Hello friends,
This month's gift tutorial is so much fun and very open-ended!
You can feel free to make whatever you wish, with most any shapes you own ( a little more detail on that later), and you can make a variety of decor or gifts. Most of all it is REALLY fun and you can really let your imagination go wild with this project ;).
{please note: I use affiliate links in my posts. If you buy something through one of my links, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting my time and effort writing and sharing these types of posts!}
These are some supplies you will need for this month's sewalong:
felt or wool
small fabric scraps
some Accuquilt dies
fusible web
ribbon/twine
plus the usual sewing room supplies of course.
To begin, you are going to start sewing together your small fabric scraps. Do this by cutting a straight edge along one side and sewing a second piece to it. I try and match the lengths of the two pieces I am sewing to each other. I have found that it is way more interesting to have short pieces, rather than long ones ( feel free to cut your scraps into smaller pieces and then sewing them together with other pieces to make a much more interesting piece of fabric)
Here are some photos I took while I was sewing my scraps together. Notice how I kept cutting one straight edge to sew onto?
I included selvages and anything fun, but you can choose what you prefer! If you are making these to be holiday tags, use fabric that matches the holidays. If you are making these to turn into a garland decoration for a special occasion or for decor, match the theme in color or design.
Keep sewing together your scraps until you have a good-sized usable piece of "new" fabric. Square that up with your ruler and rotary cutter.
Now grab your fusible web and cut it to match your fabric size.
Fuse this to the BACK of your fabric piece following YOUR manufacturer's directions.
Now it is time to decide what SHAPES you want to make so pull out some of your simplest shapes. I obviously used applique shapes for mine, but you could choose any shape from your PIECING dies as well.
Measure the shape you want to cut, and rough cut that size from your prepared fabric.
Now place your fabric on your die and run it through your machine. It is best to just do one layer at a time because you do have seam allowances and fusible web that add layers. And besides, we are not in a hurry, are we?
Now that you have cut your shape, choose a coordinating piece of wool or felt, plus a hanger of some sort ( ribbon, twine, yarn). Fuse your cut out shape to the background felt or wool, making sure to place the hanger IN BETWEEN the two layers ( and leaving enough of a "border" of felt/wool around your shape).
PLEASE NOTE: Some of the felt you buy in stores these days is made partially with recycled water bottles and thus has a tendency to want to melt with the heat of your iron. Be extra cautious and try using a non-stick pressing sheet to protect your iron. I use this one from Accuquilt ( click). The same can happen to your ribbon so please be cautious of the material you are using!
Rough cut around your shape and use your chosen stitch on your sewing machine to stitch around your shape. You can choose any stitch you like, but just make sure that you catch the hanger in your stitching as well to secure it. Now is also the time to choose some fun thread, if you wish!
After you have stitched your shape down, take a sharp pair of scissors and trim around your shape, leaving a small, even border of the felt/wool showing. Be careful NOT to cut your hanger!
I LOVE these snips ( click) and own 3 pairs! Other people must like them too because they are always low in stock. I think any of the sizes are great ;). You can of course also use specialty scissors that cut zigzags or scallops, but they require a bit of practice, especially around curved shapes. I love the scissors from Benzie Design! They are meant for use on felt and wool and they truly cut well.
Now it is time to embellish your shape in any way you like! I ended up cutting an extra felt shape with my die and then fastening a button on top of that:
You might think you would want to sew these addition on before you fuse your shape to the background, and you certainly can, but sometimes those embellishments get in your way as you stitch around your shape. If you fasten things carefully, you will hardly notice it on the back:
Obviously flowers are a great shape to use, but hearts also work really well!
And if you REALLY want to have some fun, you can use more complicated shapes ( but still really doable!), like the kitten!
You still use exactly the same process, but now you are cutting a few extra shapes for the eyes, nose, and ears ( and fusing those fabrics down on top of your cut shape.)
Here is my kitten from the back:
I have to tell you that the kitten just makes me smile every time I see it!
I also decided to make some shapes using a Christmas tree and the onesie from the baby Medley die ( cute for a baby shower present, or decor ;) ):
These shapes can be used as gift tags, bookmarks, part of a garland, or even sewn to clothing as a patch. Let your imagination run wild and have fun with these!
A few final thoughts: It is better to use shapes that are "complete", not ones that you have to "assemble". ( for example, the Puppy die has too many little pieces that need to be put together to make its shape, but the Gingham dog would work well).
These are some of the shapes I used/ that would work well for this project:
Right now Accuquilt also has an extra 20% off select dies with code MARCH20, so now might be a perfect time to buy some of these dies ( click here for the sale).
But, like I said, you could use rectangles to make great bookmarks, or squares and triangles to make patches, tags, etc.
Have fun with this project and I can't wait to see what you create!
As always, if you have any questions at all, please ask :).
Until next time~ happy creating!
Monique
