Showing posts with label ayumi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ayumi. Show all posts

Sunday, 12 August 2012

Tutorial Tips: Spools and Buttons basket


For Kerry and I's latest pattern sets, we decided to use existing tutorials to incorporate the spools and buttons into.  Kerry had the brilliant idea of doing a button card with the buttons and then used it to modify and make one of Ayumi's organizer baskets.  You can read about the details and the how to that Kerry posted here
For the spools and button blocks I made, I decided to use them to make one of Ayumi's baskets.

 



The spools and buttons basket ends up slightly larger than the orginal basket of Ayumi's and seems to be a nice size.  I thought it was quite funny that as Kerry and I were emailing back and forth about the project each of us would make with our blocks from the Spools and buttons, that we each had decided we would mail our finished baskets to Ayumi before we knew the other was doing the same thing!
To make your spools and button basket, you will follow Ayumi's instructions for the basket, making these changes:

  • Choose 4 buttons and 4 spools and make those blocks.
  • Sew 2 buttons and 2 spools together, alternating them so you have a section for the back and a section for the front of the basket. (you will have to trim 1/4" from the top and bottom of each spool so they end up the same height as the button blocks).  The front and back section will each be 3 1/2" X 12".


  • cut your linen fabric 6"X12" 
  • cut your batting fabric 12"X12"
  • cut your lining fabric 12"X12"
  • when you get to the step where you box your corners, box them 1 3/4" from the point

If you end up making a spools and button basket or anything at all with our patterns, we'd love it if you added it to our Sew-Ichigo flickr group!


Thursday, 2 August 2012

Tutorial Tips: Button It Tray

When Penny and I design patterns for Sew-Ichigo we always want to think of some practical uses for them.   We always put our creations in the Sew-Ichigo Flickr group and we hope you will do the same!  For Penny's The Button It pattern I wanted to use them to make a button card to feature in a generously sized tray to store mini projects. 
 I used Ayumi's tray pattern scaled up so I though I would share my measurements in case you wanted to do the same.  Firstly I printed the Button It pattern a little  smaller so the buttons would be 2 1/2" finished size rather than 3"- set your photocopier at 83%  for this.
Once I had made 5 buttons using the new Liberty Lifestyle prints and a blank square  3 x 3" of Kona snow, I stamped some fabric with Made in England  and Buttons  and then sashed them together.   There are tips on using stamps here.   I did a little extra piecing at the top to get fit the selvedge in but the measurements are the same as below.
I used a single strand of embroidery floss to turn the selvedge circles into tiny buttons and 6 strands of floss to make the buttons look as if they were stitched on to the card.
My final touch at this stage was to use the 6 strand floss to make a single stitch as if a button was missing from the card.  The block was sashed all around with 6" wide strips of  Essex yarn dyed linen in flax and I trimmed it down so the button card was at an angle, this measured 16" x 20".  
I then followed Ayumi's tutorial!  I used fusible fleece, Vilene H640 which is the only interfacing I can truly trust not to go wrong!   It adds structure and softness and is great for pillows and bags too. I quilted lightly, just following the sashing seam lines on the button cards and a diamond criss cross on the linen.   The gusset measured 8 1/2" but you could change this to have lower sides and a wider base.
I top stitched the sides to make it stand up.  And then I popped it in the post for Ayumi!  It was her birthday present.   We can all never have enough storage and Ayumi's tray pattern is so easy to adapt and make a series of trays Russian doll style!
Penny will be sharing another of Ayumi's tutorials; the fabric basket to show you further uses for the patterns and you can buy for 'Button It' and 'Rainbow Rack of Spools' here and here.  I am seeing some great ideas coming up in the Flickr group so I fancy sharing a gallery of those soon too!

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