Thr3e of Ei8ht

Today I want to show you how to make an adorable infinity scarf.

What you will need...

1/2 yard 60" wide knit fabric (1 yard if you want to make two at once like I did)
A serger (or a basic sewing machine, it really isn't a huge deal)
Buttons, bows, ribbons (optional)

I started with a yard of this really neat bow fabric from Joann's

I decided I didn't need the whole yard for just one scarf... so I decided to cut it in half and make two!

Once you have a 1/2 yard x 60" piece of fabric, fold it in half lengthwise - right sides together - and pin.

Then, sew down the entire long side of the fabric. If you have a serger, serge down the edge... sergers work wonders on knit fabric.

At this point... you can just tie the scarf ends together and call it a day...

But, if you want to finish the ends so that it is a continuous loop... keep pressing on.

Pin about half of each end together - right sides together- and sew... it's a little hard to explain, but I hope the pictures help.

You need it to look like this when you're finished... sew as far as you can around the inside...

Now you need to close up that hole. Pin it shut...

and whipstitch over the opening.

Now you're ready to wear it!

(Sorry for the goofy face... I hate taking pictures of myself... I would much rather model my stuff on a mannequin or another person... but alas, I was blessed with only brothers. =P)

Add buttons or bows for cute extra accents. =)

(P.S. the bow attachment is my favorite. And it can be detatchable!)

Hope you all enjoyed it! I seriously wear this thing all the time now... I hope you love yours as much as I love mine. =)

Today I wanted to do a tutorial on one of my favorite things to make...

A Capri Sun tote bag!

These little guys are perfect for carrying around all of your summer schmutz. You can even use them as lunch coolers because they're pretty well insulated. And, best yet - they're totally "green." Completely recycled. Yup.

Before I show you how to make them... I should show you my "Capri Sun" drawer...

I know... it's... a little sad... but I just couldn't stand to throw them all away! =P

Now... onto the tutorial.

Cleaning:

So, first you actually have to drink them... and after that you're going to want to clean them. Here's the way that I have found to be easiest...

Step 1. Remove all of the straws and the straw wrappers.

2. Fill your sink with nice hot, sudsy water.

3. Cut open the bottom of the pouch with a sharp knife. (being careful not to cut through the front/back of the pouch) This cut will not be seen on the finished bag... and it's way easier than trying to clean the leftover juice out through that tiny straw hole. (trust me on this... I know from experience)

4. Toss all your pouches into the nice sudsy water. and rinse thoroughly. You can even use a dishrag to scrub them out if you'd like. (especially if you've left them in a bag, unwashed, for a couple of months already... you should scrub them. heh.)

5. Set them on a towel to dry.

6. Once dry, you're going to clean that pesky little sticky square off the front. I use Goo Gone, (wonderful stuff) a kitchen scraper, and paper towels.

7. Spray Goo Gone on the sticky place on the front and scrape it until the goo is aaaaallllll gone. (see what I did there?)

8. Wipe away the excess liquid/sticky residue with a paper towel. (this part of the process can get little messy... so just be prepared)

Assembly:

You're going to need 22 Capri Sun pouches total for this project. (your choice of flavor/color) Cleaned and dried.

You're going to need 6 per front/back of the tote. 2 per side. 2 per handle. And 2 for the bottom.

Arrange them in whatever flavor pattern suits your fancy... you can see that I've laid mine out in sections for front/back, sides, handles, and bottom. You can use as many or as few different flavors/colors as you like. It's totally up to you. =)

Next: get some masking tape... yup... masking tape. It make it way easier to sew when all of your pieces are taped together (you can't pin because that would create holes in your pouches) or else they will slide around everywhere while you try to sew.

Start with one of the front/back sections...

Flip the pouches over and begin taping them together on the back... overlapping about 1/4 of an inch.

Continue taping horizontally across the back.

Flip it over and you're set to sew... but first... lets tape the other pieces. =)

Tape the sides in the same way as the front/back... and make sure that the sides are the same height as the front/back piece.

Tape the bottom in the same way and make sure it's the same width as the bottom of the front/back piece.

You should now have 7 taped pieces of the bag. Lets sew!

I always use a jeans needle... and most of the time I try to use a more dull one... because sewing through this stuff ruins the needle... so I like to ruin an already dull needle. Get me?

Sew down all of the "seams" of the bag. Basically wherever you taped - sew. (see picture below)

I do a zig-zag stitch because I think it's more fun... and it tends to join and hold better... but do whatever you see fit.

Front/back piece finished... now do the rest the same way... except there's way less sewing involved on most of the pieces... just horizontal.

You should now have 7 sewn pieces.

Now is a good time to pull the tape off the back... it should just peel right off. (everywhere except for underneath the stitches... but it's inside the bag... so you're not going to notice it)