Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Tutorial: Scraps + Magnet = Fun?!


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Oh my gooodness! You guys are just the sweetest people ever!!!
It's so super nice to know that I have people like you who
are as happy as I am (and Joe is) about the contribution to
the Stitch magazine. I still carries the mag with me everywhere
I go because looking at it not only does remind me of the happy
thing that happened to me but also makes me think of you guys,
how warm, supportive, and encouraging you guys have been..
and that just makes my day. So a BIG thank you for all of you!!!!





By the way, I am so bummed that I missed out the Scrap Buster Contest.
I thought the deadline is the end of this month, but I just found out
that the entry has been closed since the deadline was the 23rd of October.
Ouch! You may have had enough cool tutorials that use up scraps by now,
but I made a little quick tutorial anyway, so let me share it here today..

This is really one of the quickest things to make that I can think of
that is decorative and practical and can be a little last-minute gift.

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I used this magnetic tape (1" width).
It doesn't have to have the adhesive tape;
as long as it's a magnet that can be
cut into your desired sizes that would be great ;)

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I grabbed some scraps that match well together.
Sizes of scraps don't matter as long as the length of each scrap is
at least 1" longer than your finished project.
Here, each scrap of mine had to be at least 2" in length.

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Here is another combination I came up with.

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And this one.

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After ironing the scraps, I sewed them up, making sure
seam allowances are about 1/4".

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Then I opened and pressed the seam allowances.

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Now I cut each patchwork panel into approximately 1 3/4" x 4".

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For each panel, prepare a scrap that is cut
into about the same size. Here, I recommend using
light-weight cotton fabric.

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With WRONG sides together, I sewed all around, making sure to leave
one short edge unsewn. I also made sure that the width between
the two long stitching lines are about 1 1/4" so that the
1" width magnet can be easily inserted.

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Then I cut out magnet into 3.5" length.

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I then inserted the magnetic tape in there.
Here if you use magnetic tape with adhesive,
I suggest that you make sure to insert it
in the way that the raw magnet part faces the back side.

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Fun part! Fill it with polyfil. Lots and Lots of
polyfil gives it a nicely puffy and firm look, so don't
hesitate to use a lot of it! I use a chopstick
to press polyfil further. Make sure to put polyfil
to only FRONT side of the magnet. Between the magnet
and the back panel of the fabric,
there should not be any polyfil..

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Time to sew up the opening now.

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Now trim the edges. It might be fun to use a pinking scissor here!

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This is how the back side looks like..


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Now let it stick to your refrigerator and have fun!

Oops! time to go..!

I hope this tutorial was clear enough and
is something you want to try out ;)

I'd love to see yours in this flickr pool.


Thanks for coming and reading!!



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Sunday, October 18, 2009

Stitch Magazine Cover!!!!

Stitch Fall 2010
Hi all. How are you all doing?
I'm sorry I was so quiet for a while here.
Thank you so much for your lovely, thoughtful comments,
e-mails, and letters that always cheer me up!
I just needed a little break for some reasons,
but I am back now and am so super thrilled to finally
share with you guys this excitement!

Yeah! my handmade tote bag made the cover of the Fall
issue of Stitch magazine!!!! Hooray!!!!!!!!!
Had I ever thought about seeing my own sewn item
in my favorite magazine in a bookstore?!
I can still hardly believe this really happened.
I am so happy to be part of the crafty contributors
that I have been admiring for a long time like
Rashida of I heart linen. (Go check out her blog
if you love to stumble upon a place that inspires you,
although I doubt there are many of you who haven't
checked it out... her work is just incredibly beautiful.)

Stitch Fall 2010

I would say that I am probably not the one that
was excited the most about this magazine coming out.
Joe was checking out the bookstore like everyday
since a week before it got published. When it became
available, he got overly thrilled and couldn't help telling
the bookstore staff that the bag was made by his girlfriend
and rushed back to work and showed it off to every
co-worker he encountered in the day. LOL.
I really think I am so lucky to have met this guy.

Stitch Fall 2010

Stitch Fall 2010

I thank all of you who have continuously encouraged me
to get crafty and to allow me to share my work
with you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you all!!!!!!

Thanks for coming and reading!!



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