How do I rotary cut extra wide fabric?

March 21, 2012

A couple of months ago I made a video about cutting fabric with rotary cutting tools. I got an excellent question from an anonymous commenter. . .

Hi, I bought fabric for quilting and it is 51 inches selvage to selvage folded…..my question is how do I cut that? Neither my cutting mat or my ruler are long enough.

The answer here is easy to say – kind of tricky to do right. In the video I show you how to fold the fabric in half the long way to cut it. That works with my big mat and long ruler – but what if your tools are smaller?

Well – you fold the fabric in half the long way again. Easy, right? Yes. The trick is that you have to make your folds exactly parallel to each other, so that your cut across the fabric run perpendicular to both of them. Otherwise you’ll get annoying Vs at the folds. There’s no special skill needed for this – you just have to be fussy about getting everything lined up as best you can.

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

Applique Wendi (with fabulous hat)

What are the different kinds of sewing needles?

February 15, 2012
What are the different kinds of sewing needles?

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Liz recently asked me. . .

I have a question for you – what sort of sewing needles do you use? I am experimenting with different sorts but haven’t yet found the  perfect one. It looks like you are using six strands in your eyes video – which needle are using for that? And what would you recommend for three strands?

I’m going to use this as an opportunity to talk about sewing needles in general. See that photo up there? I loaded it up in a large file size so you can click on it to see it closer – and that’s a sewing bobbin in there for size reference. The three needles there are the ones I use most often (which is why they’re the hand sewing needles I sell in my shop).

Types of Hand Sewing Needles

Let’s start from the top. . .

The top needle is a size 5 embroidery needle. That’s the size I most often use for regular embroidery because I like to stitch with 4 strands of thread and it’s perfect for that. It doesn’t hurt to use fewer, and if I concentrate really hard (and remove my glasses) I can get six strands through that eye.

I often use a size 8 embroidery needle when I’m sewing or embroidering on felt. The needle hole can actually be visible in felt, and I’m usually only stitching with 2 strands of thread – so it’s better to switch to a smaller needle for that.

I also use a size 8 embroidery needle for Big Stitch quilting.

The middle needle is a size 4 sharp. That’s a basic sewing needle. (Basic sewing needles are called sharps – just to confuse you. All the needles in the photo are sharp, but the middle one is actually called a sharp.) If you click on the photo to see it larger I hope you can see that the eye is much smaller than the embroidery needle. In a pinch you could maybe fit 3 strands of embroidery thread through there, but it would be tough. That said, I have used a sharp to embroider with 1-2 strands of thread and lightning didn’t strike me for using the wrong needle. 🙂

The bottom needle is a size 8 between or quilting needle. I have no idea why quilting needles are called betweens. I think it’s just one more thing to scare away the people who opted out of Home Ec. Anyway – this is a good small size for traditional hand quilting, but I often recommend for beginners to start with something larger and work their way down. That’s why the quilting needles I sell in my shop come in a pack of assorted sizes.

This needle is also sharp, with a small eye like a sharp, but it’s shorter and thinner. I’ve been known to sew with a between, but I never quilt with a sharp.

And now one more thing to confuse you – as needle size numbers get bigger, the needles get smaller and vice versa. So a size 5 embroidery needle is smaller than a size 3. It’s like wire gauges.

So there you go – an intro to the basic types of sewing needles I use most often – along with many (many!) asides reminding you that you can use whatever kind of needle you like best. The needle police will not come and lock you up. 🙂

Got any other sewing or embroidery questions? Send them to me here.

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi
Applique Wendi (with fabulous hat)

 

How to Machine Applique Inside Points – video

February 14, 2012

How to Appliqué Notches - using the freezer paper method - a video tutorial

Want to learn how to make a quilt with an easy online workshop – totally free?

Sign up for Let’s Make a Quilt here. You’ll learn how to get started, the tools and supplies you’ll need, and how to make a quilt from start to finish using Quilt As You Go and applique with fusible adhesive.

It’s the easiest, most fun way to make an applique quilt. You can do it!

I posted a video recently showing demonstrating the basics of an easy machine applique technique. That basic technique is good for gentle convex curves, but there are a few additional skills you’ll need to handle things like concave curves and points. In this video I tackle inside points – really easy to handle, once you know what to do. 🙂

Like the looks of the hippo block I use to demonstrate the technique? I hope so! She’s part of the Safari Quilt.

For all the videos and tutorials teaching you how to appliqué with freezer paper, gathered up in one handy dandy post – go here.

Happy stitching everyone!

Best,
Wendi
Applique Wendi (with fabulous hat)

When do you need to "true up" fabric?

February 8, 2012

Back in this video about cutting strips using a rotary cutter I showed folks how to “true up” the edge of your fabric. That is – make sure that you’re cutting straight strips with the grain of the fabric.

Loretta asked. . .

This makes sense for when you have a piece of fabric that you might get from the store that has selvedge edges. But what if you are using scrap fabric – like you are cutting up an old shirt or pair of pants to make bean bags? Do you need to make sure that your fabric is true?

Ooooh – good question! It’s really a judgement call and depends on what you’re making.

A good guideline is to ask yourself if the finished thing you’re making is going to hang – on the wall, in a window, on your body, etc. If it’s going to hang, you usually want to make sure you’re working on the straight grain. As it hangs, it stretches, and if it’s not cut on the straight grain it will stretch unevenly. Have you ever had a T-shirt that got all twisty over time? Where the side seams stopped running straight up the sides and instead kind of spiraled around your body? That means the grain was messed up. It can happen with pants too. So annoying!

For stuff that won’t hang it’s not as important. So for most softies and beanbags, most patches for scrap quilts, etc. just cut out your pieces to maximize the fabric you have, or to get the pattern to run in the direction you want.

For really precise pieced quilts (like super-fancy stars and things like that) the pattern will often include cutting instructions and a good pattern will let you know if the direction of the grain is important.

Got any other questions? Send them to me here.

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi
Applique Wendi (with fabulous hat)

How to Machine Applique Convex Curves – video

February 7, 2012

How to Applique Convex Curves using the freezer paper method - video tutorial

This is the first in a series of videos teaching a machine applique technique that I used to use for all my applique quilts. In previous videos I showed you how to applique with fusible adhesive and how to do needle-turn applique. This technique is kind of the best of both worlds. It’s almost as fast as using fusible, but without the potential stiffness and sometimes clunky outline. It’s similar in look to needle-turn, but not as slow. It’s a great technique for snuggly quilts that you want to wash and dry in the machine without a lot of fuss.

So – in this video I’m using the technique on a specific pattern (the Peekaboo Bear Quilt) but you can use it on any convex curves. Those are curves that bow out, like the edge of a circle or oval. In future videos I’ll expand on the info here – showing you how to handle inner points, concave curves, outer points, and more.

See how easy it is? I mostly use fusible adhesive now (I discovered some really nice quality, not stiff options) But I still go back to this every once in a while – especially for big, easy shapes.

Click here for all my posts and tutorials about applique in one handy dandy place.

Best,
Wendi
Applique Wendi (with fabulous hat)

How to Topstitch and Edgestitch – Video

June 6, 2011
How to Topstitch and Edgestitch - a video tutorial from Shiny Happy World

In this video I showed you how to topstitch beside a zipper and I got an email asking me the difference between topstitching and edgestitching.

Not much!

You’ll run into both terms in different patterns so I thought it would be good to talk about the “official” difference between them. In a nutshell – any stitching done on the top of the fabric (that is – not on a seam that will be hidden) is topstitching.

Edgestitching is just topstitching that runs really close to the edge of the project.

In the video I show you some tips and tricks for doing them both, including examples for three different ways you’ll use them.

One thing that helps me get a nice straight topstitch is my clear presser foot. I made sure to point it out at the beginning of the video, but when I did the editing I realized that it’s hard to see the “clearness” of the foot, so here’s a still photo.

That clear part right around where the needle goes in is invaluable for letting me see exactly how close to the edge I’m stitching. If your machine has a solid metal foot, buying a clear foot is almost always an option. It won’t be very expensive and it will be VERY useful. I’m always a fan of seeing what I’m doing. 🙂

The outline stitching I do around all my applique blocks is also a kind of topstitching. On my current machine I have a foot that’s entirely made of clear plastic called (naturally) a clear applique foot. It’s marvelous!

Here are links to all my posts about outline stitching.

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the lessons about how to trim and assemble your blocks.

Happy stitching!

How to Bind a Quilt – video tutorial

May 23, 2011
How to Bind a Quilt - a video tutorial from Shiny Happy World

This is a longish video for me – but it shows you in tremendous detail how to bind a quilt.

You won’t find me being judgmental about many things – but I’m pretty dang picky about quilt bindings. It kills me when I see a quilt that’s beautifully pieced, meticulously quilted. . . and sloppily bound. All that work! All that money (fabric isn’t cheap, you know)! It’s like buying a beautiful piece of art and sticking it to the wall with masking tape.

Binding a quilt the “right” way is NOT hard – but it does involve some hand work. There’s just no way around it. I’ve tried lots of all-machine binding techniques and I’ve never liked the results of a single one of them. So pop in a movie, get comfy, and give your beautiful quilt the binding it deserves. Don’t you know it’s going to be an heirloom?

There’s a free doll quilt pattern here, if you want to practice your quilt binding on something small.

If you remember how to bind a quilt but you just popped back over for a reminder of how wide to cut your strips – I cut mine 2 1/4 inches wide. I cut mine on the straight grain – there’s no need to cut on the bias unless you’re going to go around curves.

There’s a video here showing how to join strips with a diagonal seam to make your binding strips.

Update: I get a lot of questions about that lion block. It’s one of the blocks in the Safari Animals quilt pattern. It’s also available as a single block pattern here. His name is Liam. 🙂

Enjoy binding your quilt!

Here are all my posts about how to bind and finish your quilt.

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to more info about other things (not quilts!) that you can make with your applique patterns.

Happy stitching!

How to Machine Quilt – video

May 16, 2011
How to Machine Quilt - a video tutorial from Shiny Happy World


This week we’re continuing work on my little doll quilt. Last week I showed you how to layer and baste the quilt, this week I show you how to quilt it on the machine.

I forgot to mention it, but I always use a walking foot when I quilt. I don’t think about it because I use it for almost all of my sewing, but it’s important, especially on a bigger quilt. The walking foot helps to feed the top and bottom layers through evenly.

I didn’t show the process of actually changing the tension on the machine, adjusting it up or down, sewing a few inches, checking the results, adjusting some more, etc. I showed the final results (so you can see how many tries it can take to get it right) but it occurred to me that I should tell you where and how to adjust the tension. On MOST machines (though certainly not all – that would make things too easy) there is a numbered dial on the left hand side – the side where the needle is. The numbers usually run from 1-10 and you normally sew with it somewhere in the 4-6 range. It doesn’t hurt anything to play around with the tension setting, so do some experimenting with two colors of thread and you’ll see how it works.

Here are all my posts about layering and basting your quilt, and the final round of quilting.

Here are all my posts about hand quilting and Big Stitch quilting. I don’t use these techniques with fusible applique or Quilt As You Go, but I LOVE using Big Stitch Quilting with my cheater fabric.

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the lessons about binding and finishing your quilt.

Happy quilting!

How to Baste a Quilt – video tutorial

May 9, 2011
partially basted scrap quilt made with pinks and oranges - title card for a video tutorial showing how to baste a quilt

Once you’ve pieced your quilt top, you need to know how to baste that quilt. That’s the step that turns your quilt top into a quilt, and it’s what I show you in this video.

Technically, basting a quilt is just temporarily pinning or stitching or glueing the layers together to help them in place while you do the quilting – but in this video I’m going to show you how to make a quilt sandwich (layering together the backing, batting, and your quilt top) and how to baste those layers together.

If you’re making a Quilt As You Go quilt, the batting is already quilted to your quilt top, so all you’re layering together is that quilted top and the backing.

In the video I showed how to baste a quilt with pins – but you can also baste with thread (sewing really big running stitches through all the layers) or with spray adhesive. Pins are my favorite method and these are the curved safety pins I use to baste all my quilts.

Once you get your quilt basted, this video shows you how to machine quilt, and then this video show how to bind the edges to finish your quilt.

Want some quick instructions on how to piece together the simple scrap quilt I use in the demo? It’s super easy.

I dug through my scraps and cut 2-inch strips out of anything at least 2 inches wide. The strips were all different lengths – just what I wanted.

I joined all the pink strips together, all the orange together, and all the yellow together so that I had a long strip of pinks, a long strip of oranges, and a long strip of yellows.

Then I cut those long strips into shorter strips, 18 inches long. I used 11 of these 18-inch strips.

Arrange them in a way that looks good to you. I thought the yellow really popped out, so I alternated yellow strips with pink or orange strips. Play around with what you have until it looks good to you.

Sew the 18-inch strips together, press it all nice and smooth – and voila! You have a quilt top!

I did the same thing for the back with blues, greens, and purples. I cut those strips 20 inches long and used 13 of them so that the back would be a bit bigger than the quilt top.

By the way – this is just the right size for an American Girl doll or any of the Dress Up Bunch rag dolls. 🙂

Here are all my posts about layering and basting your quilt, and the final round of quilting.

Here are all my posts about hand quilting and Big Stitch quilting. I don’t use these techniques with fusible applique or Quilt As You Go, but I LOVE using Big Stitch Quilting with my cheater fabric.

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the lessons about binding and finishing your quilt.

Happy stitching!

Rotary Cutting – How to Square Up Your Fabric and Cut Strips

April 25, 2011
How to Use Rotary Cutting Tools - video tutorial

Welcome to the world of rotary cutting!

It’s pretty awesome.

In this video I show you how to square up your fabric and how to use basic rotary cutting tools to cut strips – on the straight grain and on the bias.

You use straight grain strips to attach to straight edges – like the edges of a quilt.

If you need your strips to curve (like around a curved hem, or to enclose the raw edges of armholes) then you use bias-cut strips.

Remember – that rotary cutter is razor sharp. Keep your fingers away from the blade at all times, and always remember to close the blade (or engage the safety) before you set it down. No blood on the fabric – that’s my motto. 🙂

Want to put those new rotary cutting skills into action?

Buttonholes easy quilt pattern
This quilt is super easy to make.

I designed this quilt especially for beginners and it’s really easy to make. As in – I don’t care if you just took your first sewing machine out of the box and haven’t even threaded it yet – you can make this quilt. 🙂 Get the Buttonholes quilt pattern here.

If you want to learn some more advanced rotary cutting skills, here are some posts that show you how to use additional rulers. . .

One more link. If you do much rotary cutting at all, you’ll notice your cutting mat gets pretty fuzzy over time – especially if you cut batting like I do! This post shows you an easy way to clean a fuzzy cutting mat.

Here are handy links to all the posts about quilting tools and supplies.

Sewing Machine

Iron

Rotary Cutting Tools

Scissors

Other General Sewing Room Supplies

One More Hugely Popular Post that Seems to Fit Here Better than Anywhere Else

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the posts about choosing your quilt pattern.

Happy stitching!