Mending Jeans Sashiko Style

 A great pair of jeans is hard to find! When my perfect jeans break, I try anything I can to save them. Usually, the part I want to fix isn't front and center so this pair presented a unique challenge. 

So, I purchased these jeans already distressed. They looked cool but it wasn't long before the threads all broke and the opening at the knees started to rip when I sat down. I do think these distressed jeans look fine on other people but I just can't feel comfortable with giant gaping holes in my pants! Since the holes were so large and right in the front, I wanted to patch them, but do it in a cool way that looked intentionally fashionable. Hopefully, I achieved that and I'm not just fooling myself, LOL! 

Fleece Dog Bed

Making a simple fleece dog bed is SO easy! In fact, it's so easy you could make more than one. You could have one for upstairs, downstairs and this would make a perfect dog crate pad.

This blog post about DIY'ing a dog bed is really an excuse to show off my crazy cute puppy! His name is Frankie and he's a Jack Russel mix.

I found this fabric remnant for sale at Walmart for a couple bucks. I whipped this together one evening while watching tv. At the time, I wasn't thinking of doing a tutorial, so I never actually measured it. You can get a piece of fleece any size you want. Remember, if you're trying to fit to the size of a crate, make sure to add a couple inches to your measurement to account for puffing up stuffing and seam allowance. My finished bed measures 21x26

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Fleece Mermaid Tail Blanket

Fast and cheap way to make a mermaid tail blanket

My daughter has been wanting a mermaid tail forever! Crochet mermaid tails have been making the rounds online, but I haven't had any desire to jump on the trend. I finally broke down when she asked for one for Christmas. When I went to the store to get the yarn to crochet one, I passed by a bin of cheap fleece blankets and changed my plans.

Walmart has fleece throw blankets for $2.50! I grabbed two of the blankets, one for the lining and one for the outside main color. Then I got a 1/2 yard of green fleece($1.34) from the fabric department to use for the fins. I planned to have the tail opened in the back, similar to some of the crochet mermaid tail designs. But after seeing this tutorial from Made By Marzipan, I liked hers and decided to go that way. I just did one small thing different. Instead of using a separate piece for the waist band, I made the liner longer at the top and then folded it down to create the waist band.

This is my first homemade Christmas present this year. Perhaps I  should have started earlier, but I can't help when inspiration hits! 

Need ideas? Check out this Sock Monkey Tutorial and Gifts Kids Can Make

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Seat Belt Pillow

Traveling long distances in the car can be fun but also uncomfortable! Get ready for your next road trip by making a comfy seat belt pillow.

A few days before we took off for our family camping adventure, my daughter was complaining about her booster seat and how there was no way she could relax her head against anything in the center seat. I remembered these pillows I saw on Pinterest(visit Pin for more detailed instructions). Perfect and easy enough to whip up before we go.

I purchased a very cheap pillow and used the stuffing for my pillow

Use an iron to mark center sew lines

I hear all the time from people I know or comments here on the blog... "I could never do that", "I'm a bad seamstress", "I'm not crafty". This is two squares of fabric, some stuffing and sewing straight lines, you can do it. I'll tell you what, I had about 10 brain farts while I was sewing this and I still managed to make it work!

For size reference, my daughter is 7 and I went with the 17x17 measurement for the fabric.

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New Sofa Pillows

These new pillows have been a long time coming!

A couple years ago we got a new sofa set. I didn't care too much for the pillows that came with it but whatever, wasn't too worried. A few weeks later, they started to fray, piece of junk! I did take them apart and attempted to fix them but the fabric slowly continued to fray. I always meant to replace them and today, I finally did it!

While walking through the fabric section in Walmart, I spotted the perfect fabric. This fabric is part of the Waverly Inspirations line. Since the fabric on the back of my original pillows is the same as my sofa, and is good quality, I only needed to replace the fabric on the front side. I got out the seam ripper and went to work. I was even able to use the same stuffing from the original pillows. All I needed was 1¼ yard of new fabric for four pillows. $5 for new pillows is the bargain of the month!

Check out more of my spring projects...

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DIY Girl's Purse From A Stuffed Animal

I made this sweet bunny purse for my daughter just in time for Easter but you could use any stuffed animal for this cute project!

So I wanted to do this after I saw some really cute animal purses at Target. I got to thinking, maybe I could make one with an old stuffed animal. So often kids end up with more stuffed animals than they can ever play with. What a cool way to hold on to a cherished toy and re-purpose it into a fun bag. If you can't bring yourself to cut up one of your own stuffed animals, you can check out the thrift store. I know most people aren't into buying used stuffed animals, but take a look, you never know! I found this bunny at the thrift store. It was clean and in good shape. After a bath in the washing machine she's good as new! 

When deciding on the animal to use, keep in mind the shape and position of animal. It's going to be hanging there by a strap. You want something that is going to look natural and not like it's hanging on for dear life! This bunny wouldn't have been my first choice. I was actually looking for a dog or cat but this was all I could find at the thrift store that day.

I found a couple tutorials online on how to sew in the zipper and lining. I put mine together by following this one. She even used a bunny too! Here are a couple more to check out...My Darling Rainbow and Knitting-and

What you need:

• stuffed animal
• zipper
• something for strap(I used a belt also from thrift store)
• fabric for lining

In the tutorial I followed, after cutting the opening for the zipper she flipped it right inside out and and sewed the lining and zipper. I wish it was so easy for me! I had to use a combination of sewing machine and hand sewing. It was a bit of a fight! After some harsh words, I figured it out and the bunny and I made up. 

Finish sewing the straps on before closing the lining

I can't wait to try this again with a different animal. My daughter LOVES purses!

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