Placemats To Go

I am very excited to be sharing another tutorial with all of you. I know it has been a while since my last tutorial here on the Moda Bake Shop. You can check out all my MBS Tutorials here.  When we go to resturants, sit down and fast food, my kids are always on the hunt for the coloring sheets and crayons. Some places have them and others don’t. So, I decided to come up with a quick and easy roll up and go style placemat that can easily be cleaned from any kind of kid art whether it is from chalk or food. I hope you enjoy and be sure to check out my blog for a Giveaway. 

1 Jelly Roll – featured Half Moon Modern
1 yard Chalkboard Vinyl Cloth
2 1/2 yards of Fusible Interfacing
28″ of Grosgrain Ribbon for each placemat (5 1/2 yards for all 7 placemats)
6 sticks of Chalk for each placemat (42 sticks total)

1. Separate your Jelly Roll strips into 7 groups (6 strips per group). You can mix and match how ever you want.

2. Sew each group of 6 strips together and press seams in one direction.

3. Topstitch your seams.

4. Cut your new strip pieced fabric into the following…
1 – 18 1/2″ x 12 1/2″
1 – 6″ x 12 1/2″
5 – 2 1/2″ x 12 1/2″
Do this for all 7 groupings for each placemat.

Cut 7 pieces of Fusible Interfacing each one measuring 18 1/2″ x 12 1/2″
Iron each piece of interfacing to the wrong side of the strip pieced fabric measuring 18 1/2″ x 12 1/2″

5. Fold the piece that measures 6″ x 12 1/2″ in half lengthwise and press.

6. Topstitch the folded edge 1/8″ and 1/4″ from fold.

7. Stitch together 3 of the pieces that measure 2 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ end to end to make one long piece.

8. Cut the long strip into two pieces measuring 14 1/2″ each

9. From the Chalkboard Cloth, cut 7 pieces out measuring 8 1/2″ x 14 1/2″. Stitch the two 14 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ strips to the top and bottom of the chalkboard cloth with right sides together.

10. Topstitch with the seams going towards the strip fabric piece.

11. Stitch the 2 strips measuring 12 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ to the right and left of the chalk cloth and topstitch.

12. Lay the folded strip with the raw edges matching on one side of the placemat. This will be the pocket for the chalk pieces. Stitch 1/8″ around the raw edges only to hold into place.

13. Stitch along the seams of the pocket to create the individual pockets for the chalk. Be sure to backstitch at either end so your stitching does not come undone during use of the placemat.

14. Match the front and back pieces of the placemat right sides together. Pin in place.

15. Cut 2 pieces of ribbon 14″ long for each placemat. Place 2 pieces centered on the opposite side of the pocket. The ends of the ribbons should be on the inside of front and back pieces. Pin in place.

Stitch 1/4″ along all four sides of the placemat, securing the ends of the ribbon in place. Leave open a 4″ opening to flip the placemat right sides out. Flip right sides out.

16. Press only the fabric pieces. DO NOT IRON THE CHALK CLOTH. It will melt. Topstitch 1/8″ along all four sides to finish and close up the opening.

17. Draw on your placemat and wipe clean with a damp cloth. You could even cut up a small soft sponge to put into one of the little pockets instead of the chalk so you always have an eraser with you.

Roll up, tie and take with you wherever you go.

1 Jelly Roll will make a set of 7 Placemats.

Don’t forget to check my blog for a fantastic Giveaway!

Enjoy!
Angela Yosten
{www.angelayosten.com}
{blog.angelayosten.com}

I Spy Ten Little Things Quilt

My name is Katie Blakesley, and I blog at Swim, Bike, Quilt.  Today I am happy to share a simple, charm pack friendly I-Spy quilt using Jenn Ski’s new line Ten Little Things and Moda’s Half Moon Modern. Ten Little Things works wonderfully for an I-Spy Quilt—in this version, the owls, construction scenes, numbers, and geometric prints are supplemented by oval, scissors, and polka dot prints from Half Moon Modern.

2 or 3 charm packs

Solids jelly roll or assortment of ½ yard and ¼ yard Moda Bella solids as listed below:

½ yard blue solid (9900-138 Sea)
¼ yard red solid (9900-123 Betty’s Red)

¼  yard light blue solid (9900-84 Blue Raspberry)

¼ yard brown solid (9900-106 Earth)

¼ yard yellow solid (9900-131 Lemon)

¼ yard green solid (9900-192 Leaf)

¼ yard orange solid (9900-80 Orange)

2 3/4 yards OR 1 Ten Little Things Panel + 2 1/4 yards solid for backing

52’’ x 54’’ piece of batting
1/3 yard for binding

Cutting Instructions:
For sashing, cut (24) 2’’ x 9 ½’’ strips and (24) 2’’ x 17’’ strips total, as shown in chart below:

There are 42 charms in each Moda charm pack, you need 72 for this quilt. I used 2 Ten Little Things and 1 Half Moon Modern charm packs. Depending on how many charms you choose from each pack, you can make this quilt with 2 charm packs instead of 3.

Assembly Instructions:

1. Choose 72 charms, and divide charms into 12 piles of 6, paying attention to both color and pattern.

2. Arrange the first set of 6 charms in a 2×3 grid as shown; repeat with remaining 11 sets.

3. Using a 1/4” seam allowance, place the top 2 charms right sides together and sew; repeat with the middle 2 and bottom 2 charms.  Tip: Chain stitching the blocks will help you sew more quickly and keep the pairs organized and in the right order. Instead of cutting the thread in between sewing each pair, sew the blocks together in 1 long chain. I sewed all of my pairs together, and then cut them into groups of 3. 

4. Press the seams, alternating direction to allow the seams to lock.  Press the top and bottom row to the left, and the middle row to the right.

 
5. Place the top and middle rows right sides together, pin on either side of the seam, and sew. Next, place the bottom and middle rows right sides together, pin on either side of the seam and sew.  Press seams.  Repeat with the remaining 11 sets of 6 charms.

6. Choose sashing for each block, which now measures 9 ½” x 14”. In the sample quilt, there are 3 blue,  2 red, 2 light blue, 2 brown, 1 yellow, 1 green, and 1 orange sashed blocks.

7. Pin a 2’’ x 9 ½’’ strip to the top and bottom of each set of 6 charms and sew. Press seams.

8. Pin a 2’’ x 17’’ strip to the left and right side of each block and sew. Press seams. The block now measures 12 ½” x 17”.

9. Arrange the 12 blocks together in a 4 x 3 grid as shown.

10. Put the top and center row right sides together. Match seams, and pin on either side of each seam.  Sew rows together and press well.

11. Repeat with the center and bottom rows–match seams, and pin on either side of the seams. Sew rows together and press well. Admire your finished quilt top, which measures 48 1/2” x 50”.

12.  Piece the quilt back.  I chose to use a Ten Little Things panel and added a strip of leftover blue solid on the left side of the panel, a piece of light blue fabric on the right, and a strip of light blue along the bottom, so that the back measured about 54” x 54”.

13. Baste the quilt top, batting, and backing together.

14. Quilt as desired.  I used organic straight lines, and quilted 3 vertical lines in each of the vertical sashing pieces about a ¼’’ apart, and one vertical line in each of the rows of blocks.  I also quilted a ¼’’ above and below each piece of horizontal sashing, and various groups of 3 or 5 lines horizontally throughout the blocks. I find straight line quilting is more effective when the quilting is closer together; this pattern allowed for the look of organic straight line quilting while still ensuring the quilt will remain soft and snuggly.

15. Square the quilt and bind—I bound the quilt in my favorite coordinating solid using the same method as my machine binding tutorial.

Finished Quilt: 48 1/2” x 50” –the perfect size for a preschool aged child to curl up with!  This one is already on its way to Arkansas to a friend who could use a bit of extra love right now.
 

Finally, for more inspiration, here is a picture of a scrappy I-Spy quilt I completed last year, as well as a variation of this quilt– a simple layout that includes the I-Spy element with a more streamlined feel.

I hope you have as much fun making an I-Spy quilt as I did–if you make one, I’d love to see a picture of it in the Moda Bake Shop Flickr group.

Katie Blakesley
{Swim, Bike, Quilt}

Four Squared Quilt

Hello, again from northern Virginia!  I’m Polly from Aunt Polly’s Porch, with a fun and fast quilt just in time to put out for spring! I used the bright and graphic “Half Moon Modern” collection from Moda!

one jelly roll
one charm pack
2 yards coordinating solid fabric
4 yards backing
1/2 yard for binding
batting

From coordinating yardage, cut 19 strips 2 1/2” by width of fabric

Sub-cut 12 of those strips into 8 1/2” pieces (56 for quilt)

Sub-cut the remaining 7 strips into 4 1/2” pieces (56 for quilt)

Sort jelly roll strips into groups of 4 strips of different colors/values.

Sew the 4 strips together and press seams to one side or open, your choice!
Repeat this with all the groups of four strips.

Sub-cut each strip set into 2 1/2” pieces.

Mix up the pieces and sew 4 of these strips together to create a 16 patch block.
Repeat to make 28 of these 16 patch blocks.

Next, select 14 of the charm squares and trim them to 4  1/2” square.

Take the other charm squares and cut them in half.

Sort these 2  1/2” by 5” halves into pairs and sew them together on the long sides.
Don’t press the seams at this point!  Leave them closed!

Cut this unit in half.  Don’t press seams now, either!

Match up 2 of these half units mixing colors/values and sew together, making 28 four patches.

Make sure the seam allowances are flipped to different sides so that center seam lines up perfectly.
(This is why we didn’t press those seams earlier!)  Now we know which way to press those seams!!

Sew one 4  1/2” coordinating solid strip to opposite sides of the 4  1/2” charms squares,

and also to opposite sides of the four patches.  Press seams toward solid strips.

Next, sew one 8 1/2” strip to opposite sides of these units and press seams to solid strips.

Arrange blocks into 8 blocks across by 7 blocks down. 
Alternate 16 patch blocks by solid surround blocks.

Alternate the single center square blocks with the
four patch center blocks between the 16 patch blocks,
or place them completely randomly!

Sew the blocks together across each row, then sew the rows together.

Press the top well, then layer with your batting and backing!

Quilt as desired!  I free-motioned a simple meander all over!

From the binding fabric, cut six strips 2  1/2” by width of fabric.

Sew the strips together with your favorite method, then fold in half and press!

Sew the binding onto the front side of the quilt edges by machine,
then flip and sew down by hand.

Don’t forget the label!!  The quilt is all done!!

Now…what to do with the leftover blocks???

I have 12 leftover four patches and enough leftover white to
add the white surround to finish those blocks and 12 leftover
sixteen patch blocks!

You could make the above quilt larger if you wanted to,
but I decided to take eight of each block and using the
same alternating design,

make a long skinny quilt that can be used as a bed runner
or a table runner.  I had just enough of the backing green
and white print to put on the back of the runner, too.
And I used white scraps to bind it!

After that, I had 4 of each block left, so I again
used the same alternating design and sewed them
together make two 16″square  pillows.

I actually like the bed runner and pillows
using the back side, too!!

one luscious quilt,  65” by 57″

two 16″ square throw pillows

one 16″ by 80″ table or bed runner

Yogi and I can’t wait for you to come visit our blog!! 

Polly Monica
{auntpollysporch.blogspot.com}

Modern Squares Quilt

Modern Squares

Finished size is 52 x 36

Hello again everyone! My name is Amy and I am from Alliekatmom and I drew up this fun design to showcase the lovely new line Half Moon Modern!!

I will show you how to make each block and how I did the words on the back. You can get as creative as you would like with this quilt and should have plenty of extra fabric to make extra blocks if you want something a little larger.

Anyways, hope you enjoy this design and I would love to see how many ways you can use this design differently. Its so fun!

Half Moon Modern

One FQ bundle (*Plenty if you want to fussy cut like I did)

Sashing: 1 1/2 yard 32355 17 Orange/egg white background

Binding: 1/2 yard 32355 32 Gray background/white egg

Backing: 1 yard 32359 22 Blue butterfly, 1 yard 9900 24 yellow solid, 1 1/2 yard 32346 19 Green zig zag

Lightweight fusible web for the letters on the back.

If you plan to make more blocks you will have to make adjustments to the yardage accordingly.

This quilt consists of only 4 blocks. Here I will show you how to make each block.

Block One:

You will need to cut:

1 – 6.5″ square for the center

2 – 1.5″ by 6.5″ strips for the top and bottom

2 – 1.5″ by 8.5″ strips for the sides

Just sew the top and bottom pieces onto the center, press. Then sew the two side pieces on, press. Trim the block to 8.5″ square.

Make 4 more of these blocks.

Block Two:

You will need to cut:
1 – 2.5″ square for the center
2 – 1.5″ by 2.5″ strips for the top and bottom, inner border
2 – 1.5″ by 4.5″ strips for the sides, inner border
2 – 2.5″ by 4.5″ strips for the top and bottom, outer border

2 – 2.5″ by 8.5″ strips for the sides, outer border

Sew the top and bottom pieces onto the center, press. Then sew the two side pieces on, press. Sew the top and bottom pieces for the outer border, press. Then sew the side pieces to the outer border, press. Trim the block to 8.5″ square.

Make 4 more of these blocks.

Block 3:

You will need to cut:
1 – 4.25″ square for the center *see my directions for fussy cutting
2 – 2.75″ by 4.25″ strips for the top and bottom
2 – 2.75″ by 8.5″ strips for the sides

Fussy cutting the center…

When I did my fussy cutting, I took my ruler and put it on top of the butterfly, then made sure that I had equal space around the butterfly on each side and measured to 4.25″ square before cutting. This really makes the butterfly stand out in the quilt because it is not cut off and you can see the entire design.

My fussy cut butterfly center square.

Sew the top and bottom pieces onto the center, press. Then sew the two side pieces on, press. Trim the block to 8.5″ square.

Make 4 more of these blocks.

Block 4:

You will need to cut:

1 – 2.25″ square for the center *again, follow my directions for fussy cutting the center

2 – 2.5″ by 2.25″ strips for the top and bottom, inner border

2 – 2.5″ by 6.25″ strips for the sides, inner border

2 – 1.5″ by 6.25″ strips for the top and bottom, outer border
2 – 1.5″ by 8.5″ strips for the sides, outer border

Fussy cutting the center.

When fussy cutting the scissors for this pieces its a bit harder because you have a smaller block. You do it the same way, just lay your ruler on top and make sure you have about a quarter inch around the scissors on each side before you cut.

Your finished fussy cut square.

Sew the top and bottom pieces onto the center, press. Then sew the two side pieces on, press. Sew the top and bottom pieces for the outer border, press. Then sew the side pieces to the outer border, press. Trim the block to 8.5″ square.

Make 4 more of these blocks.

When you are done you should have 5 of each block totaling 20 blocks. Lay them out to see how you like them. You have a few options here. You could maybe make a few more blocks and exclude the sashing, or add a sashing to the blocks like I did.

This part is up to you and where I want you to get creative!! 🙂

Sashing: (if desired)

My sashing was 2.5 inch wide strips.

Be sure to cut from the 1.5 yard side. So fold accordingly. This way your side strips will not have any seams on the sides. I think it took me about 10 strips for what I needed.

Cut:

15 – 2.5″ by 8.5″

5 – 2.5″ by 38.5″ strips for the rows

2 – 2.5″ by 52.5″ strips for the sides

Sew the small strips between each block on your rows. Then sew the next strips between the rows. Finally sew the long strips on each side.

Back:

I cut a 12″ wide strip by WOF (width of fabric) for the yellow. I used the entire amount of the other colors. Sewed them together with the yellow in the middle. Just be sure to cut off your selvage before sewing and line it up better than I did. LOL

Leave lots of extra backing on because that will help with the quilting. You can trim the backing down to size later.

For the letters you can use any kind of computer word document program. Just pick a name, or word you like, then make your letters as big as the paper and pick a font that you like best. Print them out and then cut them out. You will also need lightweight fusible web for this part. Use any brand that helps you. 

I then traced the letters on my fusible web BACKWARDS!! make sure they are backwards or you will be fixing it later 🙂

Then I just roughly cut out the letters I traced on the fusible web and ironed it onto the BACK of the fabric. If you have never worked with this before it has two pieces of paper on each side of the web. Strip the side that is going to adhere to the back of your fabric first then iron your letter onto the BACK of your fabric. Make sure your letter is lined up the way you want it first. Once it is ironed it is not coming off.

After you do this for each letter, you will then cut them out again and lay them on your fabric. You can then strip off the other piece of paper and iron them to the back of your quilt, however you like it. I used my ruler to make sure there was equal space on top and bottom of the letters and that they were straight.

After you have then ironed on you can then take it to your machine and sew around the outside of each letter. I just did a straight stitch because I like the looks of it better than a zig zag. You use your own preference here.

When you are done, you baste, quilt and bind your quilt as desired. I did very minimal quilting because I wanted it to be all about the quilt, so I just stitched in the ditch around each block and added some hand quilting to each block and I was done!

One very happy child.

I mean one very happy quilt!!!

Amy Rivera
{Alliekatmom}

Modern Halves Quilt

Hello again, everyone!  My name is Elizabeth Dackson from Don’t Call Me Betsy and I am so excited to share another Moda Bake Shop recipe with you all today!  When I first saw photos of Half Moon Modern, I positively fell in love.  I adore the bright, fun color palette of this collection and the fabulous prints, so I was super excited to get a chance to work with it.  If you make a quilt using this Modern Halves quilt tutorial, I’d love to see it in my Flickr group!

1 fat quarter bundle of 32 fat quarters or more
1 1/3 yd border fabric
2/3 yd binding fabric
4 1/4 yds backing fabric
74″ x 84′ batting

1. Begin by unwrapping your fat quarter bundle and sorting your fat quarters by main color.  Half Moon Modern has six different main colors, so I had a total of six piles.

2. Each fat quarter will create enough pieces for one entire block.  As we’ll be making a total of 32 blocks for this quilt, you will need to select a total of 32 fat quarters from your bundle to work with.  We’ll be mixing and matching the pieces we cut from each fat quarter to create a scrappy look for each block.

3. From each fat quarter, you will cut the following pieces:

                                                                                                              Qty          Size        

1	4” square
2	1” x 4’
2	1” x 5”
2	1.5” x 5”
2	1.5” x 7”
2	2.5” x 7”
2	2.5” x 11”
2	1.5” x 11”
2	1.5” x 13”

Note: You can stack your fat quarters to maximize your cutting and save time!

4. Now that you’ve finished your cutting, we’ll get started by picking one 4″ square to start with, and then choosing your coordinating rings around your square.  First, select two 1″ x 4″ pieces and two 1″ x 5″ pieces for the first ring.  Next, select two 1.5″ x 5″ pieces and two 1.5″ x 7″ pieces for your second ring, followed by two 2.5″ x 7″ pieces and two 2.5″ x 11″ pieces for the third ring, and finally two 1.5″ x 11″ and two 1.5″ x 13″ pieces for the fourth and final ring.  Once you’re happy with your fabric choices, we’ll get started on sewing.

5. Let’s stitch your first block!  Using a scant quarter-inch seam, first stitch your two 1″ x 4″ rings to either side of your 4″ center square.

Press your seams open and then seam your 1″ x 5″ rings to finish your first ring.  Press seams open, then flip your block over and press again to ensure the seams lie nice and flat.

6. Next, do the same with the next rings, starting first with your 1.5″ x 5″ rings and then your 1.5″ x 7″ rings. Press all seams open, then flip your block over and press again to ensure the seams lie nice and flat.

7. Repeat with your final two rings, starting first with your 2.5″ wide pieces, then your 1.5″ pieces to finish your first block.

Use your 2.5″ wide pieces to create the third ring

Use your 1.5″ wide pieces to create the fourth ring

8. You now have completed your first block!  Repeat for all blocks.  I found once I finished the first block and got the hang of building these blocks, it worked best for me to chain-piece several blocks at once, first picking out my fabrics for multiple blocks.

9. After you have finished sewing all 32 blocks, let’s trim them uniformly.  If your scant quarter-inch seams and pressing skills are 100% perfect, your blocks will be 13″, but my blocks never are, so I trimmed each block down to 12.75″ for uniformity.  Once your blocks are trimmed, select one block to set aside out of the group.  We will use this block to create corner setting triangles for the quilt and cut it up first.  You’ll make two long cuts across the corners of this block as shown below, which will create a total of four triangles.  Set them aside for now.

10. With the remaining 31 blocks, you will cut along the diagonal of the block, from one corner to another, creating two perfectly symmetrical half square triangles.  Make sure to hold your ruler firmly and cut slowly to ensure an accurate cut.  Repeat for all blocks.

11. You will create a total of 62 half square triangles as a result of your cutting, and now comes the fun part – mixing and matching!

Pick one half square triangle to start with, and then pair it up with another half square triangle of another color.  For my first pairing, I chose one of my blue half square triangles and paired it with a red one for a fun contrast.

12. Once you have chosen a pair of half square triangles to pair together, stitch them together using a scant quarter-inch seam.  Go slowly to be sure to keep your seam allowances open.

Press your seams open, then flip the block over to press the seam fully open.  This will help the block lie flat in spite of the somewhat bulky seams.  Repeat for a total of 25 complete blocks.  Trim as necessary to 12.25″.

13. You will now have another 12 half square triangles remaining.  We will use these half square triangles for setting triangles along the sides of the finished quilt.

14. Time to lay out your quilt top, at last!  Gather all of your finished blocks as well as your 4 quarter square triangles and 12 half square triangles.  Below you’ll find a diagram to illustrate the layout for this quilt top.  The red letters in the corners indicate the placement of the quarter square triangles, with the numbers illustrating the placement of the 12 half square triangles.

Feel free to move blocks and triangles around until you’re happy with the layout.

15. Once you’re happy with your layout, it’s time to put these rows together.  Going back to the diagram above, it also illustrates the way to assemble the quilt top, in diagonal rows.  First stitch the blocks in each row together, pressing seams open as you go.  Once you’ve completed your rows, stitch the rows together in pairs, Row 1 to Row 2, Row 3 to Row 4, and Row 5 to Row 6.  Then, stitch Rows 1/2 to Rows 3/4 and Rows 5/6 to Row 7.  Finally, stitch these two large sets of rows together to complete the primary patchwork part of your quilt top.

16. Next, you can add borders to create a more rectangular quilt and to set off these fun blocks.  This border is entirely optional.  To create your borders, cut four 8″ x WOF strips and four 2.5″ x WOF strips.  Seam the 8″ strips together in pairs, creating two 8″ strips, and repeat for the 2.5″ strips as well.  Stitch the 2.5″ strips to the two long sides of the quilt, press seams open, then add the 8″ strips at the top and bottom of the quilt and press seams open again.

17. Ta da!  A finished quilt top!  Baste, quilt and bind as desired, and enjoy!!

One gorgeous 74″ x 84″ quilt

Happy sewing!

Elizabeth Dackson
Don’t Call Me Betsy

Cup Of Cheer Mug Cozy

Happy Holidays friends!  I’m Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock (you may have seen my Cathedral Window Baby Playmat tutorial here at Moda Bake Shop last month).  I’m excited to be here again sharing a festive little tutorial with you.  This quick foundation-pieced mug cozy is bright and scrappy- your drink will feel so loved!  It’s the perfect holiday gift for friends at work, teachers, or anyone who loves a hot cuppa cheer (and by cheer, I mean caffeine).  Tuck in a gift card to your favorite coffee shop or some chocolate-covered espresso beans (!!!) for a gift with a little more punch.  

-1 Charm Pack (12 squares makes 3 cozies, so you could make a whole slew of them from 1 pack)

-Lining Fabric- at least 5″ X 13″ 

-Batting- at least 5″ X 13″ (I used Insul-Bright, but any type of batting will do)

-Sashiko thread or embroidery floss

-Embroidery needle

-Cardboard cozy from your favorite coffee shop (to use as a template)

Select 12 charms from your pack- I chose a rainbow selection from MoMo’s new line, Half Moon Modern, but choose what you like- sky’s the limit.

Cut a 1.5″ strip from each square.  You can do up to 4 at once to make it even quicker.

Now open up your biodegradable organic free-trade cardboard cozy from the unnamed coffee chain of your choice, lay it out on the wrong side of your lining fabric and trace around it.

Now, layer some batting below the shape you just traced.  I used Insul-Bright by The Warm Company, because hey, coffee’s hot…but any batting will work, so use what you like.

Now don’t freak out because you’re going to have to do a tiny amount of free-hand artwork here.  No biggie- just use your pen to extend the ends of your traced shape by 1/4″ on each side.  The shape is slightly curved so just do your best to follow that same curve.

Now, using your rotary cutter, cut out your fabric & batting, about 1/4″ outside of your pen line.  This 1/4″ buffer will be your seam allowance so it’s important!  Set your lining fabric aside for now- we’ll only be working with the batting for these next few steps.

Now lay out the fabric strips you want to use, and order them however is most visually pleasing for you- I chose in-color order because I’m OCD like that, but yours could be scrappy…(reminder: no rules!)

If you’re wondering why there are only 10 strips in this photo instead of 12, it’s because I needed to throw in one “mistake” to let you know I’m human.  So there you go.

Now, fold your batting piece in half lengthwise to find the center point and mark it with a pin.

Grab your 6th strip from the left (don’t run away- I promise this is super simple- it’s just an easy way to get everything centered), and align the right side of it with your pin, right side of the fabric facing up.

Take the next strip to the right and place it over your first strip, right sides together.  Stitch 1/4″ along the right edge.

Now press open the top strip.  Be careful not to fry your batting during this process- use a cloth to cover the batting area if you aren’t sure.  Cotton would be fine, but this Insul-Bright stuff would have a melt-attack!

Continue adding strips and stitching, until you reach the end of your piece.  Note how I’ve aligned my strips perpendicular to the batting piece and not to the previous strip- so you will end up with a gap.  This will help your piecing to follow the curved shape of the cozy.

Repeat going the other direction until the entire batting piece is covered.  Ooooh, looking pretty!

Here’s what the back looks like.

Now take your piece of lining fabric and center it on your piece front, right sides together and pin.  It’s important to feel around the edges to make sure there is batting under the entire lining piece.

Stitch on your marked line around the entire piece, leaving one end open.  Trim down to 1/4″ from your seam.

Turn the piece right side out, poke out the corners with your scissors or a knitting needle, and press.

Your open raw edge will look like this- not to worry- he’ll be sewn up soon.

Let’s go ahead and embroider this puppy while one of the ends is open so we can hide the knots inside.  Using Sashiko thread or embroidery floss (both work great, just slightly different look), gather running stitches onto your needle and pull through.  Because this piece is fairly thick at this point, you might find it hard to build up stitches on the needle (depending on your needle).  No worries- you can just bring the needle up and down completely for each stitch.

Now turn under your raw edges 1/4″ and press.  I love a shot of heavy spray starch at moments like this to help the fabric behave.

Now fold your entire cozy in half so the ends meet, patchwork sides facing in, and stitch a scant 1/4″ seam along the edge.  The scant 1/4″ is important so that you catch all of your turned raw edges from the opening.

Turn it right side out, press if you like, and voila!  

1 addictive little cozy that will be smiling at you the entire way to work.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my recipe!  If you like it, don’t forget to leave a comment, and pop on over to my blog to say hi and check out my other tutorials and quilty ramblings.

Cheers!

Amy Gibson
{Stitchery Dickory Dock}