|
A Few Words on Our Favorite Subjects...If there is one thing we’ve learned over the years it’s this: Sharing sewing and quilting how-tos, tips and tricks is part of the fun. So, we’re passing along what we’ve learned so you can work smarter, not harder. If you find these postings helpful, keep the knowledge flowing by sharing this website with someone you know. |
Laminated Fabric Apron
I found some laminated fabric at going batty! Quilt Shop. It is so soft and feels nothing like the laminated fabrics from 10 years ago. I decided to make an apron out of it. Nothing fancy, just a simple butcher- block style apron.
My husband gave me the bias binder attachment for my sewing machine for a gift (purchased at going batty! of course) and I have been anxious to use it. This is the perfect item to start with.
I read an article on the going batty! blog on how to cut bias binding the easy way. It was so simple to do. First, I used Best Press spray starch on my fabric and ironed it dry. I did this twice. It gives my fabric a little more body. My bias binder calls for 1 1/8” wide strips. Within a few minutes I had enough strips cut from a complimentary cotton fabric and I was ready to sew. Here are the supplies that you will need to make this apron.
A clear ruler, (mine is 8 ½ “ by 24 ½”) a rotary cutter, ½ yd. of a good quality complimentary cotton fabric for your bias binding, a length of laminated fabric, (my fabric had a design that was going in one direction so I used 1 ¼ yds.) some sheeting or old fabric for the pattern, scissors, a water soluble pen and some fine glass head straight pins. I used fine pins so they wouldn’t make a large hole in the fabric that might be seen when the apron was finished.
For my apron pattern I used an old store bought apron. Since my hips are larger than the apron and I like my apron to wrap ¾ of the way around my hips I simply enlarged my apron.
I also like it to be longer than the old apron I had so I added the length.
Since I was going to use my new bias binder attachment I also rounded the bottom corners of my new apron. I placed a round salad plate at the corners and drew a line and cut the square corners off. This will make it easier to apply the binding.
Place your pattern on the laminated fabric and cut your new apron out.
I noticed that the fabric that I cut off at the arm curve would be just right to add pockets to my apron so I set those 2 pieces aside to cut out of later.
With all of this done you are ready to sew your bias strips together and make your apron.
Take 2 bias pieces as shown with angles in the opposite direction as the photo shows.
Place right sides together, offsetting the points by about ¼” as in the photo and pin the 2 pieces together. Sew a ¼” seam to join the pieces. Repeat with about 8 strips and then press the seams open. Trim off the dog ear points.
Attach the bias binder attachment and the proper foot to your machine.
Let’s sew.
This attachment is so awesome. Just start feeding the bias strip into the opening with the wrong side of the fabric facing you.
Once the fabric is to the end of the opening, start sewing. It folds the fabric and sews it on all at the same time. Sew about 1” and then simply place the right side of the apron up to the binder and the feed dogs will grab the fabric and sew the bias directly onto the apron. The bias is sewn on in one pass.
Sew down the right side of the apron and around the rounded corner across the bottom and up the left side of the apron. Slow down as you go around the bottom curves and snug the fabric up to the attachment. Stop at the left side top. Sew off of the fabric about 1” and cut the bias strip.
Now you will do the same to the top of the apron.
Measure for the ties and the binding that goes over your head. I made my waist ties 30” long and allowed another 25” of bias to go around my neck. With the rest of the bias strip, measure off 31”. That will give you an inch to fold under to finish the ends of your ties. With a water- soluble pen, mark the fabric at the 31” mark. Your bias strip should still be in the attachment.
You are going to start sewing the ties on the left side of the apron. (left as you are looking at it laying on the table)
Start sewing and sew to the mark on the strip. Now push the apron arm curve of the laminated fabric up to the attachment and sew the bias around the curve. I did a back- stitch at this point to give the ties extra strength at that joint.
When you get to the top of the apron, backstitch again for strength and stop the needle in the “down” position. Now measure the bias strip for the neck at 25”.
Mark with the pen again and continue sewing making the finished bias strip for the neck. When you get to the mark put the apron fabric back up to the attachment and once again, start sewing. Backstitch again and continue sewing around the curve on the right side of the apron. (Be careful not to twist the bias at the neck. Keep the stitching to the inside of the strip).
When you get to the end of the curve, backstitch again and then keep sewing the bias to make the tie on this side of your apron. Measure 31” again and stop sewing when you get to your mark.
Cut the bias at the mark. Turn the ends of your waist ties under ½” twice and stitch in place.
If you choose to put a pocket on your apron, now is the time. Remember the two small pieces of fabric from the arm curve that you put aside? I made 1 pocket. I decided what shape I wanted and trimmed the fabric. I made a small hem on the top of the pocket and then sewed some of the bias binding around the other 3 sides. It finished nicely.
I put my new apron on and looked in the mirror to decide where I wanted my pocket. Since I am left- handed I put it on the left at a level that was good for me. Then I pinned it in place
and sewed it on the outside edge of the binding. I even tilted the top of the pocket to give it a different angle.
It is done and I like it a lot. This was an easy and quick afternoon project. All of my supplies came from going batty!. My sewing machine also came from there. They are always a “one stop shop” for me.
Next time I will share what I made with my “leftover” pieces of laminated fabric.
Enjoy, Judi
This Foot Was Made For Walking!
A walking foot (Bernina #50) is a specialty foot that provides you with an extra set of feed dogs for the top of your project. Having feed dogs on the top and the bottom will help grip and keep a hold of hard to manage fabrics or bulky projects like quilts, without you having to wrestle the fabric through your sewing machine. The walking foot attaches to your sewing machine like a regular foot, but also has a finger which rests on/around your needle bar signaling the extra set of feed dogs to pull the top fabric at the same rate as the bottom fabric.
The Bernina Walking Foot #50 comes with two convenient soles..
• Basic Sewing Sole: to be used with slippery fabrics, stripes, etc. This sole has ¼” and 1/8” markings on the sole to accurately sew quarter or eighth of an inch seams.
• Quilting Sole: has an open-toe which leads to better visibility when stitching. This sole is also equipped with ¼” and 1/8” markings for your convenience and a specially designed back, that allows the bulky quilt which you are sewing to glide easily under the walking foot.
A Walking Foot is great for general sewing for uses such as joining plaids, stripes, silks, and other slippery fabrics. The fabric will feed through evenly so you can easily match stripe lines without having them slip during sewing.
The most commonly thought of use for a walking foot is generally straight line quilting. When stitching in the ditch with your walking foot, line up the center marking in the middle of the sole so it looks like this:
The needle should fall on the “low” side of the seam right next to the “high” side. Stitch until the end of the seam line in which you would like to “stitch in the ditch”.
You can also do some decorative diagonal style quilting lines in addition to the regular “stitch in the ditch” method. Just use a ruler and fabric pencil or water-soluble pen to mark from corner to corner and stitch on the line, lining up the center mark with the line. Diagonal stitching on your project will look like this:
It’s as easy as that!
How to Use an Edgestitch Foot
An Edge Stitch or Top Stitch Foot (Bernina #10) has a guide running down the middle of the foot, which can be lined up against the edge of a piece of fabric or in a seam for perfect stitch placement.
With the Edge Stitch foot, you can Topstitch (stitch to the side of a seam) by adjusting the needle position to the left or right. Topstitching prevents seams from rolling and gives your project a finished and more professional look. Great for collars, pockets, and tops of purses, bags, and totes! We love it for finishing the edges of bag handles. Position both the blade and needle in the center of the seam, and have fun stitching perfectly placed decorative stitches on crazy patch blocks. When using this foot, follow these steps for success…
1) First, line up the blade of the foot in the seam.
2) Move the needle position to the right or left the desired amount.
3) Using the hand-wheel “bite” into the fabric with the needle, just as a precaution so the fabric does not move around.
4) Begin stitching, but make sure that the blade stays in the center of the seam.
It’s that easy to have perfect stitching exactly where you want it!
The Gathering Foot
A Gathering Foot (Bernina #16) allows you to gather your fabric quickly and
easily in a one step-process. Gathering feet can be used for many different purposes, and are fairly simple to use.
There are two main techniques with everyday applications:
1) Standard Gathering which can be used for stand-alone trims (which can be sewn on at a later time to a project)
2) Gathering Fabric and Sewing it to a flat piece of fabric in one step. With this second technique you can add flouncy edging to a skirt or apron.
Here is how to accomplish standard gathering:
1) Press and Starch Fabric
2) Align the first edge of the fabric with the right-hand edge of the gathering foot as shown (however, depending on where you would like your gathers to be for your trim you can place it on either side or in the center):
3) Set your machine to straight stitch and, depending on the frequency of gathers desired, increase or decrease stitch length (be sure not to adjust width for this technique!) (Stitch length smaller – less frequent gathers; Stitch Length Longer – more frequent gathers)
4) Lower Presser Foot, and begin sewing until you reach the end of the strip. When finished, your strip should look something like this: (this example shows the maximum amount of gathers you can accomplish with the gathering foot (Bernina #16), so don’t worry if yours does not look like this, it just depends on what you set your stitch length to.)
To attach a flat strip to a gathered strip of fabric follow these steps:
1) Press and Starch both strips of fabric that you are using
2) Place the strip of fabric you would like to be gathered underneath the foot “pretty side up”, and lined up with the right side of the foot so it looks like this:
3) Using the hand-wheel on the right side of your sewing machine, turn the knob towards you until the needle takes two stitches. By the time you do that it will look like this:
4) Slide the strip of fabric you want to be flat “pretty side down” and place it inside the slot in the left side of the gathering foot. Lean it up against the needle and ease the strip in with the hand-wheel taking stitches until it looks like this:
5) Carefully begin stitching taking the end of the top strip and lifting it to the ceiling, and leaning it towards the right so it stays butted up against the inside of the foot. It will look like this:
6) Sew until the end of both strips, making sure that each strip stays lined up with each other. The finished project will look like this!:
At first the gathering foot can seem a little tricky, but after following these pictures and tips gathering techniques will be a snap! Thank you so much for letting me share my knowledge about the gathering foot with you! Until next week!
Subscription Options:
What’s the scoop
- Bernina (3)
- Craft Sewing (3)
- Fashion Sewing (1)
- Favorite Tools (3)
- going batty! News (9)
- Handwork (1)
- Product Reviews (4)
- Quilting (5)
- Sewing Machine Feet (4)
- Tips & Tricks (2)
