Leather Tassel

I made a leather tassel for a recently crafted reversible fabric purse. The blue side I think needs a litte color, although I love its clean look. Leather tassel key holders are very easy and fun to make and can be adjusted to desired size and thickness. For this project I used a piece of pink lambskin. I'm happy with the tassel although I should have cut a longer strip for a fuller tassel.

To make key ring leather tassel:
14 x 4 inch strip of leather (ultrasuede if available)
4 x ¾ strip inch of leather
½ inch 3M 465 transfer tape
metal split key ring

• On wrong side of the bigger strip of leather, draw a ¾ inch line from one long end which will become the top of the tassel. Draw a vertical line 3 inches from the right edge. Cut this small piece off. Draw guidelines every inch on the wrong side of the leather. With a pair of scissors, cut 1/8 inch wide thin strips.

• Apply a piece of transfer tape on the middle of the small leather strip. Burnish and remove backing. Fold both sides towards the center and press to seal. Fold down to make a loop; sew to the upper left edge of the tassel. Apply transfer tape along the entire length of the ¾ inch section. Starting at the loop end, roll up the tassel. Attach the split key ring.

I also attached a store-bought miniature leather cowboy hat key ring to the tassel.

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Cast Iron Skillet Handle Mitts

DIY cast iron skillet handle mitts

I seem to burn my cast iron skillet handle mitts frequently. I get them from Amazon at $7 for 2 pieces. The cost is not much but I find them too long for the short handles. They catch fire easily from the gas burners.

I couldn't find shorter ones from the stores so I bought batting material and made them at least an inch shorter. I've never sewn something with bias tape and found it a bit difficult to handle specially with a multiple layer project which looks simple to make but actually takes a bit of effort. I made a second one without bias tape for under 20 minutes including the time for quilting. I just turned the thing right side out like a sock. The edges are not finished but they are inside and won't be seen anyway.

This is a good project for remnants. 

burnt upper portion of store-bought mitts

Cast Iron Skillet Handle Mitts
outside fabric
lining fabric
cotton batting or towel fabric

• Measure the handle of the skillet. 
• Draw a rectangle doubling your measurements on a tissue paper. Add &34; inch on all sides. Cut the pattern. 
• Cut 1 piece each for outside fabric and lining fabric, and 2 layers of thermal batting or towel fabric. [I didn't like the crinkly sound of the batting with metallic stuff and used 3 layers of the cotton for the second mitt.]
• Pin the materials together with the outside fabric facing down and lining material facing up. 
• Starting in one corner, sew straight across to the opposite corner, repeat sewing from the other corner across to the opposite side. Keep sewing on left and right sides until you have created a quilted pattern. 
• Fold  and pin the upper ¾ inch of outside material over onto the lining. Sew. Fold in half outside material together and pin the open side and bottom. You can either sew straight or rounded bottom. Sew from the bottom to the open side leaving the top open. Turn right side out. 

the batting with metallic insert on the right makes a slight crinkly sound

the DIY mitt is one inch shorter than the Lodge brand but I think it's still too long

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Liners for Pots and Pans

I save space in my kitchen storage by stacking pots and pans but they tend to scratch each other. I used to line them with paper towels which tend to fold and get out of shape easily because they are thin. I bought cheap felt, cut them to size, and now all my pans specially the porcelain coated ones are well protected.  

measure the material by putting it under the pan or skillet 
allowing 2 inches at the top  

pinch and cut notches where they bunch, 

spacing them equally, about 6 to seven in all  

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Camera Bag Insert

My camera, extra lens and attachments, and extra battery take up a lot of space in my purse. It's time to put them in their own purse. I found a small leather bag that I haven't used in over 8 years, it's gathering dust and the thin leather lining on the flap is starting to disintegrate. I will have to repair it with a piece of soft vinyl perhaps another day. The outer leather and leather lining are still in excellent condition though (Italian-made bags are really great, aren't they?) so I went ahead and made the insert.

I was not n the mood to use the sewing machine and just attached the edges of my material with adhesive transfer tape. It took me less than half and hour to finish this simple project. If I had used the sewing machine, I bet I would have finished even quicker.

materials

half inch thick foam

fabric

adhesive transfer fabric tape

straight edge

scissors for fabric

scissors for tape

 I measured the bottom and sides of the purse and cut the foam accordingly in one piece and used 2 of the corner pieces as separators. The sides are 4 inches tall. I cut 2 separate fabrics with 1 inch allowance on all sides and snipped the corners. The bottom material is plain and thinner than the piece that would be visible. Then I proceeded to attach one side at a time, snipping the tape as I go along.  

I didn't bother to attach the corners and the 2 small pieces to separate the camera items from each other. They are snug and stay in place. Also, I can easily re-position them if I need to.   

they are now cozy and don't move around in their new home

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