Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts

Thursday, November 9, 2023

How to avoid twisted binding

This video has a very good tip for joining the binding.  She folds the binding over at one point and this tip has certainly helped me.   I used to end up with twisted binding about 50% of the time, but with this folding idea, no more twisted binding!


Sunday, October 29, 2023

Pocket Prayer Quilts

I made a few pocket prayer quilts this afternoon and thought I'd share the video tutorial I used to make them.  I hope you enjoy watching this tutorial and I hope you make a few for your friends!



I bought the cross charms and pins at Etsy online.  I used leftover charm squares to make the quilts.  I printed out the card on my computer!




Here are 4 of the 12 I've made so far, they are easy to sew!

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Start to Finish: How to stitch a pantograph

 I had a few people ask me to make a video showing how to stitch a pantograph from beginning to end so I made a video showing just that!   I hope this helps!


Sunday, August 8, 2021

Pumpkin Wallhanging Tutorial

 Lisa E. shared a pumpkin wall hanging she created on one of the facebook groups I am on and I was inspired to make one like it only smaller.  Here is a tutorial on how to make a 7"x22" wallhanging!  Thank you for the inspiration Lisa!

Material list:

5 orange fat quarters
1/2 yard of white background
brown scraps for the stems
green scraps for the leaves

Directions:

  1. Cut 1-1/2" strips from each of the orange fat quarters.  Sew them together lengthwise using 1/4" seams. Press the seams open.  Cut the strip set into one 7-1/2" piece, one 5-1/2" piece and one 3-1/2" inch piece.

  2. Cut four 1-1/2" WOF strips from the white background fabric.  From one of the strips cut a 14" piece and remove 1/2" lengthwise from the strip.  Then sub-cut the remaining 1" strip into twelve 1" squares.

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

How to clean your iron using vinegar

It's just like using vinegar to clean a coffee maker or a steam humidifier. It softens the calcium deposits that can gunk up the vents or cause particles to break loose and cause leaks where once water was kept tight.

Step #1
Pour half water, half white vinegar into your iron. (Vinegar will not hurt your iron). Fill the iron, turn it on and let it sit for an hour. The auto-shut off will turn it off eventually, this is ok, just let it sit to soften the crud.

Afterwards, take the iron to the sink, hold it upright and shake it gently to loosen the crud. Then turn the iron upside down and pour the vinegar out of the iron.  Fill with water, shake and pour the water out.  If you've never cleaned your iron before repeat step #1 two more times.

Step #2
Add white vinegar to the iron, fill it to the top. Turn the iron on high, turn the steam to high and hold the iron horizontal over your sink.

Let the steam vent out until the iron is about half empty of vinegar. Then turn the iron upright, shake it gently as before and turn it upside down to pour the remaining vinegar out of the iron.

Fill with plain water, empty, fill with water again and repeat the process of venting steam until you're satisfied all the vinegar is out of the vents.  Now you've just added another few years of service to your iron! 


Note: This is the cutting board my husband made for me.  A tupperware colander fits perfectly.  I place a plastic cutting board on top of the colander and slide the veggies into the bowl of the colander as I go.
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Friday, April 24, 2020

Pocket Prayer Quilts

I found a sweet project tutorial that I had to pass along!  I hope you enjoy watching this tutorial and I hope you make a few for your friends!



I bought the cross charms and pins at Etsy online.  I bought the Abby Rose charm pack from Wish Upon a Quilt.  I printed out the card on my computer!


Here are 4 of the 12 I've made so far, they are easy to sew!

Friday, January 31, 2020

Make a small tote bag

I found a free tote bag pattern and thought I'd mention it so you could download the pattern.  The bag is called Easy Does It.  It uses 3 fat quarters.  There are videos to help as you sew each step.  The pattern calls for a stable interfacing to help stiffen the fabric.  I bought sew in Pellon Thermalam from JoAnn and it works perfectly. One of the fat quarters is used to make bias tape to cover the raw edges on the inside.

The first step has you quilting the outer fabric, Thermalam and the lining fabric together.  I used 505 temporary spray adhesive to hold my pieces together.  I used a walking foot to do the sewing and the quilted fabric turned out perfect.



The pattern was very easy to follow, I hope you'll try making one!  I needed something to carry my sewing supplies when I travel with my machine.










I had so much fun making the first one I made a second one, and I fussy cut the fabrics for that one.



Saturday, October 5, 2019

How to avoid twisted binding when joining the edges

This video has a very good tip for joining the binding.  She folds the binding over at one point and this tip has certainly helped me.   I used to end up with twisted binding about 50% of the time, but with this folding idea, no more twisted binding!


Wednesday, August 14, 2019

A solution to leaking irons

I have a Rowenta Promaster iron that works beautifully, it has 1700 watts and it gets HOT, the way most quilters need an iron to get hot.  I see complaints on the sewing boards about leaking irons and I thought I'd create a post about spray bottles.  Back in the day our grandmothers used a shaker bottle filled with water while she ironed.  I remember my grandmother using one when I was little. Of course, they didn't have steam irons back then so they used what worked.

Today we have steam irons and, yes, they usually leak.  My Rowenta works great, but it does leak from time to time so I began using a spray bottle and use my iron dry.



We have better choices than what our grandmothers had back in the day.  The bottle I use happens to be a spray bottle used by hairstylists.  It has a fine mist that doesn't saturate the fabric and it sprays continuously which is a great feature when you have a large area of fabric.  If you have a leaky iron try using a hairstylist spray bottle, there are even some available in quilt themes.


Thursday, June 20, 2019

Tip for Longarming: Check your Wide Backing




When I load backing on the quilt frame I use the grain of the fabric, not the cut edge.  Here is an example of why it's important to check your wide backing.

This backing was wonky when it was wound on to the bolt.  I'm sure the person cutting it did cut it straight as it came off the bolt.  But as you can see, the fabric is cut way off the grain.

Be sure to check the backing and  straighten the grain if it is off.  If you don't want to straighten the grain, there is a simple solution...buy an additional 4 or 5 inches more after you've already added the 8" the longarmer needs.

Fortunately, this client sent a backing that had plenty of extra fabric so I didn't have to send it back.

Saturday, April 6, 2019

Diamonds and Pearls quilt with the Split Rects Ruler

Lovely spring weather has arrived in North Carolina and I want a new quilting project so I turned to youtube to find inspiration.  I stumbled across a tutorial for the Diamonds and Pearls quilt which is made using the Split Rects Ruler.  You can see the quilt in the background.






I used Omnigrid's highlighter tape called Glow line tape on my ruler.  I love this tape, really helps to see the lines on the ruler at a glance. It comes in 3 colors and I found it at JoAnn.


Sunday, December 23, 2018

Prevent or Reverse Color Bleeding Fabrics


When a quilt with red, black or dk. blue fabric has bleeding of colors it can ruin a perfectly good quilt.  There are some solutions to fixing the problem!  

Retayne is a product you can use before you begin cutting your fabric.  The directions for the Retayne say to use for fabrics which might bleed...will set in the color. 


Synthrapol directions say it will help pull out excess dyes, such as those used in hand-dyed fabrics like batiks.  This is the product to use on quilts already made.  And to salvage a quilt that has fabrics that have bled.  

If you use either of these products, it's important to keep the fabric agitating, or moving, in order for them to work.

I use Synthrapol on every quilt I make when it's washed for the first time.  I have a front loading washer which takes 1 ounce of Synthrapol.  Follow the directions on the bottle if you use a top loading washer.

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Monday, March 4, 2013

No need to be hoppin' mad


My new hopper foot didn't fit... :( or so I thought...
I bought a slew of new rulers and was sooo pumped to start using them when my ruler hopper foot arrived. So.... I posted this photo on the chat group for Tin Lizzie owners and someone told me you can rotate the needle bar.

VOILE! I'm back in business! Such an easy fix. If you found my page by googling the same problem, here's the solution.

And here's the link to a great chat group for long armers!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Thread problem solved

Update: Once the humidity went up, the thread stopped falling off the cone.  How did I know this was a factor?  When you try threading the needle, and the thread is drawn away from the needle, landing on the metal hopping foot, then you know static is a problem.  Put humidity in the air, and this solves the problem!  And your nose will thank you as well!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Tension problems?

I'm trying to use a new thread this weekend, a 50 wt So Fine variegated with luscious colors.  I'm having fits with it though... arrrrgh!  The thread is falling off the cone too fast, gets caught and 'snap', the thread breaks.  I have 2 variables that could be causing the problem.

I placed a thread sock on the cone, but the thread is still loose near the top of the cone.  With the thread sock, the thread doesn't fall off the cone, but the thread is loose as it unwinds near the top of the cone.  I also have high static electricity in the air, so that could be the problem as well.

I placed a pot of boiling water on the stove to put humidity in the air.  We will soon see if static is the problem.

While taking a break from the break, I found a great video on tension problems.  You don't need an expensive TOGO tension gauge, it's simple!  Take a look and let me know what you think?




http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q1mRhcquZTM
Update: Feb. 6th Here's the url, for some reason over 700 of you visited my page today, and blogger is having a temper tantrum over it.  (smile)

He really knows tension!

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

How to lube your thread

I've been long-arming happily all day.  I finished one quilt, and will place another one on the frame tomorrow. I wish the holiday could be extended, I'm not ready for school to start!  For those who are new to the blog, I home school my son.  I'm also taxi-driver for my oldest in college (she has a disability and can't drive for now).

I thought I'd share a tip to help those who are tempted to oil your thread when you sew velcro or use metallic threads.  My method works for long arming, sewing, serging, upholstery  just about any type of sewing.  I've used this method for years and it works!

If you have continual thread breaks while sewing velcro or use metallic threads, try this!  Cut a tiny piece of stick-on velcro, use the fluffy side.  Place it under the thread path AFTER the tension disc.  Then place 1 or 2 drops of silicone (Sewer's Aid, etc.) on the velcro.   As the thread glides across the velcro it lubes your thread without ruining the entire cone, and without gumming up your tension dial.

Use velcro to sew velcro, brilliant! Let me know if you try my method?  I'd love to hear how it worked for you!



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Sunday, February 12, 2012

Quilt basting sprays are fabulous!

There is a great discussion on the quilting board today!  I've learned so much from this great group of women.  It's a wonderful place to visit with other quilters.  I've really enjoyed reading the thread about basting sprays.  I thought I'd add a blog post to recommend using the basting sprays according to the directions on the can.  It'll save you money this way.



The ladies on the quilting board were discussing Patsy Thompson's Basting Spray How-to Video  which explains her quilt basting spray method. You'll need to fast forward to the 6 minute mark for the spray tutorial.

Patsy's video is good, and the method she uses will work.  But it's important to note that she is using 505 incorrectly.  She calls it "505 basting spray", but if you're looking for it online it's called 505 Spray & Fix Temporary Adhesive.

1. In Patsy's video, she holds the can only 3-4 inches from the fabric surface. (The directions on the can state you should hold the can 10-12 inches from the fabric surface)

2. She states "you WILL get a glob on your needle", and she shows you what the glob looks like in the video. Yet, the can states you will NOT get a glob on your needle. The reason she gets globs is because she is holding the can 3-4" away from the fabric. When you hold the can this close, of course you get a thick, concentrated amount in a small area.  In fact, as you watch her spray the quilt in the video, you can see the adhesive turn white on top of the fabric, she really puts a lot on there.

3. Patsy says the sticky "will last up to 5 years". But the can states it is TEMPORARY. The reason she gets 4 to 5 years worth of sticky is because she's spraying a thick, concentrated amount on her fabric. When you spray a ton of adhesive on the fabric it WILL be permanent, not temporary.

In 1997, I used 505 spray on a Christmas ornament.  I used a heavy amount of 505 to hold an applique piece down.  You know when you put fabric in water it turns a darker shade?  And it lightens as the fabric dries?  The applique fabric turned darker, just like it was wet, only it was due to the 'liquid' sticky spray.  Today, 2012, the fabric piece is still dark, it never did lighten up, and the sticky adhesive is permanent.

My take on it is this: If you want the thicker sticky to last forever, spray the adhesive 3 or 4 inches from the fabric. You'll use the whole can up on a queen size quilt that way.  If you want the spray to be temporary follow the directions on the can.

Since 1999, I've used 505 for quilting and KK2000 and KK100 for machine embroidery.

When used as directed on it's label, 505 will stay around for roughly 2 months, but you can wash your fabric and it will disappear in the wash.

KK2000 and KK100 only lasts a few days.   Note: DO NOT under any circumstances wash fabric that has KK2000 or KK100 on it until it has dissipated. It WILL become permanent.


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