Back to School DIYs Day 2: Easy Pocketed Sweatshirt

Here's a really simple project to spruce up old sweaters, tee shirts, and more! It's super easy and a great way to use old fabric scraps you have lying around.

Materials:

You will need a sweatshirt or tee shirt that you want to spruce up (Thrifted is best, but these Hanes sweatshirts are also pretty inexpensive and super soft), a scrap of fabric (mine is from an old flannel shirt), a sewing machine, an iron & ironing board, pins, scissors, and matching thread.

Step 1: Cutting the Pocket

For this step you can either make your own pattern like I did, or find one online. There are tons out there with lots of variations. I like these ones form Colette Patterns.

Here's how I made my pattern:

I have this pocket I cut off of an old pair of jeans. It's the size and shape that I like, so I just traced it onto my fabric piece, making sure to stay at least half an inch from the edge:

I added a 1/2 inch seam allowance to the side and bottom edges and 1 1/2 inches to the top edge:

Then I cut it out:

Step 2: Ironing

Take your cut piece over to the ironing board and fold and the seam allowance on all of the edges, starting at the bottom:

 *sorry about the gross looking ironing board, it has seen better days!

When you flip the piece over, it will look like this:

See those little tabs hanging over the sides at the top? We don't want those, so just cut them off at an angle:

Next, bring your piece over to the sewing machine and sew the top flap down 1 inch from the edge:

This is what the back will look like:

 Cut off the seam allowance:

Step 3: Sew it On!

Put in your sweatshirt (or chosen article of clothing) and decide where you want the pocket to be placed and pin it on:

 Take off the sweatshirt and pin all the way around the bottom and sides:

Take this to the sewing machine and start sewing it on, beginning from the top of one of the sides:

Sew the pocket on very close to the edge.

When you reach a corner, put the needle down into the fabric, lift the presser foot, and pivot the fabric so you can sew along the next straight line:

*note- if you are sewing a pocket onto a knit fabric like this, keep in mind that the sweatshirt is more stretchy than the pocket fabric. Make sure you aren't stretching it at all when you sew the pocket on.

Go all the way around the sides and bottom, leaving the top edge open. Don't forget to backstitch at the start and the finish to keep the pocket on securely!

And you're done!

I like to put a few pens in my pocket so I look smarter :)

This sweatshirt is so cozy! Try this on tee shirts, pants, jackets, bags, whatever you want! You can put fun trims on your pockets, use crazy patterned fabric, or put a solid colored one on a basic shirt for a colorblocked look. You could replace the pockets on your jeans with colored or patterned ones or put some on a bag for extra storage!

Back to School DIYs Day 1: Upcycled Hardcover Notebook

With school just around the corner, I figured it would be a good time to post a blast of DIY projects to get you started on a creative foot. This week, I will post a new project every day to get you psyched for this year! Today's project is an easy notebook made out of an old hardcover book.

Have you ever been looking through old books at a garage sale or second-hand store and found a book with a super cool looking cover, but you know you probably would never read it? Here is an easy DIY project that you can do with those books!

I found a collection of these old Reader's Digest books at the thrift store the other day for only 25 cents:

They have really cute patterns on the covers!

Materials:

You will meed a hardcover book, a ruler or carpenter square, an X-Acto knife, a power drill with a 1/16" drill bit, embroidery thread in a color of your choice, paper, bulldog clips, and a tapestry needle.

(I forgot to put the clips and the needle in the photo... Oops!)

Step 1: Take Apart Your Book

Open the front cover of the book and cut the cover away from the pages using your X-Acto knife.

 Turn the book over and cut the other side free:

 Save the pages for another project... or read the book!

Step 2: Cut Paper to Fit

Measure the height and width of the book cover, including the spine in the width measurement. Mine was 6"x7.5"

Take these measurements and subtract half an inch from both. (5.5"x7" for me)

Using your ruler or carpenter square, mark out that measurement on a piece of paper:

Stack your paper and cut through multiple sheets at once using your ruler and X-Acto knife:

Cut out as many sheets as you would like. I ended up with about 80 pages.

Save the excess pieces for scratch paper!

Step 3: Assembly

Make a mark every half inch at the joint between the spine and the cover:

 Sandwich the paper inside the covers and secure with bulldog clips:

 Drill holes along your markings, making sure to drill through both covers and the paper

*Note- it's important that the holes are drilled at the joint of the book cover so that the book can open easily.

 Keep the clips on the book and thread your tapestry needle with about 4 feet of embroidery thread:

 Thread through the first hole at the top, and tie the thread around the top of the book:

 Cut off the excess:

 Thread back through the top hole to hide the knot:

 Begin weaving the thread through the holes as you would sew a running stitch (over, under, over, under):

 When you reach the other end, loop back around and weave back, this time in the opposite direction to fill in the gaps:

 When you reach the top again, tie off by threading the needle under the first stitch and looping the thread through itself:

Repeat 2-3 times until it feels secure and cut off the excess.

And you are done! Your finished product should look something like this:

Try this with a thrifted copy of your favorite classic book or just one with cool cover artwork! Remember-you can still read the book, but use your own discretion as far as using really nice vintage books or first editions. And please don't deconstruct any family heirlooms!

 I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you try it, let me know. I would love to see it!