I taste a change in the wind, my darling,
With an air of excitement sure,
With wondrous stories, and tales of glories,
Of noble hearts made pure.

Before we leap into crafting, I want to announce that from now on I will be regularly posting my short stories, children’s stories, novellas, and novels in serial installments!

We are talking loads of content!

My next post will offer an email subscription so that you won’t miss a thing. Those who sign up will receive free ebooks as the stories become available in their entirety. Exciting stuff!

Family fiction is my genre, so expect stories that are quirky, engaging, and contain a moral center.

 

This blog will continue to contain poetry and crafts, but there will be a whole bunch of stories now too.

Hooray!

For now, let’s get crafty.

Last week I sewed myself a night cap for two reasons. 1) Long hair on your neck in the summer is HOT. 2) Satin is supposed to be good for your mane, holding in your scalp’s natural oil, making it shiny and healthy. 

I followed this easy tutorial and here is the result!

I love it so much I plan to make another out of linen for daytime. Growing out your hair is annoying.

Thank you, hat, for freeing me from this socially expected pain in my butt.

Last week, I also made two new beverage bonnets for my mom and sister. Over time I have perfected the process and thought I’d share an easy tutorial as it’s not a commonly found item, though I don’t know why. 

They keep hot drinks insulated so you don’t need to reheat nearly as often, which is especially good for coffee drinkers since the connoisseurs tell us we aren’t supposed to microwave java. 

It also saves water glasses from befoulment by curious pets. 

Let’s get started.

Beverage Bonnet 

Supplies:

-Two complimenting fabrics

-Felt that won’t show between the layers (optional extra insulation)

-Scissors, fabric pen, thread, pins, needles, and/or sewing machine

-Ribbon, twine, or a thin strip of fabric for drawstring

-A bowl roughly 8” in diameter— or 1-2” smaller if you only plan to use on petite teacups

-A mug with the largest diameter that you will most likely use the bonnet for, probably 3½” 

-Toggles (optional)

Pre-wash your fabric. Just do it.

Using the bowl as a guide, draw two circles, one on each of your fabrics. Cut circles out.

With the mug as a guide, draw and cut one or two layers of felt.

Pin the felt to the wrong side of the fabric you intend to be on the inside of the bonnet. Stitch its circumference to keep it in place. {Picture 2, above}

Sew the two circle fabrics right sides together, leaving a 1½  ” gap, backstitching at the start and finish. {Picture 3, above}

Turn right sides out through the gap. Push out the seams and pin in place. Stitch ½” seam all the way around the circle. This is for the drawstring. 

Take your string, ribbon, or twine and hook one end to a safety pin, feed through the gap and around the bonnet twice—critical for cinching— and cut the cord to desired length, leaving enough room to broaden the cap for large mugs. 

Either tie the ends in knots or add toggles.

For the top, you can add a handle or a bow. 

Handle: Cut a piece of your inside fabric 3½” by 2½”. Fold along the long edge (right sides together), sew, and turn inside out. Tuck raw edges just inside the loop and stitch in place on top of the bonnet. I like to give a little room for easy grabbing.

Bow: Cut a strip of fabric 1ft long by 2½ inches wide. Fold and stitch the long side (right sides together). Attach a safety pin to one end and feed it through the tube to flip right sides out. Tuck raw edges just inside the tube and stitch shut. Tie a bow and stitch in place on top of the bonnet.

*You can also make a pom-pom for the top, which makes it look like a tam-o-shanter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7tb_9YKoMU 

There you have it!

If you have any questions about the tutorial, drop me a comment.

Be sure to return next time for Part 1 of “Mage,” and keep an eye out for my future mailing list.

*May the stars ever shine on your path