Showing posts with label tutorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tutorial. Show all posts
6.12.2011
Mailer
Here's a *great* tutorial for sewing up a sturdy mailer made from paper grocery bags. I made one last night. It was quick, fun and very functional. Yay!
5.24.2011
Tutorial Tuesday - One Seam Flying Geese
Do you see how I love "one seam" sewing? Here's another one that was shared with me by Cherri at the PMQG's all day sewing work day. She was making a lot of them and was showing us how to make this neat little version of flying geese. I took pictures as she explained it and now I'm here to share it with you too!
You'll need: Fabric, rotary cutter, ruler, cutting mat, thread and a sewing machine of course... unless you're stitching by hand which will work just fine too.
You'll need: Fabric, rotary cutter, ruler, cutting mat, thread and a sewing machine of course... unless you're stitching by hand which will work just fine too.
- CUT YOUR FABRIC
Each flying goose will need one 5.5" x 3" rectangle...
...and TWO 3" squares of matching fabric
- FOLD & SANDWICH YOUR FABRIC
Fold the rectangle with wrong sides together. Keep the fold at the top.
Place one square on a flat surface and lay the folded rectangle over the top. Line up the bottom edges.
You should see about 1/4" of square fabric above the fold of the rectangle.
Lay the other square over these two pieces of fabric to complete the sandwich.
- SEW THAT ONE SEAM!
Keeping the sandwich in the same position sew a 1/4" seam down the right hand side. Making many sandwiches all at once will allow you to chain piece these together.
- UNFOLD AND PRESS
Open your little sandwich book and if you can see where it's creased pull this bit of fabric out to create and finish the block.
Press your block open.
- FINISHING
Once you've sewn your block together there are several options for finishing them. They can be stitched down in the quilting process to look like traditionally stitched pieces, or you can fold them over and stitch them like a cathedral window block or even just leave them open to make interesting little pockets.
Cherri pressed the back of her blocks thusly...
4.23.2011
Tutorial - Windsock or One Seam Bias Binding
This is known as Windsock Binding or One Seam Binding. I'm not nearly brilliant enough to have come up with this method myself (wish I knew who did so I could give credit but alas, I do not). It's such a great way to make bias binding though I just wanted to share. The benefits of this method are:
Okay! Sound good? Then let's get started. You'll need a large cutting mat, a ruler (or two) or a yard stick, a pair of scissors, a rotary cutter, a marking pencil and of course your sewing machine and an iron.
1. Take your fabric and fold in half. Use your rotary cutter to remove the selvages and square up the edges.
2. Take the fabric to the sewing machine and stitch the three sides closed. Do not stitch the side that is folded.
3. Bring your sewn fabric back to a large flat area and lay it back out with the folded edge at the top. You are then going to mark a diagonal line with a pencil or other marking tool from one corner to the other.
4. Cut off all four corners. Do not take a large amount off, just enough to slide scissors into the hole that it will make. Cutting off a large amount here will mean you'll have less binding later on.
5. You are now going to slip your scissors into the little hole you just made and cut along the line you just marked. Why not use a rotary cutter here? Because you're only cutting one layer of the fabric. You must use scissors to do so.
6. When you are done with that step your fabric should look like this:
7. The next step is to flip the fabric over so the folded edge is now at the bottom. Mark your line and again. Make sure it's the same direction as your first marking. You want an "X" in the end. Cut with scissors across the fabric.
8. Grab the edges of the last cut and open up the fabric so it's in a tube shape.
9. Press the seams open.
10. Mark a line between 6" and 9" from the folded edge. I know that's not real specific but it depends on how large a piece of fabric you started with. If you started with 1/2 yard 6" should be fine, if you're using more then a yard move your measurement out to the 9" from the folded edge. Don't mark further then 9" from the edge or it'll be more difficult to work with later on.
11. Using your previously marked line as a guide, mark perpendicular lines the width you want your finished open binding to be. For example if making quilting binding these parallel lines would be 2 1/2". In this case however I was making binding for an apron and needed 1 1/2" strips.
12. Once your lines are marked use a rotary cutter (or scissors) to cut from the folded edge to your marked line. Be sure to cut through both layers of fabric this time. Now you can see why this is called Windsock Binding!
13. Do NOT cut off the strips you've just made but leave them attached.
14. If you slide a finger under your folded fabric and lay it open like a book, it should look like this.
15. Take a ruler and mark lines from one cut edge to the opposite and higher cut point. You can then use a rotary cutter or scissors to cut across these areas. Make sure that it's on a diagonal otherwise you'll wind up losing your continuous strip.
16. Mark and cut all the way up till you have nothing left but bias binding strips!
17. These open strips can now either be ironed by hand or placed on a spool to be run though a bias tape maker.
18. If you make a lot of binding I'd suggest getting one of these handy little guys, it takes hours less work to run it through this little gadget then to iron 1-3 seams into the fabric by hand.
Another less expensive alternative that's easier then ironing by hand is to get a hand held bias tape maker. It will hold and fold the fabric for you while you pull it through and iron it flat as you go.
Happy Binding Everyone!
- There's just ONE seam!
- There's very little wasted fabric, it all goes to the binding.
- It's easy and fast to make compared to traditional bias binding methods.
Okay! Sound good? Then let's get started. You'll need a large cutting mat, a ruler (or two) or a yard stick, a pair of scissors, a rotary cutter, a marking pencil and of course your sewing machine and an iron.
1. Take your fabric and fold in half. Use your rotary cutter to remove the selvages and square up the edges.
2. Take the fabric to the sewing machine and stitch the three sides closed. Do not stitch the side that is folded.
3. Bring your sewn fabric back to a large flat area and lay it back out with the folded edge at the top. You are then going to mark a diagonal line with a pencil or other marking tool from one corner to the other.
4. Cut off all four corners. Do not take a large amount off, just enough to slide scissors into the hole that it will make. Cutting off a large amount here will mean you'll have less binding later on.
5. You are now going to slip your scissors into the little hole you just made and cut along the line you just marked. Why not use a rotary cutter here? Because you're only cutting one layer of the fabric. You must use scissors to do so.
6. When you are done with that step your fabric should look like this:
7. The next step is to flip the fabric over so the folded edge is now at the bottom. Mark your line and again. Make sure it's the same direction as your first marking. You want an "X" in the end. Cut with scissors across the fabric.
8. Grab the edges of the last cut and open up the fabric so it's in a tube shape.
9. Press the seams open.
10. Mark a line between 6" and 9" from the folded edge. I know that's not real specific but it depends on how large a piece of fabric you started with. If you started with 1/2 yard 6" should be fine, if you're using more then a yard move your measurement out to the 9" from the folded edge. Don't mark further then 9" from the edge or it'll be more difficult to work with later on.
11. Using your previously marked line as a guide, mark perpendicular lines the width you want your finished open binding to be. For example if making quilting binding these parallel lines would be 2 1/2". In this case however I was making binding for an apron and needed 1 1/2" strips.
12. Once your lines are marked use a rotary cutter (or scissors) to cut from the folded edge to your marked line. Be sure to cut through both layers of fabric this time. Now you can see why this is called Windsock Binding!
13. Do NOT cut off the strips you've just made but leave them attached.
14. If you slide a finger under your folded fabric and lay it open like a book, it should look like this.
15. Take a ruler and mark lines from one cut edge to the opposite and higher cut point. You can then use a rotary cutter or scissors to cut across these areas. Make sure that it's on a diagonal otherwise you'll wind up losing your continuous strip.
16. Mark and cut all the way up till you have nothing left but bias binding strips!
17. These open strips can now either be ironed by hand or placed on a spool to be run though a bias tape maker.
18. If you make a lot of binding I'd suggest getting one of these handy little guys, it takes hours less work to run it through this little gadget then to iron 1-3 seams into the fabric by hand.
Another less expensive alternative that's easier then ironing by hand is to get a hand held bias tape maker. It will hold and fold the fabric for you while you pull it through and iron it flat as you go.
Happy Binding Everyone!
3.08.2011
Making Face Cleaning Pads
My latest project is a bit like craft tweeting. I've been making small, super fast little projects. What am I talking about? Well, let me digress for a moment...
I use witch hazel as an astringent to clean my face and I feel bad every time I use a cotton ball just once, or one of those nice little pressed cotton pads and then chuck it in the trash. As I came down to the last one in my jar a week or so ago I thought there had to be a better way. I'd tried making Tawashi crocheted cotton flowers but they were just too rough and didn't hold the witch hazel very well. They do however, make excellent little face scrubbers in the shower. Sooo... what about microquilts? They're the same idea as the pressed cotton pads except much cuter AND they use up quilting scraps. You can chuck 'em in the laundry with the clothes to get them clean and reuse them. Perfect!
An array of cleaning pads
They are super simple to make.
1.) Cut out one 3" square of each of the following for one cleaning pad:
*Top fabric (cute quilting cotton)
*Batting (I used scrap warm and natural)
*Backing (I used white cotton flannel)
Since I was making a whole slew I cut out a few stacks of each.
2.) Lay the fabrics down in this order:
Place the batting down on the table with the top fabric right side up, on top of it.
Place the backing fabric wrong side up on top of the batting and top fabric.
3.) Starting near a corner, stitch nearly all the way around using a 1/4" seam allowance. Cut the corners off so there is less bulk when you turn it. Be sure to leave a 1" to 2" gap so you can turn it inside out. Turn it so that the fabric comes through between the backing and the top fabric. (Think of the batting and the cute fabric as one).
4.) Make sure to poke the corners out so they're nice and square. Tuck in the unsewn bits and top stitch using 1/8" seam allowance all the way around to secure the edges.
5.) Yup - that's it! You're done. Go wash your face. ^^
Remember you can even use bits of old quilt blocks you have laying around, see the bottom right pink and green one - it used to be a bento block. Anything works really.
I use witch hazel as an astringent to clean my face and I feel bad every time I use a cotton ball just once, or one of those nice little pressed cotton pads and then chuck it in the trash. As I came down to the last one in my jar a week or so ago I thought there had to be a better way. I'd tried making Tawashi crocheted cotton flowers but they were just too rough and didn't hold the witch hazel very well. They do however, make excellent little face scrubbers in the shower. Sooo... what about microquilts? They're the same idea as the pressed cotton pads except much cuter AND they use up quilting scraps. You can chuck 'em in the laundry with the clothes to get them clean and reuse them. Perfect!
An array of cleaning pads
They are super simple to make.
1.) Cut out one 3" square of each of the following for one cleaning pad:
*Top fabric (cute quilting cotton)
*Batting (I used scrap warm and natural)
*Backing (I used white cotton flannel)
Since I was making a whole slew I cut out a few stacks of each.
2.) Lay the fabrics down in this order:
Place the batting down on the table with the top fabric right side up, on top of it.
Place the backing fabric wrong side up on top of the batting and top fabric.
3.) Starting near a corner, stitch nearly all the way around using a 1/4" seam allowance. Cut the corners off so there is less bulk when you turn it. Be sure to leave a 1" to 2" gap so you can turn it inside out. Turn it so that the fabric comes through between the backing and the top fabric. (Think of the batting and the cute fabric as one).
4.) Make sure to poke the corners out so they're nice and square. Tuck in the unsewn bits and top stitch using 1/8" seam allowance all the way around to secure the edges.
5.) Yup - that's it! You're done. Go wash your face. ^^
Remember you can even use bits of old quilt blocks you have laying around, see the bottom right pink and green one - it used to be a bento block. Anything works really.
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