Playing with my food…or sewing something just for fun

January 2, 2015

Jars Aplenty pattern from Cozy Quilt Shop

Most days, I sew for others (customers, gifts or family members). It’s a real treat when I am able to sew something just for fun. I keep a small stash of kits I collect from the mark-down tables in quilt shops just for this purpose. I usually grab one to take with me to a sit and sew.

I unearthed this half-finished kit while doing a major studio purge this week. I vaguely recall purchasing the kit during a Shop Hop, but couldn’t remember why I’d set the pattern aside. After about 3 minutes, I realized why. The kit was short a strip needed to complete the background behind the jars! Instead, I’d been given an extra strip of gray that was used for the jar lids. It took a few minutes of pondering, digging through the stash and a little reverse sewing in one section to make it work, but by golly, I did make it work. At least the top is finished! I think I have some green in the stash I can use for backing and binding. It’s a darling wall hanging, but I don’t have the wall space to hang it in my kitchen, so I’ll probably save it to give as a gift.

Tomorrow, I’ll sew up a quick baby quilt based around a panel…then it’s back to t-shirt quilts.

No complaining, mind you. 2015 is already shaping up to be a GREAT year.

Happy New Year!

Native American Costume (Breech Cloth or Loin Cloth)

December 11, 2014

Recently, a coworker asked me to make a loincloth as part of her son’s Native American costume for a 4th grade class assignment. Mom had already purchased a length of suede-like dressmaker fabric. Her son wanted a “REAL” loin cloth that tied at the sides – not like a skirt.  Some historical pictures of Native American costumes depict breech cloths as rather long, almost mid-calf length. For safety reasons, I opted to keep this one knee length.  I couldn’t find a tutorial online, so I thought I’d share how I made mine.  Construction time took about an hour.

Here are pictures of the finished project:

loincloth2

loincloth3

Fabric required:  3/4 yard  (You may need more or less depending on the size of your warrior.)

My student is nine years old.  Waist = 24″    Waist to mid-knee = 12″

Here’s how I made it:

Measure:

(M1) Measure student around the waist.  Divide this measurement in half.  Add 2″ to this measurement.  Record _________.

(M2)  Measure student from waist to about just above the knee.  Add 2″ to this measurement.  Record ____________.

Cut:

(1)  Cut two pieces of fabric M1 x M2.   (I cut two piece 14″ x 14″).

(2)  Cut two strips of fabric 2-1/2″ x WOF.

Sew:

(1)  Press under 1/2″ double hem on sides. Topstitch, using decorative stitch if desired.  I used stitch 57 on my Janome 6600.  Repeat for other panel.

(2)  Add 24″ to M1 measurement.  Trim 2-1/2″ wide strips to this length.

(3)  Press 2.5″ strips in half lengthwise (for the waistband & ties). Open and press raw edges so they meet at the fold line in the middle.  Fold again, enclosing the raw edges.  Press well.  Here’s a picture if you need a visual.

(4) Slide each loin cloth panel inside a waistband. Adjust so that loincloth is in the middle and ties are even on each side.  Pin in place and sew along edges using decorative stitch.

Fringe:

(1)  Measure up 3″ on each side from the bottom on each panel.  Either draw a line across at the 3″ mark or mark with a piece of painter’s tape.  Cut fringe in desired widths up to the marked line.  Remove tape and fluff.  Repeat for other panel.

Here’s a cute video of how to make a loincloth from a brown paper bag.

Adjustments I would make for the future:

Add 6″ to length and cut fringe strips about 3/8″ to 1/2″ wide.  Make the fringe 10″ long.  The original fringe was 3″ long and about 1/4″ wide.

Add 4-6″ to width to give a little extra room to fit over clothes.  

November Skill of the Month – Ladder Stitch

November 19, 2014

This month’s skill involved learning a new handstitch for closing an opening.  You see, I normally use a tiny overcast stitch or machine topstitching to close an opening on a stuffie or an envelope style quilt.  A recent project required a more advanced method of closing the opening.

Take this…a memory pillow that uses the same verse that appears on the memory quilt featured a few posts back.

Pillow closed with ladder stitch instead of overcast stitch - nearly invisible.
Pillow closed with ladder stitch instead of overcast stitch – nearly invisible.

A lot of work went into this special pillow and the customer wanted neither an envelope style nor a zipper closure on the back to facilitate pillow form insertion.  She asked me to stitch the bottom opening closed.  So, I did just that using the ladder stitch.  I found this video and this video to be helpful in explaining the process.  I used a size 7 sharp needle and waxed doubled thread that matched the background color of the fabric.  Keep your stitches 1/4″ or less.  The process felt really strange at first, but I think the finished product looks quite smashing don’t you?

Pillow opening closed with ladder stitch instead of overcast stitch - nearly invisible.
Pillow opening closed with ladder stitch instead of overcast stitch – nearly invisible.

I also learned another clever trick this month (sort of after the fact, though)…how to minimize those pointy corners. This tutorial shows how to adjust your corners to get rid of the excess fabric that will not be filled by the pillow form.  I will definitely try this trick next time.  Also note that the standard home dec seam allowance is 1/2″ and her calculations include this in the cutting instructions.  Simply double your desired seam allowance and add it to the pillow form size to determine the cut measurements.