Shower liner turned reusable lunch bag

Materials: NACKTEN shower liner, paper lunch baghalf yard of fabric, sewing machine, coordinating thread

Description: Using a NACKTEN shower liner, I made a few reusable, eco friendly lunch bags. To start, I took a paper lunch bag leftover from a takeout delivery and gently ripped the seams where it was fused on the side. If your bag tears, you can steam it a bit and use the blunt edge of a butter knife to help you detach the edges from each other. Leave the bottom sqaure of the bag intact.

Trace the shape of your exposed bag on your fabric and your open and flat shower liner leaving a 1/4 inch of extra fabric on all sides. You'll sew these up later with a 1/4 seam allowance. Pair up your fabric wrong sides touching where the seam was separated with the bag.

Stitch up the side of the fabric leaving the bottom open. Pinch each side of the bottom flaps resulting to the bottom being squared off and sew each side. Repeat these steps for the liner as well. With right sides touching and seams facing down, place your liner INSIDE your bag and carefully sew around the top edges creating the lip. Turn your secured 'bag' right side out and flip over the top where the exposed seam is facing the inside. Top stich around the top and you are done!

These bags are food safe and the interior can be cleaned with simply a damp sponge.

~ Tiffany of SHNHandmade

Bomull became roman

Materials: Ikea Bomull bedspread

Description: I needed FIVE panels (big and small) of roman blinds for my bedroom, and those upscale textured and nice upholstery fabrics are out of my current budget set for window dressing...so I remembered my favourite unbleached cotton from Ikea....the BOMULL bedspread! With the perfect width and length, these fit into my budget perfectly.

After one whole day of sewing, it's my 1st attempt at roman blinds by the way, thus I am not familiar with it..much.....

I have 3 small windows and 1 extra wide extra large window dressed in zen....

I even had some extrasss....not much, but enough to make a twirly skirt for my 4.5 year old :D

See more of Joey's Bomull roman blinds.

~ Joey, Malaysia

Magic fabric

Materials: 6.5 yards of Majken fabric

Description: I folded the fabric directly in half and cut down the fold, making the two panels.

To hem each side, I used Stitch Witchery. I followed the steps on the back of the packaging to adhere the 1/2" hem on each side. No sewing machine for this project!

I stapled one end of each panel to a thin 1x4" (only $2!) that my husband cut down slightly narrower than the width of the panel.

Then I coaxed him into using our extension ladder to scale the 18 foot wall, all the way up to the ceiling and screw the 1x4s into the wall. To make his life easier, and less death defying, he pre-screwed about five screws into each piece of wood so that he could use one hand to hold the 1x4 on the wall and the other hand screw the screws in. After securing one screw, he said that is was much easier to screw the others in because he didn't have to hold the panel up anymore and could put all of his force into the other screws.

One little tool that made the hanging process a breeze was this little laser level that I bought for him a few years ago. Rather than measuring placement on the wall at the top of the ladder, we propped this guy on the mirror and he beamed a straight and level line all the way up to the ceiling.

A short while later, both panels were hanging and after about 30 seconds of staple-gunning were tacked to the wall.

See more here. Also check out Jessi's Poang chair repainting and Bonde TV unit turned sideboard.

~ Jessi @ The Design Slice, Chicago, Illinois

From rugs to runners

I like the clean simplicity of Clara's hack - a long runner from Ikea rugs (which reminds me that I need one for my entryway) and little patchwork accents completes the look.

The rugs in question is the Signe, which goes for only $2.99 each. Three of these would set you back less than a meal in town, and they lasts longer. Ok, now to the hack. The ends, right before the knots, were first soaked in Fabric Mod Podge. When dried, Clara ran them twice through the overcast machine. "The first," she says, "to serge the edge and to cut just enough to get all three rugs to fit in the space. The second time, without the cutter, was to catch any stray threads."

See Clara's instructions for her rugs to runner.

Halloween goes East

The day for ghouls and goblins will soon be upon us. Tien and friends decide to go Japanese this year. Why not? Witches and vampires are so last season.

"My friends and I are going for a Japanese theme this year. For one of my friends, I wanted to make a sexy kimono (was inspired by Emiri Miyasaka's kimono, right).

The cheapest place for colorful fabrics by far is Ikea (at least in my city). So, I purchased the fabric, took about 6 hours of planning and sewing (didn't really have a pattern... just kind of made it up as I went).

Turned out rather nice. It wasn't expensive - cost me about 180 kr (roughly $25, but it's probably even cheaper in the US). Below is my makeshift pattern. I based it off of this. Here are the measurements I used and how I did it. I kind of eyeballed the measurements, so it's not exactly as that, but I tried my best to remember the measurements for the instructions.

 

Obviously, one can go longer and multiple layer it, but I have to make 4 costumes for my friends and simplest is best. Hope someone tries this (but not in my city :D). It's going to be an awesome Halloween."

A rolling curtain panel

Michael finally gets rid of the temporary paper curtain panel with a merry combination of the Flyn Ofelia and Isdans roller blind. The Flyn Ofelia panel curtain is sewed on top of the Isdans blind. Not exactly simple to do as sewing it wrongly will get you wrinkles and bulges when you roll the curtain up.

Paper curtain has to go!

All pretty now!

See Michael's rolling panel curtain instructions here.

Recover your armchair

Jill B got sorta sick of the outdated fabric. She says, "Ikea makes such nice fabric by the yard. Why don't they use it on the furniture?" So she updated it with a new cover she sewed herself. 



Via designspongeonline.

Two summer totes

Need a summer tote? Here's one (two, actually!) that you can make from a Solig table runner. Thanks, Nicole.

She says, "I made a tote using the Ikea Solig table runner, stapler and duct-tape (and a little inspiration from Jodi Kahn's book: Simply Sublime Bags). One Solig runner will make two totes. The fabric is the perfect width. The inside is lined with water-proof and easy to wipe clean duck-tape - making it an ideal lunch tote."

Can't get enough of totes?
See this all-day tote from Lotta Jansdotter's pattern, reusable eco tote and shopping tote.

Summer sizzles!
Summer items like the Platta decking is back. This is the time to load the cart with them if you want to make hacks like this window sill, spa mat, or bathroom flooring. Remember to check out Ikea's Summer collection too. Aah ... they always make me miss the salty sea and sand between my toes.

Patchwork armchair

Ele does a pretty patchwork cover for her Tullsta.

She says, "I re-upholstered it with a patchwork of fabrics including several with lino block I printed myself. I also painted the scuffed legs white. I cut off the fabric and used it to make a pattern. I re-used the zipper for the cushion and then trashed it as it was neither nice nor clean. I used a combination of new fabric, thrifted fabrics (corduroy, cotton, upholstery, an old pair of pants and a men's shirt etc.) and block printed fabrics. I used lino block prints of the oudjat eyes, radiolarians, jellyfish, frog & lily pad, koi, seahorse, walrus, dragon and blue whales. I also used one old screen print of the sun."




See more pictures of her patchwork armchair.

***

Just wanted to thank Erin Scottberg of Lemondrop for her story on Ikea hacks. Her article picked 12 cheap and easy hacks from this site to show non-Ikea hackers what can be done. Is your hack one of them? Check out her article here.

Ikea fashion parade II

You don't normally associate Ikea with apparels but some have found ways to wear their Ikea. The bright, happy Ikea pillowcases, table runners, curtains, duvets, you name it, get a fashion makeover.  

When you need to wow 'em
Kerri joined a club at school that used to be called "the future homemakers of America" but has since changed its name to something more politically correct. Clubs weren't her thing but they had a fashion competition, so she thought she'd give it a shot.

"I didn't want to be conventional," she says, "I wanted to make something as outlandish and absurd as I could. So where did I head to for my fabric? Ikea, of course! I bought this crazy, colorful floral print fabric and turned it into a fabulous, twirly skirt!"

Do you have this in grown-up size?
Mirre makes this adorable little top from the Alvine Spira pillowcase. I've always liked the embroidery on that pillow too and now, in this top it is just too cute.

The back uses ribbons. The pleats from the pillowcase became the hem.
See the pattern she used and how she put it together here.

What to wear for a night out
Ikea fabrics is no stranger to Peter and Carina. I don't have very much more information about them as they just sent me a link to their site. But after browsing it, I found these gems. Very nice indeed.

This dress is made from the Fialena. See more here.

Pretty one from what used to be a quilt cover.

See more here.

Dressed up girls

Alexa says, "Here are my daughters, Lena and Maria, in their Ikea dresses. Maria's is in Gunvor's small orange 'watermelon' pattern fabric. I couldn't find Lena's fabric in the 2008 catalog. (I suppose we'll have to go back and get Lena some Lena fabric, along with a few yards of Sofia for her cousin.) Both get comments wherever we go. They were both done with patterns I drew up myself.

I used the larger print of Gunvor watermelons to make baby slings as well.

Click for sewing instructions on babyslings.

Got the guts for a bold skirt?

Melissa is back again with a skirt made from a table runner (name unknown). She even had enough fabric left over for a shopping bag.

See more of Melissa's skirt and bag.

Related hacks:
- Duvet cover to jacket
- Ikea fashion parade I 
- Shower curtain dress
- Pillowcase skirt
- Inez blad skirt and bag

From pillowcases to placemats

Melissa Fehr is one prolific Ikea hacker. She's done it again with these post-Christmas castaways.

She dismantles the Isig pillowcases and refashions them into placemats, each complete with contrasting cutlery pocket and coaster.

Click to view more of her placemats and coasters on her blog.

See Melissa's other hacks:
- Her famous shower curtain dress
- A pillowcase skirt