Pretty Liberty Pincushion Tutorial - English Paper Pieced

July 1st marked the start of the 

'Liberty Scrap Challenge'

being hosted by Ava and Neve.

The idea of the challenge to to encourage you to use your scraps and share your makes using the #libertyscrapchallenge hashtag and just for playing along you go into the draw for some prizes from  Ava and Neve and fellow sponsors for the month of July.  Your makes don't have to be big and elaborate, but of course they can be if you wish. It is all about encouraging you to play and utilise all those pretty Liberty scraps. I am planning on a few smaller makes over the month.

My first make is this quick and simple EPP Liberty Pincushion.

I am sharing the tutorial with you today incase you too would like to make one, or two!

Please note that this tutorial does assume that you have basic EPP knowledge 

with regards to basing your shapes and sewing them together.

Requirements

Eight (8) 2" Squares of Paper*

Eight (8) 2.5" Squares of fabric 

Sewline Glue Pen / Refill

Thread - I have used Aurifils 80wt in a off-white.

Size 10/11 Milliners Needle

Your preferred Pincushion Stuffing

Button

Aurifil Floss 

(or a thick stronger thread for securing the button)

*I use a 120 - 180 GSM Paper

Glue baste (or thread baste if that is you preferred method) your eight squares

and then lay them out in a pleasing manner in two groups of four as pictured.

Using a whip stitch, English paper piece the two groups of four together.

Align them as pictured below and whip stitch the 'pink floral' and 'light purple floral' squares together.

Continue to sew the two four patches together working your way around. I worked anti-clockwise. 

Looking at the pictures below you can see that the 'orange floral' is sewn to the 'pink floral'. 

At this point your pink floral will have a square sewn to all sides and its paper can be removed.

The 'orange floral' is now sewn to the floral print with the purple flower.

The 'orange floral' is now surrounded on all sides and can have its paper removed.

Keep following the squares around and remove the papers as you go.

Do not be scared to fold any papers to allow you to align points as you sew.

Leave the last seam OPEN. 

Remove any remaining papers and turn your pincushion right sides out.

Stuff firmly with your preferred filling. I have use a fibre fill (toy stuffing).

Sew the last seam closed. I like to use a pin to hold the seam closed as I stitch.

Pick the perfect button, I have used a pretty sparkly crystal button. 

Using a strong thread (I used 4 strands of Aurifil Floss) and a long needle secure the button to the centre of the pincushion forming an indent.  To do this, decide what will be the top and bottom of your pincushion. Thread your needle up from the centre back of the pincushion through to the centre front of your pincushion, holding a tail of thread to the back (you will need this to knot later), thread on your button and take your needle and thread back through to the back of the pincushion. Squeeze the pincushion firmly in the middle as you tie the thread at the back of the pincushion forming the indent. You might find this easier with an extra pair of hands.  Knot your thread a few times, trim away the excess thread and you have your finished pincushion.

Enjoy and don't forget to share with the #libertyscrapchallenge hashtag on Instagram 

for the month of July to be in the running for some prizes.  

If you don't have any Liberty scraps Avan and Neve have some bundles HERE and of course you can always start building a little Liberty Stash by signing up to their Monthly Subscription (details can be found HERE). I have to admit, knowing a gorgeous bundle of Liberty will be landing in my letterbox each month certainly makes it easy to cut into my Liberty on hand.

Happy Stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

Liberty Washi Tape {TUTORIAL}

I always find it hard to throw out scraps. There must be a million ways to use them up but sometimes time is limited. With the constant flow of Birthdays and with Christmas fast approaching I have turned my attention to ways of better 'styling' my gift wrapping and what better way, than with fabric scraps.

After a quick visit to Bunnings and a little help from a staff member I eventually found some double sided tape. They had a few different widths available, this time I decided on the 36mm.

To make your own Washi Tape is super easy once you have the double sided tape.

1.     Simply cut your scraps to the same width as your tape.

2.     As you unwind the tape one side is sticky so carefully lay your fabric on the tape (sticky side), right side facing up.  Continue to lay all you scraps end to end along the tape.

3.   When you reached the end of the roll, or when you run out of fabric,  go back and trim between the start and end of the fabrics as they change.

4.     Then carefully, withy rotary cutter and ruler, cut down the middle of the tape making two long lengths. Omit this step if you are using a thin tape or want a thicker Washi tape. 

 Effectively my 4.5 meter roll of tape was now 9 meters.

5.     Trim your lengths to your desired length. I chose to go approximately 3" 

6.     (Optional) With your scissors, trim each end of your Washi Tape on an angle.

Peel the back off your new "Washi Tape" and you are ready to go!

I couldn't help myself, I also dived into my pretty pink Liberty scraps and made some more with a second roll of tape.

I now have approximately 18 meters of pretty Liberty wash Tape.

You may also recognise my first lot of Washi Tape. 

I made if from the offcuts of a project that I get to share with you next week and that project has been made with this months Liberty Society Bundle from Ava and Neve.

Next visit to Bunnings I might grab a roll of thinner tape for the smaller scraps :)

Time to go and "Washi" everything!

Happy Stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

Easy DIY Template Tutorial - English Paper Piecing

Do It Yourself Templates for 

English Paper Piecing

I released my "BEJEWLED" Cushion pattern this week and I made the executive decision not to include templates or have templates for the pattern put into production. Why?  Well there were a few reasons. Firstly the pieces for this pattern can all be rotary cut very simply (Full instructions are included in the pattern). Another was driven by the desire to keep the cost of the end product down and there was also the idea that I really wanted to include the pre cut papers with the pattern. 

Don't get me wrong, perspex templates are great but you do not need them for every single pattern. So today I am here to share with you a simple and easy way to make a template.

Even if you have ever just misplaced a Template, you know you have it somewhere but you just can't lay your hands on it right now when you need it.

Or maybe you have decided to make my BEJEWELED Cushions but you would like to do some fussy cutting so need a template :)

So let's get to it.

Supplies:

Template Plastic

Tape - Washi works well

Add a Quarter Ruler

Rotary Cutter

Permanent Marker

Rotary Cutting Mat,

and of course the paper shape that you plan to make the template for.

Start by making a tape circle by having the sticky side facing out and overlapping the ends.

Then stick this to the back of your paper template.

Position the tape side down on your Template plastic. Ensure that you have left enough room to cut the 1/4" seam allowance.

Take your 'Add a Quarter Ruler' and line the little lip of the ruler against the edge of the paper shape. With your Rotary cutter and ruler carefully work your way around your shape cutting your template at the 1/4" larger than your paper shape.

   

BEFORE removing your paper from the template take your marker and draw a line on the edge of your paper shape. You want the drawn line to overlap the paper and the perspex template.

When you remove your paper shape you will see a nice sharp edge. Everything inside the black line is what will be showing on your finished piece of fabrics once sewn :)

See how easy that was :)

A bonus when working with template plastic templates is that you can use a pencil to mark guides for your fussy cutting that can easily be removed with an eraser so you can go again.

If you have any questions please ask.

Happy Stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

Repurpose a Vintage Tin - Apple Farm Tin Tutorial

*I am reposting this Tutorial here as it seems to have gone missing from its original location *

Hi, Sharon here from Lilabelle Lane Creations, today I have a fun Tutorial for you.  

I am always stitching on the go and usually have a few hand piecing projects that I can grab as I run out the door and take with me 'just incase' a stitching moment arrises.  I like to store these projects in tins so today's tutorial will show you how easy it can be to turn any tin into more than just a tin!  

For me a tin that is pretty and functional for storing any "stitching on the go" project in is a necessity. 

I will also share a quick EPP (English Paper Pieced) Pincushion and a Needle Book tutorial to complete the set.

I picked this tin up in an thrift shop a little while ago and immediately I knew that I wanted to pair it up with Elea Lutz's Apple Farm line from Penny Rose.

To get started you will need:- 

Fabric,

 Basic sewing and EPP supplies,

Soft 'n' Stable,

Cotton Lace Trim,

8 x 2" Square EPP Papers or card to make your own,

Fibre Fill,

2 Buttons,

3" x 6.5" piece of Felt,

Visofix,

4" x 8" piece of Parlan (fusible interfacing)

and a Glue Gun.

1.     Start by taking the measurements of your tin. 

Length, width and height of the base and the internal measurements of the lid. 

For the base, add together the length + Height + Height = Figure A 

Also add together Width + height + Height = Figure B  

Cut a piece of Soft 'n' Stable to this size  (A by B) and then remove the corner squares.  

This should now sit nicely in your base.  

Now cut another piece of Soft 'n' Stable to the internal measurement of your lid.

2.    For the base cut a piece of fabric 1" bigger.

Layer it with your Soft 'n' Stable, take it to your sewing machine and stitch along what will be the fold lines.

3.    Pin the 4 corners together and stitch with your sewing machine as pictured.

You are only sewing the fabric, not the Soft 'n' Stable.

4.    Open the seam allowance fabric at the corners (this helps hold your Soft 'n' Stable in place) and fold over the top bit, pin in place and sew down close to the top edge. About 1/8".

5. For the inside of the lid. cut a piece of fabric 1" bigger.

Mitre your corners and pin in place.

  

6.   Stitch around the perimeter, again close to the edge (1/8").

7.   Heat up your Glue Gun and glue the fabric panel for the lid to the inside of the lid.

8.   Glue the Cotton Lace Trim around the outer edge of the fabric panel.  This should cover the edge of the panel and the stitched line to finish it off nice and neat. Fold the end over and glue down.

9.   Glue the base into the tin. Bottom and sides.

10.  Glue the trim to the top of the base lining. This should cover the sewn line and make everything nice and neat. Again, at the end, fold over and glue down for a neat finish.

"Ta-da" one lined tin.

Now for some accessories.

First up a simple EPP (English Paper Pieced)

Pincushion.

(This tutorial assumes that you already know the basics of EPP).

Prepare eight (8) 2" Squares

EPP together two panels of four. Press with your iron. 

Start sewing the two square panels together as pictured (the pink and brown square).

Then begin to work your way around the squares.

As you can see here the pink is joining to the white.

At this point you can remove the paper from the pink square.

Keep working your way around, joining and removing papers as you go.

Leave the last seam open.

Remove any remaining papers and carefully turn your pincushion right side out.

Stuff your pincushion firmly with Fibrefill and slip stitch closed.

Using a long needle (I use a Doll Needle) sew a button to the centre of the top and bottom, pulling the thread in to make an indent and tie off. 

Congratulations you have a pincushion.

Now for a,

Needle Book.

You can download the APPLE TEMPLATE HERE.

1.    Cut three (3) 8" x 4" rectangles. 

One for the front, one for the lining and one for the pocket.

2.   Trace the Apple, Leaf, Stem and light reflection onto Visofix. Cut out slightly larger than the drawn line.

3.  Iron onto the back of your selected fabric and cut on the drawn line.

4.   Iron the front 8" x 4" panel in half. Peel the paper from the back of your apple, stem, leaf and light reflection.  

5.   Centre the Apple on the right hand side of the front panel ensuring you have a clear 1/4" all around.  Tuck a little bit of the stem under the apple and iron the stem and apple in place. 

Iron the leaf and light reflection in place.

6.    Iron the piece of Parlan to the back of your work.

Shorten the stitch length on your sewing machine and with dark brown or black thread in your machine sew around your apple. I like to go around twice for a darker line.

7.    Fold your pocket fabric in half and iron. 

8.   Layer your three pieces as pictured, (fold side of the pocket up - raw edge down), pin and sew 1/4" around leaving a 2" turning gap at the far left hand side. Backstitch at the start and end.

9.   Trim back the corners but be careful not to cut through the sewn line.

10.   Turn right side out, iron and slip stitch the opening closed.

11.   With the inside of your needle book facing up, position your felt page in the centre, pin and take it to your machine and sew into place down the centre forming your pages.

Well done, if you have made it this far you may just have a completed and pretty tin set to put your next portable project into.

Mine has already been put to good use.

More on that project soon :)

Happy Stitching,

Sharon xx

"Lilabelle Lane Creations"

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here