Some useful pointers – and a story or two to inspire you!
A slight change in the blog this time. We’ve got some really good quilting tips for you from out there on the interweb, along with a few interesting and inspirational stories from the wonderful world of sewing.
We often post articles on out social media pages about the wonderful things that sewists everywhere get up to, but we’ve never included any in the blog – until now.
To kick things off, we’ll introduce some excellent quilting tips for you, beginning with,
A slice and swap quilt tutorial
Our second feature from the excellent blog Man Sewing with Rob Appell.
This how-to is a really interesting slice and swap quilt – described as a batik layer cake.
There’s a video and downloadable PDF tutorial, which can be found here.
We love: “…when those little pieces are sewn back together in new and interesting ways, it’s not just fabric anymore; it’s art.”
5 easy quilts for beginners using precut fabric
We get lots of requests from would-be quilters around the best way to get into the noble art. The short answer is that whilst there’s no set method or project, there are many that might just get you going – and this is one of them!
The marvellous Craftsy blog has all sorts of projects that will both inspire and educate you – and this one is one of their best.
“Start your quilting journey with a bang…” says this tutorial by Alyce Blyth on this Easy quilts for beginners article.
Key benefits: “Form the gussets. Pinch the bottom of the bag on both sides of the bottom seam and pull the front anPrecut fabrics packs are a great way to ease your way into the world of fabric, with 5″ square charm packs, 10″ square layer cakes and 2.5″ jelly roll strips featuring every print in a line of fabric. You can be guaranteed that your fabrics will work together well!”
How to organise your yet to finish sewing and quilting projects
We love Melissa’s outlook. There’s no such thing as an “unfinished” project, rather it’s a “yet to finish” project.
So with all those soon to be masterpieces around the place, you don’t just want to chuck them in a corner and forget them. You need some way to store them that will both encourage you to pick them up and complete them – and make it easy and efficient to do so when you do!
These wonderfully simple suggestions including laundry baskets, tags and cube book cases will encourage those all-too-familiar “why didn’t I think of that?” reaction.
The “we’ve been there” bit: “Have you ever been knee deep in a project then realised you can’t find “that one” fabric you need to finish it off?”
Sewists around the world
So here, as promised is a roundup of some of the news stories that we loved best during our biscuit-dunking tea breaks (too many of those this week alas!).
Australia
“A Goldfields mother who turned her love of creating fashionable garments into a successful small business is looking to customise her intimate sewing classes to suit the large number of shift workers in the region. Fiona Thomson started her business Fee Fee’s Sewing Boutique after struggling to find library bags for her children.”
Savvy seamstress sews up gap in market »
Swindon
“Nible fingered volunteers have been busy over the last few weeks stitching warm blankets for people with no roof over their head this winter. Dressability, a charity that normally alters clothing for the disabled and elderly, will be giving them to Swindon Nightshelter, The Broadgreen Breakfast Club and Threshold Housing Link next week.”
Swindon charity makes blankets for homeless »
International
“The appeal of working in the fashion industry is at an all-time high. Thousands are pursuing dreams to become designers, retailers, marketers and even journalists covering the fashion sector, through fashion degrees. Ending up with Anne Hathaway’s job in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ might not be what you had in mind, but finding your footing in the fashion industry can require more than vision, talent and a portfolio.”
Fashion degrees sewing international seeds: A view from the runway »
Enjoy!
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