Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products (19 page)

HOW TO

1.
Cut a square out of an empty cereal box or a spare piece of cardboard. This will become your template. Your square should be about 6 to 8 inches wide.

2.
Work out approximately how many squares you’ll need. The first time I made this, I laid out an existing comforter cover on the bed and figured I’d need 5 6-inch squares for the width and 10 for the length—so in all, I would need 50 squares for the back and 50 for the front. Keep in mind that each square will end up ½ inch smaller, as there’ll be a ¼-inch seam around each side. Also be sure to make your cover larger than the comforter that you’re making it for.

3.
Place your template on your scraps of fabric and draw around them with a wax crayon. Cut out the squares with sharp fabric scissors. Arrange the squares on the floor in the pattern you want.

4.
Mark the back of each square with a number. Grab a piece of paper and draw a plan of your cover, so you’ll know where each numbered square goes.

5.
Take 2 squares and put their wrong sides together. Pin one edge and sew ¼ inch away from the raw edge. Join all the squares together until you’ve created the front of your cover. Repeat for the back.

6.
Join the right sides of the front and back of the quilt together and pin. Sew all around both lengths and one end, ¼ inch away from the edge. Make sure you backstitch (see “Frugalista”) at the beginning and end, as this will be your opening.

7.
To close the comforter cover, you can either sew on large snaps or cut 8-inch lengths of pretty ribbon to sew onto either side of the opening as ties, to make sure the comforter stays inside the cover.

How to Cut Your Child’s Hair

I have always cut Lola’s hair. I once (and only once) took her to a madly expensive kids’ hair salon in Los Angeles, where she got lollipops and stickers and I got a whacking bill. After forking out the tip and dragging a bad-tempered toddler home, I vowed to learn to do it myself, and have had great success. You just need a good pair of haircutting scissors and some knowledge of the basics.

For a Baby or Toddler

HOW TO

1.
Since attention is a major issue at this age, you may only get 10 minutes max, so get ready with a video that will keep your precious one amused. If your baby/toddler still fits, put her in her highchair, as this will bring her to the right level for you. You might want to place the highchair on a sheet. Put a little towel around the baby’s neck and tuck it into her collar.

2.
Comb all the baby’s hair forward from the crown of the head over the baby’s eyes. Lay the closed scissors flat on the baby’s head for her to know that she’s safe, then cut about ½ inch above the eyebrow line. Cut
only
from edge of one eyebrow to edge of the other. You don’t want your child to look silly.