Sewing

Last day of January already... yikes! It's been a busy week, but I have made time to work on the new sweater for the Little Lady. I shared a link to the pattern last week... a lovely sweater knit in 1 piece. I've finished the back, one sleeve, and half of another. Cruisin' :)

I was going to make a skirt to go along with the sweater, but Michelle suggested I make the adorable reversible pants found in Anna Maria Horner's book Handmade Beginnings.

Aren't these sweet?

It's hard to see in the photos, but the yarn I'm using in the sweater has flecks of brown and green. I hit my stash and was able to come up with fabric to make 2 pairs of reversible pants that will look wonderful with the sweater.

So, the plan... finish the sweater this week... sew the pants next week... then I'll be taking to train to Wisconsin for a week of playing with the Little Lady. Can hardly wait :)

Blogs are like books in progress. Although, as the author, you are always on the last page, writing your heart out, at any point in time, someone else can pick up the book, and start reading, and it is all new and fresh to them. Yesterday, someone linked to our articles on basic quilting. Because of that, there's been renewed interest in those postings, with new comments and emails with questions. It occurred to me that there were a few things I did not talk about, and some new questions asked. Instead of answering all the emails separately, I decided to add a 4th part to the series. I hope it answers some additional questions you might have had. Please, feel free to include any tips and advice you may have. So, here's some additional info... in no particular order. I will continue to add comments made by our readers over time, so check back periodically :)

Quilting Basics - Part 1

Quilting Basics - Part 2

Quilting Basics - Part 3

If using tracing paper, wax pencil, disappearing markers, etc. on your fabric to mark stitching lines, always test it on a scrap piece of your fabric first. Mark your scrap, then wash it, to make sure the marks will come out. Nothing ruins a project more than marking stains!

I've had people ask me what size needles I use. The honest answer is I haven't a clue. All of my needles wind up, out of their packages, and tossed in my needle holder. (Just an old Altoid tin :) The needle I pick depends on the thickness of the thread I use (thicker thread, larger needle eye), how lofty my batting is (the thicker the batting the longer the needle), and the type of fabric I'm trying to quilt (delicate fabric requiring thinner needles). You can buy "quilting" needles, usually they are straight needles, without a bump around the needle eye so you don't leave a bigger hole than necessary, but simply use a needle that gives you a nice look and is easy to use.

The question of how to hold the top, batting and backing together could be a whole post by itself, but I'll condense it here. If I'm doing a small project, like the yellow square I used in the examples, I usually just pin or staple the piece together. (See note in Part 1 about using a stapler.) You can also go through and baste the 3 pieces together, using very long running stitches. The advantage of basting is there are no pins for your quilting thread to get tangled in, but basting takes more time. Using a hoop or frame helps hold your pieces together, and stops the layers from shifting. A hoop or frame is especially necessary when working with big pieces. Even when using a frame, I still like to pin my layers together. Several years ago, a friend gave me a Quilters Basting gun. It takes the place of safety pins and is fast. The gun puts small, plastic tags in your fabric, similar to the price tags used on new clothing. When you are done, you go through an sips off the tags. Always test the gun on your fabric first to make sure the gun doesn't break threads on the fabric.

Few things are quite so handy as a drawstring bag. Small ones can be used to hold wee treasures like necklaces and lost teeth. Large ones can be used to wrap odd shaped presents like Teddy Bears and wooden trucks. They are great for holding lots of loose pieces, like a gathering of acorns or building blocks. No matter what size you need, they are all made basically the same.

Below are the directions for making a 7 1/2" x 10" bag that I used to hold Lady's Wooden Eggs and Cups, and Pixie's Acorns, Pots and Bowls. The reason I made it this specific size is because I had some fabric scraps 9" wide. Basically, using these directions, you can create any sized bag that you need.

Materials:
2 coordinating fabrics, for bag and casing
Ribbon, string, yarn, cording, etc for closing the bag.

Directions:
Cut out fabric. I cut 1 piece of striped fabric for the bag 19" x 9" and 2 pieces of the yellow fabric for the casing 4" x 9".

On each piece of casing, fold in half lengthwise with wrong sides together. Iron. Fold the 2 short edges under 1/2" and iron. Finally, fold 1 long edge under 1/2" and iron.

With right sides together, pin one casing to each end of the bag, so raw edges are together and the casing is centered on the bag. Using a 1/2" seam, sew casings to bag.

On each end, fold casing on a 45 degree angle and pin. (This will keep the casing out of the way when you sew the side seams together.)

Fold the bag in half so the tops are even. Pin the side edges together and sew together using 1/2" seams being careful not to catch the folded strip in the seam.

Turn the bag right side out and undo the pins holding the casing out of the seam.

Pull the casing up. Making sure the inside seam is up (you can iron). Then, fold along the fold line, and pin the folded casing along the seam line making sure you are catching the seam on the inside. (Do this to both pieces of casing.)

Sew two seams on each casing. One, a 1/4" from seam line and one 1/4" from the top. This will form the actual casing that will hold your ribbon or string.

Cut two pieces of ribbon, yarn, string, cording, etc. I cut my pieces 27". To determine how long you need to cut your ribbon, wrap the ribbon around the casing. Make sure there is 6" left on each edge to tie. Now the math... each side of my finished bag was 7 1/2". So I needed 7 1/2" + 7 1/2" + 6" + 6" = 27" (or the circumference of the bag which was 15" + 12" = 27").

Attach a safety pin to one end of a piece of ribbon.

Beginning at either side, Push the safety pin through the casing. Then continue threading the ribbon through the other casing.

Make sure the ribbon ends are equal, then holding them together, tie a knot near the end. Cut the ribbon ends on angles so they do not unravel.

Do the same with the other ribbon, starting at the side that does not have the tied ribbon. When you come to the side with the tied ribbon, simply go over or under the ribbon.

Tie and finish the ends of this ribbon like the first, and you are done. To close, simply pull the two knotted ribbons.

You can use this technique to make any size drawstring bag you like. If you make a big bag, you may want to make the casing larger, but the choice is yours :)

I have been busy finishing up Christmas gifts for the wee ones. I thought I might spend some time this week sharing their gifts, plus a tutorial on the drawstring bags I made for the Little Lady and Pixie.

First off... every year I buy the grandbabies a piece to their 5" Fontanini Nativity Scene. For their first Christmas I get them the holy family. For their 10th Christmas (not there yet), I will get them the 3 Wisemen. In between, they get angels, barnyard animals, and various villagers. By the time they are 18, they will have beautiful Nativities to share with their own children some day. This year I bought Lady the Little Drummer Boy. It was her daddy's favorite piece in our set. Thought Drew would enjoy it :)

In the top photo is the rest of the Little Lady's gift. I started by making her a colorful drawstring bag. (I'll include the tutorial later this week.) I bought unfinished wooden eggs and cups. I watered down some soy paint, because I wanted a translucent look. When the paint dried, I worked in some of my beeswax and olive oil finish. It gave the wood a wonderful luster.

Little Lady just turned 1 in October. The size of these cups and eggs are perfect for pudgy little hands and pose no chock hazard! It is also a great first sorting and matching activity. Matching the egg to the cup is just right for a toddler.

Just think of all of the other uses she'll find for all these eggs. They will be perfect in her little wooden kitchen.

Then, I made a Flower Wand. I plan to make her several more styles for her over the year. I will be sharing this pattern with everyone in January.

Finally, I added the lovely book, Around the Year, by Tasha Tudor. Tasha has long been one of my favorite authors/illustrators of children's book. Her illustrations and stories are soft, gentle and kind. She also has a wonderful ability to share the wonders of nature with young and old alike.

Lady's gift is now ready to be wrapped and mailed. (Have I mentioned that Drew, Meghan and Little Lady will not be home this Christmas? It will be my first Christmas without one of my children. If you happen to hear muffled sobbing, you'll know where it's coming from!) Hope she'll love her gifts :)

Even if you possess the most rudimentary sewing skills, this project will be a breeze for you. Just in time for the holidays, this is perhaps the simplest apron you'll ever make! Let the kids wear them for cookie making or wrap them up as gifts for all the wee ones in your life. Because you begin with a finished square napkin (mine was a 21" x 21" napkin from Pier One), there's no cutting out or turning under seams. It is a one size fits most children. I love this design because the apron covers the child all the way to the neck. Too often aprons hang down in front allowing food stuff to fall behind the apron defeating their purpose. This apron is really so fast to make, it will probably take you longer to read this tutorial than actually make the apron ;)

Start out by picking a spectacular napkin!

Then, pick a corner... any corner. Turn the corner down on a diagonal so the two sides of the triangle are 8" long. NOTE: If you get a woven napkin like mine, the front and back are both finished. If your napkin is finished on both sides, fold the corner so you have front sides of the fabric together. When the apron is done, you will see the decorative triangle. If the backside of the napkin is yucky, fold the corner so you have the back sides of the fabric together. When the apron is done, the triangle will be on the inside, unseen. 

You will be sewing a seam that will create a casing along the fold. This seam should be as wide as your neck ribbon plus a quarter inch. My neck ribbon was 1/2" X 28". I made my casing 3/4" wide. Make sure to reinforce the start and end of your seam so it doesn't come undone. NOTE: I made this apron using ribbon in my stash. If you are buying ribbon, I suggest you use grosgrain ribbon over satin ribbon. It holds its shape and stays tied better.

Using a safety pin, slide the ribbon through the casing. Center the ribbon so the ties are the same length.

To prevent the ribbon from coming out, sew a small perpendicular seam in the center of the casing.

To sew on the side ties, pin a ribbon to the back of a side corner, overlapping the back by 1". (I made each side tie with 1" x 24" ribbon.)

From the right side of the napkin, sew the ribbon to the apron. The seam should be close to the folded edges of the corner, and the seam should be as long as the ribbon. (The seam will be a right angle following the corner.) From the backside, trim the ribbon to prevent unraveling.

To prevent unraveling of all 4 ties, cut the ends on a diagonal.

And that's all there is to it! If you have a young sewer in your family, this is a great project for them. Now... running along and do some baking with the munchkins :)