Oh, Fransson!

12 + 2 = Q Quilt Pattern (and Fat Quarter Giveaway!)

 
I decided to try a little experiment with the IKEA sheets I keep hearing so much about.  I love a challenge, so I thought I would try to figure out a simple way to combine a small number of fat quarters with flat sheets to make a bed-sized quilt.  I basically approached this as a quick, low-risk project, but with a big payoff in terms of the resulting useful object.

The result is the 12+2=Q Quilt.  It measures approximately 90" x 96" and uses 12 fat quarters and 2 bed sheets.  (And wouldn't it also be fun made up with vintage sheet fat quarters and a large vintage print sheet on the back?!)

Download 12 Plus 2 Equals Q Quilt

Please play nice!  Free pattern guidelines are available in the right sidebar.

 
IKEA's standard sheet sizes are pretty large, so I was able to use a Twin (66" x 102") sheet for the front.  I've noticed that other stores' standard sizes for Twin sheets tend to be a little shorter so, if you're shopping elsewhere, you may need to upgrade to a Full to get the extra length you need for the quilt front strips.  The quilt back is made with a King flat sheet. 

Note: Use a King sheet (rather than a Queen sheet) for the back, because the extra size makes it much, much easier to sandwich such a large quilt!

 
For the pieced rows, I put together this fat quarter bundle.  I was really drawn to some of the new Alexander Henry Fashionista prints and combined them with some of the beautiful prints and solids from Michelle Engel Bencsko's new Beyond the Sea collection, a few of the monochromatic prints from MoMo's Freebird collection, and the large chocolate dots from Caleb Gray's Groove collection.  The bundle includes plenty of chocolate, teal, acid green, violet, aqua and white.  A great jumping-off place for a modern quilt!

For a chance to win one of these bundles, courtesy of Fabricworm, please leave a comment to this post.  I'll choose a winner on Sunday, May 16.  Thanks, Fabricworm!

 
I obviously love the fat quarters, but what's the verdict on these IKEA sheets? 

Here's what I liked about them:

The selection of colors at IKEA was limited, but the colors were attractive and modern.  The sheets were very lightweight, which made moving a 90" x 96" quilt around during machine quilting a breeze.  The weight/weave worked well with the quilting cottons I used and I didn't have to make any adjustments to my needle or stitch, when piecing or quilting, to make it work.  The sheets also had very small hems on all four sides, which meant that almost the entire area of the sheet was "usable."  They were also very inexpensive.  (At the Portland store, Twin sheets were $4.50, Kings were $13.00 -- ridiculously inexpensive for all of the solid fabric needed to make a bed-sized quilt.) 

Here's what I didn't like about them:

In looking closely at the weave of the sheets, particularly after washing, it's clear that they will not wear as well or as long as better quilting fabrics would.  They're just not as nice looking as fabric.

My Verdict!

I think using the sheets is a great way to show off a few favorite fat quarters without the cost that usually accompanies buying enough fabric for an entire bed quilt.  For a project like this, I think the comparatively minor investment in both time and fabric makes the sheets a great alternative to yardage.  After all, the goal here is a quick and simple bed makeover, not to create an heirloom. 

That said, I would avoid using IKEA sheets (or other lower-end sheets) in more labor-intensive projects where you're investing a great deal of time, energy, and quality fabric.  

 

So why wouldn't you just use higher-end sheets?

Higher-end sheets are generally of a much finer weave than quilting cottons.  This makes them incredibly soft, but it also makes them look different than quilting cottons.  They often have either a glossy sheen or a peachy sueded texture.  If the look doesn't bother you, go for it.  I just find the look of these higher-thread-count sheets pieced with quilting cottons to be problematic.

If you do go with more finely woven sheets you may need to work harder to get a good stitch, as the needles that glide right through your quilting cottons may be more disruptive to the finer weave of the sheets.  In particular, the holes where your needle punches through the quilt back during machine quilting may end up looking very pronounced -- as though they had been punched through paper.  I find that using Microtex/Sharp needles can be helpful.

As with anything, it's always a good idea to make a small sample to test your materials before moving on to your "real" project. 

 

Why didn't you just tear the sashing strips for the quilt front?

It was actually my intention to do this, but I found that the tearing was causing way too much damage to the sheets I was using.  (An inch or two on either side of the tear was rendered completely useless by pulled and warped threads.)  You should definitely feel free to try tearing instead of cutting, but be careful and definitely test out an unused area of your sheet before you move on to the sashing strips. 

What about washing?

Above is a detail of the quilt back after washing.  I did not prewash my sheets or my fabric (mainly because I wanted to see what would happen if I didn't).  I found that, when using cotton batting, the sheets crinkled in much the same way that fabric would have.

It's fine if you don't want to prewash but, if you don't, it's important to acknowledge that you're taking a calculated risk.  What works in my machine, with my water supply and detergent, may not work in yours. 

 
As always, if you make one of these, feel free to show it off in my Flickr Pool!

Clothesline Quilts

 

The Clothesline Quilts are finally finished!  I'd been trying to wait for a nice day to take the photos but, this being Oregon, it's been overcast for about the last week!

I really, really lucked out with the pillowcases I found to make this one.  The colors are fantasic and many of the case were "new" in their packages, so the fabric was very crisp.

 

The sashing is white Essex cotton/linen (of course!).

It was difficult to cut these up, but I love the finished product!

 

And here's the Super-Soc version!  I ended up taking your advice and not removing the quilting.  I'm still not in love with it, but the finished quilt is nice. 

 

Someone asked in the comments whether I did anything special to get the plaid to line up.  I didn't.  In fact, I didn't make any effort to keep the plaids straight, because I think that, with this kind of casual summer look, having the plaids be slightly wonky looks better. 

 

I mention in the pattern that it's best to concentrate on creating squared-up blocks of identical size, but that there's no need to worry about the piecing within the blocks being perfect.  (Hopefully that makes sense!)

 

I'm not sure that the back of the Soc quilt is particularly effective, but boy is it ever soft!  The combination of the madras plaids and natural linen is perfect for summer.  I think it would also be pretty cool to make one from flannel shirts for winter.

 

The repeating nine-patch pattern is designed around using nine pillowcases, nine old shirts, or nine 3/4 yard cuts of fabric.  Because of the nine-patch within a nine-patch layout and the limited fabric available from pillowcases and shirts, this is basically a "one-size" pattern.  It makes a nice little 55" x 62" lap quilt.  (Don't let that stop your from figuring out how to make a larger quilt work!  I'm just saying that the pattern here is only focused on the one size.)

I've seen some people commenting that they wanted to use their vintage sheet fat quarters to make this pattern.  You can certainly use nine fat quarters to cut sets of 2" x 21" strips and make the 81 small blocks for the quilt front.  However, you will have no fabric left over for the binding or backing.  Additionally, the pieces used for the quilt back are larger than fat quarters, so you'll need to either find a larger piece (maybe a vintage sheet) or you could use a narrow sashing between nine fat quarters to make a large enough back.  Binding strips can similarly be cut from additional fat quarters or from a vintage sheet.

Here are the pattern downloads:

Download Clothesline Quilts

Download Clothesline Quilts Organizer Cards

If you need them, I also have tutorials for sandwiching, quilting and binding.

 

As always, if you end up making one, I would love to see it in the Flickr Pool.

Stay gold, readers!

Nine Pillowcase Quilt

 

ETA:  People have been e-mailing to ask how to make this quilt with fat quarters.  Unfortunately, to make a quilt just like this, you need nine entire pillowcases.  Fat quarters just aren't large enough!  I'll post about this more when I finish the pattern (which is coming!). 

I made this quilt for a book, but it appears it didn't make the cut.  I still love it though and wanted to show some photos.

 

Apart from the white linen sashing, all of the fabric is from vintage pillowcases.

 

I used nine pillowcases and made nine large blocks, each made up of nine smaller nine-patch blocks.

 

The back is one big nine patch. . .

 

. . . and the binding is pieced from the pillowcase hems.

 

At the center of each larger block is a white pom-pom.  I just thought they looked kind of fun on there.

 

The pom-poms made this one a big hit with George-Michael and Maeby.  (The only reason they're not attacking them in this photo is because I opened the window to distract them.)

Anyway, I thought it was a pretty cool way to use nine old pillowcases!

Finished Rick-Rack Quilt

Click on any of these photos for a larger, clearer version.

Thank you so much for all of your get-well comments on my last post.  I can sort of walk around now and can even bend my knee (big development!) so I've spent the last few hours "up" and am looking to even do some sewing tonight.   

It was beautiful here today, so I was able to get some nice photos of the freshly-finished Rick-Rack Quilt.  In case you don't remember, this is the one I wrote about here.  The quilt top has twenty blocks made with vintage sheets and tablecloths, new polka dot fabric, white linen sashing and red and white striped seersucker binding.

The back is made with strips of delft Kona cotton and a delft and white print from Fabric Depot, the name and manufacturer or which I can't remember.  I spent at least two hours wandering around Fabric Depot before I chose this print but, in the end, I'm quite happy with it.

Because I did the free-motion quilting everywhere but around the rick-rack, there are some lumpy rough-square-shaped bumps on the back, but they were minimized a little when I washed and dried the quilt.

Even though this quilt isn't really my style (as my sister Sarah would say, it's kind of "old-timey") I was very happy with the vintage sheet, rick-rack and polka dot combos -- so much so that I took a photo of each individual block.  If you want to check them out, they're all on Flickr.

So, now it's done and will soon be off to live with old-timey quilt enthusiast, Sarah

How to Make a Charging Basket

 

I used one of my vintage sheet fat quarters and some natural linen and Kona cotton to make this phone charging basket.

 

It's about 8" square and 3.5" tall and is just the right size for my phone, keys, sunglasses, and a few other things. 

 

The inside is made with a quilted, patchwork panel. . .

 

. . . and the outside is covered in the vintage sheet material.

 

If you'd like to make one yourself, here's the tutorial:

Download Charging Basket Tutorial

Note:  If Timtex is unavailable, Peltex makes an acceptable substitute. 

If you make one, please consider posting a photo in my Flickr Group.

Monday Wristlet

Today we have the third and final wristlet shape, Style C.  Style C has boxed corners, which means it can stand on its own.  This would also be a good shape for a makeup bag.  The one pictured above is C2, and it about 4" x 7" and a little less than 2" deep.  (I love the bias-cut handle on this one!)

Style C1 is slightly larger, about 5" x 8" and a little more than 2" deep.  Both were made with pieces of  vintage pillowcases and sheets from the swap.  My only variation from the pattern was piecing the front and back panels from two different vertical strips of fabric.  I sewed a piece of rick-rack into the seam between the two.  (I think I also came up with a tricky way to put rick-rack into the seams and that technique will be featured in an upcoming Vintage Sheet Project.)

One end of the handle is attached to a d-ring on the side of the bag.  The other end has a clasp hook that can be removed from the d-ring in order to loop the strap around a larger bag/strap.  If you wanted you could also attach the clasp to the zipper pull, like on Style A.

These wristlets also have a small interior pocket.

And here they are side-by-side.  I was really happy with the way these fabrics looked together!

Since several people have asked, I wanted to mention that my labels are definitely not anything to write home about.  They're just printed on ink-jet fabric pages I got at JoAnn.  (In fact, if anyone has a recommendation for nice short-run woven labels, I would love to hear about it!) 

Vintage Sheet Project 1: Workbaskets

I really like the word workbasket.  I'm not actually sure it's a word, but it seems like women in classic literature often have them.  Maybe it's really work basket, but I like it better as a single word.  If you too need a place to place to tuck your embroidery project while relaxing in the drawing room (the groovy Brady Bunch drawing room) then this is the project for you.    

First, you'll need a basket with straight sides.  I found mine at Joann.  Baskets made of soft fibers will make your work easier, since you can sew right through them.  You'll need to determine your basket's measurements before you cut your fabric.  My basket is 11.5" wide, by 5.5" tall, by 7.5" deep.

You'll need two fabrics, which I'll refer to as your "main print" and your "accent print."  In this case, I used pieces of vintage sheets.  (The one on the left is a my main print and the one on the right is my accent print.)  You'll be making two panels, each with a handle, that will be sewn together along the sides to form a tube that you'll attach to the basket.  Use the formulas below to calculate what size pieces you'll need:

To determine the width of your panels, add one inch to your basket's width plus your basket's height.  My panels are 20" wide (1" + 11.5" + 7.5").  Cut two strips from your accent print that are 2.5" by whatever width you've just calculated.  (In my case, that's 2.5" x 20".)  The pieces you cut from your main print will be this same width by however tall you want to make them.  For a basket with similar proportions to mine, I suggest making these pieces twice the basket's height.  In my case, the pieces cut from my main fabric are 11" x 20" (11" being 2 x 5.5").

For your handles, you'll need two strips of your accent print that are 3" wide by however long you'd like them to be.  For a basket with similar proportions to mine, I suggest making them three times the basket's height.  In my case, that's 3" by 16.5" (3 x 5.5").  Reinforce the handles with lightweight fusible interfacing.

You'll also need: hand sewing needles; one package medium rick rack; twill tape, ribbon or cord for drawstring; four large buttons and matching embroidery floss; disappearing ink marker; and white Perle cotton floss.  Needle-nose pliers may be helpful, but are not essential.

My baskets came with ugly liners, which i removed.  If your basket has liners that you'd like to re-use, detach them from the top of the basket, but leave them attached to the bottom of the basket (so they look a little like the picture below).  You can then reattach them to the top of the basket when you're done adding the drawstring panels. 

I decided to make some quick liners from a single piece of white linen.  If you'd like to do the same, start by measuring the interior dimensions of your basket.  They will be slightly different from the exterior dimensions.  My basket's interior dimensions are 11" wide by 5" high by 7" deep.  The width of your lining panel will be interior width, plus interior depth, plus 1".  (In my case, 11" + 7" + 1" = 19")  The height of your lining panel will by two times height, plus depth, plus 2".  (In my case, 10" + 7" + 2" = 19")

Fold your lining panel in half, width-end to width-end and stitch both sides together using a half inch seam allowance.  Clip the bottom corners, open up the seams and press them flat (top left).  Open up the lining (top right) bringing each corner to a point.  Use a quilting ruler to measure up the seam by half the basket's interior depth measurement.  (3.5" for me.)  Use a disappearing ink marker to draw a straight line across the point, pin and stitch along the marked line.  (This line should be the same length as your interior depth measurement.)  Repeat on the other corner.  Trim away excess fabric about half an inch from each seam (lower left).  Place the lining in your basket to verify fit.  Your lining should be a bit taller than your basket.  Fold it toward the outside until it is the proper height and press in place (lower right).

At this point, I attached my lining to the bottom of my basket by piping hot glue onto the seam allowances and pressing it into place with my fingers.  The top of the lining will be secured once the drawstring panels are sewn onto the bag.  Now, on to the fun stuff! . . .

Make handles:  Fold your handle pieces in half, long sides together and press.  Open up, press both sides to the center, refold in half, and stitch along both long edges (upper left).  Lay one of your main fabric panels on your work surface with one of the wide edges facing toward you .  Measuring along this wide edge, use your disappearing ink marker to indicate the center point.  From this point, measure and mark 3" to the left and 3" to the right.  Taking one of your handles, pin one end to the left point and one end to the right point.  Tack the handles to the panel using a zig-zag stitch (upper right).  With right sides together, pin your 2.5" wide strip of accent fabric your main fabric panel.  Use a half inch seam allowance to sew the two pieces together, securing the handle in the process.  Press handle and seam allowance toward the accent strip (lower left).  Stitch a row of rick-rack over the seam you just sewed (lower right).  Repeat the last three steps to make your second panel.

With right sides together, pin together the sides of your finished panels.  Use your disappearing ink marker to mark 2" from on one of the two sides.  (It doesn't matter which.)  Using a half inch seam allowance, stitch from the mark you've just made to the bottom (top left).  Stitch the entire other side.  Press open both seams (top right).  Now turn your seam allowances under, press and stitch in place (lower left).  This will keep the inside of your drawstring panels from having any raw edges.  Make the drawstring casing.  Fold down the top edge by about a quarter inch, and then fold again by about one inch.  You don't need to hit an exact measurement, so long as you're consistent and your drawstring will fit.  The 2" space where you didn't sew the panels together will become the drawstring opening.  Once you've pressed the casing in place, stitch around the entire thing along the bottom edge of the casing, backing up to and reinforce the opening.

You should now have a tube of fabric with handles, a drawstring casing and a raw edge along the bottom.  Press this raw edge under by a scant half inch (top left).  Now it's time to attach the fabric to the basket.  Starting from the bottom of the basket, and with the bottom edge of the fabric tube (which has not yet been turned right-side-out) slide the fabric onto the basket (top right).  Gently shift the fabric, centering side seams with the center of the basket's sides and aligning the folded bottom edge about 3" from the top of the basket.  Once you're satisfied with the placement, open up the folded edge and secure fabric to basket using pins (lower left).  Using Perle cotton, stitch fabric to basket along this pinned, folded line, removing pins as you go and keeping your stitches about 1cm each (lower right).

When you're through stitching, gently turn the fabric right-side-out, pulling it toward the top of the basket (top left).  Using embroidery floss, securely sew one button at the base of each handle, making sure your stitches go all the way through to the inside of the basket and back.  It may be helpful to use needle-nose pliers to pull your needle through the fabric, rick rack and basket layers (lower left).  Thread your drawstring through the casing (lower right) and finish the ends as desired.  If you added lining, now is the time to go back and glue or stitch the top edge in place.

Because these are workbaskets, I made little pincushions to match each one.  They're made from a simple four patch block (2.75" squares), a white linen back and bamboo fill.  I finished them each with a vintage button.

If you make one of these, I hope you'll consider posting a photo in my Flickr Pool!

Pattern Questions

I wanted to take a minute to answer a couple of questions that were asked about the "Paper or Plastic?" pattern/tutorial.

How long does it take to make?  It takes me less than an hour to make the Plastic version and about an hour and a half to make the Paper version.  I would imagine it would take anyone else (i.e. anyone who didn't make up the pattern) a little bit longer, but they're both pretty basic designs.  The Plastic version is slightly easier than the Paper version, but I wouldn't say that either project is particularly challenging.

Are pattern pieces included?  Much like my other tutorials, this one doesn't use pattern pieces, but provides a list of the different sized pieces you'll need and from which fabric they need to be cut.  It's been my experience that, for a project like this where all pieces are rectangular, rotary cutting is considerably more efficient than using patterns.   

Can you really use the bags to carry your cat?  That depends entirely upon your cat's level of cooperation.  My cat doesn't like to be carried -- she just likes to sleep in the bags.

May I sell bags made with this pattern?  Unfortunately, no.  I realize these are sort of generic bag styles, but I want to keep "not for commercial use" consistent across all my work.  There's big IF though.  IF you want to sell these for a non-profit event (school bazaar, church fundraiser, etc.) please contact me. 

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I'll add the answers to this post.

More Vintage Linens

I realize I'm not supposed to be buying any new fabric during the Second Quarter, but I had a very good reason.  At least I had a good reason for going to the Thrift Store . . . I can't say there way really any reason I needed to buy the pillowcases and napkins.  They were just great prints and I couldn't resist. 

Lisa of Polka Dot Creations invited me to join her Summer Skirt Sheet Swap and, though I have many pieces of sheets, I didn't have any that were the right size for the swap.  Now I do and they're on their way to Lisa.  Assuming everything goes to plan, I'll get four quarter sheets back later this month.  I can't wait to see what they look like.

I also wanted to take a moment and thank all the awesome people who have been reading and commenting on my blog lately.  I'm not always able to respond to everyone, but I do try to answer your questions and I want you to know how much I appreciate you all!

To that end, I'm doing two giveaways this week.  The first one is for this lovely stack of vintage linen pieces shown in the photo above.  It's 22 different pieces, each one approximately 15" square.  If you'd like to be entered in the drawing, comment on this post before Midnight (Pacific) on Friday, May 2. 

Thank you so much, everyone!

Vintage Pillowcase Lunchbox Tutorial

At long last!  The Vintage Pillowcase Lunchbox Tutorial is complete.  

 Download Vintage Pillowcase Lunchbox

Like the others, it's kind of a big file and may take a minute or two to download.  I included some tips/suggestions in the tutorial (probably more than anyone needs or wants, actually) but I also wanted to mention a couple of things here:

First of all, you'll want to take a good look at your pillowcase before you cut it.  The tutorial assumes your pillowcase is about 20" x 30".  It's fine if it's not those exact dimensions.  Given the order of the cutting directions, a smaller pillowcase will simply result in a smaller placemat, not a smaller bag.  You'll also want to take a look at the "header".  (I don't know of a better word for it, but I'm talking about the folded part at the opening.)  I've noticed that the size of this piece varies pretty widely among pillowcases.  The main cutting directions are for a header that's at least 3.5" wide.  However, I've also included an alternate set of instructions for a smaller header.  Both will work, you just need to decide which instructions to follow before you start cutting.

Secondly, I wanted to say a couple of things about Iron-On Vinyl.  It's really cool stuff.  It's also kind of tricky to sew -- particularly on the straps.  Before you start working on your project, I would suggest making a practice strap with some scrap fabric so you can determine your machine's proper settings for sewing vinyl.  (I found I had to increase my tension a LOT and use a slightly longer stitch.)  The tutorial refers to switching back and forth between "regular settings" and "vinyl settings" so you'll want to make a note of what those settings are before you start.  I didn't use a Teflon foot but, if you have one, it would probably come in handy here.  I would also suggest using a heavyweight/denim needle. 

When you're doing the actual ironing on of the vinyl, be careful about lint.  It's very, very easy (especially if you have cats) to get all kinds of things stuck between the vinyl and the fabric.  I like to keep tweezers nearby so I can pick them out before I iron.  Don't worry if the tweezers dent the vinyl.  It's actually quite resilient and, unless you've punctured the surface, any marks should press out.  While you're working on the project, be aware of your iron's location at all times.  Even a quick brush with the bare iron can melt a big old hole in your project!  (If this happens though, don't despair!  Trim away the melted plastic with embroidery scissors, cut a patch of iron vinyl to cover the hole, protect with the paper ironing sheet/backing and fuse the patch in place.  You'll be able to see the patch if you look closely, but it's probably not worth abandoning your project.)

If all of these warnings are making you wary of Iron-On Vinyl, there's a very simple solution.  Don't use it.  The project will work just as well without the vinyl.  You'll just need to interface your handles and exterior bag panel.  (I suggest a mid-weight sew-in like Pellon 40, which will still be easy to sew.) 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the tutorial.  I would LOVE to see what anyone makes with this (or either of my other tutorials for that matter) so I've started a Flickr Group for that purpose.  If you're so inclined, please humor me and add your photos to this group!