Pattern Weights

February 20, 2015

No matter what your sewing style, garments or quilts or bags or any other type of sewing activity, you're sure to love using pattern weights! Pinning can be time consuming when cutting out pattern pieces, and totally unnecessary when you have pattern weights! I was gifted with these handmade weights from two fellow sewists! The little green ones, pictured left, are filled with rice. Sarah Overton made them for me for Christmas and I just love them. Instructions are found at Tea Rose Home's blog. The larger, square weights were made for me, also for Christmas, by Ann Johnson. You can find a great tutorial on Zaaberry's blog. I love them both, and use them together on larger pattern pieces. So, make a set for yourself and a set to give to a sewing friend!

Thanks for visiting! Happy Sewing and God bless, Maxie

Hemstitching 101

February 17, 2015

You're going to love this, I just know it. Hemstitching.

Would you like to quickly make a lovely set of hemstitched napkins, (above) or a hemstitched baby's receiving blanket (below)? It's very easy, thanks to a couple of things you need to know. First of all, start with a natural fiber. The napkin is made from a blue yarn-dyed shot cotton fabric. There is no right or wrong side, and the loosely woven fibers hemstitch beautifully. The receiving blanket is made from 100% cotton double gauze fabric. It's so incredibly soft, these elephants were in heaven!

Hemstitching requires a Wing Needle. Do you recognize this guy? Notice that there are wide flanges, or, wings on each side of the needle.

They do magical things when paired with the right stitch. Did you know that some stitches are designed specifically to be used with winged needles? Chances are good that you have these stitches on your sewing machine. Speaking of sewing machines, my new Baby Lock Destiny arrived today and I am floating in the clouds! I’ll be sharing more on this machine, but today I’m going to share the wing needle hemstitch. Don’t have the Destiny machine? Check the machine that you own and see if the stitch we'll be using today is there; even Baby Lock’s basic machines have it. Here's the stitch to look for:

At first glance you might think it is a basic blanket stitch, like the one you use for appliqué. The illustrated stitch on our machine menu looks very much that way, but when you stitch it out you see that it’s no blanket stitch. Well, maybe a blanket stitch on steroids! A regular blanket stitch typically just stitches a line of straight stitching and then jumps over to the left to stitch into the edge of your appliqué fabric. A Parisian Hemstitch, which we are using today, stitches the straight stitching line several times so that the winged needle will repeatedly stitch into the same hole 8 times, wrapping the hole with thread as it stitches. Then it makes one jump to the right to catch the edge of your fabric.

So, let’s make a hemstitched napkin! A dinner napkin is about 18” square. For this technique, you’ll need to begin with a square that is about 22”. Since fabric is usually 44" wide, we should get 2 napkins with one 22" length of fabric. If your fabric is slightly less than 44”, just make two squares as large as you can. As long as all your napkins are the same size (and square) they will be just fine. No one will measure them, right?

Now, we will simply miter the corners. Don’t leave! Look what I’ve found: The No Math Mitered Ruler Set! Let me show you how easy and fast this is!

With these rulers, we can make just about any size of miter called for. We will use the 1 1/2” ruler.

Referring to the photos below: Photo 1: Place it on the corner of your napkin. Trace around the shape. Photo 2: Cut out the shape and discard the cutaway piece of fabric. Photo 3: The extended edge on all four sides will be come the hem, so press that under now. Photo 4: All four side hems are pressed under.

Referring to the photos below: Photo 1: Open out the pressed hems and fold the napkin diagonally at the corner, right sides together. I have a ruler placed on the corner so that I can actually mark my seam allowance. It's 1/2" (no brainer here, because the ruler tells you what the seam allowance should be)! Photo 2: Stitch on the drawn line. Photo 3: Trim it, like this, clipping all the way to the corner stitching. Photo 4: Press the corner seam allowances open. I'm using the Dritz EZY-Hem tool to get a crisp corner.

Referring to the three photos below: Photo 1: Turn the corners right side out with a point turner to get the corners nice and square. Photo 2: Slip the EZY-Hem tool back inside the hem when pressing to keep the hem width even. Photo 3: Press well and pin, and we're ready to stitch!

Photo 1: Choose thread for the bobbin and top matches your fabric. Place a stabilizer underneath the edge of your napkin hem. You can barely see mine extending out the right side of the napkin. I use a clear, wash-away stabilizer. Play with a sample piece to adjust your width and length to your liking, but I prefer my straight stitch to fall just beside the fold (on the single layer of fabric), and the needle jump to land just a few threads over the fold. Photo 2: Stitch away! Put your needle in the down position and pivot at the corners. Pivot after the needle has completed it's right swing and is back on the single layer of fabric.

The ruler set will allow you to choose from a 1" hem to a 3" hem. For the receiving blanket, below, I chose the 3" hem. I began with 1 1/4 yard, cut it into a square and hemmed in the same manner as the napkin. I finished with about a 37" square blanket. Double Gauze fabric is so dreamy, I wish you could feel how soft it is! I do stock it in my quilt shop, but not online yet, so give me a call if you'd like to order. Here is a picture of my stock. 828 524-3300.

Thanks for visiting! Happy sewing and God bless, Maxie

Square Up Rulers that Light Up My Life.

February 13, 2015

Sometimes it's the simple things that make our tasks just easier. Such is the case with Friday's Feature today. I found these little rulers at Quilt Market, and was able to have them customized for my quilt shop, which made me oh so happy. Not only do the colors of these rulers make them easily recognizable, the material they are made of seem to cause the edges to glow as they reflect light onto the surface of your fabric. This makes it easier to achieve accurate placement when fussy cutting, and to see the edge of the ruler for more precise cutting. They come in a set of six, measuring 1 1/2', 2 1/2", 3 1/2", 4 1/2", 5 1/2" & 6 1/2". Diagonal lines are etched in both directions on each ruler to help when squaring up quilt units for blocks. Simply very helpful. Yes, you'll find them on my shopping page!

See how the edge of the ruler seems to glow? It's reflecting light onto the surface of the fabric!

This handy set of six different sizes comes in an assortment of colors. Each color is reflective.

Thank for visiting! Be sure to sign up for my email newsletters (right column) for occasional special offers for subscribers only! Happy Sewing and God bless! Maxie.

Hello, Bear Tag Blankie

February 10, 2015

I've heard these soft little baby blankies called Church Toys because: 1) they're small enough to carry in your purse; 2) because the ribbons and soft fabrics pacify the baby, and, 3) because if it's dropped in church it won't make a sound! While they are great on the go, they are also a must-have at home, too. I made my new grandson, Bear, a couple of them so he could keep one in the diaper bag and have another always available. I'll show you how easy they are to make! But first, a word about the fabrics I've used today.

I've been anxiously awaiting my daughter's (Bonnie Christine) newest fabric line, Hello, Bear, to arrive, and it was delivered today! The fabric tells a story of woodland creatures and adventure, but the deeper story is that it was all inspired by her sweet son, Bear!

The fabric requirements are minimal, with a small square or rectangle for the top (mine is about 12" x 14", a plush Minkee for the back, and about twenty to thirty 1/8 yard cuts of assorted ribbons. Bonnie also designs ribbons for Renaissance Ribbons, so you know that I had to use them here!

Cut a square or rectangle of your focus fabric for the front of your blankie. This one is larger than I usually make them, but I wanted to get every forest creature in! To make sure it’s nice and straight, I cut it on a mat with a rotary cutter, placing the ruler on the lines on the mat to make the cuts.

Next, lay it on top of the backing and trim the backing to the exact size as the front. Minkee, a knit fabric with an incredibly soft nap, is the perfect choice for these little quilts.

Now…you need ribbons! Lots of charming ribbons! Exactly how many is determined by how large your blankie is. You’ll want a ribbon about every 2”, and each piece only needs to be about 4” long. I have lots of ribbons in my quilt shop, and my favorites are from Renaissance Ribbons. Arrange them to your liking around the edges of your top. This is just a trial run to determine placement, don’t pin them in place yet. (See above photo.)

Lay the Minkee (or backing) fabric right side up. Fold your 4” ribbons in half, wrong sides together and pin in place, matching the cut edges of the ribbon with the cut edges of the backing. (The fold is laying inside the square, as in the photo above.) Don't fuss too much with the placement; keeping the distance between them a little uneven adds to the charm. (Right?)

A walking foot will be very helpful for this next step. A walking foot has a set of feed dogs on the bottom of it that work in conjunction with the feed dogs on your sewing machine. It feeds the top layer of fabric to the needle, while the machine’s feed dogs feed the bottom layer to the needle. This results in both layers reaching the needle at the same time. A lot of people ask me what a walking foot looks like, so here is a picture of mine (above left). Stitch the ribbons in place, with a seam allowance just shy of 1/4" (right picture).

Next, lay the Minkee, right side up, on your workspace. Place the quilt top, right side down, over the Minkee. Match the edges, making sure the ribbons remain tucked inside. Pin in place. Stitch around the blankie with a 3/8" seam allowance, leaving a 3” opening on one side for turning.

Trim the corners at an angle to remove bulk from the seam allowance. Turn right side out, using a point turner to get the corners turned sharply. (My favorite point turner.) Press well. Stitch around the entire outer edge, about 1/4" from the edge, enclosing the opening left for turning with this stitching.

And that's it! I made two in a jiffy. The one on the left also features Bonnie's fabrics and the ribbons are all from her collection. The one on the right is also made from Hello, Bear, with an assortment of ribbons by several designers. Want another tip? When I made Bear's blankies, I attached a teething ring to one of the ribbons. It made it easy for him to pick it up and I so enjoyed watching him go for the ring!

Thanks for visiting! Happy Sewing and God bless! Maxie

Quilt Binding (on a Beautiful Quilt!) Made Easier

February 6, 2015

It's time for Friday's Feature ad today I actually have two things to share with you. You've most likely seen the first...Clover's truly wonderful Wonder Clips! The second: the quilt I'm finishing with this binding! But more about that in a minute. I've really fallen in love with what Wonder Clips do for you. You know how much of a struggle it can be to fold over the binding and hold it in place while you stitch? Third hand, please. They make stitching binding pretty much effortless. Especially when, after stitching to the quilt front, you press the binding flat (away from the quilt) from the front side before clipping it in place. If you skip this pressing, the binding wants to stay on the front of the quilt. Press it out and it will roll to the backing side very easily. Clip in place and stitching is a picnic! A little thread heaven, a straw needle, Aurifil thread and a good movie and I'm good to go!

Let me share this funtastic quilt with you! When I visited International Quilt Market in Houston this past October, this quilt stopped me in my tracks. I had ordered and stocked this fabric in my quilt shop before market, so I already loved it. But, seeing this quilt in person (along with all the other beautiful items in Tim Holtz's booth) just captivated me. Designed by a guy, Eclectic Elements fabrics are very manly, with prints that include yardsticks from the hardware store, Soda pop bottle caps, a world map, reptile skin, cancelled postage stamps, and so much more. So...I made sure we would be able to make it and offer kits to you! I present to you a quilt every guy will love...Hashbrowns for Breakfast!