Sewing Machine Cover with Piping

My sister bought a basic sewing machine and it did not have a cover.  I volunteered to make her an embroidered cover.  Many months passed until I finally found the perfect designs that I wanted to use at Urban Threads.  The finished cover started with Such a Doll which reminded me of Tim Burton's movie, Coraline.  When I saw Raven Scissors, I knew that it had to be included in the design.  Button Cluster rounded out my scene. (Finished project photo is at the bottom of this post.)

 

I had made my own bias binding years ago for a project and never used it.  This was the covering for my cord to make piping!  You can find instructions on how to do this on loads of web sites.

Next step is to encase the cord with the bias binding.  Butt the zipper foot right up to the cord and move your needle to the left.  Don't worry on this step about having the stitches tight up against the cord.  I left a little room so that I could move the subsequent stitches in the next steps closer.

 It is impossible to get a 90 degree corner when you are adding piping.  Pin the piping onto the right side of your fabric on the sewing line and ease the rounded corner by clipping the curves.

Butt your zipper foot up to the piping and move your needle closer to the piping to sew it on.  Go slowly at the rounded corner and follow the previous stitching on your piping. 

Now pin your other piece of material with the right sides together to  the piece with the piping.  Butt the zipper foot snug to the piping on this new piece of material.  Move the needle position as far left as possible and sew your seam.  Notice how close my needle is to the piping. Again, make sure to go carefully around the corners.

You may not see it clearly, but I also added the binding to the bottom of the cover.  The finished project:

Snowman on Fleece!

My Snowman fleece scarf was finished, almost.  It sat for a long time waiting for me to sew on the buttons.  While the grandchildren were busy with their January "Sewing with Grandma" project, I told Laura that if she sewed on the buttons, she could have it. 

 

I made her come outside for photos.

The sewing directions for this project can be found at Embroidery Library under Projects.

Evolution of a Hummingbird

My sandwich for the embroidery hoop:

• Backing - Aqua Magic Dissolvable Stabilizer 
• Wash-a-way fine for display/decorative purposes.
• You may want to use Cut-a-way Stabilizer on terrycloth for firmness over multiple washings.
• Fabric - Terrycloth Towel 
• Topping - Tulle to prevent stitches from sinking down to the pile.

After hooping, I fixed Tulle to the towel with an outline of basting stitches.

First Color - Sulky 1015 Medium Peach

Sulky 101 Bright White
and Sulky 1206 Dark Jade

In the throat area, 
Sulky 1021, Maple

Sulky 1270 Dk. Gray Khaki

  

Sulky 1220 Charcoal Gray

On the wings,
Sulky 1180 Medium Taupe

Eyes and feet
Sulky 1005 Black

Final color on body,
Sulky 1274 Nile Green

Finished hummingbird with Tulle and backing removed from around the design.

Sewing with Grandma = more flaxseed pillows.

This past month's "polar vortex" that forced dangerously cold arctic air into our region had many of us longing for warmer temperatures.  My abundance of flaxseed and lavender buds gave me the idea to offer the first joint-sewing class for a few of my grandchildren.  The invitation went out for a sleepover and sewing class for the three oldest girls.  


Lorelei was the last one to get out of bed, but the first one to finish her flaxseed pillow.   Before this joint class she had one-on-one sewing machine instruction.  I had her trace lines on felt without thread in the machine and then with thread so she could learn to control the machine speed and the material under the needle.  She practiced how to thread the machine and wind the bobbin.  Finally, she began work on a stitch bible -- a cloth booklet to highlight the variety of stitches on her Brother sewing machine.  

Back to the flaxseed pillows.  Each pillow has an inner bag made of muslin to hold the flaxseed and herbs.  The outer covering can be removed if you would need to wash it.

Lydia was first out of bed and second to complete her pillow.  She did well considering this was her first time to sew on a machine.  She needed a little tutorial on threading the machine and on how to guide the fabric under the needle.  It was a good thing that her mother was also here to help with the class.  We ran into a few problems with the donated machine and later discovered that it will need to go to the shop for repair.

I asked all three girls to pose with their pillows after they heated them in the microwave.  They were rightfully proud of their work and appreciative of the warmth.  

While my daughter made supper, I made two more pillows for gifts.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of the beautiful material that I used for them before I gave them away.  Maybe next time I'll remember to take the photograph.

Six more weeks of winter and I predict more flaxseed pillows in the works.  They are wonderful for heat therapy during these long cold nights.

The girls followed a Crafty Critique tutorial with a few revisions.  We cut the two shorter main pieces slightly longer so we could have more overlap.  The first flaxseed pillows that I made had a mixture of lavender buds and cloves.  I didn't have enough cloves for these pillows so they have about 1/4 cup of lavender buds mixed with the flaxseed.

Sewing Fairy makes Flaxseed Pillows

What can help you be more comfy as the cold arctic air swoops down across the United States? 

A flaxseed pillow made with lavender and cloves that you can heat in the microwave! Pictured above are embroidered outside covers for flaxseed pillows that I made as a surprise for the DIVA's retreat. Don't they look divine? 

Sulky Rayon 40 wt thread used for the embroidery: 

• 568-Cinnamon
• 621-Sunset 
• 1021-Maple
• 1263-Red Jubilee
• 1181-Rust 

The art nouveau embroidery design is from the Husqvarna 6D Premier Embroidery System.  The fabric is Suede by P&B Textiles - 100% cotton. 

Finished pillow size is 9.5 inches x 5 inches with an inner lining that contains the flaxseed and herbs.  I used one pound of flaxseed mixed with 1/4 cup of lavender and about 10 cloves.  I'm still experimenting with the herb mixture.

Where did we go for our retreat?