Cynthia Shaffer

Hexagon Patchwork Pillow : : Tutorial

Ok ... who doesn't love Hexagons? And all that hand sewing is pure heaven for me! This is by far one of my favorite patchwork designs and it is so easy and portable. 

Here's what you do:

Gather:

Large linen throw pillow
Stash fabrics in 5 or more coordinating colors
Cardstock and standard office paper
Pen
Hand needle
Thread to match the pillow and thread to stand out from the fabric hexagons
Sharp scissors

Make:

1. Create a hexagon that measures 3 1/2 inches and cut one out from the cardstock. (Hint ... you can find perfect hexagon shapes all over the internet and any size will work, really)

2. Create a hexagon that measures 3 inches, and cut out 13 from the office paper.

(Here's my original stash fabrics that I quickly grabbed to play with. In the final pillow, some of these fabrics made the cut and some did not.)

3. With the pen, trace the cardstock hexagon on the backside of your fabrics. I traced 2 of each color, then went back and traced a third one from one of the larger prints. 

4. Fussy cut the larger prints to highlight an interesting motif.

5. Cut all the hexagons out.

6. Arrange the hexagons on the pillow. Play with the placement and rearrange them until you are satisfied with the look.

(Tip: Take a quick photo of you pillow once you are happy with the placement of the hexagons.)

7. Gather the hexagons. Center one of the office paper hexagons onto the fabric hexagon, and pin in place. Repeat for all the hexagons.

8. Fold the sides of the fabric over the paper, and sew a basting stitch around the perimeter of the fabric. Do not create a knot at the end of the basting stitch.

(I use a contrasting thread here so when it's time to take the basting thread out, I can really see it.)

9. Repeat step 7 in like fashion for the remaining 12 fabric and paper hexagons.

10. Arrange the hexagons according to your photo and sew them together using a ladder stitch.   

11.Pin the patchwork hexagons to the pillow, and stitch them in place using a blind stitch.

12. During this process, leave one side of each hexagon open, remove the basting stitches and slip the paper out. Now continue to slip stitch the patchwork in place. Voila – the perfect way to update store-bought pillows!

Check out Lark Crafts for a giveaway of Stash Happy Patchwork, where there's the cutest project  ever using ... hexagons! It's been a month long of de-stash post over there and lots of free projects offered.

So ... next hexagon project on my  list ... thinking, thinking ... lots of baseball games this summer and these hexies are the perfect hand sewing project ... still thinking ... Any suggestions? 

Turning a Corner & Making a Point : : Quilt Binding Tutorial

Call me strange ... I love to bind quilts! I have even been known to volunteer my time to bind king size quilts for my friends. I love the exact science of sewing the binding on. I love to make that perfect mitered corner and I love to hand sew the binding in place on the back. It's therapy for me!

I know so many quilters that hate binding their quilts because of those darn mitered corners. Well, here you go ... my foolproof binding tutorial.

Here's what you do:

 Cut strips of fabric between 1 ¼ inches for single-layer binding and 2 ¾ inches for double-layer binding.

Pieces the strips together and press the seam allowance open. 

Press the entire length of binding in half. 

Fold back the beginning of the binding ¼ inch. Starting midway on one edge, pin then stitch the right side of the binding to the right side of the quilt, using ¼ seam allowance. 

Remove the project from the sewing machine and clip threads.

 

 

 

  Continue working your way around the edges, using the same process for and additional corners.

When you near the starting point, cut the remaining binding strip off at a diagonal and stitch your binding strip over the folded starting edge of binding. 

Clip the corners at a diagonal.

Fold the binding edges to the back. Turn under the raw edge just enough to cover the seam that you just stitched. 

Create diagonal folds at the corners and pin in place. 

Working from the back, use a slip stitch to attach the binding to the binding. 

And you are done!

And here's a bit more info on binding that you might want to consider.

Single binding is my favorite way to finish quick and easy projects.  If I am binding a quilt that will be get lots of wear and tear and washed often then I will use a double-layer binding, but the basic steps are the same.

Bias binding or straight of grain binding?

 Binding made from strips that are cut on the bias and are called just that, bias binding.  If the project that you are binding has curves and rounded shapes, then bias binding is the only choice. The bias cut will allow the fabric to form to those organic shapes, without creating cracks and tucks.  I learned years ago that double-layer bias binding is the only method that should be used when binding a quilt that will be washed often because the fibers in the binding running at a diagonal will hold up to more abrasion then fibers that are all lined up and straight as in straight of grain binding.

 Binding made from strips that are cut with the grain of the fabric is called straight of grain binding.  Either single or double-layer straight of grain binding works great for quilts with straight edges.

Happy quilting ... Happy Sewing ...

Happy binding!

 

A Wedding Wrap For Amanda

 

You may remember that I started this little knitting project back a few months ago ... well ... I just finished weaving in the last of the yarn ends! This beautiful wedding wrap is for a dear girl, Amanda Crabtree, getting to married to a very good looking and good listener, Christopher Weston!

It's difficult to see how sheer and lightweight this yarn is ... It's like angel hair!

Knitting the little baubles in the wrap helped with the boredom factor when knitting a rectangle.

I took a trip today to see Amanda at work and hand delivered the wrap to her. She opened up the bag, draped the wrap around her shoulders and went about her day as if she wears a wrap everyday! 

Happy Wedding Day ...

Happy Marriage ...

Amanda and Christopher!

Reverse Auction for Japan

Wow, wow, wow ... What an amazing group of artist! Check out the art here on Jenny's site. It's a reverse auction which means that all the art starts out at a certain price the first week and as the weeks go by, the price will lower.

 

I know that several of the pieces have already sold, so if you see something you like, and you want to help out the good people in Japan ... jump on it!

Pillowcase + Stash Fabrics = Retro Apron

 

This retro apron is just one of the many fun projects in Stash Happy Patchwork and Lark Crafts is offering the instructions as a download! Check it out here and you'll also find instructions to make a potholder to match. (Oh and btw ... yes, I love my stove and sifter!)

Here are just a few detail shots I took of this project.

Happy Mother's Day ... 

Happy Stitching ... Happy Stash Happy: Patchwork!

 

 

: : Art Saves : :

 

 Read my Art Saves story here at crescendoh.com.

 

 

Not to worry, it's a quick read!

Patchwork Mosaic : : Stash Happy Projects

Check it out ... Lark Crafts is featuring a month of stash fun and goodness to celebrate the release of my Stash Happy Patchwork book!

This patchwork mosaic shows just a few of the projects that are in the book, and one of my favorites ... the wonky log cabin bucket!

You'll want to check in often this month and see all that Lark has planned including some more giveaways, tutorials and tips, fabric polls, free projects and more!

Happy Stash

Happy Patchwork!