My first patchwork

Over the Christmas holiday, my mother-in-law helped me start my very first patchwork projects. We went to the fabric shop just to browse, really, but came out with several lovely cotton fabrics to make some much needed potholders and a cushion cover for my ubiquitous couch pillow. I was so glad to have Mum there to help me buy, because I am still a bit overwhelmed with the whole metric system. Fabric measurements in yards and inches I can understand. But metres and centimetres? Confusing!

We started out by cutting the pieces for the potholders. I'd chosen two blue fabrics from the scrap bin. After measuring the rectangles, we knew that we had enough for eight squares. I wanted to do a simple four-triangle design, so we marked and cut two squares diagonally. I started to sew them together following the 1/4 inch mark on my sewing machine, but found that the seam allowance was too generous for patchwork. That's when I realized what the 1/4 inch piecing foot is for--scant seams for patchwork! After I put that on the machine, all went well. I tried a different piecing technique for the second potholder. (Detailed instructions here) Much easier than cutting out triangles, and trying to sew on the bias.

After I'd pieced the blue fabrics together, I layered each square with batting, and secured it by stiching in the ditch. Finishing was easy: Place right sides together, sew around the edges leaving room to turn, turn, close opening.

The second project was a bit more difficult. I wanted to make a cover for my couch pillow, so that it wouldn't like like something that belonged in a bedroom. The design inspiration was a cushion that Mum made for John:


She helped me cut out all the pieces, and introduced me to a new concept: Fussy cutting. This is cutting out portions of fabric to highlight specific motifs. It's not as economical, but it does make for a beautiful finish. We did the center patchwork together, and then it was time for her to go back to Tasmania.

It took me a while to get back into sewing after the Christmas rush, but I finally decided to finish the cushion cover last week. After stabilizing the center patchwork with batting, I attached rectangles of the red fabric to fit the pillow case measurements, and made a button fastening on the end. It was fun to try another new thing: machine-stitched buttons! I couldn't believe it would work at first--I still can't get over all the exciting features of my new sewing machine. (I had to leave my old Singer back in the States--too bulky and heavy to put in a suitcase!)

Here is the finished project:

Front

Back

Now that I'm back into sewing, I know that I've finally settled in to married life in Australia. Happy days. :)