Easy Fabric Bracelets

I'm finally getting back into blogging again, and what better way to do it than with an easy tutorial for fabric bracelets.

This little pattern can be made to any size.  This fits my wrist nicely, while I have made some to hold Scrunchies.  I love Scrunchies!!!!  At the end, I will tell you how to make a strap to hold all the scrunchies you can make.

Items needed:

Scraps of Fabric

scissors

thread

sewing machine

Wonder Clips/ Binder Clips/ pins (your choice)

Kam Snaps or fasteners of your choice.

To start off with, grab some material.  Just about anything laying around will do.  I used part of an old sheet to make this green one.  Now, before you get to cutting, you need to measure your wrist.  Mine came in just shy of 8 inches.  It's best for the math (I heard those groans!!) that you keep the numbers rounded to 1/2 inch.  Now, where mine measured 8 inches, I needed to add 2 inches to that for a total of 10 inches.  Pretty easy, now wasn't it.  Now, back to the material chosen, you will need to measure a strip on it your wrist measurement + 2 to get the length.  The width will stay the same at 3 inches. Need a visual?  Here you go: 

Next thing you want to do is press it in half.  I just finger pressed it here, but you could use the iron and ironing board if you want to:

Nicely pressed and about ready for the next steps. But while this next step can be skipped, I would advise against it.  You need to turn the short ends down about 1/2 inch.  This will give your bracelet a nice, finished edge:

 

These next two pictures show the next step, but I had forgotten to turn down the edges.  Trust me, you want to do that turning down first before doing these next steps. 

At this point, since you already have them open to fold the ends down, now you need to fold the long sides in to meet in the middle.  They don't have to completely meet, just come close.  And those cute little clips in the picture are called Wonder Clips By Clover.  I can't imagine using anything else now.  But in the past I have used binder clips and regular pins (still do in fact on some things).  When you get the edges folded to the center, then fold the whole thing in half again on the long edge.  Most quilters will agree that this is how bias binding is made:

 Make sure you pin/clip the open edge or all that folding will spring apart.

Now, time to go to the machine and let it do it's magic.  I sewed this with about a 1/8th seem allowance.  I say about because I didn't measure it, just kept the stitching close to the edge all the way around:

And when I meant around, that includes those folded ends.  Just pivot on the corners like this:

Here it is, all stitched up!!!  Sorry for the background change, was having lighting problems at the point.

And a close-up of the stitched end:

But what is the point of all this hard work if you can't attach it to your wrist?  I've never been great at making button holes, but if you can, WONDERFUL!!! Go for it.  My personal preference is Kam Snaps.  They go on easy, very washable, and come in an array of colors.  I first seen them recommended for cloth diapers, but they are sooooo versatile in anything.

 The Kam Snaps website has tutorials for how to attach them, but if you use them on this project, one thing you need to remember; You need to place them on opposite sides to lie flat.  Here I have one side installed, and starting on the other.

Now both snaps are on.  Can you see what I mean about having them on opposite sides?

And Tada !!!!!!  You now have a bracelet to match your outfit!!  One thing I should note, the white bracelet on the left, if you noticed, doesn't have the nice, finished end that the green one does.  It was the first one I made, and I just cut the length to fit my wrist.  I actually prefer the finished end of the left one now.

Now, at the beginning of this tutorial, I said that you can make these almost any length.  Here is my scrunchie holder.  All I did was do the strap just like I did for the bracelet, but made it bout 3x as long as the bracelet (the length is totally up to you).  Then attached snaps at both ends, but made sure they were on the same side to make a loop.  Snapped it around a hanger, and I can keep the scrunchies off the floor and clean for when I need one.

I hope you enjoyed this simple little tutorial.  Just remember to let your imagination run wild with color choices.  If you make your own clothes, then just make sure you have enough material left to make a bracelet.  If you want to make a scrunchie to match, may I suggest you go to my favorite tutorial for scrunchies on Instructables.

Cloth Menstral Pads

Ok, ok, ok, don't yell, way too much has happened for me to keep up with this blog. But I'm going to try harder.

One thing that this post will be about is saving money. Sort of. I lost my job last year just after Christmas ( and i won't go into that story) and started having a hard time getting some of the "necessities of life" for my family. My daughter has been menstrating for over a year by this time, and with buying pads becoming harder and harder to do, we finally researched cloth pads. After making a bunch, both of us give it an enthusiastic 2 thumbs up. I will supply the pattern I've been using, but we found that there are no leaking, less odors, and less waste than we had with the commercial pads.

In the research we did, I came upon a pattern similar to this, but we changed it some for our use. If you own the orginal pattern, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.

Now, on to the pattern---( I'm sorry I don't have pics to post with this, my internet connection has problems with loading pics)

You will need:
Package of washcloths (usually the 18 count washcloths from WalMart work well)
Flannel--I used a couple of yards worth for myself and my daughter, and thinking of needing some more
Sewing thread
Serger works the best, but you can also use a sewing machine with a zigzag setting for most of the work.
Snaps (press-on would be the best-- will explain more later)


First thing, open those washcloths you just bought and toss them in the washer with the flannel and wash on the hottest water setting you can. You need to pre-shrink them before anything is done, or they will shrink on you afterwards, and that is something you don't want to have happen. It might not hurt to iron them afterwards, that was a step I didn't worry about since no one will see them when they are used, unless they are doing laundry for you.

After that- you will want to lay out a washcloth on top of the flannel and either just cut, or draw around the cloth to get a square of flannel the same size as the washcloth. Or you can do the cheaters way, which is what I did. I layed out the washcloth on top of the flannel, and then serged around the washcloth, letting the serger cut away the extra flannel as I went. You should be able to do the same thing with a sewing maching, just cut the flannel after zigzagging around the washcloth.

Once done, you will have your pad completely made, just fold it into thirds and stick it where it belongs. It's best if you have somewhat of snug-fitting undies to wear them with. If you prefer the tabs, then here we go with that:

Take some extra flannel, cut two strips about 2" to 3" wide by 3" long. Fold each in half longways and sew up one end and the side. Turn right side out and finger press flat. Grab your snaps and follow the directions on the package for the press-together snaps and place a female snap on one tab and a male snap on the other. Now grab a pad, and fold it into thirds. Use a straight pin to mark where those folds are, or a marker that will wash out to mark those fold lines. Open the pad back up and place the tabs about halfway down, lining up the fold line with the open end of the tabs (it helps to keep the tabs snapped together at this point so you can make sure they line up at the same point). Give yourself about 1/8th to 1/4" room to catch the tabs in the sewing and then sew a straight line down that fold.
You can do this with regular buttons and buttonholes (that is something I never learned how to do right, plus I think it would feel uncomfortable between the legs), sew on snaps, hook and loop tape or other types of fasteners, but just remember when you choose the fastener, think about how much you are going to be snapping them on and off. This is why we chose to stop when the squares were sewn together.

That's all there is to making these. We don't use the tabs, and I haven't even made the fold lines. Since I started using these, my cycles have been lighter, so I don't need as heavy a pad like I did using the commercial ones. At first, my daughter was going to balk at using them, saying she didn't like the feel of flannel on her skin. She has since started using them and fell in love, since they don't itch like using a regular washcloth did against the tender skin ( and we both have done that in a pinch). They open flat when washing, so they take no time at all in drying.

And speaking of washing, this is how we care for them. Use, throw in hamper afterwards, wash with regular clothes. Every once in a while, I will throw them in the washer and just let them soak in cold water for an hour or two, but never had a problem with staining with them. There are some out there that keep a bucket of water by the toilet just to drop them into, change the water every day during use, then wash at the end. With two big labs, that wouldn't last long around here, but they do leave the hamper alone. After drying, I just fold them up into the pad shape and store in a bag by the toilet, so they are ready for the next time or person. Just remember to keep the fabric softener use to a minimum so they will keep absorbing like they should. I rarely use it myself, so don't have much to worry about it around here.

And figure this: We were spending about $8 a month on commercial pads ( and that is going with store name brand). Haven't used them in over 8 months now-- so we have saved over $50 so far. Now if you think my math is off, some of that money went to water and electricity use to keep them washed. My daughter is very enviromentally concious about what waste we throw away. She is happy about the less plastic we are throwing in the trash now.

ReadyMop Pads and solutions

I'm going to add to my many craft talents here as well. I sew, do beadwork, and even play with polimer clay (I know that's not spelled right, so give me a break, it's 4am here).The following is an eco-friendly version of the ReadyMop Pads and solution.

I thought I would share my pattern and the recipe I found for my Clorox Ready Mop with the world. I don't know much about the Swiffer Mop, though from what I heard, there is a way to get the cap off of the bottle and you can refill with this solution.

I'm starting off with the pads I made for my ready mop. I did 9 of these in a single afternoon, so it's not that hard to do.

This first picture shows both the front and back of 2 of the pads.

This one is a close-up of the netting I put on the front.

The materials I used were a package of white wash cloths from Wal-Mart. You know, the ones that they have 2 for $5 (the cheap ones). I'm sure you can use those Microfiber cloths that are out there, but since I'm on a tight budget, I haven't tried that yet

An old thick (in this case, an ugly pink) towel, but even another folded washcloth should work here.

And last, but not least, Nylon Netting. You can get the netting at any fabric store.

Now while I designed these using the Ready Mop pads, I'm going to put in measurements so you don't have the frustration (sometimes it's better if you have one of the disposable pads close by for reference).

For as many pads as your going to make, you need to cut rectangles out of the old towel and netting 4 inches wide by 11 (?) inches long. The length does depend on how big the washcloth is. Placement of these 2 on the main cloth is in the middle 1/3rd. My washcloths measure about 11 3/4 inches, so from one side I measured in 3 1/2 inches. I know it doesn't sound right, but it does work out. I laid the pink towel on one side, then holding it, turned the whole thing over and laid the netting on the other side. (sometimes it helps to have a clean disposable pad on hand to check the placement) Grab the sewing machine and I zig-zagged around the netting. When that was done, double check to make sure you caught the towel on the other side. That's it!! The reason why I used the pink towel was so I can make sure that the pink side is always against the head so I can use the netting as a type of scrubber. And it helps the kids to make sure the cloth is put on the right way. I ran a test between the 2, disposable pad vs. this home-made one. Honestly, the homemade one held more liquid and cleaned the floor better than the disposable one. The only thing I don't know is if this pattern could be adapted to the Swiffer Mop.

One thing I did notice is that there is some extra cloth on each side when you put it on the mop. I'm hoping that soon I can afford a serger and see about removing this extra edge for a neater appearance.

At this time, I have forgotten where I found this cleaner. But, IMHO, it works just as good as the cleaner you buy in the stores.

All Purpose Spray Cleaner (Clorox mop liquid)

1 pint rubbing alcohol

1 tbsp dishwashing detergent

1 tbsp household ammonia

1 tbsp vinegar

1 gallon Water (this is optional, as you can use a clean Milk Jug Container and tap water)

If using bought water, pour some out into a pitcher and hang on to it, or if using a an old milk jug, then fill it about half full. Using a funnel, put all ingredients in the jug, top off with reserved water (or tap water) and shake gently. Pour into a spray bottle (or mop bottle) and start cleaning.

This solution works very well with the Ready Mop, plus I keep some in a spray bottle for the counters and mirrors. So far, I havn't found anything that it won't clean. Even tried it on some nasty spots in my carpet, and it did wonders.

A friend doesn't have the ReadyMop system, so she uses it in a spray bottle with rags on her Swiffer and it does a wonderful job as well.