Christmas Stocking Fun

Only read this on the original blog post as it has been pirated.  You will find a link on the right sidebar of my blog  http://nebraskaviews.blogspot.com 
  
In October our quilt guild had a program on using old denim blue jeans to make Christmas stockings.  They were so cute and looked easy to make so I decided to make them for our whole family and hang them on our fireplace this Christmas.  This first one is the one I made for John...guess it was the prototype for all the rest.

I didn't use the pattern that we were given as I wanted my stockings a little larger so I just drew it a little larger.  We have lots of worn out denim blue jeans so had the fabric needed for the base of the stockings.

This post will be the first part of  tutorial on how I made them, the next part two on how to make the stocking and then follow up posts will be some of the tips and tricks I learned as I was making them.

The front side of the stocking is cut from the top of the jeans using the waistband for the very top.  I varied where I placed my pattern to make all the stockings look different.

 

I laid the pattern on one side of the jeans where I thought it would work the best.  Since the jeans are not flat pieces of fabric I flipped the jeans over to make sure the pattern would fit as shown in the photo below.

 Trace around the pattern on the one side of the blue jeans and cut that first part out so you can open it up and lay it flat to finish the tracing and cutting.

Here is one stocking front base...next  is to decorate it.

 The toe and heel patterns I traced on a fusible paper backed web and fused to the selected fabric.  As you can see from the photo below I selected certain spots for the toe and heel from this particular fabric.  Cut out the shapes and peel the backing off and fuse to the toe and heel of the denim base.

I stitched on the inside of each fused shape with a buttonhole stitch on my sewing machine.  I did flip it over and trimmed the edges of the fused fabric even with the denim.

Well that is all for this post...next one will be part 2.

Until later,
Lynn
Update: Here are the links to all the stocking blog posts.
Part 1 Christmas Stocking Fun
Part 2 Christmas Stocking Fun Part 2
Part 3 Christmas Stocking Tips
Part 4 Denim Jeans Christmas Stockings
Part 5 More Stocking Hints And Observations
Part 6 Two More Christmas Stockings
Part 7 Hanging The Stockings
Part 8 More Stockings To Show
Part 9 Another Jeans Stocking For The Fireplace
Part 10 Pattern
 

Update finally!

I have had a rather busy week and just haven't taken time to post any blog entries.  Tonight I have been working on re-sizing my photos for my blog and now just finished so guess it is time to post something.

Tonight I will show you the places I have to rip out on the flower basket.  This of course has not been done yet but it is next on my "to do" list.









The echo quilting is going to be about 1/8" apart on the outside of the swag border and after the first row was finished I noticed that the top loop of the feather quilting on the top and bottom of the quilt are obviously too close.  I will be ripping the last loop and making the space more even and more if needed to make it look symmetrical.

The basket quilt has been on hold the last week as I worked on another project but am anxious to work on it again.  Will fill you in tomorrow about what occupied my time this last week.

So long for tonight,

Lynn

Tiny Feathers

As you see I am again working slowly on this little flower basket quilt.  Didn't want you all to think I stopped altogether since I have not posted any progress for a few days.  You would think with a quilt this small, approximately 14" by 15", I would just get it done.  I am so enjoying taking it slow and if I don't like the way something looks I change it right away and I am not worrying about a time table to get it finished.  When ever it gets done is OK by me.

I did do one row of the echo quilting around the swags then quilted the tiny feathered borders before I finished the echo quilting.  The echo quilting is done with the silk thread to match the background and the feathers were quilted with a little darker tan thread to make them show up a little more.

I used a paintbrush and a little water to remove the blue quilting marking lines so I could inspect the quilting lines.  Whoops, I see a loop on the feathers that needs fixed already.  At this point I don't need to remove all of the blue marks but enough so I can tell if my stitching lines look OK with the echo quilting and that the loops look right.  Will re-do anything I do not like.  Using the paint brush I can control where I put the water since I don't want the outside border feather quilting lines to get wet and disappear or get too smudgy to follow.

Until Later,
Lynn

I Won!

I just got an email telling me I won a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks!  Yay, Yippee, WooHoo!!!  Don't think I have ever won anything through the internet before so this is so exciting.  If I did this correctly you should be able to click on the yellow button above to take you the the Quiltmaker's website.  If I didn't get that done correctly just click on this link to read all about the prizes you might win if you enter too.

Lynn