My Eclectic Mess » embroidery

Tutorial: Crate Pads

beth — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:38:56 +0000

I accomplished yet another of the projects on my priority list today. The dogs now have some nice mats for their crates. They are even personalized! They were very quick and easy to make.

Materials:

One yard each heavy denim and polar fleece. This is enough to make two mats approx. 35”x28”. I just cut each yard in half down the middle to make two pieces 36” by 30”. My two fabrics were quite the same width so I did a little trimming to match everything up. If you want them to fit perfectly into the bottom of your crate just measure the bottom pan size and add an inch to get a 1/2” seam allowance all the way around.

How To:

If you want to personalize it, hoop your denim and stitch out the name. Because this denim was so stiff I didn’t put an stabilizer in the hoop with it. I did Maizey’s first and some of the stitches weren’t as nice as I’d like them to be so when I did Cas’ I slipped a piece of Heavy Cut-Away under the hoop before I started stitching and that worked great.

Lay the denim piece out flat right side up and place fleece right side down on top of it. Smooth everything out, matching edges, trim any edges that aren’t even.

Round off the corners. I marked them with a chalk wheel and used my magnetic pin cushion as a guide. I chose to round them off to make turning them right side out easier. Pin both fabrics together. Stitch around edge, leaving an opening for turning. I used my walking foot because the fleece likes to stretch under the foot while stitching. I also lengthened my stitch length and made sure I had a jeans needle in the machine.

Turn right side out and clip excess fabric from curved corners and notch seam allowance. (I forgot to take a picture of this step.)

Topstitch approximately 1/2” from edge. Be cure to tuck in the edges of the opening so they get caught in the topstitching.

All done in a couple hour’s work. I like that they are lightweight and easy to wash. No stuffing for the dogs to chew apart and get all over the house. The fleece gives a little cushioning and the denim is durable.

Miss Maizey looks a little less than thrilled with her new digs but that is partly because I moved her crate today from one corner to another and now Cas is in the same room. She doesn’t like change.

In reality the dogs don’t spend a lot of time in their crates. Just while we are out of the house. They are still spoiled and get to sleep on our bed at night. And with my part-time hours and how early the girls get home from school they are rarely crated for more than a few hours at a time. But Cas does like his crate and will just go hang out in their for periods of time. He is also a bit of a hoarder and we will find random things hidden in there. Like the time my friend stayed over to dog sit and after we got home I was cleaning it out and found her bank card still in the envelope from the mail in his crate.

Also, does anyone else think it is weird that two Michigan State Spartans have a dog named MAIZEy? I didn’t ever realize the awkwardness until I embroidered her name in bright yellow on a blue background.

Do the Wooly Boolly!

beth — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:50:01 +0000

If I had to list my Top Ten craft materials wool felt would definitely be in the Top 5. (Hmmm, maybe I will think on this and actually make a top ten list…)
There is just so much to love about real 100% wool felt (or the 80/20 stuff if you just can’t find or afford the 100% stuff).

The rich colors – no neon-not-found-nature-colors here!

Ease of use – no fraying edges to be concerned with, just cut and sew.

Tactile qualities – It just feels so real and warm.

Versatility – I’ve made dolls, quilts, ornaments, coin purses, embellishments and more with it. Definitely wins the “favorite surface to embroider on” award.

Sustainability – The “green factor” can’t be denied. It comes from a natural, renewable source. If you can find natural, plant-dyed felt you are really full of win. (And if you find a wholesale supplier of such please let me know. I’ve been looking and can’t find one!)

Last week my shipment of wool felt packs arrived. The fat quarter bundle (7-22″x18″ cuts) is $41.99 and the Charm Pack (36-5×5″ squares) is $21.99.

Product of the Week: Sublime Stitching

beth — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:28:19 +0000

This week’s Product of the Week is Sublime Stitching!

Jenny Hart turned traditional embroidery on its head with the introduction of her Sublime Stitching patterns and book.

I carry a large selection of her iron-on transfers in addition to her book that has 100s of unique and reusable designs and complete instructions for the first time stitcher. I also carry her transfer paper that can transfer designs onto dark fabrics and her very special T-shirt stabilizer. If you’ve ever tried to embroider on stretchy knits before you’ll appreciate this nifty new product.

For this week only (May 13 – 17) you can take 20% off the price of any Sublime Stitching product in the store. Simply mention that you saw them featured on the blog.

This Bitch Can Stitch.

beth — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:01:16 +0000

I finally had a chance to sit down with my boxes of floss and a needle and stitch up a sample from the Sublime Stitching iron ons. These are so cool! I had a hard time deciding which set to “sacrifice” but ultimately went with the “Craftopia” one seeing as it fit the theme pretty much perfectly!

I have a supply of almost the entire line of patterns, plus a few of her complete kits and Jenny’s fabulous book. The book is a great bargain because it has a huge section of iron-on patterns not available in her individual packets and complete instructions for beginning stitchers.

(FYI: I colored in the measuring tape with a fabric marker and then just outline stitched it with dark grey floss.)