Handmade Holiday Blog Hop: Day 6

It's Handmade Holiday Blog Hop time! We're sharing both gift and decor ideas here on the blog. Make them now; bookmark them for later. Either way, we hope you'll enjoy the inspiration and ideas to help you get in the holiday spirit and/or cross a few names off your gift list.

Today Kristen from KD Quilts is sharing an adorable patchwork apron made with Cherry Guidry's Frosty Forest collection. She fussy cut part of the Frosty Forest panel for the apron top and then stitched a patchwork skirt--super easy and super cute! Enjoy her tutorial and then head over to her blog for a chance to win a Frosty Forest bundle. 

Here's Kristen:

Hello to all the lovely Benartex readers! I'm thrilled to be back here today sharing my super quick, super easy apron tutorial! If you aren't a garment sewer, don't worry. If you know how to work a sewing machine and cut fabric, then you will be wonderful!

You will need:

6 fat quarters and 1 panel (you will have enough fabric left over for a child size apron as well! Perfect for baking cookies for Santa!)

Frosty Forest panel

Cutting:

From the panel:

Trim main panel design down to 16.5" x 19" (for the apron top)
Fussy cut a 17-1/2" x 4-1/2" strip from directly below the panel (for the waistband) 

From each of 4 fat quarters:

Cut two 10" x 9" pieces

From one remaining fat quarter:

Three 2" x 22" strips joined to create a binding strip measuring at least 53" long

From the last fat quarter:

Four 4" x 22" strips for ties

Let's get to making!

Sew together the 10" x 9" pieces, short sides together, in pairs. You will now have four segments measuring 17.5" x 10".

Sew these segments long sides together to make the apron skirt.

Time to gather! There are lots of ways to gather, but I haven't ever veered away from the old fashioned method:

 

With the longest stitch length you have, run a line across 1/4 inch from the top. Be sure to leave super long tails on either end. Hold the top thread on one side and gently work the fabric down the stitch line you made. Keep gathering (you might have to do some from the other side too) until your skirt measures 17-1/2". The gathers should all be even across your skirt.

Right sides together, attach the waistband to the skirt. The stitches that were used to gather should be inside the seam allowance so they are not visible on the front.

We will set this aside and start the binding and apron ties.

On all four ties, you need to fold the fabric in half lengthwise. Press. Open and fold each side to the center line. Press. Fold in half again. Press.

On one end, fold ends in to make triangles before sewing down the final fold. This gives your ties a finished point at the end.

Topstitch down the angled end and open side of each tie.

Now repeat the folding process for the binding piece, this time leaving the ends open. Set aside for now.

Turn the apron top wrong side up and measure 3" in from the top edge on each side. Sew down the neck apron ties here. (They'll be flipped up after the binding is attached.)

Starting at the bottom of one side, attach the binding around the sides and top of the apron panel, sandwiching the raw edges of the panel in the center fold of the binding. Be sure the raw ends of the apron ties are pointing down and are encased in the binding also.

At the corners, open the binding and pinch it closed again. A tricky process to put in words, so hopefully these pictures help!

Trim remaining binding strip if needed after adding to all three sides. After the binding is sewn on, flip the neck ties up and stitch across again. This way they stay up and don't crease funny.

Tack down the apron waist strings onto the sides of the apron waistband as shown (position waist tie on right side of waistband). Hem all around the apron sides and bottom with a 1/2" hem (Fold in 1/4" wrong sides together. Then fold in 1/4" again and sew). The waist ties will fold into the hem.

Are you ready?! Last step!! Right sides together, attach the apron top to the waistband of the apron skirt. Now proudly wear and bake some cookies! (Or just wear it and browse the Benartex blog hop, you worked hard this afternoon!

Thanks Kristen! 
Head over to her blog to find out how you can win a bundle of Frosty Forest.

Don't miss any days of our Handmade Holiday Blog Hop!

Day 2: Nesting Pocket Dolls by Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts using Little Katerina 

Day 3: Sew Easy Travel Case featuring Sew Easy

Day 4: Firewood Tote by Mary on Lake Pulaski featuring Shades of Winter

Day 5: Evergreen Pennant by Jessica of Quilty Habit featuring Snow Days

Day 7: Christmas Adorned quilt by Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation featuring Santa's Here

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Handmade Holiday Blog Hop: Day 5

It's Handmade Holiday Blog Hop time! We're sharing both gift and decor ideas here on the blog. Make them now; bookmark them for later. Either way, we hope you'll enjoy the inspiration and ideas to help you get in the holiday spirit and/or cross a few names off your gift list.

Today Jessica from Quilty Habit is sharing an easy evergreen pennant. Use your favorite holiday prints (she combined Snow Days with a few coordinating solids) to make a seasonal decoration that can brighten up your house all winter long. Enjoy her tutorial and then head over to her blog for a chance to win a Snow Days bundle. 

Here's Jessica:
Hi! I'm Jessica Skultety, a quilter, teacher, and lecturer on modern and modern traditional quilting - and I blog voraciously over at Quilty Habit! I love decorating for the winter season (not just the holidays, but winter - after all, here in New Jersey, I'm inside quite a lot over these next few months. Might as well make it pretty).

I designed the Evergreen Pennant Banner to work for both winter and Christmas (or one or the other - whatever you prefer). It's unique because it uses two different sizes of Evergreen trees, and it's reversible! Might I suggest trying an all-solids version with Benartex's Colors for Quilters? Whatever fabrics you choose, I hope this banner brightens up your space this season!

Evergreen Pennant Banner Tutorial

Materials: 
Templates (download here) 
Cardboard or template plastic 
Sewing machine and general sewing supplies 
Iron 
Rotary cutter and ruler 
Turner, chopstick, or pencil 

Fabric: 
9 fat quarters (I used six from Snow Days and three solids: Lime, Lipstick, and Kelly) 
1 fat quarter for strip (I used White)

Making the Trees: 
1. Print out the templates above at 100% (not fit to page). Cut out on the lines. 
2. Trace onto cardboard or template plastic - cut them out.
3. Fold your fat quarters in half along the 22" side and trace your trees. This way, you'll have two trees from each fabric to cut out from just tracing once.  See diagram below.

*If you are using directional fabric like the snowmen, you may want to fussy cut. You also will not be able to fold as instructed above because the directions will likely lay the wrong way - you will have to cut them out separately (this is why you have a whole fat quarter!)

For the rest of the tutorial, I decided to make my evergreens without raw edges. You could simply sew them together wrong sides together and proceed to "Making the Strip" IF you don't mind raw edges. 
4. Place your evergreens RST (right sides together). Pin and leave a 2" opening on one of the long sides. 
5. Sew all the way around with a 1/4" seam.

6. Snip all the corners. This will reduce bulk! 
7. Use a chopstick or turner to carefully turn the trees out. Press. 
8. Topstitch around the trees at 1/8" - this is both to close the opening and for prettiness.

Making the Strip: 
I didn't want to cut the points of the trees off by encasing them in bias tape, so here's an alternative method. 
1. Cut 7 strips from your strip fat quarter. The strips should be 2" wide x 22" long. 
2. To join them on the bias, lay them RST at an angle (see picture below). Draw a diagonal line from top left to bottom right. 
3. Sew on the line and cut off at 1/4". Press open.

4. Join all your strips in this way. This should leave you with a strip of about 120". You may want to to decide at this point if you want to add or subtract length, based on where you will hang your banner. Also, just as a note, the measurements in Step #10 will have to change if you alter the length. 
5. Fold the entire piece in half and press.
6. Fold the two ends to meet the middle and press. You should now have three press lines down your whole strip, like below.

7. With the two ends folded to the middle, fold the strip in half (along the first press line you created).

8. Sew a topstich 1/8" from the edge along the strip to close it.
9. On each end, fold over the strip 1/4", then 1/4", and sew. This might be tricky to get through your machine, as it is bulky. Take this step to ensure that the raw edges are enclosed.
10. At 20" in from one end, place a pin. Pin along the strip every 11" to allow for 9 evenly spaced evergreens. You may want to alternate big and small trees like I did, or come up with your own pattern!
11. Sew each tree onto the strip in an "X" fashion. I started at one corner, used stay stitch or back stitch, sewed to the other, and cut my thread. Then I did the same on the other side). Sew slowly and your "X" will come out nearly symmetrical.

12. Hang your pennant banner and enjoy!

Thank you to Benartex for inviting me to be a part of the blog hop! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you'll check out my projects, tutorials, and musings over on my blog. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Thanks Jessica! 
Head over to her blog to find out how you can win a bundle of Snow Days.

Don't miss any days of our Handmade Holiday Blog Hop!

Day 2: Nesting Pocket Dolls by Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts using Little Katerina 

Day 3: Sew Easy Travel Case featuring Sew Easy

Day 4: Firewood Tote by Mary on Lake Pulaski featuring Shades of Winter

Day 6: Patchwork Apron by Kristen of KD Quilts featuring Frosty Forest

Day 7: Christmas Adorned quilt by Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation featuring Santa's Here

Love It? Share It!

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop: Day 4

It's Handmade Holiday Blog Hop time! Over the next days, we'll be sharing both gift and decor ideas here on the blog. Make them now; bookmark them for later. Either way, we hope you'll enjoy the inspiration and ideas to help you get in the holiday spirit and/or cross a few names off your gift list.

Today Mary on Lake Pulaski is sharing an idea she made using Greta Lynn's Shades of Winter collection. We love this neat use of such a woodsy themed fabric line! Talk about the project reflecting the the fabric...it's clear where Mary's inspiration came from!

Go check out her blog Mary on Lake Pulaski for information on this Firewood Tote and to enter a drawing for a bundle of this beautiful fabric.

Don't miss any days of our Handmade Holiday Blog Hop!

Day 2: Nesting Pocket Dolls by Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts using Little Katerina 

Day 3: Sew Easy Travel Case featuring Sew Easy

Day 5: Evergreen Pennant by Jessica of Quilty Habit featuring Snow Days

Day 6: Patchwork Apron by Kristen of KD Quilts featuring Frosty Forest

Day 7: Christmas Adorned quilt by Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation featuring Santa's Here

Love It? Share It!

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop: Day 3

It's Handmade Holiday Blog Hop time! Over the next days, we'll be sharing both gift and decor ideas here on the blog. Make them now; bookmark them for later. Either way, we hope you'll enjoy the inspiration and ideas to help you get in the holiday spirit and/or cross a few names off your gift list.

Today's project idea uses the Sew Easy collection from Kanvas. And yes, it's a gift idea, but we're pretty sure you'll want to make one for yourself too! This travel case will safely transport your rotary cutter, scissors, seam ripper, and other sharp objects any time you sew on the go (or head to a retreat, sew-in, etc.). No more tucking a scissors in a tote pocket and hoping you don't poke yourself when you reach in--keep your tools secure and organized! Scroll down to the bottom of this tutorial for a chance to win a bundle of this super-fun fabric collection!

This case includes a top flap that folds over so tools can't slide out the top:

Sew Easy fabrics:

(Ok, we didn't use the pin fabric in this project, 

but it's so cute we had to show it anyway!)

Materials:

1 fat quarter of the stripe

1 fat quarter of the needles on white

1 fat quarter black/white print

1 fat quarter button print

1 coordinating button

5-1/2" length of 1/4" wide black elastic

12-1/2" x 9-1/2" piece of Pellon Flex-Foam 2-Sided Fusible*

5" x 12-1/2" piece of Craft Fuse or other lightweight fusible stabilizer

*If you're not familiar with Flex-Foam, find out more here. You could use fusible fleece if you prefer, but the case won't hold its shape and will be much floppier.

Cutting:

From the stripe:

One 12-1/2" x 9-1/2" piece, fussy-cut to center the design you prefer

From the needles on white:

One 12-1/2" x 9-1/2" piece

From the black/white print:

Three 2-1/2" x 22" strips for binding

One 10" x 12" piece

From the button print:

One 12-1/2" x 10" piece

Make the Travel Case

Step 1: Press the button print piece in half wrong sides together so it measures 12-1/2" x 5". Unfold and position the 12-1/2" x 5" interfacing piece as shown. Following manufacturer's directions, press to adhere. Refold the button print piece. 

Step 2: Following manufacturer's directions, fuse the needles on white piece to the Flex-Foam piece. 

Step 3: Lay the folded button piece on top so raw edges align on sides and bottom. Pin or use Wonder Clips to secure. (Wonder Clips work better than pins with the thicker Flex-Foam.) Measure 3" in from left edge and mark a line on the button print pocket. Measure 6-1/4" in from left edge and mark another line. Stitch on both lines, backstitching at top edge of pocket to secure. Tip: Use a walking foot when stitching on Flex-Foam.

Step 4: Fuse the stripe piece to the remaining exposed side of the Flex-Foam.
Step 5: Fold the black elastic piece in half and pin to the center of the left edge of the stripe side. Stitch back and forth across the elastic several times (as shown by red line below), staying within 1/4" of the fabric edge.

Step 6: Fold the 12" x 10" black/white print piece in half right sides together to measure 12" x 5". Use a spool or other curved object to mark and cut rounded corners on the folded edge. Stitch the short edges of the folded piece with a 1/4" seam allowance, following the curve until you reach the fold.

Step 7: Turn flap right side out and topstitch along short sides and folded edge. Leave long raw edge open.
Step 8: Prepare binding from three 2-1/2" x 22" black/white print strips.
Step 9: Pin and/or baste the long raw edge of the flap to the top of the inside case (needles on white fabric). Stitch raw edge of binding to the outer edges of the case, making sure to catch top flap edge and side and bottom pocket edges. Be careful not to catch the side flap edges as you stitch.

Step 10: Hand or machine stitch binding to the opposite side. Be careful not to catch the side flap edges as you stitch. You can even pin them out of the way as shown, just in case.

Step 11: Fold travel case closed. Pull elastic across opening and mark position for the button. Stitch button in place. Use button and elastic to keep case closed.

Back side of travel case (love this fabric!)

Travel case with flap folded back:

For a chance to win a bundle of Sew Easy, leave a comment letting us know how you follow our blog (email or blog reader; both options are in the right hand sidebar!) and telling us which is your favorite Sew Easy fabric. This giveaway is open through Thursday, December 10 at 11:59 pm EST. 

Don't miss any days of our Handmade Holiday Blog Hop!

Day 2: Nesting Pocket Dolls by Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts using Little Katerina 
Day 4: Firewood Tote by Mary on Lake Pulaski featuring Shades of Winter
Day 5: Evergreen Pennant by Jessica of Quilty Habit featuring Snow Days
Day 6: Patchwork Apron by Kristen of KD Quilts featuring Frosty Forest
Day 7: Christmas Adorned quilt by Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation featuring Santa's Here

Love It? Share It!

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop: Day 2

It's Handmade Holiday Blog Hop time! Over the next days, we'll be sharing both gift and decor ideas here on the blog. Make them now; bookmark them for later. Either way, we hope you'll enjoy the inspiration and ideas to help you get in the holiday spirit and/or cross a few names off your gift list.

Today Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts is sharing a sweet nesting doll project for a child. She used the panel and coordinates from Greta Lynn's Little Katerina collection to make a gift that will get used year round! Enjoy Debby's tutorial and then head over to her blog for a chance to win a bundle of Little Katerina for yourself!

Little Katerina by Greta Lynn for Kanvas

Nesting Dolls have a history with our family. My husband Phil visited the old Soviet Union in the early 1980s and returned with several sets of dolls. We even have a set of the communist leaders: Lenin, Stalin, Kruschev, Gorbachev (sorry for any mispellings). When I was asked to participate in this Benartex hop, I jumped at the chance to make some little dolls for my granddaughter Eva (who is almost 2).

Now, to a professional quilter ALL FABRIC looks like a quilt. I had to think outside the box! While most people would cut out the panels, sew them and stuff them with batting, I decided to make actual nesting dolls. First, let's see the panel:

Little Katerina and Friends panels

I grabbed my stash of Timtex (very stiff, fusible interfacing) and proceeded to stiffen the shapes so my granddaughter can treat them like paper dolls. I traced the shape of the first doll onto the Timtex.

Trace shape of doll onto Timtex

Then I cut it out and fused it to the wrong side of the doll front. I also fused Timtex to the wrong side of the doll back. I wanted a very firm doll!

Timtex fused to wrong side of doll front panel

Stitch around the outside, leaving the bottom open. Turn around to right side, turn bottom edges under and topstitch around entire doll.

Smallest doll, stitched. See, she likes this!

In order to nest the dolls, I needed to make a pocket on each of the other 4 larger dolls. Here is how I auditioned one of the companion fabrics for Doll D.

Doll D with pocket for Doll E

Double folded fabric with raw edges at the bottom

And here are the remaining dolls:

5 Nesting Dolls - where is the pocket on Doll A?

I put the pocket for Doll A on the back so that she could carry them either front or back. Let's see!

Four dolls in back pocket of Doll A!

And how do these compare with my authentic Russian nesting dolls? Do they approve?

Yes, they approve!

And one more thing: the little apron I made for Eva with the Green Farms Collection was left in Spain this summer. So, her mom (my oldest daughter) asked me for a replacement. Here is the Green Farms apron in case you missed it:

Pinafore from the Green Farms Collection (by Benartex)

But, I did not enjoy putting all that binding on all the raw edges. I decided to face the entire pinafore. It's a good thing I've been sewing for decades and decades. That was torture, but I think you'll agree with me that the result is so sweet!

Little Katerina pinafore with two large front pockets

And the inside, lined with a beautiful blue:

Little Katerina pinafore back, showing lining

These fabrics are so sweet, perfect for any little girl. I think I will hold back the dolls for a Christmas gift for Eva. As for the apron, she needs it. She cooks with Audrey every day!

Thanks Debby! 
Head over to Debby's blog to learn more about her nesting dolls in the photo below and find out how you can win a bundle of Little Katerina. 

Don't miss any days of our Handmade Holiday Blog Hop!

Day 3: Sew Easy Travel Case featuring Sew Easy

Day 4: Firewood Tote by Mary on Lake Pulaski featuring Shades of Winter

Day 5: Evergreen Pennant by Jessica of Quilty Habit featuring Snow Days

Day 6: Patchwork Apron by Kristen of KD Quilts featuring Frosty Forest

Day 7: Christmas Adorned quilt by Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation featuring Santa's Here

Love It? Share It!