sewtakeahike

Benartex Manly quilt tutorial

 

 

I am most definitely a child of the 70's. I love the clothing styles from then, and the quilts from that time frame were so charming! Thick, lofty(polyester) batting and acrylic ties were the thing. Or if the quilt wasn't tied, it was loosely quilted so the quilt was still mega puffy. And heck, even the quilt top might have been polyester or a poly blend. Do you remember those double knit polys?! I have a pillow made from some squares of it my dad sent me several years ago!

 

 

For the Manly quilt, I am paying tribute to the 70's, giving it a modern day twist, using natural fibre. The batting is a lofty wool, and the ties are spun wool.  The quilt is approximately 63"X71". 

 

 

I used fabric from three different Benartex lines:

 

                           

The sashiko prints from Bellissimo in the lower right corner (for the center of the patchwork and the binding), plaid taupe from Paintbox/Shadows (for the backing) and all 24 colors available of Burlap (for the outside edges of the patchwork).

 

 

You will also need wool batting, wool yarn, and a tapestry needle.

For the main patchwork, I used my Go! cutter and 5" die to cut 224 5" squares. The Go! cutter made light work of this step which I was pleased with since cutting is my least favorite part.

 

Here is a diagram of my layout:

 

Blues on the left, tans on the bottom, purples/reds on the right, greens on the top, and blacks/dark grays in the center.

Once the you have the top assembled to your liking, make a quilt sandwich with your top, batting and backing and baste it with pins in every other center of each square to prep it for tying.

 

To tie your quilt, use your tapestry needle and wool yarn to stitch a running stitch through all layers of your sandwich, diagonally through the center of each unpinned square.

 

 

 

Once all the unpinned squares are stitched, cut the yarn where the four squares come to a point (half way between each stitch)

 

 

and then use a sewer's knot to tie each piece of yarn. Trim the knotted yarn to the length of your liking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now remove the pins and stitch and tie the remaining squares.

 

 

Tying your quilt in this manner will give a clean finish to the backing. All the stitches will be straight and the stitch pattern on the back will have an orderly appearance.

 

 

 

Once you have tied your quilt, bind it and you are finished.

I want to thank Benartex for sending the lovely fabric, this project was a joy to work on. And what has made it even more fun is L-man has said several times this is his favorite quilt! I am pleased I hit the mark with the Manly quilt!

 

 

I am also excited that because of Benartex's generosity, I have enough remaining fabric for a second quilt top and part of a backing. If you would like to make a manly quilt of your own, leave a comment on this post telling me who you would make a Manly quilt for if you win, and I will chose a winner on this Friday. (US entries only please due to shipping costs)

 

 

Good luck to you and Happy New Year!!!

xo,

Penny

 

318 Patchwork Pattern QAL

 

 

Have you all heard that Allegory is hosting a QAL for 318 Patchwork Patterns? She is making 4 mini blocks from the book each week until Dec 1 and posting tips for making the blocks each week.

There are a few of us that chose a block for her to make each week, and the block I chose is the chicken.

 

 

The original chicken pattern in the book has a total of 5 y-seams. I made one change to the pattern to cut out two of the y-seams and two sections. It doesn't change the look of the chicken, it just made it easier to piece!

Here's what I did:

 

 

The pattern was originally broken into two sections (indicated by the green areas inside the pink lines). Instead, I crossed out the green sections and made the pink lined area all one area, which could be part of the chicken head section. This reduced the pattern by 2 y-seams, indicated by the red arrows.

Because this book is so full of y-seams in the pieced patterns, I hope this helps you all to be creative and make the piecing a bit easier when you can! And make sure and check out Allegory's posts for more tips!

 

xo,

Penny

undies template and tutorial

 

 

 

Do you all remember when I made this undie and t-shirt block?

Well today, I'm revisiting the process of making the undies and sharing the template and tutorial so you can make a pair or two or three of your own. (for those of you who adore the t-shirt, keep your eyes peeled for the pattern in my upcoming book with Interweave later this fall/winter!)

The undies pattern is a mix of a template and improv-ish sewing, and you can whip up a pair in about 10 minutes.

Here's what you'll need:

• printed  Undie template (I traced mine onto cardstock)
• background fabric
• awesome scrap of main undie fabric
• scraps of undie accent fabric

 

Steps:

1. Trace your undie template onto your main undie fabric and cut out using a rotary cutter.

 

2. Lay your main undie fabric right side up on the accent fabric and and use your rotary cutter to cut a piece of accent fabric that fits perfectly in each leg hole. Make sure you give yourself an extra 1/2'' or more to work with at the beginning and end.

 

3. Cut a 3/4'' strip of accent fabric and sew it to the top edge of the undies.

 

4. Sew the accent fabric onto each leg hole then press. I use my 1/4'' foot as a guide when doing this. As you can see from the photos, I don't pin, but scissor the fabric together as I sew. If you're more comfortable using pins, go for it!

 

5. Trim each leghole accent fabric to 3/8''. I use my hemguide to help mark the fabric then trim with a rotary cutter.

 

6. Lay your undies right side up on top of your background fabric and repeat step 2 for each leghole and sew each piece in place.

 

7. Square up your block so it is 2 3/4''X 4 5/8''.

 

8. Add 1'' strips of background fabric to each side then to the top and bottom of the block.

 

9. Then make more!

 

If you make a pair or two of undies, I'd love to see them! Tag me on instagram, my username is Sewtakeahike!

 

Also, if you'd like a chace to win a copy of Lori Holt's latest book

leave a comment on my giveaway post on Instagram for your chance to win! And the biggest thank you to the Fat Quarter Shop for sending the book to me!

xo,

Penny

 

''In the Pantry'' mini instructions

 

I'm super excited that some of you have expressed interest in making the In the Pantry mini quilt!  Totally made my day!

 

First of all, you'll need to purchase the "In the Pantry" pattern set from Kerry and I's Sew-Ichigo shop.  The pattern set is chock full of possibilities. Kerry has come up with 4 variations of the canister jar, and the set also includes my Mama's Pyrex pattern as well as the silverware.

 

Next, using this diagram, you will sew it together.

 

 

A few tips:

1. All the blocks are at 100% unless indicated by the diagram.

2. All seam allowances are 1/4''.

3. Some of the sashing pieces will be slightly bigger than the block they are being sewn to. That is ok. Just trim the sashing pieces down after you've sewn each section. And trim each section as you go.

Instructions:

1. Sew one of each block: mama's pyrex, simple sweet jar, knife, spoon and fork. Sew three simple sweet jars at 75%.

2. Sew sashing A to the top of the mama's pyrex block.

3. Sew sashing B to the top of the largest simple sweet jar.

3. Sew the knife, spoon and fork blocks together as indicated in the diagram, then sew sashing C to the top of the blocks.

4. Sew two of the smaller simple sweet jars together side by side.

5. Sew a 1 1/2'' sashing strip to each side of one of the smaller simple sweet jars.

6. Sew a 1 1/2'' sashing strip to the top of the jar in step 5.

7. Sew the small jar in step 6 to the top of the small jars in step 4.

8. Sew the large jar to the left side of the utensil block.

9. Sew the small stacked jar block to the right side of the utensil block.

10. Sew a 1 1/4'' sashing strip to the bottom and then one to the right of the jar/utensil block

11. Sew the mama's pyrex block to the left of the jar/utensil block.

12. Make a quilt sandwich, quilt using sparkles with Aurifil thread, then bind.

 

If you make this mini, I'd love to see it! You can tag me on Instagram (I'm @sewtakeahike, and please use the hashtag #sewichigo) and/or you can post it on flickr in the sew-ichigo group here!

 

Happy Monday!

xo,

Penny

 

 

pressing tip: seam roller

 

Before we get into the seam roller tips, I just have to show you my little bunny.  I mean seriously, he must be a bunny because only bunnies are this cute, right??!

 

 

Ok, now we can get to business.

 

 

Many of you know I use this seam roller when I sew.  In fact, I use it almost every time I sew.  A few reasons why I use this specific seam roller is that it is only an inch or so wide and as you can see in the photo, the wooden roller part is rounded and not flat.  This keeps the fabric from getting distorted as I use it.  Many times people see my seam roller and think they can just use any old brayer or pastry roller.  But believe me, it's just not the same.

When I paper piece, as I sew sections of a pattern, I use my seam roller to press instead of getting up and pressing with an iron after each addition of fabric.

 

 

In the top left corner photo, I have sewn the first two pieces of fabric to the pattern, then in the top right corner photo, I press the seam open by opening the fabrics and rolling the seam roller over the seam. 

I then sew the next piece of fabric onto the section and turn and press that seam open.  At that point, I starch and press the section with an iron and trim the section up as you can see in the final photo. 

I was asked if using a seam roller means I don't iron.  Not at all!  As I explained, I use it to make the addition of fabrics quicker as I paper piece, but then at the end, I starch and press.

 

Next, I use the seam roller to open seams as I sew, especially when sewing blocks together as I assemble quilts.

 

 

Because it doesn't distort or pull the fabric (because of the rounded roller), I don't have to worry about not being able to match seams up easily as I sew the rows together. 

I open all the seams with the roller because I like the way an open seam appears flat from the front of the block instead of having that stairstep look. 

So basically, I sew the blocks together in rows, opening and seam rolling each block seam with the seam roller after the row is sewn together.  Then, as I sew the rows of blocks together, I will seam roll each long seam open.  Once the rows are all sewn together, I will starch and press the entire quilt with an iron.  The initial seam rolling step will make the chore of pressing with the iron much quicker.

The only drawback I've had with my seam roller is that over time, the seam roller may start to drop dark residue from the metal roller bar rubbing against the metal frame.  To make sure this doesn't happen to you (it's no fun trying to get the residue off your fabric!), use a drop of sewing machine oil on the the metal bar.  One drop on the right and one on the left.  Once you've put the oil onto the roller bar, roll the seam roller several times and then wipe away the extra oil.  This will keep the roller from dropping residue and you'll notice it rolls a lot smoother after you do this.

 

I hope this helps!

xo,

Penny