Simple Crochet Cushion - Tutorial.

We have not seen blue skies for almost a week now, its been raining almost non stop for days.  For most being stuck indoors, no sunshine in days it can be quite depressing, but not for me!  I love rainy days, any excuse to cuddle, watch some dvd's, eating soup and pancakes.  I love it!  It can be challenging keeping a almost 3 year old entertained, especially when her most favorite time of the day is to play outside.  So for her sake I hope it clears up soon, but as for me, I wont mind having another week of rain...

As for what I've been up to this past week, well the weather was perfect for a bit of crocheting.  So I've made a few cushions to brighten up my sewing room, and thought of showing you how I made them.

What you will need:

3 x 50g Cotton Yarn in different colours of your choice.
3mm Crochet Hook (US - , UK 11)
+- 17 Inch Square Matching Fabric for the back, and the same size lining fabric
Cushion Filling
Matching Thread

Crochet Terms.

(These instructions are written in UK terms, American terms written in red)

UK / US

ss - Slip Stitch (Slip Stitch)

ch - Chain (Chain)

dc - Double Crochet (Single)

htr - Half Treble (Half Double)

st - (Stitch)

I used a heavier weight yarn and larger hook for the pictures below, to show up better.

Start with a chain of 5 and join in to a circle with a ss

Round 1.  Ch 1 (counts as 1 dc), 11 dc in loop space (total 12 st).  Joint with a ss

Round 2.  Chain 1 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc into same space, * 2 dc into the next st * (* repeat 11 times) Total of 24 st.  Join with a ss.

Round 3.  Chain 2 (counts as 1 htr).  1htr in next st * 2 htr in next st, 1 htr in the next 2 st * (repeat * 6 times) 2 htr in next st, join with a ss.  

Round 4.  Chain 2 (counts as 1 htr) 1 htr in same space, 1 htr in next st * 2 htr in the next st, 1 htr in the next 3 st * (repeat * 6 times), 2 htr in next st, join with a ss.  

Round 5.  Chain 1 (counts as 1 htr) 1 htr in same space, 1 htr in the next 2 st * 2 htr in next st, 1 htr in the next 4 st * (repeat * 6 times), 2 htr in next st, join with a ss

Continue this way, increasing the number of htr between the 2 htr on each side, you increase with 8 st on each round until the piece is approx 16 inches across.

Change yarn colours every, 2, 3, 4 or 6 rounds as you like to get a finish you want.  Fasten off and sew in  the loose ends.

To finish your cushion, cut the matching back fabric and lining fabric slightly larger that the crochet front.  Make a sandwich by placing the lining fabric behind the crochet piece, and the back fabric, right sides together on top.

Using your sewing machine top stitch the three layers together, carefully feeling your way just to the edge of the cushion.  Remember to leave an opening to turn the bag right side out, secure it properly by back stitching your start and finish.

Turn the bag right side out and start filling the cushion.  Hand sew the opening closed and add a button, securing it properly.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and will be making some crochet cushions of your own.

* My posts delivered to you *

      


 

Fabric Postcard Tutorial

I have had quite a few requests recently to share a tutorial, showing you exactly how I make my fabric postcards.  So during the December's swap on Facebook I made sure to take a lot of pictures and I hope you will soon make your own and sending them to family and friends.  

The rules of this particular swap is that no paper are used in the making of these cards,  and the cards must have some type of free motion quilting.  So for this purpose it is exactly what I am going to show you.  But know that you can make it which ever way you like, pieced, embroidered, quilted or appliqued, they can be decorated using beads, feathers, ribbon anything you like.  They really are fun little projects!

For this particular month we had a theme 'where we live'.  Now I live in South Africa and there are probably 100's of ideas I could have used, our country is full of wildlife, african art and stunning country sides.  But I had to be true to MY area, which is Mpumalanga, highveldt cosmos country.  So making cosmos flowers was the perfect choice.  

I am going to focus more on the construction of the postcard rather than the decorating part, although I added the steps of how I made this particular 'cosmos flower' postcard.  Remember to let your creativity take over, they can be a lot of fun!

What you will need:

Small piece of fabric for the front. ± 12 x 10 inches 

Batting of the same size

Fusible applique (I used wonder under)

Fusible Interfacing 

4 x 6 inch piece of light fabric for the back to write on 

General sewing supplies, like thread, scissors, marking pens/pencils etc.

and your sewing machine

Paper/cardboard

1.  Start out by making a 'window template' (like shown in the middle picture) out of cardboard or paper by cutting out 4 x 6 inches in the center.  This will help as a guide when placing your design inside the desired area, to see if it will fit and if the placement works.

2.  Trace your design onto a piece of fusible applique paper, using a hot iron press it in place onto the wrong side of the piece of fabric of your choice.  Carefully cut out the design, peel off the backing paper and press it in place on top of your background fabric.  Remember if you are making letters or numbers to trace it in reverse onto the applique paper, once you fuse it in place on top of the background fabric it will be facing the right way.

3.  Trace any lines or markings for the petals on the flower using your preferred choice of pen/pencil.  I used a sewline pencil.

4.  Place the batting underneath and spray baste or use pins to hold in place.  Start stitching out the outlines of the flowers and petals.  

5.  To add depth and colour I used a darker purple thread and 'coloured in' or I think the correct term is 'thread painting' / 'free motion embroidered' around the yellow center of the flower.

6.  Free motion quilt around the flowers to fill in the background space.  To check if you have filled in enough space use the cardboard/paper window template to see if the whole area is filled in.

7.  To assemble the card, cut out the following, ALL at 4 x 6 inches:

*  Trim the front.  

*  Cut out a two pieces of fusible interfacing.  I used a medium weight interfacing so I had to use 3 pieces to get the card nice and stiff.  Depending on the interfacing you are using, you might need more or only 1

*  Cut one piece of fusible applique

*  Cut one piece of light fabric for the back of card 

8.  Place a piece of fusible interfacing glue side on the wrong side of both the front and back piece of your card.  Use a hot iron and pressing cloth and press until it is glued in place.  (middle picture above)

9.  To fuse the two pieces, the front and back of your card, use a piece of fusible applique and press it to the wrong side of front piece, peal the paper backing and fuse the two layers together with a hot iron.

10.  I choose to trim the corners into round edges, but you could keep them as it is.  

11.  Use a zigzag stitch and sew all around the edge of the card.  Once you have gone around once, remove the card and trim any little pieces of thread that might poke out on the sides.

12.  Shorten the zigzag stitch to a satin stitch and sew all around the card again, make sure to go slow around the corners and when moving around, try to have the needle on the outside of the card when turning to get an even and perfect edge.

13.  Hide the thread tail as you would making a quilt between the layers

Now you can write on the back of your card, remember to write the word POSTCARD at the top middle and draw a line separating the address box (right) and message (left).  The stamps we get here in is not the sticker type most use abroad so I use a clear glue to make sure it is stuck to the card.  

All that is left to do now, is write a personal message and address and send it off as is.  I have been very lucky that every card I have sent so far reached its destination, but if you are worried, you can of course send it of in an envelope.  I think it is just more fun to send it 'naked' as is.  

I hope you enjoyed seeing my fabric postcard tutorial and that you'll make loads of your own.  The process and steps shown are how I make my cards, but I am certain there are lots of other ways to try.

* My posts delivered to you *

      

 

Fabric Book Cover Tutorial

I decided that I am going to include quite a few handmade gifts for Christmas this year, so I have been very busy sewing cute and fun items.  Because most of my family live 100's to 1000's of kilometers away, and because we wont be seeing them, I wanted to get it done as soon as possible to make sure it gets to their destination in time.

My oldest Son, (almost 18) asked if I could make his girlfriend a little something too.  So together we decided a pencil bag together with a fabric book cover would be great.  So today I thought of showing you exactly how I made the fabric book cover.

You'll need the following:  (The fabric requirements are for an A5 book)

1 Book to cover - in this case a A5 hard cover

2 x Fat quarters of your choice (I decided to piece the front using two different prints, but a FQ will do)

Fusible batting/fleece

Small piece of fusible applique

Matching thread and general sewing supplies

You'll start by measuring your book.  Measure from the back edge to the front edge, and from top to bottom.  ADD 8 inches (4 each side) for the edges that will fold over to the inside of the book and 1 inch  (½ top and ½ bottom) for seam allowances.  

In this case the measurements are as follows: 20 x 9¼.  

12 inches + 8 inches = 20 inches (side to side)

8¼ inches + 1 inch = 9¼ (top to bottom)

You'll need the same sizes for both the front, back and fusible batting.

The next step is to use a pressing cloth and iron on the fusible batting to the WRONG side of the piece of fabric you want to use as the face of your book.  Then place the lining fabric on top, right sides together and sew the SIDES, leaving both the top and bottom edges open.

Turn the cover right sides out and place the book inside the cover, fold the edges over the book.  Pin each edge as markers, use a hot iron and press, the crease will help you to match up the edges when you need to sew it down.  Turn the cover wrong side out again and fold the sides inwards, matching up the pressed creases of the lining and front fabric.

Sew the top and bottom leaving a opening big enough to turn it right side out.  I marked the opening with a water soluble pen to ensure I don't sew right through.

You can then hand sew the opening closed with a blind stitch.  I am NOT good at those, so what I did was cut a small piece of fusible applique, placed it inside the opening and fused the opening shut.

All that is left to do now, is give the book cover a good press and cover a book with with your finished fabric book cover.

This makes for a quick, easy and fun little project, great for gifts or to give a bit of flare to books you might already have.

Thanks for stopping by.

* My posts delivered to you *