Tuesday, April 12, 2011

diy: fabric bendy strips for spring

fabric bendy strips
I came up with something simple, but so exciting the other day. It all started with kale. We eat a lot of kale. Our farm share was over for the season, but our co-op sells it bundled with a twist tie: a super-duper long twist tie.  I saved them... such nice delicate twisty wire must be put to good use. A piece of linen selvedge was approximately the same length and sitting on my cutting table. It seemed only natural to put them together. It had potential, but it was narrow and my sewing machine didn't like going over the wire here and there where it bent, so the stitches were wonky. Next, I tried a strip of one inch fabric.
wire and fabric strip
An improvement, and a very cheery little red checked rose bud bloomed.
checkered blossom
I knew I was on to something and wanted to keep experimenting, but I ran out of twist ties. I used some heavier gauged wire and a bit of eyelet trim that already had a little channel at the top- just the right size.
wire and eyelet
Loved it!
eyelet coil
These versatile scraps really have no limit for springtime embellishing and the best part is that they can be shaped into so many different things over and over again... just straighten and rebend. The internal wire means easy attachment to handles, wrists, button holes, clothespins, bobby pins, etc.  A very fun way to reuse! So I made some more... and you can, too!
bendy strips

Fabric Bendy Strips

Need: 
  • 15 inches of thin wire or a recycled long twist tie with the paper removed
  • 1 inch wide scrap of fabric that is several inches longer than wire or eyelet trim with a channel at the top
Make:
  1. Fold over 1/4 of an inch of fabric lengthwise down the strip and press with an iron.
  2. Insert wire into crease and stitch it into place being careful not to touch the wire.
  3. Alternately, if your wire is thicker, you can try sewing the channel first and then insert your wire after.
  4. Scrunch/gather fabric and then close both sides of the channel with a few stitches to keep the wire from slipping out.
The potential for these bendy twisty pieces of fabric is HUGE. Here's the beginning of my list, but I'm sure we'll all think of more:
  • flowers for spring/Easter baskets
  • blossoms for hairpins
  • wedding/prom corsages or bracelets
  • gift toppers
  • wine glass identifiers
  • gift bag cinchers
    eyelet blossom clip
    on basket
    Pin It
    Posted by mayaluna at 2:46 PM Labels: , ,

    22 comments:

    1. kristinApril 12, 2011 at 3:01 PM

      brilliant maya!!

      ReplyDelete
    2. zoe.k.April 12, 2011 at 3:18 PM

      Like it :) A lot!

      ReplyDelete
    3. donnaApril 12, 2011 at 3:24 PM

      Great idea. I'm definitely going to try this one.

      ReplyDelete
    4. eliApril 12, 2011 at 3:52 PM

      Lovely way of reusing scraps! Thank you!

      ReplyDelete
    5. CrystalApril 12, 2011 at 4:11 PM

      what a sweet way to reuse bendy wires :) I love it!

      ReplyDelete
    6. Laura NelkinApril 12, 2011 at 4:33 PM

      You are the most totally brilliant, kale eating, BFF a girl cold have!!! Love them!

      ReplyDelete
    7. CinnamonApril 12, 2011 at 4:59 PM

      Once again I am struck by how your mind works so differently than mine, and how you come up with the greatest things! Love this idea!

      ReplyDelete
    8. ClaireApril 12, 2011 at 5:52 PM

      Hey Maya, great idea, love the flowers on the basket, so cute.

      The possibilities are endless, great adornment for Spring.

      Claire :}

      ReplyDelete
    9. decomarceApril 12, 2011 at 5:57 PM

      Simple and beautiful!

      ReplyDelete
    10. EvaApril 12, 2011 at 6:16 PM

      What a great idea!

      I really like your blog, it is so inspiring!

      Eva

      ReplyDelete
    11. frangipani designsApril 12, 2011 at 8:11 PM

      beautiful... i love this idea x

      ReplyDelete
    12. nest full of eggsApril 12, 2011 at 8:37 PM

      thanks for sharing your clever idea !

      ReplyDelete
    13. AnonymousApril 12, 2011 at 11:28 PM

      Just a quick note to let you know that a link to this post will be placed on CraftCrave today [13 Apr 01:00am GMT]. Thanks, Maria

      ReplyDelete
    14. jessicaApril 12, 2011 at 11:42 PM

      wow, that's great.
      see, eating a lot of good green antioxidant kale gives you creative juices.
      i love kale and eat a lot of kale too.

      ReplyDelete
    15. AmyApril 13, 2011 at 9:29 AM

      What a great idea...so sweet and so many uses.

      ReplyDelete
    16. AnneApril 13, 2011 at 9:35 AM

      Brilliant!!! I love this idea! I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
      http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-bendy-fabric-strips/2011/04/13/

      --Anne

      ReplyDelete
    17. StephanieApril 13, 2011 at 1:13 PM

      Cheap, easy, and fun... love it!

      ReplyDelete
    18. kitchencounterchroniclesApril 13, 2011 at 1:19 PM

      So smart and simple!

      ReplyDelete
    19. Sam I Am April 14, 2011 at 11:51 PM

      Love all your wonderful ideas. To acknowledge this I would love award you a Kreativ Blogger Award (see http://creating-childhood-memories.blogspot.com/2011/04/kreative-blogger-award.html for more info) Don't feel obliged to pass it on, I just thought I'd share the love and acknowledge all the other Blogs that I love.

      ReplyDelete
    20. NicApril 15, 2011 at 5:18 PM

      I love this idea. I have been searching for an easy way to match (yes, I am am a matchy matchy person) my daughters handmade skirts with a plain shirt. This is the perfect accesory. Thx

      ReplyDelete
    21. Rachel@oneprettything.comApril 16, 2011 at 9:51 PM

      What a fun and useful thing to have on hand! I love your list of ways to use these. Thanks so much, I'll be linking.

      ReplyDelete
    22. AshleyMay 26, 2011 at 5:44 PM

      This is so stinkin' cute!!!

      ReplyDelete

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