Simple Zipper Tutorial...

True story. I am a zipper-phobic designer.

That's why you don't see zippers in an Elefantz design. 

However, during my season as a teacher's aide in the Home Ec Dept of a boarding school (2009-11) I watched the Home Ec teacher, Jodie, use a very simple technique for inserting zippers across the bottom of bean bags.

When I was near the finish of my new cushion design this week I thought I might just jump in and use Jodie's zipper insertion method for the back closure, instead of my usual button approach. 

And then I thought, "why not share it with my sweet readers too?". 

So here it is...no measurements, though, as you can use this method on any size cushion.

For the back of my cushion I have two rectangles of fabric the same size. 

I drew a 3/4" pencilled seam line along the width edge of one piece, then lay it right-side down onto the other piece of fabric....

Sew the two pieces of fabric together along that line. 

Press the seam open.

Fold both sides of the seam under by half, and press flat with a hot iron (Jodie didn't do this step as she'd used a serger/overlocker along the edge to prevent fraying, but I think this is a neater finish)...

Pin your zipper face down along the seam, lining up the seam line with the middle of the zipper...

Sew down both sides of the zipper...

Turn the fabric over and the zipper should be hidden neatly under the seam...

Using a seam ripper remove the stitching from the seam...

Voila! A very neatly finished cushion back with the zipper sitting smartly in place...

I can't show you the new cushion design yet as I have not finished writing my ezine, and it's one of the patterns inside this next issue, but you can have a look at the zippered back...

Well, I suppose I can show a tiny peek of the front; just a tiny one...

The big reveal of all three Elefantz e-zine projects will be in a few days. l think hope you'll love them.

In the meantime, will you be playing with zippers?

hugs

Tutorial : bound diary/journal cover...

Today I finished the final project for the November issue of Elefantz Home e-zine. YIPPEE!! 

I celebrated with a Pumpkin Spice Frappe, and it was delicious!

(recipe HERE if you're interested in making one yourself)

As I was tidying up the studio mess left after one long month of stitching for the e-zine, I realised it was time to change the sharps in my sewing tools. I try to do this after every magazine marathon, and it occurred to me that perhaps you might need a reminder too?

How long since you changed the blades on your rotary cutters, the needle in your machine, or your hand stitching needle?

If it's been a while, why not take a break right now and set things right. Your sewing will be a breeze with new sharps!

You could make this simple diary cover as your first project to test them out...

There are a lot of sweet 'girly' projects in the next ezine, but I've also included a very simple stitchery that can be used on a lot of different things for 2014.

I call it my 'useful' stitchery because just by changing the year inside the heart you could use this for decades!

I am busy planning for Elefantz in 2014, and part of that planning is preparing a daily 'to-do' diary that sits by my laptop. I decided to use my 2014  'useful' stitchery on the cover...

...and while the idea was brewing, I thought it would be fun to do a tutorial for my favourite bound diary cover so you can make one (or a dozen!) yourself.

The stores are brimming with 2014 diaries at the moment, so start with purchasing one because you'll need to measure it's size before you cut your fabric.

(or use this cover for a journal you have instead) 

Once you have your diary, measure around it...

 (I used my current 2013 diary for this tutorial, as it is the same size as my new one)

...and measure down the front as well.

Write the measurements down, and add 3/4" to both. 

My diary measured 8 1/4" x 12 1/4" so my new measurements became 9" x 13".

At this stage you can cut a piece of fabric to that size, or piece one. I chose to piece strips from some bright, cheery fabrics.

Fuse a piece of thin Pellon to the back, and then another piece of fabric behind it - just like a tiny quilt!

Machine or hand quilt them together...

If you have a little stitchery you want to put on the front, now is the time to do so.

I trimmed mine with pinking shears, and positioned it slightly on an angle...

Then I machine stitched it to the cover, just inside the pinked edges. 

I left a length of thread without trimming for sewing this button on later.

The next step is to make your side flaps. 

Cut two pieces of fabric as high as your front cover, and 7" wide. For my flaps I cut two pieces 9" x 7".

Fold them in half down their length and press.

 Place one at each end of the inside of your diary cover, raw edges sitting atop the raw side edges of the cover..

 Sew around the three raw edged sides of both flaps with a scant 1/8th inch seam to secure the flaps to the inside of the cover.

If you have some sweet cotton lace, sew a strip down the right front edge of the cover.

Make a length of quilt binding (or use some leftover binding from a previous project!).

I cut two, 2 1/4" wide strips from the full width of some aqua fabric for my binding...

NOTE: If you have never made binding before, be assured it is easy. Go HERE to my step by step tutorial for help.

Once you have attached the binding, press it away from the cover...

...and turn it over to the back, mitring your corners.

Slip stitch the binding to the inside of the cover in a thread that matches the fabric you used as your binding.

Sew the button in place on the front if you're using one, and place your diary inside!

 This project would be great for fabric scraps, or orphan quilt blocks!

Imagine all the Christmas gifts you could make...

hugs

Jenny

xx

About fussy cutting and neat joins on your squares...

One of the projects in the October 4th 'Bumper Christmas Issue' of Elefantz Home e-zine is the "Starlight" table runner, and throughout the applique and piecing of this pattern, I have been fussy cutting.

'Fussy cutting', for those who haven't heard the term before, is to use a specific pattern or motif on a piece of fabric as a feature of your project.

This is the main fabric I've used. It has a lot of interesting patterns that I can utilise to bring balance to the appliques, blocks and border...

It's featured in the tree base, and also in the small star centres...

...but I especially loved using the larger geometric patterns in eight of the sixteen 2.5" blocks that make up the centre section of the table runner, as well as two side panels bordering those squares.

When I began stitching and quilting in 2005, I didn't have internet at the time. I relied on magazines for patterns, and had to fumble through a lot of basic techniques with no-one to teach me 'how'. That's why when I have time now, I enjoy sharing tutorials here on my blog - just in case someone needs help to learn a few basics in their quilting and stitching journey too.

So today as I was piecing this table runner I thought I'd mention the fussy cutting, and then show you a fairly easy way to get nice joins when sewing squares together.

The centre section of this runner is a 16-patch block. That means it is 4 squares x 4 squares - all of equal size. To get that checkerboard look, I cut eight cream tonal blocks, and eight 'fussy-cut' blocks.

Sew one fussy-cut block to one cream block eight times, to give you eight sets of two.

Press the seams on all eight sets in the same direction...

Join two sets together, and now you have four strips of four blocks. See how all the seams face the same direction? That's important for the next step...

Switch two rows around, and you have the checkerboard layout. Now if you look at the back, one row has seams facing one way, and the next row has seams facing opposite. 

This is to reduce bulk in those corners when you sew all four rows together - it makes such a difference to the finished project, as well as making the machine piecing smooth, and not frustrating, work.

 Sew two rows together first.

As you lay one row on top of the other, peel the top row back a little and  make sure all the seams between the squares on the bottom row line up with the top row before you sew them together. 

(It looks like the one on the right doesn't match up but it's the angle of the camera)

Pin, press, check once more, and then sew...

Sew all four rows together and you've made a 16-patch block!

The runner top is completed now, and I've also finished the machine quilting. All that's left is the binding to attach...

 I think I might watch an episode of Father Brown Mysteries whilst I do that. Do you have a favourite tv series you like to watch while you stitch? 

Oh, in case you wanted to know the name of the fabrics I've used, here they are...

 

hugs

Jenny

xx

Tutorial - blanket stitch applique...

Being a visual learner I am better able to understand a sewing technique if I can see it being done, rather than 'explained' in a written pattern. This is why I have so many step-by-step photos in my Elefantz HOME e-zine.

I teach the way I learn.

For those who have asked me how to prepare a block for blanket stitch applique, this is for you!

I've chosen to take you through the preparation for one of the larger blocks from "Shabby Roses Home".

When you print up your pattern pages, you'll see that I have a set of 'reverse' templates. 

Let's look at the larger pieces.

There is a roof and house.

Look closely and you can see that the two blank shapes are a mirror image of the house block design...

NOTE: I use Vliesofix for all my applique. It is a fusible bonding paper, and not as thick as some of the other brands so it doesn't have as much glue. It's much improved from years ago and if you suffer from carpal tunnel or arthritis this brand will not give as much resistance to your fingers/hands when stitching through the applique layers. My hands suffered from the other brands I've tried, so I stick with Vliesofix all the time now.

There are two sides to all fusible bonding papers - a rough side and a smooth side. Trace the reverse shapes onto the smooth side of the bonding paper with a pencil. Keep 1/2" space between all your shapes, and cut them out leaving a 1/4" 'edge' around each piece...

Choose what fabrics you're using for each applique section. I have chosen the aqua pindot as my main house section, so I lay the rough side of the traced house shape down on the back of a piece of the fabric and I fuse them together with a warm dry iron. This only takes a few seconds...

Repeat this with all your applique shapes on their chosen fabrics.

To cut out your shape, you need to do two things for accuracy and ease.

In this main house section there are long straight edges, and small curved sections.

To cut out those little 'in-and-out-and-round-a-bout' curvy parts, use a small pair of sharp embroidery scissors...

When  you have long straight lines to cut from your shape, use a large pair of scissors...

Once you've cut out all your reverse applique shapes, it's time to position them on your block.

With the house blocks for Shabby Roses Home I have sewn two different fabrics together for the background...

NOTE: The two pieces are 4" larger than I need for the finished block, but I'll explain why later.

Peel all the bonding paper from the back of your applique shapes and discard.

For large applique pieces like we're using in this block you need only look at the design on the pattern sheet for your placement. Sit the house body along the top of the green/white border line and fuse in place with a warm dry iron. 

Add the roof and the chimney - if you're unsure of the exact placement just lay the block on top of the pattern sheet for help...

Again, using the pattern sheet (or the finished block photo in the pattern) for help with placement,  fuse the door and windows in place...

 

Now we'll lay the block over the pattern sheet and trace the roses, path lines, and smoke from the chimney...

The final step of preparation is to fuse a 'same sized' square of stitchery stabiliser to the back of the block.

I use Weaveline when I have applique on a block (and sometimes Whisperweft if it's only stitchery)...

It's thinner than the fabric, but a tighter weave and prevents the fabric from stretching as you stitch.

Just iron the Weaveline behind the block on a warm dry setting. Press both the front of the block and the back of the block as sometimes air bubbles can occur between the block and Weaveline...

 Now remember I said that I cut my block background fabrics a bit larger than I need?

That's because once I have the stitchery stabiliser fused to the back of the block I use pinking shears to cut around all four sides until the block measures about 10 inches square.

The 'pinked' edges prevent any fraying of fabric while I applique and embroider.

When I complete all the stitchery and applique on my block it will be trimmed to 7.5 inches, ready to be pieced into the quilt.

I hope this has helped you to confidently begin a blanket-stitch applique block if you're new to this type of stitching!

Winner!!

Congratulations to TAMMY who won my Elefantz Starter kit!

hugs

Jenny

xx