In Which I Plan To Sew Clothes
I learned to sew clothes at about 9 years old and I continued to make clothes into my late teens, but after the quilting bug bit my interest in making clothing fell by the wayside.
Currently I am nearly finished with another bed quilt and I am working on a hand applique quilt as well as not one,but two, English Paper Pieced projects.
Hold onto your hats.....watching show, "The Great British Sewing Bee", on YouTube as I sew has rekindled my desire to stitch up some tops..at the very least. As I began to sort through patterns that I have on hand and consider a new one or two I started to think about patterns themselves.....oh! How I dislike tissue paper patterns! Usually, if it is a pattern that I think I will make more than once I transfer the tissue pattern onto Pellon Decor Bond. It makes them so much easier to manage! Even if I transfer patterns I still generally make at least one of whatever from a tissue pattern before I decide to commit to transferring it to the Decor Bond (though I have just fused the pattern and then cut them both out at once). I remembered that I had been thinking about getting some pattern weight for many years, but I also recalled thinking that they are way too expensive for little ole weights.
I started to look on the web and found this cute little pattern on the blog" TeaRose Home".http://tearosehome.blogspot.com/2012/12/tutorial-pattern-weight-with-free-pdf.html. She offers the simple wee pattern as a PDF for free. These little triangles are super quick to make...just a few minutes.....and they use up scraps!
At first I filled them with rice, then I tried using beans. Neither of those gave me the heft that I wanted. Then I hit on the idea of using steel buckshot. I used some batting to hold the shot in place and to stuff the tips a bit and then I added the buckshot they were now the perfect weight to hold those darn tissue patterns ( or any pattern) firmly and easily.
Now, I just need to get sewing...as soon as the Wagon Wheels quilt is done...only two and half blocks to go before I can arrange the blocks and sew them together. Soon a new, or at least revisited, sewing adventure awaits. Well, at least I have the pattern weight now at any rate!
Thank you Tea Rose Home for the idea!
Your Pattern weights are great, especially peewee the cat of black!
ReplyDeletethis time of year i am thinking aprons like tops and shorts with elastic waist for sommer sewing .After all, i am a lapsed home ec major and life long fabric re arranger.
Look forward to seeing your quilts finished. be well, sonja