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‘Tis the season for thinking about stitching up a few holiday gifts for friends. If you’ve always made the same thing for all your friends, perhaps only in different colors, this year you can change all that with the myriad ideas in two great books. Homemade Gifts with Love, and Simple Sewn Gifts
I want to make a quilted jacket, but am concerned about the bulk of using batting between the outer and lining layers. Is there another option to keep me from looking like a teddy bear?
Many art quilt garments use ordinary cotton flannel between the inner and outer layers of cloth. It provides stability for piecing and a light warmth, but without the bulk of a thicker batting.
For best results, pre-shrink the flannel before using it. If you don’t, it can shrink considerably, causing distortion in the garment and making it too tight as well.
Some sewers buy flannel by the bolt to have on hand for pieced garments and also to use as an interlining in coats and tailored garments, as well as lightweight quilts. If you choose to do this, watch for coupons and sales and purchase a bolt of white and/or black for multiple uses.
I recently had the pleasure of having breakfast with Ty Pennington, host of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Actually, it wasn’t just the two of us, but a group of magazine editors gathered to see the debut of his new Ty Pennington Impressions fabric line from Westiminster Fibers.
Look for these new collections at your local fabric and quilt stores this winter–there are fun fleeces, home decorating sateens and laminates, and fashion cotton prints.
Unlike many celebrities who simply rubber stamp their names onto product line endorsements, Ty actually had hands-on involvement with the collections. He used photographs from his travels, made wood-block stamps of the patterns, then actually stamped them onto cloth in his own backyard to see how they looked with repeats, overlaps, etc.
Being a talented graphic designer — and a hands-on sewer — he then went back to the computer to figure out the fabric designs, repeats, etc. The results are fabulous and knowing that he did it all himself makes them even better!
This is actually my second brush with celebrity this year…I also interviewed Chandra Wilson (Dr. Miranda Bailey from Grey’s Anatomy about her involvement with the Quilts for Kids program. Who knows who I’ll get to chat with next?
Nothing’s quite as cute as a little girl dressed up in an outfit to match her dolly, and author Joan Hinds offers up 20 different coordinating outfits in All Dolled Up. Whether you’re looking to clothe your duo with dress-up garb, casual wear, pj’s or accessories, there’s something for all occasions. Most of the doll clothes can be done in about 30 minutes. Full-size patterns are included for many of the child-size garments and for all the doll fashions.
In addition to the text and colorful photos, this book is part of the Create with Nancy series, so it includes a bonus DVD with additional tips and techniques. There are also tips from Nancy Zieman throughout the text.
Many of the garments in this 128-page book are simple enough even a child could do them, so it’s a good way to teach a young person to sew. 128 pages.
Oh what fun it is to tell the world about your hobby, and what better way to do it than with a sewing theme license plate. Called “vanity plates” in some states, for an extra fee you can create the wording on the tag yourself. Depending on the state rules, the message can be a combination of letters, numbers and spaces, usually from 1 character to 8. Check with your state vehicle agency for specific rules before you set your imagination working on the myriad possibilities.
If you’re contemplating a personalized license plate, here are some ideas for you to consider. It’s always good to have at least several ideas in mind, since your first choice may already be taken and you can’t duplicate.
SEW COOL, I SEW, I SEW 2, SEWNSEW, SEW NICE, FABRIC, DRSMAKR, SHE SEWS, ISOALOT, SEWAHLC, WILLSEW, ISEW4U, CLOTHES, THREAD, SEWSEW, SEWBIZ, SEW ART, ISEW4FUN, SEW WHAT, QUILTR, SEWNRIP, NEEDLR
If you need more ideas, try flipping through the pages of our website to find other sewing terms that might work. Have fun!
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