Techniques

How to Patchwork Quilt – Part 3

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We finished How to Patchwork Quilt – Part 2 with the patchwork completed and now it’s time to move onto the quilting part.

There are many different ways to make a quilt but, for the purpose of this tutorial I’m doing it the simplest way.

Making the quilt.

A quick note here….3 layers of patchwork quiltI decided to add a cream strip along the top of the patchwork, (about 15/16 cm), the idea being I can embroider the baby’s name in the corner once he/she’s born.

Lay the batting/wadding on the bottom, then the patchwork facing up, then the backing.

 

Sew around 3 sides Open End of patchwork quiltleaving the top open. Trim the seam then turn right sides out leaving the batting in the middle.

 

 

 

Time to get the iron Patchwork quilt ironedout again! Turn the open edges in and give the quilt a good press. Top stitch all the way around the edge. You can use a contrasting thread colour for this, I kept it white as I don’t know whether it’s for a boy or girl.

 

 

Quilting.

As with the joining of the pieces, there are many different methods and patterns for the quilting part. You can see some elaborate examples in How to Quilt – Part 1

A lot will depend on the machine Patchwork quilt squareyou have and the thickness of the quilt. My sewing machine isn’t a quilting machine so I chose a simple straight machine stitch criss-crossed over a 4×4 square. Again I kept the white thread. It’s hard to see in the image but hopefully you get the idea.

 

Another press and finished! How to patchwork quilt finishedThis was the easiest patchwork quilt I could make, it’s a new skill for me to learn so always best to start simple! It’s not perfect, there are some “wobbly” bits but for a first attempt I’m pleased with it.

 

Finally.

I enjoyed the process and some of the examples I saw in my research have inspired me to do more. Proper quilting rulers would have made cutting the patchwork pieces easier. If you want to learn more about quilting and the best tools to us, take a look at this site.

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How to Patchwork Quilt – Part 2

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In How to Patchwork Quilt – Part 1 we finished by having fabric squares prepared ready for piecing together.

How to Patchwork Quilt Part – 2

Lay out your squares in How to patchwork quilt squaresthe pattern you want. I decided to put the cream squares down the sides, I liked the look of it better.

 

 

 

We’ll sew the squares together How to patchwork quilt Sew Squaresone strip at a time. Take the first 2 squares and sew right sides together, then sew the next square on in the order you laid them out.

 

 

Keep adding the squares till How to patchwork quilt stripsyou have the first strip finished. Continue with each row of squares until you have all the rows sewn.

 

 

 

This is where you’ll see how Inaccurate cut squaresaccurate your square cutting was. You can see quite clearly in the picture on the right that my squares weren’t all created equally! I unpicked this particular block and cut another square of fabric.

I thought I was being careful and accurate when I cut out the squares so perhaps I need one of those special quilting rulers mentioned in How to Patchwork Quilt – Part 1….

After redoing that strip it was Patchwork Quilt pressed seamtime to trim the seams, switch the iron back on and press them open.

 

 

 

Join the strips.

Pin the strips, right sides Pin patchwork at seamstogether. I pinned right on the seams to make sure the seams lined up when sewing. (Click on the image to see full size).

 

 

 

All patchworked strips pinned

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sew all the strips together trying Patchwork Finishedto keep the seams aligned. Once you have all the strips sewn, trim and press.

You should now have a complete piece of patchwork!

 

Keeping the seams aligned Patchwork finishedwas the most challenging part. I’m sure this is one of those things where practice makes perfect. If you click to see the full size image you can see where my seams aren’t aligned perfectly but I’m pleased with what I’ve achieved so far.

 

How to Patchwork Quilt – Part 3 will cover making the quilt using the patchwork made in Parts 1 and How to Patchwork Quilt – Part 2. You’ll also have the opportunity to disguise mistakes made in the patchwork!

If you’ve any questions or comments about this tutorial please leave a comment below or contact me, I’d love to hear from you!

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How to Patchwork Quilt

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I don’t know how to patchwork quilt so take this journey with me and we’ll work together to create a patchwork pram quilt. I have another Grandbaby on the way and thought this would make a great gift. There are plenty of tutorials and advice, I’ve already done my research, and am ready to get started!

I’m going to do this ‘How to patchwork quilt’ tutorial in 3 parts. This will give us time to complete each part before moving onto the next.

I have the materials that I need having taken advantage of the special offer from Hobbycraft (see here) and buying the half price fat quarters (Fat quarters are usually 56cm wide x 50cm, (22 inches x 18 inches)). I’m using an unwanted quilt cover for the backing and some of the patchwork squares.

What is a Patchwork Quilt?

A quilt is described Elaborate Quiltas being a type of blanket composed of three layers. A top layer, a layer of batting or wadding in the middle and a fabric back. Quilting is where the layers are stitched together with either simple or very elaborate patterns. (Image “Russellquiltera” by Russell Lee Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Patchwork is described as simple patchworkneedlework that involves sewing geometric pieces of fabric together to form a large piece. Generally the larger piece is based on repeating patterns built up with the fabric shapes. The simplest form is squares, which you can see in this image.

 

So, a patchwork quilt is using the pieced patchwork to form the top layer of your quilt.

Of course, there is much Elaborate quiltmore to this kind of sewing. There are some beautiful examples like the picture on the right. (“Korea-Joseon-Bojagi-01” by by angela n.)

I’m keeping it simple for my first attempt by using a basic square patchwork.

 

Lets get started.

Based on an existing pram cover I’ve decided to make my pram quilt 61cm x 81.4cm (24″ x 32″) with each square being 10cm (4″)

If I’ve done my calculations correctly that means I’ll need 48 squares. There’ll need to be a seam allowance added so I’ll add 1.27cm (1/2″) to each square.

Materials.

  • A piece 61cm x 81.4cm (24″ x 32″) How to quilt materialsfor the backing.
  • A piece of wadding/batting 61cm x 81.4cm((24″ x 32″).
  • Colourful fabric for cutting the squares. I’m using two of the fat quarters mentioned earlier plus a one fat quarter cut from the backing. So that’s three fat quarters.
  • Rotary cutter and self-healing mat (optional, you can use scissors).

Instructions.

The next step is vey important; IRON YOUR FABRIC! For accuracy when sewing the squares together this needs to be done. You’ve cut out your backing and wadding piece so now it’s time to cut out the squares. There are special patchwork and quilting rulers for this, like this one here Sew-Easy Patchwork Quilting Ruler 24×6-1/2in. I don’t have one of these so I’m going to mark out the squares with tailors chalk and a mitred ruler.

Lay the three fat quarters on top of each Fabric choiceother and mark out 48 x 11.27cm (4.4″)squares.

 

 

 

 

Measuring the squares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once you have all the squares Fabric Squares Cut outmarked out it’s time to start cutting. Cut along the long length first. You’ll then have 4 separate lots of fabric. Cut along the markings you made earlier to form the squares.

You should now have 48 neatly cut squares ready to start forming the patchwork.

 

The next step is to lay out the squares in the pattern you want to sew them. That will be covered in Part 2 of How to Patchwork Quilt.

I’m really enjoying learning and will definitely want to do more patchwork quilting. I found this great resource where you can download all the quilting patterns you want – it’s FREE!

If you have any questions or comments about this tutorial please comment below or contact me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Baby Christmas Dress

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I was thinking about making a baby Christmas dress for Granddaughter Lilly and wondering about fabric when this appeared at my door. 

Christmas CurtainsA bag full of curtains!

There were four pairs of curtains in the bag, all lined with red fabric. I didn’t take measurements but there was a LOT of fabric in there!

 

 

 

 

 

Unpicking

First was the job of unpicking, Unpicking the fabricI like to reuse as much as possible so the curtain tape came off first. That will get saved in my haberdashery box for future use.

 

 

Then I separated the lining. Christmas FabricI’ll only be using the printed fabric for this baby Christmas dress and will hardly use even 1 of the curtains. Enough to make a dress each year as baby Lilly grows!

 

 

 

Making the Dress

Then it was time to start making Baby dress patternthe dress. I used a BurdaStyle pattern, 9752 which gives a few different options on style.

Following the instructions I pinned the pattern onto the fabric. There’s a tutorial here for how to read sewing patterns.

 

 

 

 

 

I usually find Burda patterns easy Sewing the Collarto follow but the collar on this on really had me stumped. I spent a long time trying to figure it out but after a bit of trial and error and the help of a sewing forum I got there.

I used to have a problem inserting sleeves but have finally mastered that skill!

 

 

This is the top half of the Top Half of dressdress finished ready for attaching the skirt.

 

 

 

The skirt was straight forward with a simple gather around the waist. I’ve used this technique on many baby dresses and will be posting a “how to” tutorial soon. It gives a nice fullness to the skirt and makes sure there’s plenty of room around baby’s hips.

Baby Christmas Dress Finished!

Because of the problems I had with the collar this took me around 8 hrs to make. I did manage to run up a matching bib in that time though. Now Lilly will have this cute baby Christmas outfit to wear over her first festive season!

baby christmas dress

Baby Christmas dress Baby Christmas dress

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Wall Organizer

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I did say I was going to do some tutorials on the “Home made Christmas Gifts” page and a wall organizer can make a useful and adaptable gift for anyone.

I made this one withCompleted Wall organizer fabrics I had to hand being an avid upcyler but you can really let your creativity lose  and choose according to who you’re making it for. A wall organizer will even work in a garage if you use stong fabrics so there’s an idea for the men in your life!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I gathered my materials together:Materials for wall organizer

  • Cotton velvet and printed cotton, I’m sure you recognise them from other projects, after all this blog is all about upcycling!
  • A piece of cane cut according to the size you make.
  • A piece of strong ribbon or thick string,  cut depending on low you want it to hang.
  • I used gift ribbon for embellishing but you can use anything for this.

You can make this any size you wish, just adjust the following measurments to suit.

Cut out:Pieces cut out and folded

  • 61cm x 102cm of velvet (any strong fabric will do for this)
  • 3 pieces of cotton 25 x 50cm (any non stretch sturdy fabric will work)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fold the velvet in half lengthwise right sides together and pin then fold the cotton in half right sides together and pin.

 

Sew 3 sides on all the pieces Pieces sewn togetherleaving an opening for turning right sides out. Finish off the seams either with overlocking, pinking shears or the zig zag stitch on your sewing machine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turn right side out then press Square pieces sewn on to rectangleand topstitch all pieces. If you’ve been reading my other posts by now you should recognise a common theme, squares and rectangles doubled and topstitched. There are lot’s of useful items to be made this way!

Make a hem at the top of the velvet piece to hold the cane.

 

 

Pin the 3 cotton squares evenly down the length of the velvet. This is where you’ll see how accurate your cutting and sewing has been so far. I will blush here and admit I got somewhat distracted, making it trickier to line everything up! Stitch them onto the velvet leaving the top open (for putting things in). I used a zig zag stitch for this to add more interest (the photo doesn’t show it too well).

Then it’s time to add your Embellishments sewn onembellishments to suit the recipient of your gift. Buttons work well as do scraps of cloth and ribbon.

Thread the cane through the hem then make a loop at each end of the thick string and hook one over each end of the cane.

 

 

 

 

And there we are, the simplest of gifts and these wall organizers can be made for every room by using colours to suit your theme.

Completed wall organizer

 

 

 

 

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Handmade Bookmarks

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In our busy lives it’s always handmade bookmarks nice to find time to sit and read a good book. It’s also nice to have some lovely handmade bookmarks to hand, I hate to see a book getting the corner of it’s page turned over!

 

These are really simple to make in about 30 mns, depending on whether you hand or machine stitch.

If you’ve read my other posts you might recognise the fabric and trim in this bookmark, remember my tip about not throwing small pieces of fabric away?

 

 

 

So, gather your materials Materialstogether,

  • Fabric, most fabrics can be made into bookmarks.
  • Iron on interfacing (if you’re using a very stiff fabric you won’t need this)
  • Trim

 

Cut a piece of fabric Pieces cut out12cm x 23cm (I used an existing bookmark to measure). Cut a piece of interfacing 6cm x 23cm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iron the interfacing onto oneSewn up and tseams trimmed with pinking shearsInterface ironed on to fabric half on the wrong side of fabric.

 

Keep right sides together sitch the long side and one short side together. Trim the seams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turn right sides out and press Book mark top stitchedSewn piece turned right side outturning the open end in.

This is another place where you can use my favourite Top stitch technique. Top stitch round all four sides making sure you catch the open end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All that’s left now is to add your trim/decoration. There are lots of things you can use:

  • Fabric paint, paint your own designs
  • Buttons
  • Lace
  • Ribbon
  • The decorative stitches on sewing machine if you have one

I used gift wrap ribbon for mine, Gift ribbonit was on special at Lidls (discount store), it was in the bargain bin for 49p. I’ve already used it in a few projects!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One completed bookmark. I would normally make a batch of these they’re so quick and easy but did a single for this tutorial. They make great wee gifts and stocking fillers!Completed bookmark with gift ribbon sewn on as embellishment8

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Diaper Bag from Old Curtains

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After searching for some fabric suitable Completed diaper bagfor my latest project I located a curtain pelmet which I’d stripped down into fabric and lining. So now for my latest project, a diaper bag from old curtains using a tutorial I found at Karen’s blog here.

 

 

TIPDon’t throw away small pieces of fabric, even small pieces can be used for decoration.

 

 

 

I started with my curtain pelmet material Materialsusing the lining for the inside and cut a piece out of each plus the straps, following the instructions on the tutorial.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Pieces cut out

 

 

 

 

 

At this point I noticed my white thread was getting low so had a look round for special offers. With thoughts of Christmas gifts starting to appear it might be prudent to make sure you have all you need, there’s nothing worse than starting a project and not having the right colour thread etc. I decided to stock up on threads and sundrys when I found this special offer Save 10% + Free P&P with offer code CRAFT10. Valid on orders of £20 or more at Stitch Craft Create

BARGAIN!

 

After the excitment of buying some nice bits and pieces it was back to the diaper bag.

My overlocker came in handy for the next Sewn seamsbit as the lining was fraying everywhere! Pinking shears will also work for this (check here for help on buying scissors). You can also do a zig zag stitch close to the edge.

 

 

 

Following the instructions, I turned it Turn right side outright side out but didn’t manage to get the corners as neat as I’d liked. I’m going to practise this technique, neat square corners look so much better.

 

 

 

 Strap sewn onNext it was the strap, straight forward following the instructions.
 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t have nappies/diapers and wipes to test Upcycled Diaper bag completefor size so guessed based on the tutorial image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then finally a fastener for the strap, I used velcro as it’s what I had in my sewing box.

And that’s it, it took me around 1hr 30mns to do including the photos, and it would make a nice gift filled with some nappies, wipes and cream. I’m going to be making more of these, a great way to use up smaller pieces of fabric.

Complete with diapers and wet wipes open Complete with diapers and wet wipes closed shut

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Onesie Dress Tutorial

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Babies spend a onesie dress tutoriallot of time in sleepsuit/onesies, they’re easy to get on and off a wriggly squirming baby! The thing is, when you have a new baby girl you want to dress her in girly things so I’ve found a solution, this onesie dress tutorial from Emma’s blog

Now I’ve done my own take on this, I live in Scotland and we’re coming into the cold weather so I used a sleepsuit (see right). I also upcycled an old shirt so had to fiddle around a bit to get enough fabric.

 

 

 

I took the back of the shirt and Materialscut 2 strips, overlocked around the edges the joined the 2 sides.

 

TIPPress your fabrics before you start.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-Tube overlocked

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there I followed the Gathered tuble to make skirtinstructions on the blog, doing the gathers was fiddly but keep measuring against the sleepsuit till it fits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had some trim in my stash so edged the hem with it to pretty it up, then I made a wee bow for the kneck and VOILA, a pretty but cosy dress for your baby girl!

Complete onsie dress

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How to make Plush Baby Booties

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As promised I’m going Plush baby bootiesto show you how to make plush baby booties like these, and the ones in an earlier blog post Here’s one I made earlier.” I used fleece but you can use any fabric or trim. These are small enough that it wouldn’t take long to sew them by hand if you don’t have a machine.

 

First download the pattern here  Upcycled-Baby-Booties

The pattern is for 3mths but I’ll explain how to make them smaller later in the tutorial.

 

Next gather your materials: Materials

  • Fabric (fleece and cotton work well)
  • Elastic (1/4″)
  • Pattern

 

 

 

Cut out the pattern pieces from the paper. Paper pattern pieces

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fold the fleece (it doesn’t matter which way) Paper pattern pinned to fabricand pin the pattern pieces to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then cut out the pieces remembering to cut 4 for Pattern pieces cut outthe upper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take the 2 “back and side” pieces and stitch a hem alongHem stitched for elastic the straight edge wide enough for the elastic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thread the elastic through the hem using a Elastic being threaded through hemdarning needle with a large eye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hold onto both elastic ends and pull to Pulling elastic ends together to form top openinggather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To secure the elastic in place stitch backSewing elastic in place and forward over it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tidy up the ends and you’ll be left withFirst 2 pieces complete 2 pieces like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, this is the bit that’s tricky to explain Sandwich upper pieces with elasticated bitshence the extra pics! Take 2 of the uppers and sandwich the elasticated pieces between along the straight edge.

 

 

 

 

12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stitch along the straight edge.Stitch along stright line

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tidy the seams.Tidy up seams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flip the back/side over and mark the centre.Mark the centre

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mark the centre 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Line up the centre of the soles to the centrePin soles to uppers of the uppers, pin and stitch.

This is where you can make them smaller by sewing the seam further in.

 

 

 

 

 

Stitch and trim seams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tidy up the seams.Tidy seams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turn right side out.Right side out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All that’s left is to add the trim, you can use anything here, just make sure it’s well secured on the bootie!

One pair of finished plush baby booties!

Finished plush baby booties with trimPlease contact me if there’s anything about this tutorial you need help with.

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Upcycled Bandana Bib

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Bandana Bibs are simple to make and great for making use of fabric scraps and towels. You can use left over fabric from a baby outfit to make a matching upcycled bandana bib. They’re also great for gifts, make a set of 3 with pretty fabric, a baby can never have enough bibs (you might recognise the fabric in this article!). Firstly make your pattern or you can use the one below. I used an existing bib, folded it in half,  laid it on an A4 sheet of paper, then drew and cut round it. You can do this for any style of bib. I’ll generally do a few at the same time as they don’t take long.

Download PDF File here bandana-bib

TIPCheck charity shops and car boot sales for towels or keep your ears open for friends who are changing their bathroom colour scheme and buying new towels!

Next gather your materials:

  • Pattern
  • Fabric of your choice, cotton works well for this.
  • Toweling or microfibre fleece.
  • Fastener, I use hook and loop/velcro but you can use press studs if you prefer

Materials

Fold your fabic in half and pin the pattern on, putting fold mark on pattern against fold in fabric.

paper pattern pinned on

Cut out and repeat for towelling, you’ll then have 2 pieces like this:

Cut out fabric

If you don’t have an overlocker, at this stage do a zig zag stitch round the towelling edge to stop fraying (not needed if you use micro fleece). Pin the pieces right sides together and overlock/sew together leaving a 4″ gap (for turning right side out).

Pin fabric pieces

Sew and overlock fabric pieces

Turn right side out and press turning the gap edges in.

Turned right side out and pressed

Top stitch all the way round making sure you catch the folded in edge.

The last thing is to sew on your fastening, I prefer hook and loop as it’s easy to whip on and off a fidgety baby!

Sew on hook and loop for fastening

And that’s it, simple! Here it is beside 2 others I made previously in a different size and style.

3 upcycled baby bibs different styels

 

 

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