Sprightly Sewing

                 Water Density Experiment                                                            Homeschooling is such a fun way to learn. There is so much freedom in how far we can take  an experiment or how long we can work on it. The other day my husband started to explain to our kids why oil doesn't mix with water. So today we experimented with water density. There are different versions of this experiment and this is how we did ours.   Things needed : Oil, water, salt, sugar, food coloring, clear glasses or jars,measuring cup. Here's what we did: Step one: Fill three clear jars half way each with warm water. ( Helps the salt and sugar dissolve)  Pour 1/2 cup of salt in the first jar and stir it to mix. Pour 1/2 cup of sugar in the second jar and stir to mix. Leave the third jar with plain fresh water. (Notice the salt in ours didn't fully dissolve but was still more dense then the others.) Step two: Pour 1/2 a cup of vegetable oil into ea

A couple tricks for washing locks I have some beautiful Finn sheep locks. They were given to me from a very sweet woman. But they need to be washed. I want to try making a weft from them, so I am hoping to keep them intact. I have been experimenting ways to do that. Here are two things I tried.   Please note hat these were experiments, just things I tired and how they worked for me.  First I have this garden netting stuff. I thought about using chicken wire, but its sharp and I didn't want to cut myself. This also has smaller openings. Another advantage to this is that its firm and works like a cage.  So I cut out a piece long enough that if folded in half it fits in my sink. I pressed down on the fold to make it stay better. Then I placed   my locks on one side. After that I folded it over and clipped the sides together. So that it would hold the locks together.  Then I immersed in my very hot soapy water for about 15-20 min. (I have since found that openin

Washing wool So you have to wash some wool? Yea me too.  I am fairly new at it, Okay really new at it. ;P I have two sheep, They are South down Babydolls. I absolutely love them and their wool. I was blessed to get a breeding pair, one black and one white. I don't know why, but the male, had an abundance of wool. Like it had been growing longer then the females or something. I suppose his size played a role in the actually amount he had too. Hes a big babydoll. Anyway I am washing wool and preparing it for Etsy! Fun times.  You can do fairly large amounts and the washing process is the same, but I like to do mine in very small batches. I pull the "locks" apart into small sections. then I pick through them a little and separate the ends a bit.  After that is done, I fill my sink about half way with very hot water. Then I add dish soap. Most people say to use dawn I think, but we use Amway stuff and it works great for me. I kind of stir it so its spreads t

    Little boys knit pajama bottoms   I said I was going to share the matching bottoms to my boys T-shirt and there they are! My little guy was super happy to have them on too. Do you want to make some? They are really easy to make. You don't even need elastic.    You will need a pair of pants that fit your boy. Knit fabric, in two colors if you want contrast. I use an over lock machine. If you do not have one I suggest a stretch stitch. I would also re enforce the edges. You start by using the pants you already have for a pattern. Fold them in half on top of the knit which is also folded in half and cut out around the pants.  Note: if you picked a knit that only stretches one directions, Then cut it so the stretch goes in the horizontal direction with everything.     You should have two of these cut out. It is easiest if you make the side on the fold. So there is no seam on the outside on the pants. Next you need to cut out your an

Boys belt...with a buckle.     Its really simple to make this belt. The part that makes it great for younger boys, like my three year old, is that it is easy for them to take on or off. I had made my boys D ring belts but they had a hard time getting them off when it was time to potty. Getting them on was a hassle for them too. So this time I thought about easy solutions. So first measure the length you want and opening size of your buckle. Then cut long strips of the fabric you want to use. My buckle opening was 1 inch. So I cut my fabric about 1 and a half inches wide and about 26 inches long. then I Serge the long sides. After that I used a safety pin to turn it right side out. Then I folded in the ends and stitched all the way around. Then you sew one end onto your buckle and lace the other end through the other buckle piece. Easy Peasy! I got the buckle pieces from Joann. But I am sure you can get them at any fabric craft store. Have a great day! Don't f

Do it yourself boys T-shirt ! Adorable baby not included!   So you want to make a boys t-shirt? I did. Isn't it cute? This shirt is great because it is made from a cotton knit. It has a wide neck so it is easy to slip over my big guys head without yanking. No difficult buttons to attach. Plus it is that cute baseball style shirt. We need more little boy tutorials out there don't we? I sure think so.    I used my over lock machine to stitch this shirt. If you don’t have one use a zigzag or stretch stitch on your machine. I would use that same stitch on the very edges to re-enforce. Also use a knit needle. Its makes a big difference! So first grab a long sleeve T-shirt and fold it in half. Fold the arm underneath. Because this isn't a typical arm, fold it up to the neck line. Eliminating the shoulder.   Okay next you want to lay that shirt onto your folded piece of knit fabric you're making the shirt out of. Make sure the center of