Repurposing a Hamper Rack – A Tutorial

I have a hamper rack on which the hamper portion wore out very quickly.  I wanted to recycle the rack as well as use up a lot of fabric scraps, so I drafted a very simple pattern and used a Log Cabin variation to make the front and back.  The lining is from some old home dec curtains.

The only repair I did on the rack was to replace two side straps.  I cut two pieces 7 x ½ inch of scrap leather (could be from an old purse) and cut a small hole ½ inch from the ends on each piece.  I removed the screws on the broken straps and screwed them through the holes on each end to affix the replacement straps.

The rack measures about 16 inches wide x 25 inches high with ½ inch diameter legs – similar to the hamper racks sold by Ikea.

I used pieced blocks for my hamper, but, of course, any kind of fabric could be used.  Here is what you will need.

SUPPLIES

• Hamper rack approx. 16 inches wide x 25 inches tall.
• 2 pieces of fabric 28-1/4 inches wide x 24-¼ inches long for hamper bag
• 2 pieces of fabric 28-¼ inches wide x 24-¼ inches long for bag lining
• 10 pieces of fabric 4 inches wide x 6 inches long for tabs
• 10 pieces of Velcro ¾ inch wide for tabs

HAMPER BAG

• Place hamper bag fabric right sides together and sew with ¼ inch seams along two sides and bottom.
• Keeping right sides together, at each side seam on the bottom edge, mark and cut out a 2-½ inch square.

• Fold the cutout portion of the bag together, placing the seam in the center …..

…and sew a ¼ inch seam.

• Repeat for the other corner. Turn and press.

• Use the same procedure to sew the lining.
• Make a mark at the top center front of bag.  Then mark 3-3/4 inches two places on either side of the center.  Repeat with back of bag.
• Pin a square of each set of Velcro pieces centered over each mark with the top of the Velcro patch ¾ inch from top raw edge.  Stitch in place.  Repeat for back of bag.

TABS

• Along 4 inch edge of the tab fabric, press edge ¼ inch to wrong side of fabric.

• Fold piece in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press.

• Open fabric and fold each side to meet at the center fold.  Press.

• Fold in half lengthwise and press.  Top stitch around sides and bottom of piece.  Repeat with remaining 4×6 pieces of fabric.

• On the finished edge of each strap, sew a ¾ x ¾ inch piece of Velcro.

• On the wrong side of each tab, mark 1-½ inches from the raw edge.  Place tab inside bag at top edge, wrong sides together, matching 1-½ inch mark with top pressed edge and aligning with the matching piece of Velcro below.  Pin.  Repeat with remaining tabs.

• Place lining inside the bag, wrong sides together, matching corners.
• Pin every two inches along the top edge.
• Top- stitch 1/8 inch from top edge, being sure to catch the 1/4 inch of fabric turned under on the bag and lining.

• Place on rack, looping tabs over the rack and securing with the Velcro patches.

The hamper can be folded for storage.

This makes a nice storage unit for lightweight toys (think stuffed animals), sewing, clothing, towels, etc.

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An Easter Bunny Tote Bag

A friend sent my daughter and me really cute wall hangings made from a towel and washcloth.

We wanted to make something for her and collaborated on a large tote bag.  My daughter did her great embroidery on an 8 inch center panel …

…and I used my favorite quilt block to frame a picture – 4-½ inch log cabin blocks (1-½ inch center and 1 inch strips).

I used the same pretty pink calico in the blocks and for the backing and lining.

Pale green check seems to go with pink so well and serves as an accent on the bag.

This is a roomy 16 x 20 inch tote and I hope will be used to transport a lot of good stuff.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

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Cats and Dogs Springtime Wall Hanging

My youngest daughter likes to have a quilted wall hanging in her family room and hinted broadly that she’d like one with some spring colors.  She didn’t have any other ideas and said something with her kids would be OK.  I’ve already made several hangings featuring her kids, so I thought this time it would be nice to feature the pets she has owned since she was married.  I scanned the pictures and then printed them on June Tailor Sew-In Colorfast Fabric Sheets for Ink Jet Printers.

I added borders to the pictures to make 6 inch blocks.

The alternate blocks were simple Diamond in a Square to showcase some beautiful 5 inch florals I had along with some pale green gingham.

For the backing, I used some pink fabric that had been a dress for her daughter a few years ago.  The quilting is simple straight line and stitch-in-the-ditch.  I also made a sleeve (the drapery hooks were used just to take pictures).   The wall hanging measures 30×30 inches.  The label includes pictures of the animals.

The beagle Bailey in the center was her first dog who passed away a few years ago. The rest of the group is still running amuck in her house – the black dog Frank was adopted after he was found abandoned in the neighborhood; Jimmi the Blue Tick Coon Hound came from a local rescue (Recycled Doggies); the cats showed up at her front door on two successive Halloween nights – their names are appropriately Milky Way and Snickers.

My daughter likes having the rest of her “family” featured on a wall hanging.

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Disappearing Nine-Patch Quilt-Along

I wanted to participate in a quilt-along offered by Freda at Impera Magna and try the Disappearing Nine-Patch block.  My problem is that I’m not good at reporting my progress on quilt-alongs and before I know it, I’ve completed the quilt without really participating.

To audition the block, I made a doll’s quilt first ….

http://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/disappearing-9-patch-qal-and-a-doll-quilt/

Then, I started making a child-size “I Spy” quilt for our local Linus Project which distributes quilts to children in  hospitals.  I used all scraps for this quilt and bought only the fleece for the backing (which the Linus group prefers) and thread.  It turned out to be bigger than I expected – 47 inches wide x 58 inches long.  I’ve been having back problems and didn’t want to wrestle a large quilt through my Bernina.  This quilt was bigger than I intended, but manageable.

Instead of turning the blocks as shown in Freda’s instructions, I simply switched the top right and bottom left square in each block so that my I Spy blocks would not be turned.

Rather than buy more fabric for the border, I made an extra row of blocks and did not use a border.  I used the fleece as backing and batting and did a very simple quilting pattern on the machine.

I draped the finished quilt over my couch and left the room to get my camera.  When I came back, Addie, the beagle, was well settled on the quilt, looking as though I had made it for her.  Luckily, the Linus group meticulously washes all of the quilts that are donated so I know it will be in good shape when it goes to the hospital.

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Disappearing 9-Patch QAL – and a Doll Quilt

When I saw that Freda at Imperamagna was hosting a QAL featuring a Disappearing 9-Patch, I was interested but just didn’t want to get into a big quilt at this time.  Then, I thought maybe I could make a child’s quilt for my local Linus Project, and going even smaller, I could first make a doll quilt for my granddaughter’s American Girl Doll bed.

The doll is American Girl’s Kit from the depression era and her metal bed is the perfect color of green.  I had some Windham Storybook IV c 1930 Scottie fabric that was ideal and the Disappearing 9-Patch block was easy enough to be able to work with the small blocks.

In keeping with the 1930s theme, I added some rickrack to the top and bottom borders.

Now, Kit has all of the proper bedding, including my daughter’s hand-knitted bedspread.

I’m still participating in the QAL and working on blocks for my Linus quilt.

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Country Fair Mini-Quilt – Table Topper

When I gave my youngest daughter an anniversary mini-quilt and rack in October, I knew I would be supplying new quilts as the occasion arose.  I made Thanksgiving and Christmas quilts, then realized mid-January she didn’t have a quilt for her table topper.  I made what I call an “interim quilt” which means it would work out for non-seasonal, non-holiday display.

Last year about this time, I spent some time making some of Judy Martin’s variations on LeMoyne stars.  I particularly liked this one called “Country Fair“.  The block I made is far from perfect and convinced me I didn’t want to make a big quilt from this block, but I still think it’s nice as a mini-quilt with some strips added to fit the rack.

I quilted it to a fleece backing, added sleeve, label and binding – and my daughter has an interim quilt to display until time to put up the Valentine’s Day decorations.

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Quick Fabric Christmas Cards

Every year, I try to come up with a handmade original Christmas card for my two daughters and two youngest grandchildren.  These have been in many forms in past years and this time, I decided on fabric cards.  I started by choosing the four envelopes and cut the fabrics so they would fit.

For the two daughters, I made small Dresden plates from Christmas fabrics, sewed non-woven fusible interfacing to them, trimmed, turned and appliquéd the plates onto a piece of 4×5 fabric which would fit my envelopes well.  I cut a backing the same size, sewed right sides together with an opening for turning, then top stitched.  I included a panel on the backing with my handwritten “to-from” information.  A button or other embellishments can be added.

I always include a dollar bill with the grandchildren’s cards, so in this case I made a pocket big enough to hold a bill or check or gift card and appliquéd it to a 4×5 piece of fabric.  Then I added the backing as I did for the Dresden plate cards.  It made a nice little holder for their dollar and is something their mother will save for them as a keepsake.

The most time I spent was in doing the piecing, but a cute piece of fabric would work just as well.  A quick, easy project.

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A Shoebox Gift Exchange

This past year I participated in a secret Santa gift exchange hosted by Susan at Desert Sky Quilts.  The idea was to fill a shoebox with two fat quarters per month (two color choices of the recipient) and a homemade ornament.  It was up to the sender to include any other goodies.

My box arrived yesterday from Candi at Quilts N Things.  What a wonderful box of treasures it is.  First of all, there are the 24 beautiful fat quarters.  How did she know my favorite shades of red and green?

The handmade ornament is simply exquisite with tiny embroidery stitches and little jewels.

Also in the box was a Roma Scentsy Warmer with a beautiful base.  I couldn’t wait to plug it in and try out some of the Huckleberry Sage wax.  There’s a heavenly aroma in my living room right now.

But, wait – there’s more.  There are two containers of wax for the Scentsy, Huckleberry Sage and Mandarin Moon, a very cool pair of holiday socks, a cute gingerbread girl ornament and two little gold boxes of See’s Candies.  I’ve heard of See’s chocolate but have never seen it in the Cincinnati area.  Confession:  These are two empty boxes – my daughter and I sampled the chocolates right away.

Thank you to Susan for hosting this fun exchange and thank you, Candi, for such a wonderful shoebox – I’ll never see a shoebox again that I won’t think of you.

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A 70s Turkey Mini-Quilt Table Topper

When I gave my youngest daughter a mini-quilt and rack for her anniversary in October, I knew I would be making some more mini-quilts for her.  I wanted to give her something with a Thanksgiving theme and remembered a pattern I had picked up in Ohio Amish country several years ago.  It’s a fused turkey design that I used to make a wall hanging.

Since my daughter is definitely a child of the 70s, I made up a mini-quilt for her with a very cool turkey, using all of the frantic 70s fabrics left over from other projects I’ve done for her.

I used wide black zigzag stitches to give it an even wilder and crazier 70s look.

Of course, she loved it and it’s in her family room along with a big stuffed orange and green owl and some other 70s stuff.

The pattern is by Becky and Me, #T-1044.  Address:  5811 Valley Ave. E, Fife WA 98424 – (253) 380-2284.

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A Spooky Hollow Wall Hanging

My oldest daughter who lives with me just finished this wonderful piece that has three panels with cross-stitch and quilting.  Everything was done by hand including piecing  and quilting the sashing and borders and sewing on the binding.

For the rod, she covered a dowel in copper tape and fashioned copper wire pieces for the ends.The piece measures 38 x 18 inches and is the perfect background over the mantel for her centerpiece design – WITCH’S NIGHT OUT.

Her crocheted spider web doily completes the arrangement.

It’s nice to have something a little different in décor from the usual jack o’lanterns and skeletons.

Click on photos to enlarge.

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