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Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Flannel Shirt Pillow


Dad's flannel shirt



     I have had this flannel shirt since my dad died 15 years ago.  I wore it a few times but it is really too big.  I couldn't just throw it away so it hung in my sewing room for years.


Shirt back with Rowley's pillow template


     We had some water damage in our basement this past fall from the upstairs.  All the pillows and quilts on the couches got wet.  I was able to wash and dry all them them except one.  It was a pillow made from a sweater that someone had given me.  The sweater was ruined but the form was perfectly good.

Back all cut


    That is when I decided that the shirt would make a nice pillow.  After taking apart the shirt, I used my pillow template from Rowley to cut the back first.  I then cut two lining pieces and used one as the template to cut the front since it was hard to lay the plastic template on the shirt with the buttons and pockets.

Sewing the front closed


     On the old pillow the person had used the buttons to close around the form.  I believe there was too much stress on the buttons because they kept opening up.  I sewed the front opening closed and then put in a zipper in the back to insert the form.

Lining piece used as pattern for cutting the front


     I pinned my lining to the wrong side of the shirt front, trying to match the plaid on the sides to the back piece.  I then cut out the front.  I should have paid more attention to where I was cutting as I cut right through a button.  OOPS.  Better than hitting it with the serger knife I guess.  I serged the lining to the front and back pieces.  I made covered cord with some black bias that I had from a previous project.  I sewed the cord to the front piece and then sewed the two pieces together.  Pressed and turned right side out and now I have a nice comfy pillow that is a wonderful reminder of my dad.


Finished pillow


      I wish I could have placed the pockets lower but because of the armholes and collar I couldn't cut it any higher.  Still a fun pillow that looks great in my basement.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Truck Blanket

Truck blanket for Cltn

     I made a quick blanket for my grandson.  After his sister was born I thought he needed a gift too.  I had flannel left from his pajama bottoms and still lots of red knit in my stash.

Corner showing decorative stitching


     I had bought the truck appliqué designs from Embroidery Library.  I had put the dump truck on his pajamas and now used the other designs for his blanket.

Crane


     I determined the size by how much flannel I had left.  I cut both pieces the same size but did not round the corners right away.  After printing two of each of the die line patterns I cut out the shapes from the paper.  I had to print two of each because of the overlapping pieces.

Bulldozer


     I sprayed 202, a temporary adhesive for paper patterns, on the back of the pattern piece.  Then I placed in on the top of the felt and cut out the appliqué pieces.  I then used 505, another temporary adhesive, on the back of the felt to put in onto the knit fabric after stitching out the placement line.

Steamroller, used Ultrasuede for the rollers


     After doing all the embroideries I decided to add his name.  I used the Crafty Cut letters that I used on the flag for the first letter of his name and then found a similar font in my embroidery software and added the rest of his name.

   
Center of blanket



     After removing all the stabilizer I placed right sides of the fabric together and then rounded the corners.  Pinned it all together, stitched it with a 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a 4-5 inch opening, and turned it right side out and pressed the edges.


Back and front



    I used a decorative stitch to stitch all the way around and close up the opening.  A fun project for my grandson.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Indian Princess Flag


Orange with brown to match their vests


     I have been making vests for local Indian Princess group.  Recently they changed their group name and needed a new flag.  I was asked to incorporate the butterfly they were already using on their vests and some indian design.  I went to my favorite site, Embroidery Library to look for designs.

Letters

Butterfly design

Teepee design


     This is what I found, an appliqué alphabet, an appliqué butterfly and a quilting design teepee.  I wanted to keep the stitch count down because I was going to be working on rip-stop nylon.  After buying the designs, I printed out templates of the letters, butterfly and teepee to play with placement on the flag.

Templates


     I cut them out and then started laying them out on the fabric.  I did not cut the fabric, just traced the size of flag they requested.  That gave me more fabric at the edges to make for easier hooping.

Placement on flag

Lining up with the grid


     I used the grid on my cutting table to help me line up the letters evenly and place the teepee design in each of the four corners.


Teepee design placement


     I cut painter's tape into 1/4" strips and used it to mark my placement.  Then I drew a small mark with chalk so I remembered which of the four corners was the center of the designs.

Almost done


     I used the templates to cut out the felt for the appliqués.  I hooped the fabric and used some tearaway stabilizer underneath.  I had some problems with my brown thread but otherwise everything went well.  Tearing away the stabilizer from behind the teepee design required a bit of time and effort.  After I did the embroidery I cut the flag to size.  I then cut a second piece and placed right sides together.  I sewed around the top, right side and bottom and then turned and topstitched.  On the left side I placed a band of felt over the raw edges and then topstitched it in place.  This gave me a sturdy area to insert the grommets.  I placed the grommets and I was all done.  It was a fun project.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Baby Gifts

Bear blankie from Embroidery Garden


     Last week our granddaughter was born.  I had been working on some things for our newest grandchild to wear home from the hospital.  At the time we didn't know if it was going to be a boy or a girl so I made generic type items.

Sleep sack with duckie appliqué

Blanket with giraffe appliqué

Bib with lamb appliqué

Hat from MaCall's pattern


     I made a sleeper without feet because the last time I made one for our grandson it was too big so I thought this would be a better choice.  I also made a hat, bib and a warm blanket.  The blanket is knit fabric on one side and fleece on the other side.  It has a different appliqué on each corner.

Bear applique

Bunny applique

Duck applique 

Giraffe applique 

Lamb applique


Elephant applique



    The designs are fromA baby Animal Pack (appliqué) from Embroidery Library.  I used scraps of fabric to create the appliqués.  They really are cute.

Receiving blanket


     After our granddaughter was born I made a bear blankie from Embroidery Garden.  I had started some of it before she was born and then added the pink binding to the blanket piece and some ribbon roses from my stash.  A little girl named Margaret Rose needs some roses on her things.  I also made a receiving blanket with all her info.  Before she was born I had bought fabric for both a boy and a girl blanket and had it all pre-washed just waiting for the outcome.  As a result I had these presents ready to go when we visited them at home on Sunday just a few days after her birth.

Book used for sleep sack

Pattern used for hat and bib


     I used these patterns for her going home outfit.  First time I have used the Sewing for Baby book since I got it years ago.