Quilter’s Tote Bag – Tutorial

Ask and you shall receive.  Many of you feel in love with our “Quilter’s Think” tote bag.  Here is the tutorial so you can make one for yourself.

Supplies:

• “Quilter’s Think” panel – we have a few different ones to pick from on our website
• 2 yards of Pink Polka dot fabric
• 2 yards of Blue Polka dot fabric
• 1 yard of Sewing Tools fabric
• Fat Quarter yard of accent trim fabric
• 1/2 yard of Quilter’s Grid
• 36″ x 58″ Soft & Stable – 1 package
• Basting Spray
• Rotary Cutter and Ruler
• Wonder Clips

Steps:

1. Iron panel flat and cut out according to the lines.  You will end up with (12) 3.5″ squares.
2. Cut (12) 3/5″ squares of each of the polka dot fabrics.
3. Iron onto piece of grid in the pattern shown in the picture.  (I ironed both sides of the bag at the same time and will trim it after sewing.)
4. Flip and sew each row, leaving the middle seam unsewn for trimming.  (Check out our video HERE to see how to use the Quilter’s Grid).
5. Cut down the middle, unsewn seam to separate into 2 equal pieces.
6. Measure across the middle of each piece to determine the size of top and bottom borders.
7. Cut (4) 4″ wide strips by the width of the main piece.  If you are going to add the accent strip, you will want to cut (4) 1.5″ strips the width of the main piece as well.
8. Fold accent piece in half and iron.
9. You will now sandwich the accent piece, the 4″ border strip, and the main piece together, with right sides together and raw edges towards the seam.  The Wonder Clips are great for this step – NO PINS NEEDED 🙂
10. Sew and iron with the accent piece facing the desired direction.
11. Repeat for 3 other seams.
12. Measure you main body pieces and cut (2) squares of Soft & Stable to match.  I used Basting Spray to attach the stabilizer to the main body piece.  You can now quilt these pieces or just leave the way they are.  I just ran a straight stitch across the seam of the border pieces.
13. Cut out (2) 4″ x the height of the main body piece & stabilizer.  Spray bast these pieces.
14. Cut out (1) 4″ x the width of the main body piece & stabilizer for the bottom of the bag.  Spray bast this piece.
15. Sew the 2 side pieces to the main body pieces to create the body of the bag.  Then carefully sew the bottom piece, making sure you get the corners attached.
16. Cut out (2) pieces of the Pink Polka Dot fabric to the same size of the main body pieces.
17. Cut out (2) 4″ x the height of the main body piece.
18. Cut out (1) 4″ x the width of the main body piece.
19. Cut out  (1) 10″ x 12″ piece.  Fold, right sides together, to create a 6″ x 10″ rectangle – press flat.  Sew 3 open sides, leaving a small gap for turning.
20. Turn right side out and press.
21. Line up the pocket about 4″ from the top of the bag liner piece and centered, making sure the gap for turning is at the bottom.
22. Sew on the pocket on 3 sides, leaving the top open.  You can also add an additional seam in the middle of the pocket from top to bottom to create a double pocket.
23. Sew all liner pieces together to create the bag lining.
24. Insert liner into main body, matching seams.  Sew a small hem to keep the liner in place.
25. Create a “binding” for the top of the bag by cutting a 2″ strip and ironing it to create a double folded strip.
26. Using the Wonder Clips, attach. the binding to the top of the bag.  Machine stitch this on, covering all raw edges.
27. Once done, you will hand stitch the leather handles on.
28. The last step is to show off your beautiful new bag to your friends 🙂

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  I’m still new to writing directions, so please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for future tutorials.

~Happy Sewing!

Kaylin the Amazing!

I have an awesome in-law family (as you might know, Karen is my mother-in-law and partner in crime).  I’m married to the oldest of her 4 children, and 3 of them all decided to get married in a 5 month time frame.  Because of that, naturally we all had children together – there are 14 of them ranging from almost 13 down to 3-1/2.  Christmas time with all these kiddos are super fun and crazy.  Because of the number, we all draw names so each kid buys for one of their cousins.

Long story short, this year my oldest picked Kaylin, one of my adorable 4 year old nieces.  She has always been a kid who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to tell you.  So I decided to ask her what she would like me to make her.  She very specifically told me she wanted a pink and purple cape with a heart on with a “K”.

So, I found a great (and easy) tutorial on Pinterest and got to work.  I dug through my stash of Moda fabric and found the perfect pink and purple combo, along with a cute printed fabric.

Her nickname is “Bird” so we decided to use a decorative bird stitch to finish off the edge.

This project also allowed me to play with my new embroidery machine, so it was a double win for me!

~Happy Sewing!

A Snuggly Quilt for my Dad

My dad, like a lot of dads out there, is really hard to shop for.  So this year for Christmas, I wanted to do something for him besides just buying another gift card.

When we got our “Generation Gap” panel in featuring the Pickles comic by Brian Crane, I just knew it would be perfect for my dad.  So, I got out some of my Moda Jelly Roll strips and other coordinating fabrics and got to creating.

The smaller comic strip blocks weren’t completely square so I decided to do a reverse applique technique.  Hope this inspires you to make something for that special dad/grandpa in your life!

~Happy Sewing!

Karen has been sewing!!!

Karen has been busy making quilts for 3 of her friends that have been in the hospital the past few months!  She went crazy designing new patterned quilts as she went.  Her first one she made was for Sue… her neighbor and friend.  Sue is fighting esophagus cancer.  Karen made her a quilt with lots of chenille and airplanes (since they live on a runway for airplanes) their husbands are both pilots… AND of course she added the “Survivors” panel from our Say it with Words…

Next quilt she made for her bestest friend’s (next to her husband, that is…)husband, Mark.  We all just this past month found out that Mark has lung cancer… It is a hard and long road to recovery… but he needed to have a quilt and a pillow that was for him!!! So… Karen made him a “Survivors” panel from our Say it with Words… but used the layer cake precuts from Timber Trail Flannel by Holly Taylor … of course by Moda.  Mark and Dianne live in a woodsy area out in the country and this line was PERFECT FOR THEM.

She combined a few older flannels to complete his quilt and then made Dianne a “Hers” quilt to compliment his… she used similar fabrics with the extras from that layer cake… added a few others and used “Friends Indeed” panel from our Say it with Words… It turned out great!  Still need to make her a pillow to complete the set… but this is how they look…  It’s a card in a quilt!!!  F-O-R-E-V-E-R! 

Check out our flannels and precuts!  Lots of new ones!!!

Christmas Manger Wall Hanging

Are you looking for a fun and easy Christmas project or gift?  Look no further!  We have created a beautiful wall hanging using our “Christmas Manger” panel and the Winterlude fabric line by Moda.  We have this kit for purchase on our website for $49.99 – it includes everything but the batting!

Kit Includes:

•  (1) Christmas Manger Panel (approx 17”x20”)
•  (1) 1-1/2” x 108” strip of Red Fabric
•  (3) 4-1/2” x 44” Strips of Green Fabric
•  (1) 4-1/2” x 22” Strip of Tan Fabric (for squares)
•  (1) 36” x 54” Piece of Red Fabric for Back/Binding
  

STEPS:

1.  Iron panel flat and cut per lines.
2.  Measure the width of the panel down the CENTER section.
   
3.  Cut (2) strips of 1-1/2” wide Red fabric the width of the panel.
4.  Pin in place and sew to the top and bottom of panel with 1/4” seams.
5.  Press towards darker fabric
6.  Measure the length of the finished piece down the CENTER section.
   
7.  Cut (2) strips of the remaining 1-1/2” strip of red fabric the length of the finished piece.
8.  Pin in place and sew to both sides of finished piece with 1/4” seam.
9.  Press towards darker fabric.
10.  Measure the width of finished piece down the CENTER section.
    
11.  Cut (2) strips of the green fabric the width of the finished piece.
12.  Measure the length of finished piece down the CENTER section.
13.  Cut (2) strips of the green fabric to the length of finished piece.
14.  Pin in place and sew the strips to the top and bottom of the finished piece with 1/4” seam.
    
15.  Press towards darker fabric.
16.  Cut (4) 4-1/2” squares of tan fabric.
17.  Sew the squares to the top and bottom of the strips for the length with a 1/4” seam.
    
18.  Press towards darker fabric.
19.  Pin in place and sew strips to the sides of the finished piece.
20. Quilt and bind to your preference.

If you would like to purchase the quilt kit, click HERE

~Happy Sewing!

Happy Birthday!

A few weeks ago, my amazing god-daughter turned the big 18!!!  I can still remember the day she was born like it was yesterday.  She has grown into an beautiful young lady, both inside and out.

She was my flower girl when she was 2-1/2 years old 🙂

Since I wasn’t a quilter when she was born, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make a special quilt for her.  And what a better thing to use than our “Say it With Words” panels.  I chose to use the Prayer Shawl panel because of the great sayings it has.  But I’ll admit that is was also because it was charm pack friendly.  I chose the new LOL charm pack because of the great selection of colors, and her favorite is purple.  That, along with our quilter’s grid and basting spray, made this a wonderful handmade, but quick project (I did the entire thing on a Sunday afternoon).

 Happy Sewing!  ~Jill

The Perfect Little Summer Dress (and it’s super easy)

Recently, one of my adorable nieces celebrated her 4th birthday.  She truly believes she is a princess and insists on wearing dresses every day.  So, what is a better gift than a new dress.  I didn’t really follow a pattern, but by using tips and tricks that I learned using Angela Yosten’s Rags to Ruffles pattern.

My girls thought is would be fun to make her a matching dress for her doll as well. 

I found a tutorial for this pillowcase-style dress on the “Creating Kidstuff” blog.  Click here for the tutorial.

Happy Sewing!  ~Jill

Great gift ideas for Springtime Celebrations

Just recently, our beautiful goddaughter made her Confirmation and my husband had the honor of being her sponsor. 

After scouring the Internet for the perfect gift idea, I decided to look no further than the amazing Home a la mode website (I’m not biased or anything :))  I decided to make her a quilt – I loved the idea of a keepsake that she could take with her wherever life takes her.  Naturally, I turned to our line of “Say It With Words” panels – especially the scriptural ones.  I felt drawn to the “Beatitudes” panel – I felt this is a great outline for how we should live our lives.

Whenever you are looking for the perfect gift for someone, look no further that our “Say It With Words” panels – there is something for everyone.  We are adding more and more as they become available so don’t hesitate to let us know what you are looking for.

I would love to see your projects that you have made with our awesome panels – feel free to email them to me at jsmisek@homealamode.com

Happy Sewing!

Friends Indeed

Just recently, some very dear friends of me and my family were transferred to Washington DC.  Although we know this is where they need to be, it was heart-breaking for me and especially for my youngest daughter.  My kiddos are at that stage of life where friends move away, and they don’t really understand why 😦

To commemorate our wonderful friendship, I wanted to send them off with something special.  What is more special than a quilt made from the heart.  So of course, I turned to our “Say it With Words” panels for inspiration.  The “Friends Indeed” panel really spoke to me – especially the one that says “True Friends are never far apart… maybe in distance, but not in heart.”  I know we will see them again (we’ve already planned our summer vacation) and they feel in their hearts that their time in Texas hasn’t ended.  We can only hope and pray that jobs and situations bring them back to us.

Just remember, the road to a friend’s house is never long – or so I hope on our LONG drive this summer with 2 kiddos 😉

Happy 4th of July (and a tutorial)

Happy Independence Day!!!!  We are so blessed to be living in an amazing country that allows us so many freedoms – and I love having a day to remind us of that 🙂

My girls, my dad, and I spent the day before picking blueberries (which is a yearly tradition in our family since I was a little girl).  Although the berries were a little hard to find, we had a great time.  And managed to come home with 14 pounds of berries.  Hint, hint… a future blog may a recipe of fresh blueberry preserves 🙂

 

We spent the day, as many of you did, celebrating with family and friends. My daughter Claire is playing Tic Tac Toe with her grandpa, with a game hand-painted by her great-grandmother out of rocks and pebbles.

I was so inspired by the adorable new fabric collections, Flats by Angela Yosten, that I wanted to make my girls some patriotic-inspired shirts for the special day.  I started with a tutorial I found on Pinterest for a toddler’s Pillowcase Dress on the blog The Ribbon Retreat and just modified it to fit my girls.

And instead of doing the sash and bow (which my girls wouldn’t have worn), I did an elastic band with straps.  Check out the steps below.

• I used the tutorial steps all the way until the part with the ribbon treading through.  Instead, I made straps.   I cut the fabric in a 4″ strip and folded it in half and pressed with the iron.  I then opened it up and pressed the outer edges in half towards the middle seam – pretty much like you do when you make your own bias tape.  I then did a 1/8″ seam on both sides of the strap to hold it all together.

• I then measured the desired length for the straps and added 1″ for seams.  I cut both straps the same length.  I then measured the girls from collar bone to collar bone and subtracted about 1-1/2″ for the front piece of elastic and about 2-1/2″ for the back piece of elastic- depending on how much gathering you want.  (I used 1″ elastic)
• Now just attach the elastic to your strap.  I sewed in this order: strap to front elastic, front elastic to other strap, and then other strap to back elastic. 

 

• Next, attached a safety pin to the end of the elastic and fish through the cased opening.  Once the seams line up, just stitch back over the existing seam.  Repeat for all the seams.  Once you fish the elastic through the final casing, just stitch the elastic to the strap and sew the strap into place.

• And voila, there you have it!!!  Your shirt is complete!!!  Check out these adorable little girls in their new shirts – ok, I might be a little biased, but I think they are “perfect” 😉