Oh, Baby Wet Bag

I was on such a roll finishing up the Baby Preppy the Whale quilt for my friend I decided I should also make her a little bonus gift.  I went browsing in a high end baby boutique to get ideas and spied a cute little Wet Bag with a hefty price tag.  Obviously, I can make my own;-)  This is sized to hold wipes, a diaper, and a spare outfit and has a waterproof lining for keeping those accidents contained.  It's perfect for those times when you want to be prepared but don't want to drag your entire diaper bag around and so much classier than Ziplocks!

This bag is loosely based on the technique used in the Gathered Clutch Tutorial by Noodlehead.  I've included my own measurements and some additional directions so you can adapt it to make your own.

Cut the following:
(2) 8 1/2" x 11" laminated cotton or oilcloth for lining

(2) 8 1/2" x 11" quilting cotton for exterior (whales)

(1) 8 1/2" x 9" quilting cotton for exterior pocket (whales)
(1) 8 1/2" x 10" quilting cotton for pocket lining (orange)
(2) 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" quilting cotton for zipper ends (orange)
(1) 9" zipper

Seam allowance 1/2"

Make your pocket by aligning the exterior pocket and pocket lining along one 8 1/2" side, right sides together.  Stitch along the edge with 1/2" seam allowance.

Press seam towards the lining and fold over wrong sides together matching bottom raw edges.  Topstitch along the top edge of the pocket.

Follow the Gathered Clutch instructions for making the end tabs for your zipper and installing the zipper.  STOP before sewing all around the edge!!!

Add your pocket to the front of the pouch aligning the bottom raw edges with the exterior right sides together.  Pin or baste your pocket in place.  Be sure to OPEN your zipper before continuing!

Now sew all around the edge leaving a small hole in the side of the lining for turning.  Turn your bag right side and stitch the hole closed.  Remember NOT to iron your laminated cotton.  

While I was at it I whipped up some coordinating burp clothes.  These OsoCozy diapers are much nicer than the Gerber cloth diapers and are perfect for gifting.  

Can't wait to meet the new kid;-)


Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Off to the Races

It's the eternal question, do I make things so I can entertain or do I entertain so I can show off the things I've made?  Derby Day is one of my all time favorite celebrations...  of course I say that about all my parties;-)  I blame Pinterest, as soon as I saw these adorable bow napkins I was off and running to my stash for some seersucker to make these bow tie napkin rings.

Here's a quick tutorial in case you want to make your own...

Cut the following:

(1) 6 1/2" x 8 1/2" for bow

(1)  2" x 15" for strap
(1) 2" x 4" for cinch

(1) 10" strip of 3/8" elastic

Seam allowance 1/4"

Fold all 3 pieces in half, right sides together, and stitch down the long side.

Roll the seam to the middle of each piece and press open.

Turn the strap and cinch pieces right sides out keeping the seam centered.

Fold the bow in half matching the raw edges and sew together.  Roll the seam to the center and press open.  Turn the bow right sides out keeping the seam centered.

Use a safety pin to feed the length of elastic through the strap.  Stitch down each side to secure the ends leaving about 1/2" of elastic on each side.

Trim the elastic close to the stitching line.  Overlap the edges of the strap without twisting and stitch together to form a loop.

Stack cinch, bow and strap matching up seam lines.

Tuck ends inside one end of cinch and wrap it tightly around bow and strap.  Pin in place then hand stitch closed.  Catch the strap with a few stitches to prevent twisting.

Make a whole bunch so all your guests can be fancy.

Here's to another great day at the races.  Way to go American Pharoah!

Stadium Seating

On any given Sunday in the fall you'll find me in the football stands cheering, usually while working on something quilty:-)  Given that those bleacher seats can be cold and hard (and occasionally wet) I decided we needed something warm and soft to sit on.  The result, my stadium seating blanket.

I wanted the bottom to be water-resistant so I started with this awesome Joel Dewberry laminated cotton that I picked up at Marden's last summer.  For the top I went with a coordinating felted wool.  In between I added 2 layers of Quilter's Dream wool batting (a single batting folded in half) for cushioning.  I made this in the same way I described for my Anthropologie Hack Chalkbaord Table Runner but here are a few more tips if you want to make one for yourself.  If you've never made a mitered edge start by reading my Self Binding Napkin tutorial for complete instructions on this technique

Supplies Needed:

1 yard 60" wide laminated cotton

1/2 yard felted wool (wool usually comes 50" wide)

1 Craft Sized (36" x 46") wool batting

I started by quilting the felted wool and wool batting together using simple straight lines.  It's hard to quilt through all that wool but as long as you pin heavily and roll your edges up tightly it will work.  Also, I used a coordinating thread and masking tape as a guide so it didn't have to be perfect.  It's easier to quilt your wool sandwich and then trim it down to the size you want.  In this case 15" x 49".  I also recommend basting around the edges 1/4" from the edge to make it easier to sew it to the laminate.

Cut a piece of laminate 6" x 30" for the strap.  Fold the strap in half lengthwise wrong sides together and sew along one short side and along the long raw edge.  Turn the strap right side out and sew it to the center of one of the short sides of your wool sandwich.  When sewing with laminate it's helpful to use clover clips rather than pins which will leave permanent holes.  Also, you should increase your stitch length  to 3.0 and use a denim needle.

Cut the laminate 22" x 56".  Mark the center point of each side of your wool sandwich and your laminated cotton.  Start with one long side and match the center points, wrong sides together.  Stitch the length of the wool sandwich using a 1/2" seam allowance.  Repeat on the remaining 3 sides starting and stopping where you meet a seam allowance.  Make sure your strap is tucked inside and leave a small hole on one of the long sides for turning.  Miter the corners by drawing a line from the folded edge to the sewn seamline.  Stitch along this line and trim to 1/2" on all 4 corners.  

Turn your blanket right side out through the hole.  Push out your perfectly mitred corners with a chopstick.  I used a  whip stitch to sew the hole closed by hand rather than topstitching as I would normally because I didn't want holes in my laminate to let water through.

The finished blanket is 17" x 50", plenty of room for two adults, and rolls up easily for storage.

It's hard to believe that after 7 years this is Audrey's last year of cheering for our local Pop Warner league.  Never fear, I expect this will still get plenty of use... she's planning on trying out for the high school cheer team next year:-)  Go A-B!!!

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Anthropologie Hack: Chalkboard Table Runner

I recently happened to venture into Anthropologie and spotted this awesome chalkboard runner.  Their runner is just paper but it got me thinking about the chalk cloth I bought ages ago and still hadn't used.  I paired it with this beautiful ink Peppered Cotton and even took some pictures of my process so you can make your own:-)

Determine your desired finished size and how wide you want your outer border.  The basic technique is the same as for my Self Binding Linen Napkins but I've added some math so you can customize the size.  In my case, I wanted this to fit my kitchen island so my finished runner will be 24" x 78" with a 3" border.  

Cut your chalk cloth:

width = Finished width - 2 x border width + 1"

example width = 24" - 2 x 3" + 1 = 19"

length = Finished length - 2 x border width + 1"

example length = 78" - 2 x 3" + 1" = 73" 

Cut your outer fabric:

width = Finished width + 2 x border width + 1"

example width = 24" + 2 x 3" + 1" = 31"

length = Finished length + 2 x border width + 1".

example length = 78" + 2 x 3" + 1" = 85" 

* All seam allowances are 1/2"

Before you use your chalk cloth you'll want to "cure" it.  I put my kids to work with some sidewalk chalk and my cut piece of cloth.  Oilcloth Addict has a great tutorial on how to do this.  

From there the process is the same as the napkins.  Starting with 1 side, match the centers of the two fabrics and stitch along the side using 1/2" seam allowance.  It's best not to use pins on chalk cloth as they will leave permanent holes.  I also switched to a denim needle and increased my stitch length.  

Repeat on the remaining 3 sides starting and stopping where you meet a seam allowance.  Leave a small hole in 1 side for turning.  You will have odd wing like things sticking out from each corner, that's the way it should be.

Miter the corners by lining up the sewn seams and drawing a line from the folded edge to the seam line.  Sew along the drawn line and trim 1/2" from the sewn line for all 4 corners.

Turn you table runner right side out through the hole.  Poke the corners out using a chopstick and evenly distribute the border around your runner.  You can press the outer border flat but do NOT iron the chalk cloth directly or it will melt.  Topstitch around the edge of the border making sure you close the hole left for turning.  

Throw a party and show off your latest creation:-)

There are some great tips on working with chalk cloth in general at the split stitch and Oilcloth Addict.

Sharing the fun with Crazy Mom Quilts on Finish it Up Friday!!!

Achoo: Tissue Cozy Tutorial

Flu season is here and the gloom and doomers are predicting a bad one.  Boston has already declared a public health emergency but so far we're all still healthy.  Even without the flu, sniffles are a fact of life this time of year.  I love having these cute little cozies to keep my tissues from getting scrunched up and gross in my purse.  It's been a while since I did a tutorial so I thought I'd share my process.  These are super quick and easy to whip up and a great stash buster.

Cut the following:

(1) 6" x 8" for inside (chevron)

(1)  6" x 6" for outside (argyle)

Seam allowance 1/4"

 With right sides together, sew the short sides along the top and bottom.  There will be a bubble of fabric in the middle since one piece is longer than the other.

 Turn right side out.  Press seam allowances toward the outside fabric.  Center the tube so the inside fabric is evenly distributed.

Fold in half lengthwise to find the center.  Bring the left side over so the folded edge is on the center line. 

 Bring the right side over so that the seam is on the center line. The two sides will overlap by about 1/4".

 Sew along both ends.  Finish the raw edges with a zigzag to make it neat if you like.

Turn your new tissue cozy right side out and smile:-)  Gesundheit!

Bound Edge Napkin Tutorial

OK, one last napkin tutorial. Again, these finished napkins look exactly like these awesome linen napkins from Sew Take a Hike but there was all that folding and pressing I didn't want to deal with. Apparently even when I'm just sewing I'm thinking quilting because these are done similarly to how I bind my quilts.  Finished size 18".

For each napkin cut the following:

(1) 18" square of linen

(2) 4" x WOF strips of printed fabric

Cut the ends of your 4" strips at a 45° angle.  Using a 1/4" seam allowance, sew strips together end to end.  You will need to offset the edges by 1/4" inch.

Press open your seam allowance.  Press your strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together.  Press one side in half again bringing the raw edge up to the first fold line.

Place the end of your 4" strip at about the midpoint of your square with the folded edge away from your sewing edge.  Start sewing about 3" above the bottom of the square with a 1" seam allowance. 

Sew until you are 1" from the edge of the napkin. Turn your napkin 90° and sew in reverse off the edge of the napkin.

Miter the corner by folding the strip up at a 45° angle.  Fold the strip back down even with both edges of your napkin.  Sew down the side with a 1" seam allowance.  Repeat for all 4 sides.  Stop sewing about 3" below the last corner. 

Fold and press the ends of your strips so they just barely meet in the middle of your napkin.

On the right side, cut your strip directly in the fold.  Unfold the piece you just cut from the right side and line it up on the left with the edge directly on the fold.  Cut the left side even with the outer edge of your cutoff piece.  In this case that will be 4" from the fold line.  Be careful to only cut through the top strip. 

Fold and press the right side strip down at a 45° angle.  Line up the cut edge of the right side with bottom edge of the right hand strip and sew directly on the fold line. 

Check that you now have a perfectly fitting continuous strip of binding to stitch down on the final side.  If so, trim 1/4" from the sewn line and press your seam open.  Sew the remaining binding down with a 1" seam allowance slightly overlapping the end points of your previous seams. 

Fold your binding over the edge of the square to the back of your napkin.  Your square should tuck right into your folds.  Miter your corners and pin in place. 

From the front topstitch around the edges of your napkin just inside the edge of the binding.