The Sewing Place

Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)

Kayfersmum

Hi

I'm going to cover a rectangular stool with a piece of plain material and would like to add a little detail by including a piece of fabric in the middle. I'd like to make all the stitches on the reverse so it looks like one piece of material from the front. 

I started down the route of cutting out the hole and pinning from the rear, but then the top fabric would pucker from each corner ... :thinking:

I've totally confused myself using the little brain power I have in how to achieve this!!  :headbang:

Please can someone point me in the right direction as I'm going around in circles (or rectangles  :D)

I've attached a couple of pics to show what I've done.  Fortunately whilst I'm learning all this I've not invested in decent fabric so it doesn't matter, and I won't be offended,  if I've gone totally off piste and need to start again! xx
“I always wanted to be happy, so I decided to be.“

wrenkins

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2020, 13:46:39 PM »
Debbie Shore does good applique videos on Youtube. I like this one but she does others with 'letterboxes' using the same principle. The critical part comes at about 6.30 if you want to scoot through and see if it's what you want.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2020, 13:49:13 PM by wrenkins »
Harbouring resentment is like swallowing poison and waiting for the other person to die!

BrendaP

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2020, 13:59:39 PM »
The photo looks to me as though the pink fabric isn't big enough for the hole.  You have marked out the seam allowance on the pink, and if you were to do the same on the purple (from a thread or two outside of the snips) the two should be exactly the same size.

Brenda.  My machines are: Corona, a 1953 Singer 201K-3, Caroline, a 1940 Singer 201K-3, Thirza, 1949 Singer 221K, Azilia, 1957 Singer 201K-MK2 and Vera, a Husqvarna 350 SewEasy about 20 years old. Also Bernina 1150 overlocker and Elna 444 Coverstitcher.
http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.

Ploshkin

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2020, 14:35:33 PM »
Alternatively you could do it in quilt piecing fashion.
A rectangular strip of the purple top and bottom.  A rectangular strip for the middle with the pink in the centre and a purple bit at each end.  Then join the 3 strips together.
Make sure you add a bit for the seam allowances so that it doesnt end up too small.
No snipping, no puckering, just straight seams.
Life's too short for ironing.

Lowena

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2020, 14:38:04 PM »
That's my suggestion too :)
Triumph of hope over experience :D

Efemera

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2020, 18:16:21 PM »
You probably missed off the seam allowances on both pieces

Kayfersmum

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #6 on: August 04, 2020, 10:54:57 AM »
Thanks for your advice and suggestions.  I double checked and I did have all the measurements correct, so I did a little head scratching and gave up on my original plan.  I decided to attempt the applique route as I'd never done anything like that before. I watched the Debbie Shore video as @wrenkins suggested and managed to complete it with varying results. 

I discovered that you need to be really accurate with the cutting and ironing back the seams - one side of my rectangle was square and the other turned out a little wonky.  I'm not sure if I wouldn't have achieved the same results by placing the butterfly material on top of the purple material and stitching it on, using the same stitch, hence reducing all the preparation work sewing and cutting out the hole.  Maybe as I'm using a flat piece of cotton material this wouldn't have made much difference, but if I was using batting etc the applique effect would be more visible  :thinking: 

One quick question, are you supposed to be able to reverse in any stitch settings on the sewing machine to secure the threads at the beginning and end of sewing?  Mine didn't like doing it very much in the short zigzag I chose...

As per some recommendations, think I'm going to have a go at making a bit of a patchwork/quilt piecing cover for my stool instead.  Wish me luck! xx
“I always wanted to be happy, so I decided to be.“

wrenkins

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #7 on: August 04, 2020, 13:38:46 PM »
My machine doesn't even reverse on some of my straight stitches but it will do a stop stitch on them.  :)
Harbouring resentment is like swallowing poison and waiting for the other person to die!

Kayfersmum

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #8 on: August 04, 2020, 13:56:31 PM »
“I always wanted to be happy, so I decided to be.“

wrenkins

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #9 on: August 04, 2020, 14:19:31 PM »
The needle goes up and down in the same place when I hold the reverse button. It fastens off the sewing without sewing back over where you've been.
In my imagination the machine decides it can do fancy but it draws the line at fancy backwards. (I just made that up).
Can you tell I'm winging it here?!?!?!
Harbouring resentment is like swallowing poison and waiting for the other person to die!

Kayfersmum

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #10 on: August 04, 2020, 14:24:49 PM »

I’m totally on your wavelength
“I always wanted to be happy, so I decided to be.“

Kayfersmum

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #11 on: August 08, 2020, 23:55:45 PM »

So I gave up on the inlay piece an decided to cover the stool with a patchwork of squares from things I’ve made so far and some old scraps I found.

I think it turned out OK for my first attempt at anything like this.  I sewed everything together and used a layer of batting underneath to make the seat a little softer.  I was going to box the corners, but then with my foggy brain I forgot until I’d got very handy with the staple gun and decided it was too late to turn back!

One question.  Although not technically quilting, have I ventured nearer to the Dark Side?!

Here’s the before and after pics xx
“I always wanted to be happy, so I decided to be.“

wrenkins

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #12 on: August 09, 2020, 00:31:08 AM »
Explain to me how that is not technically quilting and I'll tell you how close to the dark side you are.  :angel:
Harbouring resentment is like swallowing poison and waiting for the other person to die!

Kayfersmum

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #13 on: August 09, 2020, 00:40:18 AM »
I thought quilting meant stitching across things as well as sewing elements together
“I always wanted to be happy, so I decided to be.“

Ploshkin

Re: Help adding an inlay to a seat cover (or any piece of material)
« Reply #14 on: August 09, 2020, 07:11:52 AM »
A very nice job @Kayfersmum there's no way back from the sark side now  :ninja:
Life's too short for ironing.