Cassandra by Skipping Stone Studio
In the last few weeks a number of fat quarters and remnants have been added the fabric section of my etsy shop.
These are mostly from my personal stash so for many there is just the one FQ. There are a few where I do have yardage available and there is a link in the listing description to where yardage can be found.
Come take a look at what's available!
Lily Pads from the Orangerie Collection
Cotton Linen Fabric with Striped Cats
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Here's one quick way to make your zipper pouches extra special: Add a fancy pull!
I've made a few different types of fabric zip pulls and have a pattern for making one from fabric, but it's also fun--and quite quick--to make them with a pretty bead and some twine/cord.
My first few bead pulls had just one bead and a knot at one end, which works ok, but the bead is free to move up and down the twine. Not a huge deal, but it's better if the bead stays in place at the end of the pull where it is easy to grasp. That is the main point, after all.
So today I'll show you how to make a bead and twine pull along with the trick (step #3 below) to adding a knot right next to the bead to secure it in place at the end of the pull.
First, here are some other things I've learned from experience making this type of pull.
Use waxed twine so it doesn't fray and/or break.
Over time the twine will wear out from use and even just making and attaching the pull can weaken spots in the twine, so if you can, use waxed twine/thread.
After experimenting with a few different types of waxed twine, I prefer to use 1mm waxed cotton twine. It's thick enough to be durable, widely available, and doesn't feel tacky. Check out this list of some that can be found on etsy, or check your favorite bead shop.
Another options is to wax some twine yourself. If I was going to wax it myself, instead of the cotton twine, I'd use my favorite hemp twine. That's mostly because I have a collection of this twine already and used it for zip pulls before getting the waxed cotton.
Wax is pretty widely available, but you might consider this little tin from Wren Bird Arts (and check out the amazing mending supplies offered in this same shop!).
The hole should not be too small (or too big) and what to do if the hole is a tight fit.
Too small and it's challenging to get it through the hole, and too big and the knot will slide through the hole. Double knots can sometimes solve the too big of a hole issue, but they also look a bit bulky and I usually save the these beads for other projects.
If you are buying beads online, the hole size might be listed, but it's not a common description detail. If the hole size is listed, 2mm - 3mm is good. Looking closely at the photo can often show if the hole is minuscule, but of course, it's still kind of a guess. Usually, the larger the bead the bigger the hole. So look for beads 18mm - 25mm in size.
That being said, if the hole is tight, in some instances you can use a needle and thread to pull the twine through the bead.
To do this, thread a needle and tie knot with both ends of the thread. Place the twine over the thread, insert the needle through the center so it is between both ends of thread, and pull it taut. Then thread the needle through the bead and pull the twine through. You might need to help the twine get started by bending it where the thread is attached. Once the twine is through the bead, snip the thread.
This method will also come in handy for getting the twine through the hole in the metal zipper pull. Sometimes that hole is really small!
Make the first knot AFTER inserting the twine through the bead.
Basically, this refers back to the previous point about the hole size. If you are certain you can get your twine through the hole (remember the twine will be doubled going through the hole), you can make the first knot before adding the bead. If you aren't 100% certain, you don't want to make the knot only to find out you need to use the method above to get the twine through the hole.
Be generous with the length of twine.
In the photos below my twine is about 16" long. It definitely doesn't have to be quite this long, but it's easier if you have some extra to work with while putting it together.
How to Make the Pull
Step 1: Cut a length of twine about 16". This is plenty of length for adding one to two beads.
Step 2: Thread the twine through the bead and make the first knot. This is a simple overhand knot and should create a loop section a minimum of 1" - 1.25" long. The bigger the bead the longer this section needs to be or it will be a struggle to attach the finished pull. If you are having a hard time positioning this knot where you want it, use steps 3 & 4 below in this step too.
Step 3: Then make a second overhand knot underneath the bead, but leave the knot loose and then stick a long pin through the center. The pin is the trick for making the knot next to the bead. It acts as a lever to help you move the knot and also prevents the knot from being cinched tightly closed before you are ready.
Step 4: Move the knot next to the bead by pushing it with the pin while pulling the tails of the twine. Once the knot is next to the bead, tighten it some, and then remove the pin and give the knot a final pull towards to bead to cinch the knot fully closed.
Step 5: Trim the tails of twine and then insert the loop end through the hole in the metal zipper pull tab. You might need to use the method in the section above about the hole size ("The hole should not be too small (or too big) and what to do if the hole is a tight fit") to get it through the hole.
Step 6: Thread the bead through the center of the loop and pull it tight.
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Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Are you familiar with Dashwood Studio fabric? I started noticing some lovely prints from this UK company a year or two back, and so far have managed to acquire just one. But I'm ready for more! Haha...can't stop buying fabric. Good thing it's useful.
This one pictured here is called Garden Menagerie and it's from the Hedgerow collection by Bee Brown. I'm always partial to a dark blue background and this one has a few of my other favorite things--a packed print, birds, butterflies, moths, and flowers. So good!
Another thing I'm also loving is these etsy favorites lists and I started one for Dashwood Studio fabric. Click here to take a look at some of the Dashwood Studio fabrics I'm coveting for my stash.
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One of my favorite mods for the Grocery Bag pattern is the patchwork one! It is so fun to put all these prints together into some wild combinations and see it all come together.
While patchwork is something I'm pretty comfortable with at this point (experience makes it a lot, lot easier!), I remember when it was a bit of a mystery how some of the pieces are sewn together into a larger piece big enough to use for a project.
If this is something you can relate to and you'd like to know more so you can make your own patchwork pieces, take look at the photos at the bottom of this post to see an example layout and the basic process for how to make a patchwork panel to use to make the Grocery Bags. This same process can be used to make patchwork for just about any project.
But first, here are some photos of the three patchwork bags I made this week and a little bit of background info for this post:
Making: One panel to use for the smallest version of the Grocery Bag.
Measurements: There are no measurements for the patches. The point of patchwork is to use scraps or small pieces of fabric and these are all different sizes.
Foundation Piecing: Almost all the patchwork I make is mostly foundation pieced. Foundation piecing means the fabric pieces are sewn together ("pieced") directly onto a larger piece of fabric. Stitching them together on a foundation makes it easier because the fabrics aren't going to be stretching as much and the end piece is stable and somewhat substantial. The "mostly" part means some of the patches are joined together separate the foundation, and then attached to the foundation. You can see this in action in the photos below where patches 6/7/8 are made into one piece and then stitched to the foundation.
Foundation Fabric: Muslin is ideal for a foundation since it tends to be light weight (these bags can get heavy) but stable and easy to sew. Any kind of cotton muslin is fine. You can also recycle cotton sheets, or use up other fabrics from your stash. Just make sure any fabrics with a print and/or color aren't going to show through your patchwork fabrics. Flannel also works nicely as a foundation for patchwork, but unless you don't have some cotton fabric to use, it's not my first choice for this particular project. I mention it only because it is an option and it's fantastic in some other patchwork projects. It gives the finished pieces some drape, but the not-so-great part is it's also kind of stretchy and can creep while you are sewing.
Foundation Fabric Size: Cut the foundation fabric piece at least 1/4"-1/2" larger (all the way around) than what you'll eventually cut from it. After making the patchwork piece, you'll need to mark the outline of what you are cutting and baste the edges so the patches don't come undone. The extra is to give you a hedge because generally one or more patch won't quite make it to edge of the foundation fabric so you need a tiny bit extra. So here my foundation fabric is a rough cut piece of white muslin that is about 12" x 15".
Supplies: Foundation fabric, fabric pieces, pins, scissors, cutting mat or some other type of grid surface to help you align pieces and act a visual reference point, and the usual sewing stuff like thread, a machine, etc.
Rough Cut: All my pieces start out rough cut and then I straighten edges with a rotary cutter/ruler (or marker/scissors) only when needed. If they are close enough to straight, that is good enough for me. It's super liberating to rough cut these pieces, but if you aren't ready for this much improvising go ahead cut all your pieces into neat squares/rectangles using whatever tools you like to use and have available.
Backstitching: No need to backstitch while you are sewing patchwork, which is easier said than done since it's habit for most us at this point! But you don't need to do it and if you happen to need to remove a seam, you'll be so very happy to not have to deal with picking out the backstitching too.
Anyway, there is always more to say about the topic of patchwork, and if there is something you want to know, leave a comment.
On to the patches!
Patch 1
This piece is slightly off center both horizontally and vertically. I always start with the first patch to the left, but it can go on either side. The left just feels like where it goes for me.
Patch 2
Patch 3
Patch 4
Patch 5 & 6
Notice there is no foundation fabric here. These need to be joined separately from the foundation. The other option would be to cover the remaining white space with one single piece of fabric.
Patch 7
Attach 5/6/7
From here, I make a second panel for the Grocery Bag. Often I use the same fabrics and basic layout for the other side so there's not too much more thinking to do!
Once the patchwork panel(s) are made, then it's time to trace out the pattern piece outline, baste 1/8" inside the outline, and then cut out the piece.
Before going, I wanted to mention the basting step mentioned above can't be skipped. It might seem like you can skip it, but the basting step is not optional. Without the basting stitches the patches start to come apart at the edges as you sew and then they need to be hand stitched back together--if that's even possible.
Ok, I'm off to make more patchwork! Next up is patching in pockets, which is also very fun!
If you made it this far, you might also enjoy this older post about making the Grocery Bags in patchwork and/or this post about picking patchwork prints and colors.
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Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Some of the plum colorway of Clara from Tilda's Woodland Collection arrived at my house the other day and it is really sweet!
This is my first Tilda print and I'm super pleased to have it in my stash.
The print is smaller than I thought it would be, which isn't a problem. Most of the listings don't show a ruler and sometimes even with the ruler, my perception of the print size is still off some. If you are considering this print, the flowers are just under 1/2" wide.
This fabric is so darling that now I want the other three colorways too. Be still my greedy fabric hoarding heart!
Click any of the images or links to go to a collection of etsy listings for this print.
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Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Ooohlala...look at this itty bitty basket bag with these adorable tuxedo cats! Sew, sew cute!
This little bag is size 1 in the Basket Bags sewing pattern.
The exterior fabric is a cotton/linen blend Japanese fabric from Hishiei Shoji and the lining is a black and white heart print from Andover.
The tuxedo cat fabric came from Kimono Momo on etsy and she does still have some of this cat print fabric in the beige colorway, but I don't see this pink one.
So I set off to find more and ran into some trouble since most of the Japanese fabric manufacturers don't name their prints and collections. This isn't the first time I've wished they'd name the print/collections since it makes it much, much easier to find the fabrics online if there is name as a point of reference.
Since I have this fabric, naturally I started out by looking at the selvedge for the info. This one shows:
But that's it!
The problem here is there is no manufacturer info and many search functions now auto-correct spelling and in this case etsy, and sometimes google too, want to change Atuko to Atsuko Matsuyama. Love her fabric too, but that's not what we are looking for here.
In the end, I was able to find more listings for this fabric on etsy by using a variety of searches like "tuxedo cat fabric", "cotton linen cat fabric" and you can go here if you'd like to see them.
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Please Note: This post contains affiliate links.
This summer I've made two pillowcases while working out how to make them using the burrito (aka: magic) pillowcase method and use directional print fabric. There are existing tutorials for this, but I fell down the rabbit hole looking for one that summarized what needed to be done--rather than having to go step-by-step through the instructions--and eventually decided it was going to be faster to figure it out myself.
There will be a blog post about how to do this soon. In the meantime, appropriate prints for pillowcases for my bed have been on my fabric radar and here is one that would work well.
This quilting cotton fabric is called Lily Pads and it's from the Orangerie collection by Caitlin Wallace Rowland for Dear Stella. Water plants are fascinating and wouldn't it be nice to wake up to this dreamy print?
I've been using the pillowcase made from Elsie's Cat from the Glory collection and while it's super cute, and pretty delightful to wake up and see this cute cat print fabric, the colors don't match my bedroom. Since I need to make a set, might as well get something that will work better with the decor!
This fabric also fits my pillowcase fabric criteria of having a light colored background and not many really dark colors. These two qualities are perfect for pillowcases since they get washed a lot and will fade. They'll look better longer since the fading will be less noticeable.
If you'd like to see some other prints for pillowcases, check out my etsy Pillowcase Fabric favorite list for these fabrics. The list also has other shops where you can find this Lily Pad sewing fabric.
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