Slicing It Up

A couple of years ago I bought some fabric for a quilt. I know, SHOCKER! Well, after I bought all the materials, I never got around to making the quilt. As time passed, I decided I didn't really want to make that quilt anymore, but wasn't sure what to do with the fabric I had, until Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew posted this Summer Slice Tutorial on her site a couple months ago. I knew this would be the perfect pattern for the fabric I had been saving.

I wanted to use up as much of the fabric as possible, with as little cutting as possible, so I upped the size of blocks. Although I read the cutting instructions a few times to make sure I didn't cut them wrong, I ended up cutting only half of what was needed; thinking, for some reason that it was the right amount. I didn't discover this until I had sewn up all the blocks and was trying to arrange them, ending up with 2 or 3 extra blocks.

Doing quick math in my head, I thought I figured out the missing amount to fill in the extra spaces for what I already had. Wrong again. And now I was running out of fabric! Luckily I had a few fat quarters in my stash that looked like they could match, and hopefully blend in like they were part of the original design.

I am happily pleased with the outcome! This quilt is perfect for Summer. In fact, my kids refer to it as the 'picnic quilt'.

I quilted it with squares of varying size in the secondary pattern, to give it a little more dimension.

Since I purchased this fabric for a different quilt, I had also purchased fabric for the backing. On first measurement (as in holding the fabric top up the fabric back) it didn't look like there was enough length to cover the back. So, I pieced the back in a giant 4-patch fashion, with sashing between the giant patches. I then ended up with too much on the back! Totally fine with it though. I like the green polka dots :) 

Hand Print T-shirts {A Tutorial}

One of my favorite holidays is Independence Day. I LOVE IT! I go all out each year, and start planning weeks (sometimes months) ahead of time. I usually get the kids a new patriotic outfit each year. But this year,  I thought it would be fun to make 4th of July T-shirts with my kids.

While I was visiting my brother last week, we gathered all the kids to make shirts. This was a great activity for them. They all got pretty creative with their own shirts. 

It was the perfect activity to fill up an afternoon.

Here's what you'll need:

T-shirt

Red paint

Blue paint

Fabric Medium
Sponge brushes

Potato

Masking tape

Cardboard to fit inside the shirt

First thing, make a potato stamp. If you've never made a potato stamp, they are super easy!

Simply cut the potato in half.
Draw your shape on the cut side of the potato.

Cut around your shape.

Ta-da! Potato stamp!

Prepping the paint:

Did you know that you make any paint in to a fabric paint? All you have to do is add fabric medium. It helps  the paint to set softer, more flexible against the fibers. It also won't crack as much (if at all)  in the wash. 

Simply mix 2 parts paint to 1 part medium, until well blended. 

Next, place the cardboard inside of the shirt. The cardboard should cover all areas that you want to paint. I then did a dry run with placement of the kid's hand, then made stripes with the masking tape with their hand still in place. 

Painted each little hand

And press firmly into the open space on the shirt.
Make sure to press the middle of the hand and the fingers well.

Gently lift hand from the shirt.

For my shirt, I wanted to use each of my kids' hands; and I wanted them to make a heart. My boy was in a little bit of a hurry, so the middle of his palm didn't quite get pressed down as much as it should have.

 Next, we used the potato stamps to add stars,

And, painted between the tape stripes with a sponge brush.

 I also did a thinner line of paint along the top and bottom of the first and last stripes.

Here's my nieces' and nephews' shirts:

 And, here are mine and my kids' shirts:

Hope ya'll have a great holiday!

Name That Quilt ~ Letters

Machine applique. It's the last step to finish the Name That Quilt quilt top. It's what names that quilt! 

I may have forgot to mention one thing in the requirements. It's not something I even thought about until about 2 weeks-ish ago. 

Stabilizer. 

Purely optional. If you don't have it. Don't worry. Most the time, I don't use it. However, it can be helpful. It does it what it implies. Stabilizes your fabric, making it easier to maneuver your fabric. I have found it easier to applique when there are layers. My needle doesn't get caught in a soft spot, and there's no thread build up. Just clean stitches. 

If using stablizer, simply cut enough to cover the space you'll be using and iron on to the back of your quilt top, about 10-15 seconds in each spot, or until fully secure. 

Okay. On to the actual applique....

First, you need to print your letters. You can use any font you like for this. I used 'Joint by PizzaDude' and you can download it for free from Dafont.com. 

In the requirements, I was a little generous with the size of square you'll need for your letters. This being to accommodate for any letter, especially those tall letters like j, t & h. 

If doing the lap size, you'll want your letters to measure 6 inches in height, or at around 600 point in Word. 

For the twin, you'll want your letters to measure 8 inches in height, or at around 800 point in Word.

Print your letters and cut out from the paper. Next, trace your letters backwards onto the back (or smooth) side of the fusible web. 

Next, I like to spray starch my fabric pieces to get them a little stiff. I've found it helps with cutting and less loose frays. Then, place the letter right side (or gritty side) down on the wrong side of your fabric. Your letter should still be backwards to you. Press with your iron for about 6-10 seconds, or until it's secure. 

After the letters have cooled down, cut out around your outline. 

then peel the fusible web backing from the fabric. 

Arrange your letters to your liking. I placed mine in the center as best I could - without getting out the measuring tape ;)

Press into place for another 6-10 seconds, or until secure.

Before you stitch down your letters, you need to decide what type of stitch you'll be using. There are a variety of stitches you can use to machine applique. For this quilt, I will be using my triple stitch, which is also a setting on my machine. 

I also use the embroidery foot, which has a nice wide opening. I like to align the needle about 1 mm in from the edge of the fabric. Going at a comfortable pace, stitch all around your letters. 

If using stabilizer, once your are finished stitching your letters, turn top over and gently tear away the stabilizer. 

Here is my finished quilt top!

I would love to see your quilts!

If you would like to participate in a Name That Quilt parade, you can send your completed quilt tops (with any links you'd like to include) to admin@fabricseeds.com and I will showcase your quilt! 

I hope y'all have enjoyed this quilt along!

Name That Quilt ~ Piecing

Piecing:

The piecing is the same for each quilt. Beginning with the stripes and working left to right, sew one background strip along the right side of each colored strip, except the last one. Press open.

Again, working left to right, sew the left side of each background strip to the right side of each colored strip.

Press open. Do this for both sets of stripes.

Once your stripes are sewn, take your middle piece (11.5"x(25.5") rectangle for the lap, and 12 1/2"x(40 1/2") for the twin. The length may vary, depending on how many stripes you have. If you are using more or less than 5, you will need to measure the width of your stripes to determine what your length should be).

Sew the middle piece to one of your short stripe set. Press open, away from stripes. Sew your long set of stripes to the opposite end of the middle piece. Press open, away from stripes. 

Next, for the Lap, sew the 10.5"x15" and the 10.5"x41" together along the 10.5" side. Press open.

For the Twin, sew the 12.5"x32.5" and the 12.5"x40.5" together along the 12.5" side. Press open.

Sew this long skinny strip the to right side of your stripes. Press away from stripes.

Lastly, For the lap, if you are using 5 stripes, go ahead and sew the remaining background piece (55.5"x36.5) to the left side of the stripes, along the 55.5" side. 

If you have more or less than 5 stripes, you will need to measure the width of your quilt top from the beginning stripe to the end of the background fabric, just like you did for measuring your middle piece in step 3. Minus this measurement from 72.5. This will be your width for the remaining piece. Cut your background piece to measure 55.5"x your measurement. Continue to sew this piece to the left side of the stripes, along the 55.5" side. Press away from stripes.

For the Twin, sew the remaining 2 pieces from your background fabric together along the 49" ends. Press seams, and sew this portion to the left side of the stripes, along the 72.5" side. Press open, away from stripes.

If you have more or less than 5 stripes, you will need to measure the width of your quilt top from the beginning stripe to the end of the background fabric, just like you did for measuring your middle piece in step 3. Minus this measurement from 90.5. This will be your width for the remaining piece. Cut your background piece to measure 40.5"x your measurement and 32.5"x your measurement. Sew these pieces together along [your measurement] side. Press seams. Continue to sew this piece to the left side of the stripes, along the 55.5" side. Press away from stripes.

 If you have questions about measuring your pieces, please email me at admin@fabricseeds.com. 

Next week is the appliqued letters!

Name That Quilt ~ Cutting

Cutting:

For the Lap:
(these instructions are for a 5 letters/stripes)

Starting with the stripes, cut (2) 3 1/2"xWOF strips from each color. (if using the same fabrics for the letters, cut 10" from one end before cutting your strips).
     Subcut into (1) 3.5"x32 1/2" strip and (1) 3 1/2"x12 1/2" strip.
From the background fabric, cut (6) 2 1/2"xWOF strips.
     Subcut into (4) 2 1/2"x32 1/2" strips and (4) 2 1/2"x12 1/2" strips.
Next, cut (1) 11.5"xWOF strip.
     Subcut into (1) 11.5"x25.5" rectangle (if you have more or less than 5 stripes, this will need to be adjusted to your width after piecing the stripes). From the remaining strip, trim to 10 1/2" wide. Trim to 15" in length.
Cut a new strip at 10 1/2"xWOF. Trim the selvedges. Trim to 41" in length.
From the remainder of the fabric, trim the length to 55 1/2" and selvedge end to 36 1/2" (if you have more or less than 5 stripes, this will need to be adjusted after piecing the rest of the top. You may want to hold off on cutting this piece until the next step).


For the Twin: 
(these instructions are for a 5 letters/stripes)

Starting with the stripes, cut (2) 4"xWOF strips from each color.
     Subcut into (1) 4"x42 1/2" strip and (1) 4"x17 1/2" strip.
From the background fabric, cut (6) 3 1/2"xWOF strips.
     Subcut into (4) 3 1/2"x42 1/2" strips and (4) 3 1/2"x17 1/2" strips.
Next, cut (1) 13.5"xWOF strip.
     Subcut into (1) 13.5"x29 1/2" rectangle (if you have more or less than 5 stripes, this will need to be adjusted to your width after piecing the stripes).
Cut (2) strips at 12 1/2"xWOF.
     Subcut into (1) 12 1/2"x40 1/2" rectangle and (1) 12 1/2"x32 1/2" rectangle.
From the remainder of the fabric, cut (2) rectangles 49"xWOF. Trim one rectangle (selvedge end) to 42.5" and the other to 30.5". You should have (1) 42.5"x49" rectangle and (1) 30.5"x49" rectangle (if you have more or less than 5 stripes, this will need to be adjusted after piecing the rest of the top. You may want to hold off on cutting this piece until the next step).

Next week we will start piecing!