Blissfully Ruffled!

Everywhere I have been looking lately I have seen ruffles.  Some folks have a great little sewing machine accessory called  a "Ruffling Foot" and they use them with great effect to embellish clothes, home decor, toys and quilts.   I have never gotten around to buying the particular foot my machine needs to make these because they are a bit pricey but,  I have made ruffles without it.  Now I know you might be thinking-- I hate to do all the gathering and then the thread breaks and it is so frustrating right?  Not anymore! Check out my nifty ruffling trick.
First calculate the length of ruffle you'll need.  Generally if you double this length it will give you a decent ruffle.  For my project I measured the perimeter of my pillow ( add up the length of all four sides).  Then I doubled this number.  My pillow measured 68" around so I needed 136" of fabric for the ruffle.

Next determine the height you want your ruffle to be. I actually want to do a double ruffle one slightly shorter than the other.  I want my shorter ruffle to be about 1.5" tall.  So I take 1.5" and double it ( now we have 3") and add 1" for seam allowance so I make my cuts 4" each.  Three cuts 4"x WOF will give me 132 inches approximately which is close enough for me to my target 136" so I am going with that.
My second border needs to be a bit taller (2.5" tall) so I cut 3 -six inch strips X WOF to achieve this ( this works out to exactly 1/2 a yard of fabric for this outer border). I point this out because it is very easy to underestimate the amount of fabric you'll need for a ruffle when purchasing it.  

Sew your shorter ruffle strips together end to end with a 1/4" seam allowance ( Wrong Sides Together).

Press seams open.

Next turn your ends under and topstitch to finish the ends cleanly.  You can also sew the ends together and have a circle which gives a nice look but you need to be very careful not to twist it!  Next fold your ruffle in half all along its length as shown. Press. Repeat with taller ruffle fabric if you are doing a double ruffle!

Next stack your two ruffles (raw edges together) neatly and baste down the length 1/8" from the raw edges. This will hold the piece together as one and make it easier to deal with. I always prefer a walking foot when sewing long lengths of fabric because it feeds more evenly but, it isn't necessary.

 Okay now for the nifty trick:
You going to sew a stretched out zig zag stitch down the length of your ruffle on the raw edge side.  Set your zigzag stitch as long and wide as it goes on a normal sewing machine. (People with embroidery machines won't go to their maximums just enough for the next part)
 The tricky part is that you stitch the zig zag over a string of pearl cotton or a piece of dental floss!  This is what you will do the gathering on-- much stronger-- less breakage! I did the zig zag inside of the basting so you could easily see it but you could zig zag right over the basting stitches. Note the string of black pearl cotton under the zig zag here.

Now if you feel like you need three hands to do this, don't worry! You can stitch the zig zag and then go back with a big huge needle and run the floss or pearl cotton through the zig zag channel! Either way is fine.

Now you are ready to gather your ruffle to the desired length confidently- knowing that your gathering string will not snap and make you have to start all over again! Just make sure you hold onto both ends of the floss or cotton as you gather or it will slip right on through OR as my problem solving husband suggested- temporarily tie a button on each end of the floss so it can't slip all the way through!

When you reach your target length of ruffle (mine was 68" remember) make a large knot at each end so the length won't stretch out again or you can tie the ends together if you are going all around something with the ruffle. Even out the fullness of your ruffle to your preferred look.

Pin raw edges together to your pillow front.  I wanted the yellow border to be in front since it is shorter so I had to lay it face down on the pillow front.  Pin generously making sure to overlap your start and finish about an inch if you didn't make the ruffle in a circle. 

Straight stitch all around (make sure you change your stitch length to normal not basting!) Use the zig zags tips as your guide- you want to stitch just to the inside of the zig zags so they will not show on the finished pillow. It will be bumpy sewing over all the ruffles but if you have pinned well you'll be okay. Watch your corners- make sure you don't have any of the ruffle tucked in the seam where it shouldn't be. Remove the floss/pearl cotton (and buttons) by cutting the string and pulling through.

Now you just cut a backing the same size as your pillow front panel and sew it on with a 1/2" seam for your pillow (right sides together) leave an opening for flipping it right side out. Turn right side out, stuff, close and wah-lah!

This particular pillow and ruffle are made from Jane Spolar's line called Bliss put out by Northcott fabrics and available at Quilters Crossing in Tomball! I hope this tutorial inspires you to add some ruffles to a project in your future!

Pillow Case tutorial

This pillowcase is easy to whip up in an afternoon and makes a great gift!

It is for a standard sized pillow.

We have kits available in the shop to make these with a variety of fabrics.

All seams are 1/4" unless otherwise noted.

Here is what you'll need:

3/4 yd. fabric for pillowcase body (here the black and white print)

1/4 yd. fabric for the cuff ( here the black in the picture)

3.5" x 42" for prairie points( here the green)

matching thread

Optional: Best Press Spray starch or similar product

Making a prairie point: Cut 12 squares 3.5" x 3.5" Cut carefully, you'll use every bit!

Take your first square lay it down wrong side up on your pressing surface.

Fold along the diagonal and press with a hot iron.

Fold and press again bringing all the raw edges together.

If your fabric won't stay folded give the squares a spritz of Best Press and then hit them with the iron again. That really helps keep the prairie points neat. Repeat this for all 12 prairie points. Set them aside.

Trim your 3/4 yd. pillow body fabric to measure 26.5" x 41". Along one of the 41" edges evenly distribute the 12 prairie points, keeping all raw edges even. Begin 1/2" in and end with a 1/2"of space left. Pin these well, so they don't shift while you baste them on the machine. Lengthen your machine's stitch and baste these on with a 1/8- 1/4 inch seam making sure to catch all the layers.

Fold the fabric in half, right sides together, creating a rectangle 26.5 x 20.5. Pin along the long edge (opposite the folded edge) and continue pinning up the short side. Note the pins in the picture along two sides, the fold is at the top of the picture the prairie points are on the right. Make sure you shorten your stitch length and sew along these two sides.

Trim your corners and turn right side out.

Here is what you'll have so far:

Next trim your cuff fabric to 9"x 41". Pin the two 9" edges right sides together. Pin and sew this edge. Press seam open. Now you have a circle. Now bring the two long raw edges of your circle together to make it 4.5" wide. Press.

Pin all the raw edges of the cuff to the raw edges of the pillow case body ( right sides together) as shown. The Prairie points will be covered and sandwiched in between. Sew with a healthy 1/4" seam making sure you sew in deeper than your basting stitches so they will not show on the outside. To keep this seam from fraying when you wash the pillowcase, serge this seam OR do a wide zig zag over the edge.

Flip the cuff away from the pillow case body and press the prairie points toward the cuff. Topstitch around pillow body 1/8 from where the body meets the cuff making sure the points are pointing towards the cuff.

You are done and hopefully.... whoever it is for, will love it! Kits available or customize your own with this pattern at the Quilters' Crossing, now open 7 days a week!

Gift Tag Tutorial

So you spend days, weeks, months (or even years) making that special gift for someone you love and then you BUY a card to put with it? Why not make a cute gift tag that coordinates with the gift or the wrapping? It is easy and has lots of creative options.

So here is our first free tutorial! (We’ll be giving one of these gift tags out to each of our first 50 customers when the shop opens. But, if that isn’t soon enough for you...) You can make your own after reading this tutorial.

Here is what you're going to need to make one gift tag:

Scrap of fabric about the size of your hand

Colored card stock that compliments your fabric choice

White card stock

10 inches of Ribbon (quarter inch wide) or yarn that matches and/or compliments the card stock and fabric

Machine sewing thread that matches or compliments your card stock and fabric

Rotary cutter or scissors for paper

Rotary cutter for fabric ( pinking blade optional)

Sewing machine

Glue stick

Hole punch

1.) Select the fabric or card stock you’d like to use for your tag. Personally, I have way more colors of fabric than I do of card stock so, I picked my card stock first and took that to my fabric stash where I was quickly able to find fabric that suited my paper color! You can coordinate with the gift, or the wrapping paper, or bag you’ve selected.

2.)You’ll need to cut the fabric piece to 2.5” x 4”.

I like to cut mine with a pinking blade on my rotary cutter because it gives it a little something extra (and I bought the darn blade and have only used it once so why not?) Save your straight blades for your next sewing project!

3.) Cut your piece of solid colored card stock *with your paper rotary blade or scissors* to 3” x 5” .

4. Cut 2 pieces of plain white card stock. Piece one should measure 1.25” x 3” ( mine has our logo on it yours can have whatever message you’d like on it ). Piece two should measure 2.5” x 4” (use your paper rotary or scissors!)

5. Use a swipe of the glue stick on the wrong side of the fabric piece just a slight swipe will do (it is just to hold it in place as you sew it down). Place this wrong side down on your colored card stock, leaving a 1/4 frame of card stock around it on 3 sides, as shown--leave room on one short end for the hole and ribbon to lace through.

6. Now again use just a swipe of glue stick on the smaller piece of white card stock.

Mine have our shop logo on them, as you can see. Center this piece on the fabric- glue side down.

7.Sew around the small rectangle on top using a zig zag or a straight stitch.

8. Flip your project over and you'll see your stitches are visible on the back.

9. Glue your last piece of card stock down with a healthy amount of glue stick. This piece should neatly cover up all the stitches from the other side.

10. Take the exposed short end ( the one without the fabric) and punch a hole in the center.

11.Fold your ribbon in half. Insert the loop in the hole.

and then pull the tails through the loop, as shown. Tighten the tails gently.

You did it! Here is what each side will sort of look like.

But wait! Here are some other options you might add to yours to personalize it for your purpose. Cheyenne added a Zentangle picture she doodled in place of the shop logo.

Or you can just write a message like I did on this one

If you make a gift tag, please share in the comments to this post how you chose to personalize it. Your creativity might just inspire a fellow crafter!