After I created my quilted fabric and cut out the purse pattern, I started digging for embellishments that would work. I had decided to use burgundy with the ivory fabric, so I found some sheer burgundy ribbon that would work perfect.

One problem: it was only 1″ wide. Too narrow for the pleated satin I wanted to stitch on top of it. Solution: Stitch two pieces of ribbon together to make it wider. Perfect!

Then stitch the pleated shiny satin trim on top of the ribbon. I found this pleated trim on one of my fabric shopping trips and loved it. It turned out beautifully on the ribbon.

Then this ruffled velvet trim fit perfectly right down the center of the pleats. Stacking trim and ribbon is fun and creates a neat layered effect. I should do more of this to use up the huge stash of ribbon I now own.

I stitched the layered ribbon down the center of the cut-out pattern and then stitched the binding to the outside edge.

After I stitched the bias binding to the edge, I then encased the raw edge in it and tacked it to the inside edge by stitching in the ditch around the edge. Perfect edging!

The last step was to stitch the purse sides together and add the magnetic closure.

Add a ribbon/corded pin I found at the Houston Quilt Market one year and it’s finished! Quite stylish and unique! And every single bit of it used from my collection of stashes!

It’s at times like this that I’m so glad I have those little (or rather large!) stashes!

The solution: create it!

I sandwiched a piece of batting between two layers of poly satin. Using my software, I selected the one little flower from this OESD design. I then copied and pasted it multiple times on my screen to create an area large enough for my fabric.

Then (this is the really great part!), using my Bernina jumbo hoop for my 830, all I had to do was hoop the piece of fabric twice to stitch the entire 15″ x 20″ rectangle. Whoohoo!!! That makes it simple! I hooped the first half of the fabric and stitched it, then hooped the second half and stitched it.

Then my fabric was created!! Lovely!!

Then I could pin on my pattern and cut it out.

It’s simple to create your own fabric! Give it a try!

More on finishing this project coming next week…

So I cut out 10″ squares of Snow White and Red fairy frost fabric (love the bit of sparkle in those pieces!) which allowed me a little extra room as I would be cutting the squares down to 8″ before folding.

Then I cut the same size squares of Ultra Heat’n'Bond and fused the red to the white fabric.

And then started folding…

…and folding over again….

And then folded the top down to see the white overlaid with the red.

I did glue the top white flaps down on each side of the basket. I also decided they needed a bit of embellishment….

After digging around in my stash of buttons and not having much success, I finally raided my sister’s supply of scrapbooking elements and found these little red jewel hearts which were perfect! And that little bag of hearts had just enough for the 20+ baskets I made.

Fill with chocolate and they’re done! Beautiful!!

Thanks to Alison for the idea and tutorial on her blog! Add ribbon, buttons and embellishments to your heart’s content and then have fun filling with fun treats!

I’ve been playing with envelope templates and printing various sizes on paper and decided that I had to try a fabric envelope! If it works with fabric, why won’t it work with fabric?! Normally I stick to the same kind of projects, but every once in a while I have to try something different and unique.

I found this simple envelope template and printed it on a piece of scrapbooking paper and put it together. Loved it!

Now to try it with fabric.

1. Fuse HeatnBond Lite wonderunder to the fabric.

2. Bond the fabric to a piece of card stock. I just used white; but if you want the interior of the envelope to be colored, use colored or printed card stock.

3. Open the pdf template (can be downloaded here), place the fabric/card stock into the printer so you are printing on the card stock side and click print. (And yes, I did this with my laser printer and it worked GREAT! No printer error this time! :))

4. Cut the template out following the lines and fold it along the dashed lines.

5. Cut a piece of card stock that is slightly smaller than the front of the envelope.

6. Place on front of envelope and stitch a decorative stitch around the card stock. Be sure to select an open and light decorative stitch; if it’s too dense like a satin stitch, it could tear the card stock. (I used flat tape in a couple places to hold the card stock in place while stitching.)

7. Glue the side flaps and bottom flap to create the envelope shape and placed it under a heavy book until it is dry. I also folded down the top flap to give it a crease, but did not glue it shut.

Now it’s time to insert the card, glue down the top flap, address it and mail it!

And surprisingly enough it went through the mail without any problem with only a first class stamp, although depending on the bulk of your fabric and card stock, it might require extra postage.

Believe it or not, sewing machine needles are not intended to last forever. The little mechanism that holds the needle in place on your sewing machine has a screw that tightens and loosens. That means you are able to take out the old needle and put in a new one.

As I pulled my needle from my machine this morning, I felt the rather large burr at the tip of my needle. Oh, yes! It was time for a new one! Especially since I was planning to stitch on satin fabric which easily shows runs in the fabric from a less-than-perfect needle.

Unless a needle breaks or is bent, it’s easy to forget about changing the needle as you are sewing, but it is important to do so. Not only can a slightly bent or dull needle cause damage to your bobbin case, presser foot or stitch plate, but it also can damage your fabric. Thread breakage, shredded thread and skipped stitches can many times be eliminated with a change of the needle.

The next time you sit at your sewing machine, take a moment and look at the needle and see if you need to replace it. When was the last time you changed it? Try turning that screw sitting above your needle. It’s not glued in place; it really does work! :) And then save that old needle for hanging up picture frames!

Version 3 and 4 of my Bernina DesignerPlus software, I know like the back of my hand, but V5…that I’m still learning all the *new* things that have been added! (I know, I know….V6 is now out, but I’m still loving V5 features! And when I install V6 on my computer in a couple weeks…well, I’ll be wowed away by all the new stuff in it as well!)

But take a look at this! It used to be back in the old versions of software that I would have to manually digitize an applique shape or design. You know, digitize the placement line, cutting line, tackdown stitch and then the cover stitch. Each. One. Separately.

Then the auto applique tool was developed and oh, did that ever speed up the process! And now the partial applique and advanced applique tools have been added, but the thing that caught my eye today as I’ve been designing is this: bringing the fabric into the applique so it shows onscreen.

Yep, that’s right! Here’s my design and inside the square on point, I can see the fairy frost fabric in my head, but I can’t actually SEE it onscreen.

Until I bring in that little scanned fabric swatch. See?! How cool is that!

That where one of my favorite tools, the ballpoint awl by Clover, comes in handy. Most awls that you may have in your sewing room have a sharp point that is made to puncture the fabric. This is used for creating eyelets or other decorative uses. But with the ballpoint awl, the end is not so sharp as to puncture to fabric, but will work to help you dig out the stabilizer from the back of the design.

From the back of the fabric, slide the end of the ballpoint awl between the stabilizer and fabric and gently pull the stabilizer away from the stitching. The end still could damage your fabric or stitches if you are pushing too deeply, so be sure just to catch the layer of tear away to pull it away from the design. This helps to dig out the stabilizer from those little areas instead of using your fingers or fingernails.

The next time you are struggling with getting out all those areas with tear away stabilizer, give this ballpoint awl a try! I’m sure you’ll love using it!

I pin-basted the layers together with a low-loft batting and was ready to start stitching. I really wanted to stitch with the suede side up since that was a solid and would be easier to see where I was stitching. The minkee fabric would be next to the feed dogs, but that would be ok. I raised my presser foot pressure just a little to accommodate the thicker fabrics.

Issue 1 – When stitching with suede, usually a teflon foot is needed and since I’m freehand quilting, that’s not an option. Even though my feed dogs were lowered and my foot was not exactly close to the fabric, it still tended to stick and not glide smoothly like it should for freehand quilting. Ok, raise the pressure foot pressure a little more so I have more space between the foot and the fabric. Nope! If the presser foot pressure is raised too high, the foot is higher which causes skipped stitches.

Ok, onto plan B…maybe I can sew on the minkee side and still see where I am going?! Maybe? I’ll try it. Now that was a challenge! Not only was it hard to see where I was going because of the print, but also the stitches tend to get lost in the pile of the fabric, which is just the nature of minkee fabric. It just meant I was stitching blindly. Not something I really wanted to do! Plus the suede fabric did want to hang up a little on the bed of the machine. Not too much to be much of an issue; the bigger problem was that I couldn’t see my stitches.

Back to plan A. Insert brand new needle after a 1′ section. Find the perfect balance of presser foot pressure and no skipped stitches. Sew for 10 minutes and then rest my arms/hand for 5 because manipulating those fabrics through the machine really pulls at those muscles. Go slow and keep on stitching! Finally…it was finished!

Minkee printed side

Suede solid side

It isn’t the most beautiful job of quilting I have ever done, but it did turn out fairly nice, considering all the trouble I had with quilting it. And once I finished the quilting, the binding was a breeze! And the most important thing – the little granddaughter for whom it was for and grandmother who brought the fabric to me love it!

Need some tips for sewing with minkee fabric? Look here for some helpful ideas!

Ah, yes – Minkee!!! It’s that luxurious fabric that you just love to rub your hand over and over again! It feels so good that you can’t resist purchasing it! But reality sets in when you start to cut the fabric and stitching with it! Suddenly your great love affair with this fabric is diminishing very quickly! Not only does it create a blizzard of lint and fuzz everywhere when you start chopping it into pieces, but it moves and slides around all over the place the moment it is in your sewing machine.

What do you do with the wonderful-feeling fabric that you are beginning to hate? Here are some tips that might help you keep your sanity and renew your love of the fabric and the reason why you bought it in the first place!!

Pay attention to the nap! Minkee is a napped fabric, so the fibers will lay down in one direction and it will feel and look different. So as you are cutting, be sure your pieces are going the direction that you want them to. Just run your hand across the fabric to feel the direction of the nap.

Add more for seam allowances! If you are using a pattern that is not specifically made for minkee, then you may want to add to the seam allowance. Stitching a 1/4″ seam in minkee fabric is nearly impossible, so add extra for a 1/2″ or 3/4″ seam.

Cut out all the pieces at once! Cut out everything you need to and then wipe down your cutting mat, rotary cutter, scissors and anything else you used with the minkee with a wet paper towel to catch the extra lint. Oh, btw…this is NOT a time to have a ceiling fan on. Trust me on this – previous experience (not a good one!).

Use pins, pins and more pins! That’s right – what would we do without good ol’ straight pins?! This is where you need to use them! Pin your fabrics together so your pins are 1-2 inches apart. Yes, it does take a little more work, but it is worth it when you are stitching that seam.

Sew next to the feed dogs! If you are mixing minkee fabric with cotton fabrics, sew your seam with the minkee fabric next to the feed dogs. This will help the minkee to feed through along with the cotton.

Wash the cotton fabric! If you are using cottons and minkee, be sure to pre-wash your cotton fabrics. Minkee does not shrink, but cotton will, so if you wash the entire project after it’s complete, your cotton pieces could end up smaller than the minkee ones.

Lengthen your stitch length! Since this is a napped fabric with some bulk to it, it’s a good idea to lengthen your stitch. I usually sew with a stitch length of 3-4 mm. If I’m top stitching on Hankie Blankie Pets, I use a stitch length of 4. Make a test stitch to see what works on the minkee fabric you are using.

Use a walking foot! Put on that walking foot and put it to good use! This will be your greatest help in sewing minkee fabric. The walking foot will help to feed the top layer while the feed dogs feed the bottom layer through the machine, creating an easy-to-stitch seam.

Serge the edges! If the minkee lint is seemingly out of control, serge the edges or stitch a zigzag stitch on your machine. This will help to control the lint and fuzz that flies around as you are working with the fabric.

Stabilizer topping is a must! If you are embroidering on minkee fabric (Yes, you can do that!), you need to use a clear water soluble or heat soluble topping to keep the stitches from sinking into the pile fabric. Lightly pin a piece of clear topping to the right side of the fabric after it is in the hoop.

Do not hoop minkee fabric! You will create a hoop mark or burn if you try hooping minkee fabric to embroider on it. Hoop the stabilizer (tearaway if the design is not too dense or cutaway for dense designs), spray it with 505 Spray Adhesive and the stick the minkee fabric to the stabilizer.

Make your binding wider! If you are using a binding with minkee fabric, make it wider to account for the lush fabric pile. Instead of 2″ or 2 1/2″ wide, try a 3″ wide binding.

Only use steam! You do not want to press or iron minkee fabric to compact the lush pile it holds. Either use steam or gently press with a press cloth over the minkee.

What can you do with minkee fabric? The options are limitless, but I love to create Hankie Blankie Pets with this luxurious fabric! They are so sweet and perfect to give as gifts and little ones love the feel of these little animals. I usually personalize it with a name on the front corner. Here’s just a few I’ve stitched:

Just look at those floppy puppy ears!

Cute little pink kitty whiskers!

These are so soft and cuddly!

On the three pets above, I used the original pet pattern here, but also take a peek at the New Friends pattern and At the Zoo pattern for other cute pet variations!

Can’t find minkee fabric in your local area? Try here!