Father’s Day

“Manly” Zipper Pouch, aka I LOVE Bacon

June 5, 2014 by Amanda Leave a Comment

Do the men in your life LOVE bacon? The ones in my life do 🙂 Bacon themed items are super popular and what I love most about the bacon trend is Jim Gaffigan’s comedy bit about bacon – if you haven’t heard it -click HERE … you will laugh so hard!! This week at Jedi Craft Girl has been all about the fabric line Ribs & Bibs and Father’s Day
. I love this zipper pouch because it is “manly”. I used a light weight black denim on the outside, a chunky metal zipper, and the taupe utensil fabric on the inside. I used white house paint to stencil the word “Bacon” on the bag. Therm o Web fusible stabilizer gives the bag more stability. This zipper pouch is my new FAVORITE!!!

Here’s how you can make one:

Supplies

fat quarters of outer lightweight denim fabric

fat quarters of lining – I used taupe “grill master”

fat quarter “open pit” for pig motif

Therm O Web Fusible interfacing, medium weight

Heat n Bond Lite fusible applique

White paint

Zipper

Letter stencils or cutting machine

Cut (2) lining pieces (2) denim pieces and (4) interfacing pieces 8″ x 11″

Begin by preparing the stencil I used some extra vinyl I had laying around (that’s why it’s pink) and ran it through my Cricut. I used the font “Playbill”, weed the letters to leave the outline.

Using a masking strip to adhere the stencil, place the Bacon word on the center of the denim piece.

Using a stencil brush, stencil with white paint. I literally used the trim paint from my house.
Let it dry then peel off the stencil. I love how it turned out!

Here are the pieces you should have cut 8″ x 11″

Iron the interfacing to the wrong side of both the lining pieces and both the outer bag pieces – 4 total. Iron a piece of Heat n Bond to the wrong side of the pig fabric. I liked the red pig the best. Cut out around the pig leaving a little white boarder. Stitch around the pig in white thread. Press the front of the bag, heat setting the painted letters.

Now you are ready to construct the bag. Follow this tutorial here. A word of advice if you are using a chunky metal zipper…..It was my goal to not break my needle. I was super careful to hand move the needle when near the zipper – that way the needle can find it’s way around the zipper teeth. I thought I was in the clear and then resumed with the pedal and snap – the needle broke – darn! I bet you can do it without breaking the needle 🙂

I just love this project to pieces! I might need one for myself – my kids all want one too!!

Filed Under: appliqué, Blend Fabrics, Father's Day, FEATURED, Heat n Bond, projects, tutorial, Uncategorized, zipper pouch

The Perfect Potholder {Father’s Day Tutorial}

June 4, 2014 by Amanda 4 Comments

I know the claim “The Perfect Potholder” is pretty bold!! I am a bit of a potholder snob. I can’t stand silicone ones, I don’t like them if they are too stiff or puffy, I also don’t like them if they are too thin. I love the cute quilty ones, but I am always afraid to use them. So I resort to my trusty terrycloth potholders…..behold:

Aren’t they beautiful! haha!! They’ve been used and washed at least a million times and I can never give them up…..until TODAY when I came up with a homemade version that is just as functional yet much more stylish. The trick is that I cut up a hand towel (or bath towel), layered with batting and quilted it. Are you ready for the tutorial? Here we go:

Supplies:

1 bath or hand towel (not kitchen) the thicker the better!

Fat Quarter Bibs and Ribs fabric – still loving it!!

Scraps of cotton batting

fabric for the binding

Therm O Web Spray n Bond

Begin by cutting the towel 8.5″ square

also cut the batting and fabric the same size, 8.5″ square.

Use the basting spray to baste all the lawyer together with the batting in the middle.

Quilt as desired. I made 4 of these and did vertical lines, diagonal lines and then criss cross. Using a cup, draw a rounded corner on each of the corners and trim along the line.

Cut the binding on the bias 2.5″ x WOF, or enough to sew around the potholder. Sew the binding to the back of the potholder then pull the binding around and machine sew the top of the binding down.

Seriously, tears of joy were shed over this project. I cannot contain my excitement!! It actually feels just like my old trusty potholders – YIPPEE!!!

Now that I knew they were a success, I got a little creative. Try rounding all the corners but the top left corner like this:

Then sew the binding like this:

Take the little tail and give it a twirl to make a loop to hang or to just be decorative or to just finish the binding nicely.

They are the perfect addition to my collection of Father’s Day Gifts!!

Filed Under: Blend Fabrics, Father's Day, FEATURED, gift, Therm O Web, tutorial, Uncategorized

Got Ribs? {Father’s Day Apron Tutorial}

June 4, 2014 by Amanda Leave a Comment

The BBQ Father’s Day gift theme continues today with this BBQ apron using the Ribs & Bibs fabric line. BBQ and Ribs are a big part of our family traditions. I am so excited to give this apron to my dad who prides himself on his slow-cooked ribs. I’ve cut some corners on this project by ordering solid black chef’s aprons from Amazon – a 2 pack is about $10 and they arrive in 2 days! Here’s how you can make one:

Supplies:

Solid black chef apron

Fat quarter Checker Board Red

Fat quarter Open Pit White

Pig from Dinner for Two

Therm O Web Heat n Bond Lite EZ print sheets

Print the pattern in reverse on the Heat n Bond EZ print lite printer sheets – they make appliquéing letters a snap!

got ribs fathers day apron tutorial

Iron the letters to the wrong side of the checkerboard fabric.Then cut the letters out with scissors – this part takes a little while.

Iron a piece of the Heat n Bond Lite to the wrong side of the pig. Cut out the pig leaving a boarder of white.

Peel off the backing paper. Center the pig and the letters on the top portion of the apron. Iron in place. Top stitch around each letter and the pig. Yes, it’s a little tedious, but think of all the time we saved by not sewing then apron 🙂

Prepare the pocket by cutting a rectangle 15.5″ x 9″

got ribs fathers day apron tutorial.jpg_8

Press the sides and bottom in 1/4″

On the top edge of the pocket, sew a 1/4″ hem and then roll it to make a 1/2″ hem.

Pin the pocket into place and topstitch around the sides and bottom. Top-stitch again 1/4″ away from the first seam. This helps prevent fraying inside the pocket where there is a raw edge.

got ribs fathers day apron tutorial_11
Finally, find the center of the pocket and sew a straight seam to make 2 sections of pocket.

I made my husband close his eyes while modeling this apron so he wouldn’t see it – he is getting one for Father’s Day too!! got ribs fathers day apron tutorial_16

Filed Under: Blend Fabrics, Father's Day, FEATURED, gift, sewing, Therm O Web, tutorial

Surf & Turf Towels {Father’s Day Tutorial}

June 3, 2014 by Amanda Leave a Comment

I just can’t get enough of the Bibs & Ribs fabric! Today’s tutorial goes nicely with yesterday’s napkins. There are lots and lots of dish towel tutorials out there…..they are all super cute with ruffles, lace, and trim. That just doesn’t work for the guys. These towels have no “fluff” and they are very manly.

Supplies:

Dish towels, pre washed & dried

fat quarter Lobster Tails

fat quarter Dinner for Two

Therm O Web’s Heat n Bond Lite

Begin by ironing the towels. As with most store-bought dish towels, they are not perfectly square or rectangle. Do your best to press the towel so it’s straight on the end.

Cut a strip of lobsters.

Cut an equal sized strip of Heat n Bond Lite. Fuse it to the wrong side of the lobsters.

Peel off the backing and iron it along the edge of the towel. (normally I would cut the fabric and press the seams under, but we are focusing on quick and the Heat n Bond does just the trick!)

Locate the “Surf and Turf’ words in the fabric.

Fuse a piece of Heat n Bond to the wrong side. Cut around it with scissors. Peel off the back and press into place on the towel.

Top stitch around the lobster strip and the surf & turf.

I love that all my Father’s Day gifts will coordinate. Can’t wait to see what’s for tomorrow’s tutorial!!

The lobsters totally make me smile 🙂

Filed Under: Blend Fabrics, Father's Day, FEATURED, gift, Therm O Web, tutorial

BBQ Napkins {Father’s Day Sewing Tutorial}

June 2, 2014 by Amanda 1 Comment

I am so in love with this fabric line from Blend designed by Maude Asbury called Ribs and Bibs. It screams Father’s Day. I normally don’t sew for the men in my life but this year is totally different because of all the inspiration this fabric has given me! Don’t you just love it!! I wish I had yards and yards to make table cloths with! Every day this week I am sharing a tutorial using this fabric line.

Of course Father’s Day is in June – during one of the busiest months of the year. The holiday has to compete with end of the year final projects, class parties, class field trips, graduations, and the list goes on. The tutorials I am sharing are projects that can be sewn quickly – because who has time in June for anything extra?

I am the world’s messiest eater – I really mean it. When I go out to dinner with my husband, I have a pile of napkins at the end of the dinner and my husband doesn’t even have one (because I used it for myself). At home I eat with a kitchen towel on my lap – it just saves paper 🙂 When our family gets together to eat ribs or BBQ paper napkins just are not enough – and even cloth napkins leave something to be desired. That’s when I decided to purchase “Bar Mop” towels and turn them into BBQ napkins. Bar Mop towels are available at any home store in the kitchen towel department. They are slightly smaller than normal kitchen towels, and not a traditional washcloth. They provide the right amount of absorbency for BBQ sauced fingers!

Let’s get started….

Supplies:

Bar Mop Towels – pre wash & dry

fat quarter Ribs & Bibs “Open Pit” in brown fabric

fat quarter Ribs & Bibs “Checker Board” in red

Therm O Web Heat n Bond Lite

Begin by cutting a piece of the Heat n Bond and ironing it to the back of the Open Pit fabric.

Cut around each image leaving a little bit of brown boarder.

Peel off the backing paper and iron it to the corner of the bar mop towel. Keep in mind the heat n bond won’t permanently adhere to the fuzzy towel so it needs to be sewn on. The Heat n Bond will hold the image in place temporarily and it will prevent fraying.

Sew around each image with a straight stitch.

Iron another piece of Heat n Bond to the wrong side of the checker board fabric. (This is a little bit of a “cheater” way to add an accent strip to the towel.)