Karin Jordan Studio

How to Make an Embroidered Tree Pillow

Happy Friday! I'd been planning on posting another animal softie square today, but I couldn't get this tree design out of my head. Since it's been so hot out, I figured the pig softie square (see last Friday's post) could use some shade. I've introduced embroidery on top of the appliqué. 

You will need:

-This pdf
-Plain linen
-Green fabric for tree — I used a pale green with tiny brown polka dots
-Brown fabric for tree trunk — I found a fabric at Joann's that looks like bark
-DMC embroidery floss #s 321 and 3371
-Steam-A-Seam2 fusible web or Steam-A-Seam 2 lite
-Sewing machine with linen-colored thread
-Stuffing
-Needle to blind stitch the opening shut by hand 
-Fabric scissors
-Light box or sunny window for tracing
-Marker with disappearing ink 
-Embroidery hoop 

Step 1: Cut two 7 x 12" rectangles of plain linen.

Step 2: Download and print this free pdf. 

Step 3: Place the printout face down on a lightbox or on a sunny window, under a piece of the Steam-A-Seam2 fusible web. Be sure to draw on the side of the fusible web that is harder to remove (one side peels more easily than the other). Trace the tree top and the tree trunk separately, leaving a space between the two.

Step 4: Cut the green fabric large enough to cover the tree top and the brown fabric large enough to cover the tree trunk. Peel off the less sticky layer of fusible web and press the fabric onto the web, right side up. Since I had a bark pattern on my brown fabric I lined it up so that the knot hole was where I wanted it.

Step 5: Carefully cut out the oval tree top on the line. Cut the tree trunk out on the line as well. Arrange the two pieces on one of the 7 x 12" linen rectangles, tucking the top edge of the trunk under the bottom of the green oval. Press to fuse together.

Step 6: Place the printout face up on a light box or sunny window. Line the fabric tree up on top of the printout. With the dissapearing ink marker, draw the apple and branch pattern on the fabric.

 

Step 7: Place the tree top in an embroidery hoop. Using three strands of #3371, embroider the 'branches' using a backstitch. I keep my embroidery needles in this monogrammed felt needle book that I made. You can find that tutorial here. 

 

Step 8: After you've finished the branches, use floss #321 to create the circular apples. My marker had mostly disappeared by this point, so I made the apples differing sizes to add variety. Because it was going to be a stuffed piece and the back would never be seen, I went from branch to branch and apple to apple without cutting the thread. Messy looking? Yup! :)

Step 9: I can't believe I'm showing you the reverse of this embroidery! Wrong sides facing and with a 3/8 or 1/2" seam allowance (whatever you're comfortable with), sew around the edges, leaving a 3" opening to be able to turn and stuff.

Step 10: Clip corners, turn right side out, stuff and hand stitch the opening shut using a blind stitch.

Go hug your tree!!

I like how this turned out, so I'm working on making a small pillow with three trees of varying sizes. Stay tuned, and have a fantastic weekend!

xo Karin

 

How to Make Washable Bean Bags for Hula Hoop Ring Toss

I was about to pick up dried beans at the grocery store to make traditional bean bags. On my way in, both kids jumped in parking lot puddles. They're highly skilled at finding the only puddle within a 20 mile radius so I suddenly had second thoughts about the dried beans. The only way to do it was to make bean bags that were washable — bags that could withstand damp grass and children who like to get everything wet. I didn't want to spend time making cool bags only to have a soggy mess of beans at the end of the day. My solution was to make muslin bags filled with pony beads that can be thrown in the washing machine on cold and allowed to air dry.

You will need: 

-Freezer paper (I use Reynolds, which can be purchased at the grocery store)
-Printer 
-X-acto or other sharp knife (I have a Fiskars with a comfortable grip)
-Cutting mat
-Plain muslin (prewashed) and matching thread
-Two colors of fabric paint (I chose purple and bright green)
-Small foam paintbrush (I used two) 
-Iron
-Pony beads (I bought six bags of these and divided them into eight) 
-Sewing machine (I have this Brother and love it!) and/or needle and thread 
-Ruler or yardstick 
-Hula hoop 
-Kids who like to throw things 

Optional:
-Fabric scissors or rotary cutter
-Metal ruler 

 

Step 1: Download this pdf.

Step 2: Divide the pony beads equally between eight bowls.

Step 3: Cut three 8 1/2 x 11" pieces of freezer paper, to be added to the printer one sheet at a time, taking care to insert the correct side up so that it prints on the paper side not the plastic side. Print the pdf.

Step 4: Cut the black part of the numbers out of the freezer paper with the sharp knife and cutting mat, taking care to preserve the white part. Save the inside triangles of the number 4.

Step 5: Measure and cut 16 pieces of washed and ironed muslin, 5 x 6" each. 

Step 6: Iron the eight number stencils onto eight pieces of the muslin you just cut. 

Step 7: Paint one set of 1-4 in one color and the other set in a different color. Allow paint to dry overnight.

Step 8: When paint is dry, peel off the freezer paper. Iron to set paint (check paint bottle for manufacturer's recommendation). 

Step 9: Wrong sides facing, match up each piece of numbered muslin with a blank piece. Stitch around each rectangle with a 3/8" seam allowance, leaving a 2" opening at the bottom so you can turn and fill.

Step 10: Clip corners, turn and fill with pony beads, making sure to add the same amount of beads to each bag. I made a simple paper funnel out of scrap paper. 

There were a few beads left over; Annabel is excited to make some cool jewelry!

Step 11: Hand stitch the openings shut.

Step 12: Find a long hallway or patch of lawn and let the kids aim and throw!

If you'd like to use these for a party, consider making additional sets of bean bags and grabbing a few extra hula hoops. Hula hoops come in varying sizes, so allow smaller kids to use larger hoops and bigger kids to try for the smaller ones. Also consider playing in teams!

 

Variations:

A) Print two copies of pdf on six pieces of freezer paper to have numbers on both sides of the bean bags. That way it doesn't matter which side they land on!

B) If you would prefer larger bean bags and don't feel like dividing the pony beads, buy eight bags and make slightly larger muslin squares. 

C) If you have two days to let paint dry, you can cut one set of number stencils and use them on the first day with one paint color and the second day with the other paint color.

Much of Memorial Day weekend was a washout here in New Hampshire, so we played indoors with the hope that the lawn would eventually dry out. I hope you were able to enjoy a lovely long weekend.

Have fun!!

xo Karin

        

 

How to Make a Pig Softie Square

To make this cute, low-sew pig softie square you will need: 

This free pdf
Linen - 5 1/2 x 5 1/2" squares (cut 2)
Scraps of grass green, light pink and dark pink cotton
Black fabric marker (I use a Marvy fine point by Uchida)  
Steam-A-Seam2 double stick fusible web
Light box or window for tracing
Disappearing ink marker  
Stuffing 

Step 1: Cut the two squares of linen. Set aside.

Step 2: Download and print the free pdf.

Step 3: Cut a scrap of light pink large enough for the head, dark pink for the legs, body, snout and ears, and green large enough for the grass. Peel one side of fusible web off (the side that comes off more easily) and stick the fusible web to the fabric. 

Step 4: Use a light box or a sunny window. With the disappearing ink marker, place the pdf under the fabric and fusible web and trace the head, ears, snout, body, legs and grass onto the fabric. I made the legs a bit longer and created two sets of legs instead of four individual legs, which helps with placement later and gives you the necessary room to tuck the legs under the body.

Step 5: Cut the shapes out of the web-backed fabric. 

Step 6: Peel the paper backing off the snout and align in on the face. You can place the pieces on top of the pdf for placement. Press with iron to adhere. Place the pdf back under the head and snout, and  carefully draw the eyes and mouth with the black fabric marker. It's helpful to test the marker on a piece of scrap first. I found that the marker bled a little bit on the thin pink cotton fabric but fared better on the linen when I drew the tail. I was sure to use the fabric marker before ironing all parts of the pig down in case the lettering didn't go well and I needed to make another pink body oval. Don't forget to paint the hooves black!

Step 7: Peel the backing off the rest of the pieces. Place the oval body down first. Tuck the tops of the legs under the body just slightly, then place the head on top, slightly overlapping the body. The ears can overlap the head a little bit. I tucked the strip of grass in between the feet to add depth. The back feet are tucked behind the grass and the front feet are on top of the grass. Note that I left enough room around the grass so that it wasn't sewn into the seam.

Step 8: Press. Draw the tail by hand with the fabric marker. You can use the disappearing marker first if you would like to. 

Step 9: Right sides facing, sew around the square with a  3/8" seam allowance, leaving a 2" opening on the bottom. Clip corners, turn and press. Stuff, blind stitch the opening shut and enjoy your pig!

Project notes:

A) If you don't have a disappearing marker, you can use a regular pen or pencil and work in reverse by flipping the pdf and tracing onto the less sticky paper side of the fusible web (the one that is removed first) instead of tracing directly onto the fabric. 

B) You could embroider the black areas on the pig. Or use a combination of marker and embroidery.

I have additional low-sew, appliquéd animal softie squares in the works, so stay tuned!! 

xo Karin

 

Craft with Kids: Coloring Wooden Stars

These wooden stars from the craft store had been sitting in our craft drawer for some time. I'd purchased them as part of the 'rainy day' stash, unsure what we would wind up doing with them. As a sort of spur-of-the-moment way of keeping Annabel occupied (it was actually raining out!), I grabbed the bag of stars and her Crayola Pip Squeaks Washable Markers. They honestly do wash off of just about everything. Because they're thin, both kids easily use them to draw. They love the variety of having 64 to choose from. 

We decided there was only one rule: you had to decorate both sides. This kept her occupied for hours. No joke. And she kept coming back to them. Every time we had a family member or friend over to visit, she'd grab some markers and shove stars at them. "Both sides!" she'd exclaim. She can go through the pile and tell you who made which stars, and proudly shows off her favorites. 

Our next challenge is to figure out what to do with them, particularly because both sides are decorated. For now, we've just been enjoying the process. There's an unopened bag of wooden hearts, too. We'd love to hear your thoughts on what we could make! I'm considering making up a game and using the stars as chips.

xo Karin

 

 

Introducing: Chevron Robots!

I am excited to share the first prototype of my Chevron Robot series with you! Chevrons have been popping up all over clothing and home furnishings for the past few years. Readily available, small-scale chevron patterns are perfect for creating your modern robot doll. 

I wound up enlarging and tweaking my original sketch a bit. 

Chevron Robot #1 in process. I cut out circles around polka dots for the eyes and for the knobs on his chest. 

I have some serious edits to make, and I can't wait to share them. I want to shorten his neck, so he looks more like the original drawing, and I'd also like to shorten the arms a bit. He seems to want a mouth that is a different print than his ears and head gadget. Perhaps he needs a chevron mouth? Or maybe a solid one? Variations are in the works!

It was super fun 'dressing' this robot. I am a big fan of Steam-A-Seam 2 Double Stick Fusible Web, which made it easy to add the eyes, mouth , chevron fabric and knobs to his chest by simply cutting and ironing. The appliquéd pieces could be topstitched, but I was happy with the look as it is. The creative process is always an interesting one. Prototypes are never perfect, but when I can create something that makes my kids smile, I feel successful.

Chevron Robot #1 needs a name. Please comment with any suggestions!

xo Karin

 

An Easy-to-Follow Pattern for a Reversible Handbag

I wanted to find a project that would let me use Anna Maria Horner's Field Study - Cell Structure in Americana with Michael Miller's Garden Pindot in Grey. Handbags are always useful, and a woman can't have enough of them. You can find the pattern and tutorial for this reversible bag from Very Purple Person here. 

 The reverse side of the bag gives me a fun second option. I love polka dots.

I didn't quite have enough Garden Pindot to complete the project so I pieced one side on the second line on the pattern from the top. I was worried it'd be a disaster, but you can barely see the seam, right?

Project notes:

1) Step 2. "Sew the darts." WHAT?  There were a lot of what the heck? moments for me while making this bag. First of all, I'd never sewn a dart. I knew what a dart was, and its intended purpose, but anything new can be daunting. Once I drew them on the fabric with my chalk pencil, it was super easy! I use a Bohin mechanical chalk pencil that comes with different colors of refillable chalk. You can easily swap from a light to a dark chalk. For a simple tutorial on how to sew darts, please visit this page on Coletterie. 

2) Step 3. "Put set B in set A, right sides together, and sew around the straps." Sounds simple enough, except for the part where I sewed the arm holes and bag opening shut. Oops. Keep your seam ripper handy and don't be afraid to use it. Also, don't feel bad if you have to use it. I'm not sure whether it was the giant panda bear under my desk or the preschooler who was under there with it. Regardless, I was a bit distracted and had to rip seams out more than once. By absent-mindedly following the pattern, I misinterpreted the dotted lines on this step. Make sure you're never sewing more than two layers of fabric together at once. 

3) Step 7. "Sew each strap to the strap beside it, NOT the strap that is in front of it." She means it. I quickly figured out what she meant after I'd done it wrong. 

4) Step 10. "Topstitch all edges of bag." Basically you wind up sewing three big circles around the straps.

This is a great pattern. Any issues I had with it were purely user error! It'd be fun to shrink it down to make a kid-sized version, or maybe add a magnetic snap closure or a pocket. I'm just happy with the fabric combination. I've already ordered more of each for another project. Stay tuned!

Have fun with your reversible bag,

xo Karin 

 

Embroidering with a Heavy Heart

I am saddened to hear the news today about the death of Kathreen Ricketson and her husband in a tragic water-related accident while traveling around Australia on a trip that they had been looking forward to for quite some time. It was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime. I have been reading Kathreen's blog, whipup.net, for years and am in the middle of a project she and I had planned for a guest post. 

She leaves behind two small children and it sounds as though there is a plan to start an education fund for them. I hope this will come to fruition as I would like to contribute in some way. I intend to finish my embroidery project and post it here. She and her family will be in my thoughts throughout every stitch. 

Hug your husband. Kiss your kids. Say I love you. Savor every moment. 

xo Karin

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/16/world/asia/australia-road-trip-tragedy/

 

Craft with Kids: Making Colored Pencil Picture Frames

Annabel and I like to make gifts for her teachers. For teacher appreciation week last week, she wanted to do drawings for each of them, and I thought we'd put her art in little frames that we decorated. 

The wooden frames were $1 each at Michaels, and the colored pencils were 10 for $1 at The Dollar Store. Each frame needed 20 pencils each for full coverage.

I made two different types, but because I had to make a bunch at once, I opted for the version that required less cutting (above right).

After measuring how many vertical and how many horizontal pieces I needed, I marked the pencils and got out my Dremel drill. With the drill on high speed, I cut one box of pencils at a time to help keep the colors separated. This way, I avoided having one frame with all black and blue and another with all orange and yellow. Each frame has two yellow, two red, two of each green, and so on. Wear safety goggles! When a Dremel cutting disk breaks, there's no telling where it will end up; with my luck, I'm happy they didn't get lodged in my forehead.

After everything was cut, I laid it all out and smeared a healthy coating of Weldbond glue all over the front of the frames. I did the vertical sides first, then sandwiched those pencil pieces in between the horizontal top and bottom ones. 

Annabel drew pictures of 'fireworks' for each 4 x 6" frame. I had a hard time giving them away!

A variation would be to paint the picture frames before gluing the pencils. If you're super busy, try not to do all the cutting and gluing in one day. . . :)

Hopefully, the teachers enjoyed their one-of-a-kind thank you from Annabel. We had fun making them.

xo Karin

 

 

Lotta Jansdotter's Café Apron with Pocket

My mother has been eyeing this blue and yellow floral fabric in my studio. She also made a comment or two about the apron I made for Annabel a couple of weeks ago. For Mother's Day, I thought she might like a modern apron in a fabric she'd 'chosen'. I've been wanting to make this café apron with contrasting pocket from Lotta Jansdotter's book Simple Sewing. It's a fun little book with an envelope pocket in the front filled with 24 patterns to unfold and cut!

The apron is basically a rectangular piece of fabric cut to 19 x 38" with ties and a funky pocket in the shape of an oven mitt. I picked out Michael Miller's Stitch Floral Square to go with the bold print. I wasn't having a good time trying to follow the pattern when it came to applying the pocket. Instead of cutting one pocket piece I cut two, sewed them together wrong sides facing, turned, clipped curves and pressed. This made a far better curve than I was able to do with a single piece of fabric. And now, the pocket is lined! I've convinced myself that my lack of ability and patience turned into a happy 'accident'. 

We gave her the apron, a drawing from Annabel, flowers, and my beloved recipe for Guinness Beef Stew from Cook's Illustrated magazine. My first job out of college was at Cook's, as Assistant Managing Editor. I can't say enough good things about that place and their well-tested recipes. 

Speaking of food, a friend of mine made lemon curd from scratch for Mother's Day, and packaged it in cute little jars topped with fabric and individual messages. LOVE lemon. You can see how she did it here.

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

xo Karin

 

 

A Beaded Bracelet for Mother's Day

There was a potluck at Annabel’s school on Friday. We gave each of the eight teachers a gift we’d made together (check back on Wednesday for a Craft with Kids how-to). Annabel gave me the Mother’s Day present they’d made at school and I LOVE it. It was a total fluke that it matched what I was wearing. 

This bead and pipe cleaner bracelet is a great project for kids. One of the teachers had gone to a local flea market and found jars upon jars of large plastic beads. The kids strung long pipe cleaners with the bright-colored beads, and the teachers wrapped the ends together, leaving the bracelet big so moms could get them on. I took it a step further and put a tiny piece of duct tape over the closure (pipe cleaner ends can stab!). To tighten, I simply pinch the back side so the bracelet fits my wrist, twist the part that sticks out into a little loop and bend it to the inside. Perfect!

Thank you to Annabel’s teachers and to Annabel for a terrific Mother’s Day gift from school!

HAVE A TERRIFIC MOTHER’S DAY!! Tomorrow I'll be posting what we made my mother, a k a Grammy. :)

xxoo Karin

PS - One of the cats kindly threw up in my studio for Mother’s Day. My little homemade gift from them. They’re so thoughtful. I did not take a picture.