Kelp Quilt Tutorial
This tutorial explains how to make a 9” x 65” block for a Kelp Quilt If you make 11 of these blocks, you’ll have a twin size quilt (65" x 93"). [Directions for queen size variations at the bottom.] Anyone…
Check out the posts in the tutorials category for many free lessons on dyeing, improvisational patchwork, and more!
How to square up huge quilt blocks.
A common step in any block-based improv quilt is squaring up the blocks. When I was making blocks for Stinky's quilt, I squared them up with each additional "wall" that was added to the block--i.e., eight or nine times per…
Batik, C’est Chic
I've blogged about this book before, but it is coming up again, because I've got to say how much fun I have just keeping that electric fry pan of wax around and pulling it out on a random evening when…
DIY Soccer Jersey
It's crazy how fulfilling I find it to be able to make certain things for myself. This weekend, I needed to go to the thrift store for a light blue shirt. I need it for a soccer team I'm subbing…
Making Bean Bags
Almost everyone who comes into my office asks about my little pile of bean bags. These little beauties are an essential piece of my ability to stay organized. Since my job requires me to tackle several large projects at once,…
How to use Sodium Alginate and Dye to make Fabric Paint
For such an unassuming and cheap product, this stuff sure is awesome! A few months ago, when I posted about batik, Melody of the blog Fibermania suggested that I might have fun playing with sodium alginate. Shortly thereafter, the…
Fabric for Dyeing
I'm slowly making my way through dye 101... Previously: a post about what dye to use and where to find it. And a post about how to prepare a dye bath. Now, how to choose and prepare fabric. …
batik sweetness
They are done! If you missed it, the first part of my batik adventure was documented here. I wasn't worried about the dying part of the batik equation since I do that all the time (instructions here.) but I was…
batik!
Yep, I finally got down to doing it. I had Tuesday night to myself, so I set most of it up then: 1. Covered the kitchen table in craft paper and then cardboard. 2. Unwrapped the waxes: 3. Took my…
Preparing a dye bath
I'm slowly making my way through dye 101, where you can learn to dye cotton fabric... Previously: a post about what dye to use and where to find it. Now: preparing a basic dye bath. Soon: preparing your fabric (including…