Summer of Sewing: Car Carry-All

During our Summer of Sewing series, we'll be featuring weekly tutorials using our new fabric collections (and giveaways, too!). Join us each week, sit back, relax, and then start sewing! 

This week we're featuring the fun children's collection, Building 101. Plenty of construction equipment and tools for all those future builders! 

We used the Building 101 fabrics to make a Car Carry-All that has four rows of pockets. This helps keep all those toys, books, snacks and who-knows-what-else organized on car trips. Simply attach it to the back of the car's front seat, stuff with supplies, and go!

You'll Need: 

1 fat quarter each patchwork print, blue tool print, blue construction print, cream tool print, and kid print

2/3 yard blue tonal print

1/2 yard medium weight fusible interfacing

1/2 yard Peltex One-Sided Fusible Firm Stabilizer

10" of 1" wide Velcro

Cutting:

From the patchwork print:
(1) 13" x 16-1/2" print (with motifs running lengthwise)

From the blue tool print:

(1) 11" x 16-1/2" print

From the blue construction print:

(1) 11" x 16-1/2" print (with motifs running lengthwise)

From the cream tool print:

(1) 7-1/2" x 16-1/2" piece

From the orange tonal:

(4) 1-3/4" x 16-1/2" strips

From the blue tonal:

(1) 16-1/2" x 19-1/2" piece

(2) 2" x 42" strips

(2) 4" x 9" strips

From the interfacing:

(1) 6-1/4" x 16-1/2" piece

(2) 5-1/2" x 16-1/2" pieces

(1) 3-3/4" x 16-1/2" piece

From the Peltex:
(1) 16" x 19" piece

From the Velcro:

(2) 5" lengths

Make the Carry-All:

Step 1: Fold the 13" x 16-1/2" patchwork print piece in half wrong sides together to it measures 6-1/2" x 16-1/2". Press. Slide the 6-1/4" x 16-1/2" interfacing piece in between and fuse to secure.

Step 2: Fold (1) 1-3/4" x 16-1/2" orange tonal strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press. Unfold and then fold and press each long edge in to the center fold line. 
Step 3: Tuck the folded edge of the patchwork print piece in to the center fold of the orange strip. Pin in place and topstitch to secure.

Step 4: In the same way, make the (3) remaining pockets. 

Step 5: Center and fuse the Peltex piece to the wrong side of the 16-1/2" x 19-1/2" blue tonal piece. 

Step 6: Measure down 6" from top edge of the background piece and draw a horizontal line. Position the cream tools pocket face down, matching the raw edges to the marked line. Stitch using a 1/4" seam allowance. 

Step 7: Fold the pocket up and press firmly. Measure and mark a vertical line at the center point of the pocket. Stitch to secure, backstitching several times at the top and bottom of the pocket. This divides the pocket into (2) separate sections.

Step 8: In the same way, measure and draw a line 10" down from the top edge. Position the blue construction pocket along the bottom of the drawn line (Note: Because this is directional fabric, make sure your pocket is oriented so the fabric is right side up.). Stitch. 

Step 9: Press the pocket up and then mark and stitch a center line to divide the pocket into two sections.

Step 10: In the same way, measure 14" down from the top edge and draw a line. Position the blue tool pocket along the bottom of the drawn line. Stitch.

Step 11: Press the pocket up. Mark vertical lines on the pocket 5-1/2" from both outside edges. Stitch to create three pocket sections. 
Step 12: Position the last pocket along the bottom edge of the background fabric and baste the bottom edge to secure. 

Step 13: In the same way as in Step 2, fold each 2" x 42" blue tonal strip and each 4" x 9" blue tonal strip lengthwise in half, and then fold the long edges into the center. Refold along the original line. On each strip, fold and press one short end in to create a finished end. Topstitch each strip to secure the folded edges. Stitch a 3-4" piece of Velcro to the finished end of each strip. (Note: You will need to trim the width of the Velcro for the skinnier strips.)

Step 14: Trim the skinner strips as needed. Note: Ours are trimmed to 22" and fit well on a typical sedan seat. You may want to measure around your seat before trimming. The strap can be tucked into the crack between the back and the base of the seat. 
Step 15: Pin the shorter strips to the top edge of the background piece, approximately 5" in from each side. Position one strap with the Velcro face up and one face down. Pin the longer skinny strips on each side, 2" from the bottom corners. Position the strips with one Velcro piece face up and one face down.

Step 16: Lay the 16-1/2" x 19-1/2" backing piece face down on top and stitch around all four edges, leaving a 14" opening on the bottom for turning. Try to stitch just outside the Peltex edge. Backstitch over the ends of the four strips to add extra security.

Step 17: Turn the piece right side out and press. Press the raw edges of the opening in. Topstitch around the entire carry-all, which will close the opening. Your carry-all is done and ready to use! 

In the car, ready to fill!

Want to win a FQ Bundle of Building 101? Leave a comment below or on IG  and tell us your go-to car snack! Giveaway is open through Monday, September 4th at 11:59 PM CDT. 

See the entire Building 101 collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.

Follow along with our Summer of Sewing Series! 
Click here to see all the tutorials.

Thoroughly Modern winner:

Chiska

Waddington Road in print!

When you look at a quilt, do you try to envision the block it's made out of? Take a look at Barbara J. Eikmeier's new quilt, Floating Palette, featured in Quiltmaker magazine. The quilt uses her Waddington Road collection--such a gorgeous palette! Below, Barb talks about the quilt, and you just might be surprised when you find out what the block is! 

"Floating Palette" designed by Barbara J. Eikmeier;
featured in the Sept/Oct 2017 issue of Quiltmaker magazine

Q: How did this design come to be?

BE: I design using EQ software. This quilt is made from smaller shaded fourpatch units—a 6” block. The quilt is put together with sashing and cornerstones, rotating the position of the blocks. This creates a larger block with a ninepatch in the center. I think the different sized pieces contribute to the interest of the quilt.

  

Q: Did you intend for this quilt to have a scrappy look?

BE: Yes. I wanted to use as much of the colored prints in the collection as I could. I assembled the blocks in a grab and go style to add to the scrappy look. Then I used scrappy cornerstone squares as well.

Q: Do you see a curved effect in the design?

BE: Yes! When I put the cornerstone squares into the sashing, the curvature showed up and I really liked that. Stumbling across happy accidents like that are part of the design process.

Q: What do you like best about the quilt?

BE: I like that when you look at the overall quilt, the more you look at it, the more design elements you see. The circles, the ninepatches stand out to me. But also you get these sideways things to me that look like a spool. I like that the more you look at it, the more things you see that are interesting.

Q: How did you choose the border fabric?

BE: The beauty of working in EQ is that it’s easy to try different border colors. When I tried the background fabric as the border, I liked it best. Because the triangles are in the corners, having a background color border means the units popped out more.

See the entire Waddington Road collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop. 
Find Quiltmaker magazine here.

Summer of Sewing: Polka Dot Pouches

During our Summer of Sewing series, we'll be featuring weekly tutorials using our new fabric collections (and giveaways, too!). Join us each week, sit back, relax, and then start sewing! 

Today's tutorial uses Virginia Robertson's new Thoroughly Modern fabric collection (so much black, red and white fun!) to make two different pouches. You'll notice that we added in a few Painter's Palette Solids in the smaller pouch--we were inspired by the solids used in Virginia's free quilt pattern. Check out the tutorial and then scroll to the bottom of this post to see how you can enter to win a FQ bundle of Thoroughly Modern fabrics. 

Let's get started!

You'll Need:

(Striped pouch)

1 fat quarter each teardrops on white, white dots on black, black/red floral, people on black, black dots on white, and teardrops on red

1 coordinating zipper (we used black, but red would be fun!), at least 14" long

Fusible batting

(Checkerboard pouch)

1 fat quarter each black dots on white and white dots on black (if you make both pouches, you'll have enough leftover from the fat quarter required for the striped pouch)

1 fat quarter each four bright Painter's Palette Solids

1 coordinating zipper, at least 9" long

Fusible batting

Cutting:

(Striped pouch)

From each of the (5) black/white prints:

(2) 2-1/2" x 8" strips

From the remaining white dots on black:
(2) 1-1/4" x 4" pieces

From the teardrops on red: 

(2) 8" x 10-1/2" pieces for lining

From the fusible batting:

(2) 8" x 10-1/2" pieces 

Cutting: 

(Checkerboard pouch)

From the black dots on white: 

(2) 2-1/2" x 8" strips

From the white dots on black: 

(1) 8-1/2" x 12-1/2" piece for lining

(2) 2-1/2" x 8" strips

From each of the (4) solids:

(1) 2-1/2" x 8" strip

From the fusible batting:

(1) 8-1/2" x 12-1/2" piece

Make the Striped Pouch:

Step 1: Lay out (1) 2-1/2" x 8" strip of each fabric as shown. Sew the strips together. 

Step 2: Layer the pieced strip with a piece of fusible batting and fuse in place. Machine quilt as desired. We had fun using red thread and a zigzag stitch so the stitching really pops! Make (2) quilted panels.

Step 3: Fold both short ends of a 1-1/4" x 4" white dots on black piece in 1/4". Fold the entire piece in half. Tuck the zipper pull end of the zipper into the center crease and fold the dot fabric over to enclose the zipper (our photo shows the non zipper pull end instead--don't do this end yet). Topstitch across the pressed edges to secure the tab to the zipper.

Step 4: Align the zipper with the top edge of a quilted piece. Mark the opposite end of the zipper even with the quilted piece. 

Step 5: Stitch across the unfinished zipper end just inside the marked point to secure the zipper. Cut the zipper off where marked. Use the remaining small polka dot piece to enclose the raw end of the zipper. Your zipper (with fabric ends) should be the same size as your quilted piece as shown.

Step 6: Position the zipper face down on the quilted piece and pin in place. Lay (1) 8" x 12-1/2" teardrops on red piece on top, right side down, and pin. Using your zipper foot, stitch through all layers. 

Step 7: Repeat on the opposite side of the zipper using second quilted piece and backing piece. Note how we aligned the stripes to match on both sides. Press fabrics back from the zipper and topstitch 1/4" from each zipper edge, making sure quilted top and lining are laying flat. 

Step 8: Fold the pouch so the quilted pieces are right sides together on one size of the zipper and the lining pieces are right sides together on the other side. Pin layers together. Stitch around the outside edge, leaving an opening along lining edge for turning. 
Step 9: Clip corners, turn right side out, stitch the opening in the lining closed. Stuff the lining inside the pouch. 

Make the Checkerboard Pouch: 
Step 1: Pair each 2-1/2" x 8" polka dot strip with a solid strip. 

Step 2: Sew the polka dot strip and solid strip together in pairs to make a strip set. 

Step 3: Cut each strip set into (3) 2-1/2" segments. 

Step 4: Lay out the segments into a pattern you like (or see ours below). Sew the segments into columns as shown. 

Step 5: Join the columns to complete the patchwork piece. 

Step 6: Fuse the fusible batting piece to the back side and quilt as desired. We quilted 1/4" on each side of the seams using black thread. 

Step 7: Lay the zipper wrong side down on the patchwork piece. Lay the 8-1/2" x 12-1/2" white dots on black lining piece on top, right side down. Stitch with the zipper foot. Press fabric away from zipper and topstitch 1/4" from zipper edge. 

Step 8: Fold the patchwork piece around, creating a tube, and pin the other side of the zipper (right side of zipper facing right side of patchwork) to the opposite short edge. Do the same with the backing fabric. 

Step 9: Stitch to secure the second edge of the zipper. Fold fabric back and topstitch 1/4" from zipper edge. Because it's a tube, this will require some manipulation, but it's do-able. 
Step 10: Arrange the tube as shown below, so the patchwork side is facing itself (inside the lining) and the zipper is centered on the top. Stitch along the zipper near the fabric edge and trim fabric. 

Step 11: Stitch along the bag to secure the edge. Repeat on opposite end. Clip corners. Zigzag stitch to create a finished look on the raw edges on both ends. Turn right side out. 

Zippered pouches are so much fun to make and use! We bet you won't make just one!
For a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Virginia Robertson's Thoroughly Modern collection, leave a comment below telling us what you do (or would) use a zippered pouch to hold. Giveaway is open through Sunday, August 27th at 11:59 PM CDT. 

Follow along with our Summer of Sewing Series! 
Click here to see all the tutorials.

Fleur de Bleu winner:

Kira

Thoroughly Modern

The classic "What's black and white and red all over" joke may get old, but black, white and red prints never do! 

We're excited to share Thoroughly Modern, a new collection by Virginia Robertson. 
And yes, it's black and white and red! Virginia has a rich history of fabric and quilt design, and we're thrilled to have her designing for us. Take a peek at the Thoroughly Modern fabric line, read what Virginia has to say about it, and be sure to download her free quilt pattern--we know you'll love it! 

Q. Why red, black and white?

VR: I think black, white and red is a basic. It has always been a classic, popular color gropuing, kind of like having your basic blenders.

Q. What inspired the designs for these prints?

VR: The prints came from 20s, 30s and 40s prints that I liked. Except for the little people, which is exactly like a tea dyed cream and black fabric I had, the others are drawings I’ve done inspired by every imaginable old fabric line. The little people are one of my favorites, which is why I used them exactly as they were.

Q. Everyone loves a dot fabric. Tell us about yours.

VR: The dots are not in rows, so you don’t have to worry about cutting on the straight of the grain. I always need dots—they’ll go into my collection in my studio for my work.

Q. What about the focal print?

VR: The big floral was actually a batik design that I simplified and adapted to go with the line. The little teardrop print was as well.  The batik designs were more painterly, more impressionistic. This version is more of a clean, clear, and crisp design.

Q. What ties all of these fabrics together?

VR: The color palette and the drawing style hold them together as a collection.

Q. What made you decide to add the pops of solid color in your Thoroughly Modern Zig Zag free quilt pattern?

VR: The quilt needed some visual relief, and that’s why the solids are mixed in. The solid colors I chose are the exact ones I had in mind when I crated the prints—I think they give the collection (and the quilt) more of a modern look. The prints are so mid-century modern and the solids give it a retro modern feel.

"Thoroughly Modern Zig Zag" by Virginia Robertson

Download the free pattern for this quilt here.

See the entire collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.

Download the free quilt pattern here.