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Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – The Last Block!

August 12, 2015

Here it is! The very last block in the Controlled Chaos scrap quilt!

What You’ll Need

52 two-inch squares in color A (shown in purple)
48 two-inch squares in color B (shown in green)

Instructions

Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.

Press all the seams as you go. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.

Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.

For this block I worked in big chunks. I sewed things up in the following order. . .

Sew all your individual squares into pairs of matching colors. You should have 26 purple pairs and 24 green pairs.
Sew the purple pairs into 2 x 2 squares.
Pull out four of those purple squares. Sew two green pairs to opposite sides of each purple square. Sew the remaining green pairs into eight 1 x 4 rectangles.
Sew these rectangles to the top and bottom of your purple squares, so that there’s a green ring around each of the four purple squares.
Sew the rest of your purple squares into one 2×10 rectangle and two 2 x 4 rectangles.
Sew a 2 x 4 purple rectangle between two purple/green squares. Repeat with the last 2 x 4 purple rectangle and the last two purple/green squares
Assemble your chunks in rows and sew the long 2 x 10 purple rectangle between your other two rows.

Finished!

Well – finished with the blocks. 🙂 I still need to join them all together with sashing strips between them and then quilt the whole thing. Here’s what it’s going to look like. . .

I’ll have a tutorial showing how to do the sashing strips (there’s a little trick to that!) and then tutorials showing basic hand quilting, quilting without marking, and big stitch hand quilting. Yes – I’m going to spend the winter hand-quilting this beauty!

But all of that is going to have to wait just a little bit. I have a new and improved website that I’m really close to launching, so that’s taking a lot of my attention behind the scenes these days. It’ll be worth it! While you wait – finish all your blocks!

Remember – you don’t have to make your quilt the same size or number of blocks as my quilt. You can make fewer quilts for a crib size, or repeat some of the designs in different colors (or make up your own additions!) for a larger quilt. Mine is going to be just the right size for curling up on the couch. 🙂

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – Block #19

July 21, 2015

Here’s block #19 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt! Just one more block to go!

What You’ll Need

68 two-inch squares in color A (shown in yellow)
32 two-inch squares in color B (shown in pink)

Instructions

Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.

Press all the seams as you go. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.

Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.

For this block I worked in big chunks. I sewed things up in the following order. . .

Sew all your individual squares into pairs of matching colors. You should have 34 yellow pairs and 16 pink pairs.

Sew the yellow pairs into two long 2 x 10 rectangles, two 2 x 6 rectangles, and one 2 x 2 square.

Sew the pink pairs into two 2 x 6 rectangles and two 2 x 2 squares.

Sew pink and yellow 2 x 2 squares into a pink/yellow/pink rectangle to form the middle of the pink “donut.”

Sew the pink 2 x 6 rectangles to the top and bottom of the pink/yellow/pink rectangle to finish the pink “donut.”

Sew the yellow 2 x 6 rectangles to the sides of the pink “donut.”

Assemble the final block by sewing long yellow 2 x 10 rectangles to the top and bottom of the pink “donut.”

That’s 19 blocks done. I can’t believe we’re down to the last one!

I’ll be on vacation next week, so look for the last Controlled Chaos block on Wednesday 8/5. I can’t wait!

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – Block #18

July 15, 2015

Here’s block #18 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt! There are only two left after this!

What You’ll Need

64 two-inch squares in color A (shown in aqua)
36 two-inch squares in color B (shown in red)

Instructions

Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.

Press all the seams as you go. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.

Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.

For this block I worked in big chunks. I sewed things up in the following order. . .

Sew all your individual squares into pairs of matching colors. You should have 32 aqua pairs and 18 red pairs.

Sew the aqua pairs into large 4 x 4 squares. You’ll need four of them.

Sew the red pairs into 2 4×2 rectangles and 2 rows each 10 squares long.

Sew the long red rows together into one long rectangle 2 x 10 squares.

Sew one aqua block to one short red 2 x 4 rectangle and then to another aqua block. Repeat with the remaining aqua blocks and 2 x 4 red rectangles.

Assemble the final block by sewing an aqua/red row to the long red 2 x 10 rectangle and then to the last aqua/red row.

That’s 18 blocks done. I can’t believe we’re down to the last two!

Here’s what I calculated I’ll need to finish the quilt. I’m going to use a grey solid – I’m looking for a nice slate color. I’ll need. . .

1 1/4 yards for the sashing

5 yards for the backing

3/4 yard for the binding

I usually use Cuddle Fleece to back my quilts, but I want to hand quilt this one and I think the Cuddle Fleece will be too thick for that, so I’m going to use the same grey fabric. I’m going to big stitch quilt in a lot of different colors – it should make pretty speckling on the back and they’ll show up nicely on the solid.

I’ll be back next week with the penultimate block!

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

Felt Craft – Free Bear Coasters Pattern

July 10, 2015

You all know how much I love my felt craft projects. 🙂 My latest are these sweet bear coasters – easy, fun and portable hand stitching.

Download the bear templates here. (One sheet has all the pieces needed for six bear coasters.)

If you want to make something besides bears, you can use any of my applique patterns. Just print the pieces at 40% size. You’ll find more info about resizing a pattern here.

Here’s how to make them.

Cut two 4-inch squares of wool felt for each coaster.

If you live in a humid place where one beverage will soak through two layers of wool felt in no time, cut a 3 1/2 inch square from something waterproof for each coaster. It doesn’t matter what it looks like – it will be hidden inside the coaster. I use a shower curtain liner. 🙂

Download the pattern and print (or trace) the pieces onto freezer paper. The sheet has enough pieces for 6 coasters.

Rough cut around the pieces and fuse the freezer paper to wool felt. Cut out all the pieces. Cut right through the felt and the freezer paper – it helps you get neat cuts on all those tiny pieces.

Leave a little extra seam allowance past the dotted lines at the base of the ears – that bit will tuck under the head for a neat finish.

Peel off the freezer paper backs and assemble all the pieces (tucking the ears under the head) on one of your coaster squares. I like to swipe the backs with a little dab of fabric glue stick, but you can use pins if you don’t mind your thread snagging on them every other stitch. 🙂

brown felt applique bear on a blue background square

Appliqué all the parts in place using whipstitch and two strands of matching thread.

Layer a plain back with the bear front, slipping a waterproof square between the layers if desired.

Whipstitch the layers together around the edge and you’re finished!

Here are the colors I used for my set. I used black for all the eyes and noses. I recommend shopping Benzie Design for felt. they have a HUGE selection of colors! One sheet of felt will make three coasters.

background – denim
bear – Tahitian sunset
muzzle and belly – copper

background – enchanted forest
bear – coffee
muzzle and belly – Tahitian sunset

background – vineyard
bear – copper
muzzle and belly – cobblestone

background – loden
bear – Tahitian sunset
muzzle and belly – cobblestone

background – blue snow
bear – white
muzzle – smoky marble

background – babbling brook
bear – licorice
muzzle – Tahitian sunset

My favorite is the one with the purple background. Jo’s favorite is the polar bear. Alan is still at San Diego Comic Con so he hasn’t claimed one yet. Which is your favorite?

Here are several free patterns that work with my basic 10-inch applique squares – no resizing needed!

Here are several free patterns that work with just some simple resizing. This post about making coasters has info about resizing an applique pattern that can be applied to any of these projects.

Free Bib Pattern
Simple Christmas Stocking
Mini Bunny Tote Bag
Turn Any Quilt Block Patterns into Cute Coasters
Cozy Bear Coasters
The Big Bag (applique on the pocket)
Cloth Book for Babies

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

Happy stitching!

Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – Block #17

July 8, 2015

Here’s block #17 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt!

What You’ll Need

48 two-inch squares in color A (shown in orange)
52 two-inch squares in color B (shown in green)

Instructions

Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.

Press all the seams as you go. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.

Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.

For this block I worked in columns. I sewed things up in the following order. . .

Sew all your individual squares into pairs of matching colors. You should have 24 orange pairs and 26 green pairs.

Sew the orange squares into columns – each 2 blocks x 8 blocks.

Add a green pair to the top and bottom of each orange column.

Sew the remaining green pairs into 4 strips, each 10 blocks long.

Assemble the final block by alternating green columns with the columns that have the orange in them.

That’s 17 blocks done – just 3 more to go. THREE!

Did I mention just three blocks left? I’d better do the math and figure out how much fabric to order for the sashing and the back. I’ll include that info with next week’s block. 🙂

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – Block #16

July 1, 2015

Here’s block #16 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt!

What You’ll Need

36 two-inch squares in color A (shown in red)
64 two-inch squares in color B (shown in light blue)

Instructions

Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.

Press all the seams. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.

Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.

For this block I worked (mostly) in rows. I sewed things up in the following order. . .

Sew all your individual squares into pairs of matching colors. You should have 18 red pairs and 32 blue pairs.

Pair up the red pairs and sew them up into squares – each square is four red blocks.

Alternate those red squares with blue pairs to create the three rows in the block that have red squares in them.

Sew the remaining 20 blue pairs into 4 strips, each with ten blue squares.

Assemble the final block by alternating blue rows with the rows that have the red squares in them.

That’s 16 blocks done – just 4 more to go!

I love how it’s coming together! And I feel like I’m so close to finishing!

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

Make a Totoro Stuffed Animal

May 14, 2015

Cute stuffed Totoro - adapted from the Franklin the Fat Cat sewing pattern from Shiny Happy World

Jo wanted to make a Totoro stuffed animal for a friend from school – and she had a pretty brilliant idea of how to do it without drafting a whole new pattern.

Start with Franklin the Fat Cat! It’s one of her favorites and she’s made it a few times, so she knew it was an easy pattern to work with.

She used Cuddle Fleece in charcoal and camel for the body, plus some felt scraps in black, white, and smoky marble.

She drafted new patterns for the ears, eyes, nose and those things on his chest. (There’s a link to download those pieces at the end of this post.)

She used the tail pattern from Eddie the Teddy Bear to give him a stubby little tail.

And she gave him no feet/legs.

Want to make your own? It’s pretty easy. The only part that’s really different from Franklin (as far as construction goes) is the ears.

Jo wanted them to stand up really well, so she used Soft & Stable foam inside.

Stack a piece of foam, then one ear piece right side up, followed by one ear piece facing down. Sew up and around the top of the ear, leaving the flat bottom open for turning.

Making a Totoro stuffed animal - photo showing partially sewn new ear piece

Sewing through the foam is super easy. Here’s what that piece looks like from the bottom.

Inside-out Totoro ear shown from the foam side.

Reach in between the two fleece layers to turn it right side out – the foam will end up between the two layers. Neat!

Fold the sides of the bottom of the ear in to the center and stitch it across the bottom to secure the folds.

Totoro ear - folded and ready to attach to the stuffed animal

Now it has some shape.

Repeat for the second ear and then treat them just like the cat ears in the pattern instructions.

Applique the eyes, nose and chest thingies onto the body front. Jo stuck them down with a glue stick to hold them while she sewed. Clever!

After you stitch around the edges of all the pieces, insert 9 mm safety eyes into the middle of the whites. (If you do that sooner, the shanks of the safety eyes will make it impossible to sew around the whites.)

After that, the assembly is just like Franklin. Easy peasy!

Young girl holding a finished Totoro softie she made - adapted from the Franklin the Fat Cat pattern

One cute Totoro stuffed animal and his maker, ready for delivery to a friend. 🙂

If you want to make your own, here’s what you’ll need. . .

Franklin the Fat Cat pattern
the extra pattern pieces that Jo drafted
charcoal and camel fleece (Jo used Cuddle Fleece – polar fleece will also work just fine)
wool felt in black, white and smoky marble
Soft & Stable foam
two 9mm safety eyes

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

Free Applique Alphabet Pattern

May 8, 2015

free alphabet applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

Here’s a free applique alphabet pattern!

You can use these to add words to any pattern. This post shows several different layout possibilities you can use with any Shiny Happy World pattern – including several that add words.

Add a name, a birth date, a gift date, animal sounds – even a poem or quote!

I especially love this version of the Wild Flowers pattern that adds a quote from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Let your imagination run wild!

These letters are skinny-ish, allowing you to fit more letters in a standard block. They’re also very irregular so you can easily just shave a smidge off individual letters if you need to skinny them up just a touch to fit in a block and don’t want to go to the hassle of resizing them.

If you do want to go to the hassle of resizing them “properly” there’s a post here with the info you need.

Also – after many requests – this alphabet includes capital letters, numbers, and some punctuation. Yay!

There’s a post here with more info about adding half-size blocks to your quilts – perfect for adding words. The nutshell version is to cut your blocks 6 x 11 inches, then trim them down to 5 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches so that when you sew them together with a quarter inch seam allowance they finish at 5 x 10 inches – exactly half the size of one of my square blocks.

If you need more than six letters, I recommend cutting a larger block. That’s what I did for cock-a-doodle-doo up in the corner of this quilt. (This sample uses an old, chunkier alphabet that I don’t use anymore – but you get the idea.)

Noisy Farm Quilt pattern from Shiny Happy World

So. Here are the super basic instructions. Find more detailed fusible applique instructions (with videos) here.

Download the pattern here. It comes with all the letters the right way (for needle-turn applique) and reversed (for the applique with fusible adhesive technique I’m showing here).

Trace the reversed image of the letter onto the paper side of your fusible adhesive. Roughly cut around it.

h - mirror image traced onto fusible adhesive

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and fuse it to the back of the fabric.

Cut it out as neatly as you can.

Peel off the paper and fuse the letter to your finished piece. Stitch around it if you like. Some adhesives require stitching – so read the label before you decide to skip it.

Use this free applique alphabet pattern to add words to your quilts, pillows, tote bags and more. Add your kids’ names to everything they own. Have fun with it!

If you like this pattern, sign up for the Shiny Happy News! Members get a weekly email with tutorials, patterns, sewing news, fun stuff and things to make you smile. 🙂

Happy stitching!

Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – Block #15

April 15, 2015

Here’s block #15 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt!

What You’ll Need

48 two-inch squares in color A (shown in pink)
52 two-inch squares in color B (shown in green)

Instructions

Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.

Press all the seams. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.

Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.

For this block I sewed things up in rows. The top and bottom rows are identical, as are rows 2 and 9, rows 3 and 7, etc. Knowing that can help you sew them up in batches.

Then sew those rows into one fabulous block. 🙂

That’s 15 blocks done – just 5 more to go!

I love how it’s coming together! And I feel like I’m so close to finishing!

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

Free Felt Matroyshka Pattern

April 10, 2015

Make a simple ornament with this free felt matroyshka pattern, or use it to applique onto a phone case or anything else.

The links either take you to a source for the supply, or to a tutorial for any skill you’ll need.

What you’ll need. . .

wool felt (I used scraps of lavender, blue bayou, banana cream, fuchsia, Tahitian sunset and blushing bride)
embroidery thread (I used DMC #601, 726, 3846, 958, 3858 and 3371)
Sulky Sticky Fabri-solvy

You might also want. . .

Download the pattern here.

Trace or print the pattern onto Sulky Sticky Fabri-solvy. Cut the pieces apart and stick them to the felt color indicated on the pattern piece.

Stitch right through the stabilizer.

Cut the pieces out right on the solid lines. Where there’s a dotted line, leave a little extra seam allowance. You can see that around the face, and at the top of the hair, apron and dress pieces in the photo.

Soak the stabilizer away in cold water. Let the pieces soak for a good long time, then rinse the softened stabilizer off under cold running water. Hit any stubborn bits with the kitchen sprayer, but don’t rub the surface of the felt.

Set them to dry on a towel. Don’t wring, twist or even smoosh them. Just let them dry.

Use two strands of thread for all stitching. You can, of course, use any colors and stitches you like, but here’s what I used on each piece. . .

For the dress, backstitch the vines and stripes with DMC #601 and #958. The leaves are lazy daisy stitches with DMC #958 and the dots are French knots with DMC #726.

Backstitch the mouth with DMC #3371. The eyes use this stitch.

For the apron, the French knots are DMC #601. The drops are lazy daisy stitches in DMC #726.

The dots on the scarf are French knots in DMC #958. The flowers are lazy daisy with DMC #601. The little stars and the centers of the flowers are DMC #726.

That’s all the pieces. Time to applique! I use this simple whipstitch and two strands of matching thread for all applique.

Applique the flower to the apron. Then applique the center of the flower and the yellow drop.

Lay the apron over the dress and applique the edges down.

Applique the hair to the top of the face.

Then applique the scarf over the face. Depending on how much extra seam allowance you cut around the face, it may hang out past the edges of the sides of the scarf. That’s ok.

Flip the piece over so you can see your stitching line – the circle of purple stitches here. Trim away the excess felt as close to the stitching as possible so that nothing sticks out past the edge of the scarf.

It should look like this when you’re done.

Finally, lay the back piece down on a flat surface and use that as a guide to line up the face and scarf over the bottom half of the doll. Applique the last layers together.

You can applique this finished front to anything else, or you can sew it to the matroyshka back piece using whipstitch all around. Leave a small opening and add a tiny bit of stuffing – just enough to puff it out a bit. Finish sewing it closed and attach a hanging loop to the top if you like.

Finished!

You could make a set of these in lots of different colors and string them together into a garland. That would be so pretty!

If you like this, sign up for the newsletter! You’ll get exclusive free patterns, special discounts, and notification of new patterns and tutorials.

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

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