Category Archives: Gift ideas

Tutorial How to Piece a Crazy Quilt Christmas Stocking

  By sharonb | October 4, 2012 - 6:54 am | , , , ,
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I know that the holiday season feels to be an age away but for anyone who creates hand made gifts the organised amount us will be already busy stitching. (I know one lady who starts making things in March for December!) I thought I would share this link to a tutorial on how to make a Christmas stocking

One Big tip  from me!

If you use this method you will need to prevent the fabric distorting as you embellish use use the sew and flip method as illustrated here but stitch  each piece directly to the the pattern. In other words use the pattern as a foundation cloth otherwise as you embellish the stocking the whole lot will stretch out of shape.

If you have not seen the sew and flip method over a foundation cloth visit Loopy Lace and read Annies tutorial on How to Machine Piece Crazy Quilts or Piecing a Crazy Quilt Block by Barbara Blankenship also covers the same technique.
I would also lightly press with an iron as I piece i.e. iron each piece flat as it makes for a neater finish.

Here is a video on how to make a Christmas stocking.

 

How to Make a Braided Belt

  By sharonb | July 21, 2010 - 9:00 pm | ,
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screenshot of websiteKenneth King has written a tutorial for Threads magazine on how to make a Braided Belt. It’s an old idea with a modern feel.

As I mentioned a week or so ago, this time of year I start poking about looking for gift ideas. They get bookmarked until a later date.

Often my female friends are easily catered to but finding something for the men in our lives is a bit harder.

Take a look at Braided Belt: The Next Generation it may be just the project you need.

A sewing project that makes an ideal gift

  By sharonb | July 4, 2010 - 9:00 pm | , ,
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screenshot of websiteIt is early in the year to start digging around for hand made gift ideas for Christmas but anyone who makes gifts knows how much energy can go into the process so we have to start early!  We can only hope the recipients have a sense of this long thoughtful process too. I start poking about mid year bookmarking possible gift ideas.

Over on the Coats site is a new sewing project that is a quick and easy to make Glove box organiser. The free pattern is an ideal hand made gift, or fundraiser item that can be made for local fetes etc.

This Glove box organiser would look great in a special fabric or contemporary print.  The pattern is simple enough to run up a few of these organisers making it ideal pattern to use up fabric scraps or even as part of a stash buster drive to use up old fabric.

So pop over and download the free pattern (it is a pdf file) If you do not have time to make it now, save it for your end of year gift project sewing.