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Simple Sashiko Projects

Some days you want to enjoy the peace of sewing without a lot of thinking. Ambitious projects, new techniques, and stretching your creative muscles all have their place, but so do simple projects. These elegant placemats, napkins, and coasters are wonderful examples of the beauty of simplicity. 

Whether for yourself, or a quick gift, it's the fabric that makes these projects shine! The placemats below are constructed from two colors of French Sashiko for Moda (one for each side). The fabric is a heavier cotton with contrasting sashiko stitching. The texture is so lovely!

This set of placemats couldn't be any easier. Mats are simply two 18 1/2" x 14 1/2" rectangles sewn right sides together and turned. Push out the corners with a chopstick or turning tool (don't forget to clip corners before turning), then press and hand stitch the opening closed. Last, top stitch around the mat one inch in from the edge. You are finished!

For our mats we used two different fabrics, once for each side. The blue side is French Sashiko in Indigo and the cream side is French Sashiko in Pearl Indigo. We have two other colors of this fabric with the added stitching and three solids (Indigo, Oyster, & Pearl). The solids would be wonderful to add your own stitching to or to use as backing if you don't want reversible mats and/or coasters.

The napkins are made from the fabric Ebb & Flow in Pearl Ocean, using our Placemat & Napkin Pattern by Valori Wells. The simple stripes look fantastic with the stitching in the placemats, and really make the set feel pulled together. 

The reversible coasters above are made with two 4 ½” squares and constructed in the same manner as the placemat. They would look great on any coffee table and are so fast to make. With a half yard of each fabric and an hour or two, you can make 18 coasters! Keep them on hand for the next time you need a gift or want to brighten a friends day. 

Our final project, the grey and cream placemat shown above, is made from another textural woven fabric collection called Boro Foundations from Moda. We followed the Placemat & Napkin sewing card pattern by Valori Wells to make the mat. The black and grey combo looks crisp and modern, while the pattern and texture of the fabrics soften the look and make it something special. 

If you're interested in making these projects or your own with these special fabrics, you can find the French Sashiko collection here and the Boro Foundations collection here. The Placemat & Napkin pattern is available in PDF or printed versions.

Happy Sewing! 

DIY Grocery Tote

Oregon recently passed a law banning single use plastic bags, and adding a five cent charge to paper bags in many retail situations. This has us thinking about reusable tote bags. Besides being Eco-friendly and saving you from extra charges, fabric bags are sturdier, easier to carry, and way better looking than their plastic cousins. Plus, you get a relaxing hour or two with your sewing machine. What's not to love?!

To make it super simple to craft your own bag, we've put together a free pattern, a tutorial (below), and four tote bag kits. Kits come with everything you need for a single bag: exterior linen or canvas fabric, muslin lining, and sturdy cotton webbing for handles. 

Val raided her fabric collection and generously agreed to share four of her gorgeous vintage fabrics from her lines Mystic and Quill. All four fabrics are out of print, and available only in these kits and in limited quantities. Once they're gone, they're gone for good. 

Okay, let's get sewing! Follow the pattern below or download the pattern. 

Cutting Instructions:

Cut 2 – 17 ½” x 18 ½” rectangles out of outside and lining fabric

Cut 2 – 22” pieces from cotton webbing

Assembly Instructions:

1.  Place outside fabrics right sides together, pin around sides and bottom. Repeat with lining.

2.  Using a ¼” seam allowance, stitch around bag, pivoting at the corners. Repeat with lining.

3.  To create the gusset, fold the corner as shown, making sure you can feel the seams nest together. (One seam goes to the left and the other to the right.)  Measure down 5” from the point, and mark a line across the triangle. Pin the fabrics together.

4. Stitch across the triangle at the pencil line, back-tacking at each end of the seam. Repeat for the other corner of the outer fabric and both corners of the lining.

5.  Trim off corners 1/4” from the stitching.

6.  Press lining and outside of bag. Press top edge down 1/4”.

7.  Turn outside right-side out and place the lining inside, so the wrong sides are together. Line up the edge seams of both fabrics and pin in place. Lay flat on table and measure 4” from side seam edge. Place one end of cotton webbing in between the two fabrics, 1/2” from edge, and pin in place. Repeat for other side of handle. Turn bag over and pin other handle in place using the first handle for placement.

8.  Pin entire top of the bag.

9.  Top stitch around top of bag, 1/8” in from edge.

10.  Top stitch around top of bag a second time, 1/4” in from the edge.

All done! Grab your new bag and head for the store. 

Download Pattern

Shop Supplies & Tools Shown:

Kit

Ruler

Oliso Iron

Wool Mat

KAI Scissors

Marking Pencil

 

Little Wallet - Tutorial

One of our most popular patterns is Valori's Little Wallet. It's easy to understand why - it's quick to make, only needs two fat quarters, and is so versatile. Organize a few cards and bit of cash in a small bag or your pocket. Use your wallet to help you corral of all those reward cards and business cards floating around the bottom of your bag. Slide it in the front of your carry-on bag to organize your ID and essentials for travel. Make a gift card more personal by gifting it inside a little wallet, with a print you know they'll love--Just the thing!

Depending on the fabric you choose these wallets can be whimsical, sophisticated, funky or casual. They are a wonderful way to show off a little of your own handmade style. Here's a gallery of wallets to inspire you...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you believe how different they can look?!

Did you notice the wallets made from Kraft-tex? Kraft-tex is a paper fabric. It's the same stuff Levi jean tags are made from. So it's washable, durable, and has a unique texture. The browns look a lot like leather. Besides being a different look and very sturdy, Kraft-tex doesn't ravel, so you can leave all your edges raw. No folding, pressing, or flipping! Just layer your pockets (don't cut on fold--you only need one layer of fabric) on top of the body piece and stitch. It couldn't be any easier.

To make your own wallet you'll need the pattern, 1/4 yard of two fabrics (fat quarters are fine), a 6" x 9" piece of interfacing, and 1 large snap. We made a variety of kits that include the fabric, interfacing, and 1 large (sew-on) snap. We kept the pattern separate, so you could make multiple wallets without purchasing the pattern more than once. That helped us keep the cost of the kits low ($4.50). That's about the same as many cards and a lot more useful. Plus, you can probably make one in less time than it takes to pick out a card. 

Once you have all your supplies, follow the pattern instructions to cut out all your pieces. If you plan to make more than one wallet, we recommend tracing the pattern templates on template plastic for easier cutting and durability.

We put together a photo tutorial of all the steps for making a Little Wallet to help make the process even easier. Let's get started...

Step 1: Gather Materials, Cut, Press Pockets

Step 2: Interfacing  & Stacking

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Step 3: Sew, Press, & Turn

 

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Step 4: Add A Snap

Step 5: Tada! Enjoy your new wallet.

Shop Supplies:

Little Wallet Kits

Kraft-tex

PDF Pattern

Printed Pattern

Template Plastic

Snap Setter Tool

Snap Setter Adapter (for pearl snaps) 

Pearl Snaps

 

 

 

Sew Your Own Pillowcase Using the Burrito Method

Chances are if you've been sewing for any length of time, you've made a pillowcase or two. They are always useful, and an inexpensive and quick way to spruce up your decor. Make one in a holiday theme to add some fun to your guest room or give one to a special young person. Find the perfect fabric to match someone's interests, and you'll have a delightful and personal gift for a friend or hostess. 

Traditionally sewn pillowcases are great, and a perfect first project for beginners. We want to show you how to up your game with the burrito method. This technique is so slick! Once you get the hang of it, you'll be turning out immaculately finished pillowcases as fast as you can choose the fabric.

Our pillowcases are constructed with three fabrics (body, cuff, and trim). Valori's pillowcase pattern has all the cutting instructions and directions for a standard style pillowcase. Use it to get started, then follow our updated instructions for a fantastic finish with no visible edges. Yup, clean lovely seams inside and out. It looks so professional, you'll love it! 

Since this method is easiest understood by watching someone do it, Jackie agreed to show you how it's done...

We put together some holiday themed kits to make it easy for you to spread a bit of holiday spirit. They are all so cute it's hard to choose. 

We also made up kits featuring the Cotton + Steel fabrics featured in our video. 

You can find all the kits here. 

If you're in the area, stop by the store for a large variety of pillowcase kits. We are always making up new ones, but because we only make a few of most selections, the kits don't all make it up on our website. 

Messenger Bag - Embellishment Options

It's week three of our 12 Projects of Christmas newsletter series and this week we're making a messenger bag. Man or woman, boy or girl, everyone needs to carry things. A messenger bag is an ideal gift, especially for those hard to shop for men or teens. Fair warning though, once you make one, you'll want one for yourself too. 

Our pattern, written by Valori Wells, is the perfect size to hold all the essentials with pockets inside and out for extras. The bag is fully lined for a beautiful and durable finish. Experienced sewers can complete this bag in an afternoon, and all the straight line seams make the project achievable for confident beginners. 

Because the pattern will lead you through the construction of the bag, we are going to focus on ideas for customizing your bag. As you can see, the outside of our sample bag is embellished with a block printed pattern. You can carve your own or use a purchased stamp of your choice. In the video below Valori shows you how to properly ink a stamp and apply it to your bag.  

Try a simple pattern in one section of the bag like we did, or apply an all over pattern before you sew your sections together.

If you're an artist paint or draw your own design with fabric paint and/or pens. Pictured below is an example of our logo tote bag embellished with fabric paints by June Jaeger. We wrote a post about it and embroidering a tote last November. 

The front flap of the bag is a great spot to show off some applique, embroidery, or a combination of the two. Experiment with your own designs or choose a design from a book to spruce up your bag. We like Simply Stitched, Creative Stitching, Organic Applique and Organic Embroidery. Or, try one of our wool applique kits to add some color and texture. 

Instead of using a solid fabric for the large exterior piece customize your bag with your favorite patchwork, or simply add a stripe or other shape with contrasting fabrics like the bag pictured below. 

Not interested in coming up with your own designs for embellishment? Pick a fun print (this is a great time to show off a large scale print) and add a bit of stitching to enhance it (or just let the print shine on it's own). In the pictures below we added a simple embroidery stitch to a floral print. 

More ideas to customize the messenger bag:

• For a new parent: Baby/diaper bag - add some piping, pick a children's theme print, personalize it with an alphabet embroidery kit on the front and/or add a coordinating changing pad.

• For a quilter/sewer: Sewing kit  - personalize it with a pieced front flap and customized pocket sizes for tools
• For an artist: Portable supply kit - personalize it with a painted or mixed media front and add a pencil roll. Customize pockets for sketch book, paint brushes, pens, etc. 

• For a teen: Laptop bag - add soft and stable interfacing. Personalize it with an iron-on patch, applique their initials, or a stamped Kraftex patch. 

• For a man: Laptop bag - add soft and stable interfacing. Personalize it with a photo transfer, turn a favorite old T-shirt into an iron on or paint/stamp a simple geometric pattern. Although, some men might like it plain and simple made with canvas or denim.

• For a bike commuter: add padding to the strap and some reflective tape.
• For a Knitter/Crocheter: add fusible fleece interfacing to keep needles from poking through and a coordinating yarn/project bag. Customize pockets to hold notions.

With a minimum of thought, possibilities for customizing this bag are nearly endless.

Quick Note: The pattern doesn't require any interfacing, but if you want a more structured bag you will need some. We recommend Soft & Stable for a padded and firm but flexible bag. Great for laptops! If you want a softer bag with some structure use Fusible Fleece. Lastly if you'd like any of the pocket to be stiff (like the large inside pocket) use TimTex. All the options listed are washable. 

Shop for Messenger Bag Supplies -  

Kits: Messenger Bag, Applique

Fabric: Quilting Cotton, Canvas, Denim, Flannel 

Interfacing: Soft & Stable, Fusible Fleece, TimTex

Pattern: Printed, PDF

Books: Simply Stitched, Creative Stitching, Organic Applique, Organic Embroidery

 

 

 

 

Lucy & Logan - Freezer Paper Method for Machine Stitched Faces

Instead of 12 days of Christmas, we decided to do the holidays maker style with The 12 Projects of Christmas. We're starting a bit early, releasing a project a week, so there is plenty of time for crafting and for enjoying all the other seasonal events and celebrations during the holidays.

Let's kick off our crafting season with a great gift for kids. Lucy & Logan, adorable cat and dog stuffies, are sure to bring smiles Christmas morning or anytime. Enjoy making a few or gift a Lucy & Logan kit. Then you can spend time together teaching them how to make one for themselves.

Each animal can each be made in two sizes with a variety of suitable fabrics. Make a pair in flannel (like we did) for a special little one. Try one in school colors for older kids. You can even make a few for your favorite furry friends from canvas or denim. Although, Teyla likes the flannel ones just fine. 

The kitty below is one of the original Lucys, made from corduroy. Quilting cotton, light denim, linen, fleece, or even old clothing could all be used. 

No matter what options you choose, the key to any adorable plushy is the face. Luckily, sewing a cute face is easier than you think, and we're going to show you how to get great results with your sewing machine, even if you can't draw.

The pattern includs a face illustration to trace, and suggests you trace the face onto your fabric with a fabric pen or chalk marker. Then you sew your face with your machine or hand stitch. That method is a fine option, but can be difficult on darker fabrics. Tracing or drawing your face on freezer paper is foolproof, no matter your fabric color or type. Let's look at how to do it...

First, place your freezer paper over the pattern and trace the face as is or use the pattern face as a guideline for feature location and draw in your own face. The nice thing about this method is that you can keep tracing, or drawing, faces until you have exactly the face you want. In the pictures, Lucy's (the small cat) face was traced from the pattern and for Logan's (the bigger dog) face the pattern was used as a guideline. His nose is rounder and his eyes were changed slightly. Use a pen that is the same, or close to, the color of thread you plan to use to stitch the face (unless you're stitching in white) to draw the pattern. Color in the nose and irises. Be sure to draw on the matte (top side) of the freezer paper. 

Once drawn, cut around your face so it will fit on your cut fabric body. Place your freezer paper face on the right side of your body piece, with shiny side down, centered on the head.

Press the freezer paper to the fabric, holding the iron for a few seconds. Your interfacing should already be on the wrong side of your head (see above). Don't use double sided fusible web, or you will end up fusing your animal to your ironing board!

You're ready to sew. Use a free motion, or walking foot (pictured), and follow the lines drawn filling in the nose and irises with a back and forth (walking foot) or circular (free motion foot) stitch. Be sure you stitch over each drawn line twice so the face will be clear. Back-tack at the start and end of any stitching. 

All that's left is to tear away the freezer paper. Use your seam ripper to get any small pieces of paper remaining. Don't worry about removing the paper from the nose or irises. That's why we colored it in. The paper helps those areas look more solid and you don't have to spend an hour picking out little white scraps. Win-win! 

Keep following the pattern from here and in no time you'll have a new cuddly cutie. 

Find all the supplies you need for this project at Stitchin' Post. 

Lucy & Logan Kits  -  Lucy & Logan Pattern  -  Farmhouse Flannel  -  All Fabric

Be sure to sign up for our newsletters to receive all the information about this project and all the other 12 Projects of Christmas. 

Stitchin' Post's The 12 Projects of Christmas is a newsletter event. Each week starting in October we've selected a fun and fast project, perfect for gifting or holiday decorating. Every project is designed and selected by our experts to make it easy for you to find and craft stylish useful items everyone will love. 

Croatia - January 2019 Alchemy of Fabric

If you can't get away from winter by traveling to sunnier shores this month's Alchemy of Fabric collection, Croatia, can make you feel as if you have. 

This collection is full of sun drenched color and vibrancy! The fabric feels full of life and energy. 

I can see these fabrics as a cute box bag, or a bright luggage tag, or so many other things. We settled on placemats for our project. Placemats are such a useful project, and a great way to add a bit of color and fun to your décor without a long term commitment, or needing to worry about coordinating with all your decor.

We made two placemats and two napkins from Valori's pattern. 

Placemats can be made from three fat quarters, and napkins require one fat quarter each. If you want to make a set, like ours, you will need extra fabric. 

You can find all of the Croatia collection fabrics and the ten coordinating companion fabrics here. 

What will you make? 

-Samantha

Rosalie Table Runner featuring Charley Harper Fabrics

Charley Harper is one of my all time favorite artists. Imagine my excitement when I discovered an entire line of Charley Harper fabric had arrived. Happy dance doesn't not even being to cover it. 

I immediately knew I had to do something that showcased Charley Harper's amazing talent, and showed this beautiful fabric at it's best. 

Valori's pattern, Rosalie, fit the bill perfectly. Large hexagons to display the prints, and strong graphic lines to compliment the art style. The table runner is one quilt row using the larger size templates with a one inch border (finished size) added to each long side.  I have a long table, so my runner has seven hexagons. You can easily change the length to fit your table, by changing the number of hexagons. 

Construction is simple (no Y seams!) and I was able to put mine together over a weekend. I love how it turned out and can't wait to have it on my table. 

The pattern includes templates for the hexagons & triangles that make up the body of the quilt. I want to show you how to accurately copy and use the templates... First, gather your supplies. You'll need template plastic, a fine tip Sharpie (or other permanent marker), a ruler, and some painter's tape.

Place the template plastic over the pattern template and secure with tape. Make sure you tape the template plastic to both your work surface and the pattern. Then using your ruler and Sharpie trace the template.

Remove the tape and rotate the template plastic 180 degrees. Line up your template with the dotted line on the pattern template (see above). Secure with tape, and trace. Using your ruler add a vertical line (not on the pattern template) so your template lines cross in the center. This will help you line up your template with your fabric, and center it, when it comes time to cut.  

You can cut your template out with scissors, but I find you get more accurate, and straight, cuts with a rotary cutter. However, don't use your fabric blade/cutter on the template plastic. I keep two sets of rotary cutters in my workroom, one for fabric and one for other items. Beside working wonderfully with template plastic, I use my non-fabric cutter for wrapping paper, ribbon with wire, freezer paper, card stock, poster board, etc... Don't forget to label your cutter so you don't mix them up! 

Now that your template is ready it's time to cut out your hexagons. Template plastic is translucent so it is easy to use the center lines to place your template, and ensure the print is straight and features the elements you want. In this case, I used my template's vertical line and matched it to the bird legs (see above). With such strong lines in the fabric pattern it would be very noticeable if it was cut askew. 

When cutting your fabric with a plastic template use a quilting ruler along the edge. Template plastic is meant to be a guide not a surface to cut against. I make my first cut, then secure the template and fabric with a bit of tape to ensure an accurate cut. Taking time with your template and cutting will make your sewing a joy and improve your results. 

Once my row was complete, I added a one inch (finished size) boarder to each side. Instead of binding the sides, I made my quilt sandwich then sewed a quarter inch seam down both long sides. I turned my seamed sandwich right sides out, pressed it, and added binding to both ends. 

We have all the Charley Harper fabrics used in the runner, and the rest of the collection, in stock.

To make our runner you'll need:

1/3 yard of five prints (I used Upside Downside, Lovey Dovey, Snowy Egret, Magpie, and Cardinal)

2 yards backing & background fabric (I used Twigs Black)

20" x 116" batting

Rosalie Quilt Pattern

1 sheet template plastic

As always send us your pics or bring in your finished projects. We love to see them! If you post your project on social media be sure to tag us with #stitchinpost or #sewmuchinspiration.

Cheers,

Samantha

 

 

 

 

Putting it all Together - Marmalade Dreams Quilt-a-Long

Hello! Happy New Year!  I hope everyone has recovered from the holidays and is back to sewing.

We are on the final stretch of the Marmalade Dreams quilt.  You have made all your parts and it is time to sew together the top.

Follow the diagram in the picture below or your pattern.

Now this beautiful top is ready to quilt. I thought I would share my quilting to get you going on ideas.  There is such high contrast from the background greys and neutrals, to the colorful blocks so I picked a neutral thread that would look good on both. When I am choosing thread I like to pull the end of the thread from the spool and lay it across the quilt top. It gives me a better idea of how it will look when quilted. Just laying the spool on top of the quilt top doesn’t give me the same perspective of a single strand.

For the large log cabin blocks I decided to quilt lines in the small colored areas and my style of meandering in the neutral logs, continuing the design throughout all of the light backgrounds.

Even for the little log cabins I did lines in the colored logs.

The diamonds I wanted to keep simple and not take away from the prints or the piecing. I quilted a curvy diamond shape in all of the diamond sections. I am not one who likes using rules, or my walking foot, so these are free form. If you want them perfect I would use a ruler or a walking food depending on what type of machine you are using.

My meandering quilting is a flowing designs that intertwines with itself, lots of swirls, flower and leaf like shapes.

I hopefully this will give you some ideas for quilting your own Marmalade Dreams Quilt.

Lastly I have included the final recipe…. I had to laugh because it is snowing outside and the recipe is for Summer Berries. You can make this with frozen berries. Enjoy!

 

Thank you for being a part of Marmalade Dreams Block of the Month. I would love to see any finished quilts! Have a great day!

 

XO,

Valori

Silkroad - Alchemy of Fabric December 2018

With all the holiday hubbub, this month's fabric and project were delayed, but we're squeaking in our post before the new year. It's still December for a few more hours!

This month's collection, Silkroad, is comprised of modern prints with an Asian flair.  Art Gallery Fabrics describes the line as "Ancient Asian techniques of brushwork, ink making, and fiber knowledge are shared through the trading route that is Silkroad. Black, white, and red impactfully define the elegant florals and geometrics that will transport you to a world of delicate craftsmanship." 

However you describe these fabrics, they're beautiful. 

The colors and patterns in Silkroad are also very versatile. Art Gallery Fabric's image gallery helps us imagine, not only gorgeous quilts, but fun bags, stylish tops and dramatic home accessories. I would love to wear that top! 

For our project we made a set of three petal pouches, with six of the fabrics from the collection. Aren't they cute?! 

Petal Pouches are great for storing works in progress, organizing supplies, and even make a cute purse. They would also be the perfect way to wrap up a special gift. The pattern comes with instructions for all three sizes and is designed by Valori. You can purchase the pattern as a pdf download or sewing card. 

You can find all the individual fabrics, and ten specially selected coordinating fabrics (pictured below), on our website. 

What will you make?

Cheers,

Samantha