POTRZEBNE.doc

Chicken Scratch Bookmarks Tutorial

Chicken scratch is such a pretty type of embroidery. It is quick and a great way to decorate up that stash of gingham you have tucked away. It is known by many other names such as Snowflaking, Depression Lace and Gingham Embroidery.

I'm completely addicted to chicken scratch now. The only items I have really seen it made into is larger pieces such as aprons, and pillows. I tried to come up with other objects where chicken scratch could be applied. They can't get too much wear because the stitches would get pulled or damaged. I decided a bookmark would be a nice small item that doesn't get too much wear, and would be quick to stitch up. So I made up a couple of small repetitive patterns. You can really go wild with these little stitches, and every little change has a noticeable impact on the finished piece. Test it out. I'd love to see what you come up with!

As usual, this tutorial is provided for personal use. Make up for yourself, gifts and charity. Please do not make to sell. If you are unsure feel free to email me. If you use this tutorial give credit with a link back to this page. And if you can give me a heads-up if you are making chicken scratch that would be great. I am thinking of starting a flickr chicken scratch group so everyone can see and share their creations, tell me what you think. Thanks!

For one bookmark you will need:

1/4" check gingham (you could probably get 4 out of a fat quarter)

white embroidery floss (sewn with 3 strands held together)

embroidery hoop

needle

6" ribbon

The final measurements are 7 1/2"x2" for the bookmark and 2x2" for the tab.

Here are a couple of quick pictures to familiarize yourself with the stitches. If you would like something more descriptive go here and come back.



Those are all the stitches used in the flower bookmark. They are Cross-Stitch, Double Cross-Stitch, Running Stitch and Woven Oval Stitch. The Woven Oval is made by passing the needle under the leg of the Cross-Stitches twice to make it thicker.


The same stitches are used in the second bookmark, only the Oval is substituted with Woven Circle Stitch. The Woven Cirle is made by passing the needle under the Running Stitches two times to make the stitch thicker.

Since this is such a small object leave your material whole for stitching and cut it out afterwards.

Here are the two patterns. Just a little 5x5 block.


The tab is made by stitching one repeat of the pattern. The bookmark is made by stitching 5 repeats. Follow the shading in the pattern. You want to start your cross-stitches on the darkest check in your gingham. I used 3 strands of floss, but you can try more or less to see what the result is. I knotted the ends because the back of the piece is covered and small stitches might be noticeable.

Once all your stitching is done. Cut the bookmark and a backing piece to measure 8X2 1/2". For the small tab cut out the stitching and backing into a 2 1/2" square.

Pin the bookmark pieces with right sides together with the ribbon in between. Let 1/4" of the ribbon peek out from one short side between the two layers. Leave a small gap open on the other end of the bookmark for turning. Sew 1/4" seam around the edge with the wrong side of the stitching facing up. Clip the corners and turn right side out. Press.

Pin the tab pieces right sides together and sew 1/4" seam around the edge leaving an opening for turning. Clip the corners and turn right side out. Press.

Slip the free end of the ribbon into the opening left in the tab and pin. Topstitch around the tab to secure the ribbon. Topstitch around the bookmark and you're done!

 

Sock Sack

Do you have any orphan socks lying around? They can be put to good use by transforming them into a sock sack. 

Sarah wanted a new cover for her Nintendo DS so I made one using a stripey sock. This would be a fun project for kids to do as there are only a few steps involved and it gives quick results!

Here is a quick How To:

1. Select a sock that is the right size for your appliance so it fits the device snugly. The band on the sock helps to hold the device in place when it is in the sock sack. An adult sized sock was a good size for a Nintendo DS. A child or toddler sized sock would be a better fit for a mobile phone or iPod. 

2. Cut the sock to fit. Make sure you leave enough for the seam allowance.

3. Position some buttons on the sock. When you are happy with their arrangement, stitch them on. (It is easier sewing the buttons on at this stage).

4. Turn the sock inside out. Pin the raw edges together. Sew along the bottom opening, and then turn right side out. Voila!

Charming Ornaments - Part 2 - How To

I had a few requests for the instructions for making your own Charming Ornaments. You can make up a batch fairly quickly. 

Supplies for each ornament:

small piece of quilters cotton (I used red, lime, and pink)

fusible webbing such as vliesofix

white felt (I used the polyester variety although they would be nicer made up in wool felt)

10 inch length of narrow white ribbon

one button (I used red, white, and lime)

fibrefill stuffing

Trace your shape onto a piece of fusible webbing (I used hearts and stars) and iron it onto the reverse side of your cotton fabric.

Cut out the shape, peel off the paper backing, and iron it onto a piece of felt that is at least 1 inch larger than the outside of the fabric shape. Cut another piece of felt that is the same size for the backing.

Position the top layer of felt with the fabric shape, on top of the backing felt and pin together. Sew around the fabric shape using a machine buttonhole stitch or zigzag stitch, leaving a gap of approx 1 inch. You will be sewing through two layers of felt.

Lightly stuff the shape through gap in between the two layers of felt. 

Stitch up the gap in the buttonhole stitching so the stuffing is secure.

Cut out the shape, leaving approx 1/2 inch of felt around the fabric shape, using pinking shears. 

Overlap the ends of the ribbon as shown in the picture and secure to the top of the shape. Sew a button over the stitching to secure the ribbon.

Hang the completed ornament on the tree; or attach to a Christmas present. 

You'll see from our instructional photos below that we made this jazzy ironing board cover while working in our booth at January's CHA Craft Super Show. So I don't want to hear any more whining about having no time and no space to sew. This tutorial is proof positive you can have success in the smallest of areas. An ironing board cover might seem like a rather mundane project, but think about it – you look at your ironing board a lot. Wouldn't it be easier on the eyes if it had a cheery cover?

We chose fabrics from one of our favorite collections right now: Paula Prass' Woodland Delight from Michael Miller Fabrics. The combination is bold, bright and beautiful. The steps to make it are quick, easy and fun. You can find it online at FatQuarterShop and QuiltHome.

Bear in mind our cover is meant to do just that ... cover up a worn-out ironing board pad. You can't put it right over the metal of the ironing board. You still need the padding and the heat resistant fabric of an actual pad.

Sewing Tools You Need

Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome DC4030)

Fabric and Other Supplies

1¾ yard each of TWO coordinating 45" wide fabrics: we used Paula Prass' Woodland Delight in Modern Flora Brown and Brick Path Orange from Michael Miller Fabrics

5 yards of ½" to ¾" cording or ribbon to gather bottom edge: we used a simple pink grosgrain ribbon

All purpose thread to match fabrics

See-through ruler

Fabric pen or pencil

Iron and ironing board

Scissors or rotary cutter and mat

Large safety pin

Straight pins

Getting Started

Make a flat pattern of the TOP of your ironing board, using newspaper or lightweight paper. Also measure, but do not cut, the depth of the ironing board lip. Your pattern should be actual size and will look something like this:
 

Our design is made up of three panels: one center panel and two side panels. The middle panel is twice as wide as the side panels.

Fold your flat pattern in half and then in half again to create four even sections.

Using these fold lines as your guides, cut off the two side pieces. You will use one side piece and the middle piece as patterns. You can discard the other side piece.
 

CAUTION: These next steps require a little math. You know, ever since taking up sewing, I am forever glad to have paid attention during fourth grade fractions class, even when annoying Susan Hawkinson was kicking the back of my chair.

Marking and cutting the side panels

First, you need to figure out how much to add to your side piece in order to allow it to wrap around and under the ironing board, as well as to have enough for a casing for your cording/ribbon.

Start with the depth of your ironing board's lip (ours was 1- 5/16" deep), add 1½ to make a casing, plus another 2½" to allow the cover to wrap under the board and give you a nice snug fit across the top. In our sample, these three figures add up to 5¼". We rounded up to 5½" just to be safe.

You need to add this 5½" all the way around the outside edge of the side piece, including the top and bottom. On the inside edge, add just ½" for a seam allowance to attach to the center panel.

Fold the fabric for your side panels (Modern Floral Brown in our sample) so you can center your pattern with plenty of room around to add your necessary inches. You will be cutting through both layers, so you'll end up with both side panels with one cut.
NOTE: We were working on site with a much bigger piece of fabric than you would need to buy, so don't worry if your folded fabric looks a bit different than ours.

Using your see-through ruler and a fabric pen or pencil, measure and mark the ½" inner edge and the 5½" around the opposite side, the top and the bottom. We find it's best to work from the right side of the fabric to make sure you are keeping everything nice and straight. Make little dots with the fabric pen, then connect the dots with your ruler to give you a cutting line to follow.

 

Cut along your drawn lines.
 

As you measure and mark up to the front point of your side panel, you will end up with even more than 5½" extending beyond the pattern's point. That's okay, we'll trim some of this off later. It's most important to keep your cut line straight. In other words, mark and measure at 5½" ALL the way up to the point, then continue the cutting line at the same angle until it intersects with the edge of your fabric. Here's Jackie holding up our finished side panel cut to give you an idea of what you're going for.
 

Marking and cutting the center panel

Fold the fabric for your center panel pattern piece in half (Brick Path Orange in our sample), because you'll be cutting it out against the fold of your fabric.
 

Add the same 5½" to the top and the bottom as you did with the side panels, and ½" along the outer side for your seam allowance to stitch the center panel to each side panel. Measure, mark and cut as you did above for the side panels. Do NOT cut the fold.

 

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

Attach side pieces to center

Pin a side panel to each side of the center panel. Keep right sides together and match up your raw edges.
 

Remember, the points of the side panels will extend slightly off the end. That's okay; it's part of the seam allowance and you can chop it off after you sew.
 

Stitch both side panels to the center, using a ½" seam allowance.
 

Zig zag the seam allowances together to finish. For more on finishing seams, read our tutorial: Finishing Raw Seams: Part 1 – Sewing Machine Finishes.
 

Press seams towards the side panels. You'll topstitch them down in the next step, so you want your seam allowance under the side you'll be topstiching.
 

Topstitch approximately ¼" from center panel seams on both sides.
NOTE: We like to increase stitch length (we went from 2.4 to 3.0) for topstitching. It looks a little nicer to have the longer stitch length, and since the topstitching isn't holding anything together (it just looks pretty and helps the cover stay flat), you don't need a super tight stitch length.
 

Here's Jackie holding up our finished flat cover.
 

Casing

Turn the outside edge under ½" all the way around and press.
 

Turn under another 1" all the way around and press.
 

As you fold around the side angles and the top rounded point, you'll need to ease the fabric to create a proper curve. Press well and pin well to keep these small folds in place.
 

Leave a 2" opening un-pinned at the center of the back.

Stitch all the way around, approximately ¼" from the inside folded edge to create the casing. Remember to leave that 2" opening in the center back.
 

Press.
 

Place a large safety pin on one end of your ribbon or cording. Feed this end through the casing.
NOTE: It's a good idea to put another large safety pin on the opposite end of the ribbon so you don't accidentally pull it through.

Push the safety pin through the casing, gathering as you go.
 

Once you've fed the ribbon/cording all the way through and out the opposite end, adjust the gathers to fit the cover on your ironing board. Pull the ends of the ribbon to draw the cover taut, and tie a simple knot or bow.
NOTE: We recommend leaving the large safety pins on the ends of the ribbon until you are all done with your adjustments and have tied your final knot or bow. It's a real pain to have the ribbon disappear into the casing and try to wiggle it out again.