Two Tone Silk Pillow Case Tutorial and a Happy Bichon Frisé

After searching for a couple of years now I finally found a doona cover / pillowcase set that I loved and that would go with the gold sari silk bed-head and bed-skirt I made awhile back. (Amazing what you can do with a nice piece of fabric, a bit of foam and a staple gun!) This set is called 'Love Bug' by Morgan & Finch. I laid it on the bed to test if it matched before washing and when I came back with the camera this is what I found:

Note the small fluffy thing that had made herself extremely comfortable. Very glad they matched the bed head and I didn't want to return them!

I wanted to make a couple of to match. The metallic green vine and embroidered bugs are cute but all the white was a little too stark for me. I have very fine hair and usually sleep on a satin pillowcase (a tip a very smart hairdresser gave me to help grow my hair long - apparently silk and satin cases stop hair breaking so much). So I rummaged through my stash and found a couple of nice silk fabrics and used the pinky one on the back with the envelope closure and the shot mauve colour on the front. Put them on the bed, went to get the camera and found this:

I thought i'd try again this morning so made the bed, came back with the camera and.....

well let's just say I don't like my chance of getting a dog free photo in the next century, and at least in the first two she didn't mush everything about. Sigh....

Here's how I made them (NB. this may not be the best way to make pillowcases, and I'm not known for functional sewing but it was quick, easy and worked!).

 Two-tone silk pillowcase tutorial: 

1. Iron both colours of silk fabric. I used a shot one for the top piece to get a decorative selvedge.

2. Lay the backing fabric out folded (so you can cut two at once cutting off folds as you go). Butt a pre-existing light coloured pillow case up to the selvedge edge and mark the width of the envelop flap (a light colour means you can see the where the flap ends through the fabric). For marking I used a ceramic fabric marker but you could use a water soluble marker or even go old school and use tailors chalk :)

3. Move the pillow case over the width of the envelope flap and trace around the entire case. I used a quilting ruler to help get the lines square and straight.

4. Add seam allowance (I used 1cm) and cut with a rotary cutter and quilting ruler. The selvedge on the envelope flap end means you don't need any that end... plus you get out of hemming. My sort of sewing! Take these 2 backs to the ironing board and iron the folded flap down firmly to crease.

5. Lay out the folded front fabric and place one of the cut backs on top of this to use it as a cutting template. Align the fold on the edge of the backs with the selvedge of the front fabric to avoid hemming. Additionally as I used a shot piece of silk (one direction of weave is blue, the other fuchsia)  the selvedge is a contrasting pinky red colour which makes for a nice decorative edge. Use the roller cutter and ruler again and cutting is done for 2 pillowcases!

6. Match right sides together and made sure the selvedge of the front piece is even to the fold line of the envelope closure on the other. I don't use pins, I always finish up pricking myself and bleeding over whatever I'm making :) If you're not confident the fabric won't slip either pin or use a water soluble glue to hold them even.

7. Overlock (serge if your in the US) using a standard 4 thread stitch. This way there's no need to straight stitch on the sewing machine first. I did this from open edge down and then flipped and did the other side. I trimmed off about 1/4" when I did this to get rid of any fraying. Doing each side from the open end allowed me to ensure the opening edges were perfectly alligned.

8. Overlock the bottom edge. 

9. Lastly I used a very fine needle to pull through the overlocker tails under a couple of the existing stitches, that way there's no chance of it unravelling. You could use a dot of fray stop or reoverlock instead.

10. Lastly I put them on the bed and tried to convince dog they weren't for her.  That failed, but the pillowcases were done!

I am lucky enough to have a Babylock overlocker which means I never have to do any tension changes and it just sews perfectly on any thickness of fabric. It was this and the air threading - meaning I could rethread my machine with colours that matched the silk in about 2 minutes (including changing needles) that made me want to spend the extra money. So far I'm really glad I did. I think with an ordinary one I'd be tempted to just use the sewing machine instead and have the overlocker languish in the cupboard.

Let me know if you have any questions and leave any other pillowcase ideas in the comments section below.

Neroli

Tutorial - Foiling Fabric

I needed to create a moon for an art quilt I'm currently working on. I wanted something that really glimmered and shone but still had some texture. After toying a few different ideas (lumiere paint, tyvek, lutrador, angelina layers, textiva, glass organza, rainbow shimmer chiffon etc etc) I decided to use some silver glitter white cotton layered with some jones tones foil.

The foil is washable and can be put down in a few ways. I used heat and bond fusible web to get a flat even coverage.

Here's how:

1. You will need: Non stick baking paper, backing fabric, jones tones foil (from spotlight or speciality art / craft / textile stores), fusible web, scissors and an iron.

2. Layer your backing fabric (right side up), and fusible web (paper side up) between baking paper. Iron to fuse the web to the fabric. Use the dry setting on your iron.

I used a heavier weight fusible web as I didn't want any areas without foil. A lighter weight like misty fuse or vliesofix will only have the foil adhere to the lines of web. This can give a nice effect but wasn't what I wanted for this.

 

3. When cool peel off the backing paper. This will have given the fabric a very shiny laminated type effect that can be useful in itself. However we're going to use this to adhere the foil to.

4. Place the foil, shiny side up on top of the web covered fabric. Still work between baking paper to protect the iron and quickly press to glue to the web. Be careful not to iron for very long as you will change the foils texture and lessen its iridescence.

5. When cool peel off the shiny cellophane top layer from the foil. The foil itself should have stuck firmly to the web. If it hasn't you may need a little more heat from the iron.

6. Trace the design you wish to cut from your newly foiled cloth onto it's back. I used a water soluble marker in case it showed through on the edges, but a light line with a grey lead should work fine too.

7. Ta Dah! One moon. I attached mine to the quilt with Vliesofix before stitching. I kept heat on for longer then i should have when ironing this directly to the foil and you can see the change in texture. Since the irridescence is still intact and I was aiming to add texture with stitching anyway I decided it actually worked well for what I wanted. You can see how it differs from the original foiling as I have placed a piece of that to the left of the moon.  I've used a holographic silver thread for the freemotion quilting.

You can also foil by layering it on top of bonding powder for a glittery effect or rubbing it over dry glue like Jones Tones Plexi glue for a 3D raised effect. Share

Delia's Flowers in the Sunshine Tute

My friend Delia has put a tutorial on her blog for a small quilt called 'Flowers in the Sunshine'. It features a how to on a number of nice techniques, the first one on painting on fusible web which has been used for the background.

There are clear instructions and photos showing the results the different webs give when painted. To see her full tutorial which will be added to her blog in parts click the below link:

Delia's Flowers-in-sunshine-lesson-1.html

Tips for quilting on a domestic sewing machine.

 1. Make the work surface slippery!   This helps the quilt to glide and means you don't have to support it's weight yourself. There are a couple of ways to do this:

• Use a spray like Mr Sheen liberally. I apply a few heavy coats over my entire sewing desk and leader table. I even apply it around the base of my machine being careful to apply to a rag first so it doesn't get inside the machine.

• Tape a teflon sheet or a commercial self adhesive quilting mat to your work area. (Sew-slip is one that springs to mind). If you use teflon cut a small hole for needle clearance.


 2.  Take up the weight!  If your quilt is large make sure you have something to your left to take up the weight, ideally the same height as you sewing table. This stops it dragging. If your sewing table is too narrow to have the entire quilt over it then position another surface behind. An ironing board lowered makes a suitable leader or behind the desk surface - even better if you can make the top of it slippery.


 3. Bunch your quilt.  Some people roll the quilt up leaving the work area flat, however i find this is bulky, adds too much weight, and if it hits anything your work will be very jerky. I prefer to gather it up leaving only the area you are about to work on flat - so it looks like the ripples of a pond when you throw in a pebble. This allows enough slack on every angle for you to move the quilt around without it dragging or catching.


 4. Stitch in the ditch tips:   This style of quilting is handy if you're not sure what design to do or lack confidence with free-motion, however I find it more difficult due to the need for accuracy. You can make it easier by using a 1/4 inch foot with a guide in the centre that runs along the seam line and by using a finer weight thread that's less visible if you do make a mistake. Mono-filaments (clear plastic threads) are now made in polyester and are softer and easier to sew with then the older nylon versions. However I like superior threads 'bottom line' - a very fine thread created for bobbin use but strong enough for quilting and even piecing. The khaki and ochre colours blend well with almost any mid coloured fabric.

For larger quilts only position a smaller section under the needle and sew to that point before moving the quilt and sewing again. This stops the drag pulling you out of line.


 5. Test!  Always check you current machine and thread settings on a test quilt sandwich that has similar batting and fabrics to what you are going to sew. I do this every time I have re-threaded the machine just in case there's a problem. This solves so much unpicking and allows you to fine-tune the tension as needed.


 6. Play!  For free-motion sewing always do a test with a few twists and turns, corners etc before sewing on your quilt. If you are going to do a set style be it stippling or a motif like a repeated leaf pattern make sure you do some of this style on your test to get into the swing of it.

Other free-motion tips are:

• make sure the top tension is lowered and that your bobbin isn't too tight either. The thicker the thread generally the looser the tension to allow movement without pulling on the thread.

• some threads break more easily then others, if you're wanting to use a thread like rayon or metallic don't be put off. Instead try a top-stitch needle which has a larger eye allowing it to have freer movment. A thread stand can also really help - even try putting the thread in a cup behind the machine and then feeding it through if you don't have one on hand.

• some machines are more finicky then others. Take the time to get the tension as perfect as possible on your test sandwich. Everything is easier from how hard you need to push the quilt around to how often your thread will break (hopefully not at all!) with correct tension.


 7. Get a grip!  Quilting gloves with rubberised finger tip pads really help - you can then lay your hand flat on the quilt and not have to have it in a vice like grip. There are also C shaped hoops available with handles and non slip rubber on the bottom that allow you to just place them on top of the quilt - then you just gently steer these about. Handy for people with arthritis and back pain.


 8. Good posture    prevents fatigue and pain. When you get tired you're more likely to make mistakes or try to do a rush job. A cushion behind to push your forward, a chair with arm rests adjustable to the sewing surface or even sitting on a fit ball can all help. Make sure the chair is at the correct height and use a foot rest for the presser foot if your desk is too high and you can set the chair to suit that.


 9. Take a break!    Look out the window and focus on something far away for a few seconds, shrug your shoulders or take a quick walk. I have an iron that beeps every 10 minutes, it's a good reminder for me to get out of the chair and walk over to it. It can be annoying (actually it often is!) but since I have a bad back it's invaluable too.

 10. Practice!   Really does make for much better quilting. Get used to the feel of the fabric and before you know it you'll immediately be able to tell if the tension is off, if you're sewing through more layers then you intended (it just feels different!) and get really smooth stitches.

 11. Choose the batting wisely.     I like full puffy quilts. However I sew on a standard size domestic sewing machine, so if i use something bulky, puffy or dense it can get stuck in the machine throat. For larger quilts I tend to use something like Matilda's own 100% cotton wadding. It's thick enough to still give evident quilting lines and washes well. It's thin enough that I can fit even a 2m wide quilt easily on my machine and still do creative free-motion quilting.

Hope these help! Let me know how you go, and if you've got tips to add please leave comments.

Neroli

Tutorial for machine needle felting and heat fusing synthetic fabrics.

This is a Journal quilt (A4 size) created with layered synthetic fabrics on felt, the whole lot is covered in organza, the figure stitched and then felted on my needle punch (embellisher) machine. I've felted predominantly from the back of the piece to make the black of the felt push through to the front.

You can see the back and a close up below.

There's a tutorial for the technique on my website here:

http://web.me.com/eiloren/eiloren/Tutorials/Entries/2009/1/4_Machine_Needle_Felting_and_Fusing_Synthetics!.html

Finally :)

Finally i've gotten around to beginning a blogger blog. I already have one on my website www.eiloren.com that includes how to's and links to a tutorial section, but it just doesn't get the traffic of one that is in a dedicated blog spot. Plus i'd like to link it to my facebook page.

Over the coming weeks i'll be adding pics of the art i've been working on, which is mostly textile based of late. It will include pieces for sale on an upcoming etsy store, commission works, links to tutorials and anything that i've found interesting enough to think others might find it so too.