tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90995004125838614072024-03-13T15:16:30.925+11:00Focus on FinishingAnne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-32097844274842718612013-09-23T07:12:00.004+10:002013-09-23T07:13:43.944+10:00Scissor Fob Tutorial #1Just a small reminder that any new posts will now be made over at my <a href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/">Wordpress</a> blog. <br />
<br />
Yesterday a new <a href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/2013/09/22/scissor-fob-tutorial-1/">Scissor Fob Tutorial</a> was added to the blog, with some more fob tutorials on the way shortly. I hope you will decide to pop by to see the revamped site and new tutorials.<br />
<br />
Kindest regards,<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-57969105245685886572013-09-18T23:28:00.001+10:002013-09-18T23:28:25.572+10:00Moving back to Wordpress again!Apologies for being away for so long - family and work commitments have taken me away from my spare time since before Christmas, including a very ill father being in hospital for a few months and me spending time in NZ as support to my parents. For those of you who follow my personal blog or follow me on Facebook, this is old news that still continues to this day.<br />
<br />
I have today started to add the missing photos that went AWOL after Webshots closed its doors, however I have finally decided that Blogger is seriously driving me crazy with trying to add photos, and in a fit of pique I have made the decision to return once again to my old platform of Wordpress for any future posts.<br />
<br />
If you wish to see any new tutorials and updates you will need to update your bookmark to the new (old) location, as all new tutorials and updates will be posted to my Wordpress blog instead of this one. The URL is as follows:<br />
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/">http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/</a></h4>
You will see the site has has a small facelift, and all the missing photos have now been reinstated. Sadly I will miss the choices of personalising the blog template, but the functionality itself is much more suited to me. <br />
<br />
I hope you will join me in my new (old) home, and I look forward to bringing some new tutorials to you in the upcoming months.<br />
<br />
Kind regards,<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-66005203712673958092012-12-06T22:00:00.002+11:002012-12-06T22:01:00.486+11:00Apologies for the missing photos!Really sorry that there are "Temporarily Unavailable" pictures everywhere on the blog ... I forgot all my photos on here were hosted on Webshots which has just shut it's doors ... and I need to find the time to upload everything somewhere else and re-add them into the posts once again.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately I'm also working 12-14 hour days every day at the moment, so I don't have the energy at night to fix the pages up just yet. I apologise for any inconvenience, but I'll return to fix the blog as soon as I get some spare time, but that may be a couple of weeks away yet.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-44267671785869590222012-06-30T10:48:00.001+10:002012-06-30T10:48:37.185+10:00More tutorial links added today:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.creativepoppypatterns.com/stitcher-resources-free-tutorials-finishing-cross-stitch-projects-pxl-8.html" href="http://www.creativepoppypatterns.com/stitcher-resources-free-tutorials-finishing-cross-stitch-projects-pxl-8.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong>Creative Poppy</strong></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> - lots of different tutorial links</span>
</li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.theflossbox.com/tutorials/biscornu-instructions" href="http://www.theflossbox.com/tutorials/biscornu-instructions"><strong>The Floss Box</strong></a> - biscornu
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b><a data-mce-href="http://theflossbox.blogspot.se/2011/11/flat-ornament-tutorial.html" href="http://theflossbox.blogspot.se/2011/11/flat-ornament-tutorial.html" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><strong>The Floss Box</strong></a><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"> - flat ornament</span>
</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.theflossbox.com/tutorials/a-better-pillow-ornament" href="http://www.theflossbox.com/tutorials/a-better-pillow-ornament"><strong>The Floss Box</strong></a> - pillow ornament
</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.theflossbox.com/tutorials/bottle-cap-ornaments" href="http://www.theflossbox.com/tutorials/bottle-cap-ornaments"><strong>The Floss Box</strong></a> - bottle cap ornaments (these are seriously cute!!)
</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><a data-mce-href="http://simplycq.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/tutorial-simply-lining-bag-in-ten-steps.html" href="http://simplycq.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/tutorial-simply-lining-bag-in-ten-steps.html"><strong>Simply CQ</strong></a> - lining a simple bag (example using a crazy quilt project but any needlework project would work as well)
</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/557875732KVnbNQ" href="http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/557875732KVnbNQ">Malinaplass</a></strong> (Webshots album) - Pincushion
</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><a data-mce-href="http://adventuresinthread.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/ladybird-needle-keeper-project-and.html" href="http://adventuresinthread.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/ladybird-needle-keeper-project-and.html"><strong>Adventures in Thread</strong></a> (Jules) - Magnetic needle holder
</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><a data-mce-href="http://stitchinfingers.ning.com/page/instructions-for-making-triangular-boxes-with-base-by-grace-liste" href="http://stitchinfingers.ning.com/page/instructions-for-making-triangular-boxes-with-base-by-grace-liste"><strong>Stitchin Fingers</strong></a> - Triangular boxes
</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><a data-mce-href="http://ceoriginals.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/tag-tutorial.html" href="http://ceoriginals.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/tag-tutorial.html"><strong>Connie Eyberg Originals</strong></a> - tag
</span></b></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none;" /></a>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-9954335843879189442012-06-25T21:52:00.000+10:002012-06-25T21:52:35.512+10:00New tutorial links added<br />
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Sorry I've been "missing in action" for some considerable time. Simply a case of some personal issues at home (and ongoing ill health), and moving to a new job that has eaten up most of my spare time. I am hoping to rectify the situation soon and have been working on some new tutorials which I will finish soon and publish. If you have any specific tutorials you'd like to see, don't hesitate to leave a comment and I'll do what I can to arrange something :)</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Since my last post I have also become aware of some "new-to-me" tutorials, which I will be adding to the Tutorial Links page. The new ones are as follows:</div>
<ul style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.annettesacre.com/lessons/linedbag.html" href="http://www.annettesacre.com/lessons/linedbag.html"><strong>Annette's Acre</strong></a> (Annette) - Lined Bag</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.awoventapestry.com/2012/02/scissor-fob-tutorial.html" href="http://www.awoventapestry.com/2012/02/scissor-fob-tutorial.html"><strong>A Woven Tapestry</strong></a> - Beaded fob</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.awoventapestry.com/2012/02/grime-guard-tutorial-q-snap-cover.html" href="http://www.awoventapestry.com/2012/02/grime-guard-tutorial-q-snap-cover.html"><strong>A Woven Tapestry</strong></a> - Q-snap Covers</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2012/05/scissor-fob-tutorial.html" href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2012/05/scissor-fob-tutorial.html"><strong>Afford Your Passions</strong></a> (Susan) - Scissor Fob</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2012/06/lining-tin-with-fabric-tutorial.html" href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2012/06/lining-tin-with-fabric-tutorial.html"><strong>Afford Your Passions</strong></a> (Susan) - Fabric Lined Tin</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2012/05/fabric-covered-tin-tutorial.html" href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2012/05/fabric-covered-tin-tutorial.html"><strong>Afford Your Passions</strong></a> (Susan) - Fabric Covered Tin</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2011/06/daisy-sampler-box-finish.html" href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2011/06/daisy-sampler-box-finish.html"><strong>Afford Your Passions</strong></a> (Susan) - Painted & Lined Box</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2012/05/mason-jar-pincushion.html" href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2012/05/mason-jar-pincushion.html"><strong>Afford Your Passions</strong></a> (Susan) - Mason Jar Pincushion</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2007/01/and-she-still-finishing.html" href="http://www.livingbytheshore.com/2007/01/and-she-still-finishing.html"><strong>Afford Your Passions</strong></a> (Susan) - Cupcake/Ramekin Pincushion</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://allthingsvintage-teresa.blogspot.com.au/2010/01/block-keeper-tutorial.html" href="http://allthingsvintage-teresa.blogspot.com.au/2010/01/block-keeper-tutorial.html"><strong>All Things Vintage</strong></a> - Block roll</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.cyberstitchers.com/Resources/FinishingTechniques/BraidedCordingandTa0A0D.asp" href="http://www.cyberstitchers.com/Resources/FinishingTechniques/BraidedCordingandTa0A0D.asp"><strong>Cyberstitchers</strong></a> - Basic cording</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.hand-dyedfibers.com/oscnuked/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=28" href="http://www.hand-dyedfibers.com/oscnuked/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=28"><strong>Hand Dyed Fibers</strong></a> - Needlecase</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.kootoyoo.com/2009/03/how-to-make-fabric-notebook-cover.html" href="http://www.kootoyoo.com/2009/03/how-to-make-fabric-notebook-cover.html"><strong>Kootoyoo</strong></a> - Fabric covered book</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://cowgirlfromhanna.multiply.com/journal/item/236/Tutorial_for_Q-snap_covers?replies_read=12" href="http://cowgirlfromhanna.multiply.com/journal/item/236/Tutorial_for_Q-snap_covers?replies_read=12"><strong>The Cowgirl From Hanna</strong></a> - Q-snap Covers</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://tkdchick.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/ort-box-tutorial.html" href="http://tkdchick.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/ort-box-tutorial.html"><strong>Dani...Black Belt Stitching Wizard</strong></a> - Origami ort box (made from wallpaper)</li>
<li><a data-mce-href="http://pinwheelponders.blogspot.com.au/" href="http://pinwheelponders.blogspot.com.au/"><strong>Pinwheel Wonders</strong></a> - Many different ornament styles</li>
</ul>
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none;" /></a>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-64908061135221402892010-12-05T12:19:00.002+11:002013-09-18T21:19:34.018+10:00Pin Pillow Tutorial #2Here is the 2nd pillow tutorial resulting from my finishing spree last weekend:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Boo-pillow.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Pin Pillow 2" border="0" height="308" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Boo-pillow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
You will need:<br />
<ul>
<li>Stitching for the centre of the cushion</li>
<li>Coordinating fabric(s) for side strips and backing</li>
<li>Sewing machine with coordinating sewing machine thread to match your fabric(s)</li>
<li>Scissors/rotary cutter and mat</li>
<li>Pins</li>
<li>Embellishments (optional)</li>
<li>Polyfil stuffing (or something similar)</li>
<li>Sewing needle and thread to close up the seam opening</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-11.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.1" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
1. First of all cut your coordinating fabric into equal width strips, and approximate width of your sewing project. In my case I have chosen to have two different fabrics on the front of my pillow, and have started with a narrow strip of bright rust fabric for the inner border.<br />
<br />
Pin the first strip with right sides facing to your stitching (I prefer to start with the pieces attached to the left and right sides, but you may prefer to start with the top and bottom sections first), and stitch a normal seam allowance (alternatively you may prefer to just a quilters 1/4" seam).<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-12.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.2" border="0" height="288" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Once you have stitched the first seam, attach the 2nd strip of fabric to the opposite side of your stitching and stitch another seam.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-13.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.3" border="0" height="288" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-13.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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2. At this point I cut off my excess fabrics on each side, and trim my seams to 1/4" - I usually prefer to do this because I don't trust myself to get things right the first time!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-14.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.4" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-14.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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3. You finish with nice tidy edges, ready to attach the last two sides of fabric.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-15.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.5" border="0" height="288" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
4. Before we do that, though, we need to open the fabric sides up and give them a quick press with the iron so that they sit nicely. If you want to you can also do a row of top-stitching to assist with holding the fabric nicely, but I don't normally bother.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-16.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.6" border="0" height="288" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-17.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.7" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
5. Now we attach the top and bottom sides in exactly the same way as we did with the first two sides. Once all sides have finished, I normally check the side strips to ensure they're nice and tidy and even, and if not I give them a quick trim all round with the rotary cutter.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-18.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.8" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-18.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
6. In my case I decided to just have a narrow strip of bright rust fabric as a contrasting focal point, then added some wider strips of fabric for the outside edges. These are attached in exactly the same way as the rust strips, they are just cut into wider pieces. You just need to remember to add the next lot of strips in the same order as you did previously, which was in my case left and right first, followed by top and bottom. Once I had ironed my finished strips I decided that little buttons would be nice in the corners, so I added these before adding the backing fabric.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-19.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.9" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
7. Now you need to cut your backing fabric the same size as your finished article, and pin them together with right sides facing together (the right side of the stitching will be on the inside of the sandwich).<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-110.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.10" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-110.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
8. Stitch a seam allowance around the edges, but leave an opening at the bottom so that you can turn your pillow inside-out. I tend to leave about 1 1/2" opening and that's normally enough room to allow for turning.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-111.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.11" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-111.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
9. I use a chopstick to help push the corners into a nice shape from the outside - you just have to be careful not to force the seam stitching too much! Once you have turned your pillow inside out, it should look something like this. Now all you have to do is stuff it to your preferred thickness with your favourite stuffing.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-112.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1.12" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Pin-pillow-tutorial-112.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
10. I close my pillow openings with a ladder stitch - and the following is taken from a previous Christmas ornament tutorial, but is the exact same instruction for closing the pillows.<br />
<br />
You need to thread your sewing needle with sewing thread (if you didn't leave a long tail from the seam stitching). You should use a sharp needle here, not a tapestry needle, so that you can pierce the backing fabric easily.<br />
<br />
I use a ladder stitch to sew up the opening. As you can see from the left-hand photo below, I start off by slipping my needle into the seam of the backing fabric, then coming back out about 1/4" along the seam (about 3mm) and bring my needle out.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie23.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie23.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
I then take my needle directly opposite where I just came out of the backing fabric and slip my needle into the linen and follow the seam along for about 1/4" (3mm) and bring the needle back out again.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie24.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie24.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I've left the stitches nice and loose in the photo below to help illustrate how the stitches follow along opposite each other, like rungs of a ladder.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie26.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie26.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
When you pull the thread tighter, the stitches almost disappear into the fabric, giving a really nice clean finish - this is definitely my favourite stitch for closing up openings for that reason!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQ9wwyNsA1-5n8xi27xcrhG9lmI43wXxygxZz7Dzyu3gOIBfK6NiSHRM4KQftyg4KOtPqy9OOGjofU5x7j6LPJhnrIxZBPYqNX8HHE-Du2HxV3hZQPgI56WaV5C1VQkb0_2m4gJEGpbGN/s1600/2122000840047689748JZSJVl_fs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQ9wwyNsA1-5n8xi27xcrhG9lmI43wXxygxZz7Dzyu3gOIBfK6NiSHRM4KQftyg4KOtPqy9OOGjofU5x7j6LPJhnrIxZBPYqNX8HHE-Du2HxV3hZQPgI56WaV5C1VQkb0_2m4gJEGpbGN/s320/2122000840047689748JZSJVl_fs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Once you reach the end of the seam opening, you need to finish off your thread with a couple of teeny stitches - I then bury the needle into the seam and come out somewhere about an inch way and bring the needle back out again - then clip the thread close to the fabric so that my thread tail does't appear easily.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And here's the final seam all finished off - see now nice and tidy that ladder stitch is in the opening? :D</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheer6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="221" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheer6.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
11. And that is the final step in your beautiful new pin pillow coming to life. Now all you need to do is to find somewhere to display it where it can be admired by everyone :D</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Boo-pillow.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Pin Pillow 2" border="0" height="385" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%202/Boo-pillow.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial, and found it useful. I would love to see any photos of ornaments you've completed using this tutorial so please do drop me a line or leave a comment with a link to your pictures :)</div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none;" /></a></div>
Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-36055443762199537552010-12-05T12:15:00.003+11:002012-12-08T21:45:32.258+11:00Pin Pillow Tutorial #1Here is a pin pillow tutorial that I put together during a day of finishing last weekend - I finally managed to sit down and put the instructions together today.<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Boo-Tyme-pillow.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Boo-Tyme-pillow.jpg" width="397" /></a></span></h2>
You will need:<br />
<ul>
<li>Stitching for the centre of the cushion</li>
<li>Coordinating fabric(s) for side strips and backing</li>
<li>Sewing machine with coordinating sewing machine thread to match your fabric(s)</li>
<li>Scissors/rotary cutter and mat</li>
<li>Pins</li>
<li>Ribbon/lace/button embellishments (optional)</li>
<li>Polyfil stuffing (or something similar)</li>
<li>Sewing needle and thread to close up the seam opening</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-21.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-21.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
1. First of all trim your stitched piece, and cut your coordinating fabric to your preferred length and the approximate width of your sewing project. In my case I have chosen to have my coordinating fabric at the bottom of my stitched piece, and I prefer to have the quilting fabric slightly smaller than my stitched piece so it doesn't take too much attention from the stitching - I have, however, seen some stunning pillows with the stitching taking up just a small amount of room at the top of the pillow. The only difference is down to your preference, as the finishing process is exactly the same.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-22.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-22.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-23.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-23.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
2. Pin the fabrics together, with right sides facing, and stitch a normal seam allowance (alternatively you may prefer to just a quilters 1/4" seam).<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-25.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-25.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
3. At this point I cut off my excess fabrics on each side, and trim my seams to 1/4". This is also the time when you should open up the seam(s) and give a quick pressing with the iron.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-26.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-26.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
4. If you have decided to have fabric on both sides of your stitching (either top and bottom, or left and right) this you will need to repeat the above process a second time for the additional piece of fabric. Once you've finished attaching the coordinating fabrics, check the edges to ensure they're all even, and give it a quick trim with the rotary cutter if needed.<br />
<br />
5. At this point I add any seam embellishments to the pillow front. For this particular pillow I just wanted to add one row of matching ric-a-rac. This can either be attached by the sewing machine or by hand (I ended up adding this one by hand, as I didn't have a matching brown sewing machine thread). This is also a good time to add any buttons or other trims you want to add, prior to constructing the pillow itself. Alternatively, you can add your ribbon at the very end once the pillow is finished, but just wrapping it around the pillow and tying a bow to hold it in place :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-27.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-27.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
6. Now you need to cut your backing fabric the same size as your finished article, and pin them together with right sides facing together (the right side of the stitching will be on the inside of the sandwich).<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-28.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-28.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
7. Stitch a seam allowance around the edges, but leave an opening at the bottom so that you can turn your pillow inside-out. I tend to leave about 1 1/2" opening and that's normally enough room to allow for turning.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-29.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-29.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
8. I use a chopstick to help push the corners into a nice shape from the outside - you just have to be careful not to force the seam stitching too much! Once you have turned your pillow inside out, it should look something like this. Now all you have to do is stuff it to your preferred thickness with your favourite stuffing.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-210.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Pin-pillow-tutorial-210.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
9. I close my pillow openings with a ladder stitch - and the following is taken from a previous Christmas ornament tutorial, but is the exact same instruction for closing the pillows.<br />
<br />
You need to thread your sewing needle with sewing thread (if you didn't leave a long tail from the seam stitching). You should use a sharp needle here, not a tapestry needle, so that you can pierce the backing fabric easily.<br />
<br />
I use a ladder stitch to sew up the opening. As you can see from the left-hand photo below, I start off by slipping my needle into the seam of the backing fabric, then coming back out about 1/4" along the seam (about 3mm) and bring my needle out.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie23.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie23.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
I then take my needle directly opposite where I just came out of the backing fabric and slip my needle into the linen and follow the seam along for about 1/4" (3mm) and bring the needle back out again.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie24.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie24.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I've left the stitches nice and loose in the photo below to help illustrate how the stitches follow along opposite each other, like rungs of a ladder.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie26.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie26.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
When you pull the thread tighter, the stitches almost disappear into the fabric, giving a really nice clean finish - this is definitely my favourite stitch for closing up openings for that reason!</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheer4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="185" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheer4.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Once you reach the end of the seam opening, you need to finish off your thread with a couple of teeny stitches - I then bury the needle into the seam and come out somewhere about an inch way and bring the needle back out again - then clip the thread close to the fabric so that my thread tail does't appear easily.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And here's the final seam all finished off - see now nice and tidy that ladder stitch is in the opening? :D</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheer6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="221" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheer6.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
10. And that is the final step in your beautiful new pin pillow coming to life. Now all you need to do is to find somewhere to display it where it can be admired by everyone :D<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Boo-Tyme-pillow.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Pin%20Pillow%20Tutorial%201/Boo-Tyme-pillow.jpg" width="397" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Following are some additional pillows I have finished in the same way - isn't it amazing how such a simple finishing method can look so different depending on the choice of fabrics and embellishments?</div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/Pumpkins-pillow.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="320" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/Pumpkins-pillow.jpg" width="235" /></a> <a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/Chatrouille-pillow.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="320" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/Chatrouille-pillow.jpg" width="234" /></a> <a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/Halloween-pillow.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="200" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/Halloween-pillow.jpg" width="320" /></a> <a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/P1030899.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="320" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/P1030899.jpg" width="232" /></a> <a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/Valentine-pillow.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="252" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/Valentine-pillow.jpg" width="320" /></a> <a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/Autumn-pillow.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="260" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Finished%20stitching%20smalls/Autumn-pillow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a></div>
</div>
Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-44302387333336857302010-08-07T18:59:00.002+10:002012-12-08T20:59:19.453+11:00Basic Pillow Christmas Ornament TutorialThe following is a very basic pillow Christmas Ornament tutorial designed, in particular, for beginners.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheerOrnamentfinished2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheerOrnamentfinished2.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
<br />
Supplies needed:<br />
<ul>
<li>Stitched project</li>
<li>Backing fabric</li>
<li>Approx 6" (15-16cm) of ribbon to coordinate with your stitching for the hanger (I normally use 7mm double-sided satin ribbon)</li>
<li>Stuffing</li>
<li>Sewing machine with coordinating thread to match your fabrics</li>
<li>Complimentary sewing thread and needle</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie1.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="310" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie1.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
1. Start off by laying your stitching piece on top of your backing fabric, with wrong sides facing, as shown below:<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="282" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="left">
<br />
2. Now we need to cut the fabric so that all sides are equal. The amount of margin that you leave is up to you, here you can see that I've allowed 3/4" margin on each side. I line up my ruler along the edge of my stitching, and cut the fabric with my rotary cutter (both my stitched piece and backing fabric at the same time).<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="231" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie4.jpg" width="320" /></a> <a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie5.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="230" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie5.jpg" width="320" /></a>
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="229" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie6.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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3. You continue this same way until all four sides are cut away. Remember that your backing fabric is underneath, so you need to be careful when you are moving your stitching around on the cutting mat that the fabric doesn't move out of place or your pieces won't match at the end. Once you have finished cutting all four sides, remove the backing fabric from your stitching fabric.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie7.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="229" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie7.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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4. Next I attach the piece of ribbon to my stitching - the ribbon must be attached to the right side of your stitching. Adjust the size of the loop to match your own preferences, then pin in place. I like to have a slight angle to the top of the ribbon where it is pinned in place, so that it hangs nicer when it's finished.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="229" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie9.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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5. Next place your backing fabric on top of your stitching/ribbon, with right sides facing, as shown below. Pin the pieces together around the edges.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie10.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="215" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie10.jpg" width="320" /></a>
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie11.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="240" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie11.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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6. Now we need the sewing machine - once again, it is up to you to choose how much fabric margin you'd like to leave around the stitched piece.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie12.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="230" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie12.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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It's quite hard to see the stitching threads because they match the fabric so well, so I've doctored the photo and drawn a line to show you the stitching line of where I started and finished - hopefully you can see clearly now that I have left an opening of about 1 1/2". I like to leave a long tail of the sewing thread at one end, which I don't trim off, so that I can use it for stitching up the final seam opening.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie13.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="289" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie13.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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7. The next step is to trim the fabric at the seams, so they aren't as bulky when you turn the ornament inside-out. The photo on the below left is my bottom seam - some fabrics tend to fray a lot when you are trying to pull the fabric through the opening, so I've learnt to leave the bottom seam a tiny bit wider than the other three seams. The photo on the right is the usual amount that I trim back the main seams.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie14.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="230" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie14.jpg" width="320" /></a> <a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie16.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="230" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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8. Then you should trim off each of the corners - once again, this allows you to get a crisper point on the ornament corners once you've turned it inside-out and improves the look of the ornament. Just be careful not to snip the stitching!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie15.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="230" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie15.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
Your ornament should now look something like this:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie17.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="230" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie17.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
9. The next bit can be a little bit nervewracking if you haven't done it before! You need to reach in and pinch a little bit of the backing fabric between your thumb and forefinger, and then slowly and gently pull the stitching and the backing fabric through the opening so it's facing the right-side out. Take your time when doing this, and just pull your fabric through little by little - it seems like it will never come through, but then all of sudden a miracle seems to happen and you have it all turned inside-out. I often enlist the aid of a chopstick to help me get the corners nice and pointy once I've finished turning my ornament inside out.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie19.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="231" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie19.jpg" width="320" /></a> <a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie20.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="230" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Your ornament should now look a little something like this. Of course it was at this point that I realised I'd forgotten to attach my little gold charm to this particular ornament so I had to add that quickly before finishing the next stages ... doh!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie21.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="320" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie21.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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10. The final stage is to stuff your ornament with stuffing of your choice. I tend to just use polyester fibrefill from my local craft store. Once you it stuffed to your satisfaction (my preference is to fill it to a medium level - if I fill it too much it doesn't sit quite as well on my little tree), you need to thread your sewing needle with sewing thread (if you didn't leave a long tail from the seam stitching). You should use a sharp needle here, not a tapestry needle, so that you can pierce the backing fabric easily.<br />
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I use a ladder stitch to sew up the opening. As you can see from the left-hand photo below, I start off by slipping my needle into the seam of the backing fabric, then coming back out about 1/4" along the seam (about 3mm) and bring my needle out.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie23.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie23.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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I then take my needle directly opposite where I just came out of the backing fabric and slip my needle into the linen and follow the seam along for about 1/4" (3mm) and bring the needle back out again.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie24.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie24.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I've left the stitches nice and loose in the photo below to help illustrate how the stitches follow along opposite each other, like rungs of a ladder.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie26.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/SimplePillowOrnie26.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
When you pull the thread tighter, the stitches almost disappear into the fabric, giving a really nice clean finish - this is definitely my favourite stitch for closing up openings for that reason!</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheer4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="185" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheer4.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Once you reach the end of the seam opening, you need to finish off your thread with a couple of teeny stitches - I then bury the needle into the seam and come out somewhere about an inch way and bring the needle back out again - then clip the thread close to the fabric so that my thread tail does't appear easily.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
And here's the final seam all finished off - see now nice and tidy that ladder stitch is in the opening? :D</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheer6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="221" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheer6.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Your ornament is now finished, and ready to hang on the tree :D</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s19.beta.photobucket.com/user/shakatak66/media/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheerOrnamentfinished2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/shakatak66/Simple%20Pillow%20Christmas%20Ornament%20Tutorial/ChristmasCheerOrnamentfinished2.jpg" width="260" /></a><br />
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I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial, and found it useful. I would love to see any photos of ornaments you've completed using this tutorial so please do drop me a line or leave a comment with a link to your pictures :)<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;" /></a></div>
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Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-61810584125909006992009-11-01T18:54:00.008+11:002013-09-18T20:53:00.318+10:00Christmas Ornament TutorialI personally don't think the Just Cross Stitch ornie magazine is very clear with their finishing instructions for 'newbies' so I thought I'd make one up myself to help people out that haven't done this type of fnishing before - and show just how simple it is :)<br /><br />This will also hopefully kickstart me into preparing a few more tutorials in the upcoming months ... just need to get some stitching finished so I have some smaller things to finish! LOL. Anyway, without further ado, here's the latest tutorial - hope it will be useful to someone :)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="j0439073" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1972 aligncenter" height="54" src="http://shakatak66.wordpress.com/files/2009/10/j0439073.png?w=128" title="j0439073" width="128" /></div>
<div align="center">
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT TUTORIAL</h3>
<strong>(</strong><a href="http://www.prairieschooler.com/"><strong>The Prairie Schooler</strong></a><strong> finishing style) </strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxo58pLVkf1BY5om7Gz2xGDaYPyr_6ZryszHDgm5wnUgWSywBDstToa8r5SiR_csF0mSAVALpHvp8SWq8D9ADKDlSuS5qVQGT9TDZRoaULyxXiPVHUZ-va5ZHSgZ9Ad7vGVJ1L3-YExCC/s1600/2620265690047689748oGxnzg_fs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxo58pLVkf1BY5om7Gz2xGDaYPyr_6ZryszHDgm5wnUgWSywBDstToa8r5SiR_csF0mSAVALpHvp8SWq8D9ADKDlSuS5qVQGT9TDZRoaULyxXiPVHUZ-va5ZHSgZ9Ad7vGVJ1L3-YExCC/s320/2620265690047689748oGxnzg_fs.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Materials needed:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Stitched ornie</li>
<li>Felt in coordinating colour</li>
<li>Cardboard (I use mattboard)</li>
<li>Batting</li>
<li>Ribbon for hanger</li>
<li>Glue</li>
<li>Thread for lacing (I use crochet cotton or pearl cotton)</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8YA6ZH11JosfldrCu_DE4YOqGf5NfnyQHuvqlHVF4yPKreXNPu3mlh8BrGwaptYi509eb2JXAzO2WSRlX-Mqj8F1CmFYZ-PBDPsF9lcW7G7EBqogvYtUbNfb4q-3og1bpZkthx53TL4g/s1600/2288871050047689748rtsMSo_fs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8YA6ZH11JosfldrCu_DE4YOqGf5NfnyQHuvqlHVF4yPKreXNPu3mlh8BrGwaptYi509eb2JXAzO2WSRlX-Mqj8F1CmFYZ-PBDPsF9lcW7G7EBqogvYtUbNfb4q-3og1bpZkthx53TL4g/s320/2288871050047689748rtsMSo_fs.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
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<img alt="j0439073" class="aligncenter size-thumbnail wp-image-1972" height="54" src="http://shakatak66.wordpress.com/files/2009/10/j0439073.png?w=128" title="j0439073" width="128" /></div>
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1. Firstly measure your stitched ornie for the size that you want the cardboard to be.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqnBZzz6VskR4ybOT74UF4aQbDHfMBllXJbtAanRLTDQPAKBI-s9oaRd7O0tBDAJFn61kYzfoRKpby_ARLRrTNZb1lZbP1j_RYjrEK4TiUguhLH0HY0T_x7zLtYrgTWcqUtaP_6CJaYBU/s1600/2035856460047689748bLeqcv_fs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqnBZzz6VskR4ybOT74UF4aQbDHfMBllXJbtAanRLTDQPAKBI-s9oaRd7O0tBDAJFn61kYzfoRKpby_ARLRrTNZb1lZbP1j_RYjrEK4TiUguhLH0HY0T_x7zLtYrgTWcqUtaP_6CJaYBU/s320/2035856460047689748bLeqcv_fs.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>
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2. Next, cut out your cardboard/mattboard to the desired size. Add glue to one side of the cardboard, and place glue-side down on your batting. Even though I don't show it in the photos, I actually smooth down the glue with a little offcut of mattboard so that the glue covers the cardboard evenly - that way you don't feel ugly bumps on the front when it dries (my mattboard is black on one side, it just happened to be the piece that our local framers gave me). If you prefer to have your ornament more padded, you can add additional layers of batting in the same way, but make sure you only use glue sparingly on the additional layers of batting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ba5Ovh8AQHcBVt3aKKJ8iWhimfky1q7D82eBmGiJtlwdho6KtbTGA1D2hG2YWmhdq83NHHxQYAUQN2gsK3K_rpx6T0FMjMzd1N9gT9YNAmm5pvs5N6mECrLgdJoKI8Gr8ztyL8aM8cXs/s1600/2616415730047689748hiVKmj_fs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ba5Ovh8AQHcBVt3aKKJ8iWhimfky1q7D82eBmGiJtlwdho6KtbTGA1D2hG2YWmhdq83NHHxQYAUQN2gsK3K_rpx6T0FMjMzd1N9gT9YNAmm5pvs5N6mECrLgdJoKI8Gr8ztyL8aM8cXs/s320/2616415730047689748hiVKmj_fs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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3. Once the glue has dried, cut around the cardboard shape and cut off the excess batting.<br />
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4. Now it's time to attach the stitched piece to the padded mattboard.<br />
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Turn the stitching over so the good side is facing down - place the padded mattboard padded-side down on top of the stitching.<br />
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5. My instructions for the next part are in relation to lacing the ornie together - I've found that this gives a much cleaner finish on the front of the ornie, and in particular in the corners. If you don't want to lace, you can just use glue to stick the sides down in the same way - you'll just have to be careful that the glue doesn't dry before you have the stitched piece nicely centred on the front.<br />
6. First of all I start by folding over the corners, then the sides. This ornie was stitched by my Mum on Aida, which is quite stiff and stays put, which is great :)<br />
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7. Next I start lacing - I usually start with a couple of little anchor stitches at the start, and use a waste knot to start with (this can be cut off later once the lacing is finished) - then you just work from one side of the ornie to the other, as you can see from the series of photos below.<br />
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8. At this point turn the stitched piece over and check that the stitching is sitting nicely centred over the mattboard. If it's not centred perfectly, just give it a little jiggle around until it is nicely centred.<br />
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9. Turn the ornie back over again, and continue to lace the remaining two sides. Now I usually stitch up the mitred corners, as this really tidies p the corners and gives nice clean points.<br />
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10. The finished version should look something like this if you've laced it according to my version.<br />
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11. You now have the choice of adding your ribbon hanger now, or at the end. I always used to add my hanger at the end, but decided to try it this way for the tutorial, and have added the ribbon prior to adding the felt backing.<br />
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Cut a piece of ribbon to your preferred length - I 'twist' my ribbon to give it a nice loop, if you just fold it in half the ribbon doesn't sit quite as nicely. Hopefully that makes sense, and you can see what I mean from the photos! Attach the ribbon with a couple of little stitches to attach it to the fabric - I prefer to stitch it rather than just gluing to ensure the ribbon hanger doesn't fall off in a hurry.<br />
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12. Next, turn your ornie over and add glue to the back - I usually use Tacky Glue and once again I use a little offcut of mattboard to spread the glue out all over the backing, but this isn't essential. I figure this will help to keep the glue stuck down for longer than just having a little bit on the edges :)<br />
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13. Now place your glued ornie down on the felt backing and ensure the felt is pressed down nice and evenly onto the glue. Then, using pinking shears, cut around the ornie shape - don't forget to hold your ribbon hanger out of the way so it's not accidentally lopped off!<br />
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14. If you prefer to add your ribbon hanger at the end, this is an example of one of my older finished ornies that I completed this way :)<br />
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15. And you now have a beautifully finished ornie - all you have to do is to hang it up on your (or a loved one's) tree! :D<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2fGEE5T0J1spfXbLTqIvTvKJ2UiFoERfCeVWcjgWY8lArszUsI-VHj6Wu23X96CM4wYuNPF4WgQ03EzZIYt60QroxzEzeB9orJCkuCfDhlOXzlRmDHNOftlkdvB3O-8VDCxCCJ9_Cdy9/s1600/2620265690047689748oGxnzg_fs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2fGEE5T0J1spfXbLTqIvTvKJ2UiFoERfCeVWcjgWY8lArszUsI-VHj6Wu23X96CM4wYuNPF4WgQ03EzZIYt60QroxzEzeB9orJCkuCfDhlOXzlRmDHNOftlkdvB3O-8VDCxCCJ9_Cdy9/s320/2620265690047689748oGxnzg_fs.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I hope that's easy enough to follow - if you have any questions, don't hesitate to scream out and I'll try to answer them.<br />
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<img alt="j0439073" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1972 aligncenter" height="54" src="http://shakatak66.wordpress.com/files/2009/10/j0439073.png?w=128" title="j0439073" width="128" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;" /></a>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-9556202936301637262009-09-08T07:40:00.001+10:002009-09-08T10:45:27.740+10:00Apologies for the length of time I've been absent - just a case of work and life getting in the way, unfortunately. Hopefully it won't be quite so long before the next post!<br /><br />I am a little mortified, however, as I had prepared 3 separate posts over the last 12 months for posting, with all the latest tutorials that I had found to be added to the site, and they were all sitting in Draft format and not even published ... I've now combined them all together below in one list.<br /><br />Hopefully I'll be able to share some new tutorials shortly, as I aim to get some life balance back and return more wholeheartedly to my needlework endeavours in my spare time - which means more time being spent keeping this blog, and my own personal blog, up-to-date and active! That also means getting some items finish-finished so I can prepare the tutorials ... which means it's a win-win situation - more tutorials, and my finishing pile being reduced!! :D<br /><br />Thanks for bearing with me in the meantime - hopefully you have still found the tutorial links useful, even without the blog being active in recent times!<br /><br />Without further ado, here are the latest tutorial links that have been added to the links pages at various times recently (and not-so-recently):<br /><br /><ul><li>Anita - <a href="http://anitaflosstagtutorial.blogspot.com/2008/12/step-by-step-on-how-to-make-floss-ring.html">Floss Ring Tags</a><br /></li><li>Marjorie - Flat Ornament (canvaswork): <a href="http://moonsilk-stitches.blogspot.com/2009/02/finishing-flat-ornament-i.html">part 1</a>, <a href="http://moonsilk-stitches.blogspot.com/2009/02/finishing-flat-ornament-ii.html">part 2</a>, <a href="http://moonsilk-stitches.blogspot.com/2009/02/finishing-flat-ornament-iii.html">part 3</a><br /></li><li>Staci - <a href="http://snippetsandstash.blogspot.com/2008/10/ready-set-dye-and-giveaway.html">Coffee-dyeing cotton threads</a><br /></li><li>Lesley - <a href="http://tintocktap.blogspot.com/2009/02/snowflakes-in-snow.html">15-sided Biscornu</a> and <a href="http://tintocktap.blogspot.com/2009/03/slightly-different.html">alternative finishing</a><br /></li><li>Saolya blog - <a href="http://saolya.blogspot.com/2008/04/blog-post_16.html">Humbug chicken pincushion</a> (in Russian)<br /></li><li>Saolya blog - <a href="http://saolya.blogspot.com/2009/05/blog-post_12.html">Ribbon trim for pinkeep</a> (in Russian)<br /></li><li>Saolya blog - <a href="http://saolya.blogspot.com/2009/02/blog-post.html">Strawberry emery with spider web cap</a> (in Russian) and <a href="http://saolya.blogspot.com/2008/11/blog-post_09.html">Quaker Strawberry</a><br /></li><li>Saolya blog - <a href="http://saolya.blogspot.com/2008/12/gilded-dragonfly.html">Just Nan's Gilded Dragonfly Scissor Purse</a> (in Russian)<br /></li><li>Saolya blog - <a href="http://saolya.blogspot.com/2008/11/blog-post_21.html">Slipper ornament</a> (in Russian)<br /></li><li>Saolya blog - <a href="http://saolya.blogspot.com/2008/10/quaker-christmas-tree.html">Quaker Christmas Tree ornament</a> (in Russian)<br /></li><li>Saolya blog - '<a href="http://saolya.blogspot.com/2008/09/blog-post_28.html">Folded' ornament</a> (in Russian)<br /></li><li>Monique - <a href="http://mymarkdesigns.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/tutorial-time-ornament-with-wire-hanger/">Ornament with Wire Hanger</a><br /></li><li>Alchemy Stitchcraft - <a href="http://alchymyst.blogspot.com/search/label/Tutorial">Trinket Tray</a><br /></li><li>Mayte - <a href="http://magicxstitch.blogspot.com/2008/12/lazo-clsico.html">Ribbon bows</a> (for topping pinkeeps etc)<br /></li><li>Stitch-Creations - <a href="http://stitch-creations.blogspot.com/2009/03/beschrijving-voor-de-biscornu.html">15-sided biscornu</a><br /></li><li>Swappons blog - <a href="http://swappons.kazeo.com/?page=article&ida=391488">Stitching Wallet</a> (in French)<br /></li><li>Paper.String.Cloth - <a href="http://paperstringcloth.blogspot.com/2007/07/pincushion-tutorial.html">Pincushion</a><br /></li></ul><p><br />If you have any tutorial links you would like to have added to the links page, it would be appreciated if you could leave a comment or send me an email with the details, as I'm sure there are many tutorials out there that I have missed!<br /><br />Kind regards,<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" /></a><br /><br /></p>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-16645259024274331952008-11-30T06:49:00.012+11:002008-11-30T08:45:16.887+11:00Pillow Finishing Tutorial<p>Now that you have your <a href="http://focusonfinishing.blogspot.com/2008/11/supply-list-pillow-finishing.html">supplies gathered</a>, we are ready to start making a pillow!</p><p>All of these instructions are written to create an envelope style cover to put over a pillow form. However, if you only want to make a small pillow, you could leave off the large border. If you want to stuff your pillow instead of using a pillow form, you would make a one piece back and leave an opening to turn and stuff your piece. The basic principles are the same, so you should be able to modify to suit your needs. Personally, I do like to make the envelope style pillows and use a pillow form. This eliminates storing bulky pillows, and allows me to switch out the covers with the seasons.</p><p>The first thing that you need to do is draw out your dimensions. I strongly suggest that you don't skip this step if you are planning to use a pillow form! (Even though I drew mine out, I still messed up...hence the delay in getting this posted...and an unplanned extra border around the edge).</p><p>You will need to decide how big your finished pillow should be. That will drive all of the other measurements. I used 0.25" seam allowances throughout this project. I used a 14" pillow form, so the size of my front piece needed to be <strong>14.5" x 14.5"</strong>, which is the 14" finished size plus 0.25" seam allowances all around (to allow for attachment of the back panel).</p><p>Here is what my diagram looked like: </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5t2bNLNGZcYxeLKzuFRnBP1LRLhUeUhBB41ni-kFPfmR9g0AEVvN6tKXqDVMPV_wM1UHpaqY2BoFs6gBIz46WaGvkYsQN9Jr8KFgrOeUKi-Zk6XvCDOI7ZCv0iPFvS6Gp-H_l_QNEyot0/s1600-h/Diagram2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5t2bNLNGZcYxeLKzuFRnBP1LRLhUeUhBB41ni-kFPfmR9g0AEVvN6tKXqDVMPV_wM1UHpaqY2BoFs6gBIz46WaGvkYsQN9Jr8KFgrOeUKi-Zk6XvCDOI7ZCv0iPFvS6Gp-H_l_QNEyot0/s320/Diagram2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274177490836454450" /></a></p><p>Here is how I figured out the finished sizes and cut sizes:<br />Section A - Stitched Design Area: My stitched design size was 4.0" x 4.0". I wanted to leave a 0.25" margin around my stitching. I allowed 4.5" x 4.5" for the design portion (4.0" stitched area + 0.25" margin on each side). The cut area needs to be 5.0" x 5.0" to allow for the above finished size, plus a 0.25" seam allowance on all sides to attach to Section B. <br /> <br />Section B - Narrow Border Area: I wanted to have a 1.0" border all around the stitched area. The cut size of the strips for this area needed to be 1.5", which is the 1.0" finished size, plus a 0.25" seam allowance to attach to Section A and 0.25" seam allowance to attach to Section C. <br /> <br />Section C - Wide Border Area: This area is flexible based upon the finished size. The total width and height of the front needs to be 14.5" as discussed earlier. This measurement includes the 0.25" seam allowance on each side to attach to the back. The finished size of this area will be 14.5" total minus 4.5" (A) minus 2.0" (B on two sides) divided by two (top, bottom) = 4.0". The cut size for the strips in this section needed to be 4.25". This is for the 4.0" size just calculated, plus 0.25" to attach to Section B. The seam allowance to attach to the back was already taken into consideration when calculating the 14.5" total size of the front. </p><p>Hopefully that all makes sense. Draw yourself a diagram, and calculate carefully. Be sure to do your finished size calculation first, and then do the cut size calculations.</p><p>Now that you have your diagram finalized, it's time to get down to work. First, we'll cut the stitched piece to the correct size. I like to do this by pulling threads to make a visible cutting line. This ensures that you are starting with a nice, straight edge. Measure 0.5" from the top edge of the stitching. The 0.5" is for the 0.25" border, plus the 0.25" seam allowance. Pull out the horizontal thread closest to 0.5". </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnP7p0KLvRTXxzJfL8e9YfE394QrxUaYx7obPQG_QSY3OyMf-ZsWCsKoTzhU4JXL5SRBbwE75NQLjAJDE_hPvtG6OxseQ4rI-GUwDaMSZRbMfWtFVrzZ9aT_aHWtULXdXiLXKxe7AjKXp/s1600-h/step1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnP7p0KLvRTXxzJfL8e9YfE394QrxUaYx7obPQG_QSY3OyMf-ZsWCsKoTzhU4JXL5SRBbwE75NQLjAJDE_hPvtG6OxseQ4rI-GUwDaMSZRbMfWtFVrzZ9aT_aHWtULXdXiLXKxe7AjKXp/s320/step1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274186207240637970" /></a></p><p>You could also count threads rather than measuring. For example, if you stitched your piece on 28 count, you would count out 14 threads and pull out the 15th thread. Repeat all around the piece. Cut out your piece using space left by the pulled threads as a guide.</p><p>Cut your strip of fabric for Section B, using the cut size width that you calculated for this section. Don't worry about the length. When I cut my stips, I just cut the appropriate width of fabric and for the length I went from selvage to selvage. One strip was plenty.</p><p>Cut your strip of fabric for Section C, using the appropriate width that you calculated for this section. Again, cutting from selvage to selvage gave me plenty of length.</p><p>Iron your stitched piece and your strips of fabric. The good news is that the hard part is over, and we're ready to sew!</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMoWE06IvIz6b_eShxC9y9VmoMAMSzev9ugL98ne0Rf9k1UWew3K-PdejZV3h6Htds788bcIizT71HIQxSvmy5ZFWk-8LWZzYZKJ-U4W8R3nucgTJJj-sKWOgUi9C2semPiRXZrn-tHDy1/s1600-h/step2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 314px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMoWE06IvIz6b_eShxC9y9VmoMAMSzev9ugL98ne0Rf9k1UWew3K-PdejZV3h6Htds788bcIizT71HIQxSvmy5ZFWk-8LWZzYZKJ-U4W8R3nucgTJJj-sKWOgUi9C2semPiRXZrn-tHDy1/s320/step2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274186869843565426" /></a></p><p>Start at the top of your stitched piece. Pin the right side of your Section B strip to the right side of your stitched piece. Cut off any excess length even with the edge of the stitched piece.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42Tl4QF69PY0i8D4gfAUJAn5XNAh5md3HKXUcqgrq3XQHBP55q81roF3U5hPAyPPs-817xOUU6RWt8vHX-RTmbUYBUCd92-SyvypHbIYYmc3ScAejMHADATjUPXF9PGO_C3ycnyvPNpuj/s1600-h/step3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42Tl4QF69PY0i8D4gfAUJAn5XNAh5md3HKXUcqgrq3XQHBP55q81roF3U5hPAyPPs-817xOUU6RWt8vHX-RTmbUYBUCd92-SyvypHbIYYmc3ScAejMHADATjUPXF9PGO_C3ycnyvPNpuj/s320/step3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274188862366290258" /></a></p><p>Sew a 0.25" seam. Repeat at the bottom edge of your stitched piece. Iron the seams open.</p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhFKRIWLAaQcJK9buFjYB_GuHBKzNdY4MifY0VR7FOt2v1mKE2ckDCzWKVw_DldzFPSqvUOme3mDmdYt39uyB3lvSCCXYuYAbSLFZ_qfIwCL-i-edlTxm-SXabu_nA93y9dYywLOglARW/s1600-h/step4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhFKRIWLAaQcJK9buFjYB_GuHBKzNdY4MifY0VR7FOt2v1mKE2ckDCzWKVw_DldzFPSqvUOme3mDmdYt39uyB3lvSCCXYuYAbSLFZ_qfIwCL-i-edlTxm-SXabu_nA93y9dYywLOglARW/s320/step4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274188876708535202" /></a></p><p>The front of your piece should look like this:</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHf6Z621tTe0Dipa5ekY6zkofKNfW3KxZaTxuw13_VBUBPOk6rZNhZW6Hz_z6qvTF8A95evR-olz9z9W1HE-l2Toxx-Yguf7oxrx3RD4mRUHzblBX8n7UiWLqXoI3sIZbQIKvJ3UTWpf8G/s1600-h/step5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 269px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHf6Z621tTe0Dipa5ekY6zkofKNfW3KxZaTxuw13_VBUBPOk6rZNhZW6Hz_z6qvTF8A95evR-olz9z9W1HE-l2Toxx-Yguf7oxrx3RD4mRUHzblBX8n7UiWLqXoI3sIZbQIKvJ3UTWpf8G/s320/step5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274188884579885330" /></a></p><p>Attach the Section B strips to the sides. Iron your seams open.</p><p>The front of your piece should now look like this:</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUGFVf9TQeQ6Q9oElXX-1ZKkNcX2Fz7Q4QN3le2_jYxIueCHT_Aq2l2vKgmdIWCQ5g0ycRaOUO2EoPl6tewD9ys6IO-Yb_8M13RCKmoSRrOyswg_NIEsjK91KbksYrEhzV3VfUkThs_E6/s1600-h/step6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUGFVf9TQeQ6Q9oElXX-1ZKkNcX2Fz7Q4QN3le2_jYxIueCHT_Aq2l2vKgmdIWCQ5g0ycRaOUO2EoPl6tewD9ys6IO-Yb_8M13RCKmoSRrOyswg_NIEsjK91KbksYrEhzV3VfUkThs_E6/s320/step6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274188885990708450" /></a><p>Repeat the steps to attach the Section C border. Your piece should now look like this:</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBaEZ7TQdVUrRR9fxz24AoaIuvPnAjJ7xeEjGW7qzEDKCvWop_PMx4fRjcej_7VXsq7x1h9UvKnJkYvD9ZKi4y-XDqld1WRs75qHkcVh-7Rz1naGvzSPxXQLtHB5aFi7n8IJvOr5zasPD/s1600-h/step7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBaEZ7TQdVUrRR9fxz24AoaIuvPnAjJ7xeEjGW7qzEDKCvWop_PMx4fRjcej_7VXsq7x1h9UvKnJkYvD9ZKi4y-XDqld1WRs75qHkcVh-7Rz1naGvzSPxXQLtHB5aFi7n8IJvOr5zasPD/s320/step7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274188887841587922" /></a></p><p>Important! Measure your piece, and make sure that it is somewhat close to what you calculated. I messed mine up, because I had forgotten about the seam allowance to attach the front to the back. I had to sew a little strip all of the way around, so in the following pictures you will see an extra brown border. I wasn't thrilled about this, but it turned out okay. Now is the time to make any corrections, if you miscalculated.</p><p>Cut your back pieces. You will need two pieces. The width should be the same as your front. The length should be about 70% of your front. Hem one edge of each of the back pieces. I like to use the selvage edges for this, and fold up about an inch and sew it down. If you don't have a selvage edge to work with, you will need to do a double fold and sew it down.</P><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0DS63hS6zpglFd56R6fC5IG5Hf4Ci4wdBk9q4Af5_2IYmEs8nqJ2wlTtXHEFqIrxAJaj-QHi2KDB1EHeXktrbe5begHPwvAORNmWOQ_HvTE1tImo8M7VNv9oQu0YSJCuOEqTojY71ALz/s1600-h/step9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0DS63hS6zpglFd56R6fC5IG5Hf4Ci4wdBk9q4Af5_2IYmEs8nqJ2wlTtXHEFqIrxAJaj-QHi2KDB1EHeXktrbe5begHPwvAORNmWOQ_HvTE1tImo8M7VNv9oQu0YSJCuOEqTojY71ALz/s320/step9.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274194236478888722" /></a><br /></p><p>Lay your front piece face up.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7XTJsUSUaeQ8rBS3vfnKV3-TulgzzzLRMfSrVPzbuDRCx-_kGSmlpHHwyqFzftySNxcadB6FiNcG9CrKEZxBHa3ogDQjWK458Pa2M0_iTeanMTcDSj4i8-A7F8WpUaBxE8dGyMAAoQac/s1600-h/step9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7XTJsUSUaeQ8rBS3vfnKV3-TulgzzzLRMfSrVPzbuDRCx-_kGSmlpHHwyqFzftySNxcadB6FiNcG9CrKEZxBHa3ogDQjWK458Pa2M0_iTeanMTcDSj4i8-A7F8WpUaBxE8dGyMAAoQac/s320/step9.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274194094656730658" /></a><p>Lay one of your back pieces face down on top of your front piece. Line up the unfinished edge of the back piece with the top of your front piece. The hemmed edge should be towards the middle of the piece. Pin.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0t83ej_NNP_YwFubANrQVvhgzOHm9wX2_MIS8ceMpO6-Gy-fZLH-vm3KMYUDaYbMqs67dBZkPDg-NF1xVj30P9RtiUtBtGsA1P4Pu1dkN38NiFYJc5yzWzoifApZEQqBE3Q-KCPYf6dH/s1600-h/step10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0t83ej_NNP_YwFubANrQVvhgzOHm9wX2_MIS8ceMpO6-Gy-fZLH-vm3KMYUDaYbMqs67dBZkPDg-NF1xVj30P9RtiUtBtGsA1P4Pu1dkN38NiFYJc5yzWzoifApZEQqBE3Q-KCPYf6dH/s320/step10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274194082998213538" /></a></p><p>Lay the other back piece on top of your front piece, lining up the unfinished edge with the bottom of the front piece. Your two backing pieces will overlap. Pin.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiC16A4pRaejvWVAcFCGs4YLpwHAvYjvpCc2RQXgSeP-WXTyxumuh6bUMKT398t7amChh4ZK_xyUQ74lEIQp-U7h2lvhUP4mD-JkYM2iM0bK0UOukGY3xjjcPhGPg6Xfg_WL-WVtDr9DG1/s1600-h/step11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiC16A4pRaejvWVAcFCGs4YLpwHAvYjvpCc2RQXgSeP-WXTyxumuh6bUMKT398t7amChh4ZK_xyUQ74lEIQp-U7h2lvhUP4mD-JkYM2iM0bK0UOukGY3xjjcPhGPg6Xfg_WL-WVtDr9DG1/s320/step11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274194081024613794" /></a></p><p>Sew all of the way around the piece, using a 0.25" seam allowance.</p><p>Turn right side out.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5cdmdyoH7TSx-0dNsa3DLiPbzOLt80SwgAeZL5t6Bjev7JkS_7i4ZH6DRbvInWNz8wuWlvx_Cq5v0QJXPqo2q8-oqFAYE69FNZwmH5EdROEJ7Xz7_mu-HtwH59JiXbvz3311SaWiucCE/s1600-h/step12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5cdmdyoH7TSx-0dNsa3DLiPbzOLt80SwgAeZL5t6Bjev7JkS_7i4ZH6DRbvInWNz8wuWlvx_Cq5v0QJXPqo2q8-oqFAYE69FNZwmH5EdROEJ7Xz7_mu-HtwH59JiXbvz3311SaWiucCE/s320/step12.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274194071042284546" /></a></p><p>Insert your pillow form into the "envelope" opening in the back. Stand back, pat yourself on the back, and admire your finished pillow!</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3H577IruASmBIbW8DFs8yIk2-w8pDvNKGIQt5lMJ4uQUJZ4J5k5cTNYNOgfA8kKXyS3BsoA1U3niztI9j3CbyO2zkmZLtZyyQxsm916C7LSeNiGW7mcqUrBI9eIgNrKvzx7TFsL7oVlL/s1600-h/step13.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3H577IruASmBIbW8DFs8yIk2-w8pDvNKGIQt5lMJ4uQUJZ4J5k5cTNYNOgfA8kKXyS3BsoA1U3niztI9j3CbyO2zkmZLtZyyQxsm916C7LSeNiGW7mcqUrBI9eIgNrKvzx7TFsL7oVlL/s320/step13.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274194071220551602" /></a></p><p>If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll try to help :)</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-15095195822256985572008-11-25T11:13:00.002+11:002008-11-25T11:40:58.026+11:00Supply List - Pillow Finishing<p>Alright, everyone! It's time to gather up your supplies for a pillow finishing frenzy this weekend. I will be posting instructions on how to do either a <a href="http://didimr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/finish-and-question.html">small pillow</a>, or a <a href="http://didimr2.blogspot.com/2008/06/finished-berries.html">larger pillow with a flap back</a> that you can use with a pillow form (and swap out throughout the year).</p><p>The supplies needed are pretty basic:<br />Stitched piece<br />Poly-fill stuffing or pillow form<br />Sufficient fabric for finishing your piece (depends upon your desired finished size) *<br />Sewing thread to match your fabric</p><p>Tools needed:<br />Sewing machine<br />Rotary cutter and ruler (not essential, but it sure makes everything easier!)<br />Scissors<br />Sewing needle</p><p>* Notes on how much fabric to buy: A fat quarter is generally more than plenty to do a small pillow. For the larger pillow, you will need to measure your stitched piece and pillow form. For the front, you'll need to have enough fabric to cut 4 strips to get you to your finished size (leaving the seam allowance). You will also need enough for your back, with extra for overlap. If you have any specific questions, e-mail me and I'll try to help :)</p><p>Gather your supplies, your finished-unfinshed pieces of stitching, and get ready to have fun this weekend!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-9290200659441153482008-09-21T21:51:00.004+10:002008-09-22T20:13:21.252+10:00Gallery - Needlebook<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lWPwMun5VYoon8PQ9bG_Kavb0bZpPu33vRvLqVZl7T65yM-hWE7y6THtkfzGC3MdNCyBhdh3S9Z4vf57Ru4NWBWTTGIPs7VjITEkN04gI2X1hqLMNHNc_WEY9tbzCJfWgSMcZh1VjB6w/s1600-h/IMG_0510.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lWPwMun5VYoon8PQ9bG_Kavb0bZpPu33vRvLqVZl7T65yM-hWE7y6THtkfzGC3MdNCyBhdh3S9Z4vf57Ru4NWBWTTGIPs7VjITEkN04gI2X1hqLMNHNc_WEY9tbzCJfWgSMcZh1VjB6w/s400/IMG_0510.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248442104558450626" border="0" /></a>Finished by <a href="http://sanguinestitcher.blogspot.com/">Barbara J</a><br />(Full blog post found <a href="http://sanguinestitcher.blogspot.com/2008/04/c-is-for-cecilia.html">here</a>)<br /></div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-37184750308548954572008-09-21T15:07:00.004+10:002008-09-21T21:17:20.679+10:00New tutorial links addedThe latest tutorial links to be added are:<br /><ul><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://mymarkdesigns.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/finishing-forms-finishing-fun/">My Mark Designs</a> (Monique) - Ornaments using metal finishing forms<br /></li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://houseonhillroad.typepad.com/photos/put_a_zipper_in_your_pill/index.html">House on Hill Road</a> - inserting zippers into a cushion/pillow</li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://knitonequilttoo.typepad.com/knit_one_quilt_too/2007/06/button_back_pil.html">Knit One Quilt Two</a> - button back pillows (quilted tops, but can be used for needlework)</li></ul>Have a great week! :)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="border: medium none ; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" /></a>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-33959994175588587222008-09-21T13:03:00.013+10:002008-09-21T21:23:09.039+10:00Gallery - Seen on the BlogsI have tried to keep a note over the last 12 months when I saw mention of a finish made using one of our Focus on Finishing tutorials - I have since been in contact with the stitchers on my list, and have heard that it's OK to post piccies of their finishes on the blog ... so, here's a bit of eye candy that I hope you will enjoy (hopefully there will be another post over the next week once I hear back from a few more people) :)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Flanged Pillow Tutorial</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpucP4e9nf-lGt5_Zl1BZi1Db1KtGY1r79IwQxtf82pUJSp0R3OTMCZldeoDUeFUqY1qD3j9RK-6DrbHO6fNOOkxgL8rAGtb6IgvnksRNtOvsC4dVb1_GZtnsRZViecs9yyNB2p6FUvGZh/s1600-h/Jenna-LHN+Berries+pillow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpucP4e9nf-lGt5_Zl1BZi1Db1KtGY1r79IwQxtf82pUJSp0R3OTMCZldeoDUeFUqY1qD3j9RK-6DrbHO6fNOOkxgL8rAGtb6IgvnksRNtOvsC4dVb1_GZtnsRZViecs9yyNB2p6FUvGZh/s320/Jenna-LHN+Berries+pillow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248329650558806562" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Finished by <a href="http://www.jennamagee.com/weblog/">Jenna</a><br />(full blog post is found <a href="http://www.jennamagee.com/weblog/?p=973">here</a>)<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Stitcher's Bourse Tutorial</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6wl5w1R7oPB9Wi9Ajsp8vv-nMjEY3ufBbAQfDBw13fDovGIsOGHxiWygCAZZ5U_oojjhi1IDFWqYwstbjrmIcP18yL-S17yTCgWtyp6FHW0mjklQ4lmIJy4fydpBDOgkZBO83jm-eTpxu/s1600-h/Melissa-bday_bourse.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6wl5w1R7oPB9Wi9Ajsp8vv-nMjEY3ufBbAQfDBw13fDovGIsOGHxiWygCAZZ5U_oojjhi1IDFWqYwstbjrmIcP18yL-S17yTCgWtyp6FHW0mjklQ4lmIJy4fydpBDOgkZBO83jm-eTpxu/s320/Melissa-bday_bourse.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248329653864185698" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo-yEm9Itkz-zFqFAAReVSLhhUT5crgb8XAmu__trDlVc-JHNRJy7uSjGUxKitSb-E7p0PshsBmQ6fJb8DrXlCw_K-AscPnKpeuqgGpOcx2MVU2kIGy69-4w3Q-bsDZJfth0DviOCnLfC/s1600-h/Melissa-bday_bourse3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo-yEm9Itkz-zFqFAAReVSLhhUT5crgb8XAmu__trDlVc-JHNRJy7uSjGUxKitSb-E7p0PshsBmQ6fJb8DrXlCw_K-AscPnKpeuqgGpOcx2MVU2kIGy69-4w3Q-bsDZJfth0DviOCnLfC/s320/Melissa-bday_bourse3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248329657510148802" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Finished by <a href="http://sewcreative.wordpress.com/">Terri</a> for <a href="http://www.thedailymel.com/">Melissa</a><br />(full blog post is found <a href="http://www.thedailymel.com/2008/02/10/happy-birthday-to-me/">here</a>)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzpCcvGqUUt3UEO83S1jYujjez1DCfRgvcLbibi1JLLp5YqKfGUyDBwDp2HrjHy2psVtAX6TeL2-JRPpoLr4F6Gct5E8pZHlTTdf7PTrPM_AEZg8qCUco8ALnfotgWfyU-PeHzNpAuIgC/s1600-h/Stitchingdiva-bourse_b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzpCcvGqUUt3UEO83S1jYujjez1DCfRgvcLbibi1JLLp5YqKfGUyDBwDp2HrjHy2psVtAX6TeL2-JRPpoLr4F6Gct5E8pZHlTTdf7PTrPM_AEZg8qCUco8ALnfotgWfyU-PeHzNpAuIgC/s320/Stitchingdiva-bourse_b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248333205170842722" border="0" /></a><br />Finished by <a href="http://stitchingdiva.wordpress.com/">Jeannie-Marie</a><br />(full blog post is found <a href="http://stitchingdiva.wordpress.com/2008/01/13/thought-i-should-post/">here</a>)<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Beaded Scissor Fob Tutorial</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAeDegWDigO3XWexzY78ptORKTQPabTHy8L1yqogHLeaJMRIpRVtT25KStHqX_RTQC8OCAe7YRPhbTOFdSCGTor3fLEx_dyERD22lak3QJvx1XIHRDPeV9EnnF1FYeC4bK7CZPLONXi7S/s1600-h/Dawn+B-Beaded_fobs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAeDegWDigO3XWexzY78ptORKTQPabTHy8L1yqogHLeaJMRIpRVtT25KStHqX_RTQC8OCAe7YRPhbTOFdSCGTor3fLEx_dyERD22lak3QJvx1XIHRDPeV9EnnF1FYeC4bK7CZPLONXi7S/s320/Dawn+B-Beaded_fobs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248432359969591106" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Finished by <a href="http://eeyore40.blogspot.com/">Dawn B</a><br />(full blog post is found <a href="http://eeyore40.blogspot.com/2008/08/day-3-progress.html">here</a>)<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Needleroll Tutorial</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9a_INVJJM4JQGDFeruhN47JowCDlwI_ueC8XtMilCaZoGvJJZ0DzkL3Y0qU3EidxRofPN-eQqa5KJdJZlu5WlQdeszj9bXijwpUZG2Ww7tiLMDBgrU7T-Q0zUNP9bv2kc8bHjJ5vbAjnM/s1600-h/Kim+B-Needleroll"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9a_INVJJM4JQGDFeruhN47JowCDlwI_ueC8XtMilCaZoGvJJZ0DzkL3Y0qU3EidxRofPN-eQqa5KJdJZlu5WlQdeszj9bXijwpUZG2Ww7tiLMDBgrU7T-Q0zUNP9bv2kc8bHjJ5vbAjnM/s320/Kim+B-Needleroll" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248331456785821042" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Finished by <a href="http://stitchfulthinking.blogspot.com/">Kim B</a><br />(full blog post is found <a href="http://stitchfulthinking.blogspot.com/2008/04/i-did-it.html">here</a>)<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>It's particularly good for the tutors to see that their classes are being used - and don't forget, if you have some finishes to share we'd LOVE to see them here too! All you have to do is to drop me an <a href="mailto:shakatak@iinet.net.au">email</a> with your Blogger details, and I can add you as an author :D<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="border: medium none ; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" /></a>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-77431161648225424112008-09-16T06:59:00.005+10:002008-09-16T07:25:40.463+10:00Latest Tutorials addedI've been very lazy in adding the latest tutorials I've been made aware of, but finally they're added and ready for you to share (if you haven't already seen them, of course):<br /><ul><li><strong><a href="http://stitchinaddiction.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/framing-tutorial-pin-method/" target="_blank" mce_href="http://stitchinaddiction.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/framing-tutorial-pin-method/">A Stitchinaddiction</a></strong> (Carol)<strong> </strong>- How to frame your own needlework (using pins)<br /><br /></li><li><strong><a href="http://cyndistitches.blogspot.com/2008/09/making-your-own-boxer-using-cd-case-for.html" target="_blank" mce_href="http://cyndistitches.blogspot.com/2008/09/making-your-own-boxer-using-cd-case-for.html">Just One More Stitch</a></strong> (Cyndi) - Framing needlework in a CD cover to stand up on a desk<br /><br /></li><li><a class="" href="http://tts-tutorials.blogspot.com/2008/02/lining-decorative-basket.html" mce_href="http://tts-tutorials.blogspot.com/2008/02/lining-decorative-basket.html"><strong>The Twisted Stitcher</strong></a> (Vonna) - Lining a Decorative Basket<br /><br /></li><li><a class="" href="http://tts-tutorials.blogspot.com/2008/01/mattress-pincushionpinkeep.html" mce_href="http://tts-tutorials.blogspot.com/2008/01/mattress-pincushionpinkeep.html"><strong>The Twisted Stitcher</strong></a> (Vonna) - Mattress pincushion/pinkeep</li></ul>If you come across any other tutorials you think would be a good addition to the tutorial list, please don't hesitate to let me know. Also, if any of the links are no longer working please let me know so I can remove or update the link.<br /><br />Have a great week :)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="border: medium none ; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" /></a>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-75349794686064150412008-09-14T18:59:00.001+10:002008-09-16T07:27:39.975+10:00Blog AwardsI have been very lax in thanking a couple of people who have nominated our blog here for an Award in recent months - and today is the day to rectify that:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9euukc5FmhHukReVC3E0_ZdqDhKzf2j739rmkMKHjR1aW2MJcP3GZzUgkhk_CZnsXvtDyRe4HuDXHh-T9NGDLkRlDuQJdep-mK5nmEAPBwut_rSkAJH7GyzItDpe47PVhStEdzbpVqkp1/s1600-h/Brillante+Award.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9euukc5FmhHukReVC3E0_ZdqDhKzf2j739rmkMKHjR1aW2MJcP3GZzUgkhk_CZnsXvtDyRe4HuDXHh-T9NGDLkRlDuQJdep-mK5nmEAPBwut_rSkAJH7GyzItDpe47PVhStEdzbpVqkp1/s320/Brillante+Award.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245800305655245858" border="0" /></a><br /><br />First of all, thanks go to <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://blogdesandramaria.blogspot.com/">Sandra</a>, <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://nelapx.blogspot.com/">Nela</a> and <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://lisa-memyneedleandi.blogspot.com/">Lisa</a> who awarded the blog with the Brillante Award.<br /><br /><br />Here is what Sandra and Lisa had to say about the blog:<br /><br /><blockquote><a href="http://blogdesandramaria.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sandra: </span></a>Focus on finishing: I don't know these bloggers personally (Anne and Karen are the managers), but my life has been saved thanks to its posts lol I think it's a huge reference for cross stitchers and needlepointers. Lots of useful and easy to follow tutorials with pictures.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://lisa-memyneedleandi.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lisa:</span></a> <a href="http://shakatak66.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Anne S</span></a>-not new to me, but as busy as she is continues to provide us with the <a href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Focus on Finishing</span> </a>blog with tons of contributions from stitchers from all over the world chock full of complimentary tutorials. "Hi Anne!"<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAUL3SKtTZycGf8RJglseZ5-5njbk21p6pkjVNJpgD5_WbVlUuVC1jgNRHHbR91KGrUiqG87XBrZsc6kOh4mhd_atxshuJM3tzExeKcuGqn1-nt9pP3QqCMhMai0lUxUx4RI0QQqXdHxsj/s1600-h/Arte+Y+Pico+Award.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAUL3SKtTZycGf8RJglseZ5-5njbk21p6pkjVNJpgD5_WbVlUuVC1jgNRHHbR91KGrUiqG87XBrZsc6kOh4mhd_atxshuJM3tzExeKcuGqn1-nt9pP3QqCMhMai0lUxUx4RI0QQqXdHxsj/s320/Arte+Y+Pico+Award.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245802574937573906" border="0" /></a></blockquote>Then <a href="http://arthurezia.spaces.live.com/">Ezia</a> kindly awarded us with an <a href="http://arteypico.blogspot.com/">Arte Y Pico</a> award.<br /><br /><br />With the acceptance of these awards, are some rules, which are to then nominate at least 5-7 other people for these awards. Because this is more of a 'public' blog, not a personal one, I hope you don't mind if I don't do that here ... instead I will try to continue to highlight some great blogs regularly that have some great finished items on display :)<br /><br /><br />Thanks again ladies, though, for the lovely awards - the feedback we get every now and then makes it feel worthwhile :)<br /><br /><br />And on that note I will walk away from the blog tonight, after spending the entire day working on its contents. I've copied so many posts over they've started making me complete a word verification after every post, so I think it's time to call it a night (apart from the fact my eyes are now getting blurry - I guess that means no stitching for me tonight LOL).<br /><br />Kind regards,<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="border: medium none ; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" /></a>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-73384812134284576222008-09-14T11:03:00.002+10:002008-09-14T11:55:56.181+10:00Welcome to Focus on Finishing!<p>Welcome to the new-look Focus on Finishing blog!</p> <p>This blog was originally set up in Wordpress, but posed a difficulty for stitchers and tutors wanting to contribute, as the Blogger platform is more commonly used than WP. Some pages, however, will remain within the original Wordpress blog, as they are maintained by me and WP is my preferred platform.</p><p>This blog was created as a resource both for stitchers who already enjoy finishing their own stitching creatively and want to develop and share their skills and also for those stitchers who would love to do so but don't know where to start.<br /></p><p>It aims to be a place where you can learn new techniques, receive and give finishing help and advice and share pictures of your finished items with everyone.<br /></p><p>It also aims to provide a centralised information resource of finishing techniques, with pages dedicated to both <a href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/useful-links/" target="_blank" mce_href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/useful-links/">tutorial links</a> and <a href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/sources-of-inspiration/" target="_blank" mce_href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/sources-of-inspiration/">links to websites/online albums</a> for inspiration.</p> <p>We hope to continue to organise regular finishing classes where people can learn specific finishing techniques. All tutors who put together the tutorials do so on a voluntary basis, and I am indebted to their assistance in keeping this blog active by continuing to provide some high quality and wonderful tutorials for us all to enjoy and learn from. More information can be found on the <a href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/fal-schedule/" target="_blank" mce_href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/fal-schedule/">Class/FAL schedule page</a>.</p><p>When the blog first started back in February 2007 we tried to have regular FALs (Finish-A-Longs), where we set aside a certain time every week or month to finish up some of those stitched-but-not-yet-finished projects using any method. Unfortunately, there were no takers, so this was cancelled. If enough people would like to have a weekend set aside for finishing, I am happy to start the ball rollling once again.<a href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/fal-schedule/" target="_blank" mce_href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/fal-schedule/"></a></p> <p style="font-weight: bold;">If you wish to contribute to this blog as a poster rather than just a commenter, please email me (<a href="mailto:shakatak@iinet.net.au" target="_blank" mce_href="mailto:shakatak@iinet.net.au">Anne</a>) with your details (including the email address you use for Blogger posts) - I will then add you as a contributor so you can post your finished piccies etc.</p> <p>When you post to the blog, please assign one or more relevant labels to your post. It is preferred the label should describe the type of finishing method you have used (eg Pinkeep, Bookmark, Biscornu, etc), and any personal details you wish to add. This means that all the posts will be searchable by category, thus making it easy to find all posts on the same subject. If there isn't a label available that is relevant to your post, feel free to create one. Please note that labels may be edited to ensure consistency and categories may be added to posts where necessary.</p><p>We would LOVE to see any finished items published to the blog where you have used our tutorials - this is a great motivation for other stitchers, as well as for the tutors that have taken their time to prepare their tutorials for your use.</p><p>Welcome again to the Focus on Finishing blog - I hope you enjoy your time here!</p><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/290/EC676FE312405438C99A6329270E9BE4.png" style="border: medium none ; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" /></a>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-29086073747361559222008-08-17T14:31:00.001+10:002008-09-14T14:38:29.723+10:00A Needle Case for your needle packetsWho doesn't need a special something to hold their needle packets? Since I use a lot of different types of needles in my embroidery, I like to keep them in their packets. I've made a needle case to organize my packets that will help me find the needles I need easily.<br /><br />To make the needle case, you'll need:<br /><ul><li>your finished embroidery, 12 inches long by 6 inches wide</li><li>light weight cotton for the lining, 27 inches long by 6 inches wide</li><li>#12 perle cotton</li><li>a small length of ribbon</li><li>2 pieces of skirtex or light weight cardboard, 5-1/2 inches by 5 inches each</li><li>a hot iron<br /></li></ul>I stitched a stumpwork design for my needle case but the finishing instructions will work for surface and counted embroidery, including cross stitch and crazy quilting.<br /><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/p81400481.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-468 aligncenter" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/08/p81400481.jpg?w=225" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/needlecase-finishing-instructions1.pdf">Click here for the needle case instructions (pdf)</a><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">I hope you will enjoy making your own needle case and will find this tutorial useful. If you have any questions or need clarification on any of the steps, leave a comment here and I will try to answer in this section for everyone's benefit.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Tutor = Celeste<br /></p>Anne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-39560884131185768882008-07-13T15:13:00.001+10:002008-09-14T15:18:28.965+10:00Strawberry Fob Finishing Class<div style="text-align: center;"><a title="Summer Quaker Strawberry for Amy in SC by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/667050338/"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1229/667050338_073fd75564.jpg" alt="Summer Quaker Strawberry for Amy in SC" width="500" height="383" /></a><br /></div><br />Hello all,<br /><br />I'm running a bit late this month but have finally cobbled together some photos and text for Strawberry fob finishing.<br /><br />First gather your equipment...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="first gather your equipment by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2662243731/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2662243731_4ed0b66894_m.jpg" alt="first gather your equipment" width="180" height="240" /></a><br /></div><br />For this project you will need:<br /><ul><br /> <li>Stitched project - some suggestions: Prairie Schooler chart 100 - <a href="http://www.prairieschooler.com/books/bk100.htm">American Strawberries</a> & chart 101- <a href="http://www.prairieschooler.com/books/bk101.htm">Prairie Strawberries</a> (used for this tutorial), <a href="http://anitalittlestitches.blogspot.com/">Anita's little Stitches designs</a>, Blackbird Designs - there is a strawberry fob in the Secret Garden pattern (OOP) from the <a href="http://www.dashdist.com/blackbird/loosefeathersclub/2006/loosefeather.htm">Loose Feathers series of 2006</a> and a Blackbird Designs also designed a fabulous quaker strawberry for the 2006 Annual Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments issue (I'm sure this one is still available).</li><br /> <li>Interfacing</li><br /> <li>Ribbon, felt</li><br /> <li>Stuffing</li><br /> <li>Scissors, needle, thread, pins.</li><br /> <li>Iron</li><br /></ul>And you can see in this photo, I also made sure I had a cup of tea to work with.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="Iron on the interfacing on the reverse side of your stitching by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2662243881/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3085/2662243881_d872c9c717.jpg" alt="Iron on the interfacing on the reverse side of your stitching" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>Take your stitched piece and iron a piece of interfacing to the reverse of the stitching.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="pin the template on and cut around by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2662244041/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3197/2662244041_9e878969ee.jpg" alt="pin the template on and cut around" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>Make a semi-circle template, pin to the stitching and cut around. You can see I have mucked up centering this up with the "quiltish" strawberry above - this is not really a problem for this finishing technique.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="fold and finger press the straight seam by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2663070260/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3204/2663070260_e22e505487.jpg" alt="fold and finger press the straight seam" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>Next, finger-press a small seam along the straight edge. Make this seam as close to the stitching as possible.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="use a ladder stitch to join the straight seams by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2662244417/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3180/2662244417_e9bcdf6559.jpg" alt="use a ladder stitch to join the straight seams" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>Fold the semi-circle to form a cone (see above). Stitch the straight seams together. I like to use a <a href="http://www.embroiderersguild.com/stitch/stitches/ladder.html">ladder stitch</a> to do this, but you can use a sewing machine if you wish (I find it is easier to do this by hand).<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="you might be able to make out the ladder stitch from this photo by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2663070786/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3018/2663070786_54b132b1c3.jpg" alt="you might be able to make out the ladder stitch from this photo" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>I kinda hoped you'd be able to see the ladder stitch in this photo. If you pull it nice and tight it disappears into the seam. I'm pretty pleased with the join for this strawberry.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="run a gathering stitch around the edge of the cone shape by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2663070944/"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/2663070944_cb41b901d5_m.jpg" alt="run a gathering stitch around the edge of the cone shape" width="240" height="180" /></a><br /></div>If you used the ladder stitch to join the seam, secure the thread and then run a gathering stitch around the top of the cone around 1/2 an inch from the top.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="add stuffing and pull the running stitch gather. by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2662245087/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3131/2662245087_5e3e372685.jpg" alt="add stuffing and pull the running stitch gather." width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>Draw the gathers together a little and stuff your strawberry - I've used hobbyfill.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="gathering the top of the strawberry by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2663071246/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3148/2663071246_264b60a7ef.jpg" alt="gathering the top of the strawberry" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>Draw the gathers tighter and run a few stitches across the "opening" and pull these tight to secure your thread. You can insert a hanger at this point if you wish, stitch through it as you secure your thread.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="Top of the strawberry with felt cap in place, tacked down. by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2662245501/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/2662245501_9c7d9f164a.jpg" alt="Top of the strawberry with felt cap in place, tacked down." width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>For my first strawberry, I've attached a felt cap. I cut the felt out using the template in the pattern (Prairie Schooler pattern 101: Prairie Strawberries) and tacked it to the strawberry.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="sewind down the felt cap by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2663071688/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/2663071688_5a0483b3f8.jpg" alt="sewind down the felt cap" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>Next, I stitched around the felt using a buttonhole stitch - making sure I caught the linen beneath. Then I attached the second felt star (template from the prairie schooler pattern) using buttonhole stitch.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="felt wool cap all complete by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2662245893/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2662245893_c4dde1d490.jpg" alt="felt wool cap all complete" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>Attach a hanger to the top. I made a loop of ribbon and secured with tiny tacking stitches and slipped a bead over the ribbon to hide the stitches.<br /><br />Another pretty way to finish the strawberry is to tie ribbons around the hanger - I learned this technique from Janie Hubble from The Cat's Whiskers Design Studio at a class last year.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="attaching hanger and first ribbon bow for a ribbon capped strawberry by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2663072010/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/2663072010_ca4ff9b9b1.jpg" alt="attaching hanger and first ribbon bow for a ribbon capped strawberry" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>Here's the other design I stitched from Prairie Strawberries by Prairie Schooler. You can see in the photo I have gathered the top and inserted the hanger. I've cut a length of ribbon and tied it in a bow around the hanger. Just keep tying bows around the hanger - pushing them down towards the strawberry. Have them facing in different directions.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="ribbon cap all done by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2662246123/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3209/2662246123_93a1b129bd.jpg" alt="ribbon cap all done" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>When you are satisfied with the ribbons, trim the ends and you are done.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="The completed strawberries out in my little garden by Cathymk, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathymk/2662246371/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3062/2662246371_f102c0217f.jpg" alt="The completed strawberries out in my little garden" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /></div>Here are the two finished strawberries. I love them! - So cute!<br />I hope you will enjoy making your own strawberries too and will find this tutorial useful.<br />Cathy.<br /><br />Tutor = CathyMKAnne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-30767994112102317662008-05-16T15:19:00.000+10:002008-09-14T15:23:31.995+10:00Treat Bag ClassHere is the wonderful Treat Bag Tutorial put together by Celeste - I think you'll all agree that it's a real stunner, and the instructions put together are superb!<br /><br />Due to the difficulties of learning to use the Wordpress platform, and to allow us to get this published on time, this tutorial has been prepared in a .pdf format. Hopefully I can work out myself how to get this file attached here so you can download it! ;)<br /><br />As always, please feel free to leave any questions and/or feedback in the comments section of this post.<br /><br />Enjoy! :)<br /><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/needlelace-rose-bag1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-457" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/needlelace-rose-bag1.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="600" /></a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/treat-bag-finishing-instructions.pdf" target="_blank">Treat Bag Tutorial instructions are here (please click for .pdf).</a><br /></div><br />Tutor = CelesteAnne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-54843400581193579922008-05-03T15:23:00.000+10:002008-09-14T15:30:10.124+10:00Tuck Pillow - ClassWelcome to our tuck pillow tutorial.<br /><br />This tutorial will be for a 7" flat door hanger tuck pillow but you can make yours any size you like. Smaller tuck pillows are good for Christmas ornaments. To recap, following is a list of what you need to make the pillow.<br /><ul style="margin-top: 0pt;" type="disc"><br /> <li class="MsoNormal">your stitched piece</li><br /> <li class="MsoNormal">main fabric for pillow - a fat quarter will be plenty</li><br /> <li class="MsoNormal">neutral fabric for back of opening - a scrap piece the size of your pillow. <em>I use calico/quilters muslin/homespun or whatever it’s called in your country.</em></li><br /> <li class="MsoNormal">fusible fleece wadding - the width of your pillow. <em>I use fusible fleece on my pillows as I prefer the finish it gives to the back of the pillow. You can, of course, use any batting you prefer. Something not too thick is best.</em></li><br /> <li class="MsoNormal">cord for hanging</li><br /> <li class="MsoNormal">sewing machine</li><br /> <li class="MsoNormal">thread</li><br /></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;"> </p>Cut 1 piece of main fabric 7½” by 7½" for the back<br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">Cut 1 piece of neutral fabric the same size</p>Cut 1 piece of fusible fleece the same size<br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">Cut 4 strips of main fabric 7½” by 2½"</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-426" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-1.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p><br /><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0pt;">Fuse the fleece onto the wrong side of the main fabric piece - this piece will form the back of the pillow. I always use a pressing cloth for this step. If you are using a non-fusible batting, pin the batting to the wrong side of the main fabric piece & sew using a ¼” seam. Now treat this piece as one.<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tutorial-2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-427" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-2.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">Fold the 4 strips of main fabric lengthwise, wrong sides together. Press.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tutorial-31.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-442" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-31.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="246" /></a></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">Place 2 of the strips onto the top and bottom of the right side of the back pillow piece, raw edges together (the folded edge will be in the middle) & pin.<br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tutorial-4.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-444" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-4.jpg?w=289" alt="" width="289" height="300" /></a></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">Place the other 2 strips on the sides of the right side of the main piece & pin. Do not sew yet!<br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tutorial-5.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-445" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-5.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="296" /></a></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">At this time, you will add your hanger. First of all you need to ascertain which edge is the top of your pillow (this is only crucial if your pillow is rectangular or the fabric strips/main fabric have a one way design). Pin your cording piece between the strips and the main fabric piece making sure the cording loop is in the middle of the pillow, NOT poking out through the seam - the ends WILL be poking out of the seam and will be trimmed later (see pic for clarification).<br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tutorial-6.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-446" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-6.jpg?w=226" alt="" width="226" height="300" /></a></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">Now sew all these pieces together using a ¼” seam. To ensure the cording stays put, you can backstitch over this part or sew that part of the seam again to reinforce it.<br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tutorial-6a.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-447" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-6a.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">Place the neutral fabric and main pillow piece right sides together with the strips sandwiched in the middle and pin.<br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tutorial-7.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-448" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-7.jpg?w=295" alt="" width="295" height="300" /></a></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">Now sew these seams using a ¼” seam, leaving an opening for turning. Trim the seams, corners & cording.<br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tutorial-8.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-449" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-8.jpg?w=291" alt="" width="291" height="300" /></a></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">Now turn the pillow right side out and VOILA, your very own tuck pillow!</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tutorial-9.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-450" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-9.jpg?w=259" alt="" width="259" height="300" /></a></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">You may, if you wish, whip stitch the opening (which will now be situated inside the pillow) closed. However, I usually just leave it as no one can see it. Give the pillow a good press to make it nice and flat.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;"> </p>Now you can add your finished cross-stitch piece which, hopefully, will fit into the opening. You can secure it with buttons at the corners or just leave it. I find that the stitched piece doesn’t move much unless the cat gets at it & gives it a bat!<br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://focusonfinishing.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tutorial-10.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-451" src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/05/tutorial-10.jpg?w=203" alt="" width="203" height="300" /></a></p><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;"><strong>Calculating other sizes of pillows</strong></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">To calculate a different pillow size, all you need to do is measure your finished cross stitch piece and add 1<span>½</span>” to all sides. That measurement will be your main fabric and batting size and strip length. The width of the strips will be 2½”.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">Keep in mind that the larger you make your pillow, the wider the strips should be. This, in turn, will also affect the size of the opening so double check that your stitched piece will fit!</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;"> </p>Tutor = AlisonCAnne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-79911931557317299642008-04-26T15:30:00.000+10:002008-09-14T15:32:24.101+10:00Tuck Pillow - Class - Materials ListNext weekend will be our tutorial on making tuck pillows. Tuck pillows are very versatile. They can be stuffed like a pillow or left flat. They can be used for Christmas ornaments and hung on a tree, or used as a door hanger. This tuck pillow tutorial will be for a flat door hanger about 7" square. Instructions to calculate other sizes will be included in the tutorial.<br /><br />You will need:<br /> <ul><li>Your stitched piece (duh!)</li><br /> <li>Fabric for your pillow - a fat quarter should be plenty unless you're making something bigger than 9"</li><br /> <li>Scrap of neutral fabric for the back of the opening - calico, muslin, homespun</li><br /> <li>Fusible fleece wadding - same size as your pillow. You can use a non-fusible batting if you prefer. Something not too thick is best.</li><br /> <li>Cord for hanging</li><br /> <li>Sewing Machine</li><br /> <li>Thread/scissors etc</li></ul>I'll be back next weekend with the tutorial!<br /><br />Tutor = AlisonCAnne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-12298295835499139702008-03-21T15:32:00.000+11:002008-09-14T15:36:56.514+10:00Book Cover - ClassHello everyone! I hope you've got the items ready. Here's a recap:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0416.jpg" alt="img_0416.jpg" /><br /></div><br />You will need the following items:<br /><ol><li>A stitched piece, size ½” to 1” allowance around the front of your book or a part of it if you prefer.</li><li>Some coordinating fabric for the side, back and inside flap of the book.</li><li>Muslin or calico for the backing</li><li>Book to cover ;)</li><li>Matching sewing threads</li><li>Ribbons to tie (optional)</li></ol>Instructions for a particular step will be at the bottom of the picture (if any).<br /><br /><strong>Step 1 </strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0419.jpg" alt="img_0419.jpg" /><br /></div><br />Determine the size of your stitched piece that will cover the book and pull one thread from each side of the stitched piece. This will help to ensure the lines that you machine sew are straight. The stitched piece can cover the front of the book or partially or cover the front and back of the book. It’s up to you. In my example the stitched piece covers the front of the book partially.<br /><br /><strong>Step 2</strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0423.jpg" alt="img_0423.jpg" /><br /></div><br />Measure and cut the length and width that you will need to cut from the co-coordinating fabric. Wrap from the left edge (where one thread was pulled) to the back of the book. Add necessary seam allowances on all sides. Machine sew the coordinating fabric and the stitched piece. Iron open the seam.<br /><br /><strong>Step 3</strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0424.jpg" alt="img_0424.jpg" /><br /></div><br />Cut 2 additional pieces of the coordinating fabric about ½ the width of your book, add necessary seam allowances. Machine sew one edge of both the flaps after measuring and ironing a double seam.<br /><br /><strong>Step 4</strong><br /><br />Cut the backing fabric the same size as the cover piece.<br /><br /><strong>Step 5</strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0428.jpg" alt="img_0428.jpg" /><br /></div><br />Sewing them all together. Lay the cover piece right sides up. Place the flaps, wrong side up on the both sides of the cover piece with the stitched edge towards the middle. Pin accordingly.<br /><br /><strong>Step 6<br /></strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0429.jpg" alt="img_0429.jpg" /><br /></div><br />Place the backing fabric wrong side up and again pin accordingly.<br /><br /><strong>Step 7<br /></strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0432a.jpg" alt="img_0432a.jpg" /><br /></div><br />Machine sew from the top of the back portion of covered piece, about and inch before the flap starts. Backstitch a couple of stitches to fasten the beginning. Proceed to sew up all 4 sides but leave about a 3” opening for turning. Again backstitch when you end.<br /><br /><strong>Step 8 </strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0436.jpg" alt="img_0436.jpg" /><br /></div><br />Trim all sides to 1/4" and cut the corners to reduce bulk.<br /><br /><strong>Step 9<br /></strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0434.jpg" alt="img_0434.jpg" /><br /></div><br />Turn the cover inside out. It’ll be a mess but nothing that cannot be ironed out :)<br /><br /><strong>Step 10<br /></strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0445.jpg" alt="img_0445.jpg" /><br /></div><br />Stitch by hand to close the opening with matching thread.<br /><br /><strong>Step 11</strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0437.jpg" alt="img_0437.jpg" /><br /></div><br />Give it a good ironing. Insert the book covers into the flap and there you have it your very own book cover! :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0439.jpg" alt="img_0439.jpg" /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/img_0442.jpg" alt="img_0442.jpg" /><br /></div><br /><strong>Optional embellishments:</strong><br /><ul><li>Add a piece each of rick-rack, lace or ribbon on the sewn edge of the book flaps</li><li>Add two long strips each of ribbon at mid point of the right and left edge of the book for a ribbon tie closure</li><li>Add a small loop of ribbon/cord on the front side edge of the book and a larger loop at the back. Slip the larger loop into the smaller loop creating a closure that you can wrap around your wrist</li><li>Add a ribbon/cord for bookmark where the opening was and stitch by hand or securely by machine.</li><li>And anything else you can think of!</li></ul><strong>Samples of book covers:</strong><br /> <ul><li><a href="http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2347656730087890218dgKEEf">Appliqued book cover with ribbon closure</a></li><br /> <li><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/16595083@N00/2334634260/">Patchwork book cover</a></li></ul>If you have any questions please feel free to comment here and I will answer them in the comment section itself so as to centralise the Q&A for everyone's benefit.<br /><br />Thank you all for joining our tutorial this weekend. Pictures are always welcomed :)<br /><br />Tutor = Barbara JAnne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9099500412583861407.post-74132553726465191072008-03-12T15:37:00.000+11:002008-09-14T15:39:14.581+10:00Needlebook ClassMaking a needlebook really isn't all that difficult. Here are my step-by-step instructions for making a needlebook:<br /><br /><strong>Materials Needed:</strong><br /><br />• Whatever you'll be using for your stitched piece. You choose the design, fabric, embellishments, etc. Stitched pieces should be approximately 3-4" square. If you want the back cover stitched, you'll have to take that into consideration also. Size is approximate. You can make it larger, smaller, rectangle, square, etc. It's up to you!<br /><br />• Coordinating cotton fabric of your choice. I've found that the quilt fats (18x22" fabric) are perfect. Or look in the odds and ends bin at the fabric stores to see if there's anything that might work. If you want pockets on the inside of your needlebook, you'll need two pieces of fabric. This is the fabric that will go on the inside of your needlebook, so the size depends on the size of your stitched piece, and whether or not you stitched a back cover.<br /><br />• Matching 1/4" ribbon. Shouldn't need much more than 14".<br /><br />• Flat quilt batting - again, the amount depends on size of needlebook. 1/4 yd. should do it.<br /><br />• Piece of coordinating felt. 5x8" piece should work.<br /><br />• Coordinating thread to sew it all together.<br /><br />• Scissors to cut fabric, batting, and felt.<br /><br />• Sewing Machine. You can sew it together by hand, but a machine makes it go faster and easier.<br /><br />• Iron<br /><br /><strong>Step One:</strong><br />Decide on what to stitch for your needlebook cover.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUkS_NnoJSjK1TT_iSrGk1rrRv3vhrW0lb9LKn8mWb-xVT1uBcx_mpsb8Slet1OlqXd7qNJf9gKE189dV5bk4taMb7RpbBJ5HRPxy5YjY9lWeZP2cw2iio8Hent9QfqsckJpmmeAGxlqU/s320/060307+Geisha+6.25Hrs.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJyV9gTzRlEOOSXw-3rn9UzAUAROZO6AOzMw7ov3v5OmZoHaA5-MsaFht-Rj1hFKdya5rg4pJq2CZEM2MWIIM0_jgoq4hkHRXckXvFY2-_S4O4OEATVZvpN9uYMdFy_9gwEGXqzEiFBA/s1600-h/060307+Geisha+6.25Hrs.jpg"></a><br /><strong>Step Two:</strong><br />Choose coordinating fabrics for the back cover and inside cover. Cut the back cover the same size as the front cover. Cut the inside cover the same height as the front/back cover, and twice as wide minus 1/2". Cut the quilt batting the same size as the inside cover (Quilt batting not shown in pic). Press all the pieces with an iron, except for batting.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkdt1X7eTCMMGYAF07YKKA5dkYSBqQ7S9R-Uz_jA7keeeMwqY08piv2mULpCUxVTy5LXMNP6Z89P21NfyZofp7DWZgtqkleqJxfL2JvXZrE39qSFqKVPgtiXh8jybp509zACorb2OWwM/s320/Step+2-Labeled.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><strong>Step Three:</strong><br />Take front cover and back cover and place right sides together. Stitch right hand side with 1/4" seam allowance.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjehx2okLdLmoilr_vth2y7SJ3MJtR6mivSus3IWS9Qv1Bqzi_T87iL2GjNvLILhMlViY3n-MoW6losE96dYuEz470zoVT1h_If8Sl447A1cYAMRgB1VDOKtXnDIjkBf9PYYCoRSGX6pDQ/s320/Step+3-Labeled.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnAMKvk4bjX6xImVdc-IfPMBPQmKjzRgj6_mPMIGza3S3A6Qibz73enRlfjkb-f4DwZTERd55QUT_x4uPm0E6Izy4lnQVHt9rhW3pGGygwnk-7LXOB2Ybv6Sts5hbtKuw6otQ9Qu2A3Tw/s320/Step+3a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6paoVEYxzdCsPhjlerEv3jSial04-JissegF4Yxw0bxzvWnWV6t8fQuFT4ErHrX9KWDB9FGG9_p8H-TAZBi9z_-7gHVz6_6HOyta3DE3NhBGIqab3Z6e2o4na8jUGwateXzyzADFnm5A/s320/Step+3b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5I4Cq1x4aP7kYM63pryUTWim-KAVRCP6wjfC3ALebA3447hLvMKxf8BMu8ooc5iavQoPSvGPKu90i0DRidJR88acZIrY9E749eiwtMLgv4aOa67804nCOTgNMi2Td4ZaVtgR4_xJbCU/s320/Step+3c.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><strong>Step 4:</strong><br />Press seam open.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOFIRW_PYzfbtJM2Gr1kkHXMT5i9zeVq4KkMSRSsTHITF6PYqyvovMIrZtALmHdh-kINKyHJx5OEuefrNA4tt2QSviLJ30GsQ7KwIeFwoWWRRU7GgH3FEnODJSTGqwfs0F3dchVCTSiQ/s320/Step+4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh3BRmzSqwfMgVXjlMYVYwb9FLfGt70trMntOL7jZwhCy2p7TOkBv4sn0Xy9TIAEssv0Pr4q_Az28gr6o3QeKQMxeilkWaOHScCC-31r5mjhchJoOi01CHX-hHNuDOp8GcOmJF3VK3AhM/s320/Step+4a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2LurCaS33CP5NPL7O5O8PwP2X-S6GuzJbH3EhWCGrdO0-CMMUOc36D5hkshW2DcRO6ztM9GwG2XneD5Z8qUzyH4trcAGD9s5SgRpPlUfB6YqXiJsNybdfYmUI_O4xPP3dBXzZDDkBPc/s320/Step+4b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><strong>Step Five:</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7Fe1HNorGwwe0vOMgM-Vzt_qAm9ku3gHYkfaUI-41f-sk6LRCuG94u7M3r4088zIezQdJOEIxiFQq-MKbV9oO2Wg5UJ0zg0kVA8AOEVBzT_TuUUPZ9yiw0ggzZKG9KUpdhj6S4j0oRo/s1600-h/Step+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 25px 10px 0pt; float: left;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7Fe1HNorGwwe0vOMgM-Vzt_qAm9ku3gHYkfaUI-41f-sk6LRCuG94u7M3r4088zIezQdJOEIxiFQq-MKbV9oO2Wg5UJ0zg0kVA8AOEVBzT_TuUUPZ9yiw0ggzZKG9KUpdhj6S4j0oRo/s200/Step+5.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Here's where the fun part starts! Assemble your pieces. Front/Back Cover, Inside Cover, Batting, Ribbon.<br /><br />Note: If you want to put pockets inside your needlebook, you will have to cut a piece of fabric the same width as the Inside Cover, and 2/3 the height PLUS 1/2". Fold 1/2" to the wrong side of the fabric, along the LONG edge. Press flat with iron. On the same long side of fabric, stitch a seam 1/4" from folded over edge. Place Pocket with right side down on table. Place Inside Cover on top with right side down, matching bottom edges. Make 1/4" seam on each short edge. The drawing shows what it should look like with the right side facing you. (There are no pics because I didn't put pockets in this one).<br /><br />Take your Inside Cover and place it right side down on table. Place batting on top. Set aside.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVIjTFcTgz0xgng45SzGi-i0QQQfS8orKIrF-Go0GFplAvtfRO4CAhFchFQsR6nCfqF5iqgACLibXeR0XYOPtT9ckfMK9rNMM0HJmSkxND2eBh2WgxVGGGXJ_61-PWddekqszjH7Tkc2s/s320/Step+5aa.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAoZsUnUYlOYAYFo0sxY9BfhtXi2qe52FOsVaEFfPuaovAdtOBTeEV51t8sqoEkvqel6Sv9vjWWlURZd30VVQe4PJACJxR6EGPMWQvpJs2HZ-04sABOe1_cnrGaDKhwx6Nd6E3aYQ6i-4/s320/Step+5a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br />Place your Front/Back Cover right side up (stitching facing you). Cut two pieces of ribbon 6-8" each. Place ribbon on right and left side of cover. You may want to (temporarily) pin the ribbon in place. There are no pics of this part because I forgot (!!!) to put my ribbon on and had to improvise. However, I have relied on my artistic talents to draw a diagram.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJ-zfqeSK_HgX_VkL8eYk0Pc8bNEHIAUdSLELN7zksPuHdItS3QXey7fsN_Ed0V8ezotCHqYlmuPaLBYsCdg_50eN8qBQgOXW92RkY4BlOV4hSK663ptoMOVIKme9sevMVesKy21vUOc/s320/Step+5ab.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br />Place the Inside Cover/Batting on top of the Front/Back Cover and Ribbon. You may want to pin all three layers together to make sewing it together easier.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0psIJ9o5D4ZcNBNfEzX-iuafXMgVPg-Lidp9-lRtO_R-hErgNLeiOv_msrRCA8fmKt2K1e5isoAZSxW9Qu1-ZWbfs1rO58gb_t-G1IbmAEH-1v3kT3KZ45zNaiIrp5bwldD0x9XuYHVY/s320/Step+5b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6p2EyPJxEi6lecS0B0h_7yKJE2VrnSzzxChk451EJ5VT7zjrcp2vzNfi1Avn93rkTI2wM3Ex6ipWB2WDmPLqhx7BLzdUg1oQdc-aOC5j2LN4ZjyeP5dDvUpjjM8Ku9WPWfnnXvHMrLA/s320/Step+5c.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br />You will want to leave a 3" opening at the bottom of your needlebook so that you can turn it inside out. Notice where I started my seam?<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBXPNB2YuueFGOIBz43TTsOXUXCvsZrCIRKuyTAh-N7Klr3zqArQYIrpprf7wX0HpAig4RayEGy6snFj17odnHmnqJipaKb8gxOIcR68sPUao_tlhrGc15dy0W5SEASkHCGlu9k7AAvA/s320/Step+5d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br />Stitch 1/4" seam all the way around the edge of the needlebook, stopping about 3" from where you started. Notice where I stopped?<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYTisI31xDIWV9hyphenhyphenaSHC_D81oK6Shfjk5wMOOOhGeit2Lq5DhhLlmzq-rv_l9EPfzjiO__1HqlLDw8ORrRhuTZxvZ5TU-L2QUDae-bl9qvLwbFnl8lnXHqdIe-esfAnq-S772Aq01ZpP0/s320/Step+5e.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br />Once the sewing is done, you can remove the pins. This is what your needlebook should look like once you've sewed the outside seams.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPB9AAKAf0Pytul6G1RuZB0UOfH0lc8-bFBPZ6iUV7ZNI2uo3A-Ew9JP-AjOpuDlZEsI5gKEoRFi7fvwm95aUkHFxY-UwaCnx2rh2NuULIBXaoItSE6sGsz7cITz00GUnBsESVvLdCsE/s320/Step+5f.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br />Trim the batting close to the seam. Be careful not to cut the fabric. Once you've trimmed the batting, cut the corners at an angle. This is what it should look like.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMSLsEwix3RDE0u53sL85I1y5pdidU5vORSfZnnPrT0ET-edCeu9TJsezIuC8smtuJrAlstI48bnXdxkv52skjaQqnUuwC920DelR9WE2N1oU-X_bNViMmiX8Ikbzph95pnLSKoxGj80/s320/Step+5h.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><strong>Step Six:</strong><br />Carefully turn your project inside out. Your Front/Back Cover, Inside Cover, and Ribbons should be on the outside. The batting should be on the inside. To help get your corners "pointy", use a slim object to push them out. I used a wood skewer. You can also use a knitting needle, crochet hook, pen with a cap on. Be careful not to poke the object through the fabric.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGiGTPIaGeLB2dmUgsP3hap5KcMWN9fQKKDf-tgSOAKZV_BTt43knTLXIPCQkc3NE6-ON-Ch0dapTKNfHOT81IR33JXwjUsm-e84R1YQI2ltwXoDueEujzYrfEBfJTHo8trzfSuLpuj68/s320/Step+6.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1q6FUOgalmcyr32LtHxpARfbs3EFI3jelNAdwtHkTZq4TmUS4obEHlMPWIj2BKub_d4tUzRsZwkVeYFDy12QhMrcpRZz2wxzujRaE48x14bQGoBNS8wH3eQc1okjkt2Q17ou_fiMESXU/s320/Step+6a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br />Using the iron, press the front and back of your needlebook. You will have to tuck in the fabric where the opening is at the bottom of your needlebook.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-J-9GkzseSRzhf52NPOF3hizT9On80Wu0ik_uBFSCI_J9KENLklTFt6XRzo5A-1M3r1KIMyIhF0Jvv6h_zNvJ3L04fd-VjSsJz2pNW0c2d-yn5RJxcMmlHb4As3EucQYkhiDYAIeIxnk/s320/Step+6b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><strong>Step Seven:</strong><br />Take needle and thread to sew the opening closed. Press both sides of your needlebook again.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5msHkYyY8SGm8Ph7W_BxWW47sa_q35O4p1deAXVBAw6kC-XYz7SM4PgQ0yom6j0i7jSGCYXEUauVBMF8stWYp4qv-TUgEUjGZYbG7PndKdC5zmkgTw5OsG3Ysn5u_IE9YOzEufIshGZA/s320/Step+7.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUr_2eQS0S6Fhw-ZcknINISXBXCBLjYcsgxwvWTZ6fYr5mzFAnM0cYifai86vLiN_FQyXCywlmm1VhBDfUN_A3dwAwALyEKKDa-I5NAaaeFPE9oE8-TMEyxi5ZAZGj4SaSDnB_YbfZzMU/s320/Step+7a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><strong>Step Eight:</strong><br />Cut felt 1/4" smaller than the inside of your needlebook. One piece of felt will make 2 pages. If you wish to have 4 pages, cut 2 pieces of felt. I personally wouldn't do more than 4 pages as it would make the needlebook pretty bulky. <em>Optional:</em> I used pinking shears to cut the edges of the felt.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvxpqhsos8Z3U_pTLMDYyQhgt-QrdQJdc6utGwTD9gPAnSQK4A5pgBbt5DNJAamofCYdPN7YNmwo59gFyg0dynltymHhOqxoXW_jgvoTUhJnbBTiPDS-PIBISvYVQ-f_i7VuzmwYAwfSI/s320/Step+8.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br />Place felt in the center of the needlebook. Use pins to hold it in place.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicQgJNNgX8TZZGFTBOPNcvAksPoNJ77HVQePUxjLlPjgp1zOxJBOiNi6-GNZT66-J1Z4NLSaakx1ssHua6fhi9wZRVaIN09sR5uzdVXbQGr4aVmvtbAkIOqhXyEXAvro90B6jR2xvuURg/s320/Step+8a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnlYsLop73xphm_NspoS9SBPZWVrtlwafNTuN92pGqf5_-eZit-savvtfQG9nxeagy3pJB4W286VBvZoG3zK6d7OMxbhOsZG4UZcXINISspF6dtXd3QmoplG8Uh0EBJEtLvTBfql9tSQ/s320/Step+8b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br />Place needlebook on sewing machine with felt side down and Front/Back Cover facing up. Stitch a line where the front and back covers are seamed together.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7srlYv47u98JrAfhFzR6Ux7hyP1Ow1N2Ktyw974Lw-eE6exXO_9Bn50WPulbXSXHlpC18jTHItGDhDNCi9tHu5HgdpHS7KOcRQHyOhINxaMBMyW9XpWANzc6sQc__ETSSZEz8ca6Tf_I/s320/Step+8d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br />This is what it should look like when the felt page(s) are stitched in.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoA7i68y410DIr3qj3w-vvhH4r0UcoloIOTTGK_nS5u-OCX4bgxGNrUNKndi1i49zcDOV2blaoQHB3U1fa8gu6nRL7j3-EGrTaDcRpHP6df_huMvjs3iVEAK0AQ1UnrpMTQvRlHaNRJw/s320/Step+8e.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br />I hand-sewed on the gold cording to match the closure. Tie the ribbon and viola, you have a finished needlebook!<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-O3KPjFdLDrhs8VKUUeF0voFUB0ZJAM2eLURNNl1ovH7KfvkxMKvw4i3HMVtEj1UItAhUmcE70iz5FE0dyAKTrOLzwOEP4DFl7kYYXaRRDsIc9LE9sNbfL0zc14doFuaEK0JR7403rg4/s320/061007+Geisha+Needlebook+6.25Hrs.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtoaNUsqthRXitl40Wh84dnXEwnX7MyXayFkrhftGRUBxgM51UIQA5_HhT9lKULig_yyhbTKteXPWD3ULzRwBkIwlIKkKZW9NNHXvtZUFKWtGYMjNlg5usSOrthHZ1S7XArFRLBcYLw4/s320/061007+Geisha+Needlebook-Inside+6.25Hrs.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img style="margin: 0pt auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1Dh_bDFbeDDiUkibgmEqe167DG2-ixLHY3cmTOOZJfuhY93jbVPoAZ4D7cM1mm8Id8886qygDuk6d8zV6adGRhgZrmnDCkjoBCeSHyKbTZrMLhf-VOjB5fuRxltqHAcQagu6p5V_Yhs/s320/061007+Geisha+Needlebook-Beads+6.25Hrs.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><br />Here are other needlebooks I've made:<br /><a title="Je Brode/I Embroider" href="http://meari.multiply.com/photos/album/36/Finishes_2007#6" target="_blank">Je Brode/I Embroider</a><br /><a title="Friendship Grows" href="http://meari.multiply.com/photos/album/36/Finishes_2007#11" target="_blank">Friendship Grows</a><br /><br />Here are needlebooks created from my tutorial: <a title="More Needlebooks" href="http://meari.multiply.com/photos/album/67/Needlebook_Class" target="_blank">More Needlebooks</a><br /><br />If you have any questions, feel free to email me at mearitaira@yahoo.com.<br /><br />Tutor = MeariAnne Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10690824664591296103noreply@blogger.com2