I recently signed up to do a craft fair for the first time. It's all a bit of an experiment to be honest but it has got me thinking of new things that I can make that people would enjoy owning or giving as gifts. This morning I made an eye mask which was surprisingly simple, reasonably quick and gives a good professional finish which is always very satisfying.
To do this project you will need:
- Fabric in the pattern of your choice
- A sheet of thin foam ( I used craft foam for kids)
- A backing fabric
- Paper for the stencil, pencil and scissors
- Pins
- Elastic
- Bias binding
- The usual needle and thread :)
You need to cut out your template - I traced an eye mask I already had but a quick look in google images will give you a selection to print and trace if you aren't confident with your free hand.
Now pin the template onto the fabric and cut around as you would with any pattern. Repeat this on your foam and your backing fabric.
Place all three together - backing fabric then foam then your patterned fabric on top facing right side upwards. Now pin together to avoid movement and sew around the edge. It helps to stay close to the edge so you aren't going to have a hard time hiding the stitching later.
You should be left with something like this.
Now take your bias binding and elastic. You need to mark with a pin where you want your elastic to sit on either side of the mask. It needs to be placed at an equal distance on both sides from the top and the bottom to ensure you don't end up with a wonky mask.
Begin to fold the bias binding round the edge of the mask and pin in place. As you reach the points for your elastic insert the elastic into the fold at the back of the mask. The elastic should just lie flat against the mask.
Now you need to choose a thread that matches the bias binding or choose an appropriate contrast. You now need to sew round the edge of the bias binding adjusting as you go to avoid any creases. At this point it is worth going slow and steady and staying close to the edge of the binding. This line of stitching will show and makes part of the finished product so it is important the stitching is neat and steady.
Now trim any loose threads and there you have it - a perfect gift for yourself or someone else! Enjoy and don't forget to send me pics of your progress - you can tweet me @jenniwessels
Till next time :)
