Household Quick Fixes using Silhouette and PixScan

 

Today I decided to work on fixing up things that bugged me. 

The first solution was to do something about our stove. It's one of those modern designs in which all the button labels are nearly identical, so when we need to shut the oven off, we have to lean in over the stove to scan all the labels to figure out which button says OFF. My husband asked if I cut out some red rectangles in vinyl to highlight them so we could find them faster. 

This simple solution possesses so much awesome. The OFF buttons are now very obvious even when the lights are dimmer. All it took was and idea - hubby suggested it - and less than 5 minutes of work for me. I simply measured the rectangle size needed, then created it in the software from two rectangles: place one rectangle on top of the other, select both and hit "slice" to create a frame. Send to cutting machine to cut out vinyl and apply to stove. Quick and easy.

The next "home fix" project was to resolve issues with rust stains on the floor caused by my vintage sad iron aka "the door stop". I occasionally use the sad iron as a pattern weight, but most of the time it sits on the floor near the front door so it can be used as a door stop when we have the door open for air (sometimes the wind will pull the door shut, slamming it closed. The sad iron prevents the door from moving when it's open). 

Although the iron has been painted and repainted, the paint wears off and rust stains appear on the floor where the iron sits. I decided to fix that issue. 

You can see where the paint has worn off and the metal has started to rust. I didn't want to have to keep repainting the iron, so I decided to cover the bottom with vinyl. I needed to import a shape exactly matching the bottom of the iron both in shape and in size. I thought about putting it on our scanner, but the iron could scratch the scanner's glass. Instead, I traced around the base of the sad iron. Now, all I needed to do was import that shape into Silhouette Studio at exactly the same size as the original. 

Fortunately, Silhouette Studio has a cool method of importing shapes at actual size using the PixScan mat and a camera. The PixScan mat allows you to import an actual size image of something so you can precisely cut it. 

I learned several things about the PixScan mat while working on this project. First, it's a sticky mat just like the other mats for the Silhouette Cameo. If you simply place something on the mat without removing the clear cover, the Silhouette Software will give you an error stating that it cannot find the PixScan mat markings in the image. Once you remove the little cover and stick your item to the mat, it will scan it nicely. 

I also discovered that the first time you use the PixScan feature, you have to calibrate your camera. This is easily done right in the software. Select the option to "show calibration test card" on the PixScan panel. 

Print out the test card - it's a page full of dots. 

Photograph the test card, ensuring that it fills the whole image. If it doesn't fill the whole image, the software won't accept it. 

The above image was accepted by Silhouette Studio for calibration. 

Once your camera has been calibrated, you can photograph your item. Place the PixScan mat on a flat surface, preferably a dark one, and stick your item to the mat. Below is the photo I took of the outline of the shape of the bottom of the sad iron. I photographed the mat sitting on top of my dining room table which is a nice dark walnut color. Ensure that the camera is as close to perfectly horizontal as you can. I tried to line up the edges of the mat with the sides of the camera view. 

 Next, import the photograph into the software by clicking "Import PixScan image from File". 

The image should appear in the center of the screen on a PixScan mat. 

Select Trace from the menu on the right, and draw a rectangle around the scanned shape.

Some yellow will appear around the drawn shape. I adjusted the threshold to 75% to get a good outline of the sad iron base. 

The trace caught some of the outline of the paper that the shape was drawn upon. Double-click on the image to turn "Edit Points" on. 

Click on a point along one of the lines that doesn't belong. Click delete multiple times until that line disappears. Repeat for the other line. Click on the little points just outside the outline (likely from some ink dots or other imperfections in the sketch) and delete those, too. Finally, from the main menu select "Object" --> "Simplify" to remove extra points from the shape. 

Now I could have cut the vinyl using the PixScan mat, but I wanted to cut the shape from vinyl on a regular mat, so I selected the shape and pasted it into a new project. 

I moved the shape to the upper left corner of the mat and cut my vinyl. I used Orcal 651 black for this. 

After cutting, I applied it to the bottom of the iron. It fit perfectly. 

HAPPY CRAFTING!

 

Love Notions Men's Thomas Track Pants

 

I got to test the Love Notions Men's Thomas Track Pants. I made two pairs for the test. The darker pair is a kind of double sided knit with wool on the right side and a soft wicking material on the wrong side. Several years ago, I made a dress from a purple version of this fabric and absolutely loved it. 

My husband tried these on and called them "Tuxedo sweatpants" because the fabric is so nice. They're meant as lounge pants or exercise pants, so a luxurious fabric can be a nice touch. 

The pattern is very simple: front, back and pocket pieces. The waistband is not a separate piece - we just sew the elastic to the top of the pant and fold it down to cover the elastic. Easy peasy. Oh, and the pockets are amazing.

Perfect pants for lounging around or watching TV. Don't forget the beer. 

I did mention lounging, right? Above is another "action" picture of napping on the couch. Yep. Perfect outfit for that, too. 

Maybe a few minutes out in the sun? 

Love the huge pockets. 

Back side looks good. 

Back inside again.

I tried to get a good shot of the pocket here. You can also sort of see the texture of the fabric. 

This was the first version I made of the Thomas Track pants. I made this pair from sweatshirt material I had in my stash. This material is incredibly soft and since the Track pants fit me, I decided to keep this pair for myself. He gets the navy blue pair above, so he should not complain (even though he did complain, wanting both pairs).

Look at that! Told you the pockets were HUGE. Here's a beer placed on the pocket so you can see that you guy could hide a beer inside the pocket. The photograph of the beer in the pocket didn't really look like there was a beer in it, so I deleted that photo.

View of pocket and waistband. You have to stitch 3 rows of zig zag at the top to make the waistband. 

Inside of the waistband. I added a ribbon center back so it would be easy to tell which side is the back. I forgot to change my serger thread from beige to gray, but no one is really going to see the stitches, so it doesn't matter that they don't match the fabric.

Hem of the pants. The outer seam is serged to finish the edges then sewn together so that the pocket construction can be done while the pants are flat. This also makes the waistband easier to sew because there are fewer layers when crossing the seams. 

If your guy doesn't do beer, I also noted that a paperback book will fit nicely into the pockets. Again, photographing the pockets when something is in them doesn't really show how well the object fits into the pockets. 

Showing top stitching around the pocket opening. 

Waistband stitching on the navy blue pants. 

Inside view of the pocket without the big book. 

Get yourself the Love Notions Men's Thomas Track Pant pattern and make a pair for yourself and your favorite guy. I'm sure he'll love them. 

HAPPY SEWING!!