Super Mario Quilt Corners

Yay! This baby is done! It’s so warm and geeky. It was pretty hard to sew in my tiny apartment, I was doing some acrobatics to lay this all out. I have already done a tutorial on how to sew a single quilt block, here. This post shows you an alternative way to do the quilt backing. I think this way is both easier and cooler than using bias tape.

Note: these instructions are based on a 4.5 inch final border added. If you would like to change the size of the border, you can.

Supplies
Quilt top
Batting
Fabric backing material

Tools
Iron
Sewing machine
Pins
Marking chalk
Ruler
Fabric marker

Use this hand drawn instructions ALONG with the written ones. Be sure to click to view the largest version.

Instructions
1. If your quilt is an adult-sized quilt then you will need to sew two lengths of your backing fabric together to create the desired width.

2. Lay the fabric backing on the floor WRONG side facing up.

3. Use your ruler and draw a line with the chalking pencil FIVE inches in from the edge on the top and right sides of the fabric.

4. Line up the batting at that line you just drew.

5. Using a ruler, draw a line 4.5 inches in from the edge of the batting with the fabric marker on the top and right edges.

6. Next, stack the pieced quilt top on top of the batting RIGHT side facing up inside the square that you just drew in step five on the batting.

Remember: right now you’re only working with the top and right edges.

7. Pin the three layers together half an inch from the edge of the quilt top.

8. Cut the batting five inches bigger than the quilt topping on the bottom/left.

9. Cut the fabric batting five inches bigger than the batting on the bottom/left.

10. Fold the backing layer over so that the fabric’s right side is showing on the front (that’s your border!). Press that down. At this point, your backing fabric should be filled with batting in the border and should overlap the quilt top by 1/2 an inch.

11. Fold under the backing 1/4 an inch and pin down to the quilt top. There should be no raw edges anywhere showing. Leave about three inches from each corner unpinned.

12. Using a zig zag stitch (I chose a contrasting thread color, you could make it blend in tho if you’d like), sew the fabric backing thru all layers (at this point there are four because you are sewing thru the backing twice).

13. When you’ve sewn all four sides, it’s time for the corners. Just fold it and make a pretty tight corner so that it’s a 45 degree angle. Zig zag stitch again.

14. And you’re done!

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Reversible Sewing Machine Cover

I actually used a pattern for this originally but it’s so easy to make. (Thankfully I bought the pattern for $1 in a pattern clearance sale). I am not gonna lie, the bias tape is hard to sew on. Everything else is a breeze. This is great to make your machine look cute AND protect it. Please read all the directions first before you begin. It’s pretty intuitive once you understand where the project is going but some parts might be a bit difficult to get in isolation.

Supplies
Fabric remnant (see below for dimensions)
One package of double-fold 1/4 bias tape
Batting remnant (see below for dimensions)

Tools
Measuring tape
Scissors
Sewing machine

Directions
1. Measure your sewing machine. Don’t forget to measure the machine with a spool of thread on top if you don’t want to unthread the machine whenever you put it away. (However, this does make it look a little awkward so think about this first).

For example, my machine is 16 (width), 13 3/4 (height) and 6 3/4 (depth).

2. Cut two pieces of your main fabric that is a rectange ((width + 1) by (height +1)) inches for the front and back. (So for me that is rectange that is 17 inches by 14 3/4 inches).

3. Cut two more pieces this same size for the inside lining fabric. Also, cut two this size out of batting.

4. Cut one piece of your main fabric that is a rectangle (depth + 1) by (double the height + width + 1) inches. (So for me 7 3/4 by 44).

5. Cut one piece this same size for the inside lining fabric. Also, cut one this size out of batting.

6. Curve the corners of the front and back pieces. Be sure to pin all five layers (two lining pieces, two front pieces, and the batting) and cut them at once so they are the same. It makes a nice curve if you trace around a bowl.

6. Baste the batting pieces to the matching pieces of the lining fabric with a 1/4 inch seam. Baste just means sew so that they stick together but they don’t have to be that neat. Do this with all three pieces (the cover front, sides, and back).

7. Baste the front to the lining fabric (the batting is already sewn to the backing fabric) WRONG sides together. It is IMPERATIVE that you catch both layers and make this neat. (Do this with all three pieces).

8. Now, this is one of the hardest parts. You need to pin the front cover to the side piece WRONG SIDES together. The side piece has to curve around with the curve on the front piece. The best way to work this is to clip around the curve toward the basting stick and just work it around. You may have a bit of ruffle in the fabric but make that smooth so it looks like a gather stick.

9. Repeat with the back cover.

10. At this point you have a cover sewn together. Put it on your machine to test the size. If it’s too big this is the time to take it in. When you turn your cover inside out (to expose the lining fabric), the seams will be turned in. When it’s turned the right way, you will see the seams. That’s okay, we’re fixing that now.

11. Trim close to the seams. You don’t want very little fabric still attached outside of the basting seams.

12. Pin the bias tape around the seams and sew along the edge. This is the hardest part. Be sure to use a LOT of pins because you don’t want the bias tape to slip.

13. Turn under the ends of the bias tape to give you neat edges. Put this along the where the side fabric connects to the front and back to cover up all your seams. Also put the bias tape around the bottom too.

14. BAM! You’re done! And it’s double sided!

15. Note! If you don’t want this double-sided or don’t have the double-fold bias tape and are a cheapie, then just pin the front RIGHT sides together but otherwise follow all the same directions.

All-Purpose Fabric Hat

I made this hat for Sean for his Halloween Waldo costume. Everybody at the party recognized him and yelled “I found you!” This was really basic and easy. I think this would work great using fleece to make a warm winter hat. I have to apologize for the quality of these pictures. I had low batteries in my camera and so I was having a hard time shooting because there wasn’t enough juice to focus.

Supplies
Fabric; you need less than 1/4 yard
Cardboard

Tools
Scissors — both fabric and paper scissors
Sewing machine

Instructions
First, making the pomp pomp.
1. Draw and then cut out two equally sized circles from the cardboard with a donut-hole center cutout. The pomp pomp turns out to be about the same size as the circle so keep that in mind when drawing it out.

2. Hold the two circles against each other.

3. Wrap strips of fabric (or yarn) around the donuts, thru the hole, until the entire center hole if filled. I torn strips of fabric about 1/2 thick to use for this. Fabric doesn’t make as nice of a poof but I didn’t want to use any yarn. The more fabric/yarn you put the poofy-er it will be. So you can double up if you want it to be really full looking.

4. When the entire cardboard thing is full, then put your scissors between the cardboard pieces and cut around the outside of the circle until the edges are all disconnected. But be careful! Keep the cardboards squeezed together and hold on to your fabric or else it will fall off the model.

5. Put a string/fabric strip between the two cardboard pieces to tie the strings together.

6. Peel the cardboard forms off either side of the knot you just made, and wallaa! You have the pomp pomp finished

Second, make the body of the hat.

1. Measure around the head of the person who’s going to wear your hat, where you want the hat to sit. If you want it to go around the ears, be sure to take that into account. Add 1/2 inch for the seams. Cut a piece of fabric (I chose white fabric) that is this measurement long by 12 inches tall. This is your hat “body” piece.

2. Cut a second piece of that fabric (or a different color, I chose red) that is 4.5 inches wide and your measured length long. This is your brim piece.

3. Turn over, iron, and hem the long edge of one of the brim piece 1/4 inch.

4. Sew the short ends of the body piece together with a 1/4 inch seam so that you made a tube 12 inches tall. Turn this right side out and try this on your/your model’s head. If your hat is too big, then you can just sew again with a bigger seem (like 1/2 inch). Keep trying on until it fits perfectly. When it’s the correct size, turn it wrong-side out again.

5. Pin the RIGHT side of the brim piece to the WRONG side of the body piece. Be sure to line up the ends of the brim piece so that seam will line up with the body seam you’ve already made.

6. Sew around the edge (1/4 seam) but don’t so it shut. Don’t sew all the way around so that you connect the loose edges. Remember, your brim isn’t a full circle yet.

7. Now you need to sew the brim into a complete circle. Pin the edges of the band together and sew that part shut.

8. Finish the seam now so that the brim is fully connected to the body. Turn the hat inside out and iron the brim up against the hat. You might want to put a couple of small stitches in the brim so that it’s sure to keep standing up.

9. You need to try on the hat and see how “tall” you want it. That is, how much do you want the hat to stick up from your head? Trim any extra fabric.

10. Next, thread a needle and sew around the top of the hat by hand with a running stitch. When you’re finished pull the thread tight and this will gather the center together.

11. Sew the pomp pomp into the top of the hat. I put a little bit of a glue gun glue there too so that I was sure that it was held on tight.

12. Be Waldo or just warm in a fleecy winter hat.

Super Mario Quilt Block

Everyone loves Super Mario! This guy is great for quilting beginners as it uses only 2 inch squares — no tricky angles! It’s a bit of an odd finished size so you might want to add fat borders to make it a more regular size.

I finished this quilt and posted a finishing tutorial here.

Supplies
Red fabrics (less than a yard total)
Brown fabrics (less than a yard total)
Yellow fabrics (less than a yead total)
Some other color fabrics for the background (one yard total) (I chose green and blue)
Note: I used the same solid fabric for each color. However, I think it would look great with different cottons of the same shade.

Tools
Sewing machine
Rotary cuter
Cutting ruler

Directions
1. Cut the following amount of 2″ squares for each block in your quilt: 46 reds, 44 yellows, 64 browns, and 117 background squares.
2. Begin piecing the squares together to make the following single color chains:
Red — 1 nine piece, 1 five piece, 1 four piece, 1 two piece, 1 eight piece, 1 six piece and 2 three pieces.
Brown — 6 two pieces, 5 four piece, 5 three pieces, and 2 five pieces.
Yellow — 5 two pieces, 6 three pieces, 1 four piece and 1 seven piece.
Background — 3 five pieces, 7 four pieces, 10 three pieces, 1 six piece, and 11 two pieces.
3. Piece the rest together following the pattern.
4. A finished block is 21.75″ wide by 25.25″ tall.

Pattern (Click to view and download large size.)

Note: I left off a row in the blocks that I pieced at the very bottom. You’ll notice his shoe is only two rows tall but in the pattern it is three.