We are sew excited to share our ultimate guide on how to make a crazy quilt! From planning to stitch type, we've got everything you'll need!
Welcome to the second installment of Embroidery School! Are you ready to go crazy? I hope so because we're going to work through some inc...
Learn the creative art of crazy quilting, also known as crazy patchwork. This page tells all about how to make a crazy quilt, including supplies and embroidery
I would like to introduce block 8 in the I dropped the Button Box quilt . I hope people will enjoy seeing it in more detail over the next week or so. Fabric content: How I managed a small block like this with 9 pieces of fabric on it I am not sure but …
Go crazy with these free crazy quilt and crazy patchwork quilt patterns and projects!
We have begun our ambitious crazy quilting class with seven lovely and talented ladies. As we mentioned in a previous post, Crazy Quilting—Start to Finish, we have created a six-month crazy quilting class that teaches our students how to piece their blocks, stitch and embellish them, and finally put them together in the format of their choice. Taking photos of the class models for reference All our ladies had been eagerly awaiting this class and were ready to get started. Each student was instructed to bring at least 24 different fabrics, which could include cottons, silks, satins, or any other fabric they liked. We did have some fancy fabrics for sale to help their collection, but some of our ladies had been collecting fabrics over time, just for a future crazy quilt. A rainbow assortment of silks, satins, and velvets Many of these fabrics were sourced from thrift stores. One student's collection Each lady received four different patterns, as well as a fabric Little Red Riding Hood vintage postcard print to use as a center for one of their blocks. Most of the patterns were put together the same way, by having a center piece and then sewing each section around that center piece. We had the ladies bring in four 9" squares of flannel to be used as a base for the block, and Teri demonstrated how to construct the block with the flannel base. The flannel base provides a great support for the future block embroidery, and it also helps manage some of those slippery fabrics. The first piece is centered on the base. The second piece attached. As each piece is added, the excess underneath is trimmed away. Ready for embroidery After the demonstration, the ladies got to it and began constructing their blocks. Getting ready to choose fabrics Going around the center block with the next piece Checking if this fabric is a good fit This block is ready to be trimmed to its finished size. Such beautiful, bright colors We designed the patterns to be 8.5" finished, so having 9" base allowed for a little wiggle room as we pieced. An 8.5" square ruler was used to bring the pieced blocks down to their finished size. Trimmed and ready to go After the block was finished, the ladies basted around all four sides, and their blocks are ready for next month's embroidery session. Some of our students' finished blocks: The silver fabric in this block is a lacy overlay. Most of these fabrics were found at local thrift stores. As an unexpected treat, one of our students brought in some antique crazy quilt blocks that she had purchased. The blocks were in various stages of completion, absolutely beautiful, and she has more of them to bring to the next session. We can't wait to see them, and we will be sure to share them with you as well. Such lovely embroidery This unfinished, basted block is mostly made of silk. Another block a little further along in regard to the stitching Everyone was able to complete one block and will have the other three ready for our February meeting, where we will be focusing on motif selection, transferring design, and stitching the motifs. Thank you for joining us as we build these crazy quilts, and please come back to see the outcome of our next session.
Get creative with fabric scraps! Learn the stitch and flip technique to make a one-of-a-kind crazy quilt block. Follow my step-by-step guide.
Are you ready to make the easiest quilt ever? If so, read on to see how I made this easy quilt with no measuring or pattern required!
Crumb Quilt VS Crazy Quilt, both patchwork techniques are made with scraps of fabric, but which one is better and easier to make? When you love to make quilts or to sew, sooner or later you will end with a basket full of scraps of fabric, small and big, and as any other quilter these
Want to learn the basics of hand embroidery with an easy online workshop - totally free? Sign up for Embroidery 101 here. You'll learn how to get started, the tools and supplies you'll need, the four most basic stitches, how to transfer your pattern and how to display your work. If you already know the
Kawandi is a style of quilt created by the Siddi people of India, traditionally done by hand. It is truly scrappy and improvisational. While I like doing hand work, I was also intrigued by faster machine methods. I've listed some resources at the end of this tutorial if you are interested in creating Kawandi by hand, want to see another machine tutorial, want to see some footage of Siddi creating Kawandi by hand, and a discussion of creating Kawandi in your own style. This tutorial describes a new way of creating Kawandi by machine. These are NOT traditional Kawandi, but inspired by the joy and movement of Kawandi-style. I started with a background piece of fabric approximately 8x10", a piece of batting of the same size, and many scraps of batiks or quilting cottons. 1) Place the background over the batting, right side up (this is a quilt as you go technique, so the batting is incorporated from the beginning. 2) Place 4 scraps in the corners, right side DOWN - NOTE I'm using batiks in these examples, so its hard to tell that these pieces are upside down. In this image, you are looking at what will be the WRONG side of those scrap corners. 3) Begin UNDERLAPPING adjoining scraps into the corners. Fold approximately 1/4 inch on the side that will go UNDER the corner. Again, the scraps are placed upside down. Pin the piece in place along the edge. This will be machine sewn. 4) When you get to the next corner, fold the 1/4 inch on both sides of the scrap because it will go under 2 pieces of fabric. 5) Continue folding and underlapping scraps, pinning along the outer edge until you get the entire edge filled. Notice that it doesn't matter if you use short scraps, or long scraps. And again, its impossible to tell from this image because I'm using batiks, but you are looking at the right side of the background, and the WRONG side of the colorful scraps. 6) Sew 1/4 in seam all the way around the edge, removing pins as you come to them. 7) Clip the 4 corners close to the seam, being careful not to cut the thread. 8) Turn right side out by flipping each scrap over the seam. Use a tool to poke out or pull out the corners. There should be no raw edges of fabric along the edge of the piece because they are either in the seam OR they are folded under. 9) Carefully press the outer edge - taking care not to press the batting, as it might melt depending on fiber content. 10) The result is a piece with finished edges like this: 11) Top stitch close to the edge, This will secure all the folded under edges of each scrap. 12) When you are on the 4th side, approaching the beginning of your stitch line, turn the corner about 1/4" or 3/8" before you get there, to start the 'spiral' of stitching. The next steps are done just like Kawandi by hand, but you continue sewing on the machine. 13) To place the next piece, fold under 2 edges. Finger press or iron as necessary. Overlap the unfinished edges of previous scraps. 14) to place a color into a long strip, fold under 3 edges, staying aware of where you will place another scrap to overlap. 15) To keep a small scrap straight as you sew over the edge, it may be necessary to use long tweezers or stiletto. 16) Continue placing scraps and sewing in concentric rectangles, into the center. Note: this picture is from another project than the ones above. 17) Prepare the final scrap by folding under all 4 sides, and sewing the ever smaller rectangles/squares of stitching. 18) For the piece made of batiks, I decided the center "squares" looked better on the diagonal. Although not traditional at all, I've already broken so many 'rules', that I just decided to make this mine. Also, I'm aware that traditional Kawandi have 'folded flowers' in the 4 corners. Include them if you wish. Make it yours! Paula RESOURCES: How to make a Kawandi by hand by Kieren Dutcher https://youtu.be/yFd0xEfKeto How to make a Kawandi by machine (with binding) by Mel Beach https://pieceloveandhappiness.blogspot.com/2019/03/modern-kawandi-making.html Margaret Fabrizio travels to India to learn Kawandi from Siddi quilters: https://youtu.be/WqdIswL96q4 Margaret Fabrizio shows her own Kawandi quilts, and talks about making them in her own style. https://youtu.be/4NRxqOqp_UA
A lot of trial and error went into the creation of this sunflower bargello applique art quilt. Read about the source of inspiration and experimentation that made it a reality.
FREE PIECED FABRIC MAKING OK players! Got your bin of scraps? Here's a step by step of 15 minutes of play... Put those strips of fabric away and dig out all your little bits... This will be 15 minutes of sewing... They go together quickly, Don't think, just sew! I have a box under my sewing table that I put all my itty bits in that I save for making fabric. Grab a handful of various sized scraps. Sew one on, press open. This is a good place to add in angles. Is it looking to straight up and down? Lay your next piece on at an angle.... You don't have to line up your seams. I stitched a piece on at an angle, now trim off the bit that sticks out... press it open. Always press your pieces as you sew them on, this will keep your allowances smooth and flat on the back. Keep adding bits... at odd angles, you do NOT need to follow your fabric edge when you do this. THINK ANGLES at all times... sew it on, trim off the bit that sticks out... Keep adding around and trim off pieces that stick out. SAVE the BITS and add them in other places or use to start a new block. Working on any edge that you can add to, keep adding bits and pieces to your made fabric. I am NOT focused on making a SQUARE, I am focused on making a usable piece of FABRIC. Once you have a piece about 7", lay your ruler over the fabric and cut your shape. Here I just followed the size of my ruler. Makes for easy cutting! At 15 minutes, I have on my ironing board, This fun block to play with. When you cut out your squares, try to cut the blocks that will give you the most angles. Save the bits you have cut off to start your next 15 minute fabric process... If your edges get to Curvy or crazy, just trim them to a straight edge. Just don't focus on making them square. You may find you are working with a pentagon or hexagon shape or some unrecognizable shape... just keep adding where you can. If you find your piece, as you practice, does not lay flat, then cut off the wavy bit. Once you cut that wavy part off, you will find "THAT wavy SCRAP" will lay flat after you cut it off. Save it and use it on your next block. You can continue adding to your blocks with made pieces and make even bigger blocks these blocks below are 13 inches square. Often times, I had 4 bits of made fabric that I pieced together... See if you can figure out where I sewn the pieces together. this one above started with the lower right hand section, I squared it off into a pentagon shape then added the top strip, then the LEFT long strip. Use strips of made fabric... You can make strips of fabric and join them around a funky shaped piece of made fabric... Can you see how this block came together? This last one, I had two large pieces of made fabric, and one strip. I cut them on curves and joined them together, then made one more strip of fabric to go across the top... The more angles you use the more interesting your block will get... and it you've made something that you can then try a new idea with! Sometimes you find a piece that is just so perfect and you don't want to cut it down... that is were your Y seams come in... or rather, PIVOT points... If you think of Y seams as pivot point it makes them seem less scary... And it's far better to try Y seams here then on some big fancy project... See where the fabric leads you... It's a good way to practice your sewing techniques that you may otherwise avoid... or not! Like I said, CUT IT OFF, and add something else... That's what your scissors are for! :-) Have a go... Hope this helps.
It is time to move on to block 13, of the I dropped the button box crazy quilt. I know many people enjoy monotone crazy quilt blocks and I hope people will enjoy seeing it in more detail over the next week or so. As you can see there are 6 …
Happy Thursday! Wow is this hop flying! So far we have had designs in cotton & wool... I wonder what Ali Strebel has in store for us! ...
Do you love scrap quilts? Do you wish you could create your own? Today I share time tested tips and tricks for scrap quilting success.
Quilting for Beginners teaches newbies how to quilt from the basics, start to finish. This 5 part series walks you through each step of quilt making.
Have fun quilting any of these yoyo quilt pattern ideas you can get for free in this post for your next craft project.
I've had the chance to review the book Free Motion Quilting for Beginners (and those who think they can't), by Molly Hanson. I love that title! I'm a big proponent of quilting your own quilts, as you know, and I've read a lot of books about free motion quilting. I like how everyone presents the information in their own personal way....there is always more to learn! This book presents all the practical information you need to get started. More importantly, it gives you the confidence to jump in and give free motion quilting a try. There are 15 projects in the book that encourage you to start small and increase your comfort level with free motion quilting before you tackle something larger, like a quilt. What I love most about this book is Molly's tone of encouragement throughout the text and the projects. She is great at guiding you though the entire process! I've done a lot of free motion quilting and I love how relaxing it can be. I also know how easy it can be to get in a rut. I challenged myself to get out of my box, so to speak and try some new-to-me, designs. I gave this squared off stippling pattern a try and it went pretty well! I had to slow down and think about where I was going from time to time, but it was fun! I could see doing this all over a whole quilt. I also quilted a few swatches of different designs and I turned them into a set of coasters. Binding them was a little fiddly, but totally worth it! (I can say that now that they are done. Ha!) These are great because I not only used scraps of fabric, but scraps of batting as well. Hurray! I'm happy to count these as scrap project #94/101. If you would like the chance to win an e-book copy of Free Motion Quilting for Beginners, please leave me a comment in this post. In your comment, I'd love to hear what your favorite go-to FMQ pattern is. Or, if you are new to FMQ, I'd like to hear what pattern you would like to master. I will pick winner in a few days!
Making a hoop or tension frame for crazy quilt blocks is easy. So easy, you might want to make several different sizes. You can assemble and dis-assemble these fast...and even save some money by using the same "joints" but change out only the lengths of pipe for the frame. I like a laptop or table top model...but you can also just use "free" and hold the hoop. For this model, you need far fewer parts. Here are the instructions and parts list document to download, it is a pdf file. You will also need some standard garden clamps. I get mine on Amazon but they are available at larger garden centers too. (if this link breaks...just search for "garden clamp pvc 4 inch". These hoops/frames are very tight and I've used mine even for standard single-layer fabric for standard embroidery work. Since creating this first size...I have expanded my own supply of "pipe" to make many different sizes. Some small, some rectangle, some larger...all you need is more pipe! :)
Illustrated step by step instructions on how hand embroider drizzle Stitch which is a fun textured variety of Cast on stitch.
A collection of 12 scrap quilt ideas from top quilt designers featured in the book Scrap School, published by Martingale + Lissa Alexander.
Hi folks, well I shall explain the way I have made my little dragonflies ! 1. Find a ''dragonfly outline drawing.''.....Google images have hundreds 2.Trace the outline and transfer to your ground fabric, which is placed in a hoop 3. Trace each double set of wings only, and transfer onto a organza ribbon 4.Cut each set of wings out very carefully with sharp scissors. 5.Place the organza wings in place on the transferred outline that is in the hoop and sew into place with feather stitch. 6.Now very carefully sew tiny buttonhole stitch around the two wings on both sides. 7.Now sew french knots for the central body in a variegated thread. 8.The long segmented body can either be done in rows of bullion stitches or a thicker cord can be couched down in segments to make it look realistic! 9.All legs are done with straight stitch in a thick black sewing thread. 10.Two tiny metalic beads are sewn in position for the eyes. Any questions, dont hesitate to email me ([email protected]) and I will explain further if needed !! Look closely at the close-up photos to help you !!! Use your imagination and try holographic ribbon and specialist threads, Variegated thread looks fabulous , look in your stash and see what wonderful little beauties, you can make !!!! PLEASE, PLEASE keep in touch and let me see your little creations !!! p.s. A very important point That I forgot to include...................... USING BONDAWEB OR IRON-ON VILENE ON THE BACK OF THE ORGANZA WINGS WILL HELP STOP THE ORGANZA FROM FRAYING !!! APPLY THIS FIRST THEN CUT THE WINGS OUT !!!
Turn fabric scraps into beautiful quilted flowers with a sew-and-flip piecing technique easy enough for beginning quilters to master. Tutorial from NewQuilters.com. #easyquiltblocks #foundationpiecing #rosequiltblock #quiltingforbeginners
I am posting a copy of the guest post I did with Marci on Lily's Quilts blog today: Today Leanne from she can quilt and Marci from Marci...
Artist Catherine Rosselle created an amazing series of creepy embroidered insects called Insectomanie.
Wondering How to Finish a Quilt? Top US quilting blog, Diary of a Quilter, features an Easy DIY Tutorial for Finishing and Binding a Quilt. Click here now!!
Look below for many free Candlewicking projects and patterns. If you are looking for tutorials and history on Candlewicking & Whitework, follow the link.
You might be closer to having a pile of finished quilts than you think! I hope that's true for me because I have 50 UFO's! But not for long.Tied quilts finish fast, and they can be absolutely stunning. Take a look at my new pattern: "Quilt Knots, Ten Ways to Tie a Quilt." One is called "Monster Noodles." Haha! "Double Woolies" Pattern #2 in "Quilt Knots" Included are lots of handy tips that I discovered while doing these 10+ projects. I used lots of different materials and tools. I show some of the quilts before and after machine washing and drying. There is a detailed supply list. Even a handy pattern for those occasions when you need it done yesterday. Take a look. Could someone please put this on Pinterest and FB for me? Thanks. :)
I am really glad (and a little overwhelmed) by the many comments on my blanket stitch leaves the other day - I also found it very inspiring...
Also known as: Long french knot This is a decorative stitch. We can also say it is a motif stitch which can be used for the purpose of making flower pistils or similar looking patterns. There is not much hassle in doing the pistil stitch and is...
