Image from: thisoldhouse.com Crown molding is the decorations on the icing on the cake, and finishes off a space or object with beauty and elegance. It looks like it should be simple to do - but it's not. I painfully discovered this the first time I tried to do it myself to finish off the kinda-custom storage cabinet I made awhile back. The problem is that unlike baseboards or other trim you may use in your home crown molding involves cutting compound angles which gets, well . . . mathy. Some people try to avoid this by cutting simple casing or baseboard and place it around the top of a room the same way they would the bottom - but it's just not the same. The beauty of crown molding is not only the way it caps off the top of a wall or object, but the way it projects outward creating beautifully extending lines and shapes. Crown molding should lean out from the wall or object as illustrated in this diagram from rockler.com which creates a "spring angle." You have to keep this angle in mind as you cut the angles to get around the corners of your wall or object. I wish there was a really simple, fail-proof way to cut crown-moulding, but as far as I know there isn't really. I've heard that a more simple way to do it is by creating or purchasing a crown molding jig which will hold your crown molding in it's angled position while you use your mitre saw to cut it, but I've never been able to get my hands on one of these, and really don't know how to use it properly. Crown molding jig. I had to figure it out the mathy way. Now, I've never been much of a mathy person, but luckily I had my Dad (a math teacher by profession and DIY carpenter on the side) to walk me through how to do this as we installed some crown-molding around the fireplace pop-out we recently created in my living room. TOOLS & MATERIALS: - Crown Moulding (enough for what you will need plus extra for test pieces) - Mitre Saw (that can cut compound angles) - Measuring tape - Angle measuring tool - Pencil - Square - Brad-nailer & air-compressor - Sanding block - DAP - Paint - An extra pair of hands - Lots of patience PROCEDURE: First things first, you need to measure the angle of the corner that you need to cut around. Now, looking at my fireplace pop-out, you would assume that it has been built with 90 degree angles - and it has - but assumptions aren't going to cut it when you're working with crown molding - you have to be exact. Most corners that appear to be 90 degrees are not exactly. The trick with cutting compound angles is that the slightest mis-measurement will be amplified by the length of the adjoining angle, and even if you`re out by a tiny amount - you'll end up with a big gap in the corner of your crown molding like so: You'll want to pick up an angle-measuring tool to help you precisely measure the angles - here's 2 we used: STEP 1: Measure Hold your angle-measuring tool around the corner your need to cut around in order to measure it. Once you have identified the exact angle of your corner - you'll want to find it on a chart like this one from woodweb.com: In this instance the corner on my wall was measuring as a 89 degree angle - so in the left hand column of the chart we located 89 degrees, and then we read across the row to discover the mitre angle (35.73) and the bevel angle (30.28) that we needed to cut an 89 degree angle. OK, so what does that mean? The "bevel angle" is the angle at which you are going to set the top of your saw (the blade part), the "mitre angle" is the angle at which you are going to set the base of your saw (the bottom part). So, to cut my 89 degree angle, we set my mitre angle (bottom part) at 35.75 like so: To get 35.75 did require a little bit of estimating, because the settings on my saw aren't quite that precise. And set my bevel angle on my saw to 30.28 like so: Again, a little bit of guess-work had to happen here. So with my saw now looking like this: we were ready to make the first cut! STEP 2: Cutting You're going to want to cut small test pieces first to check all your measurements before you do the real deal. Make sure you have extra crown molding for this purpose. With your saw blade locked in position, hold your piece of crown molding firmly against the saw-bed (making sure that it is flat and flush with the back edge) and make the cut! Put this piece to the side. To get the opposite piece - leave your saw blade in it's position and flip the crown molding over so that it is back-side up. Hold it firmly against the saw-bed (making sure that it is flat and flush with the back edge) and make the cut! Check your pieces by holding them together to make sure that they fit and are lined up the right way: STEP 3: Making Adjustments Check your test pieces on your corner: As you can see - it's not quite right! If this happens to you - first double check all of your measurements and settings to make sure that you didn't make a mistake somewhere along the way. Also check to make sure that you are holding the pieces of moulding so that they are perfectly flush with your edges (because that will make a difference too) If everything is right - why do you have this problem like we did? Because cutting crown moulding is a pain-in-the-rear, finicky business and there is not a huge margin of error to work with! Remember how we had to do some guess work to find the setting on my saw? That probably made the difference! How to fix this: In order to get the tips of your crown-moulding together on the corner, re-adjust your measurements to cut for a smaller angle. In this case we cut for a 89 degree angle, so we're going to readjust our measurements and cut our test pieces for a 88 degree angle and see how that works. If you've still got a gap at the corner, readjust and cut your test pieces for an 87 degree angle and so on until the corner fits together like so: STEP 4: Cutting The Real Deal Now that you have just the right angle worked out with the your test pieces, you're ready to cut the real deal! A) First measure the length that you will need your piece of crown moulding to be (again preciseness is imperative!): B) Make your first cut at the end of a length of moulding the same way you cut your first test piece, using your saw which should be left in the same position. C) Mark the base of the angle with a pencil and square and use this as your point to measure from: Measure and mark the appropriate length on the moulding, remembering to be as precise as possible! D) To cut the other end, flip the moulding over so it is back-side up, and cut the angle about 1 inch over your mark. E) 1 cut at a time, very carefully gradually shave away at the excess until you are right at your mark: Why bother with all this fuss? Why not just cut it right on the mark the first time? If you are super-skilled and you think you can do it perfectly on the first shot - go for it! But, again, because crown moulding has to be done soooo precisely - if you cut it too short even by the tiniest amount - you will have wasted your entire length of moulding, so it is much safer to do it this way. F) Check to ensure that you have cut your piece accurately by holding it up on the wall where it is supposed to go. G) Repeat this process with the other pieces you will need: STEP 5: Dry-fitting All your pieces have been cut, and they should all be right - BUT, just to make sure before you secure them in place you'll want to hold them in position see how they fit together: STEP 6: Secure In Place If everything fits just right - go ahead and secure the moulding in place with a brad-nailer. *Note* If despite all your best efforts to be precise and accurate, you happen to end up with a corner like this that is a little bit over once it is secured: You can use a sanding block to gently sand down the protruding edge to the shape of the moulding like so: STEP 7: Finishing off Fill any cracks and nail-holes with DAP (see my post on "Painting Furniture" for more on how to do this), and finish off with a top-coat of paint!
Most often we don't pay much attention to our closets. We just stuff them full of junk and close the doors. Usually we complain that we don't have enough of them, or that they're not big enough, but lately I have been thinking about closets in more unconventional ways. It started with a brilliant front-entry closet to mud-room style nook conversion that I saw from House of Smiths and replicated for a client of mine who had a very narrow entryway, and didn't really need a front closet, but did need a place for visitors to sit and shed their coats and shoes. Click here for tutorial The fact of the matter is, sometimes, depending on your needs in a particular space, a closet can be better used for something other than a closet. One of the things that really bothered me when we first moved into our house was the upstairs hallway. It was straight, narrow, dark, and full of doors. 30 years ago the builders of my home sought to try and include everything a family would need into the space available and for the most part I am happy with that, but in the hallway, it just felt like they were trying to cram too many things in. My small hallway contained: 3 bedroom doors, 1 bathroom door, 1 small coat closet, 1 narrow broom closet, and the most ridiculously undersized linen closet I have ever seen. Broom Closet BEFORE Functionally, these 2 skinny little closets just weren't working for me. Sure they existed, which I guess was better than nothing at all, but the narrow size coupled with bi-fold doors limited what could actually be stored in the closet in the first place and made it very difficult to put things in and pull things out. From a design perspective, I had a rectangle full of rectangles. It was too much repetition. It felt crowded. I couldn't stand it. But what to do about it? Kinda-Custom Storage Cabinet First, I needed to create a different storage solution that worked better for my linens and cleaning supplies. This is when I came up with my Kinda-Custom Storage Cabinet which gave me all the storage I needed and more. With my stuff out of the way, I could concentrate on improving the aesthetics of my hallway. I had 3 main goals in mind for my hallway: light, space, and variety. In order to create some more breathing room between all those rectangles crowded together, I took out the broom closet. I dry-walled over the existing closet opening in the hallway, but didn't eliminate the closet all together (because, I do need some closets). (New tutorial coming soon: How-To Drywall) Instead I cut a hole in the side of the closet which then made it a much needed bathroom closet instead of an impractical hall closet. Eliminating this impractical closet from the hallway cut down on the number of rectangles crowding my hallway, and created a little more open wall space for artwork which will bring more variety and balance to the space. Broom closet AFTER Next I replaced the trim and doors with brilliant white, which automatically lightened and expanded the space. I chose a 3 panelled door, instead of the pre-existing flat doors, which brought more lines, shapes and interest into the space creating more variety. (New tutorial coming soon: How-To Replace Doors) Next on my hit-list was the skinny linen closet. Like the broom closet I had considered removing this closet from the hallway as well and using the space to expand my daughter's bedroom closet, but it didn't quite lend itself as well to becoming a closet in a different room like the broom closet did. Besides, I had another problem to solve. We had a fair number of books that had no official home. My children's bedrooms didn't have space for bookshelves, so their books just got tossed into their closets with their toys. My husband and I ended up keeping our books in our nightstands (which we were increasingly running out of space). My empty linen closet was looking more and more like a built-in bookshelf. It was a super-simple conversion. The shelves were already in place. I just removed the doors and hardware, filled the holes, and painted the closet interior white. I could have just re-used the existing shelves by painting them white, but I wanted them to come all the way to the edge of the opening, so I bought some slightly wider shelving material, cut new shelves and put them in. The only part that was a little tricky was the bottom. Without addressing the bottom, it did just kind of look like a closet with the doors removed, and I didn't really want to put my books right on the floor. So, I built a 4" kick out of scrap lumber and custom fit the bottom shelf around the closet opening. I eliminated another blank rectangle from my hall, added variety, and solved my book storage problem. Win, win, win. Love it!
Making your own headboard can save you money, and help you to achieve a more custom look! Materials Needed: -Large piece of plywood or compressed board -Quilt batting and/or foam -fabric -1x4 piece of lumber -Screws -Staple gun and staples -Measuring tape -Fabric covered buttons (optional) -Bolts and Nuts (optional) Step 1: Measure the width of your mattress, and the height you wish your headboard to be. (In this case 59" long, 30" wide to fit a queen sized mattress.) Step 2: Visit your local building supply store and purchase a piece of plywood, or compressed board no less than 1/4" thick. (tip: take your plywood to the in-store cutting station. Most places will give you 2 free cuts - which is all you need for this project) Step 3: cut quilt batting and fabric slightly larger than plywood (if you want a thicker look, cut foam to fit plywood and glue it on. Cut quilt batting and fabric big enough to wrap around foam to the back of the plywood) (In these photos I am re-covering a previously made headboard) Step 4: Tightly wrap quilt-batting and fabric around to the back of the plywood on both long sides and secure in place with staples. (Make sure to staple secures both the fabric and the quilt-batting to the plywood) Step 5: Fold corners of fabric and quilt-batting on ends into triangles. Tightly pull ends over and secure to plywood with staples. Step 6 (optional): Turn headboard over and staple indentations on front in desired pattern. Cover staples with fabric covered buttons if so desired. Step 7: Measure height from ground to where you want the bottom of the headboard to rest (typically just below the mattress) and add an additional 6 inches or so. Cut 2 lengths of 1x4 lumber according to measurement. Step 8: Drill 3-4 holes in the top end of your 1x4 pieces to accommodate screws which will attach the lumber to your headboard. Step 9 (optional): Drill 2-4 holes in bottom of 1x4 pieces to accommodate bolts which will attatch your headboard to your bed-rails. Step 10: Attach 1x4 pieces with screws on either side of the back of your headboard (make sure they're even) Step 11: Attach headboard to bed-rails with bolts if desired, or if bed is against a wall, simply slip the headboard in between the bed and the wall.
G H D H S H K B G W E G S S X H X P G F D N G H O N F K F F Z N K P K U B N O I G Q I C B L O Q Q L K I I T P Y I O D D W N K T Z Q X W B K W D I W G N T F M B L E I L U Q M V B A O A N X N B G G L B Y C D D Z H M A T O W L G U A O N R L...
G U I D A D I D A T T I C A Rosal ba Pan i z · L u i s a P a v e s i · L o r e d a n a F l o r i o Colore Segno Attività espressive con AUDIO CD me v o l u G U I D A D I D A T T I C A Rosal ba Pan i z · L u i s a P a v e s i · L o r e d a n a F l o r i o Si ringraziano i bambini e le insegnanti della Scuola dell’Infanzia Paritaria Enfants Paradise di Torino. Si ringraziano i bambini e l’insegnante Giovanna Ortolani per le attività laboratoriali. me v o l u
I have always found sewing anything round kind of tricky - but I've finally found a formula for sewing bolster cushion covers that works really well! TOOLS & MATERIALS: - 1 Meter of fabric - 1 Meter of piping material (I prefer to use the non-plastic type) - 1 bolster pillow form - 1 zipper (just slightly longer than the length of your pillow form) - Thread - Sewing machine - Scissors - Straight pins - Iron - Seam ripper - Pencil - Carpenter's Square (optional) METHOD: STEP 1: Measure your pillow form Using a soft measuring tape, measure the length of your pillow form from seam to seam and add 1" onto your measurement to determine the length of the body of your pillow cover. (In my case, my bolster pillow was 14" long, so with the added 1" my working measurement for the length of my pillow cover was 15") Now measure the diameter (length across the middle) of the end of the pillow form (again from seam to seam) and add 1" onto that measurement as well. (In my case the diameter of the end of my pillow form was 6", so with the added 1" my working measurement was 7"). To find the appropriate width for the body of your cushion cover, take the diameter of the end of the pillow form + 1" (in my case 7" total) and multiply it by 3.14 (otherwise known as Pi - who knew math had a practical application?). In my case this turned out to be 19.84". STEP 2: Cut your fabric a) Cut the body of your pillow cover according to your measurements (for me: 15" x 19.84") *Tip* I have found that using a carpenter's square to help me measure and mark my fabric has provided me with greater accuracy in cutting, which helps to avoid problems later on. b) Cut 2, 2" strips from your fabric for the piping just slightly longer than the width of your pillow body (in my case I cut them about 21" long), and 2 pieces of piping material the same length as the width of your pillow body (19.84" in my case). c) Cut 2 circular end pieces with a diameter in accordance to the measurement of the diameter of your pillow form + 1" (in my case 7"). *Tip* Use a compass or perfectly round object of some kind that you can trace the circle onto your fabric and then cut it out. In my case I rummaged through my kitchen until I found a pot that I had with a 7" diameter. This is what your pieces should look like: STEP 3: Install zipper a) Take the body of your pillow cover and fold it in half right-side to ride side along the length (15" side in my case). Pin along the edge and sew a basting stitch across the length with a 1/2" seam. *Tip* A basting stitch is just a temporary stitch used to hold things in place for the time being. Use the longest stitch length you have on your machine (in my case 4) and do not secure the beginning or end. b) Open the right-sides of the seam, and iron flat. c) Place the zipper face down across the length of the pillow cover body with the teeth of the zipper right against the edge of the basting-stitch seam. *Tip* Leave the zipper head hanging off the edge of your fabric so it doesn't get in your way. Pin the upper edge of the zipper to the upper edge of the fabric and sew in place using a zipper-foot on your machine (try to get as close to the zipper teeth with your seam as you can). Pin the bottom edge of the zipper to the bottom edge of the seam (make sure you don't go all the way through to the body - just get the seam) and sew in place. d) Zig-zag the edges of the zipper to the edges of the fabric for extra strength. e) Push the zipper-head down so that it sits about 1" away from the edge of the fabric. Secure the end of the zipper about 1/2" away from the edge of the fabric by going back & forth over it with your sewing machine a couple of times. You may need to rip a couple of the basting stitches in order to push the zipper-head down. Secure the end of the zipper by going back & forth over it with your sewing machine a couple of times. Secure the end of the zipper in the same way. e) Trim off the zipper excess and turn the pillow cover body right-side out. Use a seam-ripper to cut the basting stitches and open the zipper. Pull out the basting stitches. STEP 4: Sew the piping a) Fold one end of the piping strip over about 1/2" and iron flat. Fold the strip of fabric in half lengthwise (right-side out) and iron flat. Open the fabric, and place the piping material inside, against the fold, starting just before the folded over edge. Fold the fabric over the piping and pin in place as snug as possible. Sew along the length of the piping using a zipper-foot on your machine, getting the seam as close to the piping as possible. b) Trim off the raw edge of the piping, so that you have about 1/2" of fabric next to the piping. Snip the 1/2" edge of fabric (being careful not to get too close to the piping) at 1cm intervals along the length of the piping. STEP 5: Sew the piping onto the end pieces a) Mark a starting point on the edge of your circular end pieces (right-side up). Starting with the folded end of the piping, pin the piping around the outside edge of the end piece, placing the end of the piping material at the starting point marked on the end piece (the empty, folded over edge should extend past the starting point). Starting point is placed at the first snip. b) Trim the raw end of the piping so that it matches up to the starting point. Tuck the raw end of the piping into the folded end of the piping and pin in place. Sew the piping in place using a zipper-foot on your machine (try to get the seam as close to the piping as possible - this can be a little tricky). Repeat for the other end piece. STEP 6: Attach the end pieces to the body. a) Place the zipper half-way down the length of the body and turn the body inside-out. b) Position the end piece right-side in, and match the zipper seam on the body to the starting point on the end piece. Pin the outside edge of the body to the outside edge of the end piece all along the circumference of the end piece. It should match up precisely (this is why I find using the carpenter's square to measure and mark my fabric before I cut important). Repeat on the other end. Sew the ends to the body using a zipper-foot on your machine, getting the seam as tight to the piping as you possibly can. c) Turn the pillow cover right-side out and check your seams along the piping. If it's not tight enough, turn it inside out again and give it another go (this can be tricky to get right tight on the first go). When you are satisfied, zig-zag the edges for added strength. STEP 7: Stuff the pillow Turn the pillow cover right-side out and hold your breath while you insert the pillow form. It should be snug, but you shouldn't have to struggle to do up the zipper. Fluff and smooth the pillow form inside the cover until you are satisfied with the shape and enjoy your new bolster pillow!
I have always found sewing anything round kind of tricky - but I've finally found a formula for sewing bolster cushion covers that works really well! TOOLS & MATERIALS: - 1 Meter of fabric - 1 Meter of piping material (I prefer to use the non-plastic type) - 1 bolster pillow form - 1 zipper (just slightly longer than the length of your pillow form) - Thread - Sewing machine - Scissors - Straight pins - Iron - Seam ripper - Pencil - Carpenter's Square (optional) METHOD: STEP 1: Measure your pillow form Using a soft measuring tape, measure the length of your pillow form from seam to seam and add 1" onto your measurement to determine the length of the body of your pillow cover. (In my case, my bolster pillow was 14" long, so with the added 1" my working measurement for the length of my pillow cover was 15") Now measure the diameter (length across the middle) of the end of the pillow form (again from seam to seam) and add 1" onto that measurement as well. (In my case the diameter of the end of my pillow form was 6", so with the added 1" my working measurement was 7"). To find the appropriate width for the body of your cushion cover, take the diameter of the end of the pillow form + 1" (in my case 7" total) and multiply it by 3.14 (otherwise known as Pi - who knew math had a practical application?). In my case this turned out to be 19.84". STEP 2: Cut your fabric a) Cut the body of your pillow cover according to your measurements (for me: 15" x 19.84") *Tip* I have found that using a carpenter's square to help me measure and mark my fabric has provided me with greater accuracy in cutting, which helps to avoid problems later on. b) Cut 2, 2" strips from your fabric for the piping just slightly longer than the width of your pillow body (in my case I cut them about 21" long), and 2 pieces of piping material the same length as the width of your pillow body (19.84" in my case). c) Cut 2 circular end pieces with a diameter in accordance to the measurement of the diameter of your pillow form + 1" (in my case 7"). *Tip* Use a compass or perfectly round object of some kind that you can trace the circle onto your fabric and then cut it out. In my case I rummaged through my kitchen until I found a pot that I had with a 7" diameter. This is what your pieces should look like: STEP 3: Install zipper a) Take the body of your pillow cover and fold it in half right-side to ride side along the length (15" side in my case). Pin along the edge and sew a basting stitch across the length with a 1/2" seam. *Tip* A basting stitch is just a temporary stitch used to hold things in place for the time being. Use the longest stitch length you have on your machine (in my case 4) and do not secure the beginning or end. b) Open the right-sides of the seam, and iron flat. c) Place the zipper face down across the length of the pillow cover body with the teeth of the zipper right against the edge of the basting-stitch seam. *Tip* Leave the zipper head hanging off the edge of your fabric so it doesn't get in your way. Pin the upper edge of the zipper to the upper edge of the fabric and sew in place using a zipper-foot on your machine (try to get as close to the zipper teeth with your seam as you can). Pin the bottom edge of the zipper to the bottom edge of the seam (make sure you don't go all the way through to the body - just get the seam) and sew in place. d) Zig-zag the edges of the zipper to the edges of the fabric for extra strength. e) Push the zipper-head down so that it sits about 1" away from the edge of the fabric. Secure the end of the zipper about 1/2" away from the edge of the fabric by going back & forth over it with your sewing machine a couple of times. You may need to rip a couple of the basting stitches in order to push the zipper-head down. Secure the end of the zipper by going back & forth over it with your sewing machine a couple of times. Secure the end of the zipper in the same way. e) Trim off the zipper excess and turn the pillow cover body right-side out. Use a seam-ripper to cut the basting stitches and open the zipper. Pull out the basting stitches. STEP 4: Sew the piping a) Fold one end of the piping strip over about 1/2" and iron flat. Fold the strip of fabric in half lengthwise (right-side out) and iron flat. Open the fabric, and place the piping material inside, against the fold, starting just before the folded over edge. Fold the fabric over the piping and pin in place as snug as possible. Sew along the length of the piping using a zipper-foot on your machine, getting the seam as close to the piping as possible. b) Trim off the raw edge of the piping, so that you have about 1/2" of fabric next to the piping. Snip the 1/2" edge of fabric (being careful not to get too close to the piping) at 1cm intervals along the length of the piping. STEP 5: Sew the piping onto the end pieces a) Mark a starting point on the edge of your circular end pieces (right-side up). Starting with the folded end of the piping, pin the piping around the outside edge of the end piece, placing the end of the piping material at the starting point marked on the end piece (the empty, folded over edge should extend past the starting point). Starting point is placed at the first snip. b) Trim the raw end of the piping so that it matches up to the starting point. Tuck the raw end of the piping into the folded end of the piping and pin in place. Sew the piping in place using a zipper-foot on your machine (try to get the seam as close to the piping as possible - this can be a little tricky). Repeat for the other end piece. STEP 6: Attach the end pieces to the body. a) Place the zipper half-way down the length of the body and turn the body inside-out. b) Position the end piece right-side in, and match the zipper seam on the body to the starting point on the end piece. Pin the outside edge of the body to the outside edge of the end piece all along the circumference of the end piece. It should match up precisely (this is why I find using the carpenter's square to measure and mark my fabric before I cut important). Repeat on the other end. Sew the ends to the body using a zipper-foot on your machine, getting the seam as tight to the piping as you possibly can. c) Turn the pillow cover right-side out and check your seams along the piping. If it's not tight enough, turn it inside out again and give it another go (this can be tricky to get right tight on the first go). When you are satisfied, zig-zag the edges for added strength. STEP 7: Stuff the pillow Turn the pillow cover right-side out and hold your breath while you insert the pillow form. It should be snug, but you shouldn't have to struggle to do up the zipper. Fluff and smooth the pillow form inside the cover until you are satisfied with the shape and enjoy your new bolster pillow!
I have always found sewing anything round kind of tricky - but I've finally found a formula for sewing bolster cushion covers that works really well! TOOLS & MATERIALS: - 1 Meter of fabric - 1 Meter of piping material (I prefer to use the non-plastic type) - 1 bolster pillow form - 1 zipper (just slightly longer than the length of your pillow form) - Thread - Sewing machine - Scissors - Straight pins - Iron - Seam ripper - Pencil - Carpenter's Square (optional) METHOD: STEP 1: Measure your pillow form Using a soft measuring tape, measure the length of your pillow form from seam to seam and add 1" onto your measurement to determine the length of the body of your pillow cover. (In my case, my bolster pillow was 14" long, so with the added 1" my working measurement for the length of my pillow cover was 15") Now measure the diameter (length across the middle) of the end of the pillow form (again from seam to seam) and add 1" onto that measurement as well. (In my case the diameter of the end of my pillow form was 6", so with the added 1" my working measurement was 7"). To find the appropriate width for the body of your cushion cover, take the diameter of the end of the pillow form + 1" (in my case 7" total) and multiply it by 3.14 (otherwise known as Pi - who knew math had a practical application?). In my case this turned out to be 19.84". STEP 2: Cut your fabric a) Cut the body of your pillow cover according to your measurements (for me: 15" x 19.84") *Tip* I have found that using a carpenter's square to help me measure and mark my fabric has provided me with greater accuracy in cutting, which helps to avoid problems later on. b) Cut 2, 2" strips from your fabric for the piping just slightly longer than the width of your pillow body (in my case I cut them about 21" long), and 2 pieces of piping material the same length as the width of your pillow body (19.84" in my case). c) Cut 2 circular end pieces with a diameter in accordance to the measurement of the diameter of your pillow form + 1" (in my case 7"). *Tip* Use a compass or perfectly round object of some kind that you can trace the circle onto your fabric and then cut it out. In my case I rummaged through my kitchen until I found a pot that I had with a 7" diameter. This is what your pieces should look like: STEP 3: Install zipper a) Take the body of your pillow cover and fold it in half right-side to ride side along the length (15" side in my case). Pin along the edge and sew a basting stitch across the length with a 1/2" seam. *Tip* A basting stitch is just a temporary stitch used to hold things in place for the time being. Use the longest stitch length you have on your machine (in my case 4) and do not secure the beginning or end. b) Open the right-sides of the seam, and iron flat. c) Place the zipper face down across the length of the pillow cover body with the teeth of the zipper right against the edge of the basting-stitch seam. *Tip* Leave the zipper head hanging off the edge of your fabric so it doesn't get in your way. Pin the upper edge of the zipper to the upper edge of the fabric and sew in place using a zipper-foot on your machine (try to get as close to the zipper teeth with your seam as you can). Pin the bottom edge of the zipper to the bottom edge of the seam (make sure you don't go all the way through to the body - just get the seam) and sew in place. d) Zig-zag the edges of the zipper to the edges of the fabric for extra strength. e) Push the zipper-head down so that it sits about 1" away from the edge of the fabric. Secure the end of the zipper about 1/2" away from the edge of the fabric by going back & forth over it with your sewing machine a couple of times. You may need to rip a couple of the basting stitches in order to push the zipper-head down. Secure the end of the zipper by going back & forth over it with your sewing machine a couple of times. Secure the end of the zipper in the same way. e) Trim off the zipper excess and turn the pillow cover body right-side out. Use a seam-ripper to cut the basting stitches and open the zipper. Pull out the basting stitches. STEP 4: Sew the piping a) Fold one end of the piping strip over about 1/2" and iron flat. Fold the strip of fabric in half lengthwise (right-side out) and iron flat. Open the fabric, and place the piping material inside, against the fold, starting just before the folded over edge. Fold the fabric over the piping and pin in place as snug as possible. Sew along the length of the piping using a zipper-foot on your machine, getting the seam as close to the piping as possible. b) Trim off the raw edge of the piping, so that you have about 1/2" of fabric next to the piping. Snip the 1/2" edge of fabric (being careful not to get too close to the piping) at 1cm intervals along the length of the piping. STEP 5: Sew the piping onto the end pieces a) Mark a starting point on the edge of your circular end pieces (right-side up). Starting with the folded end of the piping, pin the piping around the outside edge of the end piece, placing the end of the piping material at the starting point marked on the end piece (the empty, folded over edge should extend past the starting point). Starting point is placed at the first snip. b) Trim the raw end of the piping so that it matches up to the starting point. Tuck the raw end of the piping into the folded end of the piping and pin in place. Sew the piping in place using a zipper-foot on your machine (try to get the seam as close to the piping as possible - this can be a little tricky). Repeat for the other end piece. STEP 6: Attach the end pieces to the body. a) Place the zipper half-way down the length of the body and turn the body inside-out. b) Position the end piece right-side in, and match the zipper seam on the body to the starting point on the end piece. Pin the outside edge of the body to the outside edge of the end piece all along the circumference of the end piece. It should match up precisely (this is why I find using the carpenter's square to measure and mark my fabric before I cut important). Repeat on the other end. Sew the ends to the body using a zipper-foot on your machine, getting the seam as tight to the piping as you possibly can. c) Turn the pillow cover right-side out and check your seams along the piping. If it's not tight enough, turn it inside out again and give it another go (this can be tricky to get right tight on the first go). When you are satisfied, zig-zag the edges for added strength. STEP 7: Stuff the pillow Turn the pillow cover right-side out and hold your breath while you insert the pillow form. It should be snug, but you shouldn't have to struggle to do up the zipper. Fluff and smooth the pillow form inside the cover until you are satisfied with the shape and enjoy your new bolster pillow!
In my upholstering experience I have tackled a number of arm-chairs, several stools, a couple of headboards, and now most recently, a sofa. I haven't taken on a sofa in the past partly because the need just didn't arise, but also because the size of the project was a little daunting. Now that I've done it, I can say that it really isn't any more complicated than an arm-chair, but it is more work and more time, simply because it's bigger. Re-upholstering a sofa yourself has 2 great advantages: first, you can save yourself a ton of money, and second, you can customize your sofa exactly how you want it. It's also an environmentally friendly practice preventing many otherwise good pieces of furniture from ending up in a landfill - but the advantages really end there. It is a ton of tedious, exhausting work. Re-upholstering a sofa is really only going to be worth it if you really love the lines, shape and form of the sofa. Giving an old sofa new skin is going to make it look like new - but it's not going to change the shape or form of it, so if you're not totally in love with the shape of your sofa, don't bother. If you love the shape, but hate the skin - go for it! In my case, I was looking for a fairly simple, stream-lined sofa for my new living room. Square, but not chunky, mostly modern, but with just a dash of classic charm because that`s how I roll. Something in-between this Aiden sofa from Crate & Barrell that runs for around $2849.27: And the Margot, for $1423.99: One of the great advantages to living in this day in age is that everything in fashion and style has pretty much already been done (Gasp! Yes I said that). What we mostly see now is a regeneration of old ideas sometimes with a slightly new twist. This is great for re-using old furniture, because whatever style you are looking for you can look to pieces from the past and find just what you're looking for in the present. I was headed back to the 1960s. The decade of tumult and change, free-love, flower-power, and stream-lined, minimalist architecture and interior design. And so the hunt began. I scoured local thrift-shops looking for a 1960`s sofa. I didn`t care what it looked like on the outside, I was going to change that. What I was looking for was that beautifully simple, minimalist form. I finally found one and snatched it up right away for a whopping $35: It was well worn, but solid and heavy - usually an indication that you've got a good quality piece of furniture on your hands. My husband thought I was crazy when I brought it home, but I told him he just needed to relax and trust - I had a vision (that filled him with re-assurance). This is how I made it happen: TOOLS & MATERIALS: - Flat butter knife - Flat-head screw driver - Pliers - Hammer - Staple gun - Staples - Approx 6-8 yards of upholstery fabric (more for a sofa bigger than mine) - Sewing machine with heavy duty needle - Upholstery piping (if it is currently present on the sofa) - Upholstery thread - Screwdriver - Permanent marker Optional: (if needed) - Cotton batting - Fabric covered button kit & buttons - Waxed button cord - Large upholstery needle (for buttons) - Cushion zippers (if old ones can not be re-used) METHOD: (bare with me, this is a bit of a long process . . .) 1) Remove the bottom covering: Flip the sofa upside-down so you can access the bottom and take off the legs and accompanying hardware. If you are re-using the legs, put them and the hardware aside. Using in combination your butter knife, flat-head screwdriver and pliers, pull out all of the staples attaching the bottom covering to the bottom of the sofa. Remove the bottom covering and place it aside. Now is a good time to take a peak at the internal guts of your sofa and make sure everything is in good working order. In an older piece of furniture like mine, it is typical to find a mesh-work of burlap straps like this. These can fray and disintegrate over time, and may need to be patched, replaced or re-secured. It's also good to check for loose, bent, or rusted springs that may need attention. You'll also want to check on the condition of the wood frame and see how it's holding up. In my case, some of the original burlap straps had disintegrated, but I wasn't the first person to re-upholster this piece, and the last guy did a good job of repairing the damage which was still holding strong, so it didn't need much attention from me. 2) Release the fabric from around the bottom of the sofa: Pick out all the staples from the bottom of the sofa frame, releasing the existing upholstery fabric from around the bottom of the sofa: In the case of my particular sofa, I also had this pleated flange around the bottom of the sofa which had to be removed. This was purely a decorative piece that I didn't plan to add to my final product, so I just discarded it once I had it free from the rest of the sofa. If I did want a pleated flange on the final product, I would keep this piece and place it aside until all the rest of the sofa was finished. Staples hidden on the under-side of the flange. 3) Remove the back: Flip the sofa over onto it's front, placing the back face-up. Most likely, the back fabric will be held in place by 2 metal stretchers on either side of the back of the sofa, and a stapled card-board strip along the top. Slip your butter knife under the seam on one of the sides and gently lift up to release the stretcher. You will want to save and re-use these stretchers, so be careful not to bend them too much as you remove them. Once you have them removed, label them with a permanent marker and place them aside. Here is a video showing the process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXceGNAAVIo&feature=youtu.be Repeat the process on the other side of the back of the sofa. Peel back the back piece of fabric over the top of the sofa, revealing the cardboard strip stapled along the top: Pull out the staples, releasing the back piece of fabric. If you can, try to keep the cardboard strip intact and in good shape so you can re-use it later on. Label it and put it aside (if it does rip apart on you, you can make a new one out of thin, cereal-box cardboard). Label the back piece of fabric with your permanent marker and put it aside. 4) Open & remove outside of sofa arm: Turn the sofa up-right, and release the fabric from the outside of the sofa arm. In my case it was just like the back, and was held in place by a metal stretcher on the front side, and a stapled cardboard strip along the top. Release and remove the metal stretcher on the side the same way you did in the back. Then remove all of the staples from the cardboard strip along the top. Label the metal stretcher and cardboard strip and place aside. Label the removed piece of fabric and place aside. Repeat on the other side of the sofa. 5) Loosen front pieces: At this point I decided it was necessary to loosen the front pieces before I could continue on with the sides. I began by snipping the button threads in order to release the buttons, and then placed the removed materials to the side for later re-use. Buttons in front Buttons in back Next, I had to go into the back of the sofa and discover where the front pieces of fabric were secured, then release them by removing the staples holding the fabric in place: You may want to keep a vaccumm handy to clean out the interior of your sofa - yuck! 6) Remove bottom front piece: Remove the bottom front section of fabric from the sofa and use a seam-ripper to split the seams and separate the different pieces: 6) Create new fabric pieces: Iron the separated pieces flat, and place them right-side up on your new fabric, which should also be right-side up. Cut out the new pieces using the old pieces as a pattern (*Tip* sometimes the old pieces of fabric will have several snips in places used to help maneuver the fabric through the structure of the sofa. I will cut the most obvious ones to begin with, but hold off on the smaller, less significant ones until I am maneuvering the fabric into position on the sofa and then only cut them if I find it necessary) Sew the new pieces together exactly the same way the old ones were. In my case, I began by sewing the front corner pockets on the bottom piece of fabric: Find the corner. Pin the edges together right-side to right-side. Sew pinned edge. Turn the corner inside out. Next, pin and then sew the bottom piece of fabric to the seat fabric right-side to right-side: Before I could place the new fabric piece on this part of the sofa, I first had to deal with a padding issue that needed to be addressed. Because the original sofa had a bottom pleated flange the padding on the front of the sofa didn't extend all the way to the bottom of the frame. I didn't want to keep the flange, so I used layers of cotton batting to add more padding to the bottom of the frame until it was equal to the top: 7) Position new fabric piece onto sofa: With the padding issue addressed, I could move on and loosely position the new front piece onto the bottom of the sofa: First, I fit the corner pockets until they were snug: Then I began to tuck in the edges: Tuck the fabric in to the side of the sofa. Then I came around to the other side of the sofa arm, found the tucked edge of the fabric, pulled it though and secured it to the sofa frame with staples: Find the fabric on the other side and pull it through. Secure the fabric to the frame of the sofa with staples. Once the side of the fabric was secured, I continued along the back edge of the sofa: Tuck the fabric into the back. Find the fabric on the back side, and pull it through. Secure the fabric to the sofa frame with staples. When the back edge was secured, I moved on to tuck and secure the other side. Once the back and sides of the new fabric piece was secured to the sofa frame, I could flip the sofa over onto it's back and secure the front edge of the fabric: Staring on the side, I pulled the fabric tight and secured the edge with staples. Once the sides were done, I got started on the bottom, pulling it tight and stapling it in place all along the bottom edge. 8) Remove the remaining arm pieces: With the new bottom piece secured in place, I flipped the sofa right-side up again, and began to remove the remaining arm pieces on each side of the sofa. Label and place each piece of fabric to the side as you remove it: On a older sofa like this that uses organic cotton padding, peel the fabric away carefully so as not to disturb the padding. Once I opened the arm fully, I felt like the arm of the sofa could use a little more padding, so I decided to wrap it in cotton batting before putting the new fabric on: Place a large piece of cotton batting loosely over the arm of the sofa. Trim away the excess. Tuck the batting edges into the sofa. Trim and tuck until the cotton batting fits the arm. 9) Sew new arm covering and secure on sofa: With the extra padding placed on my sofa arm, I could get back to the business of creating a new fabric covering for it. Take the old piece and use a seam-ripper to separate any seams: Lay the old piece of fabric out flat (it's a good idea to iron it first), right-side up on top of your new fabric (which should also be right-side up), and cut the new piece of fabric using the old piece as a pattern: Sew the seams together on the new piece of the fabric the same way they existed on the old piece of fabric (in this case it was just the corner that needed to be sewn together). Lay out the corner. Pin the edges together right-side to right-side and sew. Turn the corner inside out. One you have your new fabric piece sewn you can position it onto the arm of the sofa: First, fit it loosely on the arm. Tuck the edge into the sofa and fit the corner. Find the tucked fabric edge on the other side of the arm, pull it through, and secure it to the wood frame with staples. With the new fabric on the inside of the arm secured, I found it easier to tip the sofa back onto it's back to work on the front part of the sofa arm. Fold, pull, and secure the under-side of the fabric to the front of the sofa frame, covering the stapled edge of the bottom piece. Fold the fabric over and pull it tight around the front of the arm. Secure the fabric to the frame with staples along the edge, being sure to pull it tight all the way along the front edge of the arm. Flip the sofa back to being right-side up again, and use the same process you just used on the front edge of the arm to secure the top edge of the fabric to the top edge of the arm on the frame. Fold in the corner and secure with staples. With the inside piece of the arm now secured, we can finish off the arm by replacing the outside piece. Find the old outside piece which you labeled and put aside earlier. Lay it out flat on your new fabric (both right-side up) and cut the new piece using the old piece as a pattern: Next, I like to press the edges in by and inch or so to give me a nice straight line to work with: Hold your new piece of fabric on the sofa arm and figure out just where it needs to be when finished: Ironed edges to the top and front. Holding the top edge in place, flip the fabric up over the top of the arm and tack it in place with just a couple of staples along the top edge. Hold top edge of fabric in place. Flip fabric over the top of the arm, and tack the underside of the fabric in place with a few staples along the top edge. Fold the fabric back over to check the position and make sure you have the piece where you want it (needs to cover all the staples from the piece on the top of the arm). If it's not quite right, pull out the tack staples and try again until you get it just right. Should look something like this: If the position is right, flip the fabric back over the top of the arm, and re-use the cardboard strip you pulled off earlier from this section of the sofa, and secure it with staples along the upper edge, using your ironed crease as a guide: Now that the top edge is finished, you can move on to the front edge. Find the metal stretcher you removed from this section of the sofa earlier, and re-insert it into the front edge of the fabric, placing the edge of the stretcher along the ironed crease in the fabric. Poke the spikes of the stretcher through the back side of the fabric so that they come through to the right-side of the fabric: Turn the edge over so that the spikes of the stretcher are now facing inward toward the sofa: You may want to trim the top corner slightly and fold it in underneath the stretcher. Pull the edge of the fabric with the stretcher to the front edge of the sofa frame and bang the spikes of the stretcher into the frame of the sofa with a hammer, securing the front edge of the piece: Pull the other side of the fabric around to the back of the sofa and secure it in place with staples: Flip the sofa onto it's back exposing the bottom, and pull the bottom edge of the fabric tightly around the bottom edge of the sofa and secure in place with staples: Repeat the process on the other side of the sofa for the other arm. 10) Remove the front of the sofa: Now that the bottom, and both arms of the sofa have been replaced and secured, you can get to work on the front. Peel away the fabric off of the front of the sofa being careful not to disturb the padding underneath too much, and set it to the side: Similar to the arms, once I had the fabric removed, I decided that the front could use just a little more padding, so using the same method as the arms, I wrapped it in cotton batting before proceeding: Loosely fit the cotton batting around the front and back of the sofa. Trim away the excess. Tuck in the edges of the batting wherever you can, as deeply as possible. Trim and fold the batting to fit. Tack the batting in place using only a few staples. Leave the bottom open. 11) Sew new front piece and secure on sofa: Use a seam-ripper to separate any seams and detach the pieces that make up the front piece of the sofa (including any piping used). Iron out the pieces, and lay them right-side up on top of the fabric which should also be right-side up. Use the old pieces as a pattern to cut the new pieces: Pin the new pieces together right-side to right-side, and sew them together the same way as the old piece. *A note here about piping:* In my other tutorial on upholstery I showed a different way to sew piping that is effective with plastic piping, but not so much with more flexible piping materials such as this cotton piping I ended up using on this project. For this type of piping I like to cut a strip of fabric the length I will need (I usually like to make it just a tad longer that what I need, because I'd rather be long than short) that is about 2" wide. Fold the material in half, over the piping, holding it in place with pins like so: Then sew down the length right next to the piping using a zipper-foot: Once the piping is sewn, I like to pin it around the edge of the piece of material that it is to border starting in the middle and working towards the ends. Once it's pinned, I will sew it in place using a zipper-foot before adding the joining piece of fabric: *Tip* Making a few small snips in the edge of the piping beneath the seam will help you to get around corners with greater ease. With the piping stitched to the main piece, I can then pin on the joining piece and sew the whole works together with my zipper-foot, getting as close to the piping as possible: Pin the joining piece of fabric to the main piece of fabric with the piping already attached right-side to right-side, and then sew it all together using a zipper-foot. Loosely fit the newly sewn front piece onto the front of the sofa, making sure the corners fit snugly: Tuck the side and bottom edges of the fabric deeply into the cracks of the sofa until it all fits nicely. Find the tucked edges of the fabric from the back of the sofa, pull them through, and secure them to the sofa frame with staples: Move to the back of the sofa. Pull the top edge of the fabric over the top edge of the sofa and secure to the sofa frame with staples. Fold in the corners and secure to the frame with staples. Pull the side edges around to the back of the sofa and secure to the frame with staples: 12) Replace buttons on front of sofa: This is optional as not all sofa's will have buttons on the front, or you may not want them. First of all you'll need to buy a fabric-covered button kit in the size you wish to use and enough fabric covered buttons for what you will need (available at any fabric store). Follow the instructions on the back of the kit to cover your buttons in the same fabric as your sofa: Once your buttons are finished, thread a very large and strong upholstery needle with a fairly long length of waxed button cord (ideally - but I used high tension fishing line which worked just as well). Poke your needle through the back of the sofa where the buttons were previously placed, keeping your needle as straight as possible (this might take a little muscle): Make sure the needle comes through the front in the right spot (if not try again). Pull the needle all the way through the sofa and thread it through the back of your fabric-covered button: Push the needle back through the front of the sofa to the back: Pull the needle all the way through the sofa. Pull both sides of the cord tightly and tie the cord around a secure object as tightly as possible (I just re-used these rolled up pieces of fabric that had been used before on the sofa). Pull the remaining end of the cord as tightly as possible and secure it to the sofa frame with a couple staples: Repeat the process for all of the buttons that you will need. 13) Create a new back piece and position on sofa: The back is going to go on exactly the same way as the outer side pieces, it's just a little bigger (use the pictures from the side for a visual reference). Find the back piece which you labeled and set aside earlier. Iron it flat and lay it out on top of your new fabric with both fabrics facing right-side up. Using the old piece as a pattern, cut the new piece. Iron in the top and side edges of the cut piece of fabric by about an inch or so, creating a crease. Check the piece to see if it fits the back of the sofa the way you want it (if not make the necessary adjustments). Holding the top edge in place, flip the rest of the fabric over the top edge of the couch and tack the underside of the top edge of the fabric to the sofa frame with a couple of staples along the edge. Fold the fabric back down to make sure it is positioned correctly. If it is, flip the fabric back over the top edge of the sofa and place the cardboard strip you previously removed from this section of the sofa back along the top edge of the fabric on the underside and secure it in place with staples using the ironed crease as a guide: Flip the fabric back down and on one side of the back, re-insert the metal stretcher you previously removed from this section of the sofa on the underside of the fabric with the spikes sticking through to the right-side, placing the edge of the metal stretcher along the ironed crease: Turn the edge over so that the stretcher spikes are facing inward toward the sofa (trim and fold in the top corner). Pull the fabric edge with the stretcher to the edge of the sofa where you want it, and pound the spikes into the sofa frame with a hammer: Repeat the process on the other side of the back of the sofa. Pull the bottom edge of the fabric over the bottom edge of the back of the sofa and secure to the frame with staples: 15) Replace the bottom covering & install the legs: Flip the sofa upside down, and replace the bottom covering you removed when you first started. Secure the bottom covering to the bottom of the sofa frame with staples (if the bottom covering is not in good enough condition to re-use, create a new one). Replace leg hardware on each of the corners of the bottom of the sofa frame and screw in the legs. Flip sofa right-side up. 16) Cushions: To create new cushion covers, remove one of the old cushion covers from the cushion and use a seam-ripper to separate all the seams and detach the pieces from one another. Iron the pieces out flat and lay them right-side up on top of your new fabric (which should also be right-side up). Use the old pieces as a pattern to cut the new pieces. Sew the new pieces together the same way as the old ones were, placing the new fabric pieces right-side to right-side. When finished, turn the cushion cover inside out, and replace the cushion. Check the fit, and make any necessary adjustments. Repeat the process to recover all your cushions (*Tip*: if all the cushions are the same, you don't need to rip apart every cushion cover. Just re-use the old pieces you've already ripped apart as a pattern to cut the appropriate number of pieces for all of the cushions). In my case, I went to remove the cushion from the old cover, and was completely shocked at what I found. The foam cushion was so old that it had literally disintegrated into a crumbly mess. Clearly, I wouldn't be able to re-use these cushions, so I ordered 3 pieces of new furniture foam the same size as the cushions, wrapped the new foam pieces in cotton batting, and created 3 new custom cushion covers by tracing the foam pieces (top, bottom, & sides) onto my new fabric, leaving a 1/2" seam allowance. Then I sewed these pieces together with a zipper in the back and voila! I had new cushions and new covers! 16) Place the cushions back on the sofa and CELEBRATE FINALLY BEING FINISHED!!!!! TOTAL COST: - 2nd hand couch: $35 - 6 meters of upholstery fabric: $60 - Upholstery thread: $6 - Fabric covered buttons: $6 - 4 Sofa legs (2nd hand): $1 - 3 new foam cushions: $60 - 3 meters cotton batting: $60 - Staples: $6 + $234.00 Every part of my body ached after finishing this project, and I felt like I couldn't use my hands for 2 days - but I got exactly what I wanted and saved anywhere from $1189.99-$2615.27! Worth it? Oh heck YES!!!! Liked this post? Check out: "How to Re-Upholster Furniture with Wood Parts" You might also be interested in: How To Re-Upholster Furniture with Deep, Folded Tufts
Most often posts on my blog are about what-to-do, but today this post is about what-NOT-to-do in order to love your home more. I have ...
Get more from ɴᴏ sᴛʏʟᴇ x ᴡ ᴏ ᴏ ᴅ ʟ ᴀ ɴ ᴅ on Patreon
G U I D A D I D A T T I C A Rosal ba Pan i z · L u i s a P a v e s i · L o r e d a n a F l o r i o Greeting friends Numbers Colours My body Festivities con AUDIO CD me v o l u
When I moved into my house a few summers ago, I didn’t pack away my sweaters and they were selectively chewed by moths. I couldn’t bear to t...
G U I D A D I D A T T I C A Rosal ba Pan i z · L u i s a P a v e s i · L o r e d a n a F l o r i o Greeting friends Numbers Colours My body Festivities con AUDIO CD me v o l u
Sometimes you find something that's just perfect for what you need - but, it just needs a slight alteration. Sometimes making that slight alteration yourself can get you exactly what you want, and save you a lot of money. Case in point: I had this apricot fabric on hand, but needed it to be just a couple shades lighter for the ruffled pillow shams I was making. I set out to see if I could fade the fabric myself to the shade I needed. Here's how I went about it: TOOLS & MATERIALS: - Fabric - Rubber gloves - Apron (to protect your clothes) - Bleach - Measuring cup - Bathtub or other large wash basin PROCEDURE: 1) TEST: I mixed 1 cup of bleach with 10 cups of hot water and fully submerged a small scrap of my fabric in the solution for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes was up, I removed my scrap from the bleach solution, rinsed it thoroughly with cold water, wrung it out in a cloth, and laid it flat to air dry. Once my scrap was dry, I checked it against the rest of my fabric and found that it had worked perfectly, and was just the right colour! If you don't get lucky the first time like I did, leave the scrap in the bleach solution for a longer period of time until you achieve the shade you desire, or increase the amount of bleach in the solution. However, I wouldn't use more than 2 parts bleach to 10 parts water because if the bleach is too strong it can eat away at the fibers of your fabric and decrease it's quality. 2) CUT YOUR FABRIC: I was working with raw fabric, not a finished product (if you are fading a finished product you would just skip this step), so I decided to pre-cut my pieces before fading them. I probably could have just left the fabric in one piece, but I was worried that I would have difficulty fully submerging a larger piece of fabric evenly in the solution (might create air-pockets, or folds that would absorb the solution differently in different spots). My worst fear was that the fabric might fade un-evenly, and would not end up all the same shade, so I took this extra step to try and avoid that. 3) MIX YOUR BLEACH SOLUTION: Using the same recipe from my test, I mixed 1 part bleach to 10 parts hot water in my bathtub. When I was certain that I had it mixed well, I quickly added my pieces of fabric 1 at a time, making sure each individual piece was fully submerged in the solution (if you do it this way, you want to be quick about it so that the first pieces you put in aren't in the solution for too much longer than the last ones). Once all the pieces were submerged, I set my timer for 15 minutes and let it all sit. *Note* If you want everything to be the same, you'll want to do all of your fabric or items in a single batch. Slight variables can make a difference in between batches, so if you want it all to be exactly the same, do it all at once! 4) RINSE: I drained the bleach solution from the bathtub and squeeze out as much of the solution from the fabric as possible. Next, I turned on the shower and rinsed the fabric out under cold running water as well as I could, and squeezed out the excess water from the fabric when I felt it was sufficient. Next I filled the bathtub with cold water (fully submerging the fabric) and swished the fabric around in it for about 10 minutes. Then I drained the water and squeezed out the excess water from the fabric. *Note* I have read that it is a good idea to submerge your fabric or item(s) in a chlorine neutralizer solution before this step to make sure the bleach stops fading and to eliminate the bleachy smell- however I didn't find this to be necessary. 5) DRY: I debated whether or not to just throw my fabric pieces in the dryer, but instead I decided to roll each piece in a towel and air dry them. It probably would've been fine to dry them in the dryer - but again I was worried about uniformity and wanted all the pieces to dry evenly just in case that somehow effected the fading process. When all my pieces were dry I ironed them and proceeded to sew my pillow covers with all my fabric just the right shade!
Looking for an instant home update? Replace your interior doors! Next to replacing flooring, there's nothing that can up-date an out-dated home so quickly and effectively as replacing your interior doors. It can be a little tricky, and requires a little skill in order to do-it-yourself. I had been waiting to replace the interior doors in my home since the day we moved in, but I knew that it could be a some-what finicky business, and was a little intimidated to take it on by myself. So naturally, I called in the ultimate DIYer, my Dad - not to do it for me, but to walk me through the process so I could learn how to do it on my own (and of course, I recorded every step for anyone else looking to learn how to do the same!). Ah, some girls get excited about shopping for shoes, but me, I get excited about learning how to use power-tools! TOOLS & MATERIALS: - New interior door the same size (length, width, depth) as your old one - New interior door knob (opt) - Drill - Door-knob installation kit with appropriate hole-saws - Screw-driver & appropriate bits - Router - Sharp chisel & hammer - Carpenter's rasp - Hand planer - Sand-paper - Carpenter's square - C-Clamps (at least 2) - Pencil - Measuring tape - Pliers PROCEDURE: STEP 1: Remove Old Door-Knob Start by removing the door knob. Use your screw-driver to un-screw the screws at the base of the door knob (will typically be on one side). Once the screws have been removed, pull apart the door-knob on either side of the door (should come right out). If you plan to re-use your old door-knob, place it to the side with the accompanying screws. Next you will need to remove the interior mechanism of the door-knob. Slip a long screw-driver (or other long, skinny metal object) into the hole in the middle of the mechanism, place the door in between your feet, grasp either side of the screw-driver and gently tug the mechanism free from the door. Again, if you intend to re-use your old door knob, place the mechanism to the side with the other parts. This one was a little stiff, so my Dad used a hammer to knock it free. STEP 2: Remove The Old Door Open the door fully in order to expose the hinges securing the door to the door-jamb, and remove the hinges from the door with your screw-driver (leave the one side attached to the door-jamb). Set the screws to the side for re-use later on. STEP 3: Mark Hinge Placement On The New Door Mark the top of the old door, so you know which way is up (this is particularly necessary on flat door slabs like the ones we were replacing). Lay the old door on top of some saw-horses (or something else that can hold them up, level and flat for you), and lay the new door directly on top of the old door, top to top, bottom to bottom. Align all of the edges of the new door to be as flush as possible with the edges of the old door (the most important edges to have flush will be the top and the side with the hinges). Clamp the doors in place at the top and the bottom. Use a small carpenter's square to help you align the edges. Use a piece of scrap against the new door when clamping so as not to damage the new door. With the doors securely clamped together, stand them on edge, with the hinge side up: Use your square and pencil to mark the placement of the hinges onto the new door (be precise!): Remove one hinge from your door jamb (place screws to the side). Position the hinge on the edge of the new door within the marks you made for it's placement. Hold the hinge firmly in place and use your pencil to trace it's shape onto the new door: Make sure the distance from the outer edge of the hinge to the outer edge of the door is the same on the new door as it is on the old door (again, precision is important!) STEP 4: Router Out The Spots For The Hinges Set your router depth to the thickness of your hinge: Starting on the outside edge of the new door on one side of your hinge mark. Follow the outline of your pencil mark with your router. Go as far as the middle of the bottom, then start again from the outside edge on the other side and meet up with where you left off on the other side. Position your router tip on the inside edge of your pencil mark. Pull the router along the inside edge of your pencil outline until the middle of the bottom edge of the hinge outline. Stop. Repeat the same process this time from the other side of the hinge outline. Meet where you left off on the other side and stop. Once you have the outline of the hinge cut out with the router, go ahead and use the router to clear out the rest of the spot for the hinge. When you're finished it should look like this: Place the hinge in the space you have created for it to make sure it fits properly. Make sure the hinge is flush with the edge of the door. Clear away any rough edges with sandpaper, and make any other necessary adjustments to ensure a good fit. Repeat the whole process for the other hinge! *TIP* We free-handed this process, but you can buy a hinge-template for your router which you can attach to your door and follow with your router. This can help ensure greater accuracy and cleaner edges when cutting out the spots for the hinges. STEP 5: Secure The New Door Into The Door-Jamb Once you have finished cutting out the places for your hinges on the new door, un-clamp the doors. Position the new door into the door-jamb and attach in place by securing the hinges into the new door with screws: You may want to create shims out of pieces of scrap to help you hold the door in position. Get excited - but not too excited, you're not finished yet! STEP 6: Ensure Door Fits the Jamb Properly Gently close the door. If it closes easily and without effort - you're good to go! If it seems to be catching, sticking, or requires effort to close, carefully inspect the outside edge of the door, where it meets the door-jamb. Look for where the door is stuck, or rubbing against the door-jamb. Look along the outside edge of the door. If you can see a slight crack of light coming through - that spot is okay. If you see no light coming through - that spot is too tight. In this case, the bottom edge of my door was too tight, and was catching on the door-jamb. If this happens to you, mark the area where the door is catching: Use a carpenter's rasp to very gradually shave down that area of the edge of the door. Check frequently by closing the door to see if you have been able to rectify the problem. Keep rasping until the door no longer catches. *TIP* If the entire edge of the door is catching - you may want to use a hand-planer to shave down the entire outer edge of the door. Once the door closes easily and without effort, use some sand-paper to smooth the edge. *TIP* Remember that you will have to retouch the areas on the door that you have altered with paint, and this will add thickness to the edge of the door - so you may want to sand down the area a little bit more to compensate for the thickness of the paint. STEP 7: Install The New Door-Knob Start by replacing the metal plate for the door mechanism in the door-jamb. Hopefully, the new plate will be the same shape, size and thickness as the old one, but if it's not you will need to use your chisel to carve out a more appropriate spot in the door jamb. What's important about this is that the plate is flush with the edge of the door-jamb (if not, your door will catch on it). With the plate successfully installed, close the door, and mark the center of the plate onto the side of the door: Open the door and use your square to mark the outside edge of the door: This next part of the process can be free-handed, but I would suggest saving yourself a world of trouble by purchasing one of these door-lock installation kits available at any hardware store: Position the door-lock template from your kit on your door (centering it on your mark), and secure in place according to directions: Place template on door. Center on your mark. Secure the template in place according to instructions (mine was secured with screws). With the template properly positioned and secured in place on your door, use the large hole saw to cut the hole in the side of the door for the door-knob. You might not get all the way through the door from one side, so go about half-way or so from one side, and then finish it off from the other side: Next, you'll need to drill the hole for the door mechanism by using the smaller hole-saw in your kit on the outside edge of the door: Remove the template, and position the plate for the edge of the door (different from the plate for the door-jamb) over the hole on the edge of the door: Hold the plate in place and trace the edges onto the door with your pencil: *TIP* My Dad probably couldn't emphasize to me enough how great it is to have a nice sharp chisel for this next part. Use your chisel and hammer to carve out the spot for the plate in the edge of the door: Begin by hammering your chisel straight into the door along your pencil line to cut the outline. When you have the outline cut with your chisel, position your chisel flat against the door at an angle and gradually shave away the inside to the thickness of the plate. Next, you will want to insert the door-knob mechanism into the door through the hole in the edge, place the plate over it and see if it will be flush with the edge of the door once screwed into place. If all is good, go ahead and secure the plate in place with screws. If it's not quite flush, remove the plate and the mechanism and shave away a little more from the door with your chisel. Insert the door mechanism. Position the plate over top of the door mechanism, and check to see if it's flush with the edge of the door. If all is well, go ahead and secure the plate to the door with screws. Now you can finally install the actual door-knob! Poke one side of the door-knob through the side of the door (going through the mechanism inside the door) and join it to the other side of the door-knob. Secure the door-knob in place at the base with screws. STEP 8: Check For Door Rattle Ha! You probably thought you were done, but there's just one last thing! Close your door and check to make sure that everything is closing and opening properly. If your door-knob isn't turning properly take it apart and check to make sure you have it installed properly. If the door is catching, check to make sure your metal plates are flush, and that there isn't a part of the door that is still rubbing against the door-jamb. Last, but not least check to ensure that your door closes effortlessly, but also firmly and securely. If there seems to be a slight "rattle" when you close it, here's what you need to do to tighten it up: Remove the metal plate from the door-jamb and use a pair of pliers to bend the little metal tab inside the hole outward a bit. Replace the plate on the door-jamb, and try closing the door again. Hopefully the rattle will be gone, but if it's not, remove the plate again and repeat the process until the door closes with no rattle. STEP 9: Touch Ups Very last of all go over your door, jamb, and trim, cleaning up any saw-dust, erasing any pencil marks, filling any cracks/holes, smoothing any rough parts with sand-paper, and touching up any spots that need paint. STEP 10: CELEBRATE!!! (my favourite part) Stand back, admire what you have accomplished, and marvel at the difference your new doors make to your home!
Per far comprendere ai bambini cos’è un confine e a seguire una regione lo staff di #progettoinfanzia ha pensato di utilizzare un quadro di Mondrian
semeando cultura de paz nas escolas Lia Diskin e Laura Gorresio Roizman L i a D i s k i n L a u r a G o r r e s i o R o i z m a n 2 ª e d i ç ã o 2 3 2 ª e d i ç ã o
Wat is overprikkeling? Overprikkeling kan zorgen voor problemen, omdat je minder goed kunt functioneren als je hoofd druk bezig...
Ñ C U A D R O C O M P A R A T I V O S O B R E L A S G E N E R A C I O N E S D E L C O M P U T A D O R 1° GENERACION 2° GENERACION 3° GENERACION 4° GENERACION 5° GENERACION 6° GENERACION PERIODO (1946-1958) (1958-1964) (1964-1971)...
Most often we don't pay much attention to our closets. We just stuff them full of junk and close the doors. Usually we complain that we don't have enough of them, or that they're not big enough, but lately I have been thinking about closets in more unconventional ways. It started with a brilliant front-entry closet to mud-room style nook conversion that I saw from House of Smiths and replicated for a client of mine who had a very narrow entryway, and didn't really need a front closet, but did need a place for visitors to sit and shed their coats and shoes. Click here for tutorial The fact of the matter is, sometimes, depending on your needs in a particular space, a closet can be better used for something other than a closet. One of the things that really bothered me when we first moved into our house was the upstairs hallway. It was straight, narrow, dark, and full of doors. 30 years ago the builders of my home sought to try and include everything a family would need into the space available and for the most part I am happy with that, but in the hallway, it just felt like they were trying to cram too many things in. My small hallway contained: 3 bedroom doors, 1 bathroom door, 1 small coat closet, 1 narrow broom closet, and the most ridiculously undersized linen closet I have ever seen. Broom Closet BEFORE Functionally, these 2 skinny little closets just weren't working for me. Sure they existed, which I guess was better than nothing at all, but the narrow size coupled with bi-fold doors limited what could actually be stored in the closet in the first place and made it very difficult to put things in and pull things out. From a design perspective, I had a rectangle full of rectangles. It was too much repetition. It felt crowded. I couldn't stand it. But what to do about it? Kinda-Custom Storage Cabinet First, I needed to create a different storage solution that worked better for my linens and cleaning supplies. This is when I came up with my Kinda-Custom Storage Cabinet which gave me all the storage I needed and more. With my stuff out of the way, I could concentrate on improving the aesthetics of my hallway. I had 3 main goals in mind for my hallway: light, space, and variety. In order to create some more breathing room between all those rectangles crowded together, I took out the broom closet. I dry-walled over the existing closet opening in the hallway, but didn't eliminate the closet all together (because, I do need some closets). (New tutorial coming soon: How-To Drywall) Instead I cut a hole in the side of the closet which then made it a much needed bathroom closet instead of an impractical hall closet. Eliminating this impractical closet from the hallway cut down on the number of rectangles crowding my hallway, and created a little more open wall space for artwork which will bring more variety and balance to the space. Broom closet AFTER Next I replaced the trim and doors with brilliant white, which automatically lightened and expanded the space. I chose a 3 panelled door, instead of the pre-existing flat doors, which brought more lines, shapes and interest into the space creating more variety. (New tutorial coming soon: How-To Replace Doors) Next on my hit-list was the skinny linen closet. Like the broom closet I had considered removing this closet from the hallway as well and using the space to expand my daughter's bedroom closet, but it didn't quite lend itself as well to becoming a closet in a different room like the broom closet did. Besides, I had another problem to solve. We had a fair number of books that had no official home. My children's bedrooms didn't have space for bookshelves, so their books just got tossed into their closets with their toys. My husband and I ended up keeping our books in our nightstands (which we were increasingly running out of space). My empty linen closet was looking more and more like a built-in bookshelf. It was a super-simple conversion. The shelves were already in place. I just removed the doors and hardware, filled the holes, and painted the closet interior white. I could have just re-used the existing shelves by painting them white, but I wanted them to come all the way to the edge of the opening, so I bought some slightly wider shelving material, cut new shelves and put them in. The only part that was a little tricky was the bottom. Without addressing the bottom, it did just kind of look like a closet with the doors removed, and I didn't really want to put my books right on the floor. So, I built a 4" kick out of scrap lumber and custom fit the bottom shelf around the closet opening. I eliminated another blank rectangle from my hall, added variety, and solved my book storage problem. Win, win, win. Love it!
Do you want to learn how to add shadows to your lettering? You've come to the right place. Hey, creative people! I’m RK Sanchez, also known as Skribsinner on social media. I am a self-taught lettering and modern calligraphy artist from the Philippines. I started my modern calligraphy journey in…
Get more from obscurus-sims on Patreon
Download high quality ending sounds worksheets and activities on d, g, n, p, t, x for preschool or kindergarten class. Free printable included!
Nom:…………………………… Data:……………………………………………………. * Busca en aquesta sopa de lletres 7 paraules relacionades amb el carnaval. C A R N E S T O L T E S A T E T A Z E R D S Q W R G R Y S F W T F A M R N N B U B E Q Y G Z N T A O E I F S M U H X R...
