How are we all doing? I do hope you're all keeping well and finding some much needed calm and sanity in your sewing. When I've not been processing orders, I've been working on some new kits to help inspire my customers, many of who are going through their stash and UFOs very quickly indeed! I also have many new customers who are using this down time to finally get round to learning how to quilt, which is amazing!! My Beginner's Quilt Kits are ideal places to start. I now just have to get on with some new kits to help them develop theirs skills even further... hahah! Many customers are also finding solace in my EPP cushion kits, not only are they small do-able projects, but as I said in my last post, hand sewing really does help centre the mind and shut out the world for a little while, something we all need at the moment.
Once the EPP is complete on my Cushion and EPP kits, you then have to appliqué the panel onto background fabric, and I have often been asked how to deal with the 'dog ears' and how to get nice sharp points. I have now included this in my kit instructions, but I thought I would also share a little tutorial here. Once you have centred and pinned or basted your panel onto your background fabric, you will use a tiny slip stitch to sew it down. Knot the end of the thread and bring your needle up from behind the background fabric. Pick up a couple of strands of fabric from the very edge of your pieced panel, then insert your needle directly downwards back into the background fabric. Travel a tiny way along behind the background fabric and bring the needle up again to pick up the edge of the pieced unit again, and as before go straight downwards into the background. The smaller the stitches the more invisible they will be.
When you get to a point, you will have a flap of fabric in the way - these are called 'dog ears' and must be kept in tact - don't be tempted to snip them off, though if they are too large, you can trim them slightly. Fold the 'dog ear' to the left and out of the way and stitch up the folded point.
Add a couple of stitches to strengthen the point, then tuck the dog ear underneath the panel and continue to sew down the next side. As you can see below, this gives you a nice sharp point to your shape.
Talking of EPP cushions, I have just released a pair of new kits in Riley Blake's Heart & Soul prints - a Diamond Star and a Hexy, which would make a lovely matching pair on a sofa. Each kit includes all the fabric for the front, pre-cut paper templates, embroidery thread and full instructions. Click here to find out more.
I know many of us have been putting our sewing skills to good use and making much needed PPE supplies for our wonderful workers on the frontline of this terrible pandemic. From scrubs to masks, headbands to scrub bags, I have seen some wonderful fabrics being brought out of the stash for this amazing cause. I myself have been making scrub and shoe bags which will be going to my local hospital James Cook in Middlesbrough.
I really want to crochet some mask extenders too, it's been so long since I crocheted! I have also just heard from a friend that she has the filter fabric needed for face masks available on her online shop Sewing Sanctuary, so maybe that's the next project... Wishing you all good health, and hours of sewing happiness and calm. xx Linking up with Midweek Makers and Needle & Thread Thursday
The fourth and final part of my YouTube video series on curved English paper-piecing takes you through hand-quilting the flower ring using decorative big stitches. I love this method of quilting, the hand movement is so therapeutic and it really is quite quick!
You can see the latest instalment below, and of you have missed the first three parts covering the fussy-cutting, glue-basting, piecing and appliqué, you can visit the Sewmotion Channel here.
I have also now released a couple of cushion kits to accompany this series, the first is in the Red Rose Garibaldi fabric as featured in the film, and the second is from Liberty of London's Cottage Garden collection - I just couldn't resist fussy-cutting those cute little houses!
I am aware that as this glue-basting technique becomes more popular, it's highly likely that customers may already own a glue pen, and also have their favourite brand of thread they like to use, so I have decided not to include these in the new kits, which takes the price down to £14.00 and also gives the customer the choice. So each of the kits include the fabrics you need to make the flower, plus binding strips, a fat quarter of background fabric, a square of template plastic, templates to cut out and full instructions. What's more, if you subscribe to my Newsletter, you can get 10% off these new kits for the following week - sign up for free here. With a few big quilt shows coming up, I'm starting to develop some smaller kits that are quicker for me to make up as well as more affordable for the customer wanting to dabble in curved EPP, the first of which is this cute mug rug - this is a my first mug rug, and I loved making it!! I think this may be the first of many :)
After a lovely long Easter weekend that included our 14th wedding anniversary, I seem to have hit the ground running with so much to get done! As today is the first Thursday of the month, it must be Pre-Cut Party Time! For the uninitiated, my Pre-Cut Party involves my Newsletter subscribers receiving a free pattern every month, based on the treasured quilting pre-cut.
This month I have returned to a fave, the 2.5" fabric strip, otherwise known as the jelly roll. I actually came across an old quilt top I made years ago and remember having so much trouble with working out the layout, though I really don't know why, the blocks are just offset in vertical rows... I have a feeling I designed the original going horizontally - haha! The things you learn! This bright quilt reminds me of the summer (which seems so far off looking at my rain-drenched window) and is made in Michael Miller's Flora Pop fabrics together with a lovely white-on-white print. If you would like this free pattern, and many more in the future you can subscribe here. You will also hear about latest products and subscriber-only offers. I decided to have this quilt longarm quilted again by the wonderful North Star Quilting who are only up the road in Hartlepool, so if you're local to the northeast why not check out their website, they currently have 10% off edge-to-edge quilting!
Alongside this pattern, I also have the kit in Flora Pop in which I have kindly cut all the 2.5" strips for you so you can get sewing straight away! The kit also includes borders, binding, thread and full instructions. What's more if you subscribe to my Newsletter, you can get 20% off the kit. This week also sees the third instalment of my video tutorial series on how to make this pretty curved English paper-pieced cushion. In Part Three I show you how to appliqué the flower ring onto the background fabric.
Well, it's the Thursday before the Easter weekend and the sun is shining... fingers crossed it will continue to do so, I really fancy getting out into the countryside this weekend. That said, this is England, and no doubt the rain will appear at some point, which means another weekend of staying indoors with some sewing on the go... shame... ;) I am working on so many EPP projects at the moment, including a long list of magazine commissions which I can't show off quite yet. However, I can share the second instalment of my series of YouTube videos on curved English paper-piecing and how to make this beautiful cushion.
Part 2 shows you how to hand-piece your shapes together using a flat back stitch, before gently removing the papers. If you missed Part 1 covering fussy-cutting and blue-basting, click here to see last week's post.
