Bolt Neighborhood

Fresh Start for the New Year

by Shelly.

This year I decided not to make a New Year Resolution.

I decided just to get things done without the pressure of disappointing myself.  I have been busy with creating patterns, teaching and raising two boys that many things have been neglected.  First on the list was my ironing board cover.   When I browse my favorite blogs or visit home photos of my favorite fabric designer the embarrassment of neglect is heavy on my shoulders. I took my weekly trip to Bolt and viewed so many gorgeous new home décor prints that I was instantly inspired to get to it!

So here it is, my poor cover:  

I know, pathetic but my excuse is the thousands of hours I spend pressing and pressing and pressing.

So let’s get to it:  Ironing Board Makeover

Supplies:  Home Décor Weight Fabric (my new favorite at the shop), Quilt Batting, Coordinating Thread, Marker, 4 yards of ¼ “ elastic or 4 yards of draw string and a ruler.

* Measure your ironing board to estimate the amount of fabric/batting you’ll need.  For the average size you’ll need 2 yards.

1.  Lay your quilt batting flat on a clean floor and then lay your ironing board right on top.  Draw an outline of the board directly onto the batting.  

2.  Cut your batting and lay it on top of your ironing board.  You want to make sure it sits nicely on your board and if you notice that it’s drooping over the edges then trim off the excess. 

 

3.  Lay the batting directly onto the wrong side of your new fabulous fabric.  Mark a 2.5” boarder around the batting and cut your fabric using your pinking shears.  If you don’t own a pair you can finish the edges by using a zig zag stitch.  I used a serger that my lovely mother has allowed me to borrow (nice mom).  

4.  Create a hem by turning the fabric ½” and press flat.

5.  Sew around the pressed edges but leave a 1” opening.  You just created a casing, good job!

6.  Attach a safety pin to the end of your elastic or string and feed it through your casing.

7.  If using a drawstring place the cover over the board and batting and pull until tight.  Tie a bow.

8.  If using elastic take the two ends of elastic laying ½” on top of ½” and stitch together.  Place over the batting and board.  

You’re Finished!  I can’t believe I put this off for a year and it only took me 30 minutes.

I’ve decided to make a second one for a backup!

Proper Table Top

by Melissa.

 

Tablecloths can be quite expensive and quite ugly, which makes them a historically unappealing gift giving choice.  Both of these problems are solved with some very uncomplicated sewing.  The big deal with tablecloths is that the fabric that's readily available is probably not going to be in the appropriate width for covering a large surface.  Home Dec fabric often comes in 56-60" widths, so cutting the right length and hemming around the perimeter is easy-peasy.  But, you might also buy 1 1/2' cuts (or raid your stash) off of the quilt weight 44/45" bolts and make a lovely paneled cloth. 

 

For a 52" by 70" (approx) cloth, you'll need two 1 1/2' cuts (for a wider cloth, by 1 3/4 yards).  I used two coordinating fabrics:  one whole cut for the center panel, and the other cut split up the middle for each side.  Measure each side equally and hem accordingly.  For a longer cloth, use 3 1.5' cuts and you'll get a cloth up to 120" long.  Make sure you prewash your fabric and finish your panel seams with a zigzag stitch. 

Want to go one better?  Include simple napkins.  These are 14" square and I used a friend's serger to finish the edges.  Napkins are easy to hem using a mitered corner, bias tape, or a rolled hem foot on our sewing machine:

 

Bolt has several shelves 40% off right now-- which would make this project very affordable.

What do you think?

by Gina.

cutie owls and butterflies in home dec weight from Alexander Henry

I’m on the fence with a purchasing decision and thought I might try asking our customers for their thoughts.  Novel idea, right?!  There are some amazing new fabrics from Mod Green Pod—they are organic cotton, upholstery weight, and made in the U.S.  What?!  All that?? You ask.  Yep, and they are great designs—modern, colorful, fun, and simple.  They retail for around $40 / yard.  I would love to bring them into the store, but am curious how many of you out there are interested.  Leave a comment, let me know, or mention it to us when you’re in the store next.

http://modgreenpod.com/

The other amazing, amazing fabric that I’m so absolutely in love with is from Australia.  Three gals hand silk screen cloth in their studio over there.  The coolest designs, the most lovely of colors.  Ink and Spindle is what they go by and it would retail for about $70 a yard or more, or around $14 per fat quarter (and that would be approximately 18” square).  It’s a treat to gaze upon their designs.  Again, I’m curious to know how many folks out there would be interested.  It’s a departure from what I typically carry as far as price goes, so let me know what you think. 

http://inkandspindle.com/index.html

Thanks and enjoy browsing!

Binding Straight and Narrow.

by Lupine.

We have had a lot of goings on about napkins lately, so although this one is also about napkins, I am really trying to share a new (to me) binding technique. I have done my fair share of binding: quilts, clothing, napkins, aprons... the list goes on. Recently, I discovered a little something new, thanks to the folks over at the Pearl Bee. I was setting about making my little sister some new birthday napkins, something to use at her Thanksgiving table. She is doing her first real holiday entertaining with her boyfriend in LA. Hosting his family at their house, and having just had a birthday which I have not yet gotten her a gift, I knew napkins would be a useful and fun addition to her home.

I did get the actual request for napkins, which I love to use and make.  She made me some when she was about 10 that I still use daily and have held up well. They always make me think of her and more importantly, her when she was 10; delightful and learning to sew.

I got started and learned this cool way of using binding cut on the straight of grain and made to go around square corners. How fun, and how easy. This would be great on a small quilt or blanket, which I will be doing soon in flannel. I have a few new babies that need to snuggle and a single layer blanket is so nice and makes a great layer for little ones all year long. I will use this new technique for sure, as it is fun and easy and requires no hand sewing. 

For a quilt or heirloom item, I think I still prefer the machine/hand stitched method, where one side is done by machine and the other by hand.  And going around curves I would always apply my binding on the bias.  But there are some instances where straight grain binding by machine makes a good bit of sense, and it saves on fabric and makes cutting very simple.

No-Sew Napkins

by Lupine.

This was the original inspiration for this project; simply beautiful fabric and some need for a little black stripe. I hemmed and hawed for a while and thought about all the options for a lovely new set of napkins for the table in time for the holiday. 

I couldn't bring myself to use black bias tape, it just seemed to clunky for this fabric. The idea of turning all those hems was fine, and nearly happened, but then I just couldn't really seem to do it. So, I started to pull. I remember reading about something like this years ago in a Martha mag, but after a bit of snooping, could find nothing. 

I decided to fray the edges by pulling threads on all sides of the napkins except the selvedge. This helped get these suckers square too, as the wide weave and slippery texture created some crooked cuts. I did have to trim up the frayed edge to get it even again once the threads were pulled, but that was a snap.

This would work well with any linen or wider weave cotton, something with a natural tendency to fray and easy to see and pull threads. I would give instructions, but really, there are none. Just pull threads. If you don't pull enough, you will know after some washing. Your napkins will take shape before your very eyes.

They washed up nicely, and may still loose a thread or two as they settle in to their raw, un-fussy selves, but I don't mind. They are fairly casual, and can be used day in and day out. We are dedicated to the cloth napkin around this house, and have been for years. These will really add a nice little touch to the turkey, don't you think?  I am totally pleased with the results.  

Lunchbox napkin tutorial.

Autumn has made the perfect in-between size napkin, just right for a small lunch bag or an afternoon cocktail.  Enjoy whipping these up by the armload and giving them as a great holiday gift for your entertaining friends, or tucking them inside your wee ones lunch bag every day.

Now that the kids are back in school and lunches are being packed, let’s learn how to make lunchbox napkins.  What's so great about this kid-sized napkin? It's cute, great for the environment, and it can double as a cocktail napkin after the kids are in bed.

 

Supplies: 

Contrasting fabric: I like quilters cotton fabric for napkins. Linen is another great choice. Be sure to choose fabrics with very little white or light colors, because we all know our kids are messy eaters and it is terribly sad to see those napkins you worked so hard on get stained. For this pattern you will need a fabric for the top and bottom of the napkin. I like using two different fabrics, but you could choose the same fabric for top and bottom. You will need ½ yard of each fabric…a total of 1 yard for 8 lunchbox sized napkins.

 

Thread: If you want your topstitching to be hard to find, choose thread that will coordinate with your fabric when you top stitch.  I like contrast in my topstitching so I usually stick with white, which will show up more against my fabric since I chose fabric with little to no white. 

 

A measuring tool and rotary cutter: When making the napkins I like to use my clear Omnigrid quilting ruler and a nice sharp rotary cutter. You can mark with a ruler and cut with scissors if you don't have a mat and rotary cutter.

 

You will also need: your iron, scissors, your sewing machine, a turning tool, and maybe a seam ripper.

 

 

1. After you have washed and pressed all of your fabric, cut your fabric into 9 inch squares. Use your quilting ruler and a rotary blade for a nice straight cut and to help you measure 9 inches.

 

2. With right sides together match your two fabric squares for your napkins. Sew your napkins together with a 3/8” seam. Leave an opening in the center of one of the sides for turning your napkin. 

The opening should be at least 2 inches. To help when turning, I usually angle the stitching out to the edge of the fabric on both sides of the opening (see below). This helps leave the edge straight once your napkin is turned right side out. 

3. When you are done sewing each side, clip the corners to help make the corners “sharp” once you turn it right side out. Now, turn the napkins right side out through your opening.

 

4. After your napkin is turned, use a point turner to push out the seam all the way around your napkin and gently poke out the corners.  After your seam has been pushed out and straightened, press your napkin, paying extra attention to the edges and corners.  

 5. There is no need to hand sew the opening closed. Simply topstitch as close to the edge as possible and you will never know where that opening was. 

Play around with your topstitching adding more detail to your very cute cocktail, I mean lunchbox napkins. 

 

6. Now watch your kids wipe their dirty mouths on those cute napkins you made. 

Thinking About Napkins.

by Lupine.

I read design blogs and I read cooking blogs, but most of all I read craft and sewing blogs.  Usually the first two serve to inspire or to find things, and the craft and sewing blogs are where my heart is.  But crafting and sewing are not all that I do, I still have to throw down a lovely spread sometimes and therefor I need some menu planning inspiration and some nice table setting ideas.

Lately, I have been in love with the natural fiber linen type napkins and dish towels that I see here.  They are beautiful.  Classic, practical and still create a warm and functional table.  But darn if they aren't pricey and hard to come by.  Plus, what is simpler than making a napkin?  Or a tea towel for that matter.

As I wondered around at Bolt the other day looking for some fabric for samples for some upcoming classes, I discovered this.  It is just lovely.  

Plus, I am on some kind of crazy touch-o-black kick lately, especially around the housewares department.  Very different for me, but I am going with it.  This could not have been a more perfect fabric choice for some stylish new napkins.

I need to decide on the edge finish.  Do I serge them?  That is the quickest by far.  Do I do a rolled hem?  Lovely for sure.  Mitered corners?  So classy.  I am just not sure.  I also am considering a bias trim like these over here, except solid black for sure.

Did I just say that napkins were simple?  I will keep you posted.

Curtains: gathers, ribbons and repurposing

by Gina.

Curtains are one of the more common projects I have in mind when I'm looking at fabric to purchase for the store.  I don't know why, but for some reason I find myself thinking, "this would make lovely curtains."  We do get a lot of folks making curtains, so I suppose it's not all bad I'm seeing things that way.  I think one of the reasons I like envisioning curtains is that you get to see the fabric print in all its glory, uncut, a big piece.  For this reason I tend to go big with my print choice.  I know this isn't for everyone, and you need to be sure you really like the print, because it will mostly likely be a significant part of a room, especially if it's a big print.

There are a lot of different ways you can make curtains.  I tend to like mine to lay pretty flat once they are closed.  The general rule of fullness is to make a curtain 1.5 - 2 times the width of your window.  This gives you a bit of a ripple when they are closed.  I created a sort of hybrid of these two designs with the curtains in the store (shown above).  The top band is pretty much the width of the window and therefore lays flat when they are pulled closed.  I then used 1.5 times that width for the bottom portion.  I simply pieced the two sections together and gathered it to the top panel.  The lower fabric is a cotton lawn, so a bit more sheer than the top fabric.  Once I made them I realized that when they are finished as curtains they could move on to being a skirt...

  

There are a number of ways to attach curtains to the curtain rod (assuming you're using a curtain rod and not a track).  The store curtains are attached with the little curtain clips.  They're quick and easy.  You just hem your curtains all the way around and you're finished.  I appreciate their quickness and easiness, but get tired of their look after a while and feel like I need to get with it and make some tabs.  So, about tabs.  You can see my intention for my living room curtains above.  I did a quick pinning job for the picture, so the two ribbons are not perfectly lined up.  Our curtain fabric is so colorful that I felt the tabs needed to be just as lively.  I chose a broad red satin ribbon along with a cotton turquoise and brown ribbon to go over the red.  I tested the fastness of the red beforehand, so I was sure the ribbon wouldn't bleed onto the white of the curtains when washed.  I'm going to use Stitch Witchery to adhere the ribbons together as I don't want to see stitching on the ribbon and I don't want to hand stitch them all.  I'll check back in when I finish them and let you know how it goes.

 

Re-purposing.  Another reason I really like curtains is that they are so accommodating.  Let's say you fall in love with a fabric, but there isn't quite enough for your curtain measurements.  You try to imagine other fabrics in that space, but that one is the perfect one.  Easy fix, if you're open to some modifications.  The pillow covers above used to be my dinning room curtains.  The floral print (the one I fell in love with) was just a bit too narrow for my window (it's a 44/45" wide cotton), so I ended up figuring out a way to make them work.  With a narrow strip of dark grey and another, just wider strip of polka dots I had curtains that I enjoyed even more than I would have with just the floral print. 

We recently re-did our dinning room paint color and chose new curtain fabric (and yes, those still need tabs too).  I loved our old curtains way too much to just stash them away.  I also happen to have some big floor pillows that were in desperate need of new covers.  It was a match made in heaven.  The curtain panels were the perfect size, already hemmed, so in twenty minutes I had two new pillow covers.

Like I said in the beginning, there are a whole slew of ways to make curtains and ways to re-use them.  Here are a few ideas to pass along:

• Wider hems (3-4") help weigh down the curtains and generally look better, especially on long curtains
• Play around with ribbons for tabs, you can layer them or keep it simple.  There are some broad twill tapes and open weave, jute-looking ribbons at the store that I think would look great as curtain tabs, try rick-rack over another ribbon to dress up a child's curtains.
• If you're concerned about privacy, but want the daylight to come in, try a light weight cotton lawn, or one of the new raffia fabrics we just received (see previous post).  You could even do two sets, with a heavier weight curtain in front of the lighter for at night when you might want a little more coverage.
• If your favorite fabric is just a little shy of meeting your required measurements, look for some companion fabrics to do a strip down the side edge, or run a band horizontally to make them longer.  It's an easy fix and may make you love that fabric even more.
• Hang onto your curtains when you change them out.  There is typically a lot of fabric involved in curtains, and you can use it for so many things when they are no longer hanging in your window.  Think tote bags, pillow covers, quilt backs, aprons, stuffed animals...I know it's a little Von Trap-y, but you could even make clothing.  Just an idea.

Happy curtain making.

Learn to Sew and Please Your Neighbors.

Bolt Neighborhood welcomes this post by Autumn, who is a teacher at Bolt, blogger, friend, and neighbor.  Find out more about Autumn and her talents and world here, and find out more about this class here.

Making your own cloth napkins is a very practical first sewing project. Cloth napkins are so easy to make and very useful.  They also make a great housewarming or hostess gift.

I have wanted to make cloth napkins for our home for a long time, but not until I signed up to teach the class was I inspired to make my first cloth napkins.  I have a feeling I won’t be able to stop.   My new napkins are loosely based on the Fat-Quarter Napkins in the Weekend Sewing book by Heather Ross.

R., my 4-year-old son, has a very strong opinion about what cloth napkin he will use.  When setting the table he makes sure to give himself his favorite napkin.  The multi colored floral napkin.   He will not wipe his mouth on one of the boring striped napkins.  So, when I went to my fabric shelves to pick out fabric for our new cloth napkins I had R. in mind.  I chose some old Denyse Schmidt fabric with flowers for one side and plaid for the other.  R. will be able to wipe his mouth on the flowers and I’ll have my love of stripes on the other side.  The true test will be tonight when I ask him to set the table and see which napkin he chooses for himself.

 

If you are interested in learning how to make these napkins you can sign up at Bolt.  The class is a one night learn to sew class on August 12th, from 6:30-9:00 pm.