This is one of the feet Steve got me for Christmas. (I think I wrote down the wrong number when I gave him my list, I really wanted the #71 which is wider and for denim but I’m not complaining, I’ll buy that one myself and still get use out of this one.) This isn’t a foot I’ll use often but like so many Bernina feet, when you need it nothing else will do the job quite as well or as precisely.

I’ll show you step by step how to use this foot. Also the above link to the Bernina website has a great little video showing the foot in action.

Step 1: Align your fabric WRONG sides together with the bottom fabric 5mm beyond the edge of the top fabric.

Step 2:  Fold bottom fabric over edge of top fabric and place under the foot.

I use the point of my seam ripper to carefully poke the top corner of the folded fabric under the foot and needle. I then take a stitch or two and stop with my needle down to hold everything while I maneuver the folded edge of the fabric into the foot the way I want it.  

Sew down the seam keeping the bottom fabric folded over the raw edge of the top fabric.

The finished first seam. The raw edge of the top fabric is wrapped with the bottom fabric.

Step 3: Press seam and open it out, I don’t press it flat though. I find that it helps to get it under the needle and then take a few stitches and stop with the needle down so I can rearrange the fabric and get it placed in the foot properly. This also where having the Free Hand System (knee lift) comes in really handy!

Sew down the seam. The foot will fold the edge over and stitch exactly along the edge giving a perfectly top-stitched finish.

This sample was sewn with bright green in the needle and grey in the bobbin. This sample was sewn with bright green in both the needle and the bobbin. My bobbin stitching doesn’t look as perfect in this sample as the above one because I didn’t have it threaded perfectly. Usually the two rows of stitching will be exact and perfectly parallel like they are in the above sample.

The result is a perfectly finished seam with no raw edges. Where would you use this technique? This narrower one would be perfect for sewing side seams in lightweight blouses instead of a French seam. The advantage over a French seam is that this type lies flat. You see this seam finish in men’s dress shirts. This type of seam is very strong so it is good for seams that get a lot of stress. The most common use of a wider flat-fell seam is in denim jeans. I made a pair of stretch denim jeans for a store sample this fall and plan on making myself a pair soon so I will be going back and getting that #71 foot. I love the way this seam finish looks, so professional. I’m at the point in my sewing career that I want my home-sewn items to look as good if not better than store bought and this is just another way to achieve that goal.

At a later date I will share with you a couple short cuts you can use to achieve a flat-felled look in fewer steps and less time. Because we all know that I also like to get projects done fast!

This has brought me to today’s Quickie Tutorial:
The Reversible Ribbon Belt

Materials:
1 1/2 yds. each of two coordinating 2″ woven ribbons. (You may need less if you need a shorter belt!)
One set of 2″ D-rings.
Coordinating All Purpose Thread

(All the pictures below can be made bigger by clicking on them.)
Place ribbons right sides together and sew across one short end.

Slide D-rings onto ribbons. Fold ribbons, wrong sides together with the D-rings at the seam.

Using a zipper foot on your machine, sew close to D-rings across ribbons.

Topstitch down long sides of ribbons, pivoting at the corners of short end.

You’re done!

Marshmallow shooter

YouTube How To

NOTE: This is a project that isn’t limited to boys. I know a particular 11 year old girl that had a marshmallow gun on her birthday list last summer and had a blast with it when she got one!

This project is pretty easy and rather quick to finish.

Materials
Scrap of foam insulation board – mine is approx. 18″ x 28″ (I found mine in the store basement! Shhhhh.)
Quilt batting large enough to cover board and wrap around to the back.
Fabric also large enough to wrap around to back (just over a half yard for mine)
3/8″ grosgrain ribbon – approx. 8yds for mine.
Glue gun and lots of glue sticks.

Instructions

Iron fabric to remove and creases or wrinkles. Lay face down on clean work area.
Layer batting over fabric, smoothing down.
Lay foam board centered on top of batting.

Starting in the middle of one side, apply glue generously to foam board and smooth batting and fabric around back. Work down one side gluing batting and fabric to back of board, being careful to keep fabric straight.

Glue opposite side in the same fashion, gently pull fabric to keep it smooth and wrinkle free.

Glue the other two side in the same manner. Be careful at the corners to trim away excess batting and fabric to reduce bulk and miter the corners.

Now if you just want a pretty fabric covered pin-board you can leave it as is and hang it up.

To add ribbons start in one corner and using a protractor or quilting ruler with a 45° angle marking lay out your first piece of ribbon, pinning it in place. If you chose to make your board square, this should go from corner to corner diagonally and you won’t need a protractor or other angle thingy.

Using the quilting ruler continue to place ribbons across board (mine are 3.5″ apart). Turn and do the ribbons from the other angle across.

Making sure that everything is securely pinned in place, flip board over to back again.

Glue each ribbon end securely on back.

Flip back over to front and remove pins.

Glue buttons or other decorative items at the ribbon intersections. I used vintage wooden bingo markers.

Initially I used those double sided adhesive foam squares to hang mine, but they didn’t hold onto the foam board very well and I came into the store today to find that it had fallen off the wall. To make a wire hanger I cut a 6″ piece of wire (I don’t know the gauge) and bent it in a “U” shape. I stuck the ends of the wire into the foam in the opposite direction that I wanted to hang it, twisted the wire loop a few times and bent it up in the opposite direction. I then secured it with a piece of duct tape (it does hold the universe together after all!) So far so good, it seems to be holding fine.