Bottle top magnets (Tutorial)

Mr gasket loves his craft beer. I mean really L.O.V.E.S loves it. He is always on the look out for new craft beer, imported beer, and when the occasion calls for it, we hit the road and travel to regional micro breweries. So it comes as no surprise that after a weekend, I can usually find a couple of bottle tops lying around.

 

 

 

During our last visit to Hawaii, we visited the Kona Brewery and mr gasket got this as a souvenir:

 

 

 

I didn’t notice he purchased this memento until after we returned home, and as soon as I saw it I told mr gasket that we can finally get rid of all the advertising magents (a major pet peeve for mr gasket) and I could make more bottle top magnets. Mr gasket L.O.V.E.D this idea, and so over the last six months he began to carefully twist/pop off the bottle tops of his drinks so that I can make cool magnets for our fridge.

 

And so I bring you the Bottle top magnet tutorial.

 

 

Materials

Bottle tops
Magnets, I used 20mm round magnets, but you could use square as long as they fit inside the bottle top
Glue gun
Glue sticks
Light coloured pencil (optional)

 

Step 1: Using your hot glue gun, squeeze enough glue inside the bottle top until it is approximately half way full. Put bottle top aside and allow to cool for a minute.

 

 

Step 2: Identify the one side of the magnet that is magnetised. Only one side of the magnet will attach to the fridge, my pack of magnets were marked with a white dot to represent the non-magnetic side.

 

 

 

If your magnets are not marked, work out which side is the non-magnetic side and mark with a light coloured pencil.

 

Step 3: Carefully place the magnet, non-magnetic side down, into the middle of the bottle top, and lightly press down. I didn’t want the edges of the bottle top to scratch the fridge, so the magnet sits slightly higher than the edges of the bottle top.

 

 

 

Allow the glue to cool completely with the magnet, and you’re done.

 

 

 

These magnets are a quick, cheap and easy gift to make. I gifted these to mr gasket for his very first Father’s Day, and he, you guessed it, L.O.V.E.D them.

 

I’d love to get my hands on some American soda bottle tops so I can get a bit more colour , so if you know where I can buy bottled American soda in Australia (or where I can buy American soda bottle tops online), leave me a comment below.

 

xoxo Bronwyn

Crochet cat headband (Tutorial)

Are you a cat person or a dog person?

If you would have asked me that question four years ago, I would have unequivocally said:

Dogs!

And I will ashamedly admit, that I would have scoffed at those who call themselves cat people, mr gasket included. Because I. just. didn’t. get. cats. They just seemed to either a) sit there, or b) FREAK OUT! Neither of which seemed to be endearing features of a furry companion.

So when we inherited Maxi, mr gaskets family cat, who miraculously appeared after 10 months on the run, we became a cat household. I was supportive of Maxi coming to live with us, on the proviso that he NEVER runs away again (mr gasket was sad when Maxi decided to leave home and didn’t to tell anyone where he was going).

A year later we adopted Ralphi, his mum was a feral bogan free spirit who had given birth in someone’s back yard. Luckily the backyard belonged to a Vet’s assistant who promptly scooped up Ralphi and his brother’s and sisters, and found them homes, ours being one of them. Again, I was supportive, but I was afraid to death of the stigma, you know, of being a two cat household.

Fast forward to today, me, mr gasket, Maxi and Ralphi are happy like pigs in … mud ;) and so I dedicate my first original tutorial to my two mates, who a) sometimes DO just sit there b) sometimes do FREAK OUT, but c) I NOW. do. get.

Crochet cat headband

*lots of picures!*

Materials:

1 x main colour 8ply wool

1 x contrast colour of 8ply wool

4.0mm crochet hook

Wool needle

Hobby fill

Glue gun

Plastic headband

Ear (create two)

Using main colour, create a magic loop. To create a magic loop, wrap main colour wool around your three middle fingers, then wrap a second and thrid time around only your middle and ring finger.

Secure the magic loop by hooking the large hoop and pulling underneath the two small hoops, to create a single chain. Hook the large loop again and pull through the single chain.

Now make five double crochets into the magic loop.Tighten the magic loop by slowly pulling on the loop closest to the end of the wool (you will notice that the other magic loop starts to close), and continue to pull until the other magic loop is completely closed.

Slip stitch into the first double crochet, and this is your first row/round.

Row 2: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next two stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next two stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop.

Row 3: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next three stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next three stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop.

Row 4: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next four stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next four stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop.

Row 5: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next five stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next five stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop.

Row 6: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next six stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next six stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop.

Row 7: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next seven stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next seven stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop. Cut end and cast off.

Inner ear (create two)

Using the contrast colour, create a magic loop. Chain two, then make two double crochets into the magic loop, (three chain, then three double crochets into the magic loop) twice. Cut end and cast off. the shape should resemble a flat triangle.

Make-up

Cut 20cm skein of contrast wool, and using a wool needle, hand sew one inner ear to the front of the main ear, starting at the bottom opening. Repeat for other ear.

Grab a small handful of hobby fill, and gently fill the inside of the main ear, but not too full that the front and back of the main ear cant be closed. Repeat for other ear. Cut a 20cm skein of main wool, and using wool needle, hand sew the front and back of the main ear closed, keeping as much of the hobby fill on the inside as possible.

Squeeze a small drop on the inside of one of the headband ends, and place the tip end of the main wool onto the glue. When it safe to touch, gently push the tip end of the wool into glue, and beginning from the bottom, wind the wool around the headband. Once you get to the other end of the headband, cut the wool from the ball, squeeze a small drop of glue on the inside of the headband end, and when it is safe to touch, push the tip end of the wool into the glue. Trim any excess.

*yes that is craft PVA glue in the picture, but a hot glue gun works better

Cut a 30cm skien of main wool, and using a wool needle, attach the wool to the bottom front left of one of the ears. Decide how far apart/close together you would like each ear to be, then begin to hand sew the ear around the headband, working from front to back, then around to the front again, making sure to gently pull tight each time you pull the needle through the ear. Repeat until you get to the end of the ear.

I wanted a small gap in between each ear at the top, so I just wound the wool around the headband until I was ready to attach the next ear (this also saves you from cutting the wool and then reattaching it to the next ear).

Hand sew the other ear around the headband from front to back until you get to the end. Knot, then sew in the end.

And here is the end result:

Meow!

Oh, and for the record I consider myself neither a dog person or a cat person. I consider myself to be a neutral middleground on the fence Switzerland person. Leave me a comment on what you consider yourself to be!

xoxo Bronwyn

Revamp: Tank top with ruffles tutorial

I love a bargain. I mean, really, really LOVE a bargain.

So when I saw that this cream long length tank top was only $5 at a factory warehouse sale, I had to have it.

The only problem with the tank top is that even with the diagonal detailing, it was still a bit boring for my liking and it needed a bit somethin’ somethin’.

So introducing, the tank top with ruffles tutorial.

Materials:

1 x boring tank top

Measuring tape

Cutting Mat

Scissors or rotary cutter

Fabric

Thread

Sewing Machine

Pins

Lay the tank top on a flat surface. I decided the best place to add my ruffled fabric is along the existing diagonal seams. Using a measuring tape, measure the length of where you want you ruffled fabric to start and finish. My seam measured 39cm. If you want the ruffled fabric to go the along the entire seam, you would double it. I only wanted the ruffled fabric to go half the length, so this piece of ruffled fabric, only needed to be 39cm.

Next cut the fabric by the length above, by your desired width. You can cut your fabric to any width, but I chose 5cm because that was the same width as the detailing on the tank. I also chose a polyester/cotton Gingham, but a 100% cotton fabric would work just as easily, so my fabric dimensions were 39cm by 5cm.

I wanted raw seams with some fraying, but not so much fraying that it would make a mess in my washing machine. So set your sewing machine to zig zag, and leaving a ½ cm gap edge, sew all the way around the fabric. If you want to avoid fraying, zig zag along the very edge of the fabric, or if you have an overlocker, stitch along the edge.

Next you need to set up the sewing machine to create the ruffles. The easiest way to do this is to first set your machine to a straight stitch. Next, set the machine to the longest stitch, for me it was 4. Then, you need to set your machine to the tightest tension, for my machine it was 9.

Leaving plenty of thread at the beginning, locate the middle length of the fabric (just eyeball it) and then slowly sew along the middle of the fabric. It should look like this:

Once you get to the end of the fabric, stop sewing and pull the fabric from behind the machine and cut, ensuring you leave plenty of thread at the end.

If the ruffles are too tight, gently pull the thread, and push the fabric outwards to the end, making sure not to break the thread.

If the ruffles are too loose, gently pull the thread, and push the fabric inwards to the middle, again making sure not to break the thread.

Once the ruffles are the desired length, position the ruffled fabric onto the tank top with sewing pins. After the fabric is fixed in place, readjust your stitch length and tension for a normal straight stitch, and stitch along the middle (where you just stitched to created the ruffles), pulling out the pins as required, and making sure you double back the start and finish.

I then repeated the process to make additional ruffled fabric, and here is the end result.

Not so boring now, huh? Let me know what you think of my first revamp tutorial in the comments!

xoxo Bronwyn