Striped Circus Quilt Tutorial

(This tutorial was originally shared on Family Ever After)

I am not going to give a supply list because there are so many ways you could make this... Here is what I did.

I wanted to make this a baby sized quilt for my friend who is having her third boy in about a week and a half. 

I fell in love with this Michael Miller Circus fabric and thought it would be perfect for her quilt. I love the old fashioned look of it. So cute!

So I got a few of the coordinating fabrics and just cut up a bunch of varying sizes of strips that were 44 inches wide (width of fabric). The smallest I cut was 2 1/2 inches (the width of a jelly roll) and the biggest was the middle panel which was about 12 inches. 

I put the strips right sides together two at a time and pieced my quilt top. By the time I was finished it was approximately 36x44. 

(if you wanted to make a size that was wider than 44 inches then you would just piece your strips together to make them as wide as you need. ex: cut two strips that are 5x44 inches wide and then put them right sides together and sew up one of the ends. Once you opened it up and pressed the seam open you would have an extra long strip that was approx 5x88 inches. Make sense?)

When you quilt top is all pieced together you will need to iron and press open the seams so everything lays flat. 

Now you can make your quilt sandwich- your quilt top, batting and backing. For my backing, I used one yard of fabric. I laid it out flat and used t-pins to pin the fabric into the carpet to hold it in place. Next I laid the batting on top of that and smoothed it out. Then I placed the ironed quilt top on top of the two layers. Be sure to smooth things out very well so that everything is laying flat. 

Now that everything is smoothed out and held in place with t-pins, you can baste (hold) the layers together with safety pins. I like to use these curved safety pins. You just need to place a safety pin every few inches to hold the 3 layers together while you quilt it. 

Now it is time to quilt it. I just did some very basic quilting and sewed 1/4 inch from the seam on the top side of each of the stripes.

For the large panel in the middle, I wanted to give it a little more personalized look so I hand quilted around each of the animals. Here is a great tutorial for hand quilting if you have never tried it. I have to warn you though, it is so addicting... I love hand quilting- by far- more than machine quilting. It is so relaxing to sit on the couch and let your fingers and needle get to working over the fabric. It takes a lot longer than machine quilting, but I just like it so much better! Call me weird! ha ha

I wanted to "hide" her baby's name somewhere on the quilt so I chose to stitch "Paxton" along the giraffe's neck... I love the way it turned out.  

Once you are all done with your quilting, it is time to bind the quilt. Here is a great tutorial if you don't know how to do this step!

That's it! 

Tied with a Bow Carseat Canopy

(This post was originally shared on The Ribbon Retreat Blog)

When I saw this Fly a Kite fabric by Riley Blake, I fell in love and totally envisioned a darling carseat canopy...

 So I got to working and here is what I came up with. 

I know carseat canopies have gone around the block or two in blogland, but I decided to throw in a little of my own flair and added the bows up top for a little girly vibe. 

But- never fear... if you are making this darling little carseat accessory for the little boys in your life, leave the bows off and add a cute button... How darling would a jumbo fabric covered button be?? You could even leave it plain... either way would be so cute! 

SUPPLIES 

1 yard main fabric (I used pink ice cream)

1 yard coordinating fabric (I used the cream main)

2 fat quarters- one for the straps and one for the bows (I used pink ice cream for the straps and brown damask for the bows)- if you aren't making the bows to go on top, you will only need one fat quarter.

4 1/2 yard jumbo ric rac (I used brown)

two 3 inch strips of velcro

To start, iron both yards of your fabric.

1: Put your fabric right sides together and make sure they are exactly the same size. Once they are all lined up, use a plate and rotary cutter and round off all 4 edges of the fabric. (be sure that your fabrics are totally smooth so that when you are cutting everything turns out the same size)

2.Sandwich your jumbo ric rac in between the two layers of fabric and pin it around the edges. 

3. Once your ric rac is all pinned in place, take it over to your sewing machine and sew using 1/4 inch inseam. 

4. Be sure to leave a 4-6 inch opening to turn the fabric right side out.

Turn it right side out and press so that your edges are nice and crisp. Be sure to push out the corners all the way so they are nice and round. Put the edges of the un-stitched place inside and press the seam nice and straight. Now you are going to top stitch all the way around as close as you can to the edge. (I moved my needle all the way to the right for this part.) 

Ok... you are done sewing the main part. Set this aside so we can make the straps.

To make the straps you will need one of the fat quarters. Cut two strips that are 8.5x10 inches.

1. Pin both pieces so they are folded in half right sides together. You will have two pieces that are approx 4x10 inches.

2. Sew around the edges of both pieces but be sure to leave an opening to turn them right side out. 

3. Turn each strap right side out and press the corners out really well. Press with your iron to make things nice and crisp looking. Top stitch around each strap.

4. Sew your velcro on. I did this by folding the straps in thirds (actually not quite thirds- refer to picture above to see how mine were folded) and figure out where the straps are going to overlap and pin velcro in the appropriate places.

Ok... now you are ready to sew your straps to the main piece. If you have the carseat you plan on using the canopy with, customize exactly where you want the straps to be placed on the main part and also how far apart you want them to be placed. Or you can follow my measurements below.

I placed my straps approx. 20 inches up from the bottom of the canopy and then 11 inches in from the sides. So they were just slightly off centered as far as the length goes. (longer part in the front)

I pinned my straps in place and sewed a 3x3 inch box in the middle of the strap. When you are pinning your strap in place, fold it up and figure out where the 3x3 inch area is that lays on the canopy- place your pins there to mark where you need to sew. 

Ok... you are done with the main canopy part! If you aren't going to add the bows then you are all done. If you are adding the bows, follow the steps below.

To make the bows for the straps, take your other fat quarter and cut two pieces that are 9x11 inches. Next cut two pieces that are 2x3 inches.

1. Fold and press your 9x12 inch strips in thirds. You should have two strips that are 3x11 inches.

2. Fold the end in to the middle. 

3. Fold the other end to the middle so it overlaps the first end by 1/4 inch. 

4. Stitch one line down the middle to hold the folded ends in place.

(do step 2-4 on the other strap and then set these pieces aside)

1. Take both pieces of fabric that are 2x3 inches. Fold and press the edges towards the middle so that you have 2 strips that are 1x3 inches. Top stitch on each edge to hold the folded edge in place. 

2. Fold the strap so that it is right sides together and sew along the end to create a tube. Turn tube right side out.

3. Take one of the pieces that you made in the previous steps and fold it like an accordion to feed it through the tube. The picture above is what you will want the bow to look like when you have fed it through- so fold accordingly.

4. Feed through the tube. This will be extremely tight! Don't get discouraged... just wiggle that fabric through. It will look pretty rough once it is fed through, but it is easily remedied.

(do step 2-4 for the other bow)

Once your have fed both through the tubes, fluff and wiggle your bows to make them look nice. 

Now you are ready to put them onto your straps. You can hand sew them in place... or if you are in a huge hurry like I was, you can just hot glue them in place. Just put a dot under the bottom of the tube and then place it on the top of the strap to hold it in place. Take care to not have your glue gushing out from under the bow or it will look sloppy.

That's it- all done!! Yahoo! Ready for your little baby or a cute shower gift!

I gave mine to a close friend for her baby shower. I just folded it up and tied it with some cute ribbon I had laying around the house! It was a hit- she loved it!

Work in Progress Wednesday

Hey everyone!! I thought I might try something different this week and post something I have never really posted before: a Work In Progress or WIP. 

I realized that one of my very favorite blogs in. the. world. always gives everyone a sneak peak to what she is working on and I love it! I am always waiting in anticipation for the finished project to get posted. Not that I am expecting you all to do the same {ha ha}, but I thought it would be fun to give you a little sneak peak of a project that I am working on!

Today I am up to my elbows in these beautiful fabrics. {most of them are from Lecien's Old New 30s collection} I love the sweet vintage feel of these fabrics and thought they would be perfect for a quilt for my little girls new toddler bed.

It is my first time foundation paper piecing and I am in love! 

I got the idea for my these blocks when I found this darling quilt from Kerry at Lovely Little Handmades. I seriously loved her quilt so much and I happened to have the same Sweet Life fabric that she used for the center of the quilt block- so I am totally being a copy cat and making some of these darling blocks. 

{Have you seen Kerry's blog or shop?? Definitely on my "Love it" list!} 

As for the rest of the blocks- they are still being thought up and designed in the ole' noggin at the moment, but I will keep you all posted on what I decide to do for those blocks! (I am thinking about maybe some dresden plate applique using the scraps of the fabric on some plain white blocks or maybe some hexagon flowers but I not sure... any ideas??)

I was a little intimidated at first to try out paper piecing, but I am so glad that I took the plunge and went for it! It is really easy once you get the hang of it and it has opened up so many possibilities for intricate quilts on the horizon! :)

(I only had a small piece of the fabric that is in the center of the blocks so I wasn't able to center each kid exactly due to lack of extra fabric, but I like it all the same... even if their feet or half of their head isn't showing ;)

Like I said, I got my inspiration from Kerry's quilt so I definitely can't take credit for this cute idea! I also found a great how to video for foundation paper piecing on her blog as well! Definitely check it out if you have never tried paper piecing before!

Happy Wednesday!!

Vintage Lace Pillowcase + Tutorial

While I was home visiting last month, I had the opportunity to raid my grandma's sewing stash full of vintage treasures. I even inherited a vintage robin egg blue sewing machine. Among the boxes and boxes full of notions, I found an entire box full of vintage lace. I had never really sewn with lace before but it was so beautiful to pass up, so I grabbed pretty much all of it.

A while ago, I got thinking back to my childhood days of going to summer camps. At a few of the camps I attended, I was presented with a fun homemade pillowcase to use for that week. Each time I used the pillowcase, it was such a fun reminder of the adventures I had that. {I still have a handful of the pillowcases- although they are ratty with years of use now}

So I thought it would be a lot of fun to make each of my girls a fun summer pillowcase. With my love of vintagey things, I wanted to use some of the old lace and pair it with a vintage feeling print. For this project I used the Blissful Fashionista fabric from the Hello Luscious line by Basic Grey for Moda. I love this fabric. I think it looked perfect with the old vintage lace and my little girl loves it- especially since it has "Great Grandma Betty's" lace on it! :)

So here is how I made it...

SUPPLIES:

- 1 yard main fabric

- 38 x 3 inch strip of contrasting fabric

-38 inches of lace (I used 1 1/4 inch wide lace- you can use any size you want, but if you decide to use wider lace, you will need to adjust the width of the contrasting fabric to make it wider than 3 inches so that the lace will fit on it)

Cutting your fabric:

With the yard of fabric, cut one piece that is 38x24 inches and then one piece that is 38x9 inches. For the contrasting fabric, cut a strip that is 38x3 inches. And then you will need your 38 inches of lace.

Once your fabric is cut, you are ready to start...

Step 1: Take both the 38x9 and 38x3 inch pieces and fold them in half and press with your iron.

Step 2: Lay the folded contrasting fabric on top of the folded main fabric (raw edges to the right side) and then lay your strip of lace on top of the contrasting fabric.

Step 3: Next lay your 38x24 inch piece on top of the lace/contracting fabric/fabric cuff right side down and pin.

Step 4: Sew along the pinned edge (using a 1/4 seam allowance). After you are done sewing along that side, zig zag or serge along the raw edge to prevent it from fraying. (sorry no picture for this step)

Step 5: Open up the fabric and press with the seam going towards the inside of the pillowcase. Then top stitch on the right side of the fabric to hold that pressed seam down and give it a finished look.

Step 6: Next, fold your fabric in half right sides together. Be sure to line up the lace trim on the sides. Now pin edges together and then stitch along the edge. After you are done stitching, zig zag or serge the edge to prevent from fraying.

Step 7: Turn your pillowcase right side out and press.

That's it. You are done. Now you can enjoy your fun summer pillowcase!