Easy Fleece Blanket Video Tutorial

I know I have been on a very long hiatus but I'm back! I've been going through some.... well the best way to put it is, LIFE! But I'm hoping I've got things back on the right track and I can get back to my happy place (which we all know is with my sewing machine!)
This post is just a short one to let you know I'M STILL HERE!!! And also to let you know I've got a new tutorial posted on YouTube!  YAY!

I made this super simple fleece blanket for my boss. She's been going through a really rough time these past 3 months (and still needs lot of prayers sent her way!) so I wanted to make her something special. I knew I needed it to be a quick project, so I went to my Fleece Blanket! I decided to film it as I went, and including the filming process from start to finish on the entire blanket I spent around 2 hours on the entire blanket! (the editing is a-whole-nother story!!!! I'm still clueless about what I'm doing in that department!)

      I have to tell on myself too. I was a terrible blogger for this project! I was in such a hurry to give this to her I didn't even take ONE SINGLE PICTURE of this blanket....thankfully my boss came to the rescue! So thank you for the pictures again, Dawn!!!!
      As I'm sure you can tell, she is a HUGE Tennessee Vols fan, so I picked 2 different TN Vols fleece fabric for her blanket! The fun thing about this blanket is you can customize it to whatever you want! You can have any 2 pieces of fleece you want! It would be super easy to do a large patchwork version of this blanket, you'd just have to take a few extra steps.
   

        Anyways, I have a lot of things planned for my YouTube channel! I've got some really easy DIY quick gift ideas that I'll be filming as well as some other stuff too! So make sure you click the link above and subscribe to my channel so you don't miss out on any of them!

(I'm hoping you can just click right on that play button and it should play the video or at least take you to the video, if it doesn't work PLEASE let me know!!!)

    So, don't forget to go check out the tutorial and give it a thumbs up if you like it, subscribe to my channel, and check out all my social media links!!!

  I want to say thank you to all of you who have supported me in this journey and honestly if it wasn't for you guys being in my corner, I think I would've given up by now! Really, truly, THANK YOU for being here!!!! XOXOXOXOXO



~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!~

Scrap Sewing and New Tutorial

Hello there! I don't know about you guys, but do you ever get the itch to just sew? I mean without rhyme or reason or pattern? I needed a big stress reliever and for me sewing is my stress relief! I started out with a nice big pile of pretty fabric scraps....

       I had no plans except to sew some scraps together. No particular size in mind...I just wanted to see if I could sit down at the machine and come up with something pretty.  

         This is what I came up with after a little bit. I really liked where it was going. Do u wanna see the finished project? You know you do!

           Here is the finished top. I asked on Instagram whether I should make it a mini or a pillow. Pillow was the majority so that's what I went with.
   

         I love the way it turned out! There is nothing better than a quick, fun, and easy project! At least for me anyways!
        I used my favorite method for this pillow which is an Envelop Closure and pssstttt.....I even made a video tutorial on how I do it! Soooo.....If you wanna learn how finish the majority of my pillows you can go watch my video tutorial right here! I know that my videos are a little long right now and that's mainly because I want to be able to know that I didn't leave any steps out and that you can understand exactly how I do it. I've got a few ideas on how to make them a bit shorter but for now, they are a little long. I hope you will still go watch it and let me know what you think!

                 
         You should be able to click on the video right above this sentence to watch it too!

       I chose to do a black and white stripe binding because, well let's be honest, it's one of my favorite ways to bind anything!
      I really hope you will go check out my video and would absolutely LOVE it if you would subscribe to my channel so you don't miss out on any future tutorials and videos I've got planned. Just a hint but I'll be doing a product review next!

Oh yeah! If I forgot to tell you in my last post I now have a Facebook page! You can find that right here!

I'll be linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish It Friday this week!


~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!~

How To Make a Basic Zipper Pouch

        Hey guys! I've been slaving away at my computer for the last 2 days so I could get this video and pics edited for this tutorial!
     
       I know a lot of people who are learning how to sew/quilt are intimidated by zippers, there is really no need to be! So, to show you just how easy zippers really are I wanted to show you how to make a basic zipper pouch!

      The video and the tutorial are a bit on the long side, but it's for a reason! I wanted to go over each and every single step to make sure you could watch the video/read the tutorial and go make yourself a cute little pouch!

    I will be bringing you different variations of zipper pouches in the future, so I figured we better get the basic one out of the way first! I hope you enjoy the video/tutorial and if you have ANY questions what-so-ever don't hesitate to leave me comment asking, because I'm sure if you are thinking it, someone else will be to!!!!

   Check out my video tutorial right here! I would LOVE for you to subscribe to my my channel!

 
   Enough with the babbling, let's get going with the tutorial!!!!

The materials you will need are:
-Exterior Fabric measuring 4.5"x6"
-Lining Fabric measure 4.5"x6"
-Interfacing of choice (I use Pellon Shape Flex 101 aka SF101) measuring 4.5"x6"
-Fabric Scissors
-Washable Glue Stick (I use Elmers Glue Stick but you can use whatever you have)
-Pins
-Zipper measuring at least 7" or longer (it can always be cut down to size)
-A Blunt tip object (for poking out corners)
-Basic sewing supplies (machine, thread, iron, needles)

  First thing to do is get your interfacing fused to the WRONG side of your lining fabric. Just follow the manufacturers instructions for this. (I show you my way in the video). If you have a label add it after the interfacing.

Next, place a thin strip of glue to the top edge of the RIGHT side of your lining fabric

Place your zipper RIGHT side facing you with the zipper pull on your left and press it into place with your fingers. (I press it down for a few seconds to make sure the glue is adhering to the zipper tape)

 Add a thin strip of glue to the top edge of the RIGHT side of your exterior fabric and place onto the zipper.

 Your zipper will now be sandwiched between the right sides of your exterior and lining fabrics

  I use my regular 1/4" foot and sew the zipper into place using a 1/4" seam allowance. You can use a zipper foot if you want, but it's just as easy to use your 1/4" foot. Just make sure you use a 1/4" seam allowance with whichever foot you choose to use.

Press your exterior and lining fabrics AWAY from your zipper teeth. (they will be WRONG sides together at this point)

  Repeat for the remaining fabric. Lining fabric facing RIGHT side up, zipper facing RIGHT side up the pull will be on your right this time, and exterior fabric RIGHT side DOWN.
  Once you do that you should have something that looks like the above picture.

 Now we are going to top stitch along the edge of the fabric so that none of them get stuck in the zipper when we open it and it gives it a more professional appearance. Use 1/8" seam allowance.

  UNZIP YOUR ZIPPER!!!!! VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!! Unzip it until around 1.5" away from the edge of your fabric.

 

   Fold Exterior fabrics RIGHT sides together and Lining fabrics RIGHT sides together and pin into place. Make sure you leave a 3" to 4" gap in the lining so you'll be able to turn your pouch right side out. (FYI I like to have my zipper teeth facing the lining fabric, I am not really sure why I do this, it's just how I make mine. The teeth need to be facing the same way either lining or exterior.)

   You will start your stitching on the lining side, using a 1/4" seam allowance and backstitching when you start and stop! The arrows are showing you where to start and stop stitching.

   Trim off any excess zipper and clip your corners to reduce the bulk. (and so we can have nice and pointy corners) Make sure not to cut into your stitching lines!

    Find the opening you left in the lining and start pulling your pouch right side out. It will look a hot mess for a good minute but just be patient, it will come together, I promise!

   Using your blunt tip object (can be a chop stick, embroidery scissors, or anything else you have on hand) poke your corners out. Make sure you have your zipper poked out as well!

   Fold your opening in 1/4" to match your seam and pin into place. Using a very small seam allowance stitch your opening shut.

  Push your lining into your pouch and VOILA YOU ARE DONE! Easy peasy right?

PLEASE let me know if you have any questions or if any part of this tutorial doesn't make sense to you! And let me know if you'd like to see other variations of the zipper pouch! I really do love to hear from you guys!


I FINALLY started a Facebook page and would love it if you guys would come "like" me!!!! here is the link



I'll be linking up with Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts this Friday!

~Hope y'all have are having a GREAT day!!!~

DIY Pressing Board

Hey guys!!! Today I'm going to show you how to make your own pressing board!! This is a super easy DIY project that will really make a difference in your sewing and quilting! Don't forget to check out my video where I will walk you through exactly how I made it! 

The difference between a PRESSING board and an IRONING board is HUGE! The reason you want to use a PRESSING board when quilting is you need a hard surface. An ironing board has to much give from all the cushion the put on it and pressing your fabrics on it can result in warped fabrics, which we NEVER want! The hard surface of a PRESSING board will help you PRESS your seams without having to worry about fabric distortion!

Let's get started with the tutorial:

Materials you will need are:
Piece of Plywood from your local hardware store, in any size that will fit your needs... (mine is 3/4" thick x 25" x 25")
100% cotton batting (you don't want to use polyester batting for this)
Fabric (home decor weight, duck, or canvas is ideal (I'm using duck cloth)
and an electric stapler

Step 1:
Cut your cotton batting and fabric at least 3 inches larger than the plywood on all sides.
Then layer them as follows: fabric (wrong side facing UP), batting, then center your piece of plywood as best as you can.

Step 2:
Start on any side, pull your batting and fabric taught around the plywood and place 2-3 staples along the length of that side. Repeat for each side, leave the corners alone for now.

It should look something like this...

For the board to lay flat we will need to trim away excess fabric from the corners. I should've done this before I started stapling the sides down but I didn't think about it until I got to the corners. So, if you want to cut out a squarish piece from each corner before you start you can. But this is how I did it....
I took one side of the fabric and folded it down, like the picture above shows

I started cutting right where the 2 fabrics met, make a straight cut until you reach the edge of the board.

Now, pull that section straight up...

Now cut straight across. You will end up having a rectangular shape cut off.

Fold your shortest side down, then overlap the other side and staple into place. You want to make sure you staple through all 4 layers of fabric, I put an additional staple closer to the corner because I didn't want it to come loose.

Repeat for each additional corner.

Now, flip it over and VOILA you are done! You have made yourself the perfect place to press!!!!

I hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial, if you have any questions make sure to leave them in the comments and I will get back to you!

Don't forget to check out the video for this tutorial (just click right on the image above!) and SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel!


~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!!~