Center batting or craft fuse on wrong side of one of fabric

Stabilizer Fused to Fabric (1)

rectangles – press according to package directions to fuse in place.
Place fabric rectangles right sides together and stitch with 1/4 inch seam around perimeter leaving a gap of 1 and 1/2 “ in the middle of one short end. You will use this gap to turn the tag and to insert the ends of the loop.
Press loop piece in half (the long way). Open it up and press each side toward the middle. Then fold in half lengthways. Edge stitch both long sides.
Trim corners and turn the tag inside out through the gap you left so that right side is now on the outside.
Push corners out neatly and press. TipTime: I have found that a wooden chopstick is helpful to poke those little corners out without going through the fabric.
Insert raw ends of loop about ½ inch into the gap you left.
Top stitch around perimeter of the tag. Double stitch the area where the loop is inserted to make it extra secure.
Place vinyl piece in center of tag.
Sew 3 sides of the vinyl using a longer stitch than normal. I set my Pfaff at 3.0.
TipTime: If you use too short a stitch you may cause the vinyl to tear.
TipTime: the open end of the vinyl should be pointing toward the loop to make it more difficult for the ID card to slip out.
- I bought my vinyl in the home decorating department at JoAnn’s You’ll want one that has some body to it so that it will hold up better..
- I made ID tag inserts using Print Shop – A regular size business card will fit nicely.
These directions and images are the work and property of Guila Greer and may not be reproduced without permission.

Accessories and Ornaments, I.D. Tags, Luggage Tag

Last Minute Stocking Stuffers – So Cool!

December 11, 2011 Guila Greer

These are selling on Etsy for $ 5.80 ea. includes shipping until end of year within US.

Do you need to give a gift that is inexpensive yet want it to be unique and special?

http://honeyquilts.etsy.com

Art Journal, Fiber Art, Mixed Media, Tutorials, Video

Tutorial – using Faber-Castel gelatos, Metallic Artist Pens and More

November 20, 2011November 22, 2011 Guila Greer

This is a wonderful jam packed full of information video from Joggles.com

Faber Castel’s Design Memory Craft – all the details!.

Hand Dyes, Tutorials

Dyeing Fabric – Getting My Mad Scientist Groove On

November 1, 2011April 2, 2012 Guila Greer

For my first effort back at fabric dyeing after a long break I decided to do some experimenting and to use up fabric that was in my stash, left over from other projects or who knew what? So I ended up with a stack of Mystery Fabric.

A couple of pieces were obviously muslin, the rest either Kona cotton or Pimatex. Just for good measure I threw in a piece of (I think it’s cotton) lace and some cheesecloth. I cut the fabric into fat quarter size pieces.

To gain some kind of ability to measure results against predicted results in the instructions, I carefully labeled each piece of fabric. I used a Pitt pen on Tyvek and stapled the label to a corner of each piece.

Not only didn’t I know WHAT the fabric was I didn’t know if it was PFD or had been pretreated. So it all went in the washing machine and enjoyed a soda ash bath. The lace and cheesecloth were included and were put into a mesh laundry bag so they wouldn’t get chewed up.

My equipment was arranged on the counter. Helpful Hint It all came from the Dollar Store – and is stored away between dyeing sessions so that it won’t get mixed up with the ‘people’ utensils. Make sure you have a set of dedicated measuring cups and spoons. Plastic is fine – Do not use metal because of the chemicals. You will also need plastic bowls and stirring implements.

Helpful Hint Make sure you carefully label everything. But don’t use a Pitt pen on your Tyvek – it came out in the wash!!

Following one of the recipes in my guide book I mixed up a series of dye concoctions – each one a little weaker in color than the next. I wanted to end up with a variety of green fabric – envisioning some nice brights amongst them. Helpful Hint – I substituted colors – how much difference could it make? Right? Wrong! Don’t substitute colors if you want the results shown in your directions! Here is a photo of the fabrics enjoying their dye bath in tightly zipped up baggies.

When I first put the fabrics into the baggies I smooshed them around so that they would get thoroughly exposed to the dye.

It’s very interesting how different the instructions can be in reference books. The two that I use are:

Fabric Dyer’s Dictionary by Linda Johansen C&T Publishing

Dyeing to Quilt by Joyce Mori and Cynthia Myerberg The Quilt Digest Press

I found that the biggest differences in this case addressed the soda ash bath process and the “steeping” time or “curing” time for the fabric.

Previously I had used a 3 hour steeping time; this time I went with overnight. The next morning I removed the fabric from the bags, rinsed it under running water then washed it with Synthrapol. And here is the dyed fabric. Not exactly the Brights that I was going for but nevertheless a nice array of greens to add to my stash.

Unfortunately all the numbers from my markers disappeared! I’ll have to try another pen next time.

Home Dec, Tutorials

Cloth Table Napkins – Tutorial

October 12, 2011September 19, 2012 Guila Greer

These fabric table napkins are becoming very popular and make a great gift. Here’s a quick tutorial for them.

Cut your fabric the finished size of the napkin plus 1/2 inch. I think that I cut 16 1/2 inch squares for these – 2 squares for each napkin.

Note: You can easily get 4 single thickness or 2 double thickness napkins from a yard of fabric if it’s at least 36 in. wide. Most quilting weight cottons are between 40 and 42 in. wide.

I like to use 100% cotton rather than a poly blend for these; feels good and better absorption.
Consider the weight of the fabric when deciding whether to use single or double weight. Also consider whether you want double faced or single faced napkins.

For Double Thickness Napkins:

Pair 2 squares together RIGHT sides facing and sew around the edges with a 1/4 inch seam. Leave a 2 to 3 inch gap for turning. Turn to the right side – poke out the corners (a chop stick works nicely) and hand stitch the remaining opening.

Press.

At this point you have the option of top stitching around the perimeter – and doing a couple of straight stitch lines across the napkin to better hold the front and back together.

I bundled them together using a leftover scrap of the fabric.

Single Thickness Napkins:

Method 2 – if you have a fabric with enough ‘body’. (look in the home decorating section)

Cut 1 16 to 18 inch square for each napkin.

(I actually used regular cotton for the Thanksgiving napkins. They are pretty but a little flimsy feeling.)

Use a serger to do a rolled hem around all edges.

Indispensable Tools, Tutorials

Studio Space and Design Walls

October 2, 2011December 9, 2012 Guila Greer

Until just recently my sewing/art/studio shared space with our guest room. A lot of you know the drill: Company’s coming, start wheeling out the portable carts, last minute putting away of supplies (that you can’t find for weeks after your company goes home) and no access to your machine for a week. So along with my decision to go on “hiatus” from real estate I decided to convert my home office to a dedicated art studio. Number one requirement – a design wall – so sorely needed. Current design wall being the sliding doors of the guest room closet or a sheet on the floor for larger projects. The futon had to go and the ideal spot for it was my husband’s study. Of course he didn’t know anything about that but it didn’t take long to convince him that it was a wonderful idea :-). So I helped clear space for the futon and we proceeded to take it apart.

And that’s when the fun began.

Picture this – a queen size mattress – a relatively narrow door – 2 height challenged people

So we each have an end of the mattress – John’s pulling I’m pushing and he starts doing some deep cleansing “labor” type breathing – saying “now push” breathe – Well I lost it – rolling on the floor lost it.

Shortly thereafter, with the mattress out of the room I left John to tackle the job of dismantling the frame. I couldn’t watch. It was like watching a scary movie.

Next step was to turn that now beautifully empty wall into my dream design wall. I had purchased some fiber board and proceeded to put it up using double sided tape to adhere it to the wall.

Measure your space carefully before you buy the fiber board. It comes in a variety of sizes and I decided on the 30″ by 20″ size, easier to handle and more versatile so far as filling the space. You can get it in one of the chain crafts stores. I was lucky to find it on sale. You also want to note where your electrical outlets are so that you don’t cover them up. I started at the top because I didn’t want to run out of wall space with leftover fiber board to trim if possible. I figured that I would use the space at the top more readily than near the floor anyway.

My other purchase was a length of white cotton flannel yardage. I calculated the width of the board and multiplied by 2. Then I cut the yardage in half so that I ended up with 2 lengths the width of the design board. I used a staple gun to attach the flannel to the fiber board being careful to keep it taut and straight.

The last touch was to add a sturdy curtain rod across the top. This will be used to hang quilts for photographing. This design wall is now in constant use and I have found the hanging rod to be a necessary tool as well.

If you have any questions about how I did this please leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to provide an answer.