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Learn to make two-at-a-time wonky stars with this fun and free tutorial! These blocks are so much fun to make, once you start you’ll want to make a whole quilt! This wonky stars tutorial will walk you through what you need to make a whole bunch of fun wonky stars! The tutorial will show you 6″ finished wonky stars, but scroll to the bottom of this tutorial for a chart with different finished star sizes and their cutting measurements. Prefer video? Watch the Wonky Stars Tutorial on YouTube! What you need: Fabric A: (4) 3.5″ squares and (5) 2.5″ squares Fabric B: (4) 3.5″ squares and (5) 2.5″ squares Rotary cutter Ruler Cutting mat Thread Sewing machine How to make two-at-a-time Wonky Stars: 1. Start by setting aside all the 2.5″ squares. We’re going to be using just the 3.5″ squares for now. Lay one Fabric A 3.5″ square on top of one Fabric B 3.5″ square. If using print fabrics, you want both prints right side UP. 2. Find the approximate center point on the top edge, and create a diagonal line with your ruler. Cut on the diagonal line to create your first star point. Leaving the center block in place, move the triangle points out of the way, and create the second angle with your ruler. I like to leave about 1/2″ space from the top of the square to give myself some trimming room later. Make sure your ruler angles vary to create interesting wonky stars. Make your second cut. 3. Bring the back center fabric to the front, being careful not to rotate fabrics if using solids. Now your center fabric should be different from your point fabric. Place the left hand point fabric right sides together with the center fabric and sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance, then press seam open. 4. Repeat with the right side point fabric, right sides together and sew with 1/4″ seam allowance, press seam open. 5. Trim block to 2.5″ square. I like to leave 1/4″ space above the center point when trimming. 6. Repeat process with remaining fabrics until you have a star points block for each color combo. Then repeat with remaining (3) 3.5″ squares for each color. You’ll now have (4) star points blocks for each color. 7. Lay out one block, using the solid 2.5″ squares you previously set aside. Move around the star points until you’re satisfied with the overall look of your star. Sew together into rows, pressing all of the seams towards the solid fabric blocks. (Rows 1 & 3: press to the outside; Row 2: press to the inside). This way, all of your seams will nest when sewing the rows into the star block. Press the final two seams open to reduce bulk. Different size stars Use the chart below to identify what size large and small squares to cut for different sized wonky stars. The finished star size refers to a star after it is sewn into your quilt. The squares sizes to cut include seam allowance. You might also like: Half Square Triangle Guide + Free Pattern! Stripe Matched Binding | A Tutorial Fabric Swatch Cards | DIY 4-at-a-time Flying Geese Tutorial (with video!) [...] Read more...
I made this improv quilted tote bag on a whim! I’m a big fan of using scraps. I save even the smallest pieces! When my scrap bin feels overwhelming/overflowing, that’s when I know it is time to make some scrappy projects! Last year I made a lone star Christmas stocking and had quite a few bits and bobs of fabric leftover. I bundled these together and put them in my scrap bin where they waited for inspiration I promptly forgot about them for a whole year. This year’s holiday gifts comprise mostly of… drumroll… tote bags! I have a stash of Every Adventure totes that I use on the daily and when talking with people I’ve previously gifted them to, they use them all the time too. Here’s a few of the ways I use my stash of bags: There’s a dedicated 4 bags that live in my car for grocery shopping. They are sturdier than plastic bags and don’t create more waste! I keep a bag in our mudroom and place within it all the stuff I need to remember to return to other people (my mom’s tupperware, my sister’s craft supplies, etc.) I use a bag to corral all the library books that need to be returned Or in the same vein, a bag to hold all the pattern purchases that need to get shipped out (thank you!) Riley has a dedicated bag for when he gets babysat by my parents …and so on! I love my Every Adventure totes but this year I decided to experiment with a taller/slimmer bag form. The Every Adventure tote is great for hauling lots of stuff around, but I wanted a smaller quilted tote bag that could hold my wallet, phone, and knitting project. I laid out all of my scraps from the lone star stocking, and my goal was to use up all the smallest pieces first. That way, if I was left with anything, it would be bigger scraps that can be more easily incorporated in other projects. I started sewing pieces together, maintaining any diagonal angles the fabrics already had in order to add interest in the finished piece. The fabrics I used are all Riley Blake Designs basics: Confetti Cotton solids in Canyon Rose, Lodge Pole, and Cape Verde, and Le Creme Swiss Dot Black. I thought about adding more fabrics from my stash, but I loved the original palette so much that I decided to see if I could make it work with just what I had left. I love parameters, they really push my creativity! To quilt the tote bag, I used pink thread! Both the quilting design and the thread color are the same as the original stocking I made. I loved the look of the pink thread on the Cape Verde color fabric, and thought that the quilting design would add interest without overwhelming the improv quilting. This quilted tote bag was one of those projects that every decision enhanced my original vision. When it came time to add straps, I just wasn’t happy with cotton webbing. Although I love it and have used it multiple other times, I just kept looking at this bag and thinking that it would really excel with leather straps. I let it simmer for a week before deciding that I really did want to go the leather route. I found some leather in a suitable thickness at the craft store and held my breath as I poked holes into my nearly-completed tote bag. The leather straps were such a success! I love that the leather will wear and age along with the bag, creating its own patina. I love how sturdy they feel. This was my first time adding leather handles to a bag, so I did quite a bit of research beforehand. I decided to add little leather “washers” to the inside of my bag to ensure that the rivets wouldn’t pull through the fabric with wear and use. Speaking of the inside of the bag, I used this fun rainbow print and added a zippered pocket. I’ve had this lace zipper for ages and it was never the right size for any project until now! I’m thrilled I got to use it! The rainbow print is such a contrast to the outside of the bag, so I added Cape Verde colored fabric to the top of the lining for better continuity with the outside of the bag. The Cape Verde fabric also works to anchor the pocket in place inside the bag. This tote bag finishes at 15″ high, 12″ wide, and 3″ deep, with nice long straps you can loop over your shoulder. I’ve made several of these now, with cotton webbing or leather straps, with and without inside pockets, using scraps or pre-quilted (!) fabric, and they’ve all turned out delightful! What are your thoughts? Would you like to find this with your name on it wrapped up under the tree? You might also like: Christmas Tote Bags | A Finished Project [...] Read more...
Meet the Rugged quilt! This pattern has been in the works for a long, long time. I kept having to put it on the back burner but I’m so pleased to finally share it with all of you! I love the bold look of the stripes on the Rugged quilt, the big pieces that are still easy to cut with a normal 6″ x 24″ ruler, and how fast this quilt comes together! I wrote Rugged with the beginner quilter in mind. I wanted a throw size quilt that a total beginner quilter could tackle with confidence, and Rugged was born. You’ll learn half-square triangles, but not soo many that they get frustrating or stressful. You’ll learn how to assemble a quilt top! And you can pick between a baby and a throw size. Plus! Because of the way Rugged is created, if none of your seams line up, it is okay! No one will tell. It is a great quilt to dip your feet into quilting. I’ve also created a YouTube tutorial playlist with tons of resources for the beginner quilter. These videos will help you with some of the quilt assembly, such as basting and binding. If you’re a seasoned quilter, Rugged is a great quilt for you too. It comes together quickly and is easy to cut. It has endless quilting options and colorways. Have fun and let loose with the Rugged quilt! Shop Rugged: Modern Crossing | Set of 8 $48.00 Add to cart Rugged | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Read more Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more For my cover Rugged quilt, I used PBS Fabrics solids in Woodsman and Oyster. These colors are really hard to capture on camera, as the dark green of Woodsman tends to look like a faded black. In person, though, it is an awesome dark green and creamy white! To quilt my Rugged quilt, I decided to do some walking foot quilting. I specifically chose a backing with grid lines so I could use those as my guide. This allowed me to quilt with the backing facing up and not have to mark any lines! Woohoo! I used a dark green Aurifil 50 weight thread for the quilting. I really love walking foot quilting, especially a quilt like Rugged with large, bold fabric swaths. The quilting adds such a great dimension to the quilt! Back in March we got more snow and rushed out to get some quilt pictures in the snowy landscape. The dark background of the Rugged quilt really pops against the snow! I did big-stitch hand binding but decided to play around and do a chevron binding. Although much more time consuming, it turned out so cool! I’m working on filming a tutorial on more big-stitch binding variations because they really are so much fun. In the meantime, you can check out all the big stitch binding tutorials I already have available! Big Stitch Binding TutorialBlanket Stitch Binding VariationX’s Binding Variation You might also like: No related posts. [...] Read more...

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