Years ago Farmer John asked me to make him an apron to wear while processing chickens. I made him 3. I’m sure he loves me for that.

I chose to use feed sacks for the material for a few reasons. One reason being that I love the idea of repurposing material. Number two, they didn’t need to be fancy aprons – the chickens, nor Farmer John care. Number three: they are super simple to rinse off. And, four, the price was right.

Whenever I use feed sacks I find my biggest dilemma is how to get the slippery material to not slip while sewing. If you can figure that out, then this project will be a cinch.

The aprons require very few materials and basic sewing skills.

Required Items

• 2 feed sacks (same design)
• 2 30″ pieces of webbing
• 1 26″ piece of webbing
• thread & sewing machine
• scissors and/or rotary cutter

Preparing the Feed Sack

Rinse the feed sacks and let dry.

Cut off the bottom edge of one sack. You can discard that piece, you won’t need it. Then, cut up the middle of the back. The sack now opens to one flat piece of fabric to use for your apron.

Creating the Apron Shape

Find the middle of the front of your sack and fold the sack in half. Trim off about an inch from the side. Pin the sack together.

With a pen, make a mark at 7″ in from the side. Make another mark 10″ down from the top. To make the arm hole shape, I made a straight line a few inches long from the top. I also made a straight line a couple inches in from the side. Then free formed a curve, connecting the straight lines. Using a rotary cutter or scissors, cut along the pen line. Since the sack is folded in half, you should be cutting through both sides.

Open the sack and see the lovely apron shape.

Sewing the Top Section

Cut a few small slits along the curved section of the arm holes.

Fold over the arm hole edges 1/4″ – 1/2″.

Fold over the top edge 1/2″, then fold it over again.

Tuck both ends of your neck strap under the folded top edge. Then flip the strap up and pin in place.

Starting at the side of one arm hole, sew around the arm hole, along the top edge, and down around the other arm hole.

Making a Big Pocket

From the second feed sack, cut off the bottom and cut up the middle back just like the first sack.

I don’t have exact measurements on where to cut the sack for the pocket. It varies a bit depending on the design on the sack. But, it will typically be about 1/3 to 1/2 up from the bottom of the sack. I just pick an area that looks pleasing – like not through text or animal faces. Once you find your optimal pocket top, cut 3/4″ above it. You will now have a rectangular piece of fabric.

Fold over 3/4″ along the top edge of your pocket. Straight (or zig zag) stitch along the top edge.

Pin your rectangle pocket piece to the main apron.

Sewing the Bottom Section

Lay the rectangle pocket piece on top of the main apron. They are now acting as one fabric piece.

Fold over the remaining unsewn edges 1/2″, making sure the pocket edges are folded too. Fold the edges over again.

The bottom corners get quite thick due to the number of layers folded. I trim off a bit.

Fold the corners so they come together nicely and pin in place.

Tuck each side tie under the folded side edge. Then flip the side tie out and pin in place.

Starting at the top of a side, sew down the side, along the bottom, and up the other side.

And, Done!

The apron is now ready for all those sloppy chores.

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On my quest to find ways to use all the feed sacks, I came up with bags to grow herbs and greens.

Making them is very similar to sewing the tote bag. The differences are size and no handles.

This is a fairly easy sewing project. My biggest problem, as always, is using the feed sack as fabric. It is slippery and sometimes jams the needle in my sewing machine. Going slow seems to help.

CUTTING THE BAG FOR HEIGHT

Trim the top and bottom of the bag to 12″ high.

CUTTING THE WIDTH OF THE BAG

Using scissors, cut the back of the bag down the middle.

Fold the bag in half(ish), centering the front.

From the center line, measure over 14″ & cut.

ADDING EMBELLISHMENTS

These bags were meant to be placed in my kitchen window and/or front porch, so I wanted to add just a little something for a homey feel. I have quite the lace and ribbon stash, so I chose to use them for the added decor.

It is easiest to add the lace and ribbon while the bag is one flat piece of fabric. I prefer to sew on the pretty stuff prior to sewing the bag back together.

To hold the lace in place while sewing, I first used a bit of fabric glue. It wasn’t totally necessary, but, it did help.

I chose a medium width ribbon, so there was enough to fold over the top of the bag. This created a nice, finished look to the bag.

SEWING THE BAG BACK TOGETHER

Fold the bag in half, inside facing out. Sew along the open edge about 1/2″ in. I sew a double line for extra durability.

Arrange the bag, inside out, so the seam is in the middle of the back. This ensures that the design on the front of your bag is centered.

Sew along the bottom edge.

BOXED CORNERS

The boxed corners are tricky to figure out at first. But, once you figure out how to fold the bag, they’re a cinch.

First, fold/push the bottom of the bag at each side to create a corner. The corner you make lays flat, but don’t expect the rest of the bag to.

I prefer these herb bags to have a wide bottom, so I create a fairly large boxed corner. On each side of the pointy corner, measure and place a mark at 3.5″.

Draw a line connecting the marks.

Sew along the line. Again, I do a double stitch.

Trim off excess fabric.

Repeat on the other side.

Turn the bag so the pretty side is out.

A PEEK INSIDE THE BAG

When done, the inside of the bag should look similar to this:

THE BAG IS COMPLETE

FILLING THE BAG

I put about 2″ of gravel at the bottom of the bag to help with drainage.

Next, I added dirt & compost.

Finally, I added plants. I started plants from seed earlier in the season, so I used those in the bags. Some bags had herbs, some had lettuce & kale.

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The few weeks leading up to Christmas were cold and/or rainy making it perfect weather to work on inside crafty projects. I got out the sewing machine and made a few Christmas presents.

My sewing skills would be considered novice & I typically tend to get in over my head. I have a horrible time understanding the printed directions in a pattern and spend way too much time with my seam ripper. Thankfully, my skills must be improving. I didn’t have TOO much trouble with these projects.

UNIFORM BAGS

APRONS

CHRISTMAS EVE PAJAMAS

These didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped. The pajama pants I made for the boys are way too big in the butt area. Maybe I sewed them wrong? My kids just don’t have that much junk in the trunk. The nightgown, though, turned out ok.

FUN HATS

PILLOWCASE

I found “I Bacon” fabric at Joann’s and knew I had to make something with it for my oldest son. He really does love bacon & he’s currently raising pigs. I decided on a pillowcase. It’s not my best work. But, he doesn’t seem to mind.

FELT FUN

The kids & I made felt chicken ornaments for our Poultry 4H gift exchange. I made the rooster at the lower right. It took me a couple hours to sew him together. He’s cute, but I don’t think he’s cute enough for the time I spent on it.
I didn’t use a pattern for the penguins. I found a couple photos and then winged it. It’s not quite as cute of a display as I was hoping, but the penguins turned out ok. And, most importantly, the kids loved it.

CHRISTMAS QUILT

It’s been a long time since I have had much time to dedicate to sewing. It was nice.

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season!

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Farm Kid2, Farm Girl & I dressed up in an Alice in Wonderland theme for our church’s harvest party. My hubby & Farm Kid1 were at a cub scout event that weekend so they weren’t part of our fun. I would have enjoyed them being there, but honestly it was nice to only have to make 3 costumes instead of 5. We didn’t decide on this theme until a week before the party, which meant I spent every free second pulling together the costumes.

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MAD HATTER

Farm Kid2’s natural personality fits the Mad Hatter character perfectly.
The hat: a Dollar Tree hat as the base, then a cardboard frame & paper mache to make it tall
The wig: Brave’s Merida wig
The jacket: leftover material from when I made our Star Wars costumes.

ALICE

Farm Girl as Alice
The skirt: completely made from tulle
The top: My own design using tulle, blue fabric & shiny white leftover fabric from her Princess Leia costume

RED QUEEN

Me as the Red Queen
I used a McCall’s pattern. The pattern, for the most part, was easy enough to follow. My biggest hang up was putting in the zipper. I’ve never put in a zipper correctly before & was determined to do it right this time. It took me 4 or 5 times to get it right. Too many times undoing my stitches was really starting to make me grumpy. But, I eventually finished it. I thought the kids would enjoy me dressing up with them & they did. But, I’m still not sure it was worth the time, effort & money to make the costume for me.

I do appreciate Halloween as a chance to dress up & have fun with pretend play. I heard  “Off with their heads” & “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date!” many times that day.

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If you have livestock, you have lots of feed bags. We use the empty bags in various ways, but when I saw a tote made from one, I knew I had to try to make one.

The first one was easy enough to make, but took me a bit to figure out everything – especially the boxed corners. The corners were really easy to make once I figured it out. I made the next bags fairly quickly. I used directions from both Fresh Eggs Daily & Community Chickens.

SIZING THE BAG

I didn’t use exact measurements to cut the feed sack. I cut off the top & bottom of the sack where I thought the tote bag would look best.

The way I cut the feed bag gave me one side with a nice design.

The back isn’t as cute. On the plus side, if you ever need to know the benefits or directions of the feed you will always have it with you.

BOXED CORNERS

I love the boxed corners & flat bottom. I’ve made bags before, but never with a flat bottom. It’s so much nicer for groceries.

I’m good with photos, not so good with written directions. But, I will attempt to explain the boxed corner:

Top Left: Fold the bottom of the bag to get a corner. Measure from the pointy corner up both sides the same distance – about 1″ – 2″. Mark the two spots & draw a line connecting the dots.
Top Right: Sew along the line. I came in a little and sewed a 2nd line.
Bottom Left: Trim off the excess
Bottom Right: Complete the steps again for the opposite corner. Then, turn the bag so the white side is facing in.

HANDLES

A few of my bags have handles made from cotton webbing. I love the way Fresh Eggs Daily attached the handles by tucking the handles under the fold at the top. I had never added handles using that method. I’m glad I tried it. The handles seem nice & secure and an actual part of the bag as opposed to feeling like the handle could pull off.

I didn’t have enough webbing to finish the last two bags, so I used scraps from the cut feed bags to make handles using directions from Community Chickens. I like carrying the bags with the webbing handles better than the feed bag scrap handles. But, I like the matchy-matchy look of the feed bag handles.

MAKING IT PRETTY

It’s an extra step, but I prefer the look of sewing lace or ribbon to the top edge.

I love this project. It was exactly what I like – easy, quick & no need to be perfect.

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A number of years ago I bought myself a used sewing machine. One of the first projects I made were stockings for the 5 of us. I have always wanted to make us stockings. Woo hoo! I finally made them & years later I still love them.

The pattern I used was Joann’s Debbie Mumm Stocking. Overall, the stockings were fairly easy to make. My two biggest problems were reading the directions correctly & the applique snowmen. For some reason I have a hard time understanding pattern directions. There is always some part that throws me off & I end up undoing what I’ve just sewn together. I have never appliqued, but I decided to give it a try. There was a little bit of a learning curve, but I got it figured out.

CUTTING FABRIC & PATCHWORK

The first step in creating the 5 stockings was to cut 660 2.5″ squares, using 15 different fabrics.

Then I sewed 6 squares into a strip, continuing with all the squares. Next, I sewed 11 of the strips together to make one big rectangle shaped piece of fabric. I then cut the stocking pattern out of that rectangle. I also did this for the back of the stockings.

Next, I cut the stocking pattern out of my lining fabric & batting. I also cut the pieces for the cuff out of lining fabric & batting.

APPLIQUE

Right or wrong, this is how I sewed my appliques. I began by cutting out my shapes from fabric and the heat & bond. Then I placed the heat & bond on top of the patchwork stocking and placed the snowman fabric on top of the heat & bond. I had never used heat & bond. But, it was amazingly simple – literally, the iron heated the material up & it bonded to my fabric. After the snowman was fused on, I sewed around the edges. It took me a few practice tries on scrap fabric to get the stitch just right. Also, the inner corners were tricky but I faked my way through it.

Next, I used the heat & bond to fuse on the hat and scarf. Then, sewed around them. The outside corners were the tricky parts for me this time. And finally, I sewed on buttons & beads for the detail. After finishing the snowman, I placed the front and back of the patchwork stocking right sides together and sewed them to make the outside of the stocking.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Putting all these pieces together was the hardest thing for me to figure out. One day I’m hoping I can get through a project without any mistakes.

The Lining ~ Here was my biggest mistake: The directions said “Sew the lining with right sides together leaving an opening for turning.” So, my thought process told me – Duh! there’s a huge opening at the top of the stocking. I was smart enough to realize I didn’t want to sew together the top of the stocking. But, what I didn’t realize was that it actually meant to leave another opening near the bottom.

The Cuff ~ Again, I didn’t understand the directions. So, I just did what worked for me. Which, in the end, is what I think the directions might have been saying anyway – it’s just not the way I read them. I think the main difference between what I did and what the directions say is that I sewed my fabric loop together before placing the batting on the fabric. That way it was out of my way while I was sewing. I wish I would have taken a pic of this stage because it was really simple, but the directions through me off.

The Hanging Tab ~ Directions say: “Cut out 2″ x 8″ fabric piece for the hanging tab. Fold in half lengthwise and sew a  1/4″, turn” This one I actually figured out on the first try.

Putting it all Together ~ This is where the fact that I hadn’t left an opening at the bottom of my lining messed me up. I read & actually understood the directions. But, when it came time to turn my stocking I obviously couldn’t turn it because there wasn’t an opening to turn it through. So, I took it apart, reread the directions, & after lots of frustration I finally figured out that I had it together right in the first place. I just hadn’t left the opening in the bottom of the lining. After making the first one, the others were easy to finish.

FINISHED STOCKINGS

I am pleased with the way they turned out even with the couple of small problems. One day maybe I’ll make a matching tree skirt.

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Some years I make costumes for Halloween; some years I don’t. It just depends on what I feel like doing or what the kids want to be. This year proved to be a bit tricky, but came together great. I knew we were going to Disneyland for Mickey’s Halloween Party. But the kids didn’t.

I wanted their costumes to be Disney related, but still be manly enough for the boys. I decided on Star Wars since Disneyland has the Star Tours ride & Jedi training. I know nothing about Star Wars. I never watched the movies as a kid. And still have only seen part of episode 1. But, since I don’t live under a rock it was easy enough to come up with characters. Farm Kid2 quickly agreed to be Yoda. I planned on Farm Kid1 being somebody handsome such as Obi Wan Kenobi, but he chose to be the mean, old Emperor. Farm Girl had no idea who Princess Leia was, but since Leia was a princess she agreed.

I searched online for costumes, but didn’t find anything that worked. Eventually I decided to make them. Luckily I found a super simple jedi robe pattern online. I used the pattern on all the costumes, including the robes I made for the 3 adults. The kids costumes, though, have a few additions. A pattern almost doesn’t get easier than this one for the jedi robe. It really was simple. Although, it did require many yards of fabric.

I needed the kids to try on their costumes so I could make adjustments. I told them I was trying to get their costumes done before we left on our trip because I wouldn’t have enough time before Halloween to make them after we got back. They totally fell for it. I snuck a bag full of our costumes, makeup & light sabers in the car. Thankfully they never cared what was in that bag. I was able to keep the fact that we were trick or treating at Disneyland a surprise until the day of the party.

I wish I would have taken pics as I was sewing these to show how I put them together. But dang it! I didn’t.

I used a variety of different materials. They all held up well to the elements. But, they were hot. I mean uncomfortably hot. It was well into the 90’s when we were in Anaheim. Even at night, these were not cool costumes. They were perfect for trick or treating Halloween night here in the Pacific NW, though.

THE EMPEROR

This should be a two part costume. The black tunic underneath & a black robe. I thought I’d be smart & save myself a little material by making this a one part costume instead of two. I sewed the tunic into the robe to appear as a separate piece. But, Farm Kid1 needed a way in & out of the costume so I used little snaps at the top. They didn’t work well & kept coming undone. I should have sprung for the extra fabric & made it two separate pieces.

YODA

Yoda’s costume is two separate pieces. It’s basically two of the jedi robes. The only difference is the brown one isn’t cut open in the front. It does have a slit half way down the back, though, held together with snaps. This, and our adult jedi robes, were the easiest for me to make.

I made Yoda ears using one of Farm Girl’s headbands. This was fairly easy to put together. The headband is covered in green fleece. Each ear is two pieces sewn together, with an extra smaller piece of fleece in the middle to stiffen the ears just a tad. Luckily Farm Kid2 didn’t mind wearing the ears. I was afraid they’d be uncomfortable, but they didn’t seem to be. I also was concerned that the ears might flop. But, Farm Kid2 wore this costume three times & the ears have held up.

PRINCESS LEIA

The Princess Leia costume was a bit tricky. When I googled this costume in the movie it had both a higher neck, like a turtle neck, and also a hood. That meant I wanted to add both to her costume. Figuring out how to sew that and actually get her in & out of the costume was a waste of time. It really didn’t need both. She hated the turtle neck part. Luckily it velcroed in the back so I was able to undo it. And the hood, she only put on once. There had to be an easier way to sew that part of the costume. The back is quite a mess of velcro, snaps & safety pins.

I bought sparkly white material for the dress & sewed on silver ribbon around the arms & bottom of the dress. The belt is a separate piece. It’s not fancy. It’s two rectangles sewn together, with silver in the front.

This costume isn’t perfect, but she was so cute in it that it was worth the effort. She even won first place for her age group in the costume contest at our church harvest party. Yoda won for his age group, as well.

JEDI

The Jedi costumes for the three adults were quick & easy to make. Their only downfall is that they were too heavy & hot for California weather.

STAR WARS FUN @ MICKEY’S HALLOWEEN PARTY

We had a lot of fun trick or treating during Mickey’s Halloween Party in our Star Wars costumes.

Pluto signing our autograph books.

Of course, we had to do Star Tours that evening. We also ate at the Tommorowland Terrace & took pictures with Storm Troopers to keep with our theme.

The effort was all worth it. This will go down as one of my all time favorite Halloween’s ever. My mom & nephew met us in Disneyland & all 7 of us wore costumes. I’m sure the kids would have had fun even if us adults didn’t dress up, but I think it made the happiest place on earth even happier.

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