Free Transfer Printable - Make Your Own Bag or T-Shirt!

After missing last weeks Friday freebie I thought I should make it up to you today with a great one (in fact, keep reading to the end for links to other great free finds).

I recently got my hands on a few meters of lightweight canvas when my incredibly generous mother in law found some going cheap and bought it for me. I was unsure what to do with it at first and knew that, if I put it in my stash, it could sit there for years before it saw the light of day again!

Coincidentally, my daughter started making teenage grumbling noises about needing a bag to take her cooking ingredients to school - carrier bags are 'so not right' according to her. So bags it was!

I went for a simple tote style with a long handle. To be honest, although I can sew, I really have to be in the mood for it and have lots of time and space around me to turn out anything worth talking about. If you are pressed for time or just can't be bothered you can pick up cheap (£1) canvas totes in Hobbycraft.



Hobbycraft Tote for £1

Once I had a few made up I kicked myself for not using applique to decorate them, like I said I'm really up to my eyeballs with a few different projects right now! So I had to come up with something simple, quick and fun to decorate them.

Then it hit me... I had some old t-shirt transfer paper left from an afternoons fun with the kids a few years ago. I've checked and it's still readily available in lots of places but one of the best, and cheapest, I found is at Wilkinsons.



Wilko's transfer paper

I then made some mini donuts and a cup of tea and cranked up the laptop to Photoshop some magic!

I was quite pleased with the results, although I really need to get some better photographs!

Game of Thrones Bag

Geek Chic

I'm sure that all you crafty people are more than capable of designing something perfect for you, but if you fancy one of the above designs then you can get the full size jpegs by clicking on the images below.

 

Of course you might not want to buy a whole pack of paper, or it might be hard to get your hands on a bag so you can always pop along to my Etsy shop and buy them or other designs!

 

And now the observant of you are all hanging on for the other freebie I promised you :) I found this amazingly beautiful word art from artsy-fartsy mama. I think it will look amazing in a fancy little frame and plan on printing one out to hang in my hallway!

 

 

I really recommend you pop over to check out the rest of her blog - it's stunning!

Soap Sock Tutorial

A Soap Sock!

This soap sock is a neat way to make your soap stretch a little further while gently exfoliating your skin. You can knit them up in half an hour and use whatever yarn you have to hand. I'm told that felting wool is great because it actually shrinks with the soap as you use it, but my particular favourite is using string! Not the horrid nylon stuff but the old fashioned 100% cotton twine. It's a little strange, at first, knitting with something that has no 'give' whatsoever but it's a simple project so doesn't cause too many headaches!

First of you will need...

Use what you have to finish up your yarn

A ball of your chosen yarn (or string)
A pair of knitting needles - I use 8mm but play around to find what works best with your yarn.
A bar of soap - whatever you like best!
A pair of scissors and a cup of tea (all the best projects involve tea or wine and since I'm detoxing it's tea for me!)

Start by casting on in your preferred style. I've always gone for the 'Thumb' method myself! You'll need to cast on enough stitches to cover 3 sides of your soap - I have cast on 12 with this chunky string and 8mm needles. Just remember to cast on an even number of stitches.

Now this next stage could sound daunting if you've never tried double knitting but it's unbelievably simple and so quick to do you will be a pro in no time.

Knit your first stitch. Then slip your next stitch as if to purl - this means put your needle as if you are going to purl the stitch and then just slip it over. Carry on with knit one, slip one  until you reach the end of the row. You will always finish on a slipped stitch.

Once you have worked a few rows like this you will be able to feel 2 sides to your knitting and actually be able to separate them a little!

There is a great video explaining the method:

 Turn your work around and repeat until your 'sock' is long enough to hold your bar of soap. Always start on a knit stitch and finish on a slip!

Once your sock is long enough you've reached the scary part! Leave a long tail - about 1.5 meters - and slip your work off your  needle. Yes, I said slip it right off without casting off.

Just be brave and pull the needle out!

Now gently prize your work open (like opening a bag of crisps!) and carefully thread your long tail through each of your stitches, starting with the last knitted stitch.

Gently prize work apart

 Be careful not to drop any stitches as you thread your tail through them!



This is the hardest part!

Once you have caught every stitch on your tail you can turn it inside out, pop your bar of soap inside and pull the tail to tighten around the top of the bar.


Now the reason for the extra long tail...  We're going to make a handle to hang your soap from so it can dry out and not go all squishy between uses!

Make a slip knot in the yarn, as close to the sock as you can get it. Form a loop and tuck it into the noose. Make another loop and tuck it into the previous loop. Keep repeating. When the chain is long enough, lock it by passing the end through the final loop. See here for animated instructions.
 
Tie the loop to form a handle and you're done!

Please let us know what you think, and feel free to ask questions or show us your finished soap socks!

Can't find the time to make it but really want to own one? Visit my Etsy shop to buy one today!



Nikki x

Scrunched Heart Tutorial

Now that Christmas is well and truly over it's time to think forward to the next even on the crafters calendar... Valentines day!

Now we at Craft UK generally prefer style over sentimentality but the odd heart here and there isn't going to spoil our week, so long as it's a stylish heart! Last year we made a tonne of these in various sizes and used them to decorate our stand at a local craft fair. There are so many applications for them from scrapbooking and card-making to decorating tables or even giving your place settings and gift tags a 3rd dimension.

So knock yourself out, experiment with sizes and colours, and find what works for you.

Cute 3D Scrunched Heart

What you need:

An old book - we love the slightly yellowed look of old paper but whatever you find in a charity shop for 10p will work just fine!

A 1" circle punch, scalloped or plain.

A piece of stiff card cut into a heart shape

Scissors

A blunt pencil

Decent glue - you can use a glue gun but we are loving Touch of Gloss right now

Optional extras:

A brooch pin

Ribbon

Stamping inks

Paints

Gather your 'ingredients'

 Step 1: Cut out a heart using the stiff card and scissors (obviously) and punch a whole load of 1" circles from your old book.

Step 2: 'Scrunch' the paper circles over the top of the blunt pencil. It's probably best to do a load of these and then glue them all in one go, otherwise it gets messy and your glue can dry while you're busy scrunching!

Scrunch them over your pencil

Step 3: Starting with the outside edge glue your scrunched up paper to your card heart. Once the outside is done, continue working towards the middle until the entire heart is covered. When working on the inside we found it easier to hold the paper over the tip of your pencil and ad a little dab of glue directly to it. Then use the pencil to position and press your paper in place.

Work from the outside first

Now leave it to dry for an hour - have a cup of tea, write us a guest piece, or even start working on the next heart!

Giant Heart, but little ones work fine too!

Step 4: This is where you can get really creative. Brushing our heart over a stamping ink pad can add a touch of colour, or perhaps you want to make it bold with a spray paint or even dabbing on some pva glue and going wild with the glitter?

Personally, we like 'em plain but whatever floats your boat!

Let us know if you make any of these scrunched hearts or, better still, send us a photo for the gallery (and a link to your web site).


Happy crafting!

Nikki x