Textile – Francois et Moi

Aromatic Lavender Sachets

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 13:56:20 +0000

For my wedding showers a few years ago, my mom had the genius idea of making lavender eye pillows as favors for guests to take home with them. There were a few leftover after the shower, so I took an extra one home and tucked it in my “unmentionables” drawer as a sachet and loved the subtle lavender scent it brought to our bedroom, so I decided to take a cue from my mom and sew up some sachets (which are about 1/2 the size of eye pillows), as stocking stuffers this year. Theses little bundles come together pretty quickly (I made three in an evening), and will make a nice, handmade addition to stocking trimmings this Christmas morning. Materials List: 1/8 of a Yard of Cotton Ticking White or Ivory Thread Hand Sewing Needle Sewing Pins 8.7 yards of Contrasting Embroidery 6-Strand Floss. I used DMC in Medium Plum. DMC Chenille Needle, Size 20 .5 oz (14 g) Dried Lavender (Available at Whole Foods) Scissors Ruler Pencil 1 Sheet of Paper 6″ x 6″ or Larger for Make-shift Funnel Scotch Tape Special Equipment: Sewing Machine (Optional, but recommended) Iron (Optional, but recommended) Creating the Fabric Pouches Step 1. Cut out six […]

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Tartan Trappings

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 13:52:26 +0000

I love the nod to tartan and plaid patterning that’s happening this fall in fashion, especially when the nod comes in the form of a cozy scarf. Last weekend, I picked up a few yards of a cotton flannel plaid, and by simply fraying the edges, created a scarf that will carry me into the winter months with warmth and style. (Though I’m keeping mine for myself, you could easily fray up a bunch of these for Holiday gifts that are right on trend!) Materials List: 2 Yards of your chosen tartan fabric. I used cotton flannel that I picked up in store at Joann Fabrics. Scissors Measuring Tape Step 1. Cut down the width of your fabric so that it’s roughly 25″ wide (x 72″ long). Use the fabric’s plaid grid as a guide when cutting your fabric down to size to help you create straight, clean cuts. Step 2. To achieve the fringe on the ends of the scarf, simply remove the fabric’s weft yarns (the yarns that run left to right) along the short side of the fabric. Continue removing yarns until you’ve reached your desired fringe length. I chose to do a 1-3/4″ fringe. Step 3. […]

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Chunky Knit Wool Blanket

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 13:00:08 +0000

I’m a textile nut. It’s an appreciation my mother first instilled in me at a young age and one that’s developed and refined itself over 4 years of working closely with textiles. Last winter, I’d been craving the loft and warmth of an uber chunky knit, wool blanket. One that my hubby and I could cuddle up in during those last few months of cold weather. I looked everywhere, but couldn’t find one that quite fit our budget. Never having knitted a purl in my life, I took a leap of faith and ordered Laura Birek’s Giganto Blanket Downloadable Tutorial here, as well as several pounds of raw wool roving from The Sheep Shed Studio. Laura’s tutorial is very detailed. She walks you through how to felt the wool roving in your bathtub! and how to knit your blanket using two pvc pipes as your knitting needles. (I used broomsticks, as I wanted a smaller gauge.) You can watch Laura knitting her blanket in action here. As an extremely beginner knitter (if I can even call myself one), I called upon the ‘ol internet for videos on how to cast on, how to use the backwards loop method, etc. Youtube has some […]

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