DIY Permanent Marker USA Muscle Tank

 

Happy Independence Day! If you’re big into the holiday and celebrate on more than just one day a year or if you have some fun holiday parties to go to then this easy shirt is the craft for you. It is easy enough that kids can do it as a science project and cool enough that adults can rock a really great looking shirt.

Materials:

            White T-shirt

            Permanent Markers

            Spray Bottle

            Rubbing Alcohol

            Fabric Paint

            Sponge Brushes

Start by sticking some cardboard in the shirt so the marker doesn’t steep through, and begin coloring in the shirt however you like with your permanent markers

Then use the spray bottle to spray rubbing alcohol all over the shirt and let it sit until it is dry.

I used a small pair of scissors to cut a round sponge brush into a star shape. Then use a flat sponge brush and the star sponge brush to add stripes and stars to your shirt. 

I used a clear confetti glitter fabric paint to paint on the stars and stripes so that it wasn’t too distracting from the markered color.

Wait for the fabric paint to dry and cut off the neckline, hemline, and sleeves before you rock your new muscle tank. Check out this playlist to have great music to accompany your great shirt. 

What color combinations would you love to see with permanent marker art? 

4th of July Workout Playlist

Happy 5th! A day late maybe but that doesn't mean that I'm not still in the spirit for one of my favorite holidays. So here is a workout playlist devoted to songs that make proud to lift in America.

1. Where I Come From - Alan Jackson
2. America - Neil Diamond
3. Grand Old Flag 
4. Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue - Toby Keith
5. Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
6. Only in America - Brooks & Dunn
7. Politically Incorrect - Gretchen Wilson
8. This is my Country - Impressions
9. American Kids - Kenny Chesney
10. Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen

If you want to continue celebrating the 4th like I do or if you want to have a great red, white, and blue workout shirt to wear to the gym or a country concert then check out this fun muscle tank DIY.

DIY Reverseable Workout Headband

I had some fabric scraps left over from this tote bag, and I decided to make a reversible headband out of it. I also happened to have some green quilting fabric laying around to pair with the paisley so it was perfect.

Materials:

            2 20x5 inch pieces of scrap fabric

            1 inch wide elastic in a length to be determined

            2.5 inch wide piece of scrap fabric that is 3 inches longer than your elastic

I took a 20 inch long by 5 inch wide piece of scrap fabric in each color, folded the it in half, then turned it and folded it in half again. See the figure below for clarification. I then cut a piece of the main headband out of each color. I measured around my head and got a number for how big the headband should be. I subtracted 18 inches from it and used the remaining number as the length of the elastic needed for my headband. This length is different for everyone and marked below as “?”. Finally I cut a piece of fabric 2.5-3 inches wide and 3 inches longer than my elastic.

I turned the fabric for the elastic right side to right side the long way and sewed down the long edge creating a tube. I turned the tube of fabric right side out and threaded the elastic through so that it stuck out slightly on either end. 

I sewed the ends of the fabric in place on the elastic. I laid one piece of the main headband body right side up, laid the elastic on it so one end of the elastic overlapped one short edge of the body, and sewed around 3 edges of the headband, leaving the short edge opposite where the elastic was open. 

I turned the headband right side out through that hole, inserted the loose edge of the elastic, rolled the edges of the headband body under, and sewed that end in place.

Enjoy, and if you’re like me at the gym and have bangs and long hair to contend with then consider these hair ties to accessorize your awesome new headband.  

DIY Trendy Hair Ties

     

        I have to admit, I am in love with the cute little hair ties that are all over right now! They are much more fun to wear around your wrist than the basic elastic bands and don’t put a kink in your hair so you can head straight from a lower impact workout to going out without the funky hair crease that most hair ties give you. The only problem? The price! Just like the yoga bracelet I made here, this too can be made for far less than what they are selling for and this craft can be done by anyone with the ability to tie a knot. They make great little gifts for the holidays for your gym friends and craft stores have so many colors, prints, and even styles of these elastics that you can make creative packs or pick one to suit each person. In this case I chose the lime green ruffle to match the gym bag and headband that I made in other posts.

What you need is a package of fold over or ruffled elastic in the color of your choosing. Dritz seems to make the most options that are sold quite widely for a decent price although I’m sure you can also find some great possibilities online. 

Unroll your elastic from the package and cut it into about 9 inch long pieces. 

Hold the two ends of a piece together, wrap them around, and pull them through to secure a knot. 

That’s it, really, you’re done. You’ve got a hair tie that is stylish and perfect for you because it is so unique.

DIY Beaded Yoga Bracelet

 

            In everything there are trends, and workout is no exception, but even in the specific types of workouts there are trends. For a while Crossfit has been all over leggings and deadlift socks, Zumba is capitalizing on the bright color fad that is sweeping the nation, every gym has at least one woman who has tried to make her own racerback tank out of an old t-shirt, and what would mud runs be without tutus? Lately in yoga class, on pinterest when you look up yoga, and in any store that sells yoga stuff we are seeing the beautiful trend that is beaded wrap bracelets. Some of these bracelets sell from commercial vendors for well into the triple digits and people buy them! Not me, I spent a few dollars at the craft store, put on my favorite 1970’s British sitcom, and brushed up on my middle-school friendship bracelet making skills.

            Note: I made this bracelet with contrasting blue embroidery thread so that you could see more clearly how it was constructed.

            What you need:

                        Cording – 2mm Leather or fabric

                        Embroidery thread in the color of your choice

                        Beads

                        Two needles – you can get beading needles, I used sewing ones because I had them laying around

                        A Button

            Lets get started! Unroll some of your cording and fold it in half, from the folded end, holding both sides together measure it so that it is long enough to wrap 4x around your wrist (for a triple wrap bracelet. 3x around for a double) and, after making sure that both ends are long enough, cut the tails.

An inch or so in from the folded end dependent on the size of your button, tie a knot to make a loop. Bigger buttons need bigger loops and smaller buttons need smaller loops. Now cut a piece of embroidery thread about 4-5 feet long. I have extremely dainty wrists and use about 4 feet for a triple wrap bracelet. Split your embroidery thread into two by peeling it apart so that there are 3 strands of thread in each side. Tie the ends together and tie them under your knot on your main cordage. 

To secure, use this knot that is common in making paracord bracelets. The picture is not mine, I found it using google and It links back to the place that I found it. It is a fantastic and simple visual of how to tie this knot except the two larger cords would be the inside cords and the embroidery thread would be forming the knot around the main cords.

 

To add the beads! I pin the loop down with a safety pin when I’m making these bracelets and then put needles on the ends of the embroidery thread to make beading easier. As you can see, cords A and B in black are stationary, and the embroidery thread, referred to here as “right” and “left” do the moving. Embroidery thread “right” loops under cord B, through the bead, and over cord A. Embroidery thread “left” loops over thread right, under cord A, through the bead, over cord B, and under cord right. Pull both strands of thread to tighten the knot and secure the bead between the cords. You now have a new “right” and “left” thread and can start this step over until you’ve reached the desired length. Probably 2 inches short of the beads connecting when the bracelet is wrapped around your wrist 3 times.

To hold it together add a few more of the paracord knots with just the thread and then add the button. First, wrap it around your wrist to gauge exactly where the button belongs and feel free to add more paracord knots if they are needed so that the button is in the right place. For this bracelet I used the same knot that I did to attach beads, only going in and out of the oles in the button instead of bead hole. Then two more solid knots of all four strands together and snip the ends of the cords and thread before wearing your lovely beaded bracelet.

If you’re aiming to be more natural you can get different thicknesses of leather cording and not use embroidery thread. You can also get beads made out of wood, jade, or other natural materials. The vegan yogis can easily substitute animal and earth friendly cords for this project. I have tried it with both, the leather and jade make a heavier and less flexible bracelet but the bead and synthetic cording is so light you almost don’t notice it, plus it is more water friendly than leather.

I admit that I am not sure how well I explained these knots in this tutorial so if this is not as clear as you would like it to be then let me know and I will see if I can make a video of me creating this bracelet to make it easier on everyone.

What color combinations would you love this beaded bracelet in? Share below, please!

Easy DIY Gym Tote Bag

Isn’t this tote bag such fun? I altered a pattern for a pillowcase that is always very popular to make this fantastic little gym bag that is bright and colorful. It is a very easy sewing pattern, designed to look very finished but is good for beginners to try.

Materials:

Two different colors of ½ yard each of bottomweight fabric – 1 yard total *

1/8 yard quilting fabric that works well with the 2 bottom weights chosen

Note – if you want to make other things like this matching headband then you may want to buy ¼ yard of this fabric

            Thread that matches at least one of the fabric colors chosen

            Optional: Binding that matches your fabric

            *These are the cuts of fabric that I buy although there are leftover scraps

To begin decide which color will be the body of your bag and which color will be tops and straps, after all fabric is washed and ironed cut two of each of the following measurements:

         

Body: 17 inches x 15 inches 

 Trim: 17 inches x 2.5 inches

Top: 17 inches x 9 inches

Straps: 24 inches x 5 inches
(You may want to alter this measurement for your comfort and body type)

 
I added an interior pocket to this bag but it is optional and not covered in this tutorial.

Many pieces need to be ironed before this can be assembled in order to make it go more smoothly. Fold the straps, top, and trim in half, right side out, and iron flat. I also fold the edges of the straps in and iron them to make sewing the straps easier.

Sew along the three open edges of the straps, then unfold the top. Take the edges of one of your straps and lay them flat on what will be the inside half of the top about 3 inches in from the edge and two inches down from the ironed crease. Sew a square around the bottom of each edge of the strap and then an X shape through the square to solidly secure the straps in place. Repeat with the other side of the top.

Lay the top flat and unfolded, roll the strap up so that it sits inside. Then, along the side of the top that will face the outside of the bag lay the trim so that the raw edges are together. Finally lay the body of the bag with a 17 inch raw edge lined up with the tip and trim’s raw edges over it all, right side down. Pin the 4 edges (top, two edges of folded trim, and body) in place. Then roll up the body, fold the top over on itself, and, carefully removing the pins from the 4 raw edges, pin the 5^th raw edge to the others. You now have a little pouch, pinned at the top and open on the edges with a bunch of fabric and the straps rolled up inside. Sew along the edge, very securely.

Once the edge is sewn remove the pins and turn the bag right side out through the unsewn side. Repeat the layering, pinning and sewing with the remaining fabric to create the other side of the bag. 

The hard part is done, I promise! Sewing the straps and layering it were the hardest parts of this whole project. Well, unless you have cats. Then I can honestly say that keeping the cats from helping is the hardest part of this project.

Now, lay the two sides of your tote bag together right side to right side and pin the sides and bottom. Cut a 2 inch by 2 inch square out of each bottom corner of your bag, I promise it will make sense later. Using your binding, sewing machine, or serger it is time to bind and/or sew the sides and bottom of the bag but NOT the cut out corners.

Once this is done grab the front of the bag right next to the cut out corner in one hand, grab the other side of the bag in the same place on the other side and pull until the cut out corner comes together. Pin and repeat with the second corner. Sew (I also used more binding here) and again, make sure these are sturdy seams.

Flip the bag right side out and you are done! Woohoo! Fill it with your goodies and hit the gym, zoo, beach, park, or wherever you plan to get your workout in today. Personally, I’m a zoo person, but this bag will see you through whatever type of workout you have planned.

I sent this bag to a wonderful woman who is just starting her weightlifting journey and hopefully she will send me some photos to include on here. Until then please share, what would your favorite color combination be for a bag like this and what are the essentials that you carry in your gym bag.