Confessions of a quilting virgin: An easy peasy quilt project

This weekend I embarked on a new project – a patchwork quilt to cover mine and the boy’s new, extremely cosy double bed.

I’ve always loved quilts, especially when they’re made of gorgeous fabrics and look all snuggly and warm. However, some designs can be incredibly intricate and complicated to make. So for this project, I’m aiming to create the simplest – yet most awesome-looking – quilt possible.

There are two main types of quilting techniques – machine stitched and hand stitched. Machine stitching is suitable for regular square or rectangle-shaped pieces of fabric. Hand quilting is suitable for hexagon shapes, which are generally too fiddly to sew by machine.

Hexagon quilting, via Pinterest

As I am attempting to create the world’s simplest quilt I am, understandably, going for the machine version. So the first step is gathering together a selection of gorgeous fabrics.

Now this is possibly the most fun part, picking and choosing different contrasting and complimenting colours and patterns. However, if you are massively strapped for time, it is possible to buy sets of fabric squares that have been specially selected to make a lovely-looking patchwork pattern.

I picked up a set from Country Threads in Bath, a specialist quilting shop that stocks some amazing fabrics. I chose vintage-style florals and prints in blue, red and grey, as the boy and I are both fans of the shabby-chic look.

However, please be aware that, although this may be the simplest way to make a quilt, it’s probably not the cheapest! My set cost £9 for 42 5×5 inch squares, so you could source fabrics yourself much cheaper. But I’m going for the time-saving approach!

My quilt squares all laid out

The next step involves fussing over all the different squares and figuring out which ones should go next to each other. This took me longer than I anticipated as the red squares really ‘popped’ compared to the others, so needed careful arranging.

Sewing the strips together

Once you’ve decided on your square arrangements, start sewing them together in long strips. It’s a good idea to keep your seams all the same length so that the squares join up when you sew your strips together.

One finished strip!

Ta da! If you’re in a bit of a hurry/ have a shaky hand, which has resulted in uneven or wonky seams, then try not to worry too much. You can always arrange your strips so that the squares are staggered, which should hide any mishaps.

Next step will be to stitch them all together, then add some snuggly filling, backing fabric and a border. I’ll post my final results and the second part of this how-to soon!

Quick tutorial: How to turn a dress into a playsuit

After blogging about New Dress a Day yesterday I was inspired to do a little re-working of my own.

Before the transformation!

I found this retro St Michael frock in a second hand sale a little while ago and had been pondering what to do with it. I really loved the pattern and the shirt-style top but the skirt was long, shapeless and sack-like.

After some consideration I decided it would look better as a short playsuit, keeping the detail on top but making it more fun and less frumpy.

The shorts on this playsuit were loose and easy to copy

To work out the pattern I looked at this playsuit which I bought from Urban Outfitters last summer. I decided to copy the shorts as they’re loose-fitting, a simple shape and not too fiddly.

If you want to do this at home then any pair of loose-ish shorts should work just as well.

I folded the playsuit inside out and then in half to get the panel shape. Then I folded my dress in half and traced around the outline in pencil, leaving enough room for the seams and hem.

Just about to start sewing!

After unfolding my dress and cutting out the pattern, you can see there is a little ‘flap’ in the middle.  This will be sewn together to create the crotch area.

It’s a good idea to pin the seams together and try on at this point to make sure everything fits!

I zig-zag stitched all along the edges to prevent fraying, and then hemmed the ends and sewed the crotch together to create some shorts.

The finished result!

Et voila! A cute little playsuit which I can wear with sandals in the summer or black tights and ankle boots when it’s a bit chillier. Much better than the frumpy sack I started off with!

What did you think of this tutorial? Was it easy to follow? Please let me know below!

Should you use a dressmaker’s dummy?

My sister has a dressmaker’s dummy in her bedroom. “This is so cool!” I said , the first time I saw it, perched elegantly on its long wooden legs next to her full-length vintage mirror, its neck strewn with rows of beads. I picked up a skirt and scarf and absent-mindedly began to dress it.

“Do you use this all the time when you make your clothes?” I asked my sis.

“No, not really,” she replied.  “I find it easier to just measure the material against myself. And anyway, I think that thing’s actually bigger than me!”

“What about dressing it up, do you use it to tell which outfits will work?”

“No – I just do that in my head!”

Many home-sewers swear by the dressmaking dummy. Fiddling around with paper patterns to get those tweaks and fits just right can take hours, and it’s far easier to make adjustments when you can see it on your body (or, at least, something resembling it!)

However, my sister comes from a very non-traditional school of sewing. She has never used a pattern in her life, and nor does she intend to. Her home sewing journey started by wrapping bits of material against herself, sticking in pins where she wanted it to join, and sewing it together just like that. Something as old-skool as a dressmaker’s dummy was never going to suit her.

I, on the other hand, am a half-and-half girl. I studied textiles at school so am comfortable using patterns, but I’ve also been influenced by my sister’s approach and taken to wrapping material around myself, pattern-free. However, I find the measuring-against-myself process something of a nightmare. I can’t always figure out what I’m doing when I don’t have a 360 degrees view of it, and end up with wonky waistbands and diagonal seems. Great. A dummy really would come in handy sometimes.

The only thing putting me off is the cost, and the nightmare of having to buy another one every time you loose or put on weight. But luckily I’ve stumbled across a fab little guide to making your own. Even though they don’t look quite as cool in your room as the real thing, all you need is some duct tape, scissors and filling material, and you can re-do it any time your body changes. Amazing!

So really, whether you use a dressmaker’s dummy is all down to your personal style and how you go about making your clothes. But as for me, I reckon I’ll be off to purchase some duct tape pretty soon…

How to choose a sewing machine

If you are concerned about environmentally-friendly fashion then a sewing machine is a must. You can use it to customise, re-work and recycle clothes far more easily than by hand and in a fraction of the time. They may seem expensive, but a good one will last for years and save you plenty of money on splashing out on new clothes when they rip, tear or fall out of fashion.

I finally purchased my sewing machine (pictured above) 18 months ago after years of experimentation ripping up and customising my clothes. Aged 14 I would don a home-shredded vest top, minskirt and fishnets before stomping out of my house in huge DM’s and far too much eyeliner, much to my parents’ dismay. Then in my late teens I discovered the rave scene and would spend hours painstakingly hand-stitching matching fluffy neon outfits, crafting hairpieces out of multi-coloured pipe cleaners and painting UV dots on my face.

Environmental issues weren’t really in my mind when I invested in the machine – I just wanted to learn to make decent, wearable clothes rather than my slap-dash creations that fell apart after a few days.

I would recommend my model (the Juki HZL-60) for new sewers- it is one of the easiest machines I’ve ever used, so perfect for a beginner. It’s cheap as well – there’s no point in splashing out on a pricey machine if you’re not sure home sewing is for you yet. And because it’s good quality it’ll be easy to sell on if you decide it was an expensive mistake.

Always ask for a demonstration in the shop and a ‘test run’ yourself so you can see how easy to use it is (or isn’t!). If there are specific features you want, such as embroidery or over-locking, the model will be more expensive so it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth your cash. I was also given a free in-store tutorial – ask your supplier if they can give you one too.

There are usually second-hand models for sale on eBay and similar places, but you may want to consider whether it’s worth the risk to buy one without road-testing it first. A tricky-to-use sewing machine can bring hours of frustration, tears and dodgy hems!

Resources

• Which? has brilliant guide to choosing a sewing machine
• John Lewis also has this guide, although it is biased towards the models they stock
• Readers at craftforum have put together this thread, which contains some sound advice
• A dress a day blog has a helpful, if rather long, guide for beginners