.

4. Right sides together, fold over and sew down approximately 3.5 inches (~8.9cm) to form a pouch with a 1/2 inch (1.25cm) seam allowance.

5. If necessary, clip the edges.

6. Turn right-side out. It should be long enough to hold several pencils, pens, and knitting needles.

7. Add a closure of your choice. I used a button, but you can also use elastic or a cord closure.
(Sammy with the finished case)

Enjoy the trip!

Custom Built Loom Stand

You know your DH loves you when he takes part of his Saturday to build you a loom stand. I had been using a small desk to prop up my Ashford Rigid Heddle loom, which was highly inconvenient. I started looking at buying the separate loom stands, but DH said he could go ahead and build me one instead.

So last Saturday, we went to Home Depot and he bought some oak, some nuts & bolts, and got to work. There was a bit of measuring that occurred to check to see what angle I wanted everything and to ensure everything was sturdy.

But in the end, I got this....

He wants to add some shuttle baskets to the edges, but for now, it's completely serviceable. YAY!

Pattern: Project or Ditty Bag

This past weekend, I needed something small to make, and one cannot have enough ditty bags for knitting projects and whatnought. So, I made up two knitting project (or ditty) bags using some fabric that I had been given by a friend:

1. medieval cats
2. cats & sushi (from my pattern holder)

Luckily, ditty bags are easy to make as it's a bunch of rectangles sewn together to form a bag. It takes less than an hour to make a ditty bag if you use a sewing machine, but it's just as easy to handsew a bag like this. If you've sewn something as simple as a pillowcase, you can sew a ditty bag.

These particular ditty bags have a flat bottom, so will stand (more or less) when you put them down onto a table.

---

Instructions on How to Make Your Own Ditty Bag

Materials You Need:

• Fashion Fabric
• Lining fabric (preferably cotton)
• Cording (for the closure) 
• Sewing machine or needle/thread

FIRST: Cut out your rectangles as shown in the illustration

• Cut 2 fashion fabric
• Cut 1 of the lining fabric

You can make them to any size. (In the schematic, I make a suggested size that should be big enough for a socks project.) However, the diagrams should work for any size -- just cut to your desired lengths.

SECOND: Sew the seams as shown in the diagram with 1/2" seam allowance.

• Fashion fabric: Sew both side edges and the bottom edge
• Lining Fabric: Fold your fabric over and only sew one edge and the bottom.

Make sure to press your seams open, as that will help in the next step.

THIRD: Sew "triangles" along the bottom of the bag, which makes a flat-bottomed bag. (In the diagram, the dotted lines are the actual sewn seams.) The triangle is 2" from the tip. You can cut these triangles off later when you are happy with how it looks.

When you turn the bags right-side out, the flat bottom should look like this:

FOURTH: Insert the lining into your bag WRONG SIDES together (DO NOT SEW...yet). Pin the lining to the fashion fabric together so it does not move. (I find that it is easy to line up the outside side seams and start pinning from there.)

FIFTH: Finish the top edges of your bag in whatever manner you choose. You can use bias tape (or french bind) the top OR fold in the edges and topstitch, serge the edges, or any motley of finishing techniques. (Note: You can also choose to do this as the last step.)

SIXTH: Sew the casing  about 2" from the top of the bag (or to your liking). You need to sew two lines that are about .75" - 1" apart, depending on the size of your cording.
IMPORTANT: Make sure you REINFORCE the area where the outside seams are located by backstitching.

SEVENTH: Carefully seam rip the outside seams between the casing lines of the FASHION FABRIC ONLY. Do not seam rip the lining. You can do this on one or both sides, depending on how you want your bag to close. (Personally, I prefer two sided).

This gives you the casing for the drawstring closure.

EIGHT: Thread your cord through the channel casing left-to-right. Repeat going right to left. (See the illustration).  Attach a safety pin to one end and pull through the channel. (you can also choose to do this only on one side (but it doesn't close as well).

Here are pictures of two bags with one sided or two-sided closures.(You can see that the one sided draw string doesn't close 100%).

There are other variations you can choose to do with this type of bag, from fabric choices to making a reinforced bottom (like my cats&sushi bag -- I used black denim as a reinforced bottom).

But, I hope you like the pattern. Please let me know what you make from these instructions!

DIY Magnetic Bookmarks for Charts

The chart holder that I had purchased came with some magnets that would

1. hold the chart 
2. mark where I am in the chart.

But, they were plain old, boring magnets. I had a magnetic bookmark that someone had given me (sans the board) that were glued onto some pretty ribbon, and thought it'd be pretty easy to replicate. I looked around online and found some --- a set of 3 for $12.00. Umm. No thank you. I love DIY, and this is really the simplest form of DIY.

I headed down to Joann's Fabrics and picked up the following:

• 30" strip of magnetic tape with an adhesive backing ($0.79)
• a spool of 5/8" ribbon ($3.50)

I picked up something bright that would heavily contrast with the Cats & Sushi fabric, plus it had to be about the width of the magnet strip. I settled on ladybugs.

I took the ribbon and cut out two lengths:

• 20" long (to fit across an 8.5" letter-sized paper)
• 13" long (to fit across half a chart)

Why this long? So that the bookmark wraps around the chart holder, so you want it to be a bit long.
(NOTE: These magnetic bookmarks are made to fit my chart holder. Your sizing might vary.)

Assembling the whole thing is pretty easy.

1. Cut out 2 magnets  (one magnet on each side of the board) in the following lengths: 
• 5" for a half-chart marker
• 8.5"  for a full chart marker
2. Placed the magnets on the ribbon, leaving a 2" space in between the magnets so it could fold around the board. 
3. Glue down the edges with a bit of superglue and wipe away the excess. (You only need to glue down only about 1/2" of fabric. Don't glue down too much....cut off the excess ribbon as needed, otherwise your magnets won't stick to the metal).

 

Viola! Magnetic bookmarks:

Overall, it took about 15 minutes to assemble the magnets. It took longer to pick out the ribbon!

iPad Accessory Case

Since I got the iPad2, I've been looking at a variety of accessories, including cases for it. Some are rather expensive, and there are mixed reviews on all of them. Until I could make a firm decision regarding what type of case I wanted, I opted to at least make something quick for myself as a modicum of protection rather than just throwing it into my messenger bag when I go out.

I have available leather as well as fabric in the house, but I opted for fabric until I was happy with what I got, as fabric is a little more forgiving if a mistake is made. (Plus I have much more fabric available).

I took some progress pictures with the iPad just to see what it was like.****

All-in-all, it took me about 2 hours to put it together. I did spend 30 minutes, trying to remember how to do a bowline knot.

Fabric Being Used

I had some left over linen fabric from a previous outfit I had created.

I also had some left over quilting material that would serve as padding for my iPad.

Quilted Pocket Finished

One edge of the quilted fabric was already sewn in bias tape, so I thought to use that as the top edges. The edges are serged for extra strength

After some sewing for both the lining (green fabric) and outer fabric (striped fabric, the pocket was finished.

Finished Pocket

Boning along the Edge

I did some decorative stitching of a vine motif along the edge of the flap, and used boning to give it a little bit more stiffness.

Finished Pocket with iPad Enclosed
Here's the finished pocket with the iPad inserted. It's a little bit bigger than the iPad, but the inner quilted pocket fits the iPad snuggly.

Closure Idea

I was playing around with the types of closures to be used. A while ago, I found a young boy's leather belt that I think might work for the closure, but it proved to be a bit unwieldy.

I opted for a leather thong & a nice brass button. The thongs are tied with a figure-8 & bowline knot.

**** (Although 1-2 photos were taken with the iPhone because the iPad was in its case. And can I say that the iPad camera just SUCKS? I know it's not on par with my regular camera gear, but the photos it took are just horrid! They only look good when resized very very very small. The "large" ipad sized photos are just waay too noisy & pixelated.

DIY Lazy Kate

Presently, I had been using the lazy kate that came with my Ashford Kiwi. It's a small little kate with two pegs for bobbins, which has been fine with just doing two-plys. However, it's problematic if I wanted to do more than two ply yarn. And, there's some issues with ensuring that there's appropriate tension being applied. Usually, I tilt the lazy kate at a 45 degree angle, or put long rubber bands around the bobbin grooves.

The lazy kate that I wanted (the Will Taylor 45 degree angle Lazy Kate), which was been recommended by several websites as well as a friend, that I got a chance to play. And I definitely did like it. The problem is having it in stock at Carolina Homespun. Not to mention, it's a bit pricey and we're trying to save a bit of money.

As DH & I do quite a bit of DIY, and really, what is a lazy kate but bits of wood and metal?!? So I decided that trip to Home Depot was in order and that I was going to fashion myself a lazy kate.

I outlined what I wanted, plus showed DH a few photos other 45 degree angle kates; he agreed it was totally do-able. I originally wanted a 3-ply kate, but DH suggested that 4 might be better. Who am I to argue?

Summary: This is a really easy project if you've got a bit of time and have done some DIY stuff before.

WARNING: If you don't know how to use a saw, then DO NOT DO THIS.
PLEASE TAKE ALL PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES WHEN USING THESE TOOLS. SAFETY IS FIRST AND FOREMOST!!!!

Materials
1) hardwood dowel about 2" in diameter ($3.00)
2) a birch wooden board 2 feet in length ($2.00)
3) 3/16" metal rod (4 feet long) ($4.00)
4) plastic miter board ($5.00) ****
5) Saw teeth for cutting metal. ($3.00)

Other items that we already had (with approximate costs)
* Wood Glue ($2.00)
* 1.5 - 2" flat head screws (or an appropriate size for your dowels). (~$2.00)
* miter handsaw (~$10.00)
* hacksaw (~$10.00)
* C-clamps and other assorted clamps (~$1.00 - $5.00)
* A drill of some sort. You need to be able to make holes in wood. We have a cordless Makita power drill driver that's we got when we rebuilt our fence. You can also use a hand drill of some sort, or get a drill bit for a Dremel. The hand-drill is the least expensive at about $20 - $30.00. (Or cheaper yet, borrow a friend's drill)

Step 1:Cutting & Glue-ing.
1. Cut out the number of dowels you need to 45 degree angle using the miter board.

2. Measure out how wide your bobbins are, and approximately how much room you need between bobbins and mark your wood board for where the center of each dowel should be.

(For example: The Xs mark the center of where each dowel should be. They are spaced evenly as possible to allow the bobbins to rotate freely.)

--------------------------

|     X         X        X     |

--------------------------

You should also mark the OTHER side of the board with the same placements. (If necessary, cut off any extra board length you don't need)

3. Glue the dowels in place. This was allowed to dry completely.***

Time: 15 minutes (at most)
Drying time: 1 full day.***

(The large dowel is acting as support for the glued dowels.)

Step 2: Adding Screws
After the glue has dried, drill holes into the underside of the board *INTO* the dowels in question using the markings you made in Step 1. These screws will help anchor the dowels in place.

Make sure you get the appropriate size screws that will go through the board AND into the dowel itself. Make sure to get flat-head screws as in order to sink *into* the wood so that it's flush with the edge.

Step 3:Sanding & Staining
Next, the whole thing was sanded down, stained, then varnished. I used the left over stain and varnish from Nona.

Time to sand down: 10 minutes
Staining: 10 minutes per staining session (3 staining sessions to get the color to match)
Drying time: 1 hour on a very hot day between staining sessions

Step 4:Adding Rods
1. The rods were clamped down then cut down to the appropriate size to hold a bobbin
2. Holes for the rods were drilled in the dowels. You don't need to drill down very far.

(The rods are removable.)

Time: 5-15 minutes

Step 5: Painting
I wanted to make sure that the Kate matched my lovely Nona. So I got out the stencils & paint I used for Nona and went to town.
Time: 30 minutes.

Overall
* Total cost for materials (not including the drill): $17.00 - $35.00 (depending on what materials you already have)

* Total labor (not including drying time): ~ 1.5 - 2 hours spread out over 2 days.

* Drying time: ~1.5 days***
* Total number of days: 2 days

(Here's how far the bobbin is from the bottom. I probably could have cut the dowels shorter.)


(Here's the Lazy Kate next to Nona)

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*** Note: Some of our dry times were a bit long because we started this when it we had wet & rainy weather; plus I wanted to ensure everything dried well. Your dry times may vary.

**** EDITED to add (2013): Home Depot allows you to cut down your wood, and they now have a mitered board that you can use. Consequently, you don't necessarily need to buy this part, if you are buying lumber from Home Depot. Your local lumber store might also cut this for you, so check with them as well.

Re-purpose & Re-use: The making of a cable needle

I'm working on the Trilobyte hat from Knitty.com's Summer '09 issue for my BIL who is a geologist. He has a lot of fossilized trilobytes at their house.

However, it does require cabling, and I walked out of the house without a cabling needle. My crochet hook is just too awkward and long to use and I'm incapable of just taking the stitch to be cabled off the hook without it laddering downwards. I was a tad frustrated at what should be a simple cabling project.

As I was eating lunch with chopsticks, I thought, "Hmmmm....." So, after lunch, I washed said chopsticks and used my scissors to score the wood so I could break it. Then using a handy-dandy pencil sharpener to give either end a point, I made myself a small cable needle.

It works just fine.

Photo taken with my mobile.