MAGPIE'S MUMBLINGS

A blog about my interests, which include fabric landscapes and various and assorted other artsy pursuits and sometimes known to contain mumblings of a random nature.

Thursday, October 27, 2022

A tutorial! Who knew?


 It's been awhile since I did any sort of tutorial for you and as I was whipping one of these up I thought perhaps you might have fun with them too.  They make great little gifts and very useful too (as Resident Chef will attest!).



Above you can see the rubbery backing and to the right is the front side that clearly shows the 'X'



So, here goes, a tutorial to make Jar Lid Openers...cheap and cheerfully...

You will need 2 pieces of fabric 7" x 7" and a piece of that rubbery shelf liner 'stuff' from the dollar store (it must be the rubbery version for this to work), also cut 7x7", along with a piece of tissue paper a bit larger than the fabric.

1.  Place one piece of fabric RIGHT SIDE UP; top with piece of shelf liner; and then the second piece of fabric RIGHT SIDE DOWN.

2. Sew around leaving approx. 3" open for turning.  Use a bit more than a 1/4" seam allowance.  Clip corners and turn, making sure the rubber side is on the outside.

3.  Press from FABRIC SIDE (use parchment paper between your fabric and your iron....if you don't and the iron touches the rubber - well, just don't do it!).

4.  Place tissue paper between the rubber side and the sewing machine plate and, using a straight stitch, topstich around the edges.

5.  Mark an 'X' from corner to corner and stitch.  

6.  Remove paper and voila!  You're done.  I like to add a little paper tag explaining that it's a jar opener, otherwise people will wonder what on earth it's for!  I often parcel one of these together with a knitted scrubby for dishes and it's a great small hostess gift; an add-on to a larger gift; or a 'thinking of you' gift.

- If you want to pour yourself a cuppa (or perhaps make a whole pot!), there are tons of links HERE to a wonderful worldwide online quilt show.  

- If I were a better knitter I would love to make one of THESE.

- THIS is a nice tote bag pattern that looks to be well-supported.

- There's a good chart HERE that compares various yarn weights, names for them, and the hook/needle sizes for each one.  

Today the quote is from Plato..."The greatest wealth is to live content with little"

24 comments:

  1. Love this!
    Thank you
    I use a piece of that plastic shelf liner to wrap around the library book I'm reading.

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    1. That's a great idea! I'm forever dropping my book so it would help with that. Mind you, it wouldn't help with the nodding off to sleep whilst reading part of the equation!

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  2. That is one very cute stocking for your little one! Thanks as always for the tempting links. I always chase down a few as you know. Attic 24 is a great site, thanks for the mention,btw. Love all the quotes too.Hope you and R C have a great weekend!

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    1. You and I are mutual link-chasers aren't we!

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  3. Great links there. And yes, living happily on what you have is a great goal. Not that Plato was a poor man by any means!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the links. I'm trying very hard to learn to live with less but sometimes it doesn't exactly work out the way I had hoped.

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  4. Thank you. Jars are getting very difficult to open for me.

    God bless.

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    1. Let me know what you think if you make one....Resident Chef loves his.

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  5. I forgot to brag that I'm a proud owner of a Magpie original jar opener!

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    1. Now the trick is to remember to use it! I gave one to one of my friends and then stood in her kitchen and watched her struggling to open a jar. I nicely pointed out that I had given her a solution for that problem and she shamefacedly opened the drawer and got it.

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  6. They look great Mary Anne. I also know people who use that grippy shelf stuff for moving their quilts about instead of using gloves when free motion quilting.... these would be great for that too! Have a lovely weekend! Christine xx

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    1. Now that's a brilliant idea! I actually use a pair of gardening gloves that have rubberized dots on the fingers when I'm free motion quilting but I have lots of small pieces of the shelf liner that would work....hmmmm.......

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  7. Oh what a great idea and tutorial!! I have a Tupperware one that I use, but this would be much prettier! Thanks for sharing with us xx

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    1. Didn't know Tupperware made them - interesting! I like these because they can use scraps from your fabric stash and the rubber part is really cheap when you consider how many you can get out of a roll of it.

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  8. Anonymous11:29 AM

    Sherry of createology: Thank you very much Mary Anne for this excellent tutorial. Not only a good gift for giving but also easy to mail. October is almost over now. The months are zooming past. I like today’s quote very much.

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    1. The jar openers are definitely easy to mail but if you send any to friends I would advise including a wee label to state what they are....otherwise they're met with a great deal of wondering.

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  9. Thanks for sharing the tutorial. This would be a great way to use up some of my fabric stash easily and make such a useful gift. Love it!

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    1. They would be great as stocking stuffers or just a little gift on their own...a hostess gift...or something that could be tucked into a Christmas (or other) card.

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  10. Well thank you for the idea and the tut!

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  11. Also thank you for the AQS link. I see in Chapter F for Kentucky my friend Mary Beth of Lexington who is also in our guild has several beautiful quilts displayed for Kentucky.

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    1. I could have gotten lost for hours in that link! Glad you found someone you know that was represented.

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  12. Such a great idea! Too bad I don't have the patience for sewing! Maybe after I clean up my craft room I might try it? Thank you for sharing.

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    1. These are handy to have in the kitchen - at least so I'm told. Resident Chef uses his all the time and that's saying something!

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Thank you so much for leaving comments! I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy life to talk to me. It's wonderful to know that someone is actually reading my mumblings and even more fun if I can connect with you and visit your blog.