Foto Freitag

I’m working on a bag in which to cart around my EPP project. I decided it needed something on the front, so I (normal) paper pieced this small (4.5″) Mrs. Bryan’s Choice block variant.

I don’t really know how to paper piece, so I made it up as I went along. I think it turned out okay. I hope to show you the bag next week. The shell is done. I wanted to do the lining tonight, but I’m traveling all weekend, so it will be a while.

Sewing Horrors, or Creatures from the Past

Posted in Sartorial

Costumes and I have an interesting relationship. I love the idea of them, but can’t seem to manage any sort of follow through. My sewing past is littered with half-finished costumes (Devil in a Blue Dress from a couple of years ago comes to mind). They become odd, unfinished creatures never to escape balled up stasis in dark corners.

I didn’t even bother starting one this year, and have no plans to dress up tonight. But, while searching the other day (unsuccessfully—where the heck did it go?) for a corset I made a few years ago, I came across one of my very first corsets that has somehow survived a few moves and purges.

I present to you Lulu’s Corset:

I don’t remember much about this corset, if it can be called that. I was 16, I think, when I made it, and going through a short phase of gaming mostly centered on trying to play Final Fantasy VII and the newly released Final Fantasy X. I decided that I wanted to be LuLu for Halloween that year.

Here’s Lulu (standing):

So, I started with the corset. The front is a textured woven of unknown fabric type. The back is pleather, which was also going to be the main fabric for the rest of the costume.

The lining is a rather nice menswear lining I found in my step-mom’s stash. There’s Ridgeline boning involved. And shoelaces. And hot glue to attach the grey ribbon, which says “Calvin Klein”—I really wonder how I got ahold of that.

And a cheap poly zipper closure.

In other words, what on Earth (or in Spira) was I thinking?

I’m not sure which pattern I used. If I had to venture a guess, I might say it’s a modified M4861 (the McCall’s “Renaissance” bodice/corset pattern), but I’m not sure that it was actually out back then. I might have (heavily) modified some other pattern of unknown origin, a strong possibility being the out of print Simplicity 5843 that I made (and finished!) the year before (the instructions for which I just found in a bag of ancient scraps), although that would be heavily modified, and I have no idea why I would add the side lacing to it.

Also, notice how it (sort of, in so much as it probably does anyone) fits? That’s current me modeling it. Either there is a whole lot of ease provided by the side lacing (possible, although it’s limited by the short shoelaces). Or, it never actually fit 16 y.o. me, seeing as I was about 40lbs lighter back then. Perhaps that is a clue as to why I never finished the costume. I vaguely recall working on the skirt, but whatever I accomplished there is lost to time (or possibly lurking in a dark corner of my parents’ closet, ready to attack at any moment).

I’d like to think that I’d make some better choices for construction now, but then again, it was a Halloween costume, so I suppose anything goes.

What horror stories do you have in your sewing past?

Wrapping Up at Market

Posted in Sartorial

I was not at Quilt Market in Houston last week, but something I made was.

Perhaps you saw this:

or maybe this:

while you were there (on a person, of course, not my decrepit, listing dress form)?

It was a simple reversible wrap skirt made from this tutorial on Sew Mama Sew. The purple side is the cheater print from Asbury (available in January), the yellow is a print from Frippery (in stores now), and the waistband is another Asbury print, all by Thomas Knauer.

And, because I’m supremely lazy and technology-savvy, rather than draw out the pattern on paper like the tutorial suggested (which required finding my roll of craft paper, a straight edge, etc), I just mocked it up in real-size on the computer and printed it out. You reap the benefit: here is a downloadable pattern for a 34″ waist, approximately knee-length (20″) skirt. Well, if you’re 34″ waist ± an inch or two (it’s a wrap skirt, after all). Cutting instructions are included based on what I did. You’ll have to refer to Sew Mama Sew for the construction instructions, though.

I foresee a skirt or two of my own from this pattern in the future… I just have to decide what to make it out of—oh, the options!

1+1=4: Now Downloadable

Posted in Quilting

All of the 1+1=4 posts have been published. Since it’s not the easiest format for referring back to in the future, it’s now available for download as a PDF.

Download 1+1=4

This post is part of a series on making small cuddle quilts for charity. My finished quilts will be donations to the 2012/13 service project being sponsored by the Quilter’s Consortium of New York State. If you’re in a NY quilt guild that is a member of QCNYS, contact your consortium rep to learn how to donate (and tell your guild or club about this series!). If you are not a member of a participating guild, but would still like to donate send me an email and we can figure out how to get the quilts to the right place.

1+1=4: Putting it all Together

Posted in Quilting

The premise of this week is simple: I’ll show you how to make four small cuddle quilts out of a single roll of 2.5″ strips and a yard of cuddle fabric or fleece. The final quilts measure 18″×24″, so these are meant for comfort more than sleeping under. Today, we’re finishing the quilts. If you’re just joining in, you may want to hop over to all posts tagged 1+1=4 or start from the beginning of the series.

Now that we have all four quilt tops, we can turn them into quilts. The first step is to prepare the backing. The fabric requirements allow you to cut three full-sized backs, leaving one that must be pieced from two pieces. There is a small amount of leeway, so if you’re uncomfortable trying to sew a ¼″ seam on Minky or Fleece or find yours curling, you can add an extra half inch to the measurements, then center your quilt top so that you have a graded seam allowance.

Cut your 18.5″×24.5″ backs from the fabric. Cut two additional 9.75″×24.5″ rectangles. Sew these two small pieces together along one long side using a ½″ seam allowance to give you a fourth back.

If you have 1 1⁄8 yd or 1 ½ yd, here are alternate cutting diagrams:

Next, place each top and a back right sides together. Pin all the way around. Pin even closer than I did in the photo (try every 1″) if using Minky, as it stretches horribly. The fleece I had was mostly stable.

If you want to use batting cut an 18.5″×24.5″ piece for each quilt. Add it to your above sandwich with the right side facing the wrong side of the top. In other words, lay your batting down, right-side up. Lay your top over it, right-side up. Then, place your backing on top, right-side down and pin.

Using your walking foot if you have one (for best results) or a basic foot (not your ¼″ piecing foot as it typically only moves your fabric over one feed dog), sew around the edge using a ¼″ seam allowance (or ½″ from the edge of the backing if you cut a larger backing), leaving at least 3″ open on one side to turn.

Turn your quilt out through the opening, and use a chopstick or point turner to get the corners pushed out as well as you can. Turn your iron down to the synthetic setting and carefully press the edges flat from the top side (it’s not good to iron Minky or Fleece). Make sure to fold in the edges of the open section.

Top-stitch around the outside, 1⁄8″ in from the edge, making sure your stitches close the open section.

Almost done! Now, you have to decide on how you want to quilt these. I recommend some sort of straight-line quilting, as sparse as possible with your chosen batting (or about every 6″ if you didn’t use batting). You don’t want to get too dense or intricate with the quilting, as you don’t want to shrink the layers, or take away from the fluffiness of the Minky or fleece.

Here are diagrams of what I did, but it is by no means the only way of doing it:

Top One: I zig-zagged down three of the seam lines. Top Two: I stitched in the ditch for some of the block seams. Top Three: I stitched in the ditch every three rows, both horizontally and vertically. Top Four: I stitched diagonal lines one-way through the blocks.

Once you finish quilting, you’re done! If you’re donating the quilts, all that is left is to wash them and put them into gallon storage bags for delivery and distribution.

If you’ve followed along and made your own cuddle quilts, share a link to photos or a blog post in the comments. I’d love to see what you made!

1+1=4: 1 roll + 1 yard = 4 quilts for charity

Link up:
<a href="/tag/1-plus-1-equals-4/" rel="external" title="Learn how to create these quilts"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/1plus1equals4-280x280.png" border="0" width="240" height="240" alt="1+1=4: 1 roll + 1 yard = 4 quilts for charity"></a>

1+1=4: Interlude

Posted in Quilting

The premise of this week is simple: I’ll show you how to make four small cuddle quilts out of a single roll of 2.5″ strips and a yard of cuddle fabric or fleece. The final quilts measure 18″×24″, so these are meant for comfort more than sleeping under. Today, we’re taking a short break from sewing to talk about options. If you’re just joining in, you may want to hop over to all posts tagged 1+1=4 or start from the beginning of the series.

We now have all four tops complete for the basic 1+1=4 construction. I’d like to take a short break to talk about alternative options.

First off is making additional quilts: I mentioned in the materials post that you can make two additional quilts if you have a full Moda Jelly Roll. If you’d like to do that, you can make additional versions of any combination, with one exception: you can only make a second Top Three using the leftovers from Top One—so you can make that pair, but otherwise can’t make Top Three.

Another option is that you can also make two versions of a top, then sew them together along the 24″ side to make a single 24″×36″ top for the charity drive. You can mix and match, or even cut the pieces and piece as one quilt.

But, what if you don’t want to make cuddle quilts? After all, 18″×24″ is a pretty small size for a quilt.

One of them might make a great portable baby changing pad if you use terry cloth and a lining of medical sheeting (a waterproof flannel-sandwiched rubber) as the backing instead of cuddle fabric or flannel.

Or, consider using chenille fabric as the backing—not only is it cuddly, I’ve heard it works great as a burp cloth, allowing your cuddly baby quilt to double as an oversized, very useful cloth if needed.

Can you think of other uses for something this size?

1+1=4: Top Four (Peculiar Weave)

Posted in Quilting

The premise of this week is simple: I’ll show you how to make four small cuddle quilts out of a single roll of 2.5″ strips and a yard of cuddle fabric or fleece. The final quilts measure 18″×24″, so these are meant for comfort more than sleeping under. Today, we’re making the final quilt top. If you’re just joining in, you may want to hop over to all posts tagged 1+1=4 or start from the beginning of the series.

This final top is something I call “Peculiar Weave”. Be very careful when cutting, as this top needs every millimeter of a 42″ strip. If your strips are less than 42″ long without selvage, you will need to make a second Top One or Top Two.

Cut each of the two remaining strip sets (A and B) into three 6.5″ segments (A6/B6) and nine 2.5″ segments.

Use six of the smaller segments from each to create nine-patches: two each, ABA (A3) and BAB (B3).

Use two more small segments from each to make an AB (A2) pair and a BA (B2) pair.

Create four rows:
A B6 A2 A6
B3 A6 B3
B A6 B2 B6
A3 B6 A3

Sew the four rows together in the above order. You’ll then have an 18.5″×24.5″ unfinished top.

Almost done! Stick around, and I’ll show you how to sew them into simple quilts.

1+1=4: Top Three (Scrappy 9-Patch)

Posted in Quilting

The premise of this week is simple: I’ll show you how to make four small cuddle quilts out of a single roll of 2.5″ strips and a yard of cuddle fabric or fleece. The final quilts measure 18″×24″, so these are meant for comfort more than sleeping under. Today, we’re making the third quilt top. If you’re just joining in, you may want to hop over to all posts tagged 1+1=4 or start from the beginning of the series.

This top is made up of nine-patch blocks. The strip-piecing will allow us to piece these much faster than having to sew together individual squares.

Take the four strip sets leftover from Top One, and slice them into 2.5″ sections. You will have nine 2.5″×6.5″ pieces from each strip set.

For a very scrappy quilt, sew these rectangles into four rows of nine pieces, then sew the rows together to complete the top.

For a slightly less scrappy look, create nine-patches with matching strips on either side of a different, center strip. Piece the nine-patches into four rows of three blocks, then sew the rows together.

You’ll then have an 18.5″×24.5″ unfinished top.

If you started with 18 strips, you’ve now completed all of the tops. If you have 18 strips but would rather make Top Four instead of Top Three, see alternate cutting method for Top One.

Tomorrow, we’ll piece our final quilt top!

1+1=4: Top 2 (Rail-fence Blocks)

Posted in Quilting

The premise of this week is simple: I’ll show you how to make four small cuddle quilts out of a single roll of 2.5″ strips and a yard of cuddle fabric or fleece. The final quilts measure 18″×24″, so these are meant for comfort more than sleeping under. Today, we’re making the second quilt top. If you’re just joining in, you may want to hop over to all posts tagged 1+1=4 or start from the beginning of the series.

This top is made up of rail-fence blocks, which are simple to make (in fact, you’ve already made them—you just need to cut them apart).

Choose two of your strip sets. It doesn’t matter if they are light- or dark-dominant, as you’ll be rotating the pieces around. If you organized your sets into groups, this is group two.

Cut six 6.5″ squares from each strip set.

Calling one set of blocks A and the other B, piece the squares into four rows: two ABA (called R1) and two BAB (called R2). A blocks should have the inner seams horizontal, and the B block seams should be vertical. Press the seams open, or toward the B blocks.

Piece the rows together: R1, R2, R1, R2. Press the seams open, or all in one direction. You’ll then have an 18.5″×24.5″ unfinished top.

Half-way there! Tomorrow, we’re on to top three.

1+1=4: Top 1 (Simple Strips)

Posted in Quilting

The premise of this week is simple: I’ll show you how to make four small cuddle quilts out of a single roll of 2.5″ strips and a yard of cuddle fabric or fleece. The final quilts measure 18″×24″, so these are meant for comfort more than sleeping under. Today, we’re making the first quilt top. If you’re just joining in, you may want to hop over to all posts tagged 1+1=4 or start from the beginning of the series.

This is the simplest top of the four. In fact, you’re only going to have to sew three more seams!

Choose four of your strip sets. If you’re going scrappy, make sure that no strips that read the same will be sewn together. If you’re coordinating, you’ll need two dark- and two light-dominant strips. If you separated your sets into groups, this is group one.

Cut a rectangle 18.5″ long off of each strip set. Set the excess aside—you’ll be using it for another top.

Sew all four rectangles together to create a 18.5″×24.5″ top. Alternate light- and dark-dominant sets if you are coordinating.

Alternate cutting instructions: if you choose not to make top three, you can create this top out of only two strip sets, allowing you to use the other two for a second version of top two or four.

To make the top using only two strip sets, cut two 18.5″ sections off of each of the two strips, and sew them all together.

If you would prefer to make two versions of top one, you can use the alternate cutting instructions above, or cut a second set of rectangles from the four strip sets.

Tomorrow, we’re on to top two!