A necklace to inspire sew-and-sew

Kathy Cano-Murillo
Special for The Arizona Republic
Sept. 22, 2007 12:00 AM

September is National Sewing Month, which means now is a good time to dust off your machine and give it a whirl.

Before you dismiss the idea, assuming you have to make a dress from scratch, think again. There are all kinds of easy projects that take minutes to complete.

Example: I love to stitch two decorative place mats together, and then add Fiberfill for an instant toss pillow. I'm also addicted to microsize designs.

Recently, while sorting through my fabric scraps, I became inspired to make little pillow jewelry pieces. These make adorable earrings and pendants, or you can sew them all together for a cool wrist cuff. I settled for this fabric necklace. You also can make these as appliques to sew onto clothing, quilt or fabric collage projects.

Even if you've never picked up a needle and thread, there is no reason to skip out on trying - especially with a place such as Sewin' Asylum (www.sewinasylum.com) at 8805 W. Union Hills Drive, Peoria.

Owner Erica Doyle provides a workshop environment where people can come in to finish, start or get help with a project. It's a great plan for those who are interested but who don't have access to a machine.

For other sewing ideas and inspirations, check out your local bookstore or cable-TV networks for books and shows.

For more information about National Sewing Month, visit www.sewing.org.

Supplies
Pinking shears
1 fabric image and background fabric for it (3 inches max)
4 pieces of fabric circles (1 1/2 inches round)
Fiberfill stuffing
Chopstick or pencil
Small hole puncher
6 small jump rings
Necklace chain
Needle-nose pliers
Necklace clasp

Directions
Using the pinking shears, line up the front and back fabric and cut out around the shape that you want as the main pendant.

Do the same for the circles. Sew each one around the edges, but leave an opening.

Pinch off a gumball-size piece of Fiberfill and roll it into a ball, use the chopstick or pencil to push it through the hole of the pendant and the circles.

Sew up the ends. Use the hole puncher to create holes on each side of the pieces, and insert jump rings. Connect to the necklace chain. Use the needle-nose pliers to shorten the chain as desired. Add the clasp.

Variations: Connect more pieces together to make a matching bracelet, or make single pieces for earrings. Instead of using necklace chain, sew the pieces together.

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* All content/photos copyright, Kathy Cano Murillo, 2006. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

Labels: fabric, jewelry, sewing, wearable art