Soap Dispenser Cover

Let It Snow!

(So what if I did this in 2009 and I am finally finishing and posting it in January of 2011. Better late than never right?)

So after a fun Thanksgiving, what am I in the mood for? Christmas Decorating of course! Last year I was pretty tired as we were expecting our second bundle of joy and I focused mainly on displays in our curio cabinet and the living room. I felt like Christmas ended in our hallway though and determined to extend the decorating to more areas the next year. So this year I started thinking about the bathroom. I had plenty of random decorations that I had been gifted and as I noticed a snow man theme coming out of them I felt a desire to make my soap dispenser match. So out came the christmas fabrics from quilts and tree skirts past.

I decided to use the blue with the snowflake pattern. For the finish I made a bow with a center and six sides out of a white sheer wired ribbon. I looked online to see who else had ever suggested such a brilliant idea before and the only one I found was crocheted. So now you too can copy my idea. Here is the tutorial. I chose this method for a more fitted look, but I can probably come up with an easier one that requires no sewing at all. (Maybe for Valentines day)

Materials used for this project: Fabric, elastic band, thread, sewing machine, safety pin, and ribbon held in place with a single straight pin.

I just used a rough measurement but if you want a better ruffle add a little more fabric to the top. (The triangle you see is what I decided to add on, I could have made it extend farther for more ruffle.) I used the piece of paper to varify the approximate height and circumfrence needed.

I folded the fabric over and created a casing for the elastic. The elastic is thin so I only needed about a quarter inch to slide it through. I use a safety pin to help slide the elastic through and then I pinned the ends in place so I could sew down the side. Turn it inside out and cover your soap dispenser!

I added the ribbon as an extra touch. You can make a bow by starting with the center loop. Then make your next loop angled so it comes back underneath and repeat on the other sides. You can make a bow as big as you like. I just did the six loops arranged around the center one to keep it simple and small--like a snowflake.

I measured the right amount of elastic by wrapping the elastic around and holding it without stretching it.

The fabric is longer than the elastic so it will gather. If you don't have elastic you could probably use a simple ribbon but you would want it to be much longer than the fabric and make a bow. (Maybe I will do that for the Valentine version)

To slide the elastic through you fix a safety pin on one end and start sliding the safety pin through. When the tail of your elastic gets to the end you started on make sure you fix it in place so it stops sliding through.

Now that I have the elastic in place I pin together sides with the wrong side of the fabric out. (That way my seam is on the inside of the fabric)

Add a little hand sewing to hide the extra flap of fabric.

Presto! Now you have a soap dispenser to match your decorations for the holiday season.

Make a bow could be another tutorial, but I will describe it here and see if that helps. You start with the center loop. Then curve your next loop so it makes a point on one side, make sure the ribbon crosses back under the center loop. Each time you will make three points as you guide the ribbon around. Just continue adding pointed loops until you like the size of your bow. I used a straight pin to fix this bow in place because I didn't need to make it permanent. A stapler works as well.