I have been buying the majority of my spices and herbs from the bulk bins for quite awhile now. At least a few years actually. I tend to reuse the spice containers that I had on hand from the pre-bulk-bin-buying period in my life. I would just put the little […]
patterns & tutorials - stitching school
Stitching School: Cable Cast On
I use this cast on all the time. It’s my default, if it’s not specified in the pattern cast on to use. It’s also the best cast on to show in training knitters. The thing is, the cast on method is pretty much the same as knitting a knit stitch. […]
howto - thrift kitchen
How To :: Hemming the Asymmetrical Skirt
I was going to do a different how to today, but after seeing the skirt I worked on for so long in the “to fix” pile, I made up my mind to just get it done. And then I thought to myself – I should post about redoing the hem […]
journal - knitting
Coffee Sweater :: Free Knitting Pattern!
I was pretty put off by all the leather sleeves on my coffee mugs and at one point I had finally just had enough. I just didn’t like the idea of it. So I knit a new cozy for my coffee mug from the no kill alternative – wool. And best of all, you can also use this sleeve on those paper coffee cups instead of using the card board ones or double cupping. Perfect!
fabric - patterns & tutorials
Spruce :: Sewn Fingerless Gloves :: Free Pattern!
I had pulled out a few different scraps from my fabric bin to play with. I was thinking a small something something. Nothing big. Quick. Easy. Small. Well, my hands were cold. Really cold. And it hit me! Sewn fingerless gloves! Not exactly the easy peasy tiny project I planned, but very well worth it. I dug around in what I had pulled out of the bin and bingo! Felted sweater scraps. Perfect. I had one that was the shoulder section, then another that was the bottom ribbing and a sleeve. Hmm, how to make this work. Well I figured it out and work it did! Now my hands are all toasty while I work! Spruce as in the color as well as sprucing up some old sweaters!
howto
Woven Greetings :: Weaving Cards :: How To!
Quite some time ago I was in a Knitter’s Tea Swap and my swap buddy sent me this amazing card that was a little tapestry weaving in a card. I had always wanted to make my own and when I picked up Time to Weave at the library 2 weeks […]
knitting - patterns & tutorials
Knit Sock Rockin’ :: Free Knit Ornament Pattern!
My friend Carolyn has been knitting up little mini sock ornaments like a whirlwind of crafty goodness. And I have been envious. They are just so cute! So i decided that this was just the perfect thing for leftover sock yarn and wrote up my own litlte pattern for using up this bit and rockin’ around the christmas and jazzing it up a bit with little mini replicas of socks you’ve knit over the year. And best of all, it’s a sock you can finish in just 2 hours or so! and no need to worry about second sock syndrome because you only need to make one to be done with your project instead of two.
howto
How to :: Fixing broken ornaments
Last night I had a bit of a tragedy. After I took my pictures of the popcorn garland the whole tree fell over! It was my fault. I had put all the ornaments on one side because I haven’t had a chance to make enough to cover the whole tree […]
howto - nosew - patterns & tutorials
DIY Popcorn Garland!
I love garlands. I think they are one of my favorite Christmas decorations. And my favorite type is a popcorn garland! There are so many variations that you can make:
nosew - patterns & tutorials
Paper Snowflakes :: Free Paper Craft Template
My friend Carolyn of Knitting Crimes told me the other day “you know, you should make a paper snowflake pattern. It would be a lot of fun, really cute, and make great decorations in your windows or on your tree.” Now that’s not an exact quote, but pretty close. I […]
howto
How To :: Quilling Leaves
When I was growing up I loved putting ornaments on the tree and there were quite a few that really burned their way into my mind. One in particular was curly Q’s of wood shavings, glued together, and lots of sparkly glitter. Of course the glitter was globbed on not […]
embroidery - patterns & tutorials
Guest Designer :: Free Needle Point Leaf Ornament Pattern!
I was lucky enough to be contacted by Janet of Napa Needle Point about doing a guest pattern for Craft Leftover! Splendid! Of course! And I think the fates are aligning because it was while I was working on 2 needle point embroidery kits and then doing the first sketches […]
journal - patterns & tutorials - stitching school
Stitching School :: Counting Rows
I was so happy to get a How To request over on my FaceBook wall from an old classmate of mine: “Hey kristin, I LEARNED HOW TO KNIT ! AND HOW TO PURL! AND HOW TO DO CABLES! all from youtube! I’m so excited because now i can make really […]
embroidery - patterns & tutorials
Vellus :: Free NeedlePoint Ornement Pattern
Vellus simply means Snowflake. I thought Latin would give a nice twist to the simple “Snowflake Ornament” title that popped into my mind initially. When I first started this project I mapped it all out on paper, made sure everything fit, and then after stitching the border threw it all […]
howto - journal
How To :: Transferring Embroidery Designs :: Free Pattern!
For quite some time I’ve been curious to know, “what’s the best way to transfer designs from paper to fabric for embroidery?” And “what’s the easiest way to that doesn’t use iron on transfers?” These are pretty simple questions I’m sure, but as a novice embroidery, the answers have defied […]
fabric - patterns & tutorials - redress
Laundry Loader :: Free Pattern
Our bedroom was in order. Now it’s not. What happened? Laundry. Simple as that. We have no place to put anything as far as the laundry goes (from the laundry itself to the detergent bottle lying on the floor next to it). Well, the times are a changing, we need some order. And now, we have it. Enter the Laundry Loader. Half leftover craft/project stuff, half purchased supplies, we are now the proud owners of our own laundry organizer. And you can be too!
destash - patterns & tutorials
Free Crochet Pattern: Felted Scrap Basket to Use up and Organize your Yarn Scraps
all those ends because of the felting, it’s the perfect thing to use up all those scraps. Support the Craft Leftovers pattern archive restoration project by purchasing the PDF on Ravelry or Etsy.
howto
How To :: Fabric Covered Button :: Part II
In the last How To post I said something about sewing on a button without a shank and how I would show you how at some point. Well, I decided that really, this would be just an extension of the last how to post and if you make some fabric […]
howto - redress
Lamp Remake :: Part IV :: Finished!
I am so happy to report that I finished the lamp and I am also happy that I really like the way it looks! Here is how I redid the lamp shade
howto
How To :: Making Fabric Covered Buttons
For this month’s Craft Leftovers Monthly I included vintage fabric covered buttons in everyone’s package. And one thing I noticed while looking through them all is that they are pretty easy to make (without a kit) from just a washer, some