Minky Baby Blanket

So, you know the whole 5 love languages thing?

So, disclaimer, I've never read the book. I have the book. It's on my shelf. Haha. But I know the general principles.

Basically, we're all wired differently. I think this is a pretty universally accepted truth, yes? So, in that same spirit, we show and receive love differently.

Well, I'm not sure what my receiving language is, but I think my giving is gifts. I love to make things for people. It's a reminder for me to pray for the recipient and his/her specific situation and I think that knowing that time was spent on something is an affirmation of love for that person. (There's some selfishness in there, too, I will admit. I like to make. I also like when the things I make are appreciated. I'm human.) But, moreover, I like to show my love that way.

Anyway, our friends' little guy had to have some pretty serious surgery this summer. He came through it like a champ and is doing fabulously well. Praise God! But, I wanted to give him and them a little cuddly something to hang onto in the hospital.

What better than a cuddly blankie when you're not feeling good? Plus, every baby and little guy needs a good blankie. Am I right?

So, I got some minky and some flannel from JoAnn's and went to town.

The little guy's dad plays bass and guitar, so I had to get some musical flannel. Plus, aside, if Mr. Gardener and I are blessed to have children, I definitely got a glimpse into the future when we visited the hospital. They asked Mr. Gardener to play some lullabies on the guitar, which was sweet. But, obviously, lullaby means a sweeter version of Gimme Shelter followed by some Black Sabbath. Yes? No? hahaha

Anyway, I had never sewn with minky before so I looked at some tips online. Got some thoughts and went to town.

So minky. Sucker sheds like a dog in summer. Be prepared. Clean your machine afterward. Have your vacuum handy. Just saying.

It's also very stretchy. So I approached the initial blanket construction a lot like basting a quilt.

After I cut the top and bottom to the approximate size I wanted (really was determined by the width of the flannel minus selvedges - I think it was 45", but I can't remember for certain), I taped the minky to the floor right side up with masking tape.

Then I laid the flannel right side down on top.

One of the tips I read online, which I totally agree with, is to pin the minky like crazy. Pin, pin, pin. 

It builds character.

You will probably live through the pinning.

Then I trimmed the excess minky. For me, it was tremendously easier to trim down at this stage. It was forced to stay more in place and was more accurate.

Then I sewed the pieces together (right sides together) with a 5/8 seam allowance, using my little strip of washi tape on the side as a guide.

While I'm sure you can use a regular foot, I used my even feed foot (or use your walking foot if you don't have a built-in even feed), which I believe made a HUGE difference. It was so much easier with the stretchy fabric. I also recommend keeping the minky on the bottom. I think it feeds through the machine more easily.

Sew, sew, sew, making right angles at the corners.

Leave a space for turning the work on one of the sides and backstitch at both ends so you don't pull out your stitches while turning. Probably 10 inches or so should do.

Before you turn, clip your corners to reduce bulk, but be careful not to clip your stitches.

Turn inside out, tuck in the area that you left open for turning, and topstitch, being careful to catch the open area in topstitching to stitch it closed. I used a 1/2 inch seam allowance and readjusted my washi tape guide accordingly.

Don't forget to backstitch!

There you have it! Wash and gift.

Snuggly baby blanket all around, and it really only takes about an hour to do if you have some basic sewing skills. Once you've made a couple, I actually expect it might take less time.

Easy, loving gift for a friend.

How do you like to show your love? Do you have gifts you love to make for others?

Happy crafting!

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts' Finish it up Friday.

Valentine Coaster Tutorial Part 2

Alright! Coasters Part 2. 

Hope you enjoy. :)

So, yesterday, we made a bunch of coaster tops. Today, we're going to embroider them and sew them into coasters.

1. First, you actually need to cut out your coaster bottoms. You'll need as many tops as you have bottoms, cut them 4.5" square. You can use whatever fabric you want, but for me, this is where the fabric ink and stencil came in. I used some Kona red (of some variety, not sure which exact one) and used the stencil brush to make gold dots all over. 

Like so:

Disregard the fact that I forgot to take a picture before I sewed it up. Whoops.

If you choose to do this, be sure to follow the manufacturer's directions.

You'll also need as many 4.5" squares of batting.

2. Set those aside for now. 

3. Determine your design. I decided to do some hugs and kisses and some hearts. For the heart, I drew it on a piece of paper and then scanned it into my computer. Then, I flipped the image over and printed. 

If you want to go green, or you're cheap like me, use scrap paper.

For the hugs and kisses, I chose a font I liked in Word and printed it (also in reverse). 

The reason is that when we transfer our image, it's going to be backward, so we want it to be opposite of how we want it from the get-go.

4. Get your handy iron-on transfer pencil and trace your images. A heavy, dark line makes for a better transfer. 

5. Following manufacturer's instructions, transfer your image to the white square in the center of your coaster tops.

(Excuse the quality of these next few photos. Our iron broke while I was making these and so the only photos I could get were in the evening.) 

First, I placed the image where I wanted it. Then, I started ironing. 

I found that the image transferred best when I first pressed down with the tip of the iron onto the various sections of the image. 

Then I pressed down with the whole iron. 

6. Now you should have an image that looks something like this.

7. Now for the fun part. :) Get your embroidery floss, a hand sewing needle, a hoop, and pick your poison. I mean color. 

8. Choose how many strands of the floss you want. I actually used all 6. I wanted my design to stand out.

9. I just did a simple running stitch. There are some fantastic tutorials on YouTube if you don't know how. 

10.  Square up your top so that it's nice and square. No more hangover on any of the ends.

11. Once you're done, gather your tops and backs. Time to make a sandwich!

12. For real though. You're making a sandwich. Put the bottom, right side facing up, on the bottom of the sandwich. Put the top, right side facing down, on top of the bottom. Put your batting on top.

13. Pin.

14. Sew around the sandwich using a 1/4" seam. Leave a hole 1-2" for turning. You'll want to backstitch to prevent ripping your seams when you turn right side out.

15. Clip the corners. This keeps them sharper when you turn right side out. Be sure not to clip your seams!

16. Turn right side out.

You may find that a turning tool or a chopstick helps you in this endeavor. This guy's pointy ends help turn out the corners. 

17. Give it a good pressing. 

18. Now you want to topstitch. Stitch pretty close to the edge, so that you close up the hole. You can just topstitch once around the edge if you'd like or you catch stitch around the coaster as many times as you'd like. I did mine twice. 

If you use metallic thread like me, make sure to lower the tension in your machine.

19. Clip your threads and admire your handiwork.

20. Give to a friend or enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine Coaster Tutorial Part 1

So I am really excited today because I'm going to share my first tutorial with you!

Now, it is my first time writing a tutorial, so let me know if anything is confusing. :)

Valentine's day is just around the corner, so I thought it would be fun to make some cute little coasters for some folks. 

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I hear some of you. It's a Hallmark holiday, blah blah blah. 

But I like it.

And I like the chance to show a little love for some people around me. 

But if you must hate on V-day, then you can make these coasters in whatever theme you want. ;)

You can put whatever embroidered design you want. In fact, later on I'm going to show you a completely different design I've done.

I am going to break this into two parts, just for ease and clarity, so join me tomorrow for the second half. 

Supplies:

You're going to want the following:

• A sewing machine
• Embroidery floss in a variety of colors 
• Hand sewing needle
• White or light-colored fabric
• Backing fabric 
• Strips of colored fabric (this might be a great time to raid your scraps stash; the strips are as thin as 1.25 inches wide)
• Machine sewing thread in a color of your fancy (I used some metallic thread from Gutermann)
• An iron-on transfer pencil
• A seam ripper
• An iron
• Pins
• Batting

Optional: 

• Fabric paint/ink
• Paintbrush or stencil brush

Directions:

1. Cut your white fabric into 2.5" squares. You'll need one square per coaster, so cut out the number you need based on how many coasters you plan to make.
2. Cut your colored fabric into 1.25" x 3.75" strips. You'll need four per coaster. 

   

 3.  Pin your first strip to the white square. The left edge of the colored strip should be flush with the edge of the square.  There should be overhang.

4. Sew the strip to the square using a 1/4" seam allowance. (Excuse the fact that I'm clearly sewing later in the process here.) You can backstitch the end that is flush with the square, but do not backstitch on the side with the overhang.

5. Press the fabric open. You can either press your seams open or to the side; it doesn't matter. I pressed mine to the side with the colored fabric so the seams wouldn't show through the white. Your preference.

6. Pin on your next strip. Again, you want one edge to be flush with the square and one to overhang just a little bit. The overhang should be over the edge that was flush with the square in the last step.

7. Sew with a 1/4" seam allowance. You can backstitch at both ends this time.

8. Press open.

9. Pin down the third strip. Same process as before. One end should be flush; the other should have a little overhang. The side with the overhang should overlap with the side that was flush in the last step.

10. Sew using a 1/4" seam allowance. Again, you can backstitch at both ends.

11. Press open.

12. This is what it should look like at this point in the process. One side is left overhanging. Get out your handy dandy seam ripper. 

13. Rip down about halfway. Pin the strip out of the way.

14. Pin your final strip down. Same process as before. One end should be flush with the side that is still intact. The other should overhang about a 1/4" or so on the side that you just pinned down. 

15. Sew using a 1/4" seam allowance. Backstitch at both ends. Press open. 

16. I forgot to get a picture here; my apologies. Remove the pin from the side you pinned down. Fold it back down over the side you just completed. Sew using a 1/4" seam allowance. Backstitch at both ends. Press.

17. You'll end up with a coaster top that looks like this. (We'll square them up later.)

18. Make as many as you need. 

19. Join me tomorrow where I'll show you how we'll make a fun back and an embroidered design on the front, as well as sew the coaster. 

20. Breathe! You've just completed the hardest part! :)

Thanks for joining me! Hope to see you tomorrow!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Join me for Funday Monday at Still Being Molly and Lipgloss and Crayons.