No Dogs cushion

Well Alfie doesn't listen to a word I say so maybe he'll get the message now!

I used the alphabet from the applique basics design card for my Slice, the free motion embroidered over the top. I think I'll just add a few buttons to the corners...

re covering my sewing chair

Re-covering my little sewing chair

This is my old sewing chair! It wasn’t too comfy so I decided to re-vamp it and brighten up my sewing room.

1.   I found a cushion pad in approximately the same size as the chair seat. This is placed on top.

2.   I draped a piece of Coates fabric over the seat and used a staple gun to secure the fabric to the chair frame, keeping the fabric taut and even. I then trimmed the excess fabric away.

3.   Over the back of the chair I made a sleeve, a bit like a pillowcase, and slipped it over the chair back, stapling at the base.

4.    I took a long piece of contrasting fabric to the height of the seat, hemmed it around the bottom and pleated the all around the chair to make a pelmet, stapling and pleating as I went.

5.   The final touch was to hot glue ribbon around the seat to cover my staples, adding a couple of bows on the corners, and a matching cushion cover for the seat!

My new smocking e book

Here's the cover! It will be on pre-order in August and available from 1st September, I'm so excited about this one! Published by Vivebooks, it contains around 15 smocking styles, patterns and video.

Me and Stuart Hillard

I've spent a lovely day today filming with Stuart Hillard from the Sewing Bee... what a lovely guy! Loads of fun and a knowledgeable quilter, but he asked for my autograph for his sisters! Can't wait to work with him again, I think we'll both be at the festival of quilts in September....

Alfie helping...

Here he is... on his own special chair, as close as he can get...

chicken link

Here's the link to the chicken I made on C&C the other day... this one's a little larger and I've left her wings to flap!

Matrix round cushion instructions and link to You Tube video.

I've been asked for these instructions on You Tube so many times, I hope these are helpful, my e book with instructions and video should be out late summer so please bear with me for more instructions. And welcome to my new Stateside and Algerian viewers!

Matrix Round Cushion

 This is the first smocked cushion cover I made and had so many compliments! It looks really complicated but isn’t actually all that difficult…
 1.   Measure your cushion pad all the way around the circumference, mine measures 44”, then across the top from seam to seam, mine is 16”. I’ve worked out through trial and error that the size of fabric needed is 24” x 56”.
2.   Measure a 6” border down each of the long sides of your fabric, and mark out the centre 12” with your grid, on the reverse of the material. If your cushion pad is larger, make the 6” border wider and the length a bit longer, but keep the central 12” grid the same.
3.   Transfer the matrix pattern to the grid.

4.   Stitch the two points of each diagonal together and knot, no need to snip off the thread in between each stitch.

5.   When the panel is completed, sew the two short ends together, right sides facing, so you now have a tube. It’s really difficult to make the seam invisible, but it won’t be noticeable when the cushion cover’s finished.
6.   Turn the right side out, and slip the sleeve over your cushion pad. I’ve put a pen mark in the centre of my pad to make sure when I gather, the pleats fall into the middle.

7.   Pinching the natural pleats that your smocking has made, pull them all inwards.
8.   Using really strong thread and a large needle, join all these pleats together with a running stitch, leaving both ends of the thread loose so that you can pull them both together and tie a tight knot.

9.   Push the ends of the thread through the centre of the gather to neaten.
10.            Do the same on the other side of the cushion.
11.            Take a long need le and strong thread, push the needle straight through the centre of the cushion and out the other side, return the needle and pull the ends together and knot, this gives shape to the cushion pad.
12.            Go back through a couple of times, and in the process take the thread through a button at each side which is large enough to cover the gathering.

You may prefer to cover the gathers with ribbon or silk flowers instead of a button, but don’t let your guests then sit on it!

The grid is on You Tube, link below, so please watch, pause and copy the grid!

And this is the You Tube video.

Mannequin pin cushion link

I've had a couple of requests for instructions to my mannequin pin cushion, so here's the link...

Busy today in my little studio...

I'm busy filming some more tutorials for Sew.co.uk, this time on zip insertion, dress, cushion, invisible and lapped, I'll upload them tomorrow when they're edited together. There seems to be so many schools of thought on how to insert a zip, so I'll be showing you my way, right or wrong! I'll let you know when they're there...

And this is where I film, the cushion on the right normally has Alfie on it but he's at my feet at the moment!

Link to reversibale handbag

 

This is similar to the handbag I made in the Toyota show today, make it from two contrasting fabrics and you have two handbags!