Make Your Own Double Fold Bias Tape

I'm working on a pennant banner from the pattern Celebration.

It calls for a package of Wrights Extra Wide Double Fold Bias Tape (1/2") . I decided that I wanted to use a fabric to coordinate with the project instead so I made my own. Here's how I did it.

I cut 1 3/4" wide strips of fabric into long bias strips. I was working with about 1/4 yard of fabric so for my particular banner I needed 5 strips of fabric. If you need help with this you can read this earlier Blog Post on how to cut long bias strips with straight cuts rather than cutting them on a 45 degree angle. Basically you fold the fabric on the bias and cut. It is a super easy way to make bias strips and works with any fabric, any length and any width.

I used the From Marti Michell Corner Trimmer to take off the points from each end. This is definitely one of my Must Have tools. It makes a task like this so much easier.

Now with the points trimmed off you can see how easy it is to line up the strips. You are lining up a straight side to a straight side - piece of cake.

I used a 1/4" seam allowance and pressed the seams open.

Next I folded the strip in half lengthwise. I know that the photo looks like the strip isn't the same width, but it is. Sorry about that. If you look closely you can see the fold line along the length.

Next I folded and pressed the top of the strip so that it lined up with the center fold. Since the fabric is on the bias the strip looks curved but it is straight. It's just the camera angle and the way I had it positioned for the picture.

Then I folded the bottom of the strip to the center. Both raw edges meet at the center. It is important that they meet and don't overlap.

The last step is to fold it again along that center line. You end up with a long piece of double folded "bias tape."

I like the flexibility of being able to use fabrics that compliment my project rather than stock, boring bias tape that you would buy in the fabric store.

As soon as I have given away the project I was working on, there will be a link to that blog post.

Happy Sewing,

Carol

A Little Somethin' Jacket

It has been awhile since I've made a garment for myself. I used to make all of my clothes. I made a few dresses for my daughters when they were growing up as well as lots of Halloween costumes. I think the last garment I made was an Elmo outfit for my granddaughter's Second Birthday. You can see that in this Blog Post.

I bought this pattern and fabric from Sew Batik almost a year ago. I am going to be helping them in their booth at Road to California later this week so I decided that it would be fun to wear this jacket at the show.

I have a very small studio now so the long piece of fabric didn't fit on what I'm currently using for a cutting table.

I chose this fabric because with all the colors it should go with just about anything. It is a rayon batik so it drapes well, making it the perfect fabric for a lightweight jacket.

The pattern only has three pieces so it wasn't too complicated to put together.

Jacket Front

Jacket Back

Jacket Sleeves

I cut all of the pieces out and marked all of the "Dots" for matching. I used a white Quilter's Choice Marking Pencil because it showed up with all that color. 

Next it was time to choose the thread. When I piece my quilts I usually use a neutral thread but with garments it should be something that blends. I have quite a thread stash so there were lots of choices. I ended up choosing this variegated thread from Superior Threads. When I looked at the spool I thought it would be too dark. But when I pulled out the thread and put it on top of the fabric, it was perfect.

Then I started putting the jacket together. I liked how the instructions have you press the fold line in for the facing now. That made things much easier later. The shoulder seams were easy. I forgot how big a 5/8" seam allowance is. When you're used to 1/4" in quilting that is a HUGE seam. I remember when I started quilting how SMALL 1/4" seemed. Funny how our perspective changes. 

Next was the sleeves. I discovered as I matched the dots and seams that there was too much fabric to ease into the opening for my taste. I thought it would be hard to get it even. I decided to run a 3/8" basting stitch on the sleeves. I was then able to slightly gather the sleeve to fit it into the opening. After I put it into the jacket and sewed the seams, it doesn't look gathered, just eased in which is what I wanted to accomplish.  Here's the jacket with the sleeves.

The facing and hem came next. I turned all of that under 1/4". Then I turned under the hem. Now is when the pressed fold line for the facing comes into place. I just folded that and it was ready to topstitch. I used LOTS of pins to keep everything in place. The only problem that I ran into was that I didn't like the way the instructions said to topstitch everything. I followed the directions and wasn't happy with how it lined up with the turned under edges. It wasn't close enough to the turned under 1/4". I was afraid that over time it would ravel. So I ripped out the whole thing and did it from the wrong side. I know that the "sewing police" say not to do this because bobbin tension is looser, but I opted for this because I could see where the stitching should be. I break the "quilt police" rules often so why not this one too?

All that was left was the hem on the sleeves. That was super simple. Just turn under 1/4" and then another 1". Topstitch that too. I did  the same thing here. I stitched if from the wrong side. Here's the finished product.

I think it will be cute with jeans but can also be dressy if I need it to be. Since it is a batik, if I want to roll up the sleeves a little bit it won't be that noticeable. 

Happy Sewing,

Carol

Table Runners Galore

No matter how hard I tried to make my new studio space organized in our move in September, it just didn't work according to plan. My room ended up being the, dare I say it, dump everything in there and close the door room during the holidays. It's too embarrassing to post pictures although maybe a Before and After would be impressive (when the After is actually accomplished). Now that I have packed up everything from Christmas, it is time to clean things up in there so I can get back to work.

I just decided to take things one box or pile at a time. The first box I came to had some small quilts and table runners. When I worked in a quilt shop I taught a lot of classes. The classes that tended to do well were table runners. Students can complete most, if not all, of the top in an all day class. I never really used them on tables. Most of them hung in our booth at shows off and on over the years.

One of my favorite patterns was called Four Seasons Table Runners by Black Cat Creations. This is the Spring Table Runner. I colored the flowers and leaves with crayons and then hand embroidered around them. I used a heavy weight thread in the bobbin and did  bobbin work flowers on the two ends.

This is one of my favorites because I love blue and yellow together. This is the Summer design. The flowers are fusible applique. I just meander quilted the whole thing.

My favorite season is Fall. It was always my favorite season when we lived in the East. So this table runner with Fall leaves is special to me. I did free motion zigzag stitches around the fused leaves. It gives them a more realistic look because leaves really aren't very smoothe around the edges. I quilted this one with lines and loops. I wanted to create movement so it looks like the leaves are blowing in the wind.

This is the Christmas design. I like the crisp white background in contrast to the reds and greens. I did an allover free motion quilting design with small holly leaves.

The last one I found is called Stars and Bars. It was in an Eleanor Burns book. I have to admit it isn't my best binding job. I'm not sure what was going on when I bound this one. Part of me wants to rip it out and do it all over but that isn't going to happen. It is what it is.

There may be more in another box somewhere. I made others and donated them to auctions as fundraisers and I sold a couple as well. So I can't remember if this is all I have left.

Here's my question. Now that I have a home that I'm starting all over again in, do I put these out even though they don't go with the decor? I'm planning to have a table that I rotate different holiday decorations on so I'm thinking of putting them on that table throughout the year. Do you make your table runners to match your decor or do you do them for holidays and occassions in seasonal colors? I'd love to know what you think.

Happy Quilting,

Carol

My First Rag Quilt

I know these have been around FOREVER but I've never had much of a flannel stash. The first flannel quilt I ever made was a pieced project and the flannel was so squirrelly I didn't want to attempt another.

However, I have some flannel that I bought for something else and wanted to use it up. So I decided that making a couple rag quilts would be a good way to do that.

I decided on 6 1/2" squares. I'm planning to do 10 blocks x 10 blocks so that's 100 squares just for the top, 200 including the back and 100 more of batting. Yikes! That's a lot of squares and I am planning to do 2 with more or less the same fabrics so double that. The squares will be the same but I'll use different fabrics for the backings.

Thank goodness for my QuiltCut2 Fabric Cutting System!

I cut all of the fabric squares (400) in 3 hours. I used some scraps of batting and then full size pieces which I folded in half and then in half again. I cut 100 of these squares in less than an hour. Then I ran out of batting.

Here are the fabric squares for both quilts.

These are the squares for the first quilt. The Monkey Fabric is going to be the backing.

I decided to do a little quilting in each square before I put it together. I chose a variegated thread that will go with all of the fabrics in the quilt for the top and a bright pink for the back which goes perfectly with the little monkey print.

I quilted a simple X through all of the Monkey squares. That's as far as I've gotten so far. Stay tuned to watch the progress of this project.

Happy Quilting,

Carol

Bunk Bed Project

Life has definitely thrown me some curves over the past few months, some good, some not so good. But things are getting better. We have a new grandson, Gracin Jay, the second of three new grand babies to arrive this year.

You can read about Elsie, the first baby of this year in this Blog Post. The next baby is due any time now. This one is a little girl, Raigyn and we are in charge of taking care of her big sister, Tristyn when she makes her appearance.

We recently moved into our tiny beach house that was a rental for 35 years. We're slowly getting it fixed up. Since we are expecting company both with our daughters and their families as well as others, we decided to opt for maximum sleeping space and got a set of bunk beds. The bottom bunk is where Tristyn is going to sleep when she stays with us.

She is a little bit of a daredevil. She is almost 3 and loves to climb, jump, and is generally very inquisitive. The last thing we need is for her to fall off the top bunk while her mommy is having a baby. So I am going to hide the ladder and wanted to make it interesting so maybe she wouldn't want to explore the top bunk. We don't have a mattress for it yet so it doesn't look like a bed up there either.

I had a lot of tulle leftover from bridal and baby showers so I thought I'd use that to make a canopy of sorts for the bed.

I wanted it to reach the floor along the wall and the front of the bed. I cut 2 sets from both bolts. I know - that's a lot of tulle. It's amazing how much is on a bolt. I have used the darker one for so many things and was surprised that there's still some leftover.

I layered the two fabrics with the lighter one on the bottom. It is a little stiffer and lighter in color so I wanted the darker and thinner fabric on top. I started at the foot of the bed and draped the fabrics along the wall and down the front. I got the length in the front where I wanted it and then adjusted it along the wall. I let it extend a little bit over the foot board of the bed. A couple trips up the step stool and I had it in place. Then I did the head of the bed. That was a lot trickier because it is up against the wall so I couldn't get the step stool there to move the fabric. I ended up using the bunk bed ladder to climb up and toss the tulle over the top. Then I adjusted it in front and worked from the inside of the bed to get it lined up the way I wanted it.

I ended up with 2 different looks. One where the whole bed is covered and Tristyn will find the opening and crawl in. The other has tie backs so it looks more like a canopy bed. 

My husband said it looks like mosquito netting. Asked what is she going to do with it and called it her fort. All I care about is that I hope it will be a fun place she wants to read stories, play with her stuffed "friends" and to sleep in. We'll find out pretty soon.

Carol

Nursery Pillows

Today I'm working on the first of two pillows for my next grandbaby's nursery. I'm making envelope pillow covers so they can be removed easily and washed as needed. Won't this yellow and white chevron fabric make a cute pillow?

The finished size of the pillow form is 20" square. I cut the fabric 21" x 46". This way all I have to do is finish off the two ends and sew all the way around and it's done. It's a really fast and easy way to do an envelope back pillow cover.

I turned under both short ends 1/4" and then turned them under another 1/4" so there is no raw edge showing. I topstitched that close to the turned under edge.



I put the fabric wrong side up and found the center of the pillow by matching the two turned under ends. I finger pressed the center for a reference point.

I like to do French Seams for pillows that are going to be washed. Since this is for a baby's nursery I want them to hold up well to washing. By finishing the seams this way, I feel that they hold up better than just a regular seam.

I used the center fold as a reference and brought the finished end on the right side up about 1./4" to the left of the center line.

Next I folded the left side of the pillow toward the center. I overlapped it 1 1/2" over the other end. I pinned that in place at the top and bottom. In the photo the raw edges don't match so you can see the overlap. But as you can see by the next photo I pinned it in place with the edges matching. I also pinned in a couple other places to hold things together.

 

The chevron "stripes" don't line up here but they do line up when the pillow is finished.

I know it's weird to sew with Wrong Sides Together (WST). I am so used to Right Sides Together (RST) that I really have to think about it before I sew. It's just automatic to do RST. But when doing French Seams the first seam is WST. I stitched 1/4" on both sets of raw edges.

Using the opening for the pillow I turned it so that now it is Right Sides Together. I used a Point Turner to make sure that the corners were nice and defined. A friend's husband makes this one. It is a Point Turner on one end and a Finger Pressing Tool on the other end. It is a little long but it is perfect for this job.

I pressed the whole pillow cover really well after I turned it Right Sides Together. Even though I really only have 2 seams to sew I actually stitched all the way around the pillow cover with a 1/2" seam allowance. That will keep it's square shape.

After sewing all the way around the pillow the two actual seams are completely covered. Now there are no raw edges inside the pillow to fray after multiple washings. This technique is also good for sewing tote bags. It makes the seams really strong.

Now it's time to turn it right side out. I used the Point Turner again to make sure that all 4 corners are well defined. Here's the finished product on the glider/rocker in the nursery. 

I think it turned out very cute and so does my daughter.

Happy Sewing,

Carol

Mother's Day Craft

I wanted to do a special Mother's Day craft with my two granddaughters. I saw this project on Pinterest and pinned it to my Grandchildren board. I took the basic idea and then changed it up a little bit.

Inspiration

I drew a basic flower shape onto some cardstock. I folded the paper so I was cutting two pieces at the same time because I wanted each flower to be double sided with the pipe cleaner stuck in between.

I also wanted to put pictures of the girls in the center of each flower. Most of the pictures I chose were taken when I was watching them while their mommies were at work. 

Tristyn, my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter was the first to make her project. Before she got to my house I had already made the flowers and had glued the photos onto them. She chose the pipe cleaner colors because I had a few different shades of green. They were long pipe cleaners and I wanted to use half for each stem. I got away with that for the first one but after that she wanted to use the full length. Once we had the pipe cleaners I glued them between the two layers of the flowers. 

I wanted her to decorate the pot too. I just used an ordinary clay pot from Home Depot. I gave her crayons and she colored the outside and the inside of the pot.

I let her pick the paint colors for the petals. Of course she chose all of the colors that I had. Together we dipped her index finger in the first color. Then we put it on the flower petal. After we did the first one she knew exactly what to do for the rest.  She used one color per flower. She still had colors left so she wanted to put her fingerprints on the outside of the flower pot. I turned it so they would go all the way around the pot. Then she decided to stick her whole hand in the paint and she spread that on the pot.

I put a piece of florist foam in the bottom of the flower pot after the paint dried. I poked holes in it with a scissors so the pipe cleaners would go in easier. Tristyn chose where each flower went. The ones with the really long stems were kind of tricky. I just bunched up the pipe cleaner inside the pot since they were way too long. Then I covered up the foam with some tan shredding so it looked like soil.

Here is her finished product.

I did Elsie's next. She is only 2 months old. So I had the pipe cleaners in place and had the pictures on the flowers. Basically all that was left was her fingerprints. I thought I'd try adding footprints or handprints on the pot in addition to the fingerprints on the petals. 

I chose white tempera paint for the fingerprints and footprints. I thought it would be the easiest color to wash out. If you've never done fingerprints with a 2 month old, it's a challenge. I had to really work to only have one finger to dip in the paint. I tried the footprints first for the flower pot. The first attempt, you could see the toes and most of the foot. The second one was pretty much a smeared blob. I tried to hold her hand so that I could get a handprint and it was obvious it wasn't going to be successful so I abandoned that idea. Here she is with her finished project. I think it is a special gift for her mommy's first Mother's Day.

 I didn't really think about putting this on my blog until after the fact. So there aren't as many pictures as I'd like. But they were so cute when they were done, I wanted to share them. Both of my daughters loved their gifts.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.
Carol