Agility Ladder

          Joe has been thinking about making an agility ladder for a little while now. So we brainstormed some simple, cheap options for materials and I helped him come up with a plan for making it. He ordered some inexpensive nylon webbing ($27 for two 30ft rolls, found at countrybrookdesign.com), and it came in the mail yesterday!

          If you are into crossfit training, working out in your own backyard, or just love the idea of making your own equipment and saving a bunch of cash, read on! And take a trip to my DIY/Tutorials page for more workout equipment, or visit Instinctual Running for more ideas.

Agility Ladder

• 30 feet of one color Nylon Webbing ( this will be for the length of your ladder (totaling 15 feet  with one half on each side… feel free to make longer or shorter to your liking)
• 17 feet of another color Nylon Webbing ( we just bought two rolls of 30ft with extra to spare… this will be for the rungs on the ladder)
• The Usual Suspects: thread of color choice, sewing machine, pins, scissors

Step 1: Cut all of your pieces. Cut your 30ft  piece of nylon webbing in half to make the sides of the ladder. Cut 11 18inch strips of the other nylon webbing to make your ladder rungs.

                ** If you want to make a different length ladder, you can measure out how many rungs to make by dividing the total length of the ladder by 18inches, which is how far apart we spaced our rungs.**

Step 2: Pin your rungs onto the side strips by measuring 18inches apart. We chose to use a chalk and mark 18inches all the way down the strips first, but it is not necessary.

Step 3: Once your rungs are pinned onto both sides of the ladder, head to the sewing machine. I sewed two lines parallel to the length of the ladder by sewing, backsewing, and sewing forward again, making three passes. I did this to ensure a strong seam. I probably could have used a better stitch, but it came out very strong.

                **Tip: do your best to keep the rung perpendicular to the ladder side when sewing, to make sure the rung is straight when laid out. The easiest way to do this is to just line the bottom edge of the rung with the webbing. (see picture)

Step 4: Once all rungs are sewn on, lay out your agility ladder and admire your work!!

Thanks for stopping by! Please post any questions, I will be happy to answer them!

Fleece Blankets

          Whew, what a week… had a few setbacks in the back department… physical therapy says one more week at home, officially making this a full month ordeal. In fact, today is the one month mark of my sprain. The body is a slow healer when you want it to go fast, right? Well, due to this one more week at home I have thrown myself (not literally, I’m mostly confined to the couch and my craft table), into gifts for upcoming birthdays, holidays, etc. I got myself all excited for these projects, took a million photos, bladibla… and realized that if I posted tutorials on any of them, the surprise of these gifts would be ruined. Hm.

          So, to cap the week off, I’m going to write about fleece blankets. I have made a slew of them for various people, gifts, myself over the past week. I’m going to show you a few different ways to make fleece blankets, but my tutorial will focus on the sewn version.

Fleece Blankets

What you will need:

• 2 yards each of two fleece fabrics (I like a big blanket, feel free to adjust to your preference)
• The usual suspects: scissors, sewing machine, thread

Step 1: Cut off the crappy edges (official term of course) from both fabrics

Step 2: Line up the two fabrics, good sides together,  and cut so that they are even

Step 3: Pin edges together all around blanket (remember to keep those good sides together… you will see why in a few steps).

Step 4: Sew along entire edge of  blanket with a half inch seam, but leave approximately six inches at end open.

Step 5: Turn blanket right side out

Step 6: Blind stitch that six inch hole closed. I would show you how to blind stitch, but I’m not even positive if I’m doing it right. Think of it as a whip stitch with the whip on the inside J that’s the best description I can think of. My apologies… google it.

Step 7: Set your sewing machine to the overlock stitch (also known as the serger stitch) and sew another seam with a 1-2inch seam around the blanket.

Badabing badaboom! A fleece blanket that looks professionally made. How easy was that? You know you want to jump on JoAnn's next fleece sale :) 

Other Options: No Sew

Single knot: Cut strips along edge of blanket and finish with single knot

Double knot: Do same as above, but double knot instead.

Braided: Cut 2" strips along edge of blanket and within each strip, cut small hole. Thread each strip through hole of consecutive strip, following all around blanket. This is easiest with a crochet hook or opened paperclip. This is my favorite for a no-sew fleece, even if it takes a little longer... you don't feel any knots if you lie on the edge!

Happy Friday! If you have any questions or have any other styles for making fleece blankets, please share!!