BLOG 331

BLOG 331

I have got my scrap project under way now. I started off with two bags of scraps; one was full of lights to medium lights and the other medium darks to darks. The machine was threaded with any thread that I wanted to use up and away to go!

              Lights

           Darks

I decided to do crazy log cabin this time using a paper foundation method. I am sometimes asked why I sew on papers and the answer is easy. Paper is a cheap medium and it is easy to sew on. It also gives accurate shapes and when I have covered all the paper, the block is complete. I use very cheap A4 paper and in this instance, I made the square as large as I could by just removing a narrow strip from the lower edge.

              Crazy patchwork

The centre shape is 5-sided to make it less regular and this is placed in the middle of the paper.

              Centre

A strip, any width, just whatever I pull out of the bag, is placed RS down over the top so that it lies along one of the sides. Pin them together ready to sew. Reduce the length of a stitch on the machine so it is small enough to perforate the paper but not to cut it entirely as the paper needs to be in tact until the end of the process.

             Strip 1

Sew a ¼” seam allowance through all the layers and remove the pin. Flip the strip over and press it well.

             Sew and flip

Trim away the excess fabric from the end of the strip so that it follows the line of the adjacent side.

             Trim

Rotate the centre anti-clockwise and lay the next strip RS together along the next side and across the first sewn strip. Pin to secure.

            Strip 2

Trim away any excess fabric which extends beyond the edge of the strip.

            Trim

Keep rotating and adding strips until the sheet of paper has been covered. Eventually it will be just a case of filling in the corners.

           Sew

              Trim and flip

As usual I prefer to sew one after another so progress is steady and little thread is wasted.

              Conveyor belt sewing

Once the paper has been covered, iron thoroughly to settle the fabrics.

            Completed blocks

With a rotary cutter, and working from the paper side, trim away any fabric that extends beyond the paper to complete the square.

           Trim

This will be a long term project which should get rid of lots of my scraps. And there is a lot of satisfaction in the thought that I am getting something for nothing. Happy sewing!

             8 squares

And just take a look at this exquisite wreath made by Peggy who sits around the table at Suzettes. Her sister Pat made the cockerel which I showed last week. All the fine stem work, leaves and butterflies was painstakingly embroidered onto plastic bags which were then trimmed back. The plastic gives the shapes body and pliability. Fabulous!

             Peggy’s wreath

          Detail