How to Set a Grommet in Clothing

Grommets are actually called eyelets when they are so small, which is confusing for me because I think of eyelet as a fabric, not a metal ring to make a fancy, reinforced hole. But they sure do make the finished product a whole lot nicer.

 To set you eyelet or grommet, you can buy a kit from a fabric store. Some grommets will be a bit different depending on the material and size, but this tutorial is for a small metal one. I was using a very thin knit for my outer layer, so I wanted to reinforce the hole, causing less stress on the thin fabric and also ensuring a nice, tight fit so the fabric wouldn't slip. I sewed up a handy little square for then inside of the garment, then marked the size of the eyelet. You can press, causing an indentation, or trace the size of the eyelet. If you are worried about the fabric fraying after you poke the hole, stitch around the hole before cutting. Alternatively, apply fray check after cutting. I used fray check.

 Here is my hole in my reinforcing fabric. I didn't fuse it to the actual garment, though you could.the eyelet has a deep and shallow center.

 Put the deep eyelet through your fabric(s) from the right side to the wrong side. The prongs should be on the wrong side.

My kit called this an anvil. Place it on a firm surface, protect it if you don't want dents.

 Place the eyelet into the indent on the anvil, again with the right side of the fabric down.

 Place the shallow eyelet half over the other, with the shallow center towards the fabric. The other eyelet half should be visible in the center (depending on your eyelet).

 Place the setting tool onto the eyelet and bang away. Gently. No craters to China, its just fabric. With a bit of metal.

 When you've set the eyelet, the prongs from the front will have bent onto the back half.

 Now you're ready to string a rope through! Perfect for a nautical adventure.

Did you know the word "tidy" come from the tides? Well-arranged and methodical... ~ http://www.redskyatnight.com/directory.cfm?FPID=7

How to Create a Home Studio

In order for pictures to turn out and look professional, you need good lighting. You can fudge the camera work as long as you have awesome light. Well, I am no photographer by any means, but I have light. And I need to take pictures of products, so I needed a better setup. Enter our top sheet from the set that wore out. RIP favorite sheets. *weep* Check out that light!

 We have a loft that is conveniently located right next to a window. This window happens to be north-facing, which I figured might be nice as we won't get direct sunlight streaming through, hopefully keeping the light nice and soft all the time. Down came the flag. Meh. It used to be behind a high, cherry desk and looked pretty cool, but it has been bugging me for awhile.

 Note my super safe step ladder. I don't recommend stools as they aren't super sturdy.

 I used tacks to hang the sheet on the wall, and voila.

 so you get an idea of the difference, these next two pictures are taken with the exact same camera settings.

 can you guess which is an accurate image as far as color goes? Now, if only I could be struck with some genius power that allowed me to take amazing pictures.

 Find these in my etsy shop!

Tempers and Tantrums

Sometimes it has become necessary to deal with tempers and tantrums, possibly even temper tantrums at our house. We have found a great way of calming our tempers and alleviating the need to throw tantrums.

Step one. Throw tantrum because Christmas is over and the tree doesn't fit in its box (who is throwing the tantrum here?).

 Step two: be on the receiving end of an evil glare ( guess who she learned that awesome skill from).

 Step three: take some soothing time together putting laundry going, and sit on the washer as it turns on. Works best if you have an agitate cycle. Soothing noises, fresh smells, soothing thoughts from getting things accomplished. Win.

 Step four: enjoy your newly calmed states of mind, and play dress up together.

"Do these jammies make my legs look fat?"

How to do Your Little Girl's Hair

There are a few tricks to a wonderful hairdo. The first is to make sure that your girl has long, luscious locks. Preferably with a gorgeous natural curl that falls like a dream to her shoulders. If she has that, then you are done. If she doesn't, she may have hair like this:

Now, you may be wondering how it could get much better than this. Or you may not. Your choice, really. In order to perfect the locks, have her race around like a maniac getting all warm while wearing a hat. For instance, she could go outside:

Racing is hard work. Yes, she has mittens. She chooses not to wear them. Now you are ready for the ponytail, as it hopefully will stay now:

 Or if you are lucky, the hat and racing created all the hairdo she will ever need.

Easiest method of hairdressing ever, using all natural techniques. Probably even organic.

Spring Cleaning and Easter

I am getting the urge to spring clean. Which is odd because I am so good at cleaning our house is never a mess. Spic and span always. Ha. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my sewing area looks like this:

Yes, munchone is usually there, too. Which doesn't help with the mess. On the bright side, I am almost done with the design I was hinting at in my last post. Previews are here! Soon available in my Etsy shop. Be sure to check it out again, as there will be a few fun embellishments to go along with spring and/or Easter. While you're there please buy something or favorite something of mine because my self esteem is sure wondering if I actually do have talent or a sense of style or a few people who actually look at this sparse beginning of a blog or...it's OK. I'm strong. Anyways. :) just had to use an emoticon in case you couldn't tell if I was kidding or not. Pictures!

 At least munchtwo likes them! So comfy and light!

  I'm going to ruche the hemline. Is that a verb? To ruche? Anyway, that will allow shorter kids to wear the pants, and taller kids could wear as capris if they are very thin but very tall.

 fluff hem...love the way it puffs out.

I made another pair in the size of munchone but she disdains modeling.

fabric

Every so often I see some fabric and I fall in love with the sheen, the pattern, the weight... I fell in love with this lovely, springy cotton. It has a hint of the pastels to brighten up the warm gray, and I knew I could use it for something.

 So I am. We shall see how it turns out! I based my design on this tutorial, and will be adding some twists to make it more suitable for a no-stretch cotton.

Wish me luck!

I also bought some knits...I love knits. The extra challenge of working with them is completely worth it.

Plus the scraps are always useful. I'll be using this braid in a design coming soon on this blog and in my etsy shop. My poor husband puts up with my humor with such patience. And how do I reward that? With pics and a headband on, on my blog? But hey, I think that fabric looks pretty cool.

Spring is coming! I'm excited for my fabric and new designs!

Cheers!

Improvisation

Improvisation is a must in the kardemum household...things never go according to plans. The fact that we rarely plan may have something to do with that, as when we finally do plan, things are already on a different course of action, leaving open the doors for some improvisation.

Mmmm...peanut butter cups made in my kitchen. Note the clever use of foil, since no muffin tin liners are kept in this house. Maybe I should change that.

Happy salivating!