Enjoy and share some creative relief!
Many of us are coming down with a serious case of cabin fever by now and without any defined end in sight for shelter-in-place things look bleak, especially for us extroverts.
Our FabMo volunteers are no different, we all volunteer at FabMo because we like the hustle-bustle of the place, the like-minded, creative people, all the materials - oh the possibilities. However, contrary to what many of us think, FabMo is not considered an essential business and so we are closed for everybody, not just the public, but also volunteers
Continue reading and find a easy, fun project at the end!
These are difficult times for all of us and we are all doing the best we can to adjust. Today, for example, the FabMo Board held it’s first virtual Board meeting and you know what - it worked quite well. The technology has come a long way and with video it is so much easier to actually have something like a normal discussion. Did we ran over? Yes, but we often do. Did we talk over each other a bit? Yes, but it wasn’t terrible and making people raise their hands to speak like back in school helped. Did we accomplish what we set out to accomplish. I am proud to report: Yes, we did!
Here is a picture of us all. Sorry, Holly, I caught you at a bad moment!
While we all dearly hope to be able to meet in person again in the not so distant future, it is great to know what we can conduct business effectively and that we have all arrived safe and sound in the third decade of the 21st century - communication-wise.
How can we help?
This was one of the questions we asked ourselves today. What can we do without ready access to our warehouse and all the materials? How can we support the community at this point? We have donated materials for mask making so far, but that specific type of cotton is in limited supply at FabMo and not readily accessible at this time.
So here is what we plan on doing and we would love your help with: provide some creative relief to the community by making patterns and instructions for (generally simple) projects available. Whether you are home, not working and getting a bit tired of binge watching Netflix or home and working with one or more kids that somehow need entertainment - a nice project will go a long way of providing some diversion.
We have ideas but our community at large - that is you - has so many more than we can possible have. So we are calling on all of you to send us your ideas plus patterns/instructions and/or links to them. A link to a video is always appreciated, too, but not needed.
Send us these patterns and instructions and we’ll include them in our new - soon to start - regular FabMo project idea email blast. Please keep in mind that projects that require advanced skills, yards of specific fabric and/or other materials that are not generally found in the average household are less useful at this time than easy to make projects, especially ones that can also be made by kids and teens. But let’s see it all, the more we get, the more we can share.
We are also calling on you regular FabMo shoppers with decent sized stashes: now is the time to get them out and use them. Ideally also share them, give them to your kids or grandkids with instructions, porch drop some at your neighbor’s or close by friend’s house. Share the joy and inspiration that comes with doing something creative, making something with ones own hands. Who knows, maybe we will create a whole new group of dedicated crafters and makers!
And just to emphasize the point: FabMo will reopen as soon as we are allowed to and, trust me when I say: there is stuff to top off those stashes again. So don’t be shy!
Instructions for instructions
Here are some tips for submitting instructions. As mentioned, if you find them online and they work well - no need to reinvent the wheel, send a a link. The crucial thing is “work well”. We love your ideas but we especially love them if you have tried them out and found they actually do work. I can’t tell you how many times I read some online instructions and got stuck half-way through. Frustrating! So if you have a cool little bag or key fob or something you make and find that with a little modification to the online tutorial it works SO much better. Please let us know.
If you come up with your own idea - we love it! And if you could take the time to write down what materials are needed to make the project and step-by-step instructions on how to make it and take a picture or serval (no award winning photography required, a sharp shot with your cell phone close to a window during day time is entirely sufficient) that would be awesome. Any tips and tricks: please add them.
Please send your ideas to info@fabmo.org!
To get us started, I am providing you instructions for making fabric feathers. A simple, no-sew project that anybody whom you trust with a pair of scissors and a pin can do.
Fabric Feather Instructions
Tools and Materials Needed
Serval pieces of woven fabric, the thicker the materials the thicker the barbs and the faster the project, finer fabric creates finer barbs and the project takes longer. Remnants are great, FabMo 8 inch squares and even FabMo “gack” (those boring beige/brown/grey pieces you find on the free rack) work well, also denim works great
Feather pattern, draw your own or download here
Scissors
An ideally fairly large and sturdy pin
Tailors chalk or other way of tracing the pattern onto the fabric
String/piece of yarn
Glue
Optional: beads
Instructions
Print out the feather shapes or draw your own on a piece of paper/cardboard and cut them out
Trace feather shape onto fabric
Tip: make sure to line the feather up with the the direction of the weave, the more perfectly aligned the pattern is the more symmetrical the feather will be. You can align with either direction and sometimes get quite different effect, e.g with denim you can get blue feathers in one direction, turn the pattern by 90 degrees and you’ll get white feathers
Cut out the feather shape. Take care to cut out as symmetrical a shape as possible
Start at the outer edge and pull out stands of fabric with the pin. With coarser material you can pull more than one at a time, with finer material you have to do them one at a time.
Continue pulling out threads on both sides until a thin shaft remains in the middle.
Almost ready! All you have to do now is cut off a piece of string or yarn in a coordinating or contrasting color and glue it to the backside of the feather.
Done!
(click on the picture to scroll through the slideshow)
For decoration you can cluster two or three and add additional decorating elements, e.g. you can put beads on the string (I am out of beads so I can’t show you). They will look great hanging from a tree branch that you hang from the ceiling or wall or pretty much anywhere. My husband wanted to use them as bookmarks but I think they’ll look too messy too soon with their little barbs all tangled up. But maybe there are less messy readers around who can make that work.
Our founder, Hannah, came up with quite a host of additional places were these feathers could be used for good effect. Here they are:
“Those finished leaves could easily adorn place settings at your patio table, greeting cards, multi-media collages, plant-pot burlap wraps and if small enough, jewelry.”
Did we get your creative juices flowing?
Here is my blue set - I like that a lot and am still debating where to display it.
A word of caution: making these is really addicting and can be done while binge watching whatever it is you are currently binge watching.
Please also follow us on Facebook, we’ll be posting there as well.
