FREE project : "Love, Mom" Bed Runner

Hello lovelies, it's time for a sewing tutorial!

Every time I turn on the television there are commercials for back to school. ALREADY?!? It seems like summer just started. Back to school makes me think of all of the kids going off to college for the first time. I remember when my son went off to college. I missed him so. I called him every day! But what an exciting time for him to go away to experience life and education.

I'm  feeling heavy-hearted thinking of all of the moms whose children are going off to school. So I'm inspired to make a tutorial for you moms to give your daughters something to remind them of home. It's a bed runner that they can put at the foot of their bed to remind them of you!

Finished size: 24" x 60"

MATERIALS:
For this project, I used the Pure Elements solids that I handpicked for Art Gallery Fabrics.

• 2 7/8 yd of PE-427 Spiceberry
• ½ yd of PE-401 Verve Violet
• ½ yd of PE-432 Sandstone
• ½ yd of PE-413 Caviar
• ½ yd of PE-405 Cherry Lipgloss
• Fat Quarter of PE-425 Mauvelous
• 35" x 75" Non-fusible BATTING
• 3/4 yd SINGLE-SIDED Fusible Interfacing

NOTIONS:

• 10 pearl beads
• Hand Sewing Needle
• Color-coordinated thread
• Masking tape
• Safety pins
• Scissors
• Water Soluble marker

INSTRUCTIONS
Sew all right sides together with ¼" seam allowance. Press open.

Cutting:
For base quilt-

• Sub-cut PE-427 into four (4) 24" x 30 1/4" rectangles

For flowers (10 big flowers and 10 small flowers)-

• Sub-cut PE-401 into four (4) 8" squares and four (4) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-432 into four (4) 8" squares and six (6) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-413 into four (4) 8" squares and four (4) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-405 into four (4) 8" squares and six (6) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-425 into four (4) 8" squares
• Ten (10) 8" squares and ten (10) 5" squares of interfacing 

Step 1. Making the base quilt

• Grab the four 24" x 30 1/4" rectangles and sew them in pairs creating two rectangles that measure 24" x 60". One rectangle will be the TOP fabric and the other one the BACKING fabric. Place the BACKING on a large surface (wrong side up). Stretch it with masking tape against that surface.
• Place the BATTING on top of the BACKING.
• Place the TOP on top of the batting (right side facing up). Smooth away wrinkles using your hands.
• Pin all layers together and baste using long stitches. You can also use safety pins to join the layers.
• For this quilt, I chose a straight and modern motif. Start quilting right at the center where there is a seam. From there, create parallel lines 5" apart from each other and quilt. Use a contrasting color thread so that the stitching really pops out. I used beige on the Spiceberry tone.

After you have finished, trim any of the excess fabric or batting, squaring the quilt to proceed to bind it. To obtain the binding, cut enough WOF strips of Spiceberry with a 1½" width to create a long strip measuring 180" (about 5). For detailed instructions on how to finish binding, check out my Free Quilt patterns here, and at the end of each quilt, it has diagrams on how to do it!

Now that the base is done, I will show you how to construct one of the big flowers and you can follow the same steps for the rest of the flowers, big and small.

Step 2. Flower Construction

• Start by grouping the flowers. For each flower, grab two squares with the same size and color and one square of interfacing (also with the same size). Place one fabric on top of the other (right sides facing together), leaving the interfacing on the bottom (fusible side facing up).

• Now trace the Flower Template on the top fabric, making sure you transfer all the points. Pin the edges of the three layers.
• Sew on top of the line, going all the way to the points. Go over the first stitches you created to secure the stitching.

• Trim down the excess fabrics to 1/8" all around the stitching line and clip in between each petal to allow for better turning.

• To turn the flower inside you, draw a 1½" long line on the center of the flower.

• Being super careful in order to cut JUST the top layer, pinch the fabric so that you can cut the line you traced.

Try to separate the top layer from the bottom and interfacing.

•  Carefully turn the flower inside out through the hole.

• Press well.

• Close the hole using a hand needle. Press the raw edges towards the inside of the flower and close with a slip stitch.
• Repeat this process to finish all of the flowers.

Now that you have the base and the flowers ready, it's time to sew them together!

Step 3. Putting it all together

• Pair one big flower with one small flower in a contrasting color so that you have ten combinations. 

• Place them on the base quilt to establish the order that your prefer. Pin them in place.
• Grab one big flower, one small flower, and a pearl bead. You will now begin to hand sew them to the base of the quilt. First start by putting the needle through the center of the wrong side of the big flower and go through the center of the flower, catching the bead as well by going through the hole.

• Now, go back through the center of the small flower, then though the big flower and catch the top layer of the base quilt.
• Repeat again.

• Do this a couple of times to secure the flowers well. To finish, do an extra stitch on the bottom of the piece, or in a hidden portion, and pass the needle back through the stitch to form a knot. Do it again to double the knot. 
• Repeat until you have finished attaching all the flowers to the base quilt.

I hope you enjoy making this bed runner. To creating great off-to-school memories!

xoxo

60's Hexies Love Coasters Tutorial

Hi!

Coming back to my blog after a few days of crazy work to be with you always feels so good! Today is a rainy afternoon here in Miami and I was finishing the instructions for this new tutorial with my new line Carnaby St. to cheer me up with its bright colors. For those of you having wintery and rainy days, I hope it cheers you up too... and if you are enjoying summertime on another corner of the world I guess it is always good to be making a new tutorial as well :)

MATERIALS (to make three coasters)
For this project, I used a combination of Pure Elements solids from Art Gallery Fabrics and some prints from my newest collection Carnaby Street. You will need:

FABRICS:
One (1) Fat Eighth of the following:

• CST-3102 Psychedelia Gold
• CST-3200 Brit Boutique Radiant
• CST-3204 Girl About Town Rose
• PE-405 Cherry Lipgloss
• PE-424 Mirage Blue

½ yd of PE-408 White Linen
Three (3) 11" square sheets of non-fusible batting
Coaster Trapezoid Template

NOTIONS:

• Ruler with 60° angle guides
• Rotary Cutter
• Water Soluble marker

INSTRUCTIONS (for coaster with a White Linen border)
Sew all right sides together with ¼" seam allowance. Press open.

Cut the following:

• Cut two (2) of each of the trapezoids in the template from PE-405 and PE-424
• Cut CST-3102, CST-3200 and CST-3204 into 1 7/8" x WOF strips
• Cut three (3) 11" squares from PE-408
• Cut two (2) of each of the trapezoids in the template from PE-408
• Cut three (3) 1 3/4" x WOF strips from PE-408

Step 1. Grouping the strips
Make one group (A) that contains two CST-3102 strips and one CST-3200 strip. Make another group (B) that has one CST-3204 strip, one CST-3102 strip, and one CST-3200 strip.

Step 2. Sewing the strips together
Once you have those two groups, piece the strips in order listed above. Place the fabrics RIGHT sides facing together and sew.

Press all seams open.

 
Step 3. Cutting the strips
Once you have these long strips pieced, grad a ruler with a 60° mark and cut strips that measure 1 7/8" in width. To do this, you will cut the left corner of the fabric at a 60° angle with the slant ascending from left to right. Once that cut is done, you can proceed to use the ruler to make parallel cuts to create 1 7/8" strips.

Cut six of these strips from Group A and 3 of these strips from Group B.

Step 4. Piecing together the strips
Make three groups of the new angled strips that contain two strips from Group A and one strip from group B.

You will sew those strips together in order A-B-A, making sure the seams match. In order to do this, you will grab the first and second strip and place them RIGHT sides facing together, positioning them so that the first place that the needle in the machine hits is the exact ¼" intersection of both fabrics.

 Once done sewing, you will add the third strip, repeating the previous step.

Press seams open.

When you are done, you should have a rhombus/diamond shape like this one below...

Step 5. Attaching the borders
For the borders, I have chosen a different color for each coaster. I will show how to construct the coaster that has the White Linen borders. For the other two coasters, simply use the trapezoid templates with the Cherry Lipgloss (PE-405) and Mirage Blue (PE-424).

Grab the diamond and all of the pieces of the White Linen (PE-408) fabric that you cut with the template.

First, you will attach the smaller template pieces on opposite sides of the rhombus: the top right and the bottom left sides.

To attach these, simply align them tip to tip (RIGHT sides facing together) and sew.

Press seams open.

For the longer template pieces, you will use the same technique used to piece the angled strips. Align both pieces (RIGHT sides facing together) so that they intersect at ¼" and put your needle down exactly at this point. Sew. When you are done, you should have a piece that looks like a hexagon!

Step 6. Quilting the top
Now you're ready to quilt! Grab the 11" square of White Linen and place the 11" square sheet of batting on top. Grab your newly constructed hexagon and put it on top of the batting, making sure it is centered.

Using a water soluble pen, draw lines parallel to the edge that are 1" apart from each other. Pin the three layers in place and quilt on top of the lines.

Now draw lines perpendicular to the first lines 1" apart from each other, pin, and quilt.

When you are finished, use a rotary cutter to trim off the excess batting and backing fabric. Damp your coaster to remove the guidelines Press.

Step 6. Binding your coasters
For this step, I did a double binding to create stability. Grab 1 3/4" x WOF strip of White Linen. Fold it in half, lengthwise, and start sewing it in the middle of one of the sides of the coaster on the back, aligning the strip's raw edges with the coaster's raw edges. Leave an approximated 3" tail.

Stop stitching ¼" before the next edge of the coaster. Clip the threads. Remove the coaster from under the machine presser foot. Fold the strip in a motion of 45° and upward, pressing with your fingers.

Hold this fold with your finger, bringing the strip down in line with the next edge, making a horizontal fold that aligns with the top edge of the coaster.

Start sewing at ¼" of the border, stitching all the layers. Do the same in the six corners of each coaster.

Stop stitching before you reach the last 2 to 3 inches. Cut the threads and remove the coaster from under the machine presser foot. Lay those loose ends of the binding flat along the coaster edge, folding the ends back on themselves where they meet. Press them together to form a crease. Using this crease as the stitching line, sew the two open ends of the binding with RIGHT sides facing together (you can help yourself marking with a pencil if the crease is difficult to see).

Trim the seam to ¼" and press open.

Complete the sewing.

Turn the binding to the front of the coaster, stitching all around 1/16" from the folded edge. This stitch will secure the binding and it will create a decorative top-stitch.

When you get to each corner, cross-fold the fabric, stop right at the intersection, pivot, and continue sewing.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial :) You can make a few to renew your outdoor patio decoration this coming spring, or to give them as gifts to your friends for their own decoration...

I had so much fun... now is your turn!

Much love, Pat

Be My Valentine Kitchen Towels - a Bernina project

Hi everyone! Finally the time has come to share my first BERNINA project: Be My Valentine Kitchen Towels!

To work for a sewing machine company is a dream come true for me! Not to mention that I'm working with one machine like no other: the new BERNINA 780. Should it be to obvious to put this into perspective and tell you that is like driving a Ferrari? Well, kind of this... lol!

It is so fun to do something that you love like sewing and then make it double fun when sewing in a machine that has so many features. I want to tell you everything about it and don't know where to start!

What's not to love about her... but one of the first things that caught my eye is the new dual feed system that will make us quilter our job much easier (more of that on another post). The other is the zillions of decorative stiches that are loaded inside. I was always a big fan of decorative stitches, because you can create textured fabric in a 1-2-3! You can maximize this having a 9 millimeter stitch width and the freedom of regulating the length. It's like you having many stitch choices coming from the original :) How cool is that!

For my first project, having Valentine’s Day around the corner, I decided to create a cute and fun project for your home for this sweet day that celebrates love and happiness. This duo kitchen towel project is perfect to enjoy a romantic dinner with your husband, giving them to your loving mother or a great friend as a gift! Working with appliqué let me explore different decorative stitches that the 780 had to offer.

This baby glides over the fabric when stitching dense and intricate stitches. It's like spreading butter over warm bread! Why this machine is so stable when it's sewing time? The all-metal, one-piece presser feet makes all the difference for me... Those who own a BERNINA know what I'm talking about. It was pure sewing pleasure :-)

Check out my tutorial on the WeAllSew blog where I give my tips and tricks on perfect appliquéing and how to create various looks with just rotating the stitching direction!

Enjoy and have fun creating :)

XO,
Pat

Using Decorative Stitches in Modern Quilting Pt. 3

Happy Monday my loves! First of all, I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all the wonderful comments you made about my Bernina dream coming true! I can truly say that you are all the absolute best and I'm happy I was able to share that special moment in my life with you.

Now, I know it's been a while since I've written. As you can see, I've started my own little color inspirations to add a bit of brightness to your day with love from me. So today, I'm going to continue my four part tutorial on how to use decorative stitches in modern quilting and hide your stitches by hand. We've already explored how to create an intriguing quilt block by using solids and explored the many decorative stitches out there that can give your quilt a different look.

So let's begin...
The Blanket Stitch on this block creates a visual interest that is both daring and modern. Its linear structure appeals to the absolute modernist some quilters have inside.

Taking the last block further, I chose to use the Double Blanket Stitch, but this time I placed it on a completely new palette of Pure Elements to demonstrate how simple alterations to an idea can create a whole different mood on a quilting block.

I call this our Variation Fancy X- Hemstitch. The combination of what is considered a traditional stitch plus the modernity of the colors chosen for this block make it the perfect match between classic and contemporary.

Last but not least, in order to add a sweeter touch for all the hopeless romantics out there, I decided to create a what-other-than pink block with the Blanket X-Cross Stitch. Did you notice how all the X’s symbolize kisses? The combination of the traditional straight stitch with the “x-kisses” carries the modern element while keeping the essence of this quilt close to the heart.

Now that all the blocks are done, I will demonstrate how to hide those loose threads for a crisp finish on your blocks:

For this, you will need a hand-sewing needle:

1. Grab the loose end and thread the hand-sewing needle with it.

2. Pass the threaded needle through the last whole that was created when making the decorative stitch with the machine needle, making sure NOT to go through the batting but rather assuring to hide the thread in between the fabric and the batting. This applies for both the front of the block and the backing.

3. Pull gently to obtain a smooth surface and voila! Trick accomplished.

4. Hopefully you loved this post and I was able to open a little window of love from you toward the sometimes forgotten buttons on your machine. Experimenting with combinations of different fabrics and different stitches can immerse you in a whole new world of quilting, where the rules and styles are created as you go. 

Enjoy and explore!

Love,
Pat