Tamarack Jacket + Liberty of London + Baby Lock Sashiko

In 2020, I made a Tamarack Jacket with already quilted fabric. It turned out nice and I loved the result, but I always had a desire to revisit the pattern.

This time I really wanted to piece the top and quilt it myself and then make it into a jacket. After 4 years (4 years!? I was thinking it was only a couple years. Isn't it crazy how time flies?), I discovered that Grainline Studio offers a Hood, collar & patch pockets pattern for Tamarack jackets. I was so excited about this and HAD to make a quilted jacket before this year ends. After going back and forth on design ideas, I decided to use my precious Liberty of London fabrics. I bought them here and there and added them to my collection for a "special project". Recently I am in the mindset of "saving the fabrics for a special occasion is nice, but I should just use them and enjoy them while I can". At first I thought about making the jacket 100% with Liberty, but decided to use gray fabric with it. I used Ocean Wave quilt blocks and started cutting and piecing the fabrics.

So far so good...

As I was piecing the fabrics, I was thinking about how the front, back, hood, and sleeves were going to look. I wanted the quilt design of the front panels to match up and the design on back and hood to be centered. I was less worried about the sleeves, because you don't see them side by side much. I recommend laying down the pattern often to see if you are headed in the right direction while you are piecing.

Then, the most scary part...cutting. I spent so many hours piecing the fabrics and I really didn't want to mess this up. There are other people who posted videos of how they made their quilted coats, but I decided to cut the top first, then, lay them out on the layer of backing and batting to cut. I recommend you cut more extra edges for the batting and backing, because as you quilt it, the top will shift. I thought I had enough, but in some areas, I was running out of the backing a bit.

Then quilting. You could do this with your regular sewing machine, but I really wanted a hand quilted look. I started quilting with my Baby Lock Sashiko, and it was so much fun to see how my pieced top became a "quilt".

After all the pieces are quilted, I assembled them as instructed in the pattern. I haven't added snap buttons yet, but I started wearing it right away. I simply couldn't wait!

I love the shape of the hood and how it drapes down in the back.

I love everything about this jacket and how it fits me. Oh! Just as a reference, I shortened my jacket by a couple inches to create better balance/silhouette for my body type. I am glad I did!

There were several people who thought I hand quilted my jacket and I told them that I did it with a special machine. I’ve had my Sashiko Machine for almost two years, but everytime I used it, I can't help but stare at the mechanism of this clever machine. This new jacket of mine is a collaboration of Tamarack Jacket, Liberty of London, and Baby Lock Sashiko. All my favorite things in one. I will treasure it for years to come!

Baby Lock Sashiko Machine Project ~ Scarf

In the morning and in the evening it is getting a bit chilly where I live. I prefer cold weather to hot weather (the heat sucks out my energy) and I am anticipating the upcoming seasons. Fall is where I can start incorporating sweaters, cardigans, jackets, coats, boots and scarfs and have fun with layering. Speaking of scarfs... what I have here today is a quick tutorial on how I made a light weight scarf using my Baby Lock Sashiko.

* You Will Need

2 yards of Gauze or other lightweight fabric
Various Yarn, threads you want to use on the scarf

Note: I decided to use two yarns. One is a little thicker with waves and the other one is thinner and smooth to give variety and visual interest. For the thread, it is recommended to use medium weight thread because the machine doubles the stitches. Using a heavier thread can cause shredding and inconsistent stitching. Some recommend smooth cotton threads, like Aurifil; I personally love Aurifil. I made several projects with Aurifil on my Baby Lock Sashiko and the sewing process went smoothly and I liked the results. Also, remember to avoid metallic threads that can be too elastic or loosely spun. If you want to know more about thread and other tips, my friend Evy from A bit of Stitch has a fantastic Youtube video about Thread recommendations.

* How to
1. I cut the gauze in half, so the scarf will not be so wide. My scarf is going to be 25" wide x 2 yards. Then I used my regular sewing machine to zigzag the side so it doesn't fray.

2. From this point on, you can be an artist. Just imagine how you want the stitches and yarns to look on the scarf and start stitching. I started out with cream color thread first with stitch length of 5 and space length of 5. The stitch won't show much, but I love the subtle texture it creates on the fabric. Run a few lines on the scarf top to bottom.

3. I added the thick yarn next. All you need to do is to hold the yarn and stitch on top of it. Remember, the yarn doesn't need to be perfectly straight. I purposely made mine a really soft wavy line.

4. Next, I used thin green yarn. I used 2 strands of yarn and braided it as I stitched it down.

5. I didn't take a picture of this process, but lastly, I added stitches with Blue thread. I used the setting of 5 stitch length/ 5 space length. In the picture, you can see blue stitches running through the scarf. I love how the color pops.

Here is a picture of that part of the scarf. As I said in the beginning, I didn't have a set plan of what and how I am going to stitch and add yarn. It is pretty random, but it worked out as I pictured in my mind. The great thing about this project is that you could add even more stitched lines and yarn if you want to make them even more the focus of the scarf. I usually like muted colors and subtle designs, and that's what I did, but your scarf might look very different from mine.

Time to take it for a test drive!

I love how it turned out and it is making me want to make another one with a different color. Perhaps Navy fabric with brighter colors? I am looking forward to using this often this fall!

Laptop Sleeve with Baby Lock Sashiko

I have been sewing for many years, but my children have had very little interest in what I do. They think it's great that I have something I love to do and respect what I do, but that's about it. So when my daughter asked me to make a laptop sleeve for her, I was so excited. Hold on, it is coming right up!

There are various sizes in laptops, so I can't give exact measurements to suit everyone in this tutorial. Please measure your laptop to come up with numbers before you cut the necessary pieces; use this tutorial as a guide. Also, this sleeve is to protect the laptop from scratches and minor spills, but not from drops. Lastly, I used 1/2" seam in most places except for the sewing zipper.

You Will Need:

• Fabric for front and back - I wanted a pieced look but you can make this from a solid piece of fabric.
• Batting
• Thin muslin
• Lining fabric
• 18" zipper - purchase a zipper 2" longer than your fabric panel width
• Thread

How to

1. Measure your laptop. My laptop was 10" high x 14" wide x 7/8" thick. Considering the seam allowance, enough room to store the laptop in and pull it out with ease, I wanted the finished pieced fabric to be 12" x 16". So basically I added 2" to the original height and the width. It is pretty easy to do this when you choose to do it with non pieced fabric. If you decided to do a pieced look, make sure that your pieced panels are large enough.

2. As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, my measurements are just a guide to give you an idea. I cut 2 pieces of 12" x 10" for the larger panel and 2 pieces of 12" x 4" for the smaller panel from large floral print fabric. I wanted to use various scraps to run through in between the large and the small panels. I cut them 4" wide and randomly pieced and trimmed them to be 12" long.

3. Piece the large panel, pieced strip and small panel together. Press with iron.

4. Cut 2 pieces of thin muslin and batting larger than your finished piece and lay them flat on the table. Layer them with the pieced panel to get ready to machine quilt. I used pins to secure them together. Make another panel.

5. I set the stitch setting on my Sashiko machine before I started quilting. Stitch length to 2 and stitch spacing to 3. This is a great feature to achieve the exact look you are going for. I used smaller stitch setting for my Halloween Trick or Treat Bag project.

I wanted different quilt designs on the front and back to have fun with the Sashiko machine (who said it has to be exactly the same! haha) and here are the results.

6. Trim off the excess. I wanted slightly rounded corners on the top, so I used random objects I found in my sewing room, traced them (mine are 2" in diameter) and trimmed them.

7. Find the center of the top seam of the panel and on the zipper. Pin the right side of the zipper to the right side of the panel. Switch the walking foot to zipper foot and sew slowly and carefully, especially the rounded corner. Do the same with other panel. There are some great tutorials on how to attach zippers on Youtube if you are unsure how to do this process.

8. Put together the panels right sides together and sew the sides and the bottom. Make sure to leave the zipper open during this process, otherwise you won't be able to turn the fabric inside out! Trim the bottom corners for a clean finish.

9. Sew the liner. I cut 2 pieces of 12" x 16". I started to sew about 2" from the top seam and ended 2" before the top. You will need that opening to fold the sides to fit and stitch to the zipper and create the rounded corners. Press the seam with an iron for a clean finish and press the top seam slightly more the 1/2" except the corners.

10. Put together the quilted panel and the liner and hand stitch the liner to the zipper. I carefully created the round corner as I was stitching. There are other methods to do this, but I just did what I was comfortable with.

It is time for a test drive. I inserted my daughter's laptop and it was a perfect fit!

This tutorial could apply to other devices such as iPads and Kindles. Isn't it fun to think about how you can have your very own personalized laptop sleeve? I hope you enjoyed my tutorial!

Red & White Table Runner with Baby Lock Sashiko

Every year, from October to now I feel like I am in full gear between three birthdays in my family, Thanksgiving, parties, all the preparation leading up to Christmas and Christmas celebration. Phew... it is definitely fun and exciting, but it can be a bit exhausting. I bet many of you feel the same way. And guess what? Next up is New Year’s Eve!

In Japan, New Year’s Eve and the few days of celebration following New Year’s are very special. I am not very traditional, but I still remember how my family deep cleaned the whole house (yes, in Japan we do a special year end cleaning called Oosoji instead of spring cleaning) on New Year's Eve to welcome the New Year. My mom prepared special meals for New Year’s Eve and Osechi for New Year.

We exchange Nenga-jo (it's like Christmas cards), watch TV shows just for this season, visit Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines to make wishes for the New Year. I get a little nostalgic before New Year and want to carry on some of the traditions in my family. It is safe to say that I do it through my cooking. To enhance the celebratory feeling, I wanted to make a red and white table runner to set my table. I had some design ideas in my head and now it is time to make it happen with my Sashiko Machine!

* You will need
Red fabric 2/3 yard for the top
Fabric for the back -- You could use the same red fabric or something different 2/3 yard
Interfacing --- I used Pellon 987F Fusible Fleece, but it is personal preference
White thread for the Sashiko machine --- I used Gutermann 100% cotton thread for this

* How to
1. From 2/3 yard red fabric, but two 10 1/2" wide x width of the fabric strips. Usually, fabrics are sold 44" wide, but cut off the selvedges. Sew these long strips together to make it longer. Open the seam and press with iron. I did this to save money, but if you don't want the seam in the middle of the table runner, you could buy the length of the table runner you desire.

2. Iron the interfacing to the fabric strip you made in step 1.

3. Draw Sashiko Design on the fabric. On the center of the fabric I drew a 9" x 9" square first. Then I drew three more squares on both sides with 1/2" spaces in between. The both ends of squares are 9" x 8", but this all depends on your desired length of table runner. As far as sashiko design goes, I googled some of the traditional sashiko designs and I made some of them up.

4. Make satisfying sashiko stitch with Sashiko!

5. Right sides together, pin front fabric and backing together. With 1/4" seam allowance, sew all the way around the edge of the table runner. Make sure to leave a 5" opening for turning.

6. Snip the corners to a cleaner finish. Turn the fabric inside out. Use a pin to pull out the corners neatly.

7. Press the edges with iron.

8. Close the opening with slip stitch.

It is all done. I was able to finish the whole table runner in two days because of the sashiko machine, but I know it would take a lot longer if I was doing this all by hand. The table runner has good stiffness to it and I love how it turned out!

I love to think about table arrangements. I am going to do a low key flower arrangement...

Accompanied with red and white tableware.

I hope your 2024 will be filled with love, hope and much happiness. Happy New Year everyone!