Monday, November 30, 2015

Jingle Jingle!

Tis' The Season to be Dresden, Fa LA La la la....

©owltellyousew

I don't know what it is about Dresden's, but I love them! I've read somewhere that the name comes from a small town in Germany, and were originally created during the 1920's when floral decor was popular, and women could easily whip this up using whatever scraps they had laying around the house. This could all be BS?! Because you can't believe everything you read on the Internet, right?


The little pedals can be made in all different shapes and sizes. I received a magazine recently called "Love Patchwork & Quilting" and it came with a modern Dresden project book. I decided Christmas would be the perfect time to create a pretty Dresden table runner. I've made them before, using a Dresden ruler and a charm pack. This time was different....I was using a cheerful, holiday fabric with different size templates. I've always wanted to use the rounded edge, but not sure exactly how? I'll have to save that for another day. Here is a page out of the booklet to show all the different options you can make using these templates. Pretty cool?!


Here are the 12 pedals I was using to make one Dresden. This Dresden was used with the 12-blade ruler, meanings 12 pedals. The other rulers used 8-blade and 5-blade. Those would be chunkier with less pedals. Once they are all sewn together, I cut one 18x18 background square and fold it half, and in half again to find the center. I usually iron press the center and pin the Dresden around the center of the background square. Each template offers different dimensions.



You need a cardboard template to make the center circle. Here, I am using the template that came with the magazine. I draw an outline around the template and cut out the red circle center fabric. I do a simple gather stitch around the edge. Place the template inside the circle and iron around so it makes a perfect circle. 

Press, starch.... Remove the template and pin to the center of the Dresden.

Here is a YouTube tutorial by Jenny Doan, of Missouri Star Quilting CO. and how she makes the center circle. It's very easy to understand. I love watching her video tutorials, they are sew easy! Check it out here.


The shorter the Dresden pedal, the bigger the center circle. If you look closely at the center circle template, you will see it starts with a small red circle, then purple, green and blue. I only used the blue and purple center circles for this table runner. 


I started with the red, center circle and used a coordinating red thread to blanket stitch around. Once that was finished, I began to stitch the pedals. Stay as close to the edge as possible, and slowly work your way around. I always use the drop needle, so I don't lose my spot-and go slowly! There is no rush and you want to make sure it is flat and does not bunch. Make sure to use a lot of pins. Some people prefer to hand baste around the circle first, but I like to use my machine.

Round and round we go! 
Once they are all done and sewn together, I added the same red metallic border all the way around. I still need to baste, bind and quilt! I think this would make a great gift for my God-mother who loves Christmas decorations as much as I do. The fabric I used was a bundle called, Jingle by Kate Spain for Moda, it has to be one of my favorite lines. I love the cardinals and Christmas writing.

Isn't it pretty? I'm a new blogger, so I apologize for the picture quality. I'm still learning. I wouldn't consider this post a tutorial, but you could use it as a resource. Thanks, hope you enjoyed!

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Mrs. Claus

Santa Skirt

©owtellyousew


Well, well, well....Tis the season for everything red, green and cold! Who doesn't love the holidays? Haha

Every year around Christmas I am a complete mess. I panic about shopping, spending, eating, baking, gifts, decor, lights...Oh My! I am completely enthralled in the months list of things to do, and wondering when I have time to do it all? 
I usually have an idea of all the things I want to make, and use every opportunity to avoid those, and work on something else. You know what I mean? 

I found this tutorial by, Just Add A Bow on YouTube and was excited to give it a try! I watched the video a few times, and felt pretty confident that I could make this skirt. So I went to Joann's and picked up a few supplies.

This is what you need:

6 inch tulle (any color, on a spool) X2
7/8 to 1 inch ribbon X5
Crochet headband or elastic
Thread
Sewing Machine
Ruler
Lighter

Make a cardboard ruler or use something to make the length of tulle you need. In my case, my teddy bear has a 19.5" waist. So I needed about 7.5" of tulle in length. I used a 16" ruler, and wrapped the tulle around as many times as possible. Cut it twice, top and bottom.


Now that you have all the tulle pieces cut you will need to cut the ribbons. Each ribbon needs to be cut to 6 inches and then you need to burn the ends to prevent fraying. I used four rolls of white ribbon. 

*Don't forget to use your coupons!*

Sew the ribbons to the ends of each piece of tulle. The ribbon has a natural curl to it...you want to place the curl curved upward onto the sewing machine. 


Chain piece the ribbon to the tulle ends, and repeat on the other side. I did sections of 20 tulle pieces, because I had exactly 40, 6 inch ribbons...two for each piece. I'm not sure how many pieces of tulle I used altogether, but it had to be at least 100!

I went all the way around my Santa Bear tying the pieces of tulle onto the crochet headband. I bought the crochet headband by the yard. However, I would recommend finding the cheaper ones that are sold as headbands. They come in may different colors and stretch to fit most children's waist. It probably took me 3 hours total. I didn't expect to use that much ribbon, so had to make a couple extra stops at the fabric store! I thought it turned out better than I expected?! The possibilities are endless! I was brainstorming some color options, and thought black with black satin, or multi-color with thick ribbon would look adorable for special occasions other than Christmas! Hopefully, my baby cousin will look seasonally precious for her photoshoot and that she loves her big, Santa skirt! 

What are a few things on your "List to Do" this holiday season? 

Happy Holidays Everyone!