Great Gifts #2
This week's fast and easy gift is also a great scrap project. Using just two 15" squares of fabric and a bit of binding you can make a napkin holder or a box to hold all sorts of things.
Last week we even made a mini version to hold candy.
This one used an 8" square.
WHAT YOU NEED
2 16" squares of coordinating fabrics
1 16" square of batting
About 68 inches of binding strips.**
The usual sewing supplies.
** a word about binding: You can chose to bind in the traditional quilt method of cutting 2.5" strips, folding them in half, stitching them to the front and folding around to the back where you stitch them in place by hand.
It is less bulky to use a seamstress method with a 2" strip that you've run through the bias maker. The bias maker folds the two outer edges to the center. Here's a great tutorial if you need help:
WHAT TO DO
You want your quilted square to finish at 15" so cut it slightly larger at 16". Cut 1 top, 1 batting and 1 bottom piece.
Sandwich the three on top of each other and quilt together.
Use a washable/invisible marking pen to draw guide lines. The Halloween box was done using 1/2" spaced diagonal lines.
To do this, mark one line corner to corner and stitch along the line. We used our walking foot and moved the needle so that each subsequent line could be guided by the edge of the presser foot, giving us equally spaced lines.
After your square is quilted, trim to a 15" square. Bind the edges. We machine stitched ours in place with a zigzag stitch which helps to catch the edges.
Fold your square in half, carefully lining up the edges. Follow the diagram below to measure and mark your stitching lines.
After you sew those two lines, refold the square in the other direction so you can sew the other two corners. See the chalk lines in the picture below.
After sewing all four corners, your piece should look like this:
All that's left is a good press. Fold the corners toward the center so you can crease the base of the box on all four sides. Then press the points down the sides. I used steam, it really helps to set the crease and make your box stand up very crisply.
A while ago we had some decor weight buffalo plaid yardage quilted to this Tula Pink tree trunk fabric. We had a bit left over from our project, enough to cut a 16" square. This one might be a good catch-all in the front hall for mail or keys.
RESIZING YOUR BOX
If you'd like to make a different size square you just need to do a tiny bit of math.
We folded a 15" square in half and got a rectangle 15" by 7.5". We measured 3" in from the folded corner going in both directions. That 3" represents about 40% of the short side (7.5" side.)
So if you want to make a 12" square, you'd fold it to get a 12" by 6" rectangle. To figure the measurement you need at the corners: Multiple the short side times .40 or in this case, 6 x .40=2.4 Round this number up to 2.5" for easy measuring.
DON'T BE STINGY
Share, share, share! We'd love to see what you create so be sure to tag us @AuntHenri on social media.
Happy Sewing,
AH