It's a minor thing, but a nice change. I replaced the old, incandescent light bulb on the Kenmore sewing machine, with new LED bulb. The LED bulb is an upgrade. I imagine no one even imagined them when this machine was new.
This is the sewing area, lit via the old incandescent bulb. Photo taken with I-phone, which is affected by light source. However, the comparison is about right.
Here is is, illuminated via the new LED bulb. Quite a difference.
This will be easier on my old eyes.
I decided to use up most of the rest of the shirt scraps, making quilt blocks quilted pillow shams. The colors will match the brick pattern quilt, but the look will be different.
So I practiced sewing drunkards path blocks. I think these are a misnomer when used as circles. Quarter Moon blocks might be a better name. But what do I know.
These are handy. They use up all sorts of small and odd pieces. This completely uses up some of the shirts. I added another shade of blue that is not in the brick pattern quilt, because I wanted the flexibility of another pattern and shade.
I may give in and buy inexpensive cotton sheet to back the blue brick pattern quilt. Meanwhile, I made the binding, which will complete the quilt edges, once I get to that.
This was a previously owned XL cotton long sleeve shirt. Kind of a medium weight fabric There is no apparent outside/inside, or I can't see the difference. The dark spot is just a water drip from the steam iron.
It was a simple process. Wash / dry the shirt on warm / hot setting to preshrink and thoroughly clean. Thrift store shirts can have a musty scent, so I add color safe bleach to the was water, which seems to fully cleanse the fabric. I remove the pocket first, so the weave can shrink and needle holes vanish. Starch, iron. Cut seams. Cut into the longest 2 1/2 inch wide strips possible. Sew shorts strips together into one long strip, with 45 degree angle seams. The angle reduces bulk when sewing on the binding. Iron, and it's done and ready. I needed about 26 feet of binding. This shirt gave that, using the longest strips, with a bit left over. Not much.
I finished assembling the shirt fabric quilt top. This is seven shirts, plus the border binding will be one more, a dark blue. In keeping with the repurposed fabric idea, I want to find a sheet or similar fabric in good shape, before doing the quilting, so that may be a while. Alternatively, I might find something on sale.
There are things I like and things I don't like about the result. I'm still new at it, and self-taught at that, so need to be forgiving with myself.
This is an old, traditional quilt pattern. I found an example online from 1910, Illinois State Museum.
Cadet caps can be ideal for someone who doesn't have a protective pad of hair on top of their head. Like me. For some reason, I keep hitting the top of my gead on cabinet doors and tree limbs etc. That causes injured scalp. Purchased baseball caps and similar often have no padding for scalp, they have a coarse, rough inside, plus have a button or rivet in the center. Hitting ones head on that feels like being struck with a ball peen hammer, painful and causes skin tear, bleeding, and scab.
A cadet cap has a one piece fabric top. No center rivet or button. By adding a quilted layer to the top, it's protective. A few months ago, I sewed a few flannel cadet caps, with quilted tops. Those are protective and comfortable, and warm. They are also easily washable and can go into the dryer. Flanell does cone out a bit unkempt after laundering. With warmer weather, I wanted some different caps. Something less warm, but durable Nd easy to wash and dry like any other clothing.
I made this one using denim harvested from a pair of thrift store jeans. The lining is quilting cotton, for lightness and absorption and air exchange. However, being heavy denim this cap is still quite warm.
This denim was at the outer limit of thickness and stiffness that my sewing machine and skills can handle. I sewed the quilted top to the inside liner before sewing the liner the outer shell. I was not able to sew in a sweat band. The top is a little lumpy. However, these caps become somewhat form fitting.
I made the bill using the same heavy / semi stiff interfacing as before. It makes a somewhat flexible bill that I like.
During the winter I bought some duck fabric on line. I used that to make a second cap. This time, no hat band. The sides of the liner are the same fabric, and the top of the liner is a sandwich of muslin / thin quilt batting / muslin. The sides also have a thin fusible interfacing for a little stiffness.
I like this cap much better. It's lighter and cooler. I don't care as much for the stitching I added to the top, but maybe that will look better on washing. I have more duck fabric, so might make another without that extra stitching.
These are the two quilts that I am working on.
First, the disappearing nine patch. All of the nine patches are sewn and pressed. I also cut the first 1/3 into quarters.
This is one of the nine patches, cut into quarters.
These can be turned in any direction, or mixed with squares from other nine patches before sewing into the quilting blocks. This is one way.
Combining four of those, it looks like this.
I'm not crazy about how those come together. I think a less overpowering and more playful look happens if they are mixed together, so this is an example using those same four patches.
I like that a lot more. It is still open for other colors to be mixed in. I need a quiet time when I can arrange them on a larger surface - the floor - and no doggie romping around. That will have to be in an early morning. Then I can photograph the result so I know which patches to sew together, how.
Then there is the brick sidewalk quilt. I arranged a few rows of the "bricks" to see how I like them.
I like how this comes together. I'll use the photo to sew together the rows. The bolder pattern may need a little more arranging. I'm not sure that anyone would recognize this as being made from men's shirts. Some quilters like to emphasize the repurposed aspect, by including pockets or buttons in their quilts. For this quilt, I just want to concentrate on the fabrics and patterns.
I may need to make it a row narrower, so that I can make it a couple of rows longer. I need to re-count the bricks.
I have been working on the disappearing nine patch quilt that I started in late March. Since that post, I starched and ironed the fabric for stiffening and stability. I learned that makes the fabric easier to work with, and with more precision. The I cut the chambray and the batik fat quarters into squares, 5 inches by 5 inches. I also cut batik fabric that is slate on black, the same size. I am thinking this quilt will need about 49 large squares, but I will re-count when I'm closer to sewing them together. There is enough fabric for three 9-patch squares of each color or pattern.
Today I completed sewing together all of the strips of three's. Those get made into 9-patches by combining three strips. This can all be whatever pattern or colors are wanted, or completely random. But I have a pattern in mind (see previous post, linked). Currently, I have 1/3 of the nine-patches made, and the rest are strips of three.
When the rest of the nine patches are done, they get cut into quarters, a slice down the middle vertically and a slice across the middle horizontally. Then I rearrange them to see what I like.
Meanwhile, here is the start of the men's shirt quilt. I want a quilt for my office where Rufus can lie on the bed and the quilt can withstand more washings than usual. The men's shirts are noticeably heavier, higher quality fabric. I raided my closet for some, and found some at thrift stores. Total cost about $15, whereas the same amount bought new at a fabric store would be several times that. I like the look and feel of these. Combining the shirts for the quilt blocks and one shirt for the border, this quilt uses 8 shirts with a lot left over for other projects.
To process the shirts, I wash and dry hot to pre-shrink them, although they have probably been through that before. They get heavy starch, the I press briefly. I cut through the seams. Then I cut the shapes that I want, in this case 5 inch by 10 inch rectangles. Later, if I want something finer, I could cut them down to 5 inch squares as in the 9-patch quilt, or something different. depending on the size and cut of the shirt, that's barely enough blocks for some shirts, and lots of extras for others.
This quilt will be sort of like a brick street or brick wall, in shades of blue, white, grey, slate. It's a simpler pattern than I've been making, with more muted colors. I've seen others with similar design on the internet, although have not found a pattern for them so am making my own.
I've been looking for fabric for the backing. If I can't find anything I like, I may do something similar but different pattern, for a reversible quilt.
These will need a few months to complete. I enjoy sewing them very much, but the time at the sewing machine can make my back too painful. So I have to pace myself.
All of the squares are cut now. I started sewing together the nine patches. It will take a while to complete them, and there is no hurry.
This photo is from when I started cutting them. There are now about 49 piles of each color pair, 12 squares per color.
Here are some of the second hand men's shirts that will go into the spare bed quilt. They are shades of blue and grey. I want to add some brown, tan, khaki type colors. A few more should do it. My current thought is either 5 X 5 squares or 5 X 10 squares. Maybe do the latter and if there are not enough, change to 5 X 5.
I've tried to match the chambray fat quarters with batik quarters, either as contrasting colors and colors that seem to match. I expect to continue to move them around until time to actually sew them.
First, I starched and ironed all of the fabric. That keeps it shaped nicely for cutting and sewing, not stretched and awkward. I also cut the black (actually a charcoal grey batik on black) into 5 inch squares. I wondered if the black was too much contrast with the colors. I don't think so, and those will be smaller when it's all together.
I started cutting the fat quarters into 5 inch squares too. These are the first few, with the chambray and batik matched in each pile. There are 12 squares of each, so with the black centers there will be 3 large quilting blocks per pile. I've actually cut about 13 piles now. Some don't match as well as these do. I may need to rearrange them for better color match.
I took a couple day break from cutting, to do some gardening. Plus I was changing the razor blade wheel in the fabric cutter, and sliced a piece of my finger. Fortunately, no blood wound up on the fabric. So I wanted a break for that to heal.
On a side note, I want a quilt for Rufus's bed, which is actually my bed but he takes it over. I want something more durable than the usual quilt fabric, and also inexpensive. I bought three somewhat heavy weight 100% cotton, extra large men's shirts at Goodwill, that matched the 50% off labels so they were very cheap. My wild guess is each can be cut into about a yard or yard and a half of fabric, so this is much cheaper than buying something at the fabric store. So far, I have plain grey and blue tones, which I will keep to, maybe with some brown or tan, or off white. We'll see how many I can find. I think I need a total of about ten old shirts for this to work. No hurry, and as the weather warms up and the corona goes away with vaccines, yard and estate sales can be an even more inexpensive source of cotton fabric. I read somewhere that Goodwill throws away a lot of the clothing that is taken there, so I'm thinking this is a good way to recycle with low cost, and the end result will be more durable than if I bought actual quilting fabric which is not as rugged as these.
These are the fabric samples that I will use for the next quilt. There are two sets. One is a subtle pattern in plain colors. The other set is more vibrant, batiks. They are "fat quarters", fabric cuts sold to make quilts or other projects. I bought them on the internet, not wanting to venture out to the local coronavirus fabric store. With the fabric bundles, you kind of have to make the best guess and take what they package together, so not all of them work. I think most of these will.
This should be enough for a queen size bed quilt. I won't know for sure until I see how it fits together. The pattern will be what is called a Disappearing Nine Patch, a popular pattern that a relative newcomer to quilting can do. It's basically, cut / arrange / sew into blocks, cut again, rearrange, sew into blocks, then arrange and make the quilt top from that.
These are the fabric pieces that I want to use. They are folded, so when I cut them into 5 inch squares, each piece will make about 24 squares (I think). I tried to pair each batik piece with a semi-plain one that is either lighter or darker, and has a color that contrasts or matches the batik piece.
I cut the catalog pieces into 5 X 5 squares. I used black and white to contrast with the color photos.
I arranged for the red based images to be at the corners, and the green one in the center. The black and white are in the middle of each side. There is no law that says they have to be in this pattern, or any other, but it's easier to follow when one is learning. The squares can be any color or location.
By having the different color, green, in the center, we can see what happens to that patch.
Then I tape together by threes. With fabric, I would sew with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Then join together the three strips of three. This is called a "nine patch" block, one of the main standards of traditional quilts. I could stop there, and make a pile of these quilting blocks, and it wold be a "Nine Patch Quilt". That would be fine as is, but I like the added sense of movement and playfulness of what happens next.
Now, cut the nine patch into quarters. The "nine patch" disappears due to the cut, so now it will become a "disappearing nine patch". So then, instead of a roughly 14 inch by 14 inch square, you have four roughly 7 inch squares.
This image is right after the cuts. What's nice is, instead of all of the squares being squares, now there are big squares, that will come out about 4 X 4 inches, little squares that will be 2 X 2 inches, and rectangles 2 X 4 inches. What pattern and color comes out in what shape and size is up to the person making the quilt. Here, the green flowers are now the smaller squares.
One way to rearrange the squares is to turn two opposite squares so that the small squares are at outer corners. If you wanted, you could do this using all four from the patch that you just cut, or using patches of different colors from all over the quilt. I have not decided yet.
Or, turn so that the small squares are at the outside corners. Then it's like there are four big squares in the center, with a kind of border of black & white rectangles and green small squares in the outside corners.
Or totally random, or any other pattern. Again, there are no laws about any of this. Another option is instead of cutting at right angles, those cuts can be corner to corner, but I'm not doing that this time.
I have black batik that will be the center, so it will be a kind of accent like bow ties all over the quilt. I'm not sure if I will do a random arrangement or try to make a more planned pattern yet.
Given the gloomy weather, I want Rufus in a more visible color than his natural shadow-black, on our daily walks. We don't have sidewalks. I wear bright yellow, so he should too. I started this jacket last year then set it aside. The main thing it needed was a belt and belt loops, to keep it from sliding off his back. Here he is wearing the improved jacket.
This was an old comforter I bought at Good Will two years ago for Rufus. It cost $6. Most of the dog beds are not really washable and become lumpy and dirty fairly fast, and are quite expensive. In the past, I used old comforters and folded then for bulk, to make a soft dog bed. Those can be washed but can be too big for the washer/dryer. This one was king size, so I never used it. No way would it fit in our washer. I didn't notice that when I bought it.
Today I got it out and cut it into quarters, then hemmed the edges. That made four pillowy minicomforters that can be folded in half or thirds and stacked for the little "prince and the pea.". Plus, they are a nice washable / dryable size for Mr. Muddy Paws. I think these will last longer than a bought purpose-made dog bed, and he likes them.
Reuse, repurpose, upcycle, whatever. Plus cheap.
This is a lap-size quilt. Or goes on the wall. I learned a lot with this one, how to quilt it without creases, how to to this patchwork, how to get the binding right. Next I will make one for the bed, which is the whole idea. I just wasn't ready before. I'm thinking to use shades of blues and neutral colors, or I don't know.
Washing the quilt brings out a nice texture, as the fabrics soften up and there is a little shrinkage. I think it's a beautiful effect. In fact, I think it's a far nicer look than before washing.
I learned some things making these. It's nice making the headband inside the hat, using unused, bias-cut kitchen towel. It's very stretchy and absorbent. I used a temporary adhesive to hold it in place while I made the sweat band inside-out, out of the same flannel as the hats. Then I turned it inside out and sewed into place.
Second, the original cap has bias tape covering the inside seams. That's really difficult to sew. What is easier is to construct two hats, about the same size, and sewing one inside-out inside the other as a liner. It takes a little planning, but then there are no exposed seams. For the first, I used zigzag stitch, which is fine but using one inside out in the other is more professional looking.
The lower left cap is the first one that I made, which was all olive drab. I made a mistake not putting in a sweat band, and it was goofy. So, I constructed a new cap with a plaid cotton fabric, turned the hat inside out, and sewed it together. Now the olive drab fabric is the liner, and the plaid is on the outside. It looks better and is more comfortable. This hat will keep its shape better than the flannel ones, but isn't as warm and soft. The flannel caps are more mashable, soft, warm, and comfortable. They are all machine washable, dryable. By using a heavy interfacing instead of stiff plastic for the brim, they may not wear out as fast.
I had some unused squares left over from a wall hanging quilt that I made last fall and winter. That was the first one that I ever made.
Since I didn't know anything about making a patchwork quilt, I started as simple as I could. I bought a package of 2 inch wide fabric strips in a roll, called a "jellyroll". Those can be nice to start out, because they include various colors and patterns in one roll up. On the other hand, one can buy a jellyroll and wind up with pieces that don't look right, or aren't wanted, and on the other hand have to add pieces.
In this case, I made a "split rail fence" pattern quilt. That involves three strips, 2 inches wide, sewn together into a square. The easiest way is to take 3 strips that are much longer, sew them side by side into one long strip, then cut across it every 6 inches. That will give 6 inch squares with a contrasting stripe in the center. For my original quilt. I either had dark center strip and light outer strip, or vice versa. They can be arranged in all sorts of ways. I wound up with 6 left over and put them into a box.
I wanted to improve my sewing skills, especially for making the next quilt. I decided to make some table mats, which are basically very tiny quilts. I thought the split rail blocks were too big for such a small item. Plus, there would only have been enough for one table mat, which isn't much. I decided to make something different, basically scrambling the split rail patches.
So, I made six more squares, mostly with brighter and lighter colors. Some of those were left over pieces from making face masks. In this case, I arranged them from dark to medium to light colors. That gave me 12 squares over all. Here are the 2 squares.
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I thought those were too large to look good on small place mats. Plus, I wanted to experiment. So, I arranged the six original squares face up, and use the six new squares turning so the seams were at right angles to the first. I tried to make each combination different, but that wasn't completely possible with what I had.
Then I clipped the pairs together, and sewed all the way around with the good sides facing the inside.
Then, I cut corner to corner, both ways, on all of the squares.
Unfolding the cut pieces, and turning opposite corners of each square in the opposite direction looks like this.
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That's an interesting pattern, with repeating shapes. However, they don't work out for the size and pattern that I wanted. So I scrambled the patches, turning them in various directions and trying not to have too many that were the same fabric adjacent to itself. Then I ironed them flat, and sewed the squares together to make two mats.
Now it's exactly the same as making a big quilt, except it's small. I sandwiched the new patchwork layer, cotton batting, and a cotton fabric backing. That backing was fabric that I bought last summer on Amazon to make masks, but it was way too flimsy, basically muslin (bad Amazon and bad seller!). But it's fine for the back side of these table mats.
Three things I learned since the last attempt. First, if the piecework top, the batting, and the backing are adhered together with washable spray adhesive, then there won't be wrinkles and everything stays together while being completed.
Second, I watched a lot of videos and learned the right way to do the binding, that border around the edges. It's not an obvious technique (to me), but really isn't hard at all.
Third, it turns out that the jelly roll strips are exactly the width needed to make binding strips. I didn't know that. There's probably a reason. That did give me some nice choices.
Here is how the table mats came out. I like some things about these. First, they are made from scraps of fabric, which is how patchwork quilts originated and is a nice tradition. I might have chosen some different patterns and colors if I had a big fabric bin to choose from, but I liked how these came out anyway Second, I like this scrambled split rail fence pattern. I'm sure it's been done zillions of times, but I didn't find a pattern so I made it up. It's fun to see the various patterns peeking from behind others, and see the contrasts in shapes, colors, and intensity. Third, I learned some new things. The mats will soften and puff up a little when they are washed.
Moving on with my experience with the "Fidel Castro" cap, I decided to make one using cotton flannel. Flannel is softer and more comfortable, and possibly easier on the sewing machine compared to the tough ripstop olive denim-type fabric. I used the same pattern, and made some changes. First, for the tip, I used flannel on both the inside and outside layers, with cotton batting between the layers. I pre-washed the flannel to adjust for shrinkage. To give the sides a little more firmness, I used a thin fusible interfacing ironed to one layer, and cut both inner and outer layers of flannel fabric, so that was like a sandwich: flannel:interfacing:flannel. The bill was a sandwich as before, using flannel instead of ripstop and using thick heavy interfacing to give it some substance. This time, I kept the binding on the sides, cutting the fabric on the bias. That made it possible for the hat to stand a little taller than the first attempt. For the sweat band, I bias-cut new dish-towel fabric, which is all cotton, durable, soft and absorbent.
Here is how it came out. It's still interesting that the fabric came together so differently from the original cap despite using the same pattern. Not just the fabric pattern and color, but the shape and overall appearance of the cap. My first thought was "Elmer Fudd Cap" so I did a web search on "Elmer Fudd Cap" and there they were. However, most Elmer Fudd caps have the ear flaps that tie to the top when not needed, whereas this cap does not have ear flaps.
This is a big improvement on the first prototype cap. Using the sewing machine walking foot, assembly was much easier. It didn't skip any stitches at all. The thickest parts were a little challenging but I am learning how to do better with these challenges. This hat turned out to very comfortable. There is no belt at the back - it's a good snug fit due to bias cutting the binding and sweat band. The original cap didn't have a belt either, and it wore fine for many years.
I might make a few other adjustments before making the next cap. I'm happy with it as is, but there is always something to do to make things a little better. I probably need to add about 1/4 inch to the oval top, because quilting the fabric makes it a little smaller in diameter. I adjusted the sides to account for that. Before doing that, I want to put it through the washer / dryer to see how it re-shapes. It should be OK. This cap is meant to be treated like any other clothing, washed and dried just like a shirt or trousers.
