How to Sew a Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew by Erin Bried Page B
Authors: Erin Bried
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its eyes are following you. If so, run!
More Nifty Tips
If you’re not sure if there’s a stud beneath your wall, use a stud finder or look for screw dimples in the drywall.
If you’re hanging a light wire-backed picture from a nail, try this shortcut to eyeball the perfect spot: Put a nail through the bottom of an old yardstick. (Drill a hole first to make sure the wood doesn’t crack.) Hang the picture from that nail, hold the yardstick-and-picture up to the wall where you’d like to see the picture. When you’ve found the right spot, tap the yardstick, so the nail marks it. Remove the picture, nail it for real, and hang it up.
Find Comfort
“I slept with my sisters. The four of us would share one bed. We didn’t sleep too much. I’ll tell you that.”
—E LOUISE B RUCE
H OW TO M AKE A P ILLOW
Step 1:
Choose your fabric. You can pretty much use any material you like, even scraps, so long as it passes the cheek test. Brush it gently on your face. Is it soft? Does it itch? Will it leave strange indentations on your skin if you fall asleep on it? Will a little drool ruin it? Will a lot of drool ruin it?
Step 2:
Size it up. Decide how big you’d like your pillow to be, add an inch to each side, turn your fabric upside down, mark your measurements in chalk or pencil, and double-check them. Cut with sharp scissors. Repeat.
Step 3:
Place your squares, right side to right side, so the wrong side of the material is facing you. (Your pillow-to-be should be inside out.) Fasten three sides with straight pins, which should run perpendicular to the edges of the fabric.
Step 4:
By hand or machine, sew together all three sides and half of the fourth side, leaving about ½ inch between your seams and the edges of the material. Remove the pins, or—ouch!—you’ll get pricked.
Step 5:
Turn the material right side out and stuff with fiberfill, goose down, last year’s crumpled tax returns, whatever you’d like.
Step 6:
Fold the open edge inward, pin together, and sew shut. Celebrate your pillow with a nice long nap!
More Nifty Tips
Add dried lavender when filling for a sweet, sleep-inducing scent.
If you choose a patterned material, make sure your patterns match before cutting your fabric.
Stay Buff
“If you were lucky and you hit it just right, you’d buy a rug or maybe two small ones. They protected your floors, but even more so, they showed off your wherewithal. Only fairly well-off people had rugs.”
—R UTH R OWEN
H OW TO R EMOVE S CUFFS FROM H ARDWOOD F LOORS
Step 1:
Grab the offending honey, child, or four-legged friend. They probably made the scuff, so they better help buff it. This is clean family fun at its most literal.
Step 2:
Check the finish of your floor, if you don’t already know it off the top of your head. Go to a corner and press your fingernail along the wood. Do you see a soft residue? If so, your floor is coated in wax. Is it hard as a rock? Then your floor is coated with poly-urethane.
Step 2:
On waxed floors, buff the scuff with extra-fine steel wool (000) and solvent-based liquid hardwood floor cleaner. Then wipe clean with a dry towel and rewax. On polyurethaned floors, restore the shine by vigorously rubbing the scuff with a paper towel, old stockings, a tennis ball, or a dryer sheet. Voilà!
More Nifty Tips
Prevent most scuffs and scratches by placing a doormat at your entryway. It’ll help brush dirt off the bottom of your shoes,which, if tracked into the house, may damage your floors. Better yet, kick off your shoes as soon as you get home.
Stick felt pads underneath all of your furniture legs to prevent scratches.
For squeaky wax floors, apply more wax to the loud board. For squeaky polyurethaned floors, sprinkle talcum powder into the offending gap.
Bloom On
“I just brought in some flowers. I’m going out to supper and I wanted to take some to the hostess. I got some for me, too! I love flowers. I’m not a good gardener, but I love to have them around.”
—S UE
More Nifty Tips
If you’re not sure if there’s a stud beneath your wall, use a stud finder or look for screw dimples in the drywall.
If you’re hanging a light wire-backed picture from a nail, try this shortcut to eyeball the perfect spot: Put a nail through the bottom of an old yardstick. (Drill a hole first to make sure the wood doesn’t crack.) Hang the picture from that nail, hold the yardstick-and-picture up to the wall where you’d like to see the picture. When you’ve found the right spot, tap the yardstick, so the nail marks it. Remove the picture, nail it for real, and hang it up.
Find Comfort
“I slept with my sisters. The four of us would share one bed. We didn’t sleep too much. I’ll tell you that.”
—E LOUISE B RUCE
H OW TO M AKE A P ILLOW
Step 1:
Choose your fabric. You can pretty much use any material you like, even scraps, so long as it passes the cheek test. Brush it gently on your face. Is it soft? Does it itch? Will it leave strange indentations on your skin if you fall asleep on it? Will a little drool ruin it? Will a lot of drool ruin it?
Step 2:
Size it up. Decide how big you’d like your pillow to be, add an inch to each side, turn your fabric upside down, mark your measurements in chalk or pencil, and double-check them. Cut with sharp scissors. Repeat.
Step 3:
Place your squares, right side to right side, so the wrong side of the material is facing you. (Your pillow-to-be should be inside out.) Fasten three sides with straight pins, which should run perpendicular to the edges of the fabric.
Step 4:
By hand or machine, sew together all three sides and half of the fourth side, leaving about ½ inch between your seams and the edges of the material. Remove the pins, or—ouch!—you’ll get pricked.
Step 5:
Turn the material right side out and stuff with fiberfill, goose down, last year’s crumpled tax returns, whatever you’d like.
Step 6:
Fold the open edge inward, pin together, and sew shut. Celebrate your pillow with a nice long nap!
More Nifty Tips
Add dried lavender when filling for a sweet, sleep-inducing scent.
If you choose a patterned material, make sure your patterns match before cutting your fabric.
Stay Buff
“If you were lucky and you hit it just right, you’d buy a rug or maybe two small ones. They protected your floors, but even more so, they showed off your wherewithal. Only fairly well-off people had rugs.”
—R UTH R OWEN
H OW TO R EMOVE S CUFFS FROM H ARDWOOD F LOORS
Step 1:
Grab the offending honey, child, or four-legged friend. They probably made the scuff, so they better help buff it. This is clean family fun at its most literal.
Step 2:
Check the finish of your floor, if you don’t already know it off the top of your head. Go to a corner and press your fingernail along the wood. Do you see a soft residue? If so, your floor is coated in wax. Is it hard as a rock? Then your floor is coated with poly-urethane.
Step 2:
On waxed floors, buff the scuff with extra-fine steel wool (000) and solvent-based liquid hardwood floor cleaner. Then wipe clean with a dry towel and rewax. On polyurethaned floors, restore the shine by vigorously rubbing the scuff with a paper towel, old stockings, a tennis ball, or a dryer sheet. Voilà!
More Nifty Tips
Prevent most scuffs and scratches by placing a doormat at your entryway. It’ll help brush dirt off the bottom of your shoes,which, if tracked into the house, may damage your floors. Better yet, kick off your shoes as soon as you get home.
Stick felt pads underneath all of your furniture legs to prevent scratches.
For squeaky wax floors, apply more wax to the loud board. For squeaky polyurethaned floors, sprinkle talcum powder into the offending gap.
Bloom On
“I just brought in some flowers. I’m going out to supper and I wanted to take some to the hostess. I got some for me, too! I love flowers. I’m not a good gardener, but I love to have them around.”
—S UE
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