Doggie needs a Thunderwrap

New Years eve is quickly approaching, and our dog is afraid of fireworks.  The vet says she is getting too old for drugs and we need to try other options.  As I was searching for ways to soothe her, I came across Thundershirts.  Does it work?  Will it work for my dog? I don't know yet, but as there is a sewing contest on PatternReview.com, I'm going to attempt to make one for good old Bonesy.

I have a pattern for dog shirts in my stash.  I thought it might be a good idea to start with it so I could get a basic idea on the shapes for dog garments.  I found it unnecessary, so don't go out and buy one if you're considering making a thunder shirt.  I ended up draping with some leftover stretch fabric to get a pattern I liked.  Here's what I ended up with...

There are basically two pieces.  The top flap, and the body.  I had to add in a decorative stripe 'cuz I was using up some Ponte scraps and didn't have enough brown.  Thus, I ended up with 8 pieces, 4 for the body and 4 more for the flap.

When cutting the pieces, I made sure the greatest stretch went around the body.  This allows for a snug wrap around doggie's body.

I finished sewing the pieces to construct the body piece using a small zigzag stitch so it will be able to stretch... and used it to refine the fit.  Luckily my dog was very cooperative and let me try the garment on her several times as I worked.

I applied Velcro to the right sides of the body and lining first, so there wouldn't be too much stitching showing on the outsides.  There was quite a bit of fitting as I decided where to place the Velcro.  I used chalk to mark the placement of the Velcro..

Then sewed them, right sides together... turned, pressed and edgestitched all around the edges with a triple stretch stitch.


Next, I worked on the flap using the same process.  when that was ready, I simply sewed it onto the back, again refitting as I went along.  I tried to get the stripe to match up, but when I wrap it tightly on her (as recommended) it doesn't.  That's okay.  I just hope it helps.

If it works, I'll probably make another one for her.  crossing my fingers...

Flanged Pillow Coverings

My daughter picked up the Owl panel in Japan about 9 years ago and I've been wanting to make it into a pillow cover since then.  Just never found the time or the perfect fabric.  Who knew that it was sitting right here in my stash since I got married 7 years ago!  The navy blue linen was made into table coverings for my reception, and I've been saving it in my stash.  I used some of it for curtains when we bought our home but the remainder was stashed away for a duvet cover (tutorial coming soon).

Anyway, here's a quick tutorial for simple flange pillows.    First, you'll need your fabric panel.  The edges should be prefinished.  I've already sewn my panel onto the pillow top piece.  It's cut 2" larger than the panel.  A 2" flange looks just right for an 18" pillow, and I'll be sewing the flange along the inner edge of the red border.  That'll give me a 1/2" seam allowance.

To cut the back pieces, add about 6" to half the measurement for overlap.  There will be a simple overlap in the back to insert the pillow.   You'll need 2 pieces.  Here are the pieces... not much to it eh?  :)

You will need to cut interfacing for the flange (in my case, 2 1/2" wide and whatever length it will be to cover the flange area).  You will also need to cut interfacing for your overlap.  It will help make keep the edge from stretching out and keep it crisp.  I cut mine about 2" x the width of the pillow.  Interfacings will be applied to the pillow back pieces.  Clip off the corners so the finished corners will be look crisp.  And finish the edge for the overlap.  Then adjust the pieces by laying the pillow backs onto the front piece, match the edges and fold over.  I simply folded about 2" and have about 2" overlapping.  The opening is not in the center, but I don't mind.  I prefer to have it below the center. 

After the prepping all the pieces, pin them right sides together and sew a 1/2" seam allowance all the way around the edges.  Press flat.

To make the flange,  I changed my top thread to red and used navy in the bobbin.  Then I sewed along the inner edge of the red border on the pillowtop, creating a 2" flange.  After that, I closed the overlap on the flange by hand sewing it shut.   This is the underside of the pillow. 

Helpful tip for turning corners neatly:
1)  Fold along the stitching lines first to form a nice folded corner.
2)  Lay something somewhat pointy, like a chopstick, at the corner, using it to support the corner before you turn it.
3)  Turn the corner, keeping the edges folded, and use the chopstick to push the point out.  Make sure the inner folds don't shift or it'll be like stuffing an elephant into a refrigerator. 
4)  Press.  Nice corners :)

Mitered Corner napkins

As promised, here are the mitered corner napkins I made using some leftover cotton fabric. These are my favorites and for our family, I think the smaller size works best.  We use them to wrap breakfast to eat on the road, and they are small enough for children to manage at regular mealtimes.  The bigger ones seem to end up knocking over milk cups... which kinda defeats the purpose of using napkins... mess prevention.

On the larger, dinner sized napkin, the central square measured 18" and the border is 2" wide.  It took about 1/3 yard 45" fabric in order to make this border, 2 strips, each cut 5" wide.
The smaller napkins are cut 10 1/2" with a 1 3/4" border.  I chose this size because I could get 4 napkins out of  1/3 yard of 44" fabric.  And I'm not sure how much yardage I used for the borders, but it took about 1 1/4 strips to make one small napkin.

Here's how I cut my small napkins:

Cut your central square whatever size you'd like.  In this case 10 1/2".  1" of this will be your seam allowances. (1/2" each side)

Cut your strips adding 4 times the length + twice the finished border width for each corner.  The width of the strip should be twice the depth of the border + 1".  For mine, it's 4 1/2"... 1 3/4" + 1 3/4" + 1" = 4 1/2"

Sew the strips together and press open your seam., then press the edges up 1/2" on both sides, and fold in half, matching edges and press flat.

Now, make the corners.  It's a bit hard to explain this, but you open your border and use the fold lines to construct your miters.  To make those miters, fold your border piece right sides together, matching the folds.
Then measure the width of your finished border  (1 3/4" here) along the top and bottom fold lines.  Mark.  Connect these marks to the center fold, forming a "V"... this forms the mitered corner when you're finished. Sew from one mark, up to the tip of the V, then down to the bottom mark. 

The measurement from corner to corner at the beginning of each V is 9 1/2"(see picture above).

Here's a close up.  The measurement from the vertical folded edge on the left side to the little mark where the start of the V is measures 1 3/4".  This is where you start sewing.  Don't sew into the seam allowances.

Trim the corners and close off the border.  From V to V on my napkin, it measure 9 1/2".

 Turn and press, making sure the folded edges match.  Now you've got a nice frame to work with.

Pin the center piece in, sandwiching it between the border edges.

 Sew it in.

The nicest detail here is the stitching used to sew the border on.  I used one of the decorative stitches on my machine and it came out looking very nice.  It also assured that the border on the opposite side would be caught in the sewing, even if I was slightly off.

And that's all folks!   Oh...  if you want the napkins to look good on both sides, simply double your center fabric and place them wrong sides together.  Nice!   These would make a great hostess gift for the holidays...  Gonna have to dig through my stash and see if I have some nice holiday prints! 

Coasters

So ya know, I ran out of fabric to finish those mitered napkins and got sidetracked...

I made some very simple coasters instead.  My DH is constantly putting his soda glass right next to my little laptop and of course a puddle ensues.  And I started to worry that someday, the laptop would be sitting in water and ZAP!  no more laptop.

So I made coasters and keep a couple right next to the laptop so he has NO EXCUSE for letting the water pool anymore.

They're simply cut into 4x4" squares, and sandwiched with a layer of thin cotton batt in between.  I used two different types of fabric, didn't have enough of the green one but lots of other scraps....

Then I serge all the way around, trim threads and dab the corners with some Fray Check.

  Took less than 20 minutes to make 4 of these.  And I made more napkins, dinner size, for a matching set!  Woohoo! 

 And yes, I'm trying to avoid going to the fabric store...  You know how that goes...  :D

Cloth napkins.. oops

Y'know how you really want to make something and think you just might be able to squeeze it and make it work out?  But it doesn't?  yeah... this is one of those times.  I knew the border was too short... but I wanted to make it work.  Of course it didn't, so I guess I WILL have to go out and buy a little more fabric  (YES!)  I have enough of this fabric to make a pair of dinner napkins too!  That'll be the next tutorial... Fancy mitered edge napkins.

Faith Hope Love by McKenna Ryan

I finished them all!  Here they are and they're ready for hanging.   As promised, here's a view of the back, after I finally got the invisible thread working properly... 

And this block is my favorite... mostly because of the quilted butterfly sitting on the "e".  

This project was incredibly challenging.  I think the hardest thing was keeping that thread under control, but the results were well worth the trouble.  I have McKenna Ryan's Forest Hollow pattern as well and will soon work on that one.  I'm planning on using it to create blinds for my daughter's bedroom.  She loves owls.

And on to the next project....Hmmmm... that dragon is still waiting for his wings, but I think I wanna clean up the mess here and de-stash a bit.  Maybe make something with my scraps next... I'm thinking cloth napkins...

Binder Cover Tutorial - Part 4: More Construction

Okay.. today we'll finish it up!  


First, let's tack down that origami flower.  Add a button or bead in the center if you'd like, but tack the middle. You can also tack the petals open if you'd like, but I usually save that for last.   

Let's get the back/sleeves ready.  To prepare the sleeves,  machine hem the straight edge by folding over 1/4" and pressing.  Then fold over 1" and press again.  Sew along that edge and your sleeves are ready to attach to the back piece.  Here's what they should look like.

Now, sew the sleeves onto the back piece. Place the wrong side of the sleeve onto the right side of the back fabric piece.  Sew all the way around using a 1/2" seam allowance.  Don't worry, it'll turn out correctly....

Now, place the front piece (the one with the interfacing) and the back piece (the one with the sleeves) right sides together and pin, matching the raw edges.  Make sure you are tracing just slightly outside the edges of the binder.  This will allow the necessary ease to slip the binder into the cover.  Don't sew yet.... one more step.

Slide the binder to the side just a little bit, a scant 1/4" will do. Trace.  This is the amount of ease you'll need in order to close the binder.  When you slide it back, it should look like this.  Now you're ready to sew.

Sew along your traced line, leaving an opening for turning the cover right side out.  Trim to 1/4" all the way around, clip your corners and give it a good pressing.

I like to press up the opening before turning.  This makes it easier to hand-stitch the opening shut when we're done.  Just fold it up along the traced line and press.

We're almost done.  Turn and press....

Slip stitch the opening shut....

Tack down the petals.... and it's done!  Ready for a new school year!

Binder Cover Tutorial - Part 3: Construction

We're ready to put the pieces together!  First, lets separate the outer pieces from the backing pieces.

I like to place them "mapped."  In other words, they're placed in position.  Here's the front pieces:

And here are the backing pieces:

Lets start putting together the front pieces.  Remember, all seam allowances on the decorative strip are 1/4".  We'll start by constructing the pencil pocket.  Hem the top edge by folding over 1/4" and press, then fold over 3/4" more and press, then sew.

Next, fold it down the center, lengthwise, and draw a stitching line.  Then make gathering stitches on the bottom edge of the pocket.  To make the gathering stitches, set your stitch length to 5.0 and sew just inside the 5/8" seam allowance.  Sew another row of stitches about 1/4" along that row.

Place the pocket piece on the bottom strip (back of the pocket), matching the bottom edge and sew using a regular straight stitch.  Then sew the sides of the pocket piece, matching the edges.  Gather the bottom to fit and sew across the gathered edge.  Your pocket piece is ready to sew into the decorative strip.

Assemble the origami flower/pocket strip pieces using 1/4" seam allowances.

Next, sew the front and back panel pieces to the strip using 1/4" seam allowances.  Press.  Here's the completed front piece.  

Apply the interfacing to the back of the front piece.

We're ready for Part 4:  More Construction