Crazy Quilted Christmas Stockings

A week or so ago I ran a workshop for Crazy Quilted Stockings.

I LOVE the Crazy Quilting technique, used with a sewing machine it is such a pleasing thing to do and surprisingly easy.

I originally made the stocking for the Hobbycraft Blog a little while ago, so thought it would be a good one to run out as a workshop too.

Three lovely ladies came along, they chose the Fat Quarter packs that they wanted to use and we got to work.  Cutting, snipping, sewing, ironing, cutting, snipping, sewing, ironing..... it's a very repetitive craft  :) 

I was so absorbed in stocking making that I forgot to get any action shots, but here are the finished stockings in all their glory.

Two ladies chose the same colour schemes, while another went for something a little different.

I, myself, made a sample one, but it is not yet finished so you will have to wait to see that one  :)  Let's just say, it is very bright colourful and funky, not traditional at all.

Thanks for coming ladies, if you are reading, it was a blast, and you did fabulously.

Don't forget if you fancy making one yourself you can find my tutorial over on the Hobbycraft Blog.  (click on the link :)  )

Crazy Quilted Placemat Class at Hobbycraft

Last week I held a Crazy Quilting beginners class at Hobbycraft, Carlisle.

There were just two crafters that came along to this class, which was good as it was a first class of it's sort for me and I wasn't sure how many would be a good number to have - as machines are chugging, and irons are heating, plus you need space for fabric cutting too.    So from now I think 4 students will be an adequate amount of people  :)

Shelley and Janet joined me for some random chopping and sewing to make themselves a place-mat each.

And don't they look fabulous?

In order:  Shelley's, my own (that I made as a sample) and Janet's.

And for a closer look, this is Janet's.  She used a gorgeous Fat Quarter pack in muted flowery colours, with tones of pinks and soft greens, with a striking black & white fabric to balance it all out.

Beautiful!

Shelley went for a fun fabric, with foxes, paw prints, acorns and a print that looks like wood.

Very cute.

Such different fabrics giving off very different finished results, both of which are fantastic I think, don't you?

If you want to have a go yourself, you can find my tutorial HERE, or look out for one of my classes coming soon.    (

Crazy Quilted & Embroidered Cushion

I really enjoy Crazy Quilting - do you remember I did a place-mat a while back?  You can find it HERE.

Well, this cushion was actually made previous to that, it was an experiment with my new sewing machine to see how the embroidery stitches looked across patchworked seams.

So, I started off with a Crazy Quilted panel, a set of Fat Quarters in complimenting patterns was used, quilted on top of some wadding to give it that padded feel.

I just love how random you can get with this effect.

Then I took to the machine, threaded it with black thread for contrast, and sewed a different embroidery stitch down each seam line.

I am not 100% sure whether I should have just stuck to one stitch, or whether the random stitches look better - the jury is still out on that one.

So, the panel hung around my craft room for a while, just looking pretty, I thought I should really make it into something. A cushion.

I just sewed a plain back on and stuffed a small cushion pad in.  I didn't bother with a zip or even an opening, as it is just for decorative purposes only and to be fair, if it needs washed I will just chuck the whole thing in the machine   :)

Crazy Quilted Placemat

A couple of weeks ago I made a Crazy Quilted placemat, as a sample for a class I am doing in April.

They do look really effective and the best bit is you can use any scraps you have laying about, although I did use a fat-quarter pack that went together for this one.

So, what you do is this.....  Take a piece of cotton  (pillowcases are cheap and cheerful in supermarkets and you can get a few out of it), and a piece of wadding - not too thick.  I used a piece of A4 paper as my template.

Next, get your fabric ready - this is the fat-quarter pack I used, but you don't need a huge amount to make these.

Lay your white cotton on top of your wadding, then cut a little square of fabric - no need to be too fussy about the size, just chop a bit off.   If you wish you can use two pieces of white fabric and sandwich your wadding, this saves it catching on the sewing machine.

With a sewing machine sew your square onto the middle of the fabric - just randomly.

All four sides.

Now take another piece of fabric, in another colour, and match the length to one side of the square - any side.

Turn it face down and with the sewing machine sew down the length.

Time to get the iron out now - it is quite important to press each piece as you go, otherwise you will end up with wrinkled work.

Pretty!

Take another piece of fabric, and again, match the length to any edge.

Turn it face down, sew it in place and press it back.

Repeat, adding pieces of different colours onto different edges.  Remember to press with the iron each time you add a new piece.

Continue....

... until you have filled the whole space with pieces.   Trim your work to match the size of the cotton underneath.  (sorry about the blurry photo!!)

Now cute a piece of fabric the same size, this is going to be your backing.

Put the two pieces together, RIGHT SIDE to RIGHT SIDE  (very important this bit!) and sew all four sides, but leaving a small, 3", gap in one side to turn the work the right way in again.

Trim off the corners close to the stitching, but be very careful not to cut into your stitches.  This will make the corners less bulky when you turn it back the right way.

Give it a good ironing so it lays nice and flat.

Sew up the 3" gap by hand using nice neat little stitches.

Now take it to the sewing machine and sew a top stitch all the way round.  

Voilà!

A closer look...

Now you need to go and make another 3, (5,7,9 - whatever you need for your table  :)

You could also make coasters to match!

If you fancy coming to my workshop and learning how to do it by having a go, then you can find the details HERE on my website.  But hurry, there are only 6 places on this class :)