Sewing & Fashion - Section II

Table of Contents

Sewing & FashionFitting Knits .............................................................. I-3Fitting Strapless Gowns........................................... I-4Creating Upside Down with Bobbin Work ................ I-6The Quilted Lizard ................................................... I-7Sewing with Stretch Knits ........................................ I-790-Minute Quilts ...................................................... I-8AnglePlay ................................................................ I-9Easy Pieces ............................................................. I-9Applique Squared .................................................... II-10Creative Feet ........................................................... II-13Unlined Jacket Tips ................................................. II-14Restyling Garments for a New Look ........................ II-14Fine Tuning Your Rotary Cutting Skills .................... II-15Scraps to You! ......................................................... II-16Guests ..................................................................... II-18

Due to the size of this section, it has been separated into two sections in order for it to be downloaded more quickly. For instance, “Fitting Knits” is in Section I on page 3, whereas “Applique Squared” is in Section II on page 10.

This will be one of the most creative applique proj-ects that you will ever do. Depending on your colorchoices and theme, you can create one-of-a-kind looks using some of your favorite fabric. It's easy, fast and fun to do. All you need is a simple decorative stitch on a sewing machine, Sulky Thread and SulkyStabilizers, a sweatshirt, scraps of fabric and an afternoon. I know you will love making and shar-ing these. Simply pick out fabrics and cut squares from them to make a creative grid design. Then, add interest by applying raw-edge-stitched appliques that coordinate with your sweatshirt colors.

This sweatshirt features Thimbleberries Fabrics. Always add some squares to the sleeves and back. by JoyceDrexler

Appliqué SquAred

Materials

• Zig-zag Sewing Machine• Sulky 30 wt. Rayon, 30 wt. Blendables, and/orHoloshimmer Metallic Embroidery Threads• Sulky Polyester Invisible Thread in the bobbin• Size 14/90 Topstitch Needle• Open-toe Appliqué Foot• Sulky KK 2000 Temporary Spray Adhesive• Roll of Sulky Totally Stable™, Tender Touch™and Soft ’n Sheer™ Stabilizers• Sulky Iron-on Transfer Pen• Steam-A-Seam2 Lite™• An Oversized Sweatshirt• 4-7 coordinating fabrics and moti

8fs• Rotary Cutter, Mat and Quilter’s Ruler• Graph Paper

• Metal Ruler• General Sewing Supplies

1. Print out the Grid Design and use a pencil to draw a 1” grid on graph paper.2. Mark letters to indicate where to place fabrics.3. To reverse the image, make a copy of the grid de-sign, choosing the mirror image option. The grid can be turned in any direction to best work with your other design details.

4. Use a metal ruler and draw over the lines with a Sulky Iron-on Transfer Pen that will show well on your sweatshirt color. A wooden ruler might absorb ink.

Mirror Imagedfor transferring,so the letters arereversed. When

transferredthey will

readcorrectly.

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5. With a dry iron, press the front of the sweatshirtto preheat the surface. Lightly spray the right side of the grid pattern with Sulky KK 2000 to help hold it in place. Align the right side of the grid pattern againstthe front, right side of the sweatshirt.

To achieve a lightly transferred grid design, press and lift the iron after a few seconds; move (do not slide the iron). Repeat until the entire transfer has been pressed before removing the grid pattern. But first, lift one corner to make sure the grid has transferred sufficiently before removing.

Cut the fabrics:

1. Choose high thread count fabrics (batiks are per-fect) that you wish to use in the grid. Iron Steam-A-Seam2 Lite on the back of the fabrics.2. Rotary cut the fabric into 1” strips, making sure there is fusible right out to the edges. 3. To keep them from shifting, lightly spray KK 2000 on the wrong side of the strips (Steam-A-Seam side) and lay them on the 1” grid lines on your cutting mat as shown above. Cut them into 1” squares.

4. With the fusible side down, arrange the squareson the sweatshirt grid so that they are butting up against each other. Fuse them in place.5. If desired, add coordinating appliqués or printed motifs. Rough cut the motif, then apply Steam-a-Seam2 Lite to the wrong side. Cut out the motif. Fuse it to the sweatshirt.

Apply the Stabilizers:

1. Cut open the side seams of the sweatshirt so itwill lie flat. Cut a piece of Sulky Soft ’n Sheer Sta-bilizer (if the sweatshirt is a dark color use black) larger than the area to be stitched; lightly spray it with KK 2000 and smooth it onto the wrong side of the sweatshirt in the area to be stitched. The Soft ’n Sheer will be a permanent stabilizer that will stay on the sweatshirt to stabilize it for sewing as well asthrough wearing and washing.

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2. Cut a piece of Sulky Totally Stable Stabilizer (or one layer of Tear-Easy could be substituted) a little larger than the Soft ’n Sheer. Iron it onto the wrong side of the sweatshirt over the Soft ’n Sheer to give the sweatshirt additional stability while stitching. Afterward, it can be torn away up to the stitching.

Option 1: Set up the Machine for Decorative Stitching:• Insert a size 14/90 Topstitch Needle• Wind a Bobbin slowly with Sulky Clear Polyester Invisible Thread and put it in the machine• Thread the top with a Sulky 30 wt. Rayon or 30 wt. Cotton Blendables Thread that coordinates with the grid fabric• Attach an Open-toe Appliqué Foot and select a decorative stitch like the Feather Stitch.

Stitch Over the Squares:

1. Following the edges of the squares, stitch overthem, alternating direction horizontally and thenvertically until all of the raw edges of the squares are stitched.

2. You can also embellish the ribbing by turning 1/2 of the width of the ribbing to the right side and stitching along the edge with a decorative stitch to hold it in place.

Option 2: Set up the Machine for Free-Motion Stitching:

• Attach a Free-Motion Quilting Foot• Select a Straight Stitch - use Blendables®• Cover or drop the Feed Teeth

Embellish the Appliques:

1. Begin free-motion straight stitching 1/8” in from the raw edges, and embellish the inside of the appli-qué as much as desired.2. Remove the Totally Stable or Tear-Easy Stabilizer.3. To prevent skin irritation from the stitching, iron Sulky Tender Touch over the stitched area on the underside of the sweatshirt.4. Sew or serge up the side seams. Turn right side out. Press.

Patti Lee created this cute sweatshirt to wear with jeans. She even added a jean’s pocket.

COURTESY: Eric DrexlerSulky of America

www.sulky.com

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The highest rated Pearls ‘N Piping™ sewing ma-chine presser foot was originally invented by Clare Rowley for a woman with Rheumatoid arthritis and will guide all of your round 1/6" to 1/4" trims for you, so you can guide your fab-ric and create heirlooms to cherish for a lifetime. Make pillows with single or mul-tiple rows of piping, even add beads to the edge of the piping for a one-of-a-kind expensive look. Make wedding gowns or veils for the bride in your life. This foot is also fantastic for sewing in zippers and also gathers your fabrics for perfect ruffles 5 different ways!

NO OTHER foot for sewing piping has the same tunnel design making it capable of sewing just about every round trim made! No other foot can do what this foot can.

The Pearls ‘N Piping foot has a large tunnel that guides any 1/6” to 1/4” wide round trim. You can sew beads effortlessly, because you never have to hold your trim. Simply guide your fabric to cre-ate beautiful embellishments! Use Creative Feet’s invisible threads for a clean look.

Piping was once a frus-trating chore, but with this foot the piping can’t move away from the foot so it is fun! In fact sewing piping is so easy, you’ll be tempted to sew multiple

rows, maybe even add beads on the edge!

Wedding veils are ex-tremely expensive. Save hundreds of dollars by making your own beaded

ATTACHING THE CREATIVE FEET TO YOUR MACHINE

If your machine has snap on feet:1. Try to snap our foot onto your machine.2. If it doesn't snap on to your machine's snap on adapter, you will remove your machine's adapter and place our adapter on the machine in its place.3. If your machine has feet that screw on, you will select from one of our adapters (the one closest in length) and snap it on to our foot then screw it on just as you currently do.4. If you have an industrial sewing machine, you will most likely use our HIGH (B) shank. Your machine must have the screw to attach the foot on to the machine on the left hand side.5. We can modify by special order only our feet with your supplied shank for some Industrial sew-ing machines. Please email us to get the details.

Creative FeetHow to Gather Different Fabrics using the Pearls N Piping foot

veils. You’ll be shocked at how easy it is to sew them on to the very edge of the tulle.

Sew all kinds of pre-strung rhinestones onto any fabric with ease! You can sew in any direction you like with just about any round trim!

COURTESY: Clare RowleyCreative Feet

www.creativefeet.com

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COURTESY: Rae CumbieAssn. of Sewing & Design Professionals

www.raecumbie.com

Unlined Jacket Tips Unlined jackets have a soft, easy look, but then need careful attention to wear well through the years.• Provide support where needed. Interface the jacket facings, collars and the jacket front opening areas extending the support and the facings into the shoulders in both the front and the back.• Interface the hems of the jacket body and sleeves as well. Finish the seams neatly in order to take your jacket from functional to fabulous.• French seam - Begin by making a small 1/4” seam on the outside with wrong sides together and press open. Trim the seam to 1/8” then encase the outside seam into an inside seam 3/8” wide. Press to the back.• Hong Kong finished seam - Sew your seam as directed, at least a 5/8” seam. Press the seam open. Pin, then sew a bias strip of lightweight cotton, lining or silk print to the right side seam edge 1/8” from the raw edge. Press the bias seam toward the seam edge then wrap it to the under-side of the seam. After pressing the binding flat and pinning the turned edge in place, stitch in the ditch on the outside of the seam catching the raw edge of the bias strip into the stitching.• Rolled Edge seam - If you have a serger, and your fabric is medium to lightweight, consider an exposed rolled edge seam. Sew your seam on the outside of the garment with wrong sides together. Press the seam open first and then to one side. Trim the seam down and then use the rolled edge setting on the serger to encase the seam in thread. This is a great seam finish for fairly straight seams. It is very hard to control on curvy seams. Make sure you make some samples of this seam before using it on a jacket.• For simply functional seams use a pinked edges or a regular serged seam.

Restyling Garments for a New Look

With the focus on “greener” living, repurposing old garments has become quite fashionable. Restyl-ing projects are successful if you plan ahead and assess carefully, then just enjoy the process. Don’t forget to take a photo of the old garment before you begin. First - Test and assess the item you are con-sidering repurposing.• Look for places where the fabric is worn, spotted or soiled. Can you work around it?• Try to determine if the fabric is in good shape. A little tug along the grain and on the off grain will tell you if things are rotten. Look carefully in the areas, especially under the arms, where perspiration would collect.• Clean the fabric if possible. Find a reputable dry cleaner or wash it. Test a small piece of the fabric or trim first if you are unsure about cleaning it. Second, calculate how much fabric you have. • Are the pieces in the original garment larger than the pieces in the proposed new garment?• If you are unsure, measure the pieces of cloth you will have after deconstructing the garment.• Cut out the pattern pieces of the new project and lay them on the old garment to test your eye.Third - Take apart the original garment.• Remove any trim or beads that you need for the project and put them in a small container or plastic bag for future use.• Cut apart the old garment or rip out the seams carefully if fabric is at a minimum.• Press each piece carefully and reassess for wear, spots or discoloration.Fourth - Make the new project• If you are making a garment that needs to fit well, make a mock up to test the fit.• Cut out all the pieces you need.• Choose additional fabrics if needed to complete the project.• Interface or underline the fabric, if it is fragile, to give it strength.

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COURTESY: Debbie CaffreyDebbie’s Creative Moments, Inc.

www.debbiescreativemoments.com

This information is contained in Debbie Caffrey’s books, Power Cutting and Power Cutting, Too,and her years of rotary cutting experience and teaching those skills at all levels of quiltmaking.

Do any of these statements sound familiar?

• My strips look like rickrack.• My ruler always slips.• It takes forever to cut out a quilt.• I just oversize and square up everything.• I do it this way because that is how I was taught.• I cannot cut for very long before my hands and body begin to ache.

Few quilters really know the nuances for suc-cessful, accurate, efficient, safe, and ergonomi-cally sound rotary cutting techniques.

Using the right tool for the job is a great place to start. How can you expect to cut all of your quilt-ing projects with the same ruler?

Setting up a cutting space requires more than finding a place to put a mat. Power cutting needs space.

Learning skills that are safe and ergonomic should be high on your list of quilting priorities. A poorly cut piece of fabric is nothing compared to the bodily harm of cutting with bad technique.

Remember this #1 rule: Always have part of your hand on the mat. In other words, never have your entire hand on the ruler. Making an effort to retrain yourself and break-ing those bad habits will pay off many times over in the long run.

Choosing the technique that suits the task at hand is very important, too. Work to learn as many skills and techniques as you can. Then, apply the appropriate one to the task at hand. Among other things, Power Cutting, Too teach-es five different ways that I use to make half-square triangle units. In the back of the book there is a decision-making chart that will help you decide which method is appropriate for your project. The method I choose for a project depends upon the following things and more: large or small units; many or few units; using scraps, strips, squares, fat quarters, yardage.

Most quilters do at least some rotary cutting.Learn to do it safely and accurately!

Fine Tuning Your Rotary Cutting Skills

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Here is an exercise to learn how to strip-piece a “scraps” triangle. See figure 1. This exercise will yield units that are 4” finished size.

CuttingCut one strip of light 3 1/4” x 40”.

Cut one strip of dark 2 1/2” x 40”.

SewingThe success of this technique depends upon accu-rate 1/4” seam allowances.

Sew the two strips together into a panel. See figure 2. Press the seam allowances toward the wider strip. In this exercise the wider strip is the light, but in future projects, it may be dark. The rule is always press toward the wider strip. This strip-pieced panel should measure 5 1/4”. If it does not, correct your seam al-lowance and restitch.

Cross-cut the panel into sections that are 2 1/2” wide (see figure 3).

Use two sections to make a four patch block. (See figure 4.) The seam lines do not match. Just match the ends and sew.

PressingClip the seam allowances at the center of each four patch and press as shown in figure 5. For the best results, clip just barely through the stitching. You will soon cut the units through this point.

Scraps to You!

Press the seam allowances in the di-rections shown by the arrows. These four patch units should measure 4 1/2” x 5 1/4” after they are pressed.

Read all of the instructions on the next page before cutting. Cut the four patches from figure 4 as directed on the next page using an Omnigrid 96 or Omnigrid 96L triangle tool. Do not cut the four patches from corner to corner. You must use a triangle tool or make a template from the drawing.

Making Bird in the Air Blocks

After you have cut the “scraps” triangles as directed on the next page, you can add a large triangle to complete a Bird in the Air block like the one shown directly at the right.

For the large triangle, cut a 4 7/8” square. Cut the square once, diagonally, making two half-square triangles from the square. Sew one triangle to a “scraps” triangle to complete a block.

To make a template, trace the section of the four patch that is not under the triangle tool.

The Omnigrid triangle is a tool, not a ruler. What this means is that the seam allowances are built into it. The finished size of the units is 4”. Align the 4” line with the edge of the four patch as shown in the sketch. Lay your tool on the drawing in figure 6 to see how it works. You will always use the finished size when cutting with the Omnigrid triangle tools.

The unitsdirectly atthe right

are shown wrong side

up.

Read the checklist before cutting. When all is in order, cut! Do not be alarmed by the blunt corner on one tip. The missing part is just the dog ear.

If you reversed the pieces when sewing your four patches, do not despair. Just rotate the four patch a quarter turn and align the tool on the 4” line as shown in figure 7.

TIPSBefore making the cut, align the seam lines of the four patch unit so they are square with and under the grid lines on the tool or template.

Check at the center of the unit to make sure that both “scraps triangles” have a 1/4” seam allow-ance along the diagonal.

Make sure you are cutting through the light fabric and not the squares dark.

Left-handed quilters should rotate the page a quarter turn counter-clockwise to view a more comfort-able cutting position.

Patterns using this technique can be found in my book, Scraps to You, Too.

COURTESY: Debbie CaffreyDebbie’s Creative

Moments, Inc.www.debbiescreativemoments.com

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Sewing & Fashion Guests

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Meryl Ann Butler90-Minute Quilts1600 East Ocean View Ave., Unit iNorfolk, VA 23503818-825-3670merylannb@mac.comwww.90minutequilts.com

Debbie CaffreyDebbie’s Creative MomentsP O Box 92050Albuquerque, NM 87199-2050505-828-1515debbiesquilt@aol.comwww.debbiescreativemoments.com

Connie CrawfordFashion Patterns by ConiP O Box 370Hansville, WA 98340360-638-2629service@fashionpatterns.comwww.fashionpatterns.com

Rae CumbieAssn. of Sewing & Design Prof.507 Anneslie Rd.Baltimore MD 21212410-377-0706rae.cumbie@gmail.comwww.raecumbie.com

Eric DrexlerSulky of America, Inc.P O Box 494129Port Charlotte, FL 33949941-629-3199 #164800-874-4115 #164Eric.drexler@sulky.comwww.sulky.com

Karen EckmeierThe Quilted Lizard19 South RoadKent, CT 06757860-927-4201Karen@quilted-lizard.comwww.kareneckmeier.com

Laura KeithLaura Keith Apparel DesignP O Box 873013Vancouver, WA 98687360-735-5957lkdesigns@comcast.netwww.laurakeithdesigns.com

Cindy LosekampSew Artfully Yours, Inc.P O Box 46Trenton, IN 47035513-309-8108812-637-0697 (Fax)cindy@sewingart.comwww.sewingart.com

Margaret MillerMiller Quilts, Inc.7758 Lazy S. Lane NEBremerton, WA 98311360-698-2523millerquilts@aol.comwww.millerquilts.com

Clare RowleyCreative Feet LLCP O Box 26282Prescott Valley, AZ 86312928-775-3484 or 928-710-9069clarerowley@creativefeet.comwww.creativefeet.com