Sewing for Quilt Market - Huck Finn Pants

I've made these pants before, too.  They are simple little britches to put together and look adorable in super cute just about any sort of fabric.  The book shows them in a striped fabric, I've made them in flowers and rain drop prints in the past.  I think this subtle blue polka dot looks pretty cute, too!

As I mentioned in the previous post, I really like Heather Ross's book.  Her patterns are so well written and are really easy to follow.  I think these pants took me around an hour to make, start to finish.

I'll say it again, just to drive my point home... If you don't already own Heather Ross's book "Weekend Sewing", you should.  It's a great book filled with awesome, useful patterns that real life people would actually use.  It's a great book to add to your sewing library.

Pattern: Huck Finn Pants from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross

Fabric: Mystic Forest by Fabri-Quilt

-Jessica

Sewing for Quilt Market - Flowergirl Dress

I love Heather Ross's book Weekend Sewing.  If you don't already own it, you should.  It includes patterns for an awesome bag, baby pants, adult clothes, and this amazing dress.  There's also a whole bunch of other things, too, but those are just the few projects that stick out in my mind.  I love the way the projects are illustrated in this book.  Sometimes hand drawn illustrations just get the point across a whole lot better than computer drawings.  There's just something in the quality of a drawn line that seems to make a lot more sense to me than reading a perfect computer drawn diagram.  (That's saying something, since my last "real job" was as an architectural draftsman/technician/CAD monkey/whatever you'd like to call a girl who draws architectural stuff on the computer all day.)

This dress is a super simple project to sew up.  It is four identical pieces for the bodice (2 for the inside, 2 for the outside), 2 straps, and 2 rectangles for the skirt.  It's adorable sewn up and goes together so quickly.

Pattern: Flowergirl Dress from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross 

Fabric: Mystic Forest by Fabri-Quilt

-Jessica

Sewing for Quilt Market - The Austin Lee Coverall & Romper

I love little boys' clothes.  Yes, little girl clothes are adorable and fun to sew, but little boys' clothes just seem to be used.  I like it best when things I make are going to get some love.  This little romper was fairly simple to sew together.  I wish I would have thought a little bit more about it because I think the alternate neckline included in the pattern probably would have been better suited for this fabric.  The fabric is just a basic quilting cotton, so it's not really intended for things like this.  Probably nobody is ever going to wear this little outfit, so it's just more to show off this cute monkey fabric line that Fabri-quilt is just releasing this month.  Can you tell the neckline lays a little bit funny?  Well, that's because clothes like this shouldn't really be made out of non-stretchy materials.  They should be able to stretch over your head and then shrink back to fit your neck nicely.  One other problem I had with this was snaps.  I hate doing snaps.  I had to pry three of the five snaps off of this and do them again because I smashed them with the hammer trying to get them in.  Thank goodness for my kind husband who was willing to come to my rescue.  Other than those two mistakes on my part, this pattern went together easily.  It included a lot of photos to help you along the way.

Pattern: Austin Lee Coverall & Romper by Fishsticks Designs

Fabric: Mystic Forest by Fabri-Quilt

-Jessica

Sewing for Quilt Market - Simple Dress

This little dress was a breeze to sew.  The binding on the inside of the neck and arm holes through me for a bit of a loop.  I think if I would have understood where they were intended to go, I probably would have done them out of the same fabric as the top of the dress.  That'll teach me to read the whole pattern before beginning, right?  No... probably not.


After I made the dress, I thought since the "pocket friend" didn't take too much extra work, I'd add that to the dress, because really, what little girl wouldn't need a little pink polka dotted monster attached to the bottom of her dress's pocket?

Pattern: Simple Sewing for Baby by Lotta Jansdotter

Fabric: Mystic Forest by Fabri-Quilt

-Jessica

Sewing for Quilt Market - Reversible Bucket Hat

I have long been a fan of the Oliver + S designs, but until recently had yet to stitch anything of their patterns up.  For this year's spring quilt market, Fabri-Quilt let me use some of their Mystic Forest fabric to make a pair of hats to be displayed in their booth.



These hats went together pretty easily and I think they're adorable.

Pattern: Reversible Bucket Hat by Oliver + S

Fabric: Mystic Forest by Fabri-Quilt

-Jessica

Sewing for Quilt Market

I've been sewing up a storm lately.  Quilt Market is coming up very soon and I sometimes sew things for Fabri-Quilt for them to display in their booth to show off their latest fabric lines.  This time I mostly sewed baby things from the new Mystic Forest fabric line they have, but I also made three quilts from the Marblehead - Global Brights line.

I'm not sure if I've explicity mentioned it on here before, but I'm a fan of a lot of the work from the modern quilting aesthetic.  I like the clean, crisp use of solid fabrics or minimal prints.  I like the bold colors.  I like the intentional wonkiness.  I was really excited when Fabri-Quilt asked if I wanted to come up with a design using this fabric because it spoke to me.  I came up with about two dozen different designs and sent them off.  Well, instead of picking just one design for me to make, they picked three.  Woohoo!











The quilt above is my favorite of the three.  It's titled "Sunset Boulevard".  I love how it flows.  I developed a strip piecing rhythm to do it, so the piecing was really fast.  I think it's beautiful.



I quilted it in swirls within tiles... another of Angela Walter's quilting designs.



I found a new favorite place to photograph quilts, too!  How fun is this little orange truck?  My little guy loved playing on it while I snapped away.  I think the photos are cute with him running through them.



The quilt above is titled "Library Stacks".  It's quilted with a simple all-over meander.  Nice and simple for a kind of complex-on-the-eyes piecing pattern.







This quilt above is titled "Dresser Drawers".



I quilted it using Angela Walter's wood grain pattern.  Easy to do and it looks cool, too!







If you'd like to read more about these quilts, Fabri-Quilt interviewed me about them and featured them on their blog yesterday.  Check over there to read about my inspiration and such for these three quilts.http://inspiredbyfabric.blogspot.com/2013/05/playing-with-marblehead.html

I have posts lined up about various projects I did for quilt market sewing from now until sometime in June, so be sure to check back often.  I made some really cute things that I'm sure you would like to see. 

-Jessica

22 Steps to a Really Easy Baby Blanket

Twins seem to be happening so often lately.  We have friends with twins who are about 4 months younger than Daniel and now Jason's step-sister just gave birth to a set of boy/girl twins a few weeks ago.  Time is a little tight around our house lately, so I came up with a simple, personal project to make for the new step-niece & nephew-to-be.  I made each baby a small blanket and appliqued their name onto the bottom corner of each.  It was a quick project and they turned out really cute.  

Tutorial

Supplies:

30"x30" of white flannel for blanket top
40"x40" of cotton print for backing
1/4 yard of brown flannel for letters
Lightweight fusible web
Thread to match backing and letter fabric

Instructions:

1: Cut backing fabric to 40"x40".  

Note: If you are using a directional print for the backing fabric of your blankets be aware that the direction will not be the same on all sides of the front.  The top & bottom will be going in the same direction, but the sides will be going in the opposite direction.  If this is going to bother you, consider using a non-directional print.   

2: Measure 5" from each corner of backing fabric.  Cut corners off at a 45 degree angle.

3: Use your computer to print off the letters you plan to applique in the font of your choice.  I picked a font that had minimal "swirlies", but still had some serifs.  

Note: My font had a hatching pattern within the letters that I chose to ignore.  

Using a ballpoint pen, trace an outline of the letters onto the glue side of the fusible web.  No need to trace backwards, they will come out the right way when you trace with the letters going the correct direction.

4: Cut the letters out leaving a little margin around the pen marks.

5: Iron the letter fabric making sure to remove any wrinkles.  

6. Iron the glue side of the fusible web (with letters marked on it) to the wrong side of the letter fabric.  Make sure to follow the manufacturer's directions.

7: Peel the paper backing off the fusible web.

The ink from the pen is sandwiched between the glue of the fusible web and the wrong side of the letter fabric.

8:Cut the letters out with sharp scissors right along the pen line.

9: Cut the top fabric to a 30"x30" square.

10: Use your acrylic ruler to put the letters in the right space on the top fabric.  Make sure the letters are spaced how you want them, straight across, and with glue side down.

11: Following the manufacturer's instructions, iron the letters in place.

12:  Set your sewing machine to a small zig-zag stitch.  (You could also choose a blanket or applique stitch, but I prefer the look of the zig-zag.)

I used this clear, open-toed foot to make it easier for me to see EXACTLY where my needle was going to hit the fabric.

These are the settings I used to applique.  Stitch width: 3.2.  Stitch length: 1.4.

Trace around the raw edges of each letter.  I like the outside edge of the stitch to hit at EXACTLY the same edge as the fabric.  I feel it helps the stitches blend into the design.  Make sure you take it pretty slow, so your stitches are nice and even.  When you come to a corner, stop, pivot, and start sewing again.

13:  Make sure the top fabric is still square.  It can stretch and shift with the applique.  Trim the edges if necessary to square it up.

14: Change your machine setting to a straight stitch.

I used these settings: Stitch width: 3.5.  Stitch length: 2.5.

I changed my presser foot to my 1/4" foot.

15: Line up one edge of the top fabric with one edge of the back fabric, wrong sides together.  

Note: If you are using a directional fabric, make sure it is aligned the right way before you sew it.  

The top fabric should be aligned with a straight side  between the angled corners of the backing fabric.  Stitch together with a 1/4" seam allowance, starting and stopping 1/4" from the corners of the top fabric.

16: Repeat for each of the 4 sides leaving a 6-7" opening for turning in one side. 

17: Press seams towards to the backing fabric.  

18: Match up two of the raw edges of the corner seams.  Stitch using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Clip corners.  Repeat for other 3 corners.  Press seams open.

19: Turn blanket through opening.

Use a turning tool (my favorite is a metal knitting needle) to poke corners out.

20: Press the blanket so that the corners form the outer edge of the blanket.  

21: Topstitch about 1/8" away from the inside edge of the border.  Make sure the opening that you left for turning is closed by the topstitching.

22: Topstitch about 1/8" away from the outer edge of the blanket.  

Enjoy your new blanket!