From T-Shirt to No-Sew Duct Tape Zipper Pouch Upcycle

As promised, here is my tutorial for the no-sew duct tape zipper pouch that I attached a flower I made from a t-shirt to. There are many tutorials online for making a no-sew duct tape zipper pouch and this is my version upcycling a sleeveless t-shirt.

Cut out a 8"x15" piece of material from the t-shirt.

Cover the fabric with duct tape, slightly overlapping each duct tape strip

 until the fabric is completely covered.

Turn the piece over and cut off excess duct tape along the edge of the fabric.

Draw 1/2" seam lines on duct tape sides for stapling guide (not shown).

Place the zipper face down on the right side of the fabric and begin stapling the zipper to the fabric about 3/8 inches away from edge. Make sure you are not stapling too close to the zipper teeth.

Open the zipper before finishing stapling so that it will lay flat.

 Fold the fabric right sides together. Lay zipper flat against the edge.  Use a piece of masking tape to hold the stapled side down, then, staple down the zipper, as before.

Adjust where you want the zipper to be on the finish pouch. In this case, 1/4 of the way down.  Smooth out the folds.

 Begin stapling one side, starting at the zipper, first, along seam lines, as a guide.

 Open the zipper before stapling the last side edge so that you can turn the pouch inside out.

Begin taping over zipper staples, one side at a time, careful not to get too close to zipper teeth.

Cut off excess duct tape and zipper before taping sides.

Lay tape over front stapled sides and fold to back, smoothing the tape out.

 Repeat taping on the opposite side.

 Once finished taping over staples, turn pouch right side out, gently using the rubber eraser tip of a pencil to push corners out.

I love the way this turned out but in hindsight, there are a couple of things to be aware of.

First, check to make sure where the placement of the zipper opening is. (it should be on the left)

Second, using knit fabric to make this pouch is not a good idea. The final finish is not smooth although I ironed the fabric before adding the duct tape.

 I attached a flower I made for an upcycle challenge to dress the pouch up a bit.

 And also added a cord to the zipper by cutting off a small strip of fabric and stretching it to curl and  .  .  .

 then, threading it through the zipper tab hole and tying the ends together in a knot. 

I must say the flowered duct tape lining is very pretty and striking in this pouch!

Thanks for stopping by

and take a little time to enjoy,

Happy Crafting!

Festive Halloween Bow

Isn't this bow adorable? It looks fabulous as a Halloween decoration or hair accessory!  I'm over on Bowdabrablog sharing with you how to make this Halloween Festive Bow!  You won't believe how easy it is! I'd love for you to visit Bowdabrablog and check out my easy to follow tutorial!

Thanks for stopping by

and take a little time to enjoy,

Happy Halloween Crafting!

From T-Shirt to Flowers and More - An Upcycle Challenge

It's that time again for another Monthly Challenge Blog Hop!  I've joined a group of creative bloggers to bring you a monthly challenge blog hop on the 2nd Monday of the month.  For the month of October, the challenge is to upcycle clothing material from items like shirts, sweaters, pants and socks.  How cool is that!

If you think about it, there are plenty of crafts that can be created from old clothing! In fact, it's a very hot trend right now to "Upcycle" just about anything. Projects like creating decorative rugs, baskets or pom poms from t-shirts or making bags, hair accessories, toys, hats and jewelry from all types of clothing.

Upcycling old clothes into something different or unique is the way to go these days. Imagine creating something very elaborate or something quite simple from clothing!  Recently while I was bagging up old clothes to donate, I came across a sleeveless t-shirt that was still in good condition - just a bit too small for me to wear any longer.   Its' orange color kept screaming at me, "make something for fall or Halloween!"  Whoa!!! 

So many possibilities on what to make but I knew right away I could easily create something simple, like flowers - though, they're not really for Halloween!  

Here's how: Gather the following,

T-shirt 

Mod podge

Foam brush

Scissors

Petal pattern

Black felt

Pencil/paper

Skewer stick

Hot glue

Round handle end/board/parchment paper

• Start by inserting a board between the front and back of the t-shirt ( I used an old cutting board, but cardboard would work, too!) and cover it with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
• Next, brush on mod podge to make the material stiff and fray free. 

• While the fabric is drying, draw a free-hand petal on plain paper for the flower.
• Once the fabric is dry, outline the pattern on the fabric with a pencil. You will need to cut out at least eight petals for each flower. 

• For the center of the flower, cut out a narrow strip of black felt about three inches long and a 5-6 inch portion of the t-shirt hem.

• Remove the stitched edge of the hem band and cut narrow slits for fringe in both the felt and hem strips. 
• Wrap the felt strip around a skewer stick, dabbing a bit of hot glue on end to seal and remove from stick.

• Roll the hem strip around the black felt and glue end to secure.

•  Fluff the edges and set aside.

•  Each petal is individually shaped and curled by .  .  . 

 cupping the center of the petal in the palm of your hand, using the round end of a handle and .  .  . 

 rolling the edges outward to curl using the skewer stick.

• Attach the petals to the center with hot glue in an evenly spaced circle and .  .  .

•  then between each petal for .  .  .

 a lovely effect!  Like a poppy flower!
So adorable!

 I also made a flower basically the same way using plaid fabric scraps. For this flower, I rolled a petal for the center and secured with hot glue.

  I used the edge of a scissor blade to curl the petals.

And attached the petals to the rolled petal and .  .  .

 each other.

 This flower turned out really cute, too!

Since I still had quite a bit of fabric leftover from the t-shirt, I made a no-sew duct tape zipper pouch that I attached one of the flowers to. This post is long enough so I will have the tutorial for the pouch in a separate post - stay tuned!

It's really fun making things from clothes, don't you think!

Be sure to visit my co-hosts to check out their creative clothing material upcycle projects:  

Beverly @ Across the Boulevard

Laurie @ My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies

Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventure

T'onna @ Sew Crafty Crochet

Victoria @ Dazzle While Frazzled

And don't forget to come back next month for our Family Recipe Challenge Blog Hop on the 13th!

Thanks for stopping by

and take a little time to enjoy,

Happy Crafting!

Halloween Blog Hop 2017 and $100 Giveaway

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam May luck be yours on Halloween

Halloween Blog Hop 2017

It’s time for the Halloween Blog Hop 2017 & $100 Giveaway! Join me and nine other creative bloggers as we host a month-long Halloween bash featuring old and new Halloween recipes, crafts, DIY props and decor, printables, costume design, party ideas, games, and Halloween traditions.  Be sure to come back and visit all of our blogs on November 1. We’ll announce our giveaway winner and share our favorite picks from the party on our blogs and on social media. All features are pinned to my PurpleHuesandMe Halloween Board.

Grab a button and join us! (right-click and save)

Your Hosts:

Sherry | Olives & Okra

Erlene | My Pinterventures

Beverly | Across the Boulevard

Cristy | Happy Family Blog

Lacie | Easy Peasy Pleasy

Michelle | Our Crafty Mom

Donna | Two Chicks and A Mom

Gail | Purple Hues and Me

Victoria | Dazzle While Frazzled

Kim | Made In A Day

$100 Giveaway

Enter the giveaway for a chance to win $100 PayPal cash. To enter the giveaway, you must link up one of your favorite Halloween creations.
a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Halloween Blog Hop Link Party Rules

Disclaimer: By submitting a link to this blog hop, you are giving me permission to share and/or feature your blog post and image on social media and on my blog, Purple Hues and Me.  All links shared will either link back to the blog hop (link party) or to your blog.

   
1. Halloween content only
   
2. Family friendly posts only
   
3. Old posts are welcome
   
4. Comments are greatly appreciated
   
5. Show fellow bloggers link love

An InLinkz Link-up