Flower Power!
- fabman556
- Oct 5, 2017
- 5 min read
Where to Find New Fabric Collections?
When it comes to fabric collections, I keep my eyes open for something interesting. There are many new designers and collections being launched at any given time for the quilt shop market, and I am signed up for emails from many resources, so I see them right away.
Two of my favorite sources include Missouri Star Quilt Company and fabric.com. Missouri Star has a great story (reviving a small Missouri town), and fabric.com is part of the Amazon family. I receive daily emails from each with the latest news and features, so I can keep up with what's new on the market. Check them out for the hot trends!
Patrick Lose Studios
I also receive periodic emails from Patrick Lose Fabrics. Patrick is known for his blender collections; these are the often tonal prints that complement the main prints in fabric collections.
One of Patrick's new collections is called Flower Power and features a variety of brightly-colored floral-oriented prints with a 60s/70s retro vibe. There are two color groupings (aqua/lavender and pink/orange) and a several co-ordinating blenders that work with both of them.
Each grouping also has a panel design with round placemats and mini mats.
In my days as a Jo-Ann fabric buyer trying to show something inspiring in advertising, I always looked at panel designs assuming everyone knows what the intended use is...but what else can they make with it?
The "what else" this time is a butcher-style apron using Simplicity pattern 1140 and the black-on-white linear dot blender, turning the pink flower placemats into an applique on the front, and using the mini mats to create two pot holders (or hot pads) that fasten to the apron with velcro for quick access.
I cut the apron from the linear dot fabric, then cut the placemats and mini mats apart. When I positioned the pink flower placemat on the front of the apron, I noticed that the linear dots from the apron fabric showed through. To remedy that situation, I stitched the two pink flower placemat circles together (right sides facing) and turned the circle right side out, making this a two-layer applique and eliminating the show-through. I positioned this on the front of the apron and attached it with an edge stitch (just a straight stitch along the edge of the applique).
Next, following the pattern instructions, I stitched and turned the neck strap and the ties. This is where my tube-turner, the Fasturn system, comes into play. I slipped the tube into the strap and ties that had been stitched right sides together. Then I inserted the turner into the "tube," which is just a long wire with a curl on the end. Simply twist the curl through the end of the fabric, then pull the fabric through the tube. Check out this video to see how easy it is!
The next step was to turn under the raw edge all around the apron. This pattern allows 1" hems (turning under 1/2" twice).
Tip: To make the hemming easy, straight stitch just under 1" from all the edges. Press the edges to the wrong side, rolling the stitching line just barely to the wrong side. Then fold under the raw edge 1/2" and press again. Stitch in place along the folded edge.
Now the apron is completed, and it's time to make the hot pads. I trimmed around the mini mat designs using the outer cutting line. For filler in the hot pads, I chose to use two layers of Warm & White batting because I had it on hand. If you are looking for the real heat insulation, a better bet is using a heat-reflective filler with mylar called Insul-bright, which is specifically designed for this purpose. Most fabric stores stock it and it's available online as well.
I cut two layers of the filler and stacked everything as follows for each hot pad: the orange mini mat face down, two layers of filler and the pink mini mat face up. I did try to line up the linear dots on the upper and lower mini mats so they were running parallel (control freak).
I pinned the layers together all around the outside edges and once in the center. Using a ruler and a water-soluble marking pen, I marked criss-crossing lines vertically and horizontally, then again between those lines, making it look just like an 8-slice pizza. Using the longest stitch length on my machine, I stitched over these lines (in effect, quilting the mini mat). Then the edges were trimmed up (there was a little bit of shifting during the quilt stitching) and I stitched approximately 1/4" inside the outer edge all the was around.
Using leftover linear dot fabric, I cut 1.5" wide bias strips to use as binding around the hot pads. I joined the strips in one continuous length, folded the strip in half width-wise and pressed it.
Tip: How much bias tape did I need to bind the hot pads? We covered this concept in our recent Pi(e) on the Table post to determine the amount of trim needed for a round tablecloth: multiply the diameter of the circle (in this case, 8") by 3.14". I needed slightly more than 25" per hot pad (junior-high geometry in action, again).
For each hot pad, I pinned the bias strip to the pink side of the hot pad, all the way around, matching raw edges. To form a smooth overlap where the ends of the strip meet, I folded under the cut edge of the strip where I began pinning. At the end of the strip, I lapped and pinned the remaining end on top of the folded edge. Then I stitched all the way around the edge and then folded the bias strip to the orange side of the hot pad. Turning under 1/2" and pinning, I top-stitched close to the inner folded edge, securing the bias tape. I then used my spray bottle to wet the hot pad and and eliminate the water-soluable markings, and lightly pressed the hot pad.
After reviewing several ideas on Pinterest, I decided to attach the hot pads at the lower corners of the apron for handy access. I marked the position for the hook side of the velcro square at the top of each hot pad (on the back, or orange side) and stitched it in place. Positioning the hot pads in place at the corners of the apron, I marked the location of the loop side of the velcro squares on the apron and stitched them on.
The only thing remaining to do was give the apron a quick press and pop the hot pads in place.
My friend Julieta makes a great apron model, don't you think?
It's always fun to find an alternate use for a product and I think this would make a great gift. Next time you're in the fabric store, take a look at the various craft fabric panels and image what else you could make with them!
Until next time, keep those sewing machines humming!
DTFM
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