Karin Jordan Studio

Herringbone Table Runner

This long table runner was designed for fall but can be easily adapted into any color scheme. It goes together quickly and is a fun project! I'm tempted to make another one for Christmas. For the pdf, please visit the Pellon Projects page here. 

You will need: 

11 cotton fabrics, 1/2 yard each
Backing fabric, cut to 18 x 58”
Pellon® Nature’s Touch® 100% Natural Cotton Batting, cut to 18 x 58”
Binding, 2 1/4 x 165”
Triangle, cut to a right angle with 5 x 5” sides (template included in pdf on the Pellon Projects page)
Cotton quilting thread, I used Aurifil Mako 50 weight 

Instructions:

Use 1/4" seam allowances throughout.

Step 1: Cut a total of eighty 1-1/2” x 12” strips from the eleven fabrics. I used my Sizzix BigZ  XL 25" die, 1 1/2" width.

Step 2: Place the cotton triangle (cut using the template on page 6 of the pdf) right side up on a at surface. Align the first strip on the left edge of the triangle, with right sides together. Stitch.

Step 3: Flip and press seam to side toward triangle.

Step 4: Align the second strip as shown. Stitch.

Step 5: Flip and press seam toward triangle. 

Step 6: On a design wall or flat surface, arrange the remaining strips as desired. 

Step 7: Continue adding strips, alternating left and right until all strips are sewn. Press each seam towards the previous strip sewn.

Step 8: Repress all seams. Straighten and square up the table runner. Trim the sides evenly so the runner is a perfect rectangle.

 

Step 9: Place backing right side down on large flat surface. Add the batting, then center top. Smooth out, square up and pin baste using safety pins.

 Step 10: Straight line quilt 1/2” apart or quilt as desired.

Step 11: Add binding and enjoy your new table runner!

This pattern can easily be adapted to be longer or shorter, thinner or wider. 

If you like your backing fabric, the runner can also be reversible. I bought this backing fabric and a few of the top fabrics from an auction we had at a Seacoast Modern Quilt Guild meeting. When I saw it, I immediately thought, fall table runner.

My grandparents purchased the Wedgwood bowl on their honeymoon in Toronto in 1939. I love having something from them on our Thanksgiving table. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

xo Karin

 

        

 

Drawstring Stocking Stuffer Gift Bags, in Two Sizes

Children tend to be accompanied by many small parts, be it cards, toy accessories, miniature dinosaurs or jacks. The packaging, often cardboard, gets stomped and smashed and therefore, recycled. I thought it'd be fun to make some simple drawstring bags in cute prints that I could fill with toys and put in the kids' stockings. What's great about these is that they can easily be made larger or smaller to accommodate a variety of gifts!

For the larger bag you will need:
Piece of fabric cut to 6 x 18"
2 pieces of yarn or string cut to 18" each
Safety pin
Optional: 2" tag

For the smaller bag you will need:
Piece of fabric cut to 5 x 15"
2 pieces of yarn or string cut to 18" each
Safety pin
Optional: 2" tag

Note: The fabric for the floral print bag in the photo was cut to 6 x 16"

Step 1: Wrong side up, fold the long sides 1/4". Press. 

Step 2: As close to the edges as you're comfortable, sew each side.

Step 3: Fold one short edge 1/2". Fold again 1/2". Press. Sew along bottom edge of folded fabric as shown. Repeat for other short side.

Step 4: Right sides facing, fold fabric in half. Fold tag in half and place as desired, raw edge sticking out.

Step 5: Stitch along each edge making sure to sew to the inside of the seams you just sewed. If you sew to the outside of the earlier seam, the thread will show when you turn the bag right side out. STOP sewing when you reach the folded part at the top so you'll be able to thread the drawstring through.

Step 6: Turn bag right side out. Press. 

Step 7:  Starting on one side, thread the string through the opening on one side, then go back through the other side so both ends are on the same side. Repeat starting from the other side. You should now have two ends sticking out of each side.

Step 8: Knot the ends as shown. That's it!

The Liberty print bag holds ten of my favorite tea bags perfectly.

The Tsuru fabric by Rashida Coleman-Hale for Cloud 9 is called Making Tracks. I'm filling it with small dinosaurs for Colton's stocking.

I'm not entirely sure what the fabric is that I used for Annabel's bag of jacks, but I thought it worked well. I love the little bunny on the tag. 

Can you believe it's almost December??!

xo Karin

 

        

Crazy Patchwork Star for an Ornament Exchange

 

Several months ago, I signed up for an ornament exchange hosted by Live, Laugh, Rowe, A Little Clairification, and I Should Be Mopping the Floor. It's time to send my ornament to my swap partner!

It's always fun to make something for someone else; I'd love to make this a tradition. Thanks to the hosts for organizing!

I decided to make a crazy patchwork star with the same method as my crazy patchwork tree from this post. Check out the tree post, download and print this pdf for the star, and it'll be done in no time! The finished size of the star from the pdf is 4" from point to point. For a larger star, print it larger than 100%. Please note that the star needs to be pointed 'up' when deciding upon placement on the made fabric and when attaching the hanging loop; it's a tad shorter than it is wide. 

I hope my swap partner in Cherry Hill, New Jersey likes it!! It's being packed up in that little box to deliver some holiday cheer.

xo Karin

 

        

 

 

 

How to Cheat on Your Ironing Board: Meet Steady Betty

In my recent Crazy Patchwork Tree Ornament post, I mentioned I keep a small ironing station on my sewing table when I'm working on small patchwork pieces. I thought I'd share what I use. Steady Betty is every traditional ironing board's worst nightmare. I was tired of burning myself on the ironing board while pressing small pieces. It's also a pain to have to hop up from the sewing table and run over to the iron. After some research online, I came across this 16 x 16" skin-saving gem. 

Steady Betty comes in four sizes. I'm happy with the 16 x 16" size, as I can press but also stand the hot iron on it while I'm sewing. The fabric doesn't slip as you're pressing, so there's less stretching and distortion. It also doesn't get as hot as a traditional ironing board. What's even better is that there's still room on the cutting mat to use the quilting ruler with a rotary cutter. 

I have no association with The Steady Betty, I just like it and am happy to share products I find particularly helpful. The holidays are coming, and this is an easy one to wrap and get under the tree!

xo Karin

        

Tutorial: Quilted Key Fob / Wristlet

This quick and easy project is a fun way to use up favorite fabric scraps. A handmade key fob makes a great stocking stuffer, teacher’s gift or present for the person who has everything. For a printable PDF of the instructions, please visit the Pellon Projects site. Pattern includes a wristlet version as well as a shortened size. Jason requested a camoflauge print; I gave him the one on the top right, above, which I call 'modern camo.'

You will need:

Fabric scraps
Pellon Fusible Fleece®
1” wide key fob hardware and key ring
Scrap of felt or batting
Sewing Machine
Rotary Cutter
Quilting ruler or straight edge
Pliers

Step 1:

Cutting instructions for wristlet:
Cut one 3 x 10” piece of fabric
Cut one 2 x 10” piece of fusible fleece

Cutting instructions for key fob:
Cut one 3 x 5” piece of fabric
Cut one 2 x 5” piece of fusible fleece

Step 2: Place fabric strip on ironing board, wrong side up. Center strip of fusible web on top of fabric strip, making sure fusible side is down (fusible side is rougher). Press according to instructions.

Step 3: Fold both sides of fabric up over fusible fleece. Press.

Step 4: Fold strip in half lengthwise, making sure pressed fabric is tucked in between and not visible. Press and pin.

Step 5: Sew closed, as close to edge as possible. Repeat for other long side.

Step 6: Fold strip in half. Match up ends and place in hardware. Using the scrap of felt or batting to avoid scratching the metal, lightly squeeze hardware shut. Double check placement before clamping down hard. Attach key ring.

Decorative stitching ideas:

Zigzag - Place 1” strip on top of cutting mat. Create a zigzag pattern by using a disappearing ink marker and alternating up and down on each horizontal inch line. Stitch before attaching hardware.

 

Additional horizontal running stitch - Add one or two additional seams down the center of the strip.

Decorative machine stitch - Select a decorative stitch pattern on the sewing machine. Stitch down the center of the fabric with the design.

Once I got started making these, I couldn't stop! Jason is using his, my mother snagged the floral one at the top and I chose the purple micro mod. Enjoy!

xo Karin

         

Tutorial: Crazy Patchwork Tree Ornament

Last month, Victoria Findlay Wolfe came to the Seacoast Modern Quilt Guild to do a lecture and trunk show. As a stay-at-home-mom, I was inspired by her concept and accompanying book, "15 Minutes of Play." She encourages busy creative people to take just 15 minutes and play with fabric scraps, essentially turning it into what she calls Made Fabric. While she concentrates on quilt blocks, I am in Christmas mode and wanted to make ornaments. 

I had this lovely charm pack in my studio, and I decided to get the rotary cutter out and start chopping. 

You will need:

Fabric scraps or fabric that can be made into scraps
Rotary cutter, cutting mat and quilting ruler 
Sewing machine
This pdf pattern 

Working with a few squares at a time, I made four straight cuts, leaving me with five irregular pieces. I was also sure to create some long rectangular strips.

My lovely charm pack soon turned into this pile of inviting scraps.

I put them in a bowl and mixed them like a salad. 

Right sides facing, with 1/4" seam allowances, piece two together then add a third. I grabbed randomly from the bowl; my only rule was that I wouldn't use the same fabric twice in a row. I keep a small ironing mat on my sewing table and press seams to the side as I go.

Trim irregular sides to make them straight, then continue adding pieces.

Print the template at 100% and transfer it to thin cardboard. Piece enough fabric to be able to cut two triangles out. It's sort of like using a cookie cutter on cookie dough! This triangular frame allows you to choose what the tree will look like.

Trace the outside of the triangle directly onto the fabric. This will be the line to cut. I made enough fabric to create two triangles — one for the front and one for the back of the tree. If you use a different piece of fabric for the back you could have two ornaments out of the made fabric. 

Front and back pieces, ready to be sewn together.

Pin right sides together. Add the hanging loop at the top, making sure to sandwich the loop down between the tree pieces, leaving the ends hanging out at the top (not pictured). 

Leaving a 2" opening at the bottom, sew with a 1/4" seam allowance, making sure to do a few backstitches at beginning and end. Turn, stuff and use a ladder stitch to close the opening. Your tree is ready to hang!

I plan on making more of these; I still have a big bowl full of coordinating scraps. Maybe a star-shape would be nice, too. 

Enjoy your crazy patchwork tree ornament. I love that it'd be virtually impossible to make the same tree twice. Have fun!

xo Karin

        

 

Felt Tree Ornament with Decorative Machine Stitching

I've been thinking about ways to use the super cool stitch patterns on my sewing machine, as I feel they're generally neglected (a k a guilt). Christmas! I typically hand embroider embellishments, however, by using the machine I was able to whip up this tri-color felt tree ornament while the kids were pretending to nap. By saving time by using the machine stitching feature, these can be made in multiples for present toppers, teacher's gifts, etc. 

You will need:

3 colors of green wool felt
1 scrap of brown wool felt
Sewing machine with decorative stitch patterns
White all-purpose thread
Scrap of fusible interfacing, such as Pellon's 808 Craft-Fuse®
Trim for hanging loop
Fabric glue, such as Fabri-Tac
Disappearing ink marker, or dressmaker's chalk pencil
Download and print this simple pattern 

*note: if you use Pellon's 805 Wonder-Under®, both sides are fusible so the steps to sew the individual tree pieces on and gluing later can be skipped

Step 1: Download, print and cut out the pdf. Trace the tree onto the fusible interfacing and cut the shape out slightly smaller than the printed pattern. 

Step 2: Trace the tree trunk onto brown felt, making sure the top of the trunk extends at least 1/2" above the bottom branch of the tree (see above). Making sure the fusible side is face down, stitch the felt to the non-fusible side as shown.

Step 3: Cut the bottom two pieces of green felt to match the tiers of the tree, extending the top 1/2" or 3/4" above the branch line as shown to allow for overlap. Stitch the bottom and middle tree pieces down. 

 

 

 

Step 4: Cut the top triangle to fit the top tier of the pattern and pin it down. Draw a light line to resemble a garland so you'll have a line to follow with the decorative stitching. If you don't have a machine that does stitching like this, you can decorate the tree however you'd like! A straight stitch or zig zag would be equally effective. Buttons, sequins or beads would be a cute addition!

Step 5: Stitch the decorative garland. 

Step 6: Choose a color of felt for the back of the tree. Place the tree right side down on the background felt, trace and cut out the back of the tree. Flip the pieced front, align with the back (removing paper backing if necessary). As you press to fuse, be sure the long threads are tucked in between front and back and not sticking out.

Step 7: Cut 6" of decorative trim for the hanging loop. Peel the top front of the tree back and add a dab of glue on both sides of the trim. Press to adhere. 

Step 8: While the loop is drying at the top of the tree, lift up all loose front corners of the tree and glue. Allow to dry.

It's too early for our tree to be up, but Santa is having fun holding his new ornament!

I'll have more ornaments in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back. The holidays will be here before we know it! 

xo Karin

 

 

        

The Learning Process Isn't Always Pretty, or Fun

Alternate title: My 100th Post! 

For my 100th post,  I thought I'd share part of the learning process  — the back end, as it were, that isn't usually seen. This is a crib-sized quilt that I'm working on. After free motion quilting for a solid half an hour, I took a break when I decided that it wasn't going well. I waffled. I could continue in the hopes that it would improve by the end, or I could quit, rip it out and start again. I wound up doing both. I quilted on, and there are areas I'm happy with, but overall I knew the inconsistencies would bother me, so I turned the sewing machine off and got out my lovely seam ripper. 

Instead of sitting on the couch knitting or reading at night, I'm ripping and removing threads. What a waste of Aurifil! Or is it? It's hard to change to a thought process where mistakes aren't always bad. The quilt wasn't ruined, but I admittedly need more practice before I'll be comfortable free motion quilting an entire quilt. Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist to settle for a 'learning process' finished product. In all honesty, I just want to be happy with it, and I will be. I try to subscribe to the 'let the process take you where it wants to go' mode of creativity, and sometimes that means taking a step or two backwards. Who knows, maybe I'll wind up liking the new version better than the one I'd originally designed. With art, things do tend to happen for a reason, and that's okay.

Thanks so much to everyone who has supported me and this creative undertaking for the first 100 posts!  I truly appreciate each and every comment. It's amazing to see it all unfold, meet terrific people, and be able to reflect upon all I've learned thus far. I chuckle, for example, when I look at the photography in my first few posts. It'll be interesting to see what's changed when I reach 200.

Meanwhile, back to the seam ripper....

xo Karin

        

Sewing for The One Million Pillowcase Challenge

This project has been on my want-to-do list for some time. Organized by American Patchwork & Quilting, the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge is a challenge for quilters, sewists, and crafters to reach a goal of donating one million pillowcases to charity. The counter is currently up to 522,000! 

Annabel chose the main fabrics, and I selected the coordinating material for the bands. There are a variety of free patterns on the official web site, and I decided upon the one called, 'Roll it up!' It calls for 7/8 yard for the pillowcase body and 3/8 yard for the band. I liked it because it involves sewing the pillow with a 'burrito' method which leaves you with no exposed seams to unravel in the wash. If you've ever wanted to know how to sew a French seam, this is a great way to learn.  

We made three pillowcases in one afternoon, one cotton and two flannel. It's a great project to do with kids and a way to familiarize young children with the how's and why's of sewing for charity. 

Visit the web site here for additional information. Find the nearest participating shop that is collecting the pillowcases, the list of charities supported, and how to be sure your pillowcases will be added to the tally.

xo Karin

PS - If you've sewn for charity and would like to recommend a charity sewing project, please do so in the comments below!