One Yard Wonders Fabric-By-Fabric (Rambling & Giveaway) *CLOSED*

Is out! I am (not) famous! And I have three projects in it this time! Especially lucky since I was so busy before the submission deadline that I only submitted one rather easy (but cute! really!) project which they didn’t take, but I also included some other ideas I had, and they gave me an extended deadline to work on them. (More time, a blessing and a curse!) I’ve hinted at them over the last year and a half, and now you get to see them!


Do you remember these felt doll house chairs? (Complete with tutorial) And the pondering about whether they would scale up?

Wait, I’ve blogged about that before! But now you can see the final project. I must be going senile! I bet you forgot too. Whew, safe!

Since this is from a year and a half ago Rebecca is 4 there. I was watching a video linked on Spincushion, and Rebecca Yaker says she thinks it would be good up to 2 or so, (and she called it a ‘wow’ project, so heady!) but I think she’s underestimating children’s desire to fit into little things. So while I probably wouldn’t make it for a 4 year old, my 4 year old would disagree. And my 5yo too probably. I should have asked her what her favorite project in the book was. The hedgehog book ends? No, that’s probably me. I’m betting on the Domo-kun backpack.

Rebecca & Trish (the authors, not my daughter) expressed amazement that this chair could fit into one yard when I suggested it. Here is the logic puzzle that I played with over and over to figure out how deep and wide and tall I could make the chair, and still fit it into one yard of home dec fabric (so 36″ x 56″) and keep all the main elements with the fabric print facing a desirable direction… it was both fun and headachy! I think I’ll do another post too on how amazing it is that they took all my sketchy illustrations and turned it into such a pretty book! That was what amazed me most with the first One-Yard Wonders book, the gulf between my input and their output, as a novice contributor last time I was bewildered that they were going to make a book out of what 101 people like me sent them! But it came back so pretty!

On to my second, in no particular order, project, the book holder. This is definitely the most practical, and I’ve had to make one for a friend already.

This is the prototype, slightly saggy, as it is before I increased the pocket dowel diameter. Although any version will sag with enough weight. Not the most glamorous or novel project, but totally the most useful. I love having this on our wall, it is a great place to keep track of all of Rebecca’s library books, and when I am going through her book shelf I will pull books we haven’t read in a while and put them up there to tempt us. The design lets you see almost the entire cover of the book, which I really like. (And you get more book area for less fabric, hahaha, gotta fit it in one yard, and I wanted it BIG.) Also I love looking at this fabric! I got it when we were visiting Tokyo so it always makes me happy. Rebecca and Trish wanted me to send them this original, but some of the screen printing came off when I pre-washed it (for all I know I bought it from a bin ‘clearly’ marked (in Japanese) “Flawed Fabric, discount!”)


So I made them another one with this Ecco print. I like it too! (It is a little bunched at the top because I hung it on the same nails as my original which is a little bit narrower.)

Third and most, um, ‘unique’ project:

You’ve probably seen the folded cloth flowers on traditional Kanzashi (Japanese hair sticks), well, I was thinking about my fabric origami project (Origami Organizer) that they had liked last year, and I had a clock movement that I was going to use to fix an antique dysfunctional clock, and well, I don’t think it is quite the ‘wow’ project that the first was, more like, hrm? Ha! I envision it adorning the office of some of the more interesting admins I’ve known. I designed it for brocade – wait:

Also totally flamboyant, but more Rococo/opium den than the modern print in the book. I should have fussy cut the pieces for the book version of the clock, so that the spots would have all come out in the center of the petals, or something, but I thought that might be cheating, since it would *technically* use more than one yard of fabric. I know, I can’t believe myself, I am such a rule follower! I follow rules that I think might exist. Ha! And I worry that my oldest daughter is such a rule follower… I need to work on me before I worry about how to help her!

So, which would you make?

And, oh, the giveaway, Storey publishing is generously giving away a copy of Fabric-by-Fabric One-Yard Wonders as part of their promotional blog tour, comment to enter. (This draw­ing is for US res­i­dents only, sorry!) [edit: giveaway will be open until Friday the 6th, because that is when I will have time to close it. 🙂 ] So do tell me, which one of my projects would you make? I’d love to know. Or if you’ve seen the book, what project most strikes you?
Giveaway is now Closed!

Hmm, what would I make? There are a lot of bags and clothes in this One-Yard Wonders, much moreso than last time it looks like. Having never sewed a purse, maybe I should give it a try. Probably not though. Maybe the Drawstring Tidy Caddy (practical), perhaps the Tuffet Inspired Ottoman if I could find the space for it in our tiny crammed house (I really like the funky but simple geometry of the design), mmm, The Monster Backpack (Domo-kun!) would be very popular around here (super cute opening mouth with glottis!), the art (Toddler) smock would be pretty useful around here too, although I am *not* making all that bias tape. The Pig & Piglets! So cute how you can stuff the baby pigs in the mom, and they have little velcro noses to nurse! (But so much sewing!) Also squee worthy is the Little Girl’s Capelet! I wonder if I could talk Penelope into that… So what about you?

And don’t forget to check out some of the other blogs in this tour, past and future, for more chances to win copies of the book, and just for some good inspiration! The ikatbag review is especially nice if you want a review, & I just LOVE her blog! So much crafty cardboard goodness.

12/12/2011 Becka’s Project Journal
12/13/2011 Craft Buds
12/14/2011 Patch Work Duck Designs
12/15/2011 A Spoonful of Sugar
12/15/2011 Nifty Kids Stuff
12/16/2011 Nom Nom Nom
12/16/2011 Quaint and Quirky
12/17/2011 ikatbag
12/17/2011 Two Brown Birds
12/18/2011 Sharon Sews
12/19/2011 LBG Studios
12/19/2011 Carolina Fair Designs
12/19/2011 Under Construction
12/20/2011 Little Blue Cottage
12/21/2011 Craftzine
12/21/2011 Neuroses Galore
12/21/2011 Emily Steffen
12/22/2011 Jenna Lou Loves You
12/23/2011 Spincushion
12/27/2011 One Inch World
12/28/2011 Sew Sew Etc.
12/29/2011 While Tangerine Dreams
12/30/2011 Studio Cherie
January ’12 Lu Lu Carter
January ’12 Fiberosity
January ’12 Zuhause
January ’12 Obsessively Stiching
January ’12 No Bad Days
January ’12 Craft & Cackle
January ’12 AfricanKelli

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I know that the gift season is over, but I’m still on the lookout! I know someone special who would really appreciate the clock you designed.

I actually do have some wall space beside our dresser in our 5th wheel trailer. No shelf space so I need a lightweight shelf and this fits the bill.

Thanks! I hope it works out for you. You can always start with the little one. (Wouldn’t it be fun to make them coordinate?)

That clock is pretty awesome and would make an amazing and ORIGINAL gift so I would love to work on that and there are a lot of ideas and projects I have seen on blogs from the book! Sooo cute! THanks for the chance!!

If I were to win the book, I’ve seen TONS of adorable and useful projects that I would love to make, but of your three, the one that I would DEFINITELY be making is the little chair! We had our very first grandchild this year and she comes over to visit us every other weekend. She’s already crawling around and walking assisted, and she would just LOVE this little chair– and if I make it for her now, then she would get several years of use from it, I think! I’d probably make two– one for here and one for her at home! Love it! Thanks for the chance to win a copy of this wonderful book!!! 🙂

Thanks! If she is as much of a tumbling monkey as mine you might want to keep it against a wall so she doesn’t head over backwards! Although tipping stuffed chairs over is a game of its own, as long as you are on a rug. 🙂

Hi,

I know these are super-old comments, but I’m in the middle of making this chair (about to add the tufts…and I’ve never sewn anything except a quilt, so this is a new animal), and I’m wondering if this does in fact tip over easily? I wonder if adding something heavier than polyfil would be a good idea (reminder: I’m not a seamstress, so I have no idea what I’m doing). I’m so extremely proud of what I’ve made thus far with my one-yard…now to tuft and stuff.

Do you have any pointers for me?

Thank you!!

When I made the sample for the book out of stretch corduroy it was less tippy, partly because I stuffed the heck out of the bottom. I did all of the back and arm tufting, and then stuffed the bottom some more. If I designed the chair again I might flare the bottom out a bit, except as it was I barely barely squeezed it in to the 1 yd limit. If you have a source of that dense squishy foam near you (our Joann’s carries it) you could also cut a piece of that to fit in the very bottom, that might also make it less tippy, because the bottom would be flatter. How you do the bottom tufting probably matters too, was there even bottom tufting holding the seat and bottom together? I can’t even remember. There was in the original doll-house-scale version. If there was ours has completely come out in all the strain points because I only used heavy duty thread in the prototype. But really, although as an adult I considered it a defect my kids always considered the tipping to be a selling point, they had a great time rolling over in it on purpose, which made it even rounder. When they didn’t want to tip over they put it against the wall.

Hahaha, I was going through the comments before posting the winning entry, sorry, but you didn’t win it. There’s always Amazon though, right? They have it at a pretty good discount.

At 13 and 16, my resident girlies are (alas!) too big for the dollhouse chair now, but we have a book-loving little cousin who NEEDS that cozy reading chair with coordinating book rack.

Thanks! I think I need to make some of those flowers for our hair, I’ve never made them their proper size!

I love the first book! I’ve made a lot of projects as gifts and reserved a few for myself. Everyone tells me they love to know that their gift was home-made, unique and useful. I can’t wait to make the book holder for my 4 year old who, although an avid reader, likes to keep books on the floor to see their covers. Voila! Problem solved! Thanks for the opportunity to enter in this giveaway!

Thanks for the image, he will be in my head now when I think of this project, sounds like he really needs this book holder! Hopefully he has some wall space.

I love all three of your projects but I would make the clock first and put it in my sewing room. I really like it. Thanks for the chance to win.

I would love to have this book. Of your 3 projects, I would like to make the book holder and the chair. With 3 little grandchildren they would be a hit!!

You could even make it without the pockets, and just have them hanging sideways like they do with newspapers at the library. They wouldn’t be right side up, but you could see the entire cover.

I don’t know who I’d give it to (one of the neighbor’s kids, perhaps) but I’d love to try making the reading chair! I’ve never made anything like it before and it looks incredible. Thanks for the chance!

Thanks, I’m glad it can inspire you to create it without even a specific need! Someone else suggested making it for their church bazar.

I love the book holder, and I could totally use a new space for books! Congrats on having three projects in it, wow!
Thanks for the giveaway!

Thanks! I’m thinking about hanging one on the front of my bookcase since I’m running out of wall space!

I’m not sure if this giveaway is over, but either way, I would be all over the book holder! Congratulations on your success!

Congratulations, you’ve won! If you could send me your address I will send it on to Storey Publishing.

Eeek! I couldn’t be more excited! I just got the chance to page through the book at a quilt shop last weekend and it is amazing!–jam packed with project after project! I left drooling and hoping I could eventually purchase it! I cannot wait to get started!!! Thank you SO much! Wishing you much more success in 2012! I’ll send you my address via email!

I would love to see your clock, I’m always impressed by people who *have* a color scheme, mine being ‘clutter’!

Thanks! I think I might need to make a book holder for me, I can put it over my cluttered craft book case and just show off the covers of the ones I like most at the moment. 🙂

Congratulations on having so many projects chosen for the book. I just love the clock! Oddly enough I was looking at clock mechanisms at AC Moore just today but would never have thought about making one out of fabric. Great idea. It would look so cute in my bedroom. Also adapting the book holder to a magazine holder would make this a great project for a non child household like mine. I can’t wait to see a copy.

If you wanted a magazine holder you wouldn’t even need the pockets if you were willing to hang your magazines sideways like they do at the library. I think they would look nicer right side up though.

I mentioned to someone else, that you could leave off the pockets and just hang your magazines over the dowels, then you can see the whole cover, and don’t have to worry about the more floppy magazines falling forward at the top corner.

I love the book holder! We have a lot of books and this is a great space saver and a wonderful way to keep today’s favorites handy!

Yes, that would be fun. You can even make it out of thrifted sheets from last year, as long as they are sturdy. Then it will be recycled in a special way.

I need to make that clock. Our family room only has a clock on the Slim player, which doesn’t display when you’re actually using it to play music. I love the idea of hanging some cool fabric on the wall… and if you look close, you can tell what time it is!

Haha! Yes, you would have to look closely to tell the time! You could also add marks with fabric paint or embroidery floss, and probably even redo the hands with cardboard and glitter. 🙂

You’re the second person to suggest one for an RV, I never would have thought there would be wall space in one! I guess I’m more used to boats, but sometimes there is hull room there too…

Yes, it is rather amazing. The chair in the blue corduroy print is a stretch corduroy, so that makes it a *little* bit bigger, (mostly wider, which is not the direction I should have put the stretch, but was the direction I wanted the cords of the corduroy…), and it uses home-dec fabric that comes in 56″ wide rather than 44″, but it does fit!

I never make things that match, lack of concentration or focus maybe, but it is a fabulous idea!

Congratulations on getting three projects in the book. I’ll look it up on Amazon… I am always keen on getting new ideas. It is a shame the giveaway is for US resident only. I live too far I suppose!!

The project I would make? Ideally the three really. My baby daughter will get her own room this year so I could make the clock matching the chair matching the bookholder!
I already have an idea on how to improve on the bookholder!

For the clock: any chance you might post the pattern?
And one last question: what did you use to fill the chair?

Thanks for those ideas… More projects in my mind for 2012 now! Happy New Year

It is too bad it is US only, most of my giveaways are international, but this is shipping directly from Storey Publishing and they requested domestic only. I’m curious what you would do to the book holder, because I will probably end up making several more.

If I did release the pattern for any of these projects I would wait a year until after the book was in print as a courtesy. I’m sure you can figure out how to make a similar clock though, if you research how kanzashi flower petals are folded, and buy a craft store clock kit.

The chair is stuffed with A LOT of fiber fill. I am allergic to many foams, but you could probably use a block of that for the bottom, and fiber fill for the arms and back.

Congratulations! How exciting for you!
I would love to make two of the fabric clocks; one for my sewing studio and one for my friend Abbey. She makes tons of fabric flowers for her daughter’s hair.
Thanks!

Hah, that is great. I think it would be fun to make the clock as a montage too, with a few other half sized flowers in different patterns to go with it. 🙂

Hi Katherine,

I’m Anthony, Trend Researcher at interior trend forecasters Scarlet Opus. We’d LOVE to use the image of this clock in one of our trend forecasts for Autumn/Winter 14/15.

Could you drop me a line at anthony@scarletopus.com if this is possible?

Thanks ever so much! 🙂

Anthony Hughes
Trend Researcher

Tel: +44 (0)1482 870 360 | Mob: +44 (0)79 3316 0202

trendsblog.co.uk | twitter.com/scarletopus | facebook.com/ScarletOpus

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