Posted on July 15, 2017 in Embroidery, Household, sewing, Tutorial

Tea Towel Tutorial

I wanted to have a little gift for a couple whose engagement party we were attending, and tea towels were the first thing to come to mind. Tea towels spruce up any kitchen and are a nice way to use up fabric from the stash.

Finished Size: 16″ x 24″ ***As you will see the size of the towel is adjustable. If you have a favorite tea towel, measure that one and add the seam allowances to the measurements. Or if you have a FQ (18″ x 22″) than you can use that after squaring it up, but it’ll be a bit shorter in length.

Materials for Two Tea Towels

1/2 yard of fabric or two fat quarters (the length of these towels will be shorter)
machine or hand sewing supplies
ruler
rotary cutter and/or scissors
pins
iron
thread (I use Auriful)
embroidery floss (I use DMC)
embroidery needle

Here is the Costco bought towel I based my tea towel on.

First I measured this towel to find the dimensions.

I added a 1/2″ seam allowance on each length and an 1″ on the width. ***Use these seam allowances if you’re using a fat quarter or a custom size.

After pressing the fabric cut 2) 26″ x 17″ pieces.
On each length side, turn and press a 1/4″ of fabric. Repeat this step twice for each cut piece of fabric.

3. Now that each side of the length is folded over 1/4″ twice, pin each side in place.

4. Sew 1/8″ away from the edge on both lengths. I’m using a 2mm stitch length here.

5. Sew 1/4″ away from the edge of both lengths, creating a parallel line to the first. Now the lengths should be completely sewn.

6. Turn to the width edges. Press and fold each width edge 1/2″, and then fold and press it 1/2″ again, pinning the edge to hold it in place until sewing. Repeat this on the other width.

7. Sew 1/8″ in from the edge on both widths.

8. Sew a 1/4″ from the edge on both widths.

9. Trim up any loose threads. Admire your tea towels!

10. This is a prefect item to embellish. I went for a little spot in each of the bottom right corners. You might want to put your initials or maybe an important date.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you make some awesome towels.

Posted on May 31, 2017May 31, 2017 in Household, sewing, Tutorial

Easy Pillow Covers

A few months ago a cousin and I made a trip to the fabric store and then by the Goodwill for some pillows. The Goodwill has great deals on pillows, especially for pillows that will receive a lot of good use. I referenced the blog Hey There, Home’s post on How to Make an Envelope Pillow Cover. I really enjoyed the clear instructions shown on Hey There, Home. My method was basically the same.

Here are the pillows pre-covering.

After measuring each pillow, I cut the fabric with a half inch seam added to the overall size.

The pinning.

I marked the corners before sewing and using the serger on the edges.

A covered pillow!

A long pillow covered.

A complete set.

This has been such an exciting month. A big thank you to all of those backers that helped fund our Kickstarter campaign–the support is stunning and I look forward to the stitching! We’ve been super busy with regular life. We are grateful for our good health.

Sending all our best to everyone!

Posted on January 23, 2016January 23, 2016 in Household, sewing, Tutorial

Tutorial: Loose Cord Holder

With all the indoors time this week I noticed cords all over the place. The cords took up more than a fair share of the floor space. Cord wraps & holders are nothing new, but I had an idea modification yesterday, sketched it out & whipped up four this morning.

These cord holders are perfect for cell phone and tablet chargers. For bigger corded items these holders work great too! My main goal here was to utilize as much scrap material as I could to make something not-yet-useful productive. The buttons are from a collection of odd buttons & I used all fabric scraps. Customization is easy here! To make a longer & wider wrap for a certain product, measure the diameter of the cord when wrapped & double that number. This will give you an almost perfect measure of how long to cut your fabric; make sure to add at least a quarter inch at each end for seam allowance.

Materials

Fabric scraps –enough for 2) 2″ x5″ pieces
Sewing Machine or Hand Sewing Supplies
Buttons
Fabric Marker or pen or chalk
Iron
Ruler
Rotary cutter or scissors

Press fabric. Measure fabric & cut 2) 2″ x”5″ pieces.
Place Right Sides together & pin fabric.
Using 1/4″ clip each corner.
Sew with a 1/4″ seam (or 1/4″ foot) the top & two side edges back-stitching at each end. Press to set stitches.
Turn inside out, gently, with finger & knitting needle or chopstick. Press. Admire!
Tuck in top edge & top stitch about an 1/8″ from the edge.
Mark the button hole along the top edge & sew. If making two button holes, mark the top buttonhole first & then measure to add a second. This helps make sure fabric shrinkage doesn’t affect buttonhole placement. This may not be something you experience on your machine, but I like to be careful! When marking button holes, I went between 1/2″-3/4″ for the top button hole & around & 1″ to 1 1/4″ for the second button hole.
Mark button position on fabric. Again, place the top button first. When placing the second button make sure the cuff is buttoned & then find the middle, marking it with a fabric pen. Sew on all buttons.
Sit back & enjoy a less unraveled environment! Please share any pictures of wraps you make & let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Thank you to everyone that has stopped by, commented & liked this blog. Sewing, in all forms, has been a passion I’ve had for a long time & it is wonderful to share it with any one else that is even a little bit interested. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Brambleton Threads

cloth, fiber, food, quilting, embroidery, drawing, art

Tag: diy

Tea Towel Tutorial

Easy Pillow Covers

Tutorial: Loose Cord Holder