Name Applique

I've had this project on my to do list for awhile and just finally got around to doing it.  I bought two Pottery Barn Anywhere chairs off of Craigslist for a steal.  I was scoping them out because I swear my kids are monkeys and I thought they would were going to tear up my couch.  I figured if they had their very own chairs they'd leave my furniture alone.  Unfortunately, my kids names are not Julia and Thomas which were already monogrammed on the chairs, although the names are quite lovely.  I got out the seam ripper and removed one name, but you could still see the name so I needed to put an applique over it.  I tend to do things the hard way.  Not sure why that it is.  To make the applique I used a fabric paint to stencil their names on the fabric.  I used the freezer paper stencil method since it seems to work the best. Seriously if you've never tried this way to stencil on fabric it is fantastic.  You get the freezer paper at the grocery store.  Then you cut out your stencil and iron it shiny side to the fabric.  Then you can use fabric paint to stencil on the fabric.

For the fabric I had some leftover red knit.  I'm not sure why I thought that would be okay to use since it stretches when you sew it. Ugh.  So, I was in my make it work mode and fixed it by using an iron on stabilizer that I had on hand.  Zig-zagged around the edges to attach it to the chair and was done. Check!  Another project done.

My Little Heartbreaker

Happy Valentine's Day!  Here's one of my little heartbreakers.  I made this shirt for him since there are so few shirts out there for boys.  I found the plain black t-shirt at Target and used a red knit fabric that I had on-hand to make the heart applique.  The lettering I did with fabric paint and a freezer paper stencil.

I didn't get around to making a shirt for my daughter, but I did make one for her last year.  Here is the post from her heart shirt.

Heart Applique

Warning-  Anyone who loves doilies or makes doilies you probably don't want to read this post.  

I made this applique by cutting up a doily.  I promise it wasn't some antique doily from my grandma.  I bought it at the craft store for next to nothing.  I did feel a little guilty about cutting it up.  I also used a heart fabric and some bias tape.  I cut them into 3 strips and sewed them together and then cut the heart shape.  To finish it off and to prevent fraying I used bias tape on the edges. Then I sewed a few colorful heart buttons on to the doily portion and sewed it on to the jumper. 

Jessie's Shirt

I was so excited that I finished the chaps for my daughter's rodeo day, but she had another project lined up for me.  You can't look like Jessie from Toy Story if you don't have the shirt, at least that was my daughter said.  I went ahead and threw one together so she could be Jessie.  I went with a short sleeved shirt, because it is already warm here in Houston.  She already had this white knit shirt and I appliqued the yellow knit and the red trim.  It turned out super cute and she absolutely loved it.  She had the biggest smile on her face when the kids asked her if she was Jessie. 

 

Appliqued Heart Shirt

This year for Valentine's Day I wanted to make my daughter a shirt.  I wanted to applique a heart on to a plain shirt, but wanted something with a little more pizazz.  I found a shirt online that used fabric flowers and shaped them into a heart.  Pretty cute.

All you need to do is make a paper template and cut out the knit flowers.  I sewed the flowers on to the shirt by hand, but I'm sure you could use a machine as well.