Star Cluster: A Wonky Star Block Tutorial

Hi! This tutorial is for the first block in our guild's BOM for 2014. I love the way this one came out, and I hope you all like it!

Materials: 33 squares for background, 3 squares for star centers, and 4 squares for each star (12 total). You can choose if you want your stars to have different colored centers. My block measures 18.5", but you can easily size your block down if you prefer. 

To get an 18.5" block, cut your squares to 3.5". If you prefer a 12.5" block, cut them at 2.5"

Using your rotary cutter, cut all of the squares for your star points in half on the diagonal.

Place one triangle on a background square, right sides facing. This is where your 'wonky' come in - you can place it at any angle you like, just be sure that after you sew a 1/4" seam your star point covers your background fabric.

Repeat for three more squares, and then repeat for the other two stars (four triangles sewn to four background squares per star). Press star points open. Now you will sew the other star point on each of the four background squares. 

Sew a 1/4" seam, and press points open.

You should have 16 blocks that look like this. Now you will trim the excess fabric. 

I turn my block over, and trim following the background square. If your background square is darker than your star points fabric, you may want to trim your background square after you have trimmed the excess fabric from the point. Be sure to leave a 1/4 seam where you sewed your point down.

You will have 12 star points. Now you lay out your block. You can lay it out any way you like, or you can follow this layout. If laying it out in your own design, I find it helpful to layout the stars first, and fill in the background fabric.

Sew your squares into rows, press your seams open or to the side, depending on your preference, and sew your rows together. 

That's it! One block down! Please let me know if you have any questions!

Wonky Star 16 patch: Tutorial

Welcome! Today I am going to share how I made the wonky star 16 patch blocks I used in my Wonky Star  Sketch quilt.



Materials: 5 squares for your star, 15 squares for your background (one FQ is plenty, depending on how big you want your stars).
For this tutorial, I cut all my squares to 2.5", but in the quilt they were 3.5." 3.5" squares will give you a 12.5" finished block.

Take 4 of the squares for your star, and cut them in half on the diagonal.

Place one triangle on a background square, right sides facing. This is where your 'wonky' come in - you can place it at any angle you like, just be sure that after you sew a 1/4" seam your star point covers your background fabric.

Repeat for three more squares. Press star points open. Now you will sew the other star point on each of the four background squares. 

Check that you will cover the background fabric, sew a 1/4" seam and press open. 

You should have 4 blocks that look like this. Now you will trim the excess fabric. 

I turn my block over, and trim following the background square. If your background square is darker than your star points fabric, you may want to trim your background square after you have trimmed the excess fabric from the point. Be sure to leave a 1/4 seam where you sewed your point down.

Now you get to lay out your block. 

I like to build my star first, and then fill in background fabric around it. 

The great thing about this block is that you can lay it out this way, and then turn the block after your rows are sewn together to have your stars appear in different corners! 

Sew your blocks into rows, and press your seams in opposite directions or open, depending on your preference. Sew your rows together and voila! You have a wonky star 16 patch! Make more and make a quilt! If you want to make a quilt like mine, you will need a FQ of each background fabric (I used 20), and 1 yard of star fabric. This would be a fun block to make scrappy as well! 

Please let me know if you have any questions! I would love to see blocks you make using this tutorial!

Easy Bunny Applique (tutorial)

Last spring I wanted to make something for Samantha to wear for Easter. She and Ellie were going to wear mine and my sister's old Easter dresses, so I thought a shirt that she could wear to school (and wear to hunt eggs Easter morning) would be more practical.

This is a super easy project and only takes about an hour!

Supplies: Steam A Seam Lite
Fabric of your choosing
Shirt
Iron
Sewing Machine
Thread
Picture/drawing to use for shape

First you need to choose your shape. I found a bunny shape that I liked on the internet, and printed it off at a good size (make sure it won't overwhelm your tshirt area!). Then you trace it onto the back of the steam a seam - the side that does not come away easily. (if you are unsure about which side is which, please look at the package - it is very helpful!). If you are using a design that has words or numbers, make sure you trace it backwards. The nice thing about a shape like this is that it can face either direction. 

Then you remove your paper backing and press your fabric onto the steam a seam, wrong side facing.

Then cut out your shape following the lines you traced previously.

Remove the other paper backing and press onto your shirt - use a lot of steam and press for 10-20 seconds. Technically you can be done at this point, but I think it looks more finished to stitch it down. 

I used white thread and a zig zag stitch to stitch around the bunny shape. Keep your needle down to make it easier to turn your work around the curves and in the corners. Take your time! 

Give it to a very happy girl! The great thing about this project is that the shirt still fits this year (I usually try to make things a little big so they fit longer!). She LOVES her 'bunny shirt' and wears it year round. 

Quilted Key Fob Tutorial

I've seen lots of these handmade key fobs around, and thought they would make great gifts and great things to add to my etsy store. However, I knew I didn't want to use webbing for the backing, and thought I could make them 'quilted' with batting scraps and fabric. I couldn't find a good, comprehensive tutorial for exactly what I wanted to make, so I used what I knew would work, and came up with this! I hope this method helps out those of you who are interested in making your own!

Supplies: You will need fabric scraps, and batting scraps. Additionally, you will need the hardware for the key fob and needle nosed pliers. I ordered my hardware from Bree's Basement, and they shipped the next day and were here super quick. I will be ordering from her again!

First, cut your batting and fabric the size you want. I like to make a 10" and 7" length for my fobs - the 10" fits better around your wrist, and the 7" fits better in your pocket, if you are like me and always stick your keys there. If you order the 1" fobs, you will need to cut your fabric to 2.5" x the length you want (10", 7" or something else). I cut my batting to the same length, and to just shy of 2" wide.

Next, you will need to iron down both long sides of your fabric about 1/4". *If you want to use labels, sew your label on before the next steps.* Your batting should fit comfortably in the middle of the fabric now (between the folds). If it does not, you can trim off a bit more.

Fold your fabric in half, with the ironed folds matching. You may want to pin at this step, to make the sewing easier. I hold it with one hand, and sew very slowly. Sew as close to the fold as you can - about 1/8" from the fold lines.

Continue by sewing on the other side (to match the edges), and add as many quilting lines as you need down the center of the key fob. I usually end up with four lines - two on each edge and two in the middle. I try to sew the middle lines about 1/4" away from the outside lines and from each other. 

Now you will attach the hardware. This is made much easier if you have an additional set of hands to help you hold everything.  If you can, wrap the ends of your pliers in duct tape - this will keep them from slipping off the hardware, and will keep them from scratching the hardware. Plus, duct tape is easily removable. 

Fold your length of fabric in half and match your ends. Trim any loose threads and apply fray-check to the ends. 

If you used a label, you may want it to be on the inside of the fob, so keep that in mind when positioning everything. Slide the ends of the fabric into the opening of the fob - I like to keep the little holes on the back of the fob. 

Pinch both sides of the hardware down, and then press firmly in the middle to tighten everything up. Voila, that's it! You're done! Now make a million more for teacher gifts and stocking stuffers!

1 Hour Pumpkin Costume: Tutorial

It is the morning of Halloween. Do you know what costume your child will be wearing? If not, why not whip up a pumpkin costume? This is SUPER easy and comes together in about an hour.

Supplies: Orange fleece (amount needed varies based on the size of your child, but one yard is probably plenty)
Black felt
Glue gun or craft glue
Orange thread
scissors
1/2" or 3/4" elastic (length depends on size of neckline)
1" or 2" elastic (length depends on size of waistline)
Sewing machine


To begin, measure your child at the following locations -
elbow to elbow
top of shoulder to top of shoulder
underarm to top of shoulder
waistline

Using your elbow to elbow measurement, cut your fleece this wide (my 4 year old measures 20").

Using your top of shoulder to top of shoulder measurement, cut a semi-circle out of the fold of the fleece. This is now your neckline.

Turn your fleece to the wrong side and fold down the edge of your neckline to make a casing (you don't need to fold under the raw edge - fleece won't fray). Leave a 1 1/2" opening to thread your elastic.

Thread your elastic through, stopping to try on your child before sewing the overlapped edges of elastic together and sewing shut your opening.

Try your costume back on your child and mark where you want the armholes to be.

Sew up sides.

Keeping your costume wrong side out, fold up the bottom edge of your costume. I used a wide sport elastic, so I made a big casing. Leave yourself an opening to thread the elastic.

Thread your elastic, trying on your child again, and sewing your elastic together and sew shut your opening. 

Now you get to make the face! Samantha chose what shapes she wanted for the features, and I cut them out of black felt. We arranged them together on the front of her costume and I used a hot glue gun to glue them down. (You could sew them, but I didn't to save time.)

Now on to the hat! I used this tutorial/pattern and added a rectangle of green felt for the stem. 

Voila! That's it! You made a very simple costume! 

Halloween Costume Tutorial: Easy Ladybug Wings

I took all of these pictures to write a tutorial last year, and I didn't get around to it in a timely manner! I'm hoping I can remember everything I did!

Last year Samantha wanted to be a ladybug. With two six month olds, her costume had to be easy. She wore black pants and a black shirt, and I had found a ladybug mask in the dollar bin at Target earlier that spring (which she refused to wear, of course!) I had a red sparkly headband left over from her first birthday party (it was ladybug themed and we had a lot of extra goodies), and I made antennae out of pipe cleaners and wrapped them around the headband.

Your supplies for the wings are super simple - a big piece of red felt and some small pieces of black felt for spots. (I purchased my red felt at JoAnns - no need for fancy wool felt here!) You will also need small pieces of elastic, a pencil, string, tape measure, scissors, and a hot glue gun or craft glue.
Oh, and I apologize for the quality of the photos here - I didn't have my fancy new iphone that takes better pictures than my big camera! And it was a dark day, so the lights were on and the red fabric glares in the pictures a lot.

I measured across Samantha's wingspan and decided that her wings should come about to her elbows. Then I decided how long I wanted them to be (mid thigh) and measured the midpoint of the height of the wings.

I put a mark at the midpoint and measured out the width of the wings, and made my string that long.

I tied one end around my pencil, held the string straight out from that midpoint dot, and drew a half circle on the felt (my pencil lines didn't show up great on the red felt, so you may want to use a marker and cut inside the lines). I then cut out the wings.

I measured down a few inches from the top and from the center, and sewed elastic onto the wings (but you can certainly glue the elastic down). Also, I didn't think about the white elastic showing on her black shirt, so I ended up coloring it black with a sharpie, so you may want to use black elastic if your ladybug is going to have a black 'body'.

Then I cut several black circles out of the felt (I traced a glass), and when Samantha was up from her nap, she arranged the circles and we glued them down (I used the hot glue gun - she never touched it!). Her ladybug is not symmetrical, but she was three, and didn't care!

My little bugs were very adorable on Halloween! And our ladybug wings still get worn for dress up all the time!