Machine Binding Using Elmer's Glue Stick

This is a super quick and not super pretty how-to on using plain old Elmer's Glue Stick (washable) to temporary tack quilt binding down for machine quilting. I've seen tutorials on using Elmer's with a fine tip applicator, but I don't have that, so when I was trying to quickly bind my daughter's Meadow quilt in time for her birthday, I didn't want to fuss with Wonder Clips and missing bits on the back. So I grabbed the glue stick.

I was able to glue down the entire 84" x 96" Meadow quilt binding using this method in minutes and there were no spots on the back that I had to go back and stitch over again. I've been using it to tack down the binding on fiddly curved binding for potholders and even a placemat. I took a few pics while I bound my placemat last night for anyone interested in my method. I apologize in advance for my scorched ironing board.

Here is the Meadow quilt binding:

Machine stitch binding to the front and then press the binding seam away from the quilt top. I do this with all of my binding because it helps the fabric flip to the back.

Turn the quilt over to the back side and apply a line of glue stick along the raw edge of the quilt back, making sure to stay behind the seam line. Doing it behind the seam line will also make it easier if you want to hand stitch the binding using this method because glue can make the fabric stiff and harder to hand sew through.

My glue stick is purple when wet so it's really easy to see where you applied, but clear works too. Work in shorter sections so the glue doesn't dry before you press down the binding. I work in approximately 8" sections. (I made that up. I don't know how big the sections are, but probably less than 12")

Fold binding down in the section you glued so that it covers the binding seam line by a little less than 1/8" or 1/8". It's really hard to take pics of this by myself so it doesn't look perfect, but you get the idea.

Set the binding with your hot iron. Work around the perimeter.

Mitered corners - glue all the way to the corner of the backing, then just press down.

Add a bit of glue to the corner fabric that will fold down over the binding on the side you just finished, add glue to a section of the quilt backing on the next side, then fold down and press as you did previously. Try to match the corner folds for a perfect miter.

Turn the quilt back over to the front and stitch in the ditch on the front, catching the back binding. I didn't do my best work with this last night because I used 2.5" binding which is wider than my usual preferred 2.25" binding (2.5" wide binding gives me more poof in the front and obscures the ditch somewhat, in my opinion. I also used a contrasting thread color, and sew in a cave so I couldn't see the ditch. And it's a placemat, not a special piece. Haha. Anyway, I set my machine stitch length to 3 and use my walking foot.

Close up of the front of the finished piece:

Close up of the back:

Full placemat front and back:

Also a view of my "ish quilting" - 1/4"ish, straightish, good enough.

Adding a Zipper Pocket to The Everyday Hipster Bag

If you are interested in adding an inset zipper pocket to the exterior back or interior of your Everyday Hipster Bag (pattern available here), here are the pocket dimensions. I am not going to do a full tutorial on how to make an interior zipper pocket as there are so many out there. I really like this tutorial from U-Handbag.

Note: I didn't take the time to properly center my zipper pocket or place it lower than the top edge of the bag - take the time to do that.

Materials Needed:

6" zipper or longer

(2) 6" squares of fabric for the pockets

(1) interfacing for one main panel

(1) 6" square of interfacing

(1) 2" x 6" rectangle of interfacing

Interfacing:
1. Add interfacing to the wrong side of the main pocket panel that you will be using to install the zipper pocket. This will help support the weight of the zip pocket.
2. Add 6" square of interfacing to the wrong side of one pocket panel (it will be the front of the zipper pocket and less visible)
3. Add 2" x 6" rectangle of interfacing to the top back of the zipper pocket for additional stability.

Zipper placement:
1. Draw rectangle for zipper placement on the back of the interfaced square.
Start 1" down from the top and 3/4" in on each side.
Your rectangle will be 1/2" tall with a line in the center and notches to trim.

Pocket panel attachment (see linked tutorial above for good pictures of this step):
1. Center pocket panel with drawn rectangle on main panel
I lined my pocket panel with the top of the main panel, but it is really best to reduce bulk and drop the pocket 1/2"-1" from the top (don't slap your zipper pocket together like I did)
2. Pin in place and stitch around the perimeter of the rectangle you drew.
3. Cut the center line you drew inside your rectangle and snip the notches with scissors. Be very careful to cut close to the corners, but do not cut your stitches.
4. Pull attached pocket panel through through the opening you made.
5. Press well, rolling lining to the lining side.

Install zipper:
1. Put zipper behind the opening - I like to use Wonder Tape to hold it in place.
2. Topstitch around perimeter of your opening to secure your zipper.
3. Trim excess zipper tape.

Attach second zipper pocket panel:
Attach the pocket panels together with right sides together.
Stitch around entire perimeter of the pocket panels with 1/4" seam allowance
Make sure to move the main panel out of the way as you stitch the pocket panels.

And now you have a pocket for your bag. (This one works really well even though it is off center. Oh well, it's for me anyway.)

The Everyday Hipster Bag Pattern Available Now

I've been buried in house organization for the past several months and it has taken a hit to my creative energy, but I'm back to more sewing and less organizing. To be honest, it's starting to look like I didn't do much organizing which leads me to believe that it's a full time job around here. But either way, I am back to a creative place and have several ideas in the works.

First up, I have a new bag pattern available to purchase called The Everyday Hipster. You can find it on Payhip and Etsy. I've had so much fun making this bag for everyone. While I love a big structured bag as much as the next person, I really like a small, super lightweight crossbody bag for traveling and events, or those times when I just don't feel like keeping track of a purse.

The Everyday Hipster is just the right size to hold a small wallet, phone (fits my iPhone 6 with plenty of room to spare), and keys. Constructed with a simple Velcro flap closure and exterior slip pocket, this pattern is a great start for novice bag makers. No zippers! You can easily add a zip pocket to the exterior or interior (blog post to follow with pocket dimensions) or swap out the Velcro for a snap. If you use a heavier weight fabric, no interfacing is needed and the bag can be whipped up in under an hour.

Pattern instructions include a child length strap, so this bag is perfect for all ages. I think I will make a bunch as party favors for my daughter's next birthday party.

Approximate Dimensions:

6" W x 1" D x 7" H

Adult Handle Drop 22"

Children's Handle Drop 18"

I've been fortunate to have a great bunch of testers, some people made multiple bags. Take a peek at Instagram #everydayhipsterbag  to see bags. 

Ellyn of Ellyn's Place, made three bags! Ellyn is my favorite tester; she always give valuable feedback, she is so fast, and as a pattern writer and prolific maker she has a great eye. Check out Ellyn's post with pics of all the bags she made. 

Photo courtesy of Ellyn's Place.

Debbie, from Happy Little Cottage, also tested the Everyday Hipster and her version is so cute. She added a pocket to the front flap, patchwork, and mason jar thread sketching. Check out her blog post with details. 

Photo courtesy of Happy Little Cottage.

I've loved seeing all of the fabulous bags made by testers:

Photo courtesy of @twinssquared.

Photo courtesy of @sewologist.

Photo courtesy of Belloquacity.

Photos courtesy of @hollowglen. 

Photo courtesy of @roseandodin.

Photo courtesy of @elletaylor7

Various versions of the Everyday Hipster Bags I have made:

And a child size version for E:

Diamond Star EPP Quilt

After just under a year of stitching (and maybe a month of inactivity) E's diamond star quilt is done, washed and crinkly. So many stitches, so many fussy cuts. Additional in progress photos can be found in my previous blog post here. 

Quilt details

Hand pieced using English Paper Piecing method

54" x 72" after washing (will ultimately go on a daybed)

99.5 blocks consisting of (12) 2" diamonds = 1,194 diamonds

Diamonds cut using acrylic cutting template from Paper Pieces

Borders to even out edges

Backing: Lecien Flower Sugar pink floral

Binding: Vintage Picnic 108" wide navy bias gingham 

Diamonds pieced as follows

-95 full blocks

-4 blocks pieced in halves (one half block is attached at top of quilt and one half block is attached at bottom of quilt)

-1/2 block

Template papers

Purchase at www.paperpieces.com

Alternatively, here are links to cut your own papers. I print on 110 weight cardstock at 100%.

Diamonds:

Incompetech

Print with minimum border of .25" and block size of 2" with black outline

Borders:

I made my own papers and cutting template as very few were needed for this project. I've attached the PDF below for others to use. Cut fabric larger than the paper template, with 1/4" or 3/8" seam allowance all around. 

For outer corners, cut paper in half - you only need two half border pieces.

Border template

Love the look of this quilt, but want to machine piece it? 

Check out Vintage Carousel quilt pattern by Stitch Mischief. It's a good one!

Border details:

Tiny Scrappy Circle Mini Quilt Tutorial

A couple of years ago my daughter made some round fabric covered magnets with my scraps. Sometimes I have a hard time letting go of little odd scraps of beloved fabric, so for part of my "leave no fabric scrap behind" project this year, I decided to clean out some small and cut sections of scraps by making an applique circle mini using the same cutting method that we used for the scraps. It's a bit of an odd method, but it worked out well, and it was a great on-the-go and TV project.

Quilt Details

(676) 3/4" fabric circles
20 3/8" square of Essex linen in flax
(2) binding - WOF strips Bonnie and Camille Miss Kate scallops
22" square of backing fabric
22" square of batting
Elmer's glue to baste circles

Cutting the Circles

I used a 3/4' magnet I bought at a craft store to trace the outline of the circle on the back of each scrap. Fussy cutting these little circles is so addictive! Both large and small scale fabrics work well to highlight different details; one fabric print cut in different areas can look completely different.

Tip: Press and starch the fabric well prior to cutting to help the fabric hold its shape during cutting and gluing.

To hold the fabric in place to trace, I set the fabric on my metal IKEA tray, and laid the magnet on top. This help keep the fabric from shifting around. I then used my favorite little Singer scissors and carefully scissor cut the circles. My circles aren't all perfectly round, but they worked in the end.

Adhering the circles to the background

I thought 20" finished would be a good size for a mini or a big sofa pillow. I intended to cut my background fabric 20 1/2" square, but somehow I cut it a smidge smaller at 20 3/8". I'd love to tell you it is because I subconsciously knew this would work better, but it was serendipity because it worked perfectly for laying my circles side by side.

I cleared a spot on my table just like I would if I were going to work on a big puzzle, and laid the background fabric on it. I used a Clover Hera Marker  to score a perimeter line 1/2" from the edge of the background fabric to guide placement of the circles.

The trickiest part was figuring out the best way to attach these without spending a year on it. In the end, I decided that a mini quilt hanging on the wall won't be handled a lot, so I just used Elmer's glue to temporarily baste them to the background. I used a very thin layer Elmer's from a bottle spread across the back - try not to use so much that it soaks through the front of the fabric. I tried a couple using a glue stick and that was not the best method because it pulled on the bias edges of the circle, and also frayed the edges of the circles.

For projects that will get a lot of use - it is probably a good idea to use a product like Heat n Bond Lite to fuse each circle on. I thought I would use it, but the idea of tracing and cutting 1,676 Heat n Bond circles made me sad.

Starting in the lower left hand corner of the background fabric, I laid one circle touching both the side and bottom Hera lines. I then added circles along the bottom row, each side of the circle just barely touching each other, and the bottom of the circles touching the bottom Hera line. Once I figured out that the placement work perfectly, I glued each circle before laying it down and smoothed it in place gently with my fingers.

I continued to work horizontally and sometimes vertically, gluing and placing until all the space was filled, choosing fabric as I went. I worked over the course of several days, little bits at a time when I had a few minutes.

If you look closely, you can see the Hera lines in the photos below.

Quilting

To permanently adhere the circles to the background, I just quilted it densely - one line in the center of each circle, and lines 1/4" left and right of center, going both directions.

After quilting, I trimmed the edge edge of the quilt to 3/8" from the edge of the circles. Two WOF of strips works perfectly to bind the mini.

I hope this helps anyone who would like to use up some teeny scraps!

Dollhouse Miniature Precuts Tutorial

I recently participated in a small swap with some sewing friends. Stalking my recipients Pinterest board revealed a whole new world of miniature quilt shop supplies. She has a dollhouse, so I decided to make her some bundles. I looked around at various blogs for tutorials. I found several for fabric bolts and fat quarter bundles, but I wanted to make a few adjustments to size/fold. I tried to stay as close to 1:12 ratio as possible. While I saw pictures of super adorable miniature jelly rolls, I couldn't find a tutorial. I also didn't see any pics or tutorials for dollhouse size charm packs or layer cakes; they may be out there, but I missed them.

I wanted to make fat quarter bundles that look a bit like Moda's. Given the thickness of the fabric, it is not practical to make a full 40 fabric bundle. 7-8 fabrics seemed to be just the right height. I forgot to take pics of the individual fat quarters I folded on the long side, rolled up, and tied with perle cotton to store individually, but that is also a fun way to display individual fabrics.

Additionally, I wanted to make the bundles sturdy enough to be handled without coming undone, so I used glue to keep the pieces together. On the jelly rolls, the first one I made, I used only glue stick to glue as I rolled, and it was a horrible sticky mess that was slow to dry. I switched to glue gun for that part on subsequent ones, and I was really happy with the result. I am sharing here to refer back to later when I make more, and for anyone who is interested in making some like mine.

I have also included printables to print labels for charm packs and layer cakes. A link to the document is found in the supplies section below.

I don't have a dollhouse, but my daughter does, and these were such a fun scrap buster that I kept on making bundles. I'd love to show you a beautifully staged dollhouse quilt shop, but we aren't to that stage of the process. (Maybe in the next several years.....)

Supplies

Jelly Rolls:
Fabric: (8) .25" x 3.5" strips
Perle cotton or embroidery floss to tie bundle
Low temp glue gun and glue sticks
Water soluble glue stick (ex: Elmer's or Sewline)

Fat Quarter Bundles:
Fabric: (7 or 8) 1.25" x 1.50" rectangles
Perle cotton or embroidery floss to tie bundle
Water soluble glue stick (ex: Elmer's or Sewline)

Charm Packs:
Fabric: (8) .5" squares
Cardstock: (1) .5" square
Water soluble glue stick (ex: Elmer's or Sewline)
Labels - printable file download available here

Layer Cakes:
Fabric: (8) .875" squares
Cardstock: (1) .875" square
Water soluble glue stick (ex: Elmer's or Sewline)
Labels - printable file download available here

Fabric bolts:
Chipboard: Cut into .625" x 2" (or .875" x 2" if you prefer a bit wider than 1:12 scale)
Fabric: 3.5" T x 4" W (or wider if you prefer a fuller bolt)
Low temp glue gun and glue sticks - or -
Water soluble glue stick (ex: Elmer's or Sewline)
White acrylic paint

Folded yardage:
Fabric: Each yard approximately 3" x 3.625"
Fold as desired to fit doll cabinet space
Press well. If you want to stay folded, add a bit of glue to hold the fabric layers together

Assembly

Jelly Rolls:
1. Select 8 strips. Layout in preferred order.
2. Use glue stick on the wrong side of half of each fabric strip and fold in half with wrong sides together. Press with the iron to lay flat and heat set the glue.
3. Stack fabrics, matching raw edges, folded side of fabric on the same side. Using a glue stick, glue 1/3 of the strip from the raw edge between each strip and press with an iron to heat set. This holds the layers in place to minimize shifting when the fabric is rolled, however you do not want to glue the entire length of the fabric because they need to be free to roll and stagger on the folded end.
4. Using the glue gun, add a small bead of glue near the raw edge of the top fabric and on the bottom raw edge of the stacked fabric. Fold all of the strips of the raw end in just a tiny amount to stick to the fabric. (2nd row, pic 1)
Note: You will be rolling with the fabric you want to be the exterior on the bottom. Let's just pretend I was paying attention and had my fabrics stacked in the same order that I laid them out it in the first pic. As you roll, you roll onto the fabric you want to be the inside inside the jelly roll.
5. Using the glue gun, add a small bead of glue on about 3/4" inch of the inside fabric and roll the jelly roll a bit more. Try to keep the jelly roll in a round shape. I have a couple that I made that ended up a bit more oval shaped because I was not vigilant about keeping the shape round as I rolled/
6. Continue adding a small amount of glue to the inside fabric and roll. Add glue to the free edges in small amounts. gluing the inside fabric, then glue the fabric next to it, until you finally glue the top fabric in place. Each layer has a shorter amount to glue.
7. Add a label if you wish. Wrap and tie jelly roll with embroidery floss or perle cotton. (I used baker's twine here, but it was a bit too bulky for my taste)
8. Add fray check to keep the exposed raw edges of the fabric from fraying.

Fat Quarter Bundles:
1. Select 7 or 8 fabrics.
2. Fold 1.25" side of fabric into thirds. Press well with iron, reopen fabric, glue both folds, and press down again to heat set.
3. Fold fabric in thirds again on the long side. Press well with iron, reopen fabric, glue both folds, and press down again to heat set.
4. Stack fabrics in desired order. If you would like your fabric to keep from shifting in the bundle, add a small bead of glue between fabric layers with the glue gun.
5. Add a label if you wish. Wrap and tie bundle with embroidery floss or perle cotton.

Charm Packs and Layer Cakes:
1. Select 8 fabrics. Only the top fabric is immediately visible, but this is a great way to use up tiny bits of fabric that would otherwise be thrown away.
2. Layer cardstock on bottom with the fabric squares on top. To keep fabric from shifting, add a small bit of glue in the center of the cardstock and each fabric layer (do not glue the top fabric). Fray check edges to keep raw edges from fraying.
3. Print attached printable label sheet and cut on black lines. The charm pack label will need to be shortened before attaching.
4. Wrap label around the center of the bundle and glue both edges on the back of the cardstock.

Fabric Bolts:
1. Paint ends of the chipboard white.
2. Fold fabric 3.5" edge of fabric down in half and press. Optional: Glue the perimeter of wrong side of fabric and press back in place. This will help to keep the fabric from shifting. Fray check bottom raw edge of fabric.
3. Using glue gun, add a bead of glue down one side of chipboard and glue raw edge of fabric in place.
4. Wrap fabric around the chipboard, fold remaining raw edge under 1/4" and press. Glue into place on the fabric bolt.