Plume Jelly Roll Quilt - a tutorial

I'm pretty sure this has been done but anyway, here's my take on it. I used one Moda jelly roll. This one happens to be Plume, by Tula Pink. I needed extra fabric for the backing and binding but if you use cross-grain binding, you could easily use some of the extra strips for that. I like bias binding so I used some fabric from my stash. So anyway, here goes. All seams are a scant 1/4" and you should press seams as you go. When possible, nest seams at intersections. Oh, and please excuse the awful pictures. I took most of these in our old house which had horrible lighting and some were taken with my phone (what was I thinking?).




First separate your strips. I used the floral ones for the middles, but there weren't quite enough so I used some of my border strips for the missing middles. Make sure there are at least twenty-five border strips.

 The ones on the right are extras that I didn't use on the front. They can be used as part of the backing (more on that later) or for binding.




Now take the strips for the borders. The first thing I always do is cut the selvages from the ends of the strips. Don't cut too much! Then, from each one, cut two 10.5" pieces and two 6.5" pieces. These will make up the border for one block.  This will leave enough left for one "middle" for later. Repeat with twenty-four more border strips for a total of twenty-five sets. Set aside all of the extra pieces. In the picture below I already cut the extra piece.



Next you need to cut seventy-five 6.5" strips for the middles. I was able to get six from each "middle" jelly roll strip. I had nine of those so I had to cut an additional twenty-one 6.5" strips. Use the extra pieces from the border strips for this.



Separate the middles into sets of three. I put the darker/more solid strips in the center. You should have twenty-five sets.



Sew each set of three middles together as shown and press the seams.



Take your shorter border strips and sew them to the ends of the middle units as shown.



Then take the longer border strips and sew them to the sides as shown. One block done! Repeat until you have completed twenty-five blocks.



Next lay out your blocks. I turned every other block so that the middles go in alternating directions. See those two blocks on the left side of the bottom row? I turned those before I sewed the blocks together. 



Sew the blocks into rows, and then sew the rows together. Your quilt top is done! If you want to, you can add a border here with some matching or contrasting fabric. I didn't want a border.

Press the quilt top well using lots of starch. I use Magic Sizing. Prepare your quilt back. I chose to make the extra pieces into a larger block by sewing them bricklayer style and then trimming. Then I sewed the backing fabric (which I got ultra-cheap at Connecting Threads in the clearance section) around the block. Scroll down for pics of the back. Press your quilt back with lots of starch too.

Sandwich and baste your quilt. I used Elmer's School Glue to baste mine. I put the batting down and smoothed it out. Then laid the backing on top, folded back about 10" at a time, and drizzled the glue in a thin zig zag pattern. Smooth down the backing fabric and press to dry the glue quickly. Repeat all the way across the back. Then I flipped the whole works over and did the same for the quilt top. You want to use a very thin drizzle of glue and remember that it doesn't need to be a solid sheet of glue. My machine has never had a problem with sewing through glue basting but your mileage may vary.

Quilt as desired, then bind your quilt. Don't forget to add a label! I chose to do this corner thing with the label but I don't like the "pocket" effect it gives so I'm going to hand sew the free edge down. I made the label on my embroidery machine.



and here's the finished quilt. Pretty!



and the back, including the block made from the scraps. Yes, it went on a little crooked. Oops.




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Fabric covered photo boxes - a tutorial

Here's a quick and easy tutorial to cover standard sized photo boxes with fabric. I used fat quarters from Stampin' Up for these, which are very generously sized fat quarters. I don't even think they can legally be called a fat quarter. With regular ones be sure they will fit over the photo box. You should be able to cover one box bottom with a single standard sized unwashed fat quarter. If it's been washed, it may have shrunk so be sure to check the fit. You'll also need a fat quarter for the top. I was able to do two tops per fat quarter but again, these Stampin' Up ones are much bigger than normal.

Mod Podge is also necessary for gluing on the fabric, along with an applicator (I used a foam brush).

Before you start, remove any hardware from the box. Mine had label holders that I had to pry off.

Step 1: measure your fabric if necessary. Make sure it will go around the box and overlap by about an inch on all 4 sides. Same with the top. Cut off any excess. In this picture I'm measuring only the length of the fabric. Then I checked the width.


Step 2: brush glue onto the bottom of the photo box and place it on the center of the fabric.


Step 3: use a ruler as shown to make a mark about 3/4" outside the edges of the box. Mark it at the edge of the fabric. Repeat for all 4 corners. (for the lid, make the mark at about 1/2")


Step 4: draw a line from the corner of the box to the mark.


Step 5: cut on the drawn line, and then cut across, leaving a flap that is about 1" (see the dark lines shown on the picture below)


after the cuts (this photo is flipped):


Step 6: Brush glue onto the long sides of the box (one at a time) and fold up the sides. Be sure to apply glue wherever the fabric will lay, including inside the box. Fold the fabric to the inside of the box and glue it down, keeping the corners as smooth as possible.


Step 7: On the end flaps, apply a little bit of glue to the sides and fold them like this:


Step 8: apply glue to the box ends and fold up the fabric ends. Be sure to glue inside the box and fold over the excess fabric.


Here is the finished box:


Make the lid the same way but be sure to measure 1/2" in step 3 instead of 3/4". Also, be sure the corners are as smooth as possible on the inside so the lid will fit on the box.


finished lid:


And here is the finished box, complete with tight-fitting lid.




hint: I hate washing dried mod podge off my hands, so I wear disposable rubber gloves when doing the gluing part. Also, be sure to let the glue dry thoroughly before putting the lid on the box. Otherwise you may never get it back off.

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Quick and easy headband tutorial

This is the easiest headband ever, both to make and to use. No ties to worry about and they are comfy. I needed to make one for my daughter to use for dance so I thought I'd take pictures of the process and share how I did it. There are tutorials all over the web for making these so they might differ from what I do. I made this for my 14 year old daughter who has pretty much an adult size head and she doesn't like tight headbands. You can adjust the length of the elastic for smaller heads or for a snugger fit. The diameter of it is 21" unstretched. Measure your head or your child's head and adjust accordingly.

You will need some fabric (you can make 2 headbands from a fat quarter) and some 3/4" wide elastic (no more than 8.5" is needed).

All seam allowances are 1/4".

First cut 2 pieces of fabric:
One will be 6" wide by 14.5" long - the headband part
The other will be 2.5" wide by 11.5" long - the stretchy part


Fold each piece with right sides together so the long ends match up and sew along the long edge. You'll end up with this:


Next you'll need to turn both of them right side out. The big one is easy-you can do that with just your hands. The small one is a little trickier. One way is to put a safety pin on one end like so:

and then push the safety pin through the tube, pulling it right side out.

I'm lazier so I prefer to use this method-a hemostat. I bought this at flea market for a dollar and it's worth 10 times that much. Maybe 20.


Just push the hemostat skinny end through the tube, catch the end of the tube in the pinchers like so:


And carefully pull it through to turn it right side out:


Use your fingers to adjust the tubes so the seam is in the center of one side like this, and press flat with an iron. I press the seam to one side. I can't even imagine trying to press it open, especially on the skinny tube.


Cut a piece of 3/4" elastic. I use a measurement of 7" finished so I add 1/2" for both seam allowances plus an extra inch for holding onto. So I cut it 8.5". Then I mark the elastic 1/2" away from each end (the reason is clear in the next step). Put a safety pin in one end to thread it through the tube.


Thread it through the skinny tube. When you get to the point where the marked line on the opposite end from the safety pin is lined up with the end where you started threading, stop and pin it. Make sure the line matches up with the raw edge like this and put a pin in to hold it:


Finish threading the elastic through. Pull it so that the other line matches up with the other raw edge like so, and pin it:


Sew along each end, just inside the raw edge. I sew about 1/8" in. You don't have to be exact here-mainly we're just sewing to secure it for now.


Take this piece and put it in the center of the bigger tube, with right (non seamed) sides together like this:


Then you'll fold the edges over. Here is the first one-folded over and pinned. Normally I don't pin until both edges are folded over but I wanted to make sure it was easy to understand:


And the 2nd edge. This will enclose the stretchy part inside the headband part:


Stitch across the end with a 1/4" seam allowance. This is THICK. You're sewing through elastic plus eight layers of fabric. I use a longer seam length. I also use a bigger needle (I use a 14 but a 16 would be good too) and stitch across like so:


I sew over it three times. Once forward, once in reverse, and again forward. It looks like this after it's sewn.


Do the same on the other end. It's a little trickier because you have more headband length than you do stretchy length but it's not hard. Remember to sew over the seam a few times.


At this point you can trim off that extra elastic that's hanging out. Turn the ends right side out (just pull the stretchy and headband parts in opposite directions) and you're done!


And flattened out:

Cupcake Pincushion (tutorial)

This is the first time I've tried to do a tutorial so I apologize if it's too long, too short, too detailed, too vague, etc. Let me know if it's any of the above so I can try to improve the next time.

So anyway I wanted a cupcake pincushion but I couldn't find a free pattern. I have so many magazines and patterns so I vowed to quit buying more (for now) but none of them had a cupcake and that's what I wanted. So I decided to wing it and make one. Here is the finished pincushion:


It does look more like a cupcake and less like a ball in real life. But if I did it again I'd make the sides more up-and-down rather than slanted like a regular cupcake liner. But when I showed it to my kids, they immediately recognized it as a fake cupcake.

OK let's get started. First I took a plain cupcake liner and cut it into pieces. I traced it onto some paper to make a pattern-I did not flatten the side of the liner because it would have been too big. After I traced it I used my handy dandy 1/4" seam allowance adder thing to add seam allowances.



Then I made a top circle using my curvy cutter. I kinda guessed and cut it at 4-1/4". It turned out that it fit perfectly but if it hadn't I would have gathered it a little to fit.


I pinned all 3 pieces to the fabrics I wanted to use and cut them out.



Now the sewing begins. Sew everything with right sides together and with a 1/4" seam allowance. Pin and sew the ends of the strip, leaving an opening to turn and stuff it later. I forgot so I had to pick out the stitches.


Then make little cuts all the way around the bottom edge, like so:

This makes it easier to fit it to the round bottom.

Use pins to divide the bottom circle and the cupcake side into quarters. Match up the pins and pin and sew the bottom.




This is how it looks after the bottom is sewn to the side:


Again, use pins to divide the top circle and the side into quarters. Match up the pins and pin and sew the top.



Turn the cupcake right side out.

Then I cut a circle the same size as the bottom from cardboard to keep the cupcake flat and sturdy on the bottom. Insert this into the opening (you may have to roll it a little) and work it down to the bottom.


Stuff the cupcake firmly. While stuffing, keep maneuvering the cardboard circle back to the bottom because it'll try to move around in there. After it's firmly stuffed, hand stitch the opening shut.


Then I took some pink rick rack and hand stitched it around to hide the seam. Turn the ends of the rick rack under and put that side to the back because it's not super pretty. Or maybe put something over it. I'll just choose to not look at that spot.


For the flower I made a small yoyo using my clover yo yo maker. For the leaf I took a Stampin' Up felt flower and cut it apart. I sewed the leaf to the bottom of the flower and a pink button to the middle of the yoyo.


Then just sew the flower to the top of the cupcake. I chose to put it in the center but it would be cute offset to one side too. Or covering those unpretty rick rack ends.


And there it is, complete with pins.