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Topics - mudcat

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Tech Know How / question about photo behavior
« on: December 23, 2022, 05:31:51 AM »
Whenever I add a picture I always insert it into the post so it will be the larger size but many people don't and I find that about half the time when I click on them they never enlarge.  I've taken to opening them in a new window and then they are the bigger size.

My question is ... why does it not always enlarge after clicking on it?  I can find no pattern at all for the behavior.

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@Iminei Can you send me the link to a picture of one of your bindings where you use what I assume is a blanket stitch. I am getting ready to add the binding to a quilt next week and want to give that technique a try but I can't remember exactly how you do it.

signed, not a real quilter  :thinking:

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House Beautiful / Large pillow using fabric scraps as filling
« on: June 22, 2022, 19:51:16 PM »
Has anyone ever used fabric scraps as stuffing for a pillow.  In searching I found some people who suggested making scraps into 1" pieces which would be quite easy with a rotary cutter.  It would also be a way to get rid of smaller scraps.

I need to make a rather large pillow to put against the wall when I watch TV in the bedroom as there is a bit of a gap between the mattress and wall. I'm trying to minimize purchases at the moment. I'm a little afraid the scraps will make the pillow too lumpy or not soft enough.

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A Good Yarn / My first woven item
« on: June 11, 2021, 23:46:57 PM »
Today I finally had the rigid heddle class. I enjoyed the class and will be taking up weaving.  I see it as a relaxing thing to do in 30 minute increments as I did find the actual weaving portion of the class too long. The class itself was four hours but part of that was doing the warp and learning different aspects of the process.  My back was starting to hurt mostly because I had to sit on a wooden bench and had no back support.  Plus no padding on the bench was not so good for my elderly behind.

Here's a photo of the two yarns I chose and a sample of the weave.  I still need to tie off one end and wash it.  I'll post another photo when that's been done. 

My weaving itself was not so consistent but I am sure it will improve with time.
 
  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]  

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In the wardrobe / rotary cutter
« on: May 04, 2021, 07:14:28 AM »
This is a question strictly for non-quilters.  When you cut out garment patterns do you use scissors or a rotary cutter? 

I have assumed for quite a long time that most people use a rotary cutter.  However, I had a conversation with my pattern fitting course instructor where I mentioned using the rotary cutter to cut out patterns and she responded that I was brave to use a rotary cutter.  So now I'm wondering if there are still a significant number of people who still use scissors.


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Technical Help / Cover Stitch Etiquette
« on: December 18, 2020, 19:13:47 PM »
I've mentioned in some of my recent posts that I've only recently started using my cover stitch machine (in spite of buying it about a year ago) and I'd like to know more about how you use yours.

So far I've only done the hem on the body of the garment.  I have toyed with using it for necklines and sleeveless armholes though I think it would be difficult with only a 3/8" turn over.  In RTW I see it used on sleeves but I rarely make anything with sleeves though I'd do it on them.  I'm wondering if you use it on sleeveless or neck hems that are turned over.  I don't know if it would look odd.  Usually when I see it in RTW it's with a band so it will have one row on the body of the garment and one on the band.  Or the type with binding flipped to the front and and the two rows are on the band.  Personally I don't care for that because it always looks too thick to me.

What parts of the garment do you cover stitch?  Do you ever cover stitch wovens?  Sample pictures are welcome.  :thumbsup:


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Technical Help / What to use for ties
« on: July 23, 2020, 03:06:59 AM »
I have two jumpsuits made from lightweight rayon challis fabric.  They have very wide uneven oneseam legs.  The outside legs are too long for me while the inseam is at a good place.  I  bought them at a booth during a rib festival a few years ago.  I rather like them because they are lightweight and very comfortable but I never wear them because of the legs. 

I don't want to shorten them because it will make the hems too thick and there is no way I'm cutting off this type of fabric because it's such a pain to work with due to the wiggle factor.  After looking at many pants images I came up with the idea of making them "billow" legs like these Blue Fish "billow" pants.

So now my dilemma is what to use for my "string" to tie them up.  It needs to be easy to tie/untie without knotting and  gentle washable (line dry).  It needs to have the right weight.  I'll sew it straight on the fabric (where a seam would be if there was one).  I'll use matching thread so it's not easily veiwable.

I've considered thick yarn, shoe laces, flat sheer ribbon, string and twine.  I've mostly dismissed them due to the fact it would knot too easily, not wear well or be too heavy/stiff. 

Does anyone have suggestions on what might work?  Or maybe I'm overthinking this.

 

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Patterns Discussion / Vogue Summer 2020 up
« on: April 29, 2020, 05:47:40 AM »
Vogue Summer 2020

They seem to be de-emphasing the Designer patterns.  Nothing here for me.  And the prices are ridiculous. 

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Overlockers & Coverstitchers / Janome coverpro 1000cpx
« on: December 27, 2019, 23:30:39 PM »
I bought this machine yesterday and my first stitch test on a light weight rayon knit looked fabulous but I am wondering about pulling the fabric/threads out at the end of the stitch.  It feels very tight.  I don't know if that's normal. I would think not. I followed all directions from the manual but it doesn't discuss how this should feel.  Any suggestions on how to make it looser when ending the stitch?

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Patchwork & Quilting ... Welcome to the Darkside / Strip quilt question
« on: November 21, 2019, 04:14:14 AM »
Has anyone ever made a strip type quilt where you sew strips one end to the other until you have a very very long continuous strip.  Then you fold it in half (lengthwise) and sew it up.  Then take that and fold it in half again and sew up on side.  Repeat as many times as it takes until you have run out of length at which point you should have a top.

I was thinking about doing this in a lap size using red, black and perhaps a small amount of gold but I'm a little worried about how it would actually look. It would be random.  I would probably use 3 or 4 inch strips.

Edit: I was looking for this a few days ago and couldn't find anything but tonight I added "continuous" to my search and found this link. She does the corners like you would for binding. I probably wouldn't since it seems like more work than I want to do.
Continous strip quilt

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So I started this in March of last year and finally completed it this weekend.  I will preface this with saying I don't particularly enjoy quilting.  I sort of enjoy designing/piecing.  But, I find the quilting/binding to be quite tedious especailly with large quilts.  This one is approximately queen sized.  I don't mind quilting small lap quilts but anything more than that is a bore and ends up being put off for years.

In my living room I have black floor tiles and one red wall.  I have a futon couch which is primarily there as a bed for out of town guests.  Nobody ever actually sits on it except the cat. It's rather sad that the living room is the largest room in my house and the only thing we ever do in there is watch TV.  In reality I rarely watch TV but Mr MC watches regularly.  To the right  there is a black leather loveseat recliner and to the left a large screen TV on the wall.

I had a 25 year old quilt on the futon couch and one of the cats pretty much shredded it. It is now in the bin for Monday morning trash pickup.  My original idea was to make a black and red checkerboard quilt.  I thought having these large squares would make everything go faster.  And for cutting and piecing it did.  After that it lingered and lingered. 

I also didn't want to buy any fabric so some of my red squares are orange or dark pink.  Based on the picture the various shades seem to blend well.  The only fabric I bought was the black with red polka dots that is used for the borders and binding but you can't really see it. The quilt back is a rather large scale floral with black background.

The squares started out as 12" but after sewing they are 11.5".  I only stitched in the ditch of the squares in each direction and then again diagonally with a wavy stitch that I often use when quilting because it doesn't need to be as precise as a straight stitch. Unfortunately, this loose quilting is causing drag lines on the bottom row that hangs over the futon.  When it's laying flat it looks normal.  I assume it's because of my rather light quilting.  At this point I don't care but I may add a bit more quilting to the bottom row later.  Also I think I made it too wide because there are two more rows tucked around the back.

Outside of the puckering I'm quite happy with it. The colors work so much better. The old one was dull and pale.  Also, there is some bearding going on so you can see the little white beads which I've decided to ignore for now.  They aren't noticeable unless you're up close.

The quillt:


The narrow butted binding:


The back:


I'd also like to say a word about binding.  I do not sew by hand at all.  I might sew on a button but that's about it.  Hand sewing is physically painful for me after years of mouse use.  So the way I do bindings it to double them up, sew from the front, flip it around to the back and then stitch in the ditch from the front.  This has mostly worked for me in the past but I never really liked my corners because of the bulk.

So here I did it more more like this video where she trims away some of the bulk.  In retrospect I think I could have also trimmed a bit from the first two sides as well so I plan to do that in the future.  I have a quilt that was professionally quilted that has been waiting to be bound for about ten years.

Butted binding corners

12
I was so happy yesterday to finally finish my black and red checker quilt that I started well over a year ago.  As I always do I put it in the washer after I finished the last stitch.  When I took it out of the dryer it had lint/fuzz all over it so I washed a second time and while it seems to have helped some there is still quite a bit.  I used a very thin cotton batting and had noticed some fuzz show through on the black squares in particular.  I figured it would wash out but instead it beaded up.

I always use this type of batting and don't recall ever having this happen before.  The brand is Quilters Dream Cotton. 

I am not sure what to do now.  It makes it look awful.  I can keep washing it in hopes that it will eventually come out in the lint trap. 

Anyone had this happen to them before?


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