Saving the universe one project at a time!
Isn’t this the cutest fabric? It’s from the True Blue fabric line by Blend. Everyeday this week I will be featuring a project using fabrics from this fabric line – all with a whale theme!!
I totally LOVE whales and I have loved them since I was like 4 years old 🙂 I thought this pillow was super fun and I love the colors! My tutorial is over at the Therm O Web blog – so hop over there if you want the instructions to make your own!!
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!!
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!
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″
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.
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!!
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 🙂
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.)
Cut strips of the checkerboard 2 squares wide. Peel off the backing fabric.
Iron it to the bottom of the towel and top stitch around the strip. Now make enough for everyone coming to your Father’s Day BBQ!!
I love to personalize baby quilts when I give them as gifts. I came up with this quilt for a friend who is expecting a baby girl named Ava. I choose the colors based on the nursery colors of Red and Pink. This is a fun, fast quilt to make! and you can create your own pattern based on 3 types of blocks!
All seams are 1/4″
Supplies:
An assortment of coordinating fabrics. I used about 12 different fabrics. I think the more the better for this project. Go ahead, get scrappy!
HeatnBond® Lite
SpraynBond® Basting
Cotton batting
Cutting Instructions: There are 3 componants to this quilt: 4 1/2″ square, 4 patch, and a strip set of 3
STRIP SET measures 4 1/2″ x 8 1/2″
Cut 2 strips 1″3/4″
Cut 1 strip 2″ (this will be the center of the strip)
Piece the strips together WOF so the 2″ strip is in the center. Press seems and cut in 8 1/2″ segments. You will need 10 of these. I made 2 different versions. Depending on the width of your fabric, you can get 4 or 5 strip sets out of a WOF.
4-PATCH
Cut 2 coordinating strips WOF x 2 1/2″. Sew the two strips together length wise, then cut in 2 1/2″ segments. Press seams to one side. Sew two segments together to form a 4-patch. Make about (23) 4-Patch blocks from different fabrics.
4 1/2″ BLOCKS
You need about (54 to 60) 4 1/2″ blocks depending on how you lay out your quilt.
ARRANGE THE QUILT
This is how I arranged my quilt. You can mix it up how ever you like; that is what’s fun about this pattern. I did put (1) 3-strip set in each row. There are 12 rows: 9 blocks across and 12 blocks down.
If you are appliqueing a name or word in your quilt, cut a piece of fabric 12 1/2″ x 8 1/2″. If your name is larger, you may need to make adjustments. Remove 6 blocks to make room for the applique piece.
Follow these instructions to use Heat N Bond lite to applique the name:
I used a straight stitch to applique around the name – I went around each letter twice.
Once you have appliqued the name, piece the block into the rows:
Now you are ready to assemble the quilt. Sew the blocks together row by row. Then sew the rows together. Make sure to alternate how you press each row so the seams match up perfectly. I use pins at all the intersections.
Quilt as desired! Finished quilt is 36″ x 43″
I found this pattern for making a girls skirt out of a men’s button front shirt in this book, Never Been Stitched. The book is full of fun new sew or low sew projects. Great for involving kids!
Essentially you get a men’s shirt and cut it up, creating a skirt. I bought a size XL shirt and it made a size 8 girls skirt.
Sally wasn’t too thrilled about the idea until I made this cute whale shirt to go along with it. I used some of the left over fabric and used Heat n Bond EZ sheets that you run through the printer. Click HERE for the whale pattern.
I even used the existing front pocket from the shirt to be a high side pocket on the skirt.
Here you can see the gray flannel inside the pouch:
For the zipper pull, I took apart some owl earrings and used a split ring to attach the owl to the zipper pull. I always am on the look-out for cheap dangly earrings!
I think they are so cute!! And also handy!!
Cut out the letters and peel off the backing paper. Cut a piece of white fabric 9.25″ wide (the width of the Union Jack) x 19.5″ Place the letters and iron in place. Straight stitch around each letter twice. 
Quilt as desired
