Erica and her sewing club make windsocks.

Along with presenting my pretty bohemian windsock tutorial, this is also an excuse to show off my crocheted dress.

It's been so long since I posted anything (although I have been sewing and crocheting like crazy... just not any DIY'ing or crafting) that I don't really remember how to. Let's see... write some boring backstory, write an instructional tutorial, add some pictures. Ok, here goes - 

I am a proud and happy member of American Sewing Guild. I have been for the past three years. It's a great group. Everyone is super friendly, knowledgeable and generous. Earlier this year, our sewing club chapter president, Kim, told us that if we wanted to present/lead a DIY class for one of our meetings, we would receive $10 in "ASG Bucks". These can be used toward our annual retreat (ok, cool 😀), ASG merchandise (nah 😒) and to buy stuff at our fabric swap/garage sales (YEEESSSSS!!! 😍😃😁). We all know how much I love buying fabric and sewing notions... I NEEDED those ASG Bucks. LOL Anyway, the only rules were that the project had to be relatively simple, can be completed in under an hour and fairly cheap (since the sewing club provides all the supplies needed). One of my favorite things is finding and doing fun & easy craft projects. I knew I had to sign up to lead a meeting even though I have never taught anything in my entire life and I have zero patience for humans. The meeting was last week and it went surprisingly well (beginner's luck, maybe). We made windsocks using embroidery hoops, fabric strips and ribbon. Everyone finished their project and had a lovely time. Here are the instructions.

DIY Windsock:

Kim bought the embroidery hoops and fabric with our ASG dues but all the ribbon came from the garage sale!! All.of.it. Now you see how amazing our garage sales are and why I need those ASG Bucks. LOL

Supplies needed: embroidery hoop (any size will do), 3 pieces of equal length string, 2-inch wide fabric strips (the length can be cut to your preference), scissors (Kim suggested using scrapbooking scissors or pinking shears to cut designs into the fabric strips), ribbon, lace, other decorative material, glue (optional)

1. Open the embroidery hoop and set the outside piece (the piece with the screw and fastener) aside. 

2. Tie the three pieces of string to the inside of the embroidery hoop to form a triangle. Gather the pieces of string together and tie them into a knotted loop at the top. This will be for hanging up the finished windsock.

3. Drape the fabric strips around the inside of the embroidery hoop. This is easier to do if the hoop is hanging from somthing (or a friend is holding it for you). If you're worried about the fabric strips moving out of place, put a dab of glue on it to stick it to the embroidery hoop.

4. Add ribbon, lace or any other decorative material over the fabric strips. Go crazy with color, patterns and texture! Kim suggest stringing beads or bells to the end of the pieces.

5. Once everything is draped in place, put the outside of the embroidery hoop back on (again, easier to do if you have a friend holding it for you). This will hold all of the fabric strips, ribbon, lace, etc. in place. Fastener it on tightly.

And we're done!! Hang it outside (or inside) and enjoy!! So pretty, right?