12 Days of Christmas in July

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict is hosting
 12 Days of Christmas in July.
She has a Quilt Along on her blog during this time.

I'm so excited to be participating again, for the third year.

It's fun to be able to share in all the creativity and remember there are fun things to do when making things for Christmas.

My 2017 post is here.
My 2018 post is here.

Here is the 2019 schedule and the links to the other participating blogs.
It will be so much fun, I hope you join us.

Sunday, July 14th

L’Fair Quilts

Vrooman’s Quilts

Monday, July 15th

Sea of Estrogen

Mel’sQuilting Blog

Tuesday, July 16th

Days Filled With Joy

The Colorful Fabriholic

Wednesday, July 17th

Pampered Pettit

Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

Thursday, July 18th

Kathy’s Kwilts and More

Selina Quilts

Friday, July 19th

The Quilted Snail

Cloth and Paper Studio

Saturday, July 20th

The Inquiring Quilter

Anja Quilts

Sunday, July 21st

Riceford Streams

Seams to Be Sew

Monday, July 22nd

Katie Mae Quilts

QuiltFabrication

Tuesday, July 23rd

Made by Marney

Selina Quilts

Wednesday, July 24th

From My Carolina Home

 Karrin’s Crazy World

Thursday, July 25th

Christina’s Handicrafts

Everyone Deserves a Quilt

This year I'm going to share my table runners I did for my 45th High School Reunion.
They can be made out of any fabric you wish, so would be appropriate for any season.

I'll also show you how I make T-shirt pillows with a zipper.

I know, you don't like to do zippers, but this is fairly easy to do.
You don't even need to use T-shirts if you don't want to.

I made these for DD's best friends for Christmas last year.

I took some photos and printed them and made the pillows.

I love this cherry blossom fabric.

It went so well with the photos.

I decided the size of the pillow form I'd be using and made the border to fit that size.

I always keep the pillow the same size as the form when working with it so it is fully stuffed. 

If you like them to be a bit looser, then add an inch all the way around to the size you are working with.

This one I framed in two colors and made the front and back have the brown in it to coordinate.

Since it is front and back, you can't do the pocket pillows.

I need to have two done from four T-shirts that DD loves.

The design is big, so that makes it hard to put into a T-shirt quilt.

Making a pillow and adding a zipper at the bottom of the shirt makes an easy way to get the desired effect.

So, on to the Table Runner tutorial
I mad 20 of these for the centerpieces for my reunion.

Table runner tutorial

If you are making a two color table runner, this is the fabric requirements.

Fabric A (red)	Cut two (2) 2 ½”  x 9 ½” Cut two (2) 5”  x 9 ½” Cut two (2) 2 ½”  x 4 ½”
Fabric B (gray)	Cut two (2) 2”  x 9 ½” Cut two (2) 12 ½”  x 9 ½”
For Embroidery on Fabric B (gray)	Embroider on the size of hoop that will let you center your embroidery within 9 ½” You will need two (2) of these for each table runner.

You can use scraps to make this as colorful as you wish.

Play around with it and make it your own.

After you have embroidered your design, center the design and trim to 9 ½” wide and 6 ½” height.

Next will be the arrangement of the fabric.

I like to set it up so I can make sure the words are facing the correct direction.

Sorry, I can't get the photo to turn the way I want it to.

As you can see here, the finished table runner is on the far right (top).

The ones on the far left (bottom) are folded in half after being sewn.

Arrange the fabric in the following order 2 ½” Fabric A (red) 6 ½” Fabric B embroidery (Make sure it is facing away from the center) 5” Fabric A (red) 2” Fabric B (gray) 4 ½” Fabric A (red) 12 ½” Fabric B (gray) 4 ½” Fabric A (red) 2” Fabric B (gray) 5” Fabric A (red) 6 ½” Fabric B embroidery (Make sure it is facing away from the center) 2 ½” Fabric A (red)

Sew them together on the 9 ½” side in the order shown.

You have finished your top

Now you need batting and backing

Select batting that is a little wider and longer than the table topper.

I normally leave 1-2 inches all the way around.

If the batting you have is not long enough or wide enough, zigzag two or more pieces together.

Backing needs to be a bit larger than the top too.

Next is to layer the quilt sandwich.

Put the batting down on a flat surface.

Try and center the backing on top of the batting making sure it is right side up.

Center the top on the backing facing down with the right sides together.

Pin all the way around making sure the three layers are smooth.

I make sure to leave a spot about a hands width open to be able to turn the table runner, I put a double set of pins on each side of the opening.

This is to alert me to NOT sew in-between the double pins.

Sew around, leaving an area open to turn.

Trim around the top.

Make sure to trim the corners diagonally.

Turn the table runner right sides out.

Take a chopstick or something pointy and poke the corners out to get them as sharp as possible.

Be careful not to make a hole in the fabric.

Press while rolling the edges to make them crisp.

Quilt as desired.

All I did was top stitch a presser foot width from the red and around the outside edge, making sure to close the open area where I turned it.

You have a finished table topper that is easy and can be made with any fabrics for any season.

These were used for decorations at my 45th high school reunion.

Zippered T-shirt Pillow tutorial

Supplies

T-shirt(s)

Stabilizer

Zipper that is slightly smaller than the width of the pillow opening

Iron

Pressing sheet
Ruler
Rotary Cutter

Thread

Sewing Machine

Instructions

Find the T-shirts that you wish to make pillows from.

You will need a front and a back, so two pieces to work with.

They can be one shirt or two for a double imaged pillow.

These happen to be two music shirts that DD loves.

  

You will need to cut the shirts apart to be able to stabilize them.

I cut the sleeves off first.

Then cut up both sides of the shirt.
I use the seams as a guide, or if there aren’t any seams, I will make sure the shirt is flat and cut on the fold.

  Next cut across shoulders

Your shirts are ready for the next step.

I like measure to see how large the area is for the design.

Cut your stabilizer a bit larger than the design level.

Lay your T-shirt design side down and press so it lays flat.

Make sure NOT to press the design side.
It will melt and mess up the design and your iron.

 

 Follow the instructions on the stabilizer and fuse it to the wrong side of the cut shirts.
The little bumps on the stabilizer go towards the shirt.

  If the stabilizer is bigger than the shirt and overhangs, use a pressing sheet under the stabilizer that is hanging over to stop from fusing to your pressing surface.

 Determine the size you want the pillow to be.

You can cut the same size of the pillow form if you like the look of a full pillow.
If you prefer a pillow that looks less stuffed, add one (1) inch around and cut that size out of both T-shirts you picked.

I'm using 18 inches for my 18 inch pillow form.

After cutting the size you want, if you notice there is a small section larger than 1/4" without T-shirt on the stabilizer, you need to add to cover the stabilizer.

I need to add some extra fabric to this shirt.

T-shirt fabric does not do well to sew like a normal seam when it is this small.

Use a Zig Zag Stitch to sew them together.

 Trim like you did before to have the T-shirt cut to the right size.

This one happens to be 18" square and will work for an 18" pillow form.

 You should have two shirts that are the size you are working with.

 Place one of your prepared pieces face up.

Have your zipper match or contrast as you desire.

Next align your zipper face down along the top of the T-shirt.

 
 Pin or use wonder clips to keep in place.

  Use your zipper foot and sew across the top through all the layers.

 

Mine has a way for either side to be up against the zipper.

You need to figure out how your zipper foot works.

You will need to zip and unzip around the presser foot as you sew the zipper in.
*Note, these photos show sewing off the shirt, but you really need to stop at the edges of the zipper stops.

Please notice where I stopped sewing here.

Zipper sewn on one side (mine is the bottom).

To top stitch, you might need to change your thread to match the T-shirt material. 

If you wish, you can top stitch in a contrasting color.

Turn the zipper so it is laying flat. 

I found that this shirt was thin enough that I could finger press it to lay flat.

If that does not work, use a pressing sheet to press along the zipper being careful that your iron does not melt the zipper or the design on the shirt.

DO NOT IRON THE DESIGN

Notice that I moved the zipper foot to the other side to get closer to the zipper.

Top stitch along the zipper.

You will need to zip and unzip the zipper to be able to top stitch along the side of the zipper.

  

 You will do the same thing with the second shirt, making sure to align them with the front.

Make sure you have the shirts oriented right.

The bottom of both shirts and together here.

Next align your zipper face down along the bottom of the T-shirt.

Pin or use wonder clips to keep in place.

 Use your zipper foot and sew across the top through all the layers.

Notice I had to change the side of the zipper foot to sew closer to the zipper.

  

  

Zip and unzip as required.

 Change thread to match the shirt you are top stitching.

 Top stitch the second side of the shirt.

Zip and unzip as needed. 
 Move zipper foot

The zipper is installed.

 

Put on your quarter inch foot, or whatever you are choosing to use to sew the rest of the project.

Ooops, I just noticed that I need to finish the seam where the zipper is because it is not the full length of the pillow. 

I had to unsew the zipper that is past the zipper stop.

You need pull that zipper tab into the seam allowance and be careful not to sew the metal zipper stop.

 Sew the remainder of the seam on both sides.

Open the zipper so you have a place to turn the pillow.

Fold the right sides together and pin or use the wonder clips to align the edges.

The zipper should be on one of the edges.

   Make sure the zipper is open to allow for turning.

 Sew ¼ inch around the entire pillow.

If you need to trim to even up the edges, now is the time to do that.

 Turn right sides out.

I use a chop stick to help poke the corners out.

  Your pillow is complete.

 Insert your pillow form.

Zip the zipper and there is your double sided T-shirt pillow.

Here is the second pillow made from "wolf" t-shirts.

 And the two together

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Thanks for visiting.

I hope you have fun with all the other 12 Days of Christmas in July blog posts.