Strip Quilted American Flag Pillow

Last week, I saw the cutest American Flag pillow on Facebook.  It was really screaming at me so I decided to make one.  It took me all day yesterday but it's all finished:

When I started on it, I decided to take photos of each step and post it on Facebook.  Everyone seemed to enjoy that so for today, I'm going to put the tutorial together here.

To start, the finished pillow is 14 inches wide X 10 inches high.  Using a ruler, I marked out the pattern on muslin.  I always work on a foundation when I do strip quilting.

My stripes are 1 inch.  I didn't measure the blue patch.  I just eye-balled it.

Using my 1930's reproduction prints, I cut strips 1 1/2 inches high by however long I needed them to fit the flag pattern.

When I mark my foundation fabric, I use a black permanent market.  The point of this is so I can see it through the back of the foundation.

I started at the bottom, sewed down the first strip and then worked my way up.  I should have taken more photos.  I actually line my strips up and then sew on the line on the back.  Then I flip the strip, pressed it and sewed down the next strip until I got to the top.

The next step was to top stitch narrow lace over the seams.  This gave the "flag" a softer, more vintage look.

Here, I cut a piece of blue fabric.  Added fusible web to the back and ironed it in place.  Then I top stitched that on the edges.

Over the edges of the blue fabric, I top stitched some lace and then a row of blue ric rack.

For the "stars", I hand sewed on some vintage Mother Of Pearl Buttons.

Now for finishing.  I trimmed my edges making sure the flag was squared up.

I always cut my backing fabric larger than my actual stitched or quilted piece. 

With right sides together and starting at the bottom, sew the front to the back leaving about 6 inches open at the bottom for turning right side out.  Trim the excess fabric.

Turn right side out and press the seams so that the pillow is flat.  Stuff firmly with polyester fiberfill and blind stitch the opening closed by hand.

And that's all there is too it!

How To Assemble A CrazyQuilt - Step 2

I've completed Step 2 of the assembly process on my Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt.  If there's one coping skill that I've learned with having ADD/ADHD, it's how to break things down into manageable portions!

Assembling any type of quilt can be overwhelming however, when we take the time to look at each step of the process, and focus on only one step at a time, it instantly becomes more "doable".

Step 2

The 2nd step in assembling a crazy quilt is to sew the blocks together.  My crazyquilts are quite heavy due to all the embellishments that I add to them.  To give the quilt stability and to support the weight of the quilt, I sew my quilts down onto yet another foundation.  For this, I use a heavy weight muslin.  This helps to distribute the weight evenly and keeps it from sagging when the quilt is finally hanging on the wall.

So the first part of Step 2 is to sew the blocks vertically into strips:

Again, I leave a 1/2 seam allowance and I also use the Zipper Foot for my sewing machine.  Using the Zipper Foot allows me to get right up to where my beading ends without the pressure foot having to deal with going over the beads along the edge.

So in the case of my Marie quilt, I now have 3 vertical strips consisting of 3 blocks each.  Now we will start sewing it down onto the foundation fabric.

Center the middle strip, right side up, onto your foundation fabric.  Next, line up one of the side strips face down on top of the middle section. 

Pin, pin, pin along the sewing line.  Pin all the layers down onto the foundation fabric.

You will want to pin the opposite side down as well to keep your blocks straight and in place while you sew the first seam.

Now it's time to sew:

When you have everything secured and well pinned, sew that first seam directly down onto the foundation fabric.

When you're done, remove all the pins and flip over your strip:

Repeat the process for each vertical seam making sure to line up your seams and pinning, pinning, pinning!

Once you have your quilt all sewn down to your foundation fabric, make sure everything good and flat.  Pin all the way around the outside of your quilt and then top stitch with your machine along the outside edge.  I use a 1/4 inch seam for this.

This will the hold the entire quilt in place onto your foundation:

So that's it for step 2.  It's really quite easy once you understand how to sew your quilt onto the foundation fabric rather than just sewing the blocks together.

I'll have Step 3 ready soon!  Be sure to see Step 1 of How To Assemble A Crazy Quilt.

How To Assemble A CrazyQuilt - Step 1

Since I'm putting my Marie Antoinette CrazyQuilt together, I thought I would share step by step, the process that I use to assemble my crazyquilts.  I know other crazyquilters have shared their process but I'm sure we all do things a little differently.

How To Assemble A Crazyquilt

Step 1

The first step is to trim and square up the blocks.  I use a self-healing mat and a rotary cutter:

You may be wondering why I have so much extra fabric.  I like to stitch in hoop.  Many crazyquilter's don't but for me, without a hoop, my hand gets tired  Using a hoop also keeps my stitching from distorting the blocks.  The excess foundation fabric is so the block fits in my 12 inch quilters hoop.

I always allow a 1/2 inch seam allowance.  Again, many crazyquilters leave the traditional seam allowance of 1/4 inch. I prefer to leave a 1/2 inch seam for crazyquilts.  The reason for this is due to the variety of fabrics and thicknesses.  A 1/2 seam will lay flat no matter what fabrics are used.

The blocks for my Marie Antoinette quilt are 9 inch blocks.  With a 1/2 inch seam allowance, my blocks are trimmed to 10 inches.

 Now that my blocks are all trimmed up, I will start sewing it together.  Due to the weight of my crazyquilts, I sew my quilts down onto yet another foundation.  I'll show you how in Step 2.

Tutorial - How To Make Button Clusters

Now that you've all seen my Crazy Button Quilt:

I thought I would share a tutorial on how to create Button Clusters.

Button Clusters are not only for Crazy Quilting.  They can be added to fabric bracelets, art quilts, art dolls, really anything that buttons can be sewn onto!

Step 1:  Gather some buttons!

I store my buttons in old mason jars.  They're separated by color and the jars look so pretty on a shelf in my craft storage room!

Step 2:  Determine where you want your button cluster on your piece.  In this case, I want my buttons to cascade down from the dark green patch on this Cat Doll:

Step 3:  Choose some buttons:

I like to start with a few larger buttons and buttons that are "interesting" to look at.  They will be the "focal point" buttons.

Step 4:  After choosing those "focal point" buttons, sew them down with bead thread or dental floss.  I use dental floss to attach all of my beads, buttons, charms and vintage jewelry pieces.

Once those focal point buttons are attached, start adding smaller buttons.  Overlap the buttons and be sure to use a variety of color shades.  If all the buttons are dark pink, it'll just look like a dark pink blob.  By varying the shades of pink, the buttons look more like a little flower garden.

 Step 5:  Once the buttons are attached, I like to add seed beads to cover up the threads in buttons:

3, 4 or 5 seed beads in the center of each button will add sparkle, dimension, interest and it'll cover up the thread holding the buttons on.

For the flower petals on the big purple 4 hole button, I picked up 12 seed beads for each hole and brought the thread back down in the same hole.  I added a large pink bead to the center.

Step 6:  Once you have all the buttons attached and the seed beads in the center, you can add a few little do-dads here and there like leaf charms, crystals, large beads and so on.

There's no rules here!  Just a few basics to add interest to your stitching!

You can see more of my Crazy Quilt pieces at my Boutique!

And be sure to check out my other tutorials!

Tutorial - Dyeing Silk Ribbons with RIT Dye

I've had several requests for a tutorial on how I dye my Silk Ribbons for my Crazyquilting.  It's much easier than you might think!  Get ready to make a mess and have a lot of fun!  It's like dyeing Easter Eggs! 

NOTE:  I'm using RIT brand powdered dye because it's budget friendly and it does do a nice job.

Supplies

RIT Dye Powder in a variety of colors
Clear Plastic Cups (available in the Dollar Tree Store)
1/2 inch wide brush
Scissors
Silk Ribbon (I mostly use 4 MM and 7MM white ribbon)
Hot Water
Paper Plates
Paper Towels
Gloves (if you don't want your hands to turn purple)

You'll want to cover your workspace with plastic.  I didn't do that for the photos because I didn't want the flash reflecting back.  You'll also want to wear an apron, preferably a black apron.

NOTE:  if you get dye on your counter top, table or wall, a little bit of bleach water will take it out but it's better to cover your surface.

To start, fill your cups 1/2 full with hot water.  It doesn't have to be boiling.  You don't want to burn yourself.  Just hot water.  Add about 1/4 teaspoon of powdered dye to each cup.

You'll want to start with your lightest shades first so 1/4 teaspoon is all you need to start with with.  Mix well to make sure your dye powder is disolved.

Next, cut a 2 yard length of your white silk ribbon and fold in 1/2 and then in 1/2 again and then in 1/2 again.

Next, put your ribbon in one of the dye colors to about 1/2 way.

After a few seconds, take the ribbon out of Dye color #1, turn it around and dip the other end into another color.

The choice is yours but think about what colors you'll want to stitch with.  Purple and blue blend well, blue and green blend well, pink and red blend well and so on.  Try one end in a light green and the other end in a different shade of green.  The choice is yours but once the colors are set, that's what you have to stitch with.

When you're happy with your colors, put a paper towel on top of a paper plate and lay your ribbon bundles on that.  Keep in mind that colors will dry lighter than they look when they're wet.

Another thing you can do is to dye your ribbon as described above.  Lay your ribbon bundle out on your paper plate and then take a brush, dip it in one of the dye colors and drip it onto your ribbon bundle:

This was shaded green and I dripped some purple onto it.  That gives a really nice touch of added color.

Once you have some light colors dyed, you can add a little more dye to the cups or you can add a bit of brown dye powder to each of the colors.  That will give them a muted tone.  Just try a little bit at a time.  You can always add more but you can't take any out until you dump it down the drain and start from scratch.

Here's another tip.  Dye your entire ribbon bundle in one color and then, while it's still wet, dip one end in another color.  A whole different effect!  In the above photo, I dyed the ribbon purple and then dipped an end in brown.

Once you have your ribbons all dyed, lay a sheet of paper towels over a hanger and then lay your ribbon bundles on the hanger and hang to dry.

I have a heat vent right next to my bathtub so I hang my hangers on the shower curtain rod.  That's when it's Winter.  In the Summer, I dye my ribbons outside on the deck.

Once dry, you'll need to iron your ribbons.  This will get out the wrinkles and will also heat set the colors.  I always put an old pressing cloth over my ironing board just in case!

Iron your ribbons on a silk setting and then they're ready to stitch with!

I don't bother with recipes or formulas.  I really just stitch with whatever I come up with.  You're welcome to play and mix colors and write down your formulas as you go if you want to. I don't like to get so technical with this.  For me, it's playing and I try to just enjoy the process of that.  When I'm done, I have gorgeous hand-dyed ribbons to use on my crazy quilts and other embroidery projects.

Pam's "Twist & Tack" Silk Ribbon Rose Tutorial

I was asked if I would share how I do the Silk Ribbon Roses on my crazy quilt projects.  Gladly!  I just had to wait to write it up until I could take photos.  Speaking of which, I apologize for the fuzzy ones.  They looked fine on the camera when I took them but when I loaded them into the computer, I was quite disappointed.

Still, I think the photos are good enough for you to see how to do this.  It's a really easy way to do silk ribbon roses and please keep in mind, they do not need to be perfect!  Roses in nature are not perfect so try to keep that in mind while stitching.

You will need 7 MM silk ribbon and a spool of sewing thread.  I usually use white but you can use a coordinating color if you choose.

For this technique, we are not pulling the ribbon through the fabric.  We are tacking it onto the fabric.

Step 1:  Thread your needle with sewing thread and knot the end as usual.  Tack your 7 MM silk ribbon and fold over the end 1/4 of an inch.  Then fold that 1/4 inch in half so you have a 1/8 inch double fold.

Fold that 1/8 inch over 3 more times.  This makes the center of the rose.

Pull your threaded needle up through your fabric/quilt block where you want the center of your rose to be.  Take a stitch at the bottom of the rose center and attach to your fabric/block.

Once you have it attached to your block, you can take an extra stitch to make sure it's secure.

Step 2:  To make the petals, you're going to twist your ribbon twice and tack it down with your thread.

Twist twice again, and tack it under the center of the rose.

Twist 2 times again and tack.

Continue to do twist and tack until your rose is about the size of a dime.

Cut your ribbon off and tuck the end under the nearest petal.  Tack with 1 or 2 stitches.

And there you have it!  A very easy Silk Ribbon Rose.  Enjoy!