parlor tricks 4/3/21 parlor tricks 4/3/21

quilted

*taped muslin lining to the floor to keep smooth. whip-stitched two smaller pieces of cotton batting together to make up the length needed.*

*pin basted the quilt sandwich together and captured how impossible it is to keep black fabric lint-free.*

used DMC cotton stranded embroidery floss in ecru, separated into 3 strands, with a Tulip big eye straight thin size Sashiko needle. pulled strands over beeswax before quilting to help prevent fraying and breakage.

*quilted in free-hand lines widthwise, starting from the center. i can see how my technique was affected over time as my fingertips became more tender.*

kept the muslin lining and cotton batting long at the short edges. trimmed the batting to remove bulk and folded the muslin over to create a binding, blind stitching to the twill to finish. the light table fits snuggly in the cover, so i kept the cl… — kept the muslin lining and cotton batting long at the short edges. trimmed the batting to remove bulk and folded the muslin over to create a binding, blind stitching to the twill to finish. the light table fits snuggly in the cover, so i kept the closure simple using brass sew-on snaps to secure when stowed away.

trimmed excess muslin and batting to meet the long edge of the twill and finished raw sandwich edges with blanket stitch using 3 strands of DMC ecru embroidery floss – no beeswax this time. learned how to cleanly transition threads midway through bl… — trimmed excess muslin and batting to meet the long edge of the twill and finished raw sandwich edges with blanket stitch using 3 strands of DMC ecru embroidery floss – no beeswax this time. learned how to cleanly transition threads midway through blanket stitch using *this* *tutorial from* *Upcycle DesignLab*.

the quilting turned out alright. started with tight tolerances and knotted off by the skin of my teeth. hadn’t expected as much shirring from the quilting process – my dimensions didn’t account for it. and while blanket stitch was considered as an alternative to more traditional finishing methods – bias tape/quilt binding – it turned out to be just the stitch for a narrow seam allowance.

i’m really happy with this.

*bonus: little sachet i made yesterday to hold a gift for a friend whose birthday is today (happy birthday!). pleased with this spur of the moment project.*

parlor tricks 3/31/21 parlor tricks 3/31/21

Sashiko sampler

some Sashiko practice, and other threaded meditations. can’t remember the order i did them in, other than which was first. even then i can’t tell for sure because i sewed the first to the second – so it’s one of those two.

big gratitude to 刺し子 & Sashiko Story and Upcycle Stitches – very helpful resources.