A new bag (stash usage)

Hello, everyone. 

I had gotten a pattern for "Hip" zipper pouches a little while back.

 I got it for the cute little travel trailer, but it happened that the first bag made from it was more of a textural kind of bag. 

I substituted the tassel fringe for a ball fringe, because the fat balls type of fringe was the wrong color. Buttons were added for little people to fidget with, too. And a hang tab was added. 

And the only part that wasn't from stash was the fringe.

A new project in process

Hello, everyone.  There is a new project underway around here.  I think it's going to be a lap quilt. The pattern is Building Blocks, from Fat Quarter Shop. It's a charm square pattern.

Blocks have been made, and some were "un-sewn" and then sewn again. (Backwards blocks don't work with some patterns.) They were first laid out on the floor, but the automated vacuum was patrolling the house, so they got moved to the guest room. This is when it became apparent that some blocks had been assembled backwards. After that was straightened out, and various changes were finished, they got their placement codes pinned in place.

The placement codes are the standard matrix space labels I learned in business math classes in college.

A1 is at the top left. The bottom right is H7.

I did one extra row of blocks, the pattern only called for a 7x7 square and I thought it should be more of a rectangle. 

Color play (edited)

 Hello, everyone. 

This started out to be a post from my Samsung phone, but the electronic mice ate it. I don't know why the blogger interface won't let me make posts with a photo from my phone any more, up until a few months back it worked fine.

Anyway, I emailed the photo from my phone to my email and here it is:

This is from a spring-themed charm pack. I'm making a charm pack apron for an Easter gift, as y'all can see it's a very spring-y color assortment.

The long strips between the many charm-pack squares are from a separate piece of fabric. (Don't faint, all of this was bought for this project!) The general appearance will be like the Christmas apron that was recently made, only in spring colors.

The progress on it is that the name strip at the top has been embroidered, and the layout is done, so tomorrow I will probably begin stitching together the squares that have been laid out. 

The pattern calls for dividing the charm pack in half, then one half is split into even parts and reassorted and pieced together, while the other half is split into three parts and reassorted and pieced together. These would be the ones with a small horizontal piece below a square in the picture. After all this piecing you lay out the two kinds of squares and then sew them together.

I am using the method developed by Bethany of Shabby Fabrics to make a fully lined pocket. It's very functional. I love my Christmas apron that was made after this method!

(After this was posted I found a HUGE blank space with  the scattered remnants of the lost text. And the failed upload of the photo, too. It's all cleaned up now.)

Another project completed (updated)

Hello, everyone.

When I got the pattern for the Charm Pack Apron from Shabby Fabrics, I also got a pattern for a tote bag. Today it was completed.

This is the inside-out, quilted bag, with its straps and the top of the pattern booklet.

The front of the pattern booklet.

The pattern instructs you to stop at a seam end that is not the fabric edge sometimes.

When that point comes, both on the lining and the external bag, you need to clip the seam almost to the stitching or the bag will not lie smoothly.

This is a leftover half-charm from the apron project. I thought, and still think, that tote bags should have somewhere to hang dangly things like keys.

The half-charm is ready to sew into the top edge of the bag.

I got a little excited with the larger pocket and folded it so that four all of the six charm squares show. The other two and the remainder of the top and bottom form the lining of this pocket.

The completed bag.

This was an interesting project. I found that on the final sewing, the stitching got a little hard for the machine. Don't try it with a size 11 universal needle, it gets pretty thick at the end. And the batik lining fabric was resistant to piercing, too. I used a size 14 top stitch needle, which is sharper than a universal needle. It still had some hard going while top stitching at the straps and the key loop.

And yes, I was still dialed up on Christmassy fabrics when picking out the charms. I used stash fabric for the sashing instead of cutting up charms for it. The interfacing is Thermolam, which is iron-on. It's thin and stable.
 

A completed project: Christmas Apron

 Hello, everyone.

There has been some sewing done lately: The Charm Squares Apron pattern has been made. Link goes to Shabby Fabrics, the place I got the pattern. (The lady who did the design has an Etsy shop, but when I looked at that page all the prices were in pounds, instead of dollars. So if a reader would rather deal in pounds, I put the Etsy link in this parenthesis.)

This project used up a whole package, or equivalent, of 5 inch squares. ("Charms") The instructions make a lined apron with pockets at the sides. Instead of putting a name across the top, I embroidered a dove with an olive branch and some hearts. I used a quilter's binding method for the bottom hem instead of the one she suggests in the pattern, the quilter's one gives a double layer at the bottom edge which I think is going to be more durable. I also used the expansion proposed by Ms. Bethany at Shabby Fabrics to make the pockets fully lined with no raw edges exposed. I recommend this, as her point about better durability seem good.

It's not hard to make, but there is a deal of sorting, piecing, squaring up, and deciding about placement.

I'm thinking of making more Charm Squares Aprons, as there are a lot of charm squares in the stash, even before turning odd shaped scraps into 5 inch squares. (The off-cuts become input to crumb quilting, which makes a new fabric.) 

There is also a plan afoot to make some more wall hangings instead of taking the hook off of the wall where the Kimberbell Jingle All The Way quilt is currently on display. Valentines? Easter? Camino hiking? Fall? The possibilities are endless!

Progress on a Christmas project

 Hello, everyone.

This is a progress post of a new project.

This will be a tank top Christmas shirt. (Because here in deep South Texas we frequently have short sleeves weather for Christmas!) 

The design is a "vintage" style Christmas tree with birds in various colors. As y'all can see, the topper is still between the stitches; I decided to wait until the top is completed before soaking it off. I used the Sulky Stick n Stitch to float the interfaced knit in the hoop and the Sulky Solvy for the topper. Both Sulky products will soak off, leaving behind the ProSheer Elegance Fusible interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply. The bobbin thread here was not the usual "crystal" 60 weight bobbin thread. I had noticed that letters look a lot better if I use the Aurifil 80 weight thread left over from the Lion Purse project when testing a design for Thanksgiving decorations. It's so much clearer and nicer on thin lines that I loaded a bobbin on purpose with that 80 weight cotton thread. There just isn't any occasional frost of bobbin thread showing at the base of the stitches on thin lines with it. 😊 

The pattern is from Burda Style 2006 November issue number 111...back then the magazine was still called Burda World of Fashion. It's an easy, wearable tank top that works well with bra straps. Somewhat form-fitting in shape, more so than the similar Kwik Sew tank top is, but unlike the Kwik Sew version it doesn't have a scoop back neck. 

A note on the Aurifil thread: it comes on wooden spools, not plastic ones, so there is no handy built-in thread clip to hold the end. And one of my spools had a snag at one end of the spool. The others seem to all be okay, but I have learned to feel around the edge to see if it will grab the (very thin!) thread while sewing.

On the colors: I ran "auto levels" in my Photoshop Elements and the colors of everything popped up a bit. The blue of the shirt is a little bit dustier in color. The fabric is the same Telio knit that was used for the night shirt a while back...there was quite a bit left over from that!

Project completed

Hello, everyone.

The nightshirt for DH is finished.

I haven't seen it tried on yet, but he likes it.

Detail of the pocket.

The fabric is the Telio Softique rayon spandex knit. It drapes very limply and it's hard to tell if it's going to feel "heavy" on. The pattern is Simplicity 1021, with the neck facing on the outside to give a bit of color. It really wants to just flop all over on the table when it's being cut, too--maintain shape? Hah! But with patience it can be dealt with.

This fabric sews a lot better with knit iron-on interfacing on the back. It got sucked into the needle plate hole more than once, but was rescued.

This was my first experience using the longitudinal zigzag the sewing machine calls "stretch stitch" in a project. It is very hard to rip out if the line bobbles. It does do a reasonable imitation of straight stitching for top stitching as on the neck facing.

March in South Texas, 2020

Hello, everyone.

I have been busy sewing fabric face masks. I'm using the Leah Day pattern with 2 layers of fabric. (It may be a little bit stiffer to fold around at the cheek bones, but having 4 layers of cotton is bound to intercept more flying spit-bits than only 2. And you can and should drop them into a hot wash load and dryer load to clean them. This particular virus is said to be very sensitive to hot temperatures, like the temperatures when your hand says the water is too hot (my sink can put out 120F sometimes) and the washer with its detergent and water and agitation just gets them off and flushes them down the pipe.) No pics, unfortunately, but I sent some to DM and gave some to DS1.

And I'm using up stash, too. Found pipe cleaners at Hobby Lobby online for moldable wire inside the mask so it will fit the nose. Though when I went to the link for the ones I ordered it now says "out of stock"--probably there are more coming soon! I used the 6 inch long twisty ties for the first masks, they were stash also as they came with trash bags a while back. Am hoping my order--or at least part of it!--comes soon so I can resume sewing the masks.

In other, more cheerful news, it's flower season!

The avocado tree that came with the house is blooming.

We've had this pot of cactus for decades. Every spring it makes beautiful flowers.

The kalanchoe pot, which also came with the house, is beautiful again this year.

A new machine, a new challenge

Hello, everyone.

In December, a large box arrived for my sweetie, and someone else wrapped it up in paper. There it sat until Christmas Eve, when I opened it to discover a new machine!

This not-so-little beauty is the Janome MC500e, which does embroidery. It does not do sewing, other than what sewing can be done as an embroidery project. Here it is working on the in-the-hoop coasters on the Sew4Home web site.  I used a different color of linen, from stash, and different colors for the threads. The actual pattern was developed from a canned border design, which the ladies at Sew4Home made into an intricate decoration for the square coaster.

I see some non-fattening Easter gifts here.

The machine came with some canned alphabets and designs, and I found some more freebies to try  out as well.

I put this test piece into a three-ring notebook my sweetie gave me. The text was done with the canned lettering alphabets in the machine, and the shell is a freebie I found online. (The person giving the shell away free has it as a part of a beach-y ensemble for a bathroom floor mat. The shell is around 3 3/4 inches across.) Long time readers know that the Camino de Santiago made a big impression around here, so the shell just reached out and grabbed me through the computer screen and said "just think what you can do with me!"

I wrote notes on the test piece, as y'all can see. Which threads were used, the file name of this project--which I envision as a pillow front--and some comments on the way the quilting cotton behaved under the needle.

Very recently, I learned out to print out a placement template, actual size, to see how things work out.

This was an exploration of various sizes of the canned letters that came with the machine. I broke out my little ruler and measured the height of the capital D for the different alphabets. This little trick is done on my machine's software by clicking the little icon at the top, rather like hitting "file" in Word, and a list of options appears. One is Print and it sends what you're working on to the printer, with the centering arrows and everything.

It's been so exciting discovering what can be done with my embroidery machine! And  my local quilt shop has classes on various techniques, explored through projects, as well.

This was from a class that introduced me to in-the-hoop applique. It's a Kimberbell design. Four of us came and worked through it. The little bunny is just as cute as a button, IMHO.

Thank you, Santa!

A little repair project

Hello, everyone.

Things have been a little bit busy. One reason is the subject of this post: a repair on a knit dress.

I love my Icebreaker merino-blend knit dress. Unfortunately, one day I tried to pick it up with a snaggy, sharp fingernail. Oops. A collection of very obvious holes appeared in the front bodice area.

I looked around on the internet and tried the one knit-holes repair I saw listed. It might have been all right for the back hem or someplace out of the way like that. This was to seam the edges together with the best match in an all natural thread that is around. It made glaringly obvious linear lumps on the front bodice.

So I got the seam ripper out and took the stitches away as well as possible. This was going to need a back patch, I decided, and baseball stitch. Or some reasonable facsimile of baseball stitch.

The back side of the patch, showing some basting stitches as well.

Got an old pair of pantyhose (washed) and cut a chunk out of one leg. This is the thin part of the knit, not the thick part near the waist. Basted it, two layers thick, onto the back of the dress fabric with some random thread. Put the reinforced area gently into an embroidery hoop and used the same (not quite matching) charcoal colored DMC floss to stitch the edges of the holes down and to each other as well as possible.

The front side of the patch.

After the patching stitches, the dress came out of the hoop for a while. I got out some new embroidery stabilizer: Stick n Stitch. This is a stick-on and dissolvable stabilizer. They claim you can run it through your ink jet printer but I really wasn't looking to make something that complex and heavy with stitches.

The traced daisy. I used a temporary marker pen.

Traced a daisy from the Dover Publishing floral designs book in the cabinet onto the soft (not paper) side of the stabilizer, pulled the paper backing off, and stuck the stabilizer down onto the knit. Put the hoop back on  carefully.


Stitched the daisy and a couple of leaves onto the fabric, using wool thread. (It may be tapestry thread, but the weight looked right.) I used a tapestry needle to do this, on the theory that if one uses a ball point needle to sew the knits, one should probably try to use a ball point needle to embroider them.

The threads of the flower.

Progress on the front side.









Stitches used: leaf stitch (?) for the leaves, with one strand of the Floralia. Stem stitch for the petals. Cross stitches scattered for the center of the flower. These last both in the Felicity's Garden thread.



Ready to soak:































After soaking and drip drying, the finished repair.

 The double layer of pantyhose knit seems to have worked out well for the patch behind the fabric. It has similar stretching characteristics, which matters on this kind of thing, and the dress is a thin knit so a thin patch was needed.

The Stick n Stitch worked reasonably well for a stabilizer and pattern transfer, but probably does a bit better with either a smaller needle or a crewel (sharp) needle to pierce the fuzzy stuff. I was careful not to tighten the thread tensions too much. And this dress being now even more delicate, will get hand washed from now on I think. But I love my Icebreaker tank dress. It's so comfortable and packable.

Sewing: using a mundane shirt pattern for a hiking shirt

Hello, everyone.

I strolled through the posts of the Camino Portugues from 2015 and discovered that, while I have a picture of this blouse in action, it didn't make the blog.

This blouse was from a Burda magazine pattern. It has short sleeves, a keyhole front neck, and is otherwise a straightforward blouse.

The solid was a lightweight poplin, sadly with  DWR coating, easy to cut but did like to fray a bit. The mesh, seen in this photo being fitted with some stabilizing fabric before being attached to the bottom part of the back, was a stretch mesh. Like the poplin it was from Fabric.com.

I added a back yoke to the blouse by cutting the back bodice piece in two, then added seam allowance to the bottom part where the cut was, and to the top part, and then tracing a longer piece with a hem allowance. The top part, which was underneath, was cut from the mesh for breathability. The longer piece, which was over the mesh, was of the main blouse fabric. It was sewn at the shoulders and sleeve and of course at the neck. The hemmed top piece was tacked in the middle of the back so it wouldn't fly all over. (I did mention that the fabric was lightweight!)

Overall, the works well. The fabric is semi-sheer so works better with a light colored bra underneath. It doesn't breathe other than the mesh panel in back, because of the DWR coating mentioned above. Also the little keyhole in front wasn't easy for me to get just right on the button loop size. (Button loop was made from a piece of the blouse fabric, just a simple bias tube.)  But I found a button that worked with the loop I had.

Other times I have tried this trick haven't worked as well. It's important to consider what kinds of stabilizer you're using in seams. This goes double if you're adding in extra pockets! It's also, I think, better to use a blouse pattern than a tank pattern--well, if you have one of the Saf-T-Pockets tank patterns you're good to go. Those pockets are worked out already. Just use a lightweight fabric, preferable breathable.

It's fun to make gear for the Camino. It uses up stash if you already had some mesh or ripstop around the place, and it lets you think about the next Camino you're going to walk.

An experiment with a spool

Hello, everyone.

As most people who sew know, thread spools get emptied. I just can't bear to toss them without trying to find a use for the cylinder shaped cores.

Beginning the weave. You can see that the pattern was for
odd count flat peyote. 1 row less would have been a better idea.

Below, a picture of the weaving on the spool:

An elephant quilt block

Hello, everyone.

Someone who really likes elephants inspired me to do this design for a pieced elephant block.

As usual, it required both typing in Word (to work out order of sewing) and tallying in Excel (to count up all the needed pieces) to get my mind wrapped around it! The inspiration was, in part, to make a "school" themed elephant. To that end, the blanket will be in a licensed Texas Tech print. Colors: dark gray for most of him, lighter gray for his ear, red accents at the corners.

It hasn't been made yet, but I'm hoping it will come out okay. Probably going to frame the block in black to get a 12 inch block instead of the 10 inches the initial sketch worked out to be. 12 inches is more usable with 4 inch or six inch blocks around it.

Stash Busting Again

Hello, everyone.

One of the nice things about having a stash of supplies on hand is that one can explore possibilities.

But first, another apron is done. It didn't use up any sparkly stuff this time, but it did use up a couple of decent-sized pieces that were begging for a purpose.

Another spring-themed apron

 And, after discussing the possible fates of backpacks in checked baggage, the thought of making a travel cover for our packs came up. Something light weight, not a heavy canvas duffel bag! And as we talked, the idea of how to store it during the trip came up, too.  A test of the project concept was necessary. Not only was it needed to see if the idea would even work, it was a great way to use up some shiny stash fabric, and to try out the idea.

Quilt progress: Block embellishment

Hello, everyone.

Today, while I'm working out some issues on the quilt--more later on that--I'll put up the embellished version of the starred heart that y'all saw a while back as a 6 inch block. Now it is 10 inches!

You can still see the 6 inch block in the middle. You can also see that a 2 inch frame has been added all around. I made 2 inch 4-patch blocks using maroon and bluebonnets fabrics. Placed a 2 inch square of maroon at the corner with the 4-patches on either side. Added a simple strip of bluebonnets plus maroon. Got crazy and did mitered corners.

If you like the look but don't want to do mitered corners, you could change the piecing and add a 1 inch frame and then a second 1 inch frame. It would mean having seams in the middle of the corner maroon squares, but it would be okay probably if you carefully matched the seams where the fabrics change.

User tip for that matching: put a pin into the seams that must match--straight like a nail. Then secure the anchored seams by placing a pin (normally) nearby on either side. And cross your fingers that it doesn't find some way to misalign as you put it under the presser foot. (Much unpicking lies that way, grasshopper!)

This square became the top right square in the baby quilt, the one that is getting assembled still.

Block Play: Train engine (steam type)

Hello, everyone.

The block has finally been finished!

Here is a picture of the elements, just before the final seaming:

I was going to put up the sketch, but it's covered with scribbled letters and such.

This is an incremental development of the train engine block that is on Pinterest, and possibly also at About.com. (I don't remember seeing it there, but it probably is. A lot of blocks are!) The original had a shorter red body section and the two wheels were the same size. Also, though it's hardly an innovation, I decided to make the cow catcher black. It just seemed a little more true to the old-time steam engines' shape.

This is the list of fabric pieces, instead:

The background is blue. The main body of the engine is red. Stack and wheels are black. Cab top can be either black or gray, cowcatcher can be either black or red. Smoke puff is white.

Measurements are in inches. The block overall is in two parts: upper and lower.

List of materials

Size	Red	Black	Gray	White	Blue
3.5 square		1
2.5 x 7.5	1
2.5 x 3.5		1			1
2.5 x 4.5					2
2.5 x 2.5	1	1	1		3
1.5 x 4.5	1				1
1.5 x 2.5	2				4
1.5 x 3.5					3
1.5 x 1.5	3	5		1	4
1” square	2				2
Opt. scraps to decorate stack

Upper portion:

Stack section:

(Optional: add a bit of ribbon or fabric strip to make a painted stripe on the stack before proceeding with the rest of the stack construction.)

Sew a 1.5” black square to the 1.5” white square and add another 1.5” black square to the other side. Press, trim, set aside.

Sew 1.5” blue squares to the 4 corners of the 2.5” x 3.5” black piece snowball style. Press, trim and set aside.

Sew a 1.5” blue square to a 1.5” black square and add another 1.5” blue square to the other side. Press and trim.

Sew the blue-white-blue strip to the top of the 2.5” x 3.5” piece. Sew the blue-black-blue strip to the bottom. Press and trim. Sew the 1.5” x 4.5” blue piece onto the front end of the rectangle just created. The sub-assembly is now 4.5” square. Press and trim. Set aside.

Cab section:

Sew the gray 2.5” square to a blue 2.5” square. Press and trim. Sew the unit to the long front side of a 2.5” x 4.5” blue rectangle. Sew the other 2.5” x 4.5” blue rectangle to the other side. Press and trim. Sub-assembly is now 6.5” wide and 4.5” tall.

Sew the cab section to the rear of the stack section, press, and trim. Set aside.

Lower portion:

Wheel section:

Sew two red 1.5” squares to the upper corners of the black 3.5” square snowball style. Sew two 1.5” blue squares to the lower corners of the same square likewise.  Press and trim. Sew a 1.5” x 3.5” blue strip across the bottom of the square. Press and trim.(large drive wheel)

Sew two red 1” squares to the top corners of the 2.5” black square snowball style. Sew two 1” blue squares to the lower corners of the same square likewise.  Press and trim.  Sew a 1.5 x 2.5” red strip to the top of the black square. Sew a 1.5” x 2.5” blue strip to the bottom of the square. Press and trim.(front wheel)

Sew the 2.5” red square to a 2.5” blue square. Press and trim. (middle of chassis)

Sew the drive wheel to the rear side of the red/blue rectangle, press and trim. Sew the front wheel assembly to the front side of the red/blue rectangle.

Sew the 2.5” x 7.5” red strip across the top of the wheel assembly, press and trim.

Cowcatcher section:

Sew a 1.5” x 2.5” red (or black) strip to a 1.5” x 3.5” blue strip, placing the red strip crosswise and 1.5” in from the end and using a diagonal seam. Be sure to check the way the pieces will press out before doing any trimming. The idea is to create a 4.5” long strip with an angled seam  that goes from 1.25” up at the front to 2.25” up at the back on a 1.5” wide strip. (Think of joining strips to make bias here!) Press, check to make sure the edges are straight, and trim the back side of the diagonal seam to a ¼” seam allowance. (cowcatcher)

Join the 1.5” x 4.5” strip of red to the back edge of the cowcatcher. Press and trim. Sew a 2.5” blue square to the bottom edge of the cowcatcher assembly, press and trim.

Step section:

Sew a 1.5” red square to the end of a 1.5” x 3.5” blue strip. Sew the end of a 1.5” x 2.5” blue strip on the opposite side. Press and trim.

Sew the step strip to the rear of the wheel section. Sew the cowcatcher section to the front of the wheel section. Press and trim.

Sew the upper section to the lower section, press and trim. Final size of the block is 10.5” square.

Block Play: a more classic pieced block

Hello, everyone.

A few days back there was mention of combining some four patch blocks into a 6 inch block for the baby quilt.

Here, the bluebonnets print blocks combined into a traditional form:

The larger gold squares really stand out, more than expected at the beginning, but it goes with the general color and theme of the quilt--this is, after all, a Texas baby quilt.

Block Play: Safety helmet

Hello, everyone.

What child, pretending to be an engineer or a miner or a builder, doesn't need a bright safety helmet?

The angles done snowball style.

Completed hardhat!

This is a 4 inch block. It has blended nicely into the developing scheme of the current baby quilt.

Block Play: Turtle

Hello, everyone.

Today there is another block for the baby quilt.

This is the third attempt, the first two were disasters. I even threw the picture files away.

This is not a sea turtle. Y'all will notice that the feet are bigger than sea turtle feet. I was aiming more at the red-eared slider type of turtle. This block was to fill a spot for an 8x8 block in the baby quilt.

Now all I need to to decide what to do about a 10x10 spot, and turn some 4-patch blocks into a 6x6 block. And then lay them all out and see how it's going.

Block play: Doggie with blanket

Hello, everyone.

This is more block play--a new design. As we all know, Texas Aggies say they "bleed maroon." This block is a tribute to their mascot. (H/t to About.com's quilt blocks.)

Doggie with blanket (Tribute to Reveille)

Doggie almost completed

Materials list

	Blue	Tan	Maroon
2.5” square	3	3
1.5” x 2.5” strip	2	2
1.5” square	5	8
3.5”square			1
1 7/8” square	2	2
2 7/8” square	1	1
1.5” x 3.5” strip	3	1
1.5” x 4.5” strip	1	1
2.5” x 3.5” rectangle	2	2
4.5” x 3.5” rectangle	2
5.5” x 3.5” rectangle	1
Black scraps for eye and nose

12” square

Doggie sketch. Dotted lines are seams
between pieces of the same color..

Dog: tan. Blanket: Maroon. Background: Light blue.

The dog is divided into three sections: Middle, Back, and Front.

It is a good idea to starch and iron all the fabric before beginning to sew. It makes the stuff stiffer so it will hold still. 

It is important to press seams and trim to square before sewing any crossing seam. Small errors can add up to a wonky mess.

Middle of dog:

Using 3.5” x 3.5” square of maroon, Sew 1.5” square tan to each bottom corner snowball style. (Blanket) Press and trim. Sew to 1.5” x 3.5” tan strip.

Assemble section: Sew 4.5”t x 3.5”w blue rectangle to bottom side of tan strip. Sew 4.5”t x 3.5”w blue rectangle to top side of maroon square. (Midsection with blanket—12.5” tall by 3.5” wide)

Enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. Set midsection aside for now.

Back end of dog:

Tail section:

Sew 1 1” tan square onto corner of blue 2” square snowball style. Press and trim. (Upper curve in tail)

Make 2 1.5” half square triangles blue/tan. (Tail tip and tail base) I use the quick piecing method and do two sets right away. To do this, place the 1 7/8” squares on top of one another, right sides facing in, and mark a diagonal line from corner to corner. Sew ¼” away on each side of the line. Be sure these stitching lines are straight. Cut on the line and press the two half-square triangle squares open. One of these squares is the tail tip.

Sew 1 tan short edge to 1.5” blue square. (Tail tip and upper background piece) Sew rectangle to 2.5” blue square with tan pieces touching. (Tail tip rectangle is now 2.5”t x 3.5”w)

Sew second half square triangle square with 1 blue short edge joined to blue 1.5” square. (Tail base angle)

Sew 1.5”x2.5” tan rectangle to 1.5”x2.5” blue rectangle, forming a square. (Body of tail) Sew tail base angle piece to tail body piece. (Tail base rectangle is now 2.5”t x 3.5”w)

Sew tail tip rectangle to tail base rectangle. (Tail section is now 4.5”t x 3.5”w)

Rump section:

Sew 1.5” x 3.5” blue strip to 2.5” x 3.5” tan rectangle. (Haunch is now 3.5” square)

Rear leg section:

Sew 1.5” x 4.5” blue strip to 1.5” x 4.5” tan strip.

Make another 1.5” half square triangle square in tan/blue using the last two 1 7/8” squares. (You will have one bonus 1.5” half square triangle square at the end.) Sew to 1.5” tan square on tan side. Sew to 1.5” blue square on blue side. Sew 1.5” tan square to bottom of blue square. (Leg and foot)

Assemble section: Sew leg rectangle assembly to haunch assembly. Sew tail assembly to top of haunch assembly.

I sewed the midsection to the rear section right away and it was a great encouragement to see that it was already looking “doggy.”

Front of dog:

Front leg:

Using a 2.5” square of tan, sew 1.5” square blue to tan square snowball style, press and trim. (Elbow)

Sew 1.5” x 2.5” blue strip to 1.5” x 2.5” tan strip. Sew to bottom of elbow square. (Arm rectangle is now 2.5” w by 4.5” t)

 

Sew 1.5” x 3.5” blue strip to 1.5” tan square. Sew rectangle to brown side of arm rectangle. (Adds front paw to leg)

Sew blue 1.5” x 3.5” strip along bottom of front leg.

Sew 5.5”t x 3.5”w blue rectangle to front of leg assembly. (Lower front quadrant is now 6.5”w by 5.5”t.)

Head section:

Make 2 x 2.5” half square triangle blue/tan using the 2 7/8” squares. (Ear and back of neck)

Sew one of the 2.5” half square triangle squares to a 2.5” square of blue, with blue edges together. (Back of neck)

Cut a 1” square (true) out of the black scrap fabric. Fold one of the 2.5” tan squares in half to locate the center. Fold three edges of the black square under ¼” (press!) and pin with upper folded edge on center line and unfolded edge at edge of square. Baste edges together. Sew folded edges down onto tan square. (Eye) Sew this tan square to tan edge of second 2.5” half square triangle square.

Sew the back of neck piece to the eye piece, being careful to match the diagonal seams.

Cut a 1” x 2.5” strip from the remaining black scrap fabric. Lay it on a 2.5” tan square with right sides together and raw edge of black strip ½” from edge of tan square. Sew the strip down with ¼” seam, press and turn the black over and press down. Black edge will be even with brown edge.  Trim the brown fabric underneath leaving a ¼” seam allowance. Sew 1.5” blue squares to both of the corners of the black strip snowball style, press and trim. (Muzzle)

Using a 3.5”t x 2.5”w blue rectangle and a 1.5” square of tan, sew the tan square snowball style to bottom left corner of blue rectangle. (Forehead)

Join forehead piece to muzzle piece, being careful to match diagonal seams. Sew a 2.5” blue square to bottom of muzzle. (This section is 7.5” tall by 2.5” wide.)

Sew 1.5” tan squares onto corners of short edge of other 2.5” x 3.5” blue piece in “house” shape. Sew to long edge of 3.5”t x 2.5”w tan rectangle. (Shoulder and front of neck with jaw)

Sew ear/eye assembly to top of shoulder assembly. Sew to muzzle section. (Head quadrant is now 6.5” wide by 7.5” tall.)

Assemble section: Sew front leg section to head section.

Assemble dog: sew front section to middle section. Dog block is 12.5” square.