Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The Stockings Were Hung...


So last week I finally made Becca a Christmas stocking.  I saw this stocking a few weeks ago, tweaked it and made it my own.   OK, quite honestly, I couldn't figure out the directions the first two times I read it, so I just winged it.  Not exactly the same but good.  :)

When I finished, Colleen asked why Becca got a prettier stocking.  It is definitely the prettiest of the stockings.  So pretty in fact that when I first hung it up I felt a bit uncomfortable.  Like it was a stocking that would be found in a matchy-matchy-home-decor type of house - not ours.  We don't have a great place to hang the stockings, so we hang them from the window latches.  I think I actually like that better than having them on a mantle because it spreads the Christmas decorations though out the house.

So let's take a look at the other, less pretty, stockings - a journey if you will - following the development of my tastes and skills.


The red stocking on the left is mine.  It was made for me when I was a baby by my Grandma Doreen.  She knit it and it says BABE on the side.  I always thought it was cool that my stocking was super long and had bells.

On the right is the stocking I made for Brian the first year we were married.  His stocking from when he was  a kid had been eaten by the dog.  :(  I think I wanted to go for a masculine rugged country feel.  Not what I would choose today.  It is made of flannel and unlined.  Unlined?  How far we have come.  :)

This is Emily's stocking.  I made it when my husband was in graduate school.  I remember sitting on the craft store floor and setting out the pieces of felt and figuring out exactly how many I needed.  You know you're poor when you don't want to spend 25 cents on an unnecessary piece of felt.  :)

Aleah's stocking.  Still in graduate school, but with a larger stipend.  :)  Made of flannel, fleece and buttons.  The back side has snowflakes made out of white buttons.  I must have had a lot of time that year.  I still really love this stocking.

Colleen's stocking.  Ok, she did get the short end of the stick.  When I was in college, my roommate's mom made each of us a stocking one Christmas and I hung onto mine.  One year Emily decided that she didn't like her stocking.  (She was a real pill about it.)  So I cut off the cuff of the stocking that said my name on it and replaced it with the red cuff.  When Colleen was old enough to need a stocking I already had this one and she liked it so...  that's just what she got.  A hand-me-down stocking.  If it was ugly I would feel sorrier for her, but it is totally cute.  I might applique on a big C on the heal to dress it up a bit though.

Kate's stocking was made a bit before I did the Crazy Quilt Along.  Can you tell?  I really like all the reds, the polka dots and the touch of green rick-rack.  So that is our stocking journey.

It snowed a few days ago and is starting to snow again.  Snow is so much prettier than dead grass.  :)   I hope you all have a great Christmas!


Friday, December 6, 2013

Flanges! a tutorial for making a flanged binding






I LOVE Flanges!   I have been making a bunch of pillows for Christmas presents and find that I want to use a flange on every. single. one.  Flanges - a narrow flap of fabric - put on a quilt right before binding can make the binding really pop.  I love the look of the double narrow border that a flange makes.  It looks totally tricky and cool, but is soooo easy.  Let me show you.


Make your quilt/pillow and quilt as desired.  Trim the edges like you would before binding.


Cut out four 1" strips of fabric that are a bit longer than each side of your pillow/quilt.  Fold them in half and press.


Take one strip and lay the unfinished edges along the edge of your quilt/pillow.  Zigzag along the edge.  Make sure you are right on the edge so the stitching doesn't show when you put on the binding.


For the next side simply zigzag another strip to the quilt along the edge.  The ends will overlap like so.


Trim off any extra fabric.


At this point it should look like this.


Next attach the binding as usual.  When you pull back the binding you will see about a 1/4" of flange fabric along the edge.  LOVE!!!  Some people choose to top stitch the flange down along the loose edge, but I don't feel it is necessary.


You can also add a flange along the edge of a quilt top before you add the final border.  This gives you a narrow interior border without having to try to sew a 3/4" piece of fabric along the edge. (shudder)


I personally like to have the interior flange be the same color as the binding.  I think it looks nice that way but they could be different colors too.


Let me say it one more time:  I Love Flanges!  Blessings on the heads of the older ladies at the quilt store who showed me how to make one eight years ago.  How about you?  Have you ever used a flange in quilting?

(And is it just me or does flange sound like a bad word?)