This week I’m talking all about using Cuddle® on your cotton quilt, in particular about how to wrap the backing around and make an easy binding with Cuddle®. I’ll be live at 10am PDT/1pm EDT on Tuesday, June 14.
To help you out, I’ve made this PDF for reference to know how to make a mitered corner with Cuddle® and how to figure out the sizes to cut both the batting and backing.
After a nice weekend in southern Kansas, we made our way up to Kansas City on Sunday afternoon. I knew it was going to be a special Sew Together Tuesday for a couple of reasons: we were using my friend Sam Hunter’s “Bloomin’ Too” patternand we were visiting a brand new shop: KC Maker Studio & Fabrics.
We’d worked together with Hunter’s Design Studio to get her patterns in stock for the event, plus she had all the Sweet Strips and a nice variety of Cuddle® fabrics in stock, ready to go. I felt pretty good about it, despite not having as much prep time as I would have wished.
As we were getting set up and I was making a post on Facebook about the day’s show, Hawke told me I needed to help him get something in the RV, so I started heading that way, still typing away and he started recording…
This week on Sew Together Tuesday, we tackled stuffed animals again. The first we did was Ellie the Elephant, a pattern from Funky Friends Factory. It’s a pattern I’ve taught quite a few times (and made at least a dozen of them), but it’s more complicated than some beginners might want to take on. The Buddy Bear from Melly & Me, on the other hand, is perfect if you haven’t really sewn stuffies or are new to sewing with Cuddle®.
This week on Sew Together Tuesday, we tackled stuffed animals again. The first we did was Ellie the Elephant, a pattern from Funky Friends Factory. It’s a pattern I’ve taught quite a few times (and made at least a dozen of them), but it’s more complicated than some beginners might want to take on. The Buddy Bear from Melly & Me, on the other hand, is perfect if you haven’t really sewn stuffies or are new to sewing with Cuddle®.
There are lots of tutorials for making pom-poms with yarn, but using plushfabric is a whole other look and is super sweet for all sorts of projects.
For this project, I used Luxe Cuddle Seal Snow, polyester thread, and a little hunk of Fairfield World’s Royal Silk stuffing for this one. I’ve also used Luxe Cuddle Sherpa and Luxe Cuddle Llama with good results. You can watch the video and/or follow the steps below:
Trace a 4″ circle on the wrong side of the fabric using a felt tip pen.
Cut out circle using short blade scissors or a sharp artist knife (such as the OLFA SAC-1).
Shake off the extra Cuddle dust. Give it a flick or two.
Using a long sewing needle and polyester thread, sew a basting stitch around the entire perimeter of the circle. Each stitch should be about 1/4″ long and 1/8″ to 1/4″ away from raw edge.
As you reach the end, pull the thread up a little and push in a handful of stuffing, then pull the thread up tight.
Holding it tightly, knot the end.
Take some big stitches across the end, forming an asterisk and pulling tightly, then knot at least twice. Push needle though the other side of the pom pom and clip thread.
When I started Allison’s t-shirt quilt, I had no intention of doing a jersey knit binding. I assumed I would back it in Cuddle® minky and probably bind it in Luxe Cuddle® [here’s how that’s done]. But then I got it back from the long-arm quilter and you know about those best laid plans and all…
I decided spontaneously to bind with the jersey knit instead, so then I had to figure out how to do it. I’d done enough binding with Cuddle®, which is a plush knit, that I new some of how it could work, but it was a whole different beast than both cotton binding and Cuddle® binding.
Every October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, four weeks when we can’t as easily ignore the fact that mammograms are a crucial part of staying healthy. Every year about a quarter of a million women (and an additional 2000 men) are diagnosed with breast cancer. By now we know that the earlier it is found, the better the chances of survival, and the easiest ways to find it are breast self-exams and regular mammograms.
This year I’m teaming up again with Annie and crew over at ByAnnie.com for their #sewpink initiative to help remind folks about the need to pay attention to their breasts and the changes that happen. There are a variety of designers and educators who have shared projects and I’m thrilled to be part of the group.
This week’s Sew Together Tuesday class we finally got to do a sleep mask. This is one of those ‘duh’ projects–of course you’d use Cuddle® minky for it–but I just hadn’t gotten around to designing one yet.
I drew up the pattern and made a second version where I added some cute eyelash appliqués, though that isn’t required to be effective. I just like adding a touch of cute when I can.
Over at Shannon Fabrics, we’ve started a series of tutorials and sew alongs that we’ve called Sew Together Tuesdays and I’m excited to be the host. Yesterday we did our first, a basic rundown of the seven tips that I think are most important when working with Cuddle minky fabrics. Check it out on YouTube and let me know what you think.
Recently, I did a little Facebook Live for Shannon Fabrics to share information on using Cuddle minky fabrics and I figured this was as good a place as any to share it. If you’re thinking about using Cuddle, give it a few minutes and learn a few of the insider tips.
I met Alex Anderson last fall at Quilt Market, years after I started following her in the quilt industry. I look up to her immensely as she has much the same passion that I do about sewing and quilting. We both really just want everyone to find their happy place here! A lot of that passion involves teaching the basics and I’ve often admired her Alex’s ability to seem so approachable and excited in her public presentation. The truth is, she is actually one of the nicest people I’ve met. She knows her stuff, too.
As the head educator for Shannon Fabrics, she invited me up to her home in northern California to do some videos and I jumped at the chance. It was a mix of fear, excitement, admiration, and joy to be honest. But I’m so glad I did it. We got to share some great information and I got to get over my awkwardness (or at least a bit) by the time we filmed the last video.
If you are interested in sewing with Cuddle fabrics, I think we’ve included some helpful info. Give ’em a watch and let me know what else you are curious to know.
