58. Easy Felt Eyeglass Case

Finished Dimensions: 
2 3/4" x 6 3/4"
Materials:
8" x 10" sage green felt, for case
11/2" x 2" mustard felt, for outer leaves
1" x 1 1/2" peach felt, for inner leaves
Embroidery floss in rose (for case, leaves, and button) and brown (for stem)
3/4" diameter button

Stitches Used:
Double Running Stitch, Blanket Stitch, Straight Stitch.

1. Cut Case Felt and Appliqué Pieces
With fabric shears, cut two 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" pieces out of the corners of the sage green felt.

With paper scissors, cut out the leaves from the template. Pin the paper patterns to the felt pieces as designated in Materials and cut out the appliqué pieces with fabric shears.

2. Assemble Appliqué Design
Assemble the appliqué design on the sage green felt as shown in the drawing below, with the peach inner leaves stacked on top of the mustard leaves.

Make sure that all the leaves slant upward, with the largest ones at the bottom. Temporarily secure the pieces in place with glue stick.

As you complete the decorative stitches for the design during this step, tie off all knots on the wrong side of the felt. Stitch around each inner leaf 1/8" from the edge using double running stitch and single-ply rose floss. Connect the leaves with a branch by sewing stems with 2-ply brown floss and double running stitch. At each point where the leaf and stem meet, make a single stitch through all layers.

3. Sew Case
With the appliquéd side down, fold the sage green felt on the fold lines shown in the drawing above, tucking the right side under the left to create a top flap piece. With the flap up and out of the way, fold and pin the overlapped fabric in place. Starting at the bottom left corner, tie a knot on the inside of the sandwiched felt with 3-ply rose floss. Blanket stitch across the bottom of all 3 layers with stitches 1/4" apart. Straight stitch up the seam on the right side through only two layers of felt, then to the left along the top opening, around the single-layer flap, and back to the opening on the right before knotting off on the inside.

Sew the button onto the center front of the case, 1 1/2" below the opening. Fold the flap over the button and mark a 3/4" horizontal slit for the buttonhole. Make sure that the button matches up with the slit before cutting the felt. Keep in mind also that the buttonhole should not be too large or loose, because the felt will stretch. Carefully cut the buttonhole open using the tip of fabric shears or small embroidery scissors. The hole should be roughly 1/8" smaller than the diameter of the button.

4. Attach Button and Cut Buttonhole

Source: Woman's Day

Note: the leaf appliqué pattern is no longer available on the WD website, so you'll just have to wing it, but you're pretty crafty—I have faith that you can swing it.

34. Felted Wool Mittens

Felting wool means shrinking it—on purpose! While results will vary from one type of wool to another, most will shrink quite dramatically and take on a tighter feeling, felt-like finish. The key is, you must use 100% WOOL fabric. Grab a few old all-wool sweaters from your closet or a second-hand store—the kind with holes in the elbows, or stretched out edges. With just a little effort, you can transform an "undesirable" into a pair of funky (and functional!) mittens. Here's how.


MATERIALS

At least one old 100% wool sweater (as long as you're going to the effort, you might as well felt a few - up to four or five will fit in the washing machine)

A bit of dishwasher detergent (not dish soap!)

Pattern tracing material

J & P Coats embroidery floss or Red Heart Yarn

INSTRUCTIONS

Before You Sew:

Loosely arrange the sweaters in the washing machine. Add a small amount (maybe 1/8 - 1/4 cup) of dishwashing detergent, then fill the machine using a "hot water wash/cold water rinse" cycle.

Machine dry the sweaters on the hottest temperature setting.

Ready, Set, Sew:

Make a mitten pattern by tracing your own hand (or someone else's) onto pattern tracing material.

Lay out the pattern on your felted sweater, playing with placement until you find just the right look. Sweaters with multi-colored designs or special stitches, like cable knits, offer lots of possibilities—enjoy! You can also utilize the ribbing on a sweater's lower edge, though don't expect it to be particularly functional. Once the sweater is felted, much of the stretch is long gone. So you'll find these mittens aren't snug fitting. But they are very cool—and warm at the same time!

Cut two mittens on a double-layer of fabric. Using a 1/4" seam allowance, stitch each set together along the outer edge using a straight running stitch, whipstitch or blanket stitch. Perfect stitches NOT required. You can also machine stitch using a long stitch length (5.0mm).

To do the running stitch, use yarn or heavy thread like embroidery floss—all strands in the skein—and a large-eyed needle. Then just run the needle in and out of the fabric.





If desired, add a final row of the running stitches around the "cuff" area, gathering slightly and finishing with a bow. Or add button embellishments—whatever your pleasure.

Original source: SYSF

New source: Dabbled

[Edit 12/16] The original source for this project appears to no longer be on the Web, although the instructions are pretty easy to follow. You can also find similar instructions (with pictures) at Dabbled.org.

If you like green / eco-conscious gifts, you might want to check out:

Big Green Book of Recycled Crafts (Leisure Arts #4802)
by House, Allan Ed. and Leisure Arts and Leisure ArtsTrade Paperback