Tag: Sewing

Corn Bags

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Heating up my corn bags at night is one of my favorite parts of the day.  I get a touch of sadness when the weather becomes too warm to rationalize my corn bag.  

Corn bags or heating pads, or whatever you want to call them, are these lovely filled bags which can be heated in the microwave and used for achey bodies or just for coziness and warmth.  

What I love about this project is that it’s a really great way for novice sewers to practice sewing.

Here’s the basic idea:

–Cut a piece of 100% cotton fabric into the size you want. 

  This is another part I love about this project.  It’s a GREAT way to reuse fabric.  I’ve heard of people using cloth napkins they found at thrift shops, knee-high socks, bits from clothing that may have been holey or stained in parts and unable to go to a donation store.  Just make sure your fabric is 100% cotton and doesn’t have any gold-type threads or glitter on it, since it will be going in the microwave.

–Cut your fabric to the size you want. 

  Since I’m a self-taught sewer, I really don’t deal in preciseness and measurement the same way others might.  So, if you’re feeling you need that, check out some online tutorials on this topic.  Regardless, the first step would be to decide if you want a heating bag to go around your neck or on your back or by your feet at night.  Play around with what size will work best for you.  My daughter and I recently sewed these bitty corn bags for her to use at night.

–With the fabric right sides together, you will sew all but one side.  Be sure to back stitch at the beginning and the end.  I always like to sew around the border twice, just to be sure that the corn doesn’t have a chance of escape.

–I usually like to wash my fabric at this point, if I haven’t already, just to be sure it’s clean.

–Next, once your fabric is right sides out again, you will fill the bag with your choice of filling. 

  Some people like to use rice.  I’ve always used something called feed corn.  I find this at a local feed store for ridiculously cheap.  You could probably also find it a tractor type store.  I personally can’t stand supporting Amazon or Walmart, so I always look for something local.  Sometimes the corn needs to be picked through I’ve heard, if there are hay bits, etc.  But the $4, 10 pound bag I get is always very clean.  The one piece of advice I will strongly encourage though, if you are using feed corn, is, please microwave it right away.  Not in its packaging, of course.  But portion out a bit of it at a time in a microwavable bowl that you’ll clean and heat it up for at least a couple minutes.  Do this before storing the corn with your craft supplies.  Let it cool, and then proceed.  Without this step, you may notice small, mysterious bugs by your bag of feed corn a few months down the road.  Once you’ve heated it once though, this won’t happen, so don’t freak out.

–Fill your bag with the amount of feed corn (not unpopped popcorn, please!) or rice that feels right. 

  At one point, I used to use a funnel for this, but I often found that for me at least, this sometimes made it tougher than just pouring the corn in using a measuring cup or scoop.  I do still like to do this over a baking tray or big bowl, so I don’t have run away feed corn everywhere.

–Fold the top closed and sew.  Again, I like to sew it twice to ensure nothing will be able to escape.

 

Once you’ve got the corn and made this even once, the process is ridiculously simple.  These are fun to make, so great to use (even those non-microwave people often make an exception for these), and they can make great, simple gifts.

If you’re gifting it to someone, you might want to heat it up once to test it before you gift it.  It might be a good idea to make a tag with a label so the recipient knows what it’s for and approximately how long to heat it.  Depending on the size of your heating bag and the effectiveness of your microwave and how hot you would like the corn bag, this could range from 1 to 2 minutes usually.  If the bag is especially small or for a child, I would start with 30 seconds.

Once in awhile, I feel my corn bags need a wash.  If that happens, I cut the edge, empty the corn into a bowl temporarily, shake out the bits of flaky corn pieces, run it with my wash, make sure it’s completely dry, put the corn back in, sew the end closed again.

Here’s a quick recap:

—100% cotton fabric (try to find material that can be reused)

—Cut to desired size

—With right sides together, sew three sides

—Turn right side out

—Fill with feed corn or rice  (Heat that feed corn as soon as you get it!)

—Sew last bit closed

 

Enjoy! or Gift to someone else to enjoy

Scrunchies

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Scrunchies can be a fun, easy, and appreciated gift.  These are a great opportunity to use fabric scraps and you don’t have to worry about the packaging and transportation of a new, store-bought item.  Once you get the hang of making these, you’ll be able to make bunches at once.  Give one as a gift, tie one to the outside of another present, or make a variety of different scrunchies.  Enjoy!

Fold-Over Bags

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Fold-Over Bags video

Theses are one of my favorite sewing projects!  Very simple and quick to make, these are great for replacing plastic storage baggies.  You can sew them in a variety of sizes and upcycle materials to make them.  But they are also super great for using as fabric gift bags.  Just tie a bow around the top or the outside, and you’ve got an easy, eco-friendly gift wrap!

Fabric Gift Wrap

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I am ALL about fabric gift wrap!  And having just been through the holiday gift opening, I’m going to highlight some of my favorite things about using fabric, instead of paper:

–It’s SO easy to wrap with fabric bags!
–No need to shop for wrapping paper every year.
–No need to store bulky, awkward wrapping paper rolls and tape.
–SO much better for the environment!  (especially when using upcycled cloth)
–WAY less mess!  (Can’t emphasize this enough.)
–SO easy and compact to store
–Looks quaint, creative, and homey

For me, using fabric gift wrap has been a gradual process, and I think that’s important to remember.  It’s awesome if you can make/purchase a whole stash of fabric gift wrap/bags all at once and dive in, but that wasn’t the case for me.  It started with small fabric gift bags people had used to gift me presents.  Then, I sewed a few of them one year.  And a few the next.  This year, I finally had the time to round out our stash quite a bit, which is probably why I’m on a fabric gift wrap mission right now.  It was so amazing to not deal with paper or tissue paper.  Not only for the mess factor, but for my environmentalist-self as well.  My heart sinks whenever I see piles of wrapping paper.

I also think this would be an awesome fundraiser for a school.  What a fun project to teach kids basic sewing (these bags can be very simple), to teach them and their families about reducing and reusing, and to help them get started on that journey.

I highly recommend giving fabric wrap a try, even if it’s only a little bit at a time.  Keep your eyes out for fabric bags throughout the year, and collect them with your gift wrapping supplies.  If you do sew, even if you’re a beginner, sewing fabric gift bags is EASY.  As with any project, you can make things more complicated if you’d like, but the basic idea is an easy one.  Collect fabric bits, old sheets, even old tee-shirts to use for sewing a simple bag.  My favorite fabric gift bag to make is a drawstring bag, but I don’t always find the time to make these.  Making fold-over bags for gift wrap is super easy, but sometimes I just sew a simple bag shape and tie a ribbon around the top.  Some people will even just use a piece fabric cloth to wrap with and use fancy folding methods.  These are beautiful to see, but the process is something I don’t have the patience to master right now.

Whichever method you use, I highly, highly recommend the switch!

**St. Nick comes to pick up some of our fabric bags at the beginning of December to take to Santa for that year’s gifts.**

ALL our holiday wrap in one small, little stack!

Other alternatives to wrapping paper:
Magazine Gift Wrap
Food Box Gift Bags
Upcycled Paper Stockings

Doll Sling

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I loved carrying our babies in a sling, so when I saw this idea for a doll/stuffed animal sling, I was all in.  I’m sure you can make this into a more elaborate project if you’d like, but I’ve found this method to be super simple and it works well for our kiddos and their dolls. 

How?

Because of the way the fabric will rest, I highly suggest a fabric that looks nice on both sides or sewing two fabrics together to create this look.

The size of your fabric may depend on your kids’ height and how big a doll they may be carrying.  For me, it’s also depended on what fabric sizes I have available in my stash.  The average sling I’ve seen online is about 18 by  44 for this doll sling.  But I’ve made ones any number of sizes, so a 25 X60 or so on, wouldn’t be out of line.

–Cut your fabric to the size you’d like, leaving an extra bit for the seam. 

–Sew a small seam around the edges.  Some people like to get very precise with this and use irons and so on; I just fold and sew as I go.  A little less perfect, but I think it works just fine here.

–My favorite part of this is using the open and close binder-type rings, because it makes it so easy to take off the rings and wash the fabric when needed.   So, locate 2” or 3” binder rings.  Some people have these lying around.  I’ve also seen these at yard sales or sold individually at teacher shops, so keep your eyes open once you know you’d like to try this project.  I’m sure you could also use some other sort of ring, but you will then have to make sure these are in place before sewing down the fabric in the next step. 

–Do an accordion fold at the top of the long end of the fabric, fold over, and stitch down into place.  I like to slip the rings in before sewing this down to make sure it all works, and then you’re done. 

  

(The one shown as my example below, I sewed a little wide.)

I attached another example as well…

If you’ve never used a ring sling, just take the bottom end and thread it through the rings.  Pull the fabric through the bottom ring until you get the length and fit you’d like for your child.

  

More detailed instructions can be found if you search online—there’s a link to one example here. 

(This is a fun beginner’s sewing project, but I’m always surprised at how people are able to adapt things into no-sew projects as well, so use your imagination.)

 

Gifts

This is such a fun gift for kids!  I love giving it to young kiddos who have just welcomed a baby sibling, but it could be great for anytime.  When I’m making one of these, I try to make a couple extra if I have the fabric, because these are great to have on hand for a quick, but very thoughtful, gift if you need it.

(I hope I emphasized this enough, but just one more time, remember this project and the construction for this are only meant for a doll sling.  Please, please do not use any part of this idea for an actual baby sling.)

Thanks for being here!  I hope you enjoyed this idea for a simple gift.

video link