what's new
Every month I get the awesome subscription box Signs of the Sewdiac, it's a fabulous creative lifestyle box themed with Samantha Claridge's designs. This month is The Seam Ripper, the panel above is a kit to make a zip pouch and there's a patch, pin, holographic pencils, greeting card, print and a seam ripper! All gorgeous and I adore the design. I need to find a good place for the patch.
I have notebooks a plenty, I fill them with writing, ideas and sketches. I've saved all the ones that are full and I have a collection of blank ones waiting to be used. Many of them are different sizes but recently I bought some Field Notes memo notebooks, small enough to carry around and fill with whatever is in my head. It also means I can keep these specific notebooks for my creative ideas and they'll be easy to store once they are filled. Due to the fact that I am a lover of stationery and a 'planner addict', I know about the bullet journaling trend and have seen people use some beautiful covers to hold their journals. I knew this would be a great way to protect my notebooks and keep them together. The Foxy Fix is a simple leather cover with elastic strap, that can hold plenty of Field Notes notebooks. I got a small one but it can easily fit three notebooks in (probably more!).
This is the Boss Babe Single Couture in Moonlit with powder pink stitching and elastic. Of course I got embossing in rose gold too. It's so well made and one of those things that will get better with age as it softens and gets character from being thrown in my bag!
There's been lovely squishy parcels too, more new fabric arrivals. This is the stunning underwater and tropical collection Sirena by Jessica Swift for Art Gallery Fabrics
The leaf prints are so pretty in lovely bright colours, the focal mermaid print is so whimsical and the whales and octopi are SO cute!
Can we talk about these moons?!! Those adorable faces! Stargazer by AGF Studio is utterly adorable, with furry space friends and constellation / planet themed prints. AGF Studio are nailing it in my opinion, not only do they create excellent feature prints but they are amazing at designing really useful blender, neutral prints too. So even if you don't go for the childlike space prints, the Stardust, Lunar Stamps and Interrupted Signal prints are perfect stash builders and would look gorgeous mixed with other modern fabrics.
Both collections are available soon, visit Hantex to find UK stockists for fabrics in the ranges.
Finally I am working on a secret project with these incredible prints from the new Anna Maria's Conservatory by Anna Maria Horner, Monika Forsberg, and Bookhou. They are utterly stunning. I've already started cutting and I'm so excited to share this with you when I can!
I hope you all have a wonderful week and get to enjoy some sewing time!
+ quilts + makes
Three quilts, three cushions and a table runner are the makes I'm showcasing today, that I've demoed recently on Sewing Quarter. All finished, despite the fact I didn't always photograph them once I was done. I did manage to take pictures of the interesting aspects or features I wanted to share though so that's good!
This Big Plus quilt is deceptive, the pieces are big and the quilt is a single bed size. The pattern comes together really quickly but you have to keep the columns organised so the pluses fit together correctly.
Hand Applique Stitches for EPP
Hand sewing is my happy place, time I can relax and take it slow. At one point I never thought I would say that, unconvinced that I would enjoy what seemed like laborious and quaint methods. Yet here I am, about to show you how I appliqué my hand sewn English Paper Piecing (epp) by hand. So if you're thinking to yourself 'it's not for me' or 'I am not about to do more hand sewing', let me assure you I have felt the same way and encourage you to at least read through this post...
I'm excited to be able to share my hand stitching as a contributor to the Kingfisher Stitch-Along, co-hosted by my talented friends Rachel at Stitched in Color and Jodi at Tales of Cloth! Of course if you've been joining in there's plenty of hand sewing taking place; if you haven't heard already we are sewing along to make the Kingfisher Quilt - to get all the info and schedule click here.
PREPARE TO HAND APPLIQUE
Before we pick up a needle and thread there is some basic prep to do. These are the little steps that make the process smoother and lay the foundation for neat blocks.
BACKGROUND FABRIC
Stabilise your background fabric - i.e. the diamonds for the Kingfisher quilt. There are a number of ways to do this; you could use a tear away / soluble stabiliser or light weight interfacing. Personally I don't think this is necessary and is extra cost and faff but if you prefer to stitch on a stiffer fabric then they are a good option.
My preference is to use starch (well technically starch alternative, I currently use Best Press). It is easier to stitch on fabric with a bit of body and starch helps reduce fraying and stretching. Ideally you want to starch your fabric before cutting but if you've already cut your diamonds just give them a little spritz and press!
The result is less floppy fabric that is easier to handle and you can appliqué on individual diamonds without worry of the fabric fraying or distorting. Of course you still need to handle the diamonds gently but that's simple when your hexie flowers are secured (more on that shortly!).
Another option would be to sew all the diamonds together (making the quilt top) and then begin the appliqué. For me this would be slightly too cumbersome. It's likely that while I'm stitching I would be tempted to grip the fabric as I hold the top or squash it out of the way, thereby crinkling it and that means more ironing! If you are using very delicate fabric or fabric that frays very easily for your background though this method might be worthwhile.
As you are ready to appliqué fold a background diamond in half and lightly press (you can finger press) to create a crease to centre your flower on.
EPP
Begin by removing the papers and give your epp a press, making sure the edges are neat and crisp. I find pressing from the back and then the front keeps the seams in place.
Now you want to secure your epp to the background fabric. There are several options; glue pen, fusible web, 505 temporary glue spray or pins. Each come with their own pluses and minuses. Fusible web isn't generally repositionable so you need to work fast and be accurate, it's also a little tougher to stitch through. 505 spray is a bit messy for a small project like this but if you're happy with it go for it, I would be mindful not to use too much as it can make your needle tacky. Pins are a simple option, though they can prick and get in the way. I find that my projects move around unless I use lots of pins so I tend not to. For me glue is the quickest and most effective way to keep the epp in place. I use a fabric glue pen, it's repositionable if I'm not happy but holds the epp in place.
Whichever method you chose, try not to get too close to the edge of the epp - you may want to lift the edges slightly, get the tip of your needle under or manipulate them as you stitch and you can't do that if it's stuck down!
You can see here that I've used glue in the centre and along the inner seams, enough to hold it in place (I used more than I needed so the glue would show up for the picture!).
Align your flower with the crease on the background diamond and secure in place.
APPLIQUE STITCHES
Everything is in place so we can start stitching! I have used three different stitches to show you options for hand appliqué. These are my favourites but of course there are many different decorative stitches that could be used.
For my first flower I have used ladder stitch (AKA invisible / blind / slip stitch) that I often use for appliqué. Unlike a more traditional appliqué stitch, where you catch the fabric and use a coordinating thread because it is visible, ladder stitch means I can use a neutral thread and you can barely see the stitches. I sew binding in the same way so I'm very comfortable using this stitch and it is nice and strong (as three kids and countless washed quilts can testify!). This post by Olena demonstrates both stitches really well if you haven't tried them.
I use Aurifil 80wt thread for this type of appliqué stitch, it's fine and lovely to sew with. I also like to use the Black Gold Appliqué Needles by Clover. This combination is a dream and produces beautiful stitches that you can't see! I will say that whatever stitches you choose to do, it's always worth trying out different threads and needles to find the ones that give you the best result and that you love to stitch with.
I use Aurifil 80wt thread for this type of appliqué stitch, it's fine and lovely to sew with. I also like to use the Black Gold Appliqué Needles by Clover. This combination is a dream and produces beautiful stitches that you can't see! I will say that whatever stitches you choose to do, it's always worth trying out different threads and needles to find the ones that give you the best result and that you love to stitch with.
For the second flower I did a running stitch, which is super easy and also looks like hand quilting! I recommend using perle cotton, Aurifil 28 or 12wt or similar to get that big stitch quilting look. Keep your stitches close to the edge of the epp so that the fabric doesn't catch or fold back easily, like a top stitch.
This was stitched with Finca perle #12 in colour 1072 that I got in a recent haul from Patchfinders. It's a beautiful warm golden brown, perhaps not an obvious colour choice for this flower but one that will work well in the scheme of the whole quilt. Also I like mixing things up and not being too coordinated.
Although it's relatively simple, blanket stitch can be a little tricky when it comes to the outer corners of the flower. If the thread isn't sitting nicely, I just do a little extra stitch over the thread running along the edge to hold it in place. It really isn't noticeable when it's all finished.
I hope this has given you a little inspiration to have a go at hand appliqué! The first two flowers took less time to appliqué than it did to epp the hexies together, the blanket stitch takes a little longer but the result is so pretty!
If you have any other hand appliqué stitches or methods you like to use, please let us know in a comment below. It's nice to hear how you stitch and may help others doing the Stitch-Along!
incoming
I've been keeping the post man busy recently and as a result I have lots of lovely fabric bundles to share! Some of these are new collections, there are non cotton fabrics and a few extras I couldn't resist...
This gorgeous bundle is the new Terrestrial collection by Sara Watson for Cloud 9 Fabrics. It's totally up my alley, the colours are stunning and the detail in the prints is just beautiful. The black and white prints in the centre are canvas, so lots of possibilities for bag making etc!
More new fabric below, Gathered by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics is full of pretty florals, soft motifs and sweet text print. I think it has an excellent mix of feature prints and really useful blenders. It's great to be able to use a collection as a whole and still have variety but it's also nice to separate the prints and easily mix them with other ranges.
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