DIY With Bookhou: Woven Trivet

Contributor post by Arounna Khounnoraj of bookhou.com

 


I hope you like this project - it's simple and lots of fun to do.

woven trivet diy
I have been collecting the selvage from my sewing projects and thought this was a fun way to use the material to create a nice trivet or little mat. if you don't have selvage scraps you can use and old shirt or pants and cut up strips to use. wool sweaters are really nice after the project you can wash it in hot water and it will felt nicely. this is also a nice project for kids.

what you need:
-four pieces of stretcher frame (I used 10 in.) - hammering into a scrap piece of wood works good too.
-nails and hammer
-scissors (not shown in picture)
-cardboard approx. 1.5 x 5 in. (not shown in picture)
-cut up scrap fabric (I used selvage that I have been collecting)

step 1
before you begin put the four corners together to create the frame and hammer nails about 3/4 in. apart - take the fabric and tie onto the first corner and begin to wrap around the nails on the top and bottom as shown.

step 2
take the cardboard and cut triangular notches with the scissors - take the fabric from the ball and wrap it around the cardboard (this will be your shuttle)

step 3
tie a knot to the first row

step 4
take the cardboard shuttle and begin to weave under and over - continue this way until you reach the other side and tie down the end piece.

step 5
remove the loops from the nails - and because it was under tension the loops will fill in from the expansion.

hope you will give it a try - thanks.


arounna khounnoraj
bookhou.com
bookhouathome.blogspot.com

DIY With Bookhou: Fabric Gift Wrapping

Contributer Post by Arounna of Bookhou

During the holidays when I'm giving gifts I like the wrap to be reusable, most of the time I use our tea towels.  I wanted to do a project that was easy, but still with lots of charm and had a handmade quality.

what you need:

-fabric (I used cotton approx. 24 x 24 in.) it is good to wash your fabric first and to use a -fabric that doesn't have a lot of texture

-wood type (can be purchased on etsy or ebay or you can find some at your local vintage shop)

-ink roller or sponge brush)

-black ink (I use permaset, but speedball brand will work too)

-plexi to roll the ink (if you don't have a piece of plexi - a flat ceramic dish will work)

-spatula

step 1

take the spatula to spread the ink evenly on the plexi and use your roller to roll the ink on the wood type - than press firmly on the fabric.  what's nice about this process is that each print is different and the nice texture, don't worry about it being solid or even, that's the beauty of the print.

step 2

repeat step 1 over and over till the entire surface is covered

let it stand to dry.

step 3

once it dries - you will need to heat set the ink so that when it gets washed it won't come off the fabric, you can either iron the fabric for 5 minutes on med-high heat with no steam or put it in the dryer for 10 minutes.

the technique that I used to wrap the books is furoshiki - if you go to you tube there are great demos on all the different ways you can use the cloth.  this is also a fun and easy project to do with small children.

this project is an extension of one that I did on Bloemsem Kids

http://bkids.typepad.com/bookhoucraftprojects/2008/03/project11-alpha.html

 

 

arounna khounnoraj|bookhou

bookhou.com
bookhouathome.blogspot.com