Designing with Hexagons, Threads and the Blanket Stitch!

My final design

Although I liked all of the design versions that I came up with yesterday, when I placed the appliques in a line down the side of the pillow, I was most happy with the way it looked. Because the quilting lines were on an angle, it was hard to make sure that the hexagons were lined up evenly, so I used my long ruler and laid it along the left side of the pillow top so that the 4½" line was along the edge of the pillow top. Then I placed my hexagons down along the side of the ruler in one line. I then placed a second line of hexagons beside the first as shown below.

Final placement of the applique shapes

Iron them down

Once you're happy with how you've arranged the hexagons, follow the manufacturer’s directions on your fusible web product and use a hot iron to fuse them in place. To prevent the adhesive from marking up your iron, you can use a Teflon pressing sheet in between your iron and pillow top.

Ironing down the hexagon appliques

Machine applique using a blanket stitch

Once all of the hexagons were in place, I used the blanket stitch setting on my machine to stitch along all of the raw edges. To do this on your pillow, follow these steps:

1. Test your blanket stitch on a scrap fabric to adjust the length and width until you find the setting that you like best.
2. Bring the bobbin thread up to the top and hold both top and bobbin thread in your left hand as you start to stitch – this will prevent the bobbin thread from bunching up on the back.
3. Do a couple small straight stitches on the side of the hexagon to lock your stitches, then set your machine to blanket stitch and stitch along one side until you get to the corner.
4. Use your “needle down setting” if you have it, or stop stitching when the needle is down on the background fabric (just beside the corner of the hexagon). Pivot and then keep stitching along the next side. Repeat until you’re all the way around.
5. Do another couple straight stitches at the end to lock your stitches then clip your top and bottom threads.

Machine blanket stitching the applique shapes - Put the needle down at each corner and pivot.

Hand applique vs machine applique

If your sewing machine doesn't have a nice blanket stitch or you'd just prefer to do a hand blanket stitch around each hexagon, check out the instructions on my blog post from last month.

Hand blanket stitch diagram

The machine applique is all finished

I ended up using both the Fruitti and Spagetti threads to machine applique my hexagons and I was really pleased with how nicely the weight of the thread made the blanket stitches look. I've used that stitch on my machine before and never really liked the result, but the WonderFil thread makes them look ALMOST as nice as my hand blanket stitch!

The appliqued hexagons are all stitched!

Closeup of machine blanket stitch using Fruitti thread by WonderFil

Finishing steps…

Tomorrow I will show you how I finished my quilted pillow top into a “back porch pillow”, so tonight make sure that you get all of your machine applique finished and then we’ll both have our pillows ready for a little reading on the back porch this weekend! 

Designing with hexagons, threads and the blanket stitch is so gratifying!

Preparing the Back Porch Pillowtop with WonderFil Threads

My quilted top

After stitching one direction with the blue variegated Fruitti thread and the other direction with the teal variegated Fruitti thread, my 2” grid of quilting is all finished. Now I just need to prepare my fusible applique hexagons and decide where to place them!

Pillow top with quilting lines completed

Preparing the fusible applique hexagons

To make your hexagons, trace the following template onto the dull side of a square of fusible web, making sure to leave at least ¼” between each of the shapes. Loosely cut each shape out, just outside the drawn lines. Place these fusible web shapes onto the BACK side of the cotton fabrics you've chosen and then iron. Once the fabric has cooled, cut along the drawn lines and then peel off the backing paper. To see pictures of this process, check out my blog post from last month.

Hexagon fusible applique template. Trace onto paper side of fusible web.

Deciding upon a design

Once all of your fusible applique shapes have been made, now comes the fun part of deciding where to place them. I went through a few different designs before I came up with the one I was most happy with. Here are samples of different designs that you could use:

Placement version #1 - scattered randomly across pillow top

Placement version #2 - most of hexagons lined up in one corner of pillow top.

Placement version #3 - hexagons lined up along left side of pillow top.

My fusible applique design finalist

Most of the time when I am designing, I like to rearrange things quite a bit before I decide what design I like the best. Taking pictures of each version helps with this process. It works well for fusible applique as well as for rearranging blocks in a pieced top. The size of the photo helps too, as the quilt image is smaller and sometimes design flaws will pop out at you better in the photo than when you are looking at the actual quilt.

Sometimes looking at a design for a few days helps too. I especially like to do this when I'm quilting quilts for other people. If a quilting design doesn’t come to me as soon as I see the quilt, I'll often drape the quilt top over the bed of my quilting machine so that I can look at it for a few days – eventually a quilting design will start to take shape in my mind and I’m off to the races.

If you can’t decide what design you want to use for your back porch pillow, leave your fusible applique hexagons placed on the pillow top for tonight, and tomorrow I'll reveal the design I chose – you may decide that you like it, or you may decide to do your own. That’s one of the great things about fusible applique – it is VERY versatile!

When designing your own quilted top, playing with fabric and threads has never been so much fun...

Making a Back Porch Pillow with WonderFil Threads

Selecting the fabrics

Usually when I make a quilt, the last thing I select is the thread, and I pick it to match or contrast the fabrics in the finished quilt top. Today, since I have a limited numbers of colors of WonderFil threads to choose from, I'm working backwards.

I really love the blues and greens in my selection of threads, so I picked those and started to select fabrics to match. I wanted the quilting to stand out, so I picked a white-on-white for the background and a selection of dark blues, medium blues and teals for my design.

Fabric selection for my pillow top to match my threads

The hexagons have it!

If you haven’t noticed yet – hexagons are EVERYWHERE! From traditional grandmothers garden quilts to more modern designs, hexagons are extremely versatile and are popular with quilters who want to hand piece, machine piece or applique. I’ve just recently delved into the world of hexagons and I have to say, I really love the modern look that you can accomplish using bright fabrics and neutrals like white, grey and black. Here is a quilt that I've been working on for a little while.

My hexagon quilt in progress

Back Porch Pillow supplies list

If you'd like to make your own hexagon appliqued pillow, here are the supplies that you'll need.

White fabric for pillow front                  19" x 19"

Lining fabric                                          21" x 21"

Batting                                                  21" x 21"

Fabric for pillow back                          two pieces 15" x 19" each

Twelve scraps of fabric                       5" x 5" each

Fusible web                                          ¼m

505™ Spray

16" pillow form

Starting my back porch pillow

For my quilted pillow, I decided to do a hexagon design that is appliqued using fusible web. I want to quilt the background first, before I applique the hexagons, so the first thing I needed to do was to make the quilt sandwich. The pillow top fabric, batting and lining were layered and fused together with 505™ Spray. For detailed directions on layering a quilt sandwich, check out my post from last month at this link.

Marking the quilting lines

Once the quilt sandwich was made, I needed to mark a line on the top, to machine quilt using my walking foot. I wanted to do a 2" grid across the entire top, so the first thing I did was to mark a line on an angle across the top. I used my long rotary cutting ruler and a mechanical pencil to lightly mark the quilt top.

Marking the first quilting line across the pillow top

Machine quilting with my WonderFil threads

Once the line was drawn, I used my walking foot to stitch along the line using my FruittiFT22. I then used this line as a guide to draw parallel lines 2" apart all across the top. I stitched along all of these lines with the same color of Fruitti thread. Once all of these were stitched, I drew one line the other direction, perpendicular to the first lines. I stitched this line with FruittiFT23 and then drew parallel lines to it, 2" apart all across the top. I stitched the rest of the lines with the same color thread.

Marking the second group of quilting lines perpendicular to the first set.

The next steps…

Now that the quilting is all done, I'll need to prepare my hexagon applique shapes, but I think I'll leave that for tomorrow. The machine quilting that I did with the WonderFil threads looks awesome and I can’t wait to use the Spagetti threads to machine applique my hexagons!

Experimental Embroidery with WonderFil Threads

Handwork and the train

Like I said the last time I was blogging, I always like to take along a project to work on when I go on vacation. A few weeks ago, my husband, Mike and I took the train to Halifax and back. What a wonderfully relaxing way to travel!! We had about 24 hours on the train each way, so I spent the time reading, playing on my iPad AND learning some new embroidery stitches with my Razzle and Dazzle threads from WonderFil. I brought along a new embroidery book that I'd ordered online, and used some of my pins on Pinterest for inspiration. Now I have a whole repertoire of new stitches to add to the backstitch, blanketstitch and French knots that always use.

These embroidery stitches are very useful when you want to add a little accent to your quilting blocks, adding interest to your overall quilt, and you don't have to add a lot of embroidery either.

But let's see how these embroidery stitches work and how well the Razzle and Dazzle threads performed on wool.

Embroidery supplies to go with WonderFil threads

Picking the fabric

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to stitch on wool, so of course I wanted to bring along wool to stitch on. I used my die cutting machine to cut hearts, stars and circles and used my favourite 505™ Spray to stick them together. I tried to pick wools that were in the same colour family as the Razzle and Dazzle threads that I had on hand, so I used lots of bright colours like purple, red and teal and accented them with the beige wool that I like to use for backgrounds. I also brought along an assortment of bright coloured buttons and the thread conditioner that works so well with the threads.

Learning new stitches using my WonderFil threads. 

First I decided to try the cable stitch and right off the bat I decided that this was my new favorite stitch. Why had I never known how to do this one?? Check out this video on YouTube to see how to do this stitch. Using the Dazzle threads really made it pop!

Chain stitch with Dazzle thread from WonderFil.

Dazzle thread and the closed blanket stitch

I use the blanket stitch A LOT for both wool applique and fusible applique, so when I saw this version I HAD to give it a try. I also tried out using the lazy daisy stitch to make designs OTHER than flowers – I quite liked them. Both of them looked awesome with the Dazzle threads – I'm really loving the metallic accents in the threads! 

Closed blanket stitch with Dazzle thread from WonderFil

Fly stitch and scallop stitch 

The fly stitch is fun and can be done in a row, either on top of each other (like I did around the edge of the background circle in my sample) or beside each other. I used Razzle threads to do a scallop stitch along the edges of the star – it's a nice change from my usual blanket stitch! Here are YouTube video of how to do the fly stitch and scallop stitch.

Fly stitch and scallop stitch with Razzle threads from WonderFil

Cable stitch with Dazzle threads

I found the cable stitch on the internet and just loved how it looks like the chain is lying on top of the fabric. It's a little tricky to start with, but once you do a few, you get the hang of it. Using the light grey Dazzle thread made it look like a real chain! Here is a video showing you how to do this stitch.

Cable stitch with Dazzle thread from WonderFil

My finished projects

I tried to do one little embroidery piece for each day of my vacation – and I ALMOST succeeded. We were gone for six days, and I came home with five finished projects. I haven’t decided what to do with each of these – maybe I’ll incorporate them into some little bags, journal covers or pillows. I’ll keep them up on my design wall and one day inspiration will hit!

Finished embroidery projects using WonderFil threads

I’m loving these threads

I really enjoyed learning these new stitches and can’t wait to use them in my new designs. These stitches can also be used on your quilting projects to add a little interest.

Handwork is so relaxing and gratifying to me – especially when the products I use give such nice results. The only thing about my WonderFil threads that I don’t like, is that I can’t keep them from unraveling!! I’m going to work on fixing that problem – if I come up with something, I'll be sure to let you know.

This week on QUILTsocial I'm going to be using the Spagettiand Fruitti threads to make a fun summer pillow that will spruce up my back deck. Hopefully you will join me – I promise it'll be a quick and easy project using only small pieces of fabric and will showcase these great threads.

Binding a Place-mat is like Binding a Quilt

Yesterday we secured the three layers together by quilting them and today is the day to finish the project. Binding a place-mat is like binding a quilt just on a smaller scale unless of course you're into mini quilts. I personally have never made a mini quilt but could be up to the challenge with the right project.

First though before we talk about binding we need to add some ties to the place-mat so that it can be rolled up and ready to go on a picnic. Hence the reason it's called an 'on-the-go place-mat'.

Making and Attaching the Ties

The ties require 2 strips of the accent fabric (piece G).

The easiest way I found to make the ties is with the Clover Bias Tape Maker. The bias tape makers come in many different sizes and I use the 1 inch one for the ties. The tape maker is very simple to use and for some step by step instructions check out my tutorial on making ties or drawstrings.

The strips in the blog are much longer than what is needed for the ties. I made the strips 18 inches for this project. Once the strips are made then the next step is to fold over the fabric, press it well with steam and topstitch down the edge just as we did with the napkin bands an ⅛″ from the edge. 

I zigzagged one end of the tie so that it wouldn’t fray. I had no issue sewing a zigzag stitch on this tiny bit of material using the IDT system and open toed decorative foot. To finish off the ties I tied a little knot at the end of each tie. Now they're ready to be attached to the place-mat.

Attach the two ties to the back of the place-mat between the napkin holders. Stitch them in place with an ⅛″ seam. When the binding is attached the ¼″ seam will further secure them in place.

Ties sewn to the back of the place-mat.

Binding the Placemat

The binding requires two strips (Piece H) of which ever fabric you want to bind it in, I used the dragonfly fabric. 

Make and attach the binding using your favorite method. My favorite method is to sew the binding on the front and then hand sew it to the back. If you'd like some help with binding you can check out these two tutorials on how to make binding and how to attach binding to a quilt. 

When I'm hand stitching the binding in place I use the red Wonder Clips from Clover to keep the fabric in place. I love these little red clips. Prior to finding these I never used anything and now I don’t bind without them.

Binding clipped in place for hand sewing to the back.

So the project is all done and dusted. Can you stop at just one? I don't think I can.

On-the-go place-mat complete with coaster.

Using Up the Leftover Bits of Fabric

I made a coaster from the left over bits of fabric that I had and quilted it with some decorative stitching. What a great time I had playing with the decorative stitches on the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2 - only 200 + to choose from. I have managed to use a few stitches today and a few last month. The bias binding was a bit tricky attaching the ends together due to the size of the project but I was successful. Where there's a will there's a way.

The coaster folds in half and can be stowed with the napkin.

Leftover fabric with decorative stitching make a great coaster to go with the on-the-go place-mat.

Adding in the Easy Quilt Blocks

I was very excited about this little project and once I had made the first one with plain pieces of fabric I decided to use up those easy quilt blocks that I made way back on Monday. Boy that seems like a while ago!

I cut them up and used them for the utensil holder, napkin bands and coasters. It worked out just perfectly and I love how the blocks add just a little bit of pizazz to the place-mats. Each one is definitely unique. 

Which is your favorite? Mine is the curved one.

Utensil holders, napkin bands, and coasters made with blocks from day 1.

Fun With Dragonflies

So I just couldn't seem to stop myself and since I had some fabric left over and not really enough to do much with I decided to make a nine patch table topper and add in some applique. A few dragonflies flying in a circle. The machine performed beautifully with the blanket stitch and doing the stitching in black has certainly made the dragonflies standout.

This piece is 18 inches square which fits perfectly on the center tile of my deck table.

Dragonflies appliqued onto the nine patch dragonfly table topper to match the on-the-go place-mats!

What a great week I had making these on-the-go placemats and accessories with the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2machine. This machine has so many great features that made the sewing, piecing, quilting, and finishing of this easy quilting project a delight. I'll be the envy of the neighborhood with my fancy on-the-go placements ready for any picnic or outdoor eating adventure. 

Binding a place-mat is like binding a quilt and now that the place-mats are all bound I can set my picnic table in style.

Happy Quilting

On-the-go place-mats and matching quilted table topper make for a striking table setting!

Quilt Pattern Giveaway!! - Lady Madonna by Abbey Lane Quilts

 

Click here http://ptab.it/3EdJy for your chance to win this striking quilt pattern - Lady Madonna by Abbey Lane Quilts!

 

This striking quilt is really easy. It starts with 16 fat quarters, then the scrolls and flowers are machine appliqued on. The end result is a show stopper!

Enter now!

Quilt pattern giveaway - Lady Madonna by Abbey Lane Quilts

Quilting the On-The-Go Place-mat

Now that the placemat is all sewn together it's time to do some quilting. Some people love the piecing process of a quilt while others prefer the quilting stage. I enjoy the whole process and love to see how the piece changes as each step is completed. 

I thought about how to quilt the place-mat and decided to keep it nice and simple with straight lines using the IDT system which is the built-in walking foot on the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2. I acquired an open toe decorative foot for the machine which will make it much easier to see my stitching lines and hopefully keep me going in a straight line. This foot is great for applique and decorative stitching since it has a large open area in which to see your work and where you're stitching. Definitely one of my favorite feet and a must-have foot with any machine I use.

All right then lets get back to work and do some quilting.

Sandwiching the Layers for Quilting

The Layers

It isn’t a real sandwich but in quilting it's called a sandwich of layers. Sandwich is kind of appropriate though considering this project is made specifically for picnics and food events.

The layers include the quilt top, or place-mat top in this case, batting and the backing. I am using a cotton batting which is nice and thin and will lay flat when quilted. That will make it easier for a plate to sit on the place-mat. Both the backing and batting need to be at least an inch larger all the way around than the quilt top for a small project like this and 2 inches larger all the way around for a large project. This is just in case there is any movement of the layers while quilting. 

Basting Methods

To prevent movement of these layers when quilting it's a good idea to baste them together. I prefer to baste with curved safety pins made specifically for this purpose and I usually place them about a fist width apart. Yes, I use a lot of pins and I have a lot of pins. The other methods that can be used are to spray baste with a product such as 505 Spray Basting Glue or to hand baste with thread, which I find is very time consuming.

Note how close together the safety pins are in the photo below.

Layers basted with curved safety pins.

Marking the Quilting Lines

Chalk Lines

I decided that I'd use lines 1½ inch apart on the quilt top. This will hold everything in place nicely. There are many ways to mark the lines on a quilt. One of my favourite marking tools is the Chaco Liner from Clover. It's easy to use, easy to see on the fabric and easy to remove after the quilting is done. Because it's chalk, it usually disappears with the stitching. 

Remember to always start quilting in the center of the quilt as this will allow for any movement of fabric to go out towards the edges and not create bunches in the middle. If it's basted well there should be very little movement of the fabric when quilting.

Chalk lines mark where the quilting will be.

Masking Tape

Another marking method that I often use is masking tape. It comes in different widths and so I just use the desired width, lay down on the quilt and stitch along the edge of it.

Note the amount of space the open toed decorative foot has in the photo below - great for seeing what you're stitching and where you're going.

Stitching along the masking tape.

Machine Guide

Finally most machines come with a guide that attaches to the back of the presser foot shank on the machine. The Quilt Expression 4.2 is no exception and so I put it on and gave it a go. The curved area lines up with the previous line or edge that you wish to follow. Measure from the needle to the curved blade area the length to which the quilting lines are to be apart and tighten in place, then sew. As simple as that.

Using the guide to mark the quilting lines.

Quilting the Place-mat

There are three important items needed for successful quilting. 

Thread

I used the same thread for quilting as I used for the topstitching on the utensil holder and the napkin bands. It's a thread from Wonderfil called Tutti. It's a 100% cotton, 50 weight variegated thread that works in the bobbin as well as on the top. This line of thread has a huge array of fantastic colors. I love them all.

Needle

I made sure to replace my needle with a topstitch 90 needle prior to quilting. Using the topstitch needle with the layers and variegated thread will make a nicer stitch and help to prevent any thread breakage. For further information about needles check out the Schmetz needle guide - a very useful document.

Walking Foot

With the IDT system engaged, the open toed foot in place and the needle in the down position I stitched the sandwich layers together. I went right over top of the utensil holder so that three individual spaces would be created for the utensils to slip into. The middle one I made just slightly larger so it could accommodate 2 utensils. 

Quilted place-mat with parallel lines.

Tune in tomorrow to see how to add the ties and binding to finish off the place-mat as well as to see what little extras I created and how I used those blocks from day 1. With the quilting all done I think it's time for a break. 

Happy Quilting

Sewing the Fabric Pieces into a Place-mat, Part 2

Yesterday we spent the day sewing the pieces together to create the utensil holder side of the place-mat. Today we'll be sewing the rest of the pieces together to create the side of the place-mat which holds the napkin. 

Once this step is complete and added to the piece made yesterday the place-mat top will be ready for quilting. But lets not get too far ahead of ourselves… back to sewing.

Sewing The Napkin Holders

Step 1

Fold the 2 piece E pieces in half with right sides together. Sew a ¼″ seam along the raw edge of each piece to create a tube. Make sure to use a locking stitch at both ends to secure the stitching. The Quilt Expression 4.2 comes with a locking stitch function but if your machine doesn't have this feature then reverse sewing at the start and finish will lock the stitching in place.

Fabric sewn together to create a tube

Step 2

Turn the tube right sides out and press with the seam along the center of the tube. Because a locking stitch was used at each end of the seam the seam didn't come apart as the fabric was being manipulated to turn the tube. 

Tube turned right side out and pressed with seam at the center.

Step 3

Fold the units made in step 2 in half along the seam line. Press flat with a steam iron. Topstitch the pieces together where the edges meet using an ⅛″ seam.

Tube folded in half and topstitched together.

Step 4

Place the 2 bands made in step 3 evenly spaced on piece B. I placed them at the 4 and 8 inch mark on the ruler. See photo below. The band pieces will hang over the edge of piece B a bit. 

 

Placement of napkin holder bands on background fabric

Step 5

Place the utensil holder unit which was made yesterday on top of the pieces from step 4. Take care not to shift the band pieces as you pin everything together. Once again I used my flower headed pins to pin everything together as they are long and sharp making it easy to go through the multi layers of fabric. Sew the pieces together with a ¼″ seam allowance. Press the seam towards piece B.

Placemat top completed

Wow, I love the fabric combination. 

I am definitely thrilled with how this little project is turning out and I can't wait to see it quilted. Now that the sewing is complete and all three sections are sewn together I will think about how I am going to quilt this little piece tomorrow. 

Happy Quilting

Sewing Fabric Pieces into a Place-mat

Yesterday, I ended the day with some decisions that needed to be made before I could start sewing fabric pieces into a placemat today. The decisions have been made and I can now proceed, I can't wait to see how these fabrics come together in this little project. 

Have you selected your fabrics? 

Sewing Decisions Made

I decided that I would use only two of the shimmery fabrics to go with my feature fabric rather than the quilt blocks I made yesterday. I figured it would be easier sewing the first one with plain pieces of fabric rather than with the blocks so I'll put them aside for now.

The next decision was which shimmery fabrics do I use? It was a tough decision but I picked my favorite complementary colors of blue and orange to use for sewing this first on the go quilted place-mat.

Feature fabric with complementary coordinating fabrics.

As well I needed to decide how big I wanted the place-mat to be so that I knew what size to cut the pieces. I foolishly didn't measure my friend's place-mat so decided to go with a size that would work with a dinner plate. My finished size is 12 x 18 inches. 

Cutting Instructions

All the measurements include the ¼″ seam allowance.

From the feature fabric (dragonflies)

Piece A - cut one piece 9½″ x 12″ for the center of the place-mat

Piece F - cut one piece 14″ x 20″ for the back of the place-mat

Piece H - cut two strips 2¼″ x WOF for the binding

From the coordinating fabric (blue)

Piece B - cut one piece 4½″ x 12″ for the left side of the place-mat

Piece C - cut one piece 5″ x 12″ for the right side of the place-mat

From the accent fabric (orange)

Piece D - cut one piece 6″ x 5″ for the utensil pocket

Piece E - cut two pieces 4″ x 5″ for the napkin holding bands

Piece G - cut two strips 2″ x 18″ for the ties

Now that the pieces are cut, I can get on with sewing the pieces into a place-mat. I'll walk you through each step of the way and this is a beginner project so anyone can do it. 

Let's get started!

Sewing The Utensil Holder

Step 1

Fold one end of the fabric over to the back about an inch and press so that there is a very good crease. I use steam for this. You may want to use a stylet of some sort so you do not burn your fingers. 

Turn the piece over to the back and fold the one inch section back over under itself so that no raw edge is showing. With no raw edges showing the fabric will not fray. Press again with steam. This will make a very nice edge on the utensil holder section of the place-mat.

Double folded edge at top of utensil holder piece.

Step 2

Topstitch the folded over edge about an ⅛″ from the edge of the folded over piece. I sew with the wrong side of the fabric up so that I can run the ⅛″ mark of the quarter inch foot on my Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2, along the edge of the folded over bit. This makes for a nice straight line of topstitching which is about ⅜″ from the top of the piece. 

Note the placement of the fabric under the foot in the photo below.

Sewing the topstitch line an ⅛″ from the edge

Step 3

Pin piece D to the bottom of piece C matching up the raw edges. The wrong side of piece D will be facing the right side of piece C.

My favorite pins for piecing are the flower headed pins from Clover as they are long, sharp and easy to remove while sewing. I always pin with the head of the pin coming out to the right of the fabric. This makes it easy to grab them and remove before getting to the foot and needle as you never want to sew over a pin. This could result in an unplanned trip to the sewing machine doctor.

Sew the raw edges together with an ⅛″ seam along the right hand side and bottom of piece D. Most quarter inch feet do have an ⅛″ mark on them. The toe of this quarter inch foot is an ⅛″ so that makes it very easy to sew this line of stitching.

Stop at the corner and pivot to sew in the other direction. Having the needle in the needle down position is very helpful for this and the foot hover makes it easy to turn the fabric under the foot. 

At this point only 2 sides of piece D or the utensil holder are sewn down.

Utensil holder sewn to background fabric

I used a contrasting colour of thread for this but matching thread will work as well. Whatever you wish to use. I decided that I didn't want to be switching threads and am using the same thread for the topstitching as well as the quilting.

In the photo below I even sewed the pieces together with this thread which is not normal for me as I always use a neutral color when piecing. The tension control, stitch length and quality of stitching on the Quilt Expression 4.2 make it easy to use the colored thread for piecing without it showing. 

 

Step 4

Pin the unit made in step 5 to piece A with right sides together. Sew together with a ¼″ seam allowance. Press the seam towards piece A. 

Pieces A,C & D sewn together.

The place-mat is now well underway with half the top sewn together. I'm really loving these fabrics and am pretty sure I'll be making more than just one place-mat. 

I'm hoping you were able to follow along with me and had fun getting this little sewing project off the ground. Join me again tomorrow to finish up the top of the place-mat when I'll be sewing the bands which hold the napkin in place.

Happy Quilting

Easy Quilt Pattern: On-the-Go Place-mat

The other day when I was meeting with my kindred group we were about to have lunch and one of the members rolled out her on-the-go place-mat. I thought, 'how cool is that?!' When I saw it I was thinking that I needed an easy quilt pattern for this blog post and why not something tailored for summer.

Everything you need for a picnic all rolled up in one place. She had her utensils and napkin right there at her fingertips. No searching for these items when they are all neatly rolled into one package.

The rolled up place-mat would also be great to take along for a pot luck lunch at work, kid's birthday parties, to stash in the car or camper when you stop at a roadside picnic area for lunch on that long road trip or even to use at home on your deck.

The choices of fabrics at your local quilt shop means that you could individualize them for each member of your family so that there's no squabbling over who gets which color. Perfect as a gift for all the special people in your life as well. The possibilities are endless.

On-the-Go Quilted Place-mat all rolled up

I figured why not make one for myself and use the Quilt Expression 4.2 from Pfaff to create this neat little project. I can use many of the cool features I highlighted back in June when I first got the machine. And who knows maybe even discover some more. 

Selecting the Fabric

First things first, the fabric selection. If any of you have been to my studio you know that I have a very large stash - well huge in fact, so lots of fabrics to choose from. My criteria is that the fabric had to be something fun, bright and summery. 

I decided on this dragonfly fabric seeing how dragonflies are only here in the summer. I had purchased it a couple of years ago from one of my local quilt shops and the fabric has been waiting to be used in that perfect project. It has a lovely shimmer to it and I thought I need shimmery fabric to go with it. I had also purchased a whole stack of fat quarters that were shimmery from another shop and figured they would go perfectly with the dragonfly fabric. 

And they do, don't you think? 

My fabric selection

Easy Quilt Pattern Blocks

With so many shimmery fat quarters in awesome colors I decided to create some blocks with them for the center of the placemats. Nothing elaborate, just some fun playing with strips and squares and curves. Since I hadn't done a lot of piecing with the Quilt Expression 4.2 I figured why not make a few blocks. 

Strip Blocks

I used the green and yellow-green fabrics to create a set of strips. Each fabric was cut a different width to give some variation in the block. Using the IDT system with the quarter inch foot on the Quilt Expression 4.2 makes for nice straight seams and even feed of the fabric. 

A good idea when sewing strips of fabric together, especially longer ones, is to sew one set of strips in one direction and the next set in the opposite direction. For example, if the one end has the selvedge in place start at that end when sewing the two strips together and then when adding on the next strip start at the end without the selvedge. This just helps to ensure that the whole piece ends up square without any twists or waves in it. 

The 2 strip blocks look pretty good. I love the contrast between the light and dark fabrics.  

Two green striped blocks

Six Patch Block

This time using a couple of the purple fabrics, a light and dark to give some contrast within the block I cut up some 3 ½″ squares. Still with the quarter inch foot in place and the IDT system engaged I made six pairs each with a light and dark square. 

I pressed all the seams towards the dark fabric and by doing this when I sewed the pairs together the seams butted together perfectly as they were each going in the opposite direction. This helps to reduce seam bulk where seams meet. 

Just to be a bit different instead of the usual four patch or nine patch block I made a six patch block which then created a rectangular block rather than a square one. There really is no rule as to how many squares you can sew together. 

 

Two six patch blocks

Curved Block

And finally but definitely not least of the blocks I could create I wanted to see how well the Quilt Expression 4.2 worked on a curved seam. Curved seams are not nearly as hard as everyone thinks they are. The key is to have a nice gentle wave. 

Once again two contrasting fabrics are used in order to see the curves. The key is to cut nice gentle curving lines in the layered fabrics with a rotary cutter. 

Once again I used the IDT system and a quarter inch foot with the needle in down position to sew the curved pieces together. They fed very well under the machine especially when the free ends of the pieces are lifted up slightly off the sewing machine bed. This just helps to guide the curves under the foot to maintain that ¼″ seam allowance. 

When pressing curved seams I press with steam to make sure that everything lies nice and smooth. Using steam to press seams is usually a no-no as it does tend to distort fabric especially cotton but because I usually make my curved blocks a bit larger than needed I can square them off and all is good.

Voila! Two wonderful curved blocks. 

Two curved blocks

Decisions, Decisions

Now with all of these blocks made in all these wonderful colors and textures I have to decide how to use them in my place-mats. At least the fabrics have been picked, as that's always half the battle.

That decision though I'm going to leave until tomorrow. 

I hope that you're going to sew along with me and create this easy quilt pattern so you too can have an on-the-go place-mat to use at all of your summer picnics. 

Happy Quilting

A Power Tool that is not a Sewing Machine

Today, we finish up the T-shirt quilted wall art project using some hardware not normally found in a quilter’s studio: a staple gun.

Prepare your stretched canvas for the big frame up by spraying the surface with 505 Temporary Fabric Adhesive. Add a layer of quilt batting to the top that has been cut to the exact dimensions of the top. Press the batting down lightly to make sure it has made contact with the canvas below. Now, bring your quilt top to the canvas and center it on the quilt batting. Use straight glass head pins to pin the top to the batting, just to keep it place. Turn the canvas over so that you're looking at the back. Staple one corner, and then the one diagonal to it. Repeat for the other side.

Spray basting with 505 is the best way to make this step work. It'll keep the layers from shifting as you staple the completed quilt to the artist's canvas.

Gently pull some of the side fabric to the middle of the canvas frame and staple. Repeat on the other side. Repeat the process on the top and bottom. Continue gently pulling and stapling — each time repeating on the opposite sides of the frame.

You can finish the back with a nice piece of fabric if you like, or use brown craft paper as they do in framing shops. Don’t forget to sign and date the back.

Install framing hardware onto the back, and pick a place to display your new up-cycled T-shirt. It has now become quilted wall art to last through time, and quite possibly, space.

This step requires time and patience to keep the tension around the wall quilt more or less even.

Ready to hang and enjoy. The shirt off his back is now on my son's wall.

I’ll be back next month with some back-to-school dorm-room ideas, which will help continue your run as the coolest quilt parent on this, or any other, planet.

Until then, enjoy the journey —  where ever it takes you and know that occasionally you can use a power tool that is not a sewing machine for your quilting project.