Independence Day crafts from WGC!

We're always very excited to celebrate Independence Day. Here are some of the Americana-themed crafts we've shared!

Stars & Stripes 3D Stars

I think we'll be doing this for Make it Monday!

Patriotic Wire Shaping

Fourth of July Patriotic Word Art Printable

Patriotic Pinwheels

Festive Fourth of July Nails

Red, White and Spangled Candles

Red, White and Blue Baby Clothes Upcycle

More ideas

What will you make for Independence Day?

Pink ruffle scarf

We're so excited about all the great crafts being shared at our very first Wayward Weekend! It's not too late to join in!

Yesterday was the end of an era (a short one) in this Wayward household. I was released as the president of the Primary (the children's Sunday school at church). Since I had a week notice, I tried to make some quick gifts for the ladies who worked closest with me. I thought about everything I'd seen them wear and what their styles seemed to be, what they liked. The first one I knit was actually the last one I came up with: a pink ruffled scarf.

A day or two after I'd settled on what I wanted to make for my friend, Interweave Knitting's Knitting Daily blog featured a free pattern for a ruffle scarf: exactly what I was looking for, and easy, too!

I had a hard time finding the right type of yarn. I knew I wanted something with a nice "halo" of fluff coming off it, but I didn't have time to go to the nearest yarn shop for something like angora (aka rabbit fur!), which the pattern called for. I settled on Jo-Ann Sensations brand Angel Hair Boucle. It's very soft, and even though it had a big potential for splitting (it's made of a fuzzy, bumpy yarn loosely twisted with another fiber that almost looks like embroidery floss), it wasn't too difficult to work with.

To make ruffles in a knit garment, we use kind of the opposite method we would in a sewn garment. When we're sewing, we take a much longer piece of fabric and gather it. When we're knitting (or at least in this pattern), we start with a shorter edge and increase a lot to make the ruffles. This pattern went from 96 stitches to 320 stitches in two rows. For just a little extra ruffle, I also started with smaller needles and moved to a larger size to make the ruffle even more dramatic.

This scarf started with a central spine down the length of the scarf (most, but not all, scarfs are knit the other way, going back and forth across the short edge). You make the ruffle by increasing on one side, then add length to the ruffle. You repeat this on the other side, starting over along the spine.

And the finished ruffles:

It was very soft and very warm, but I think it turned out a tiny bit short, and maybe a tad heavy. But all in all, I was very pleased with the result—and so was my friend!

Would you like to learn to knit? If there's enough interest, I'd be happy to make a short video showing how to make the four basic stitches that are the foundation of knitting.

Upcycling Baby Clothes for the Fourth!

Happy Birthday, USA!

Be sure to check out my guest post on the fastest crib sheet in the West at Creative Cowgirl!

Most of my kids' clothes are borrowed from their cousins or gifts, so I wouldn't dare cut them to pieces, even to make another cute outfit. But when a friend from church was getting rid of her granddaughter's out-grown clothes, I finally had a chance to make an upcycled baby outfit!

I started with 3-6 month denim shortalls and red and white gingham pants (not sure what size, but probably 2 or 3T).

I trimmed the legs off the overalls. The legless top fit my then-two-year-old. With the pants, I cut the seams off. (For some reason I decided only to take a picture of the seams here).

From there (after a hiatus of about a year from the project), I cut the pants into 2" strips lengthwise. I got 8 strips out of them. I sewed them into two big circles, about twice the circumference of the shortalls. After I hemmed one side, I was ready to make them into ruffles. To gather the fabric, use two rows of very long (basting) stitches. Once the rows are in, you just pull the thread to gather the fabric into a ruffle. Once it's small enough, tie the ends of the thread together to make sure the gathers don't come undone on the other end as you redistribute them.

I used a 1.5" wide strip of scrap muslin between the two layers of ruffles, and I topstitched the denim above the top layer.

It ended up a little longer on her than I expected, but still very cute! The red, white, and blue color scheme was perfect for the day before the Fourth of July :D.