Sewing Space

Lydia the 301 in her new environment. :-)

Living in a one-bedroom apartment as a woman who sews and is involved in all sorts of craftiness is rough. One day, I will have a dedicated space, but for now, I am utilizing my tiny coat closet and the little area around the 301 cabinet. For a while I played the "pretend this is just a weird table placed in an awkward spot in the living room" game with the 301, but I have now decided to fully embrace its sewing-awesomeness and create a space where I am inspired to sew. Whee! Here is how it all happened:

Artwork: free, printed from the interwebs on cream card stock
(The quote is one by Dorothy Sayers- one of my favorite authors. The background is scrapbook paper.)

Frames were purchased for a dollar each at Goodwill then painted and lightly sanded for that distressed look.

Ah, Dorothy Sayers.

Letters: A tutorial

Materials- cardboard letters of your choice (these were $.99 at the craft store, but you can cut your own from cardboard); an old sewing pattern, scissors, Mod Podge, and a paintbrush.

I don't think I'll be missing this one...

Step one: Take the desired pattern and cut it into strips. This was the way I chose to do it, but I suppose that you could lay an entire piece over the letter and cut around it.

Step 2: Apply the Mod Podge to the letter and then apply the pattern. This is pretty easy- the tissue consistency of the paper makes it very easy to smooth out and move around curves. Just be careful not to tear the paper.

Step 3: Apply a topcoat if desired. I chose not to.

And ta-daaa! You have some swanky letters that cost you less than $7! And you used up a pattern that you may have never sewn. Doubly splendid!

Cutting strips allows you to pull areas of interest from the pattern
(e.g. grainlines, notches, etc.)