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!

Liberty of London Top & Skirt

Where do I start to explain my love for Liberty of London fabrics? Ever Since I laid my eyes on Liberty of London fabric decades ago (I think I was in Jr. high), I have been a huge fan of their beautiful prints.  I got my first job in high school and bought my first Liberty tana lawn fabric. Even though it was a small pack of precuts, and I didn't know what I was going to make with them, I was so happy that I finally had a piece of beautiful and fine designed fabric in my possession.  Over the years I have bought from them here and there with the intent of sewing something, but cutting into gorgeous print is extremely hard for me! What if I mess it up, what if  I don't care for the clothing I made or I might find a pattern I like better?  Ugh... Welcome to the world of indecisiveness. 

If you have been reading my blog for a long time, you might know this, but I have used them for smaller projects such as; Shoes makeover, Mod podge mini tree, fabric thread on the wood spool ornament, Christmas ornament, and button bracelet. 

Ok, I got a little side tracked, let me go back to the fabric and this project... you might ask why I finally decided to use these precious fabrics. As usual, I was looking at my collection and thought to myself "well, my daughter is not interested in sewing, and I never know how long I am going to live. Why am I just letting that fabric sit on the shelf? What kind of "special occasion" am I waiting for?? I should totally sew something with them and enjoy it while I can!! I was going through another health issue at the time (it turned out ok, not life threatening) and made me think of organizing my life better;  both lifestyle and things I own. I took the plunge and decided to sew a wearable. Guess what? I have no regrets!

I used the patterns I drafted a few years ago, and modified them to create this look. I love how it turned out, but I would make a few changes to the skirt if I was ever going to make same skirt again. Also, I like how the back of the top turned out, but it was not planned. While I was cutting the fabric, I realized that I didn't have enough main fabric to sew the top, so I had to improvise and added the secondary fabric to the back, haha, I am looking forward to wearing this through the fall, I am thinking about where I put my favorite navy sweater...

Surprise Package with Liberty of London fabrics

I received a fun surprise package from one of my dear friends last weekend. It is always such an exciting feeling to find a package on my door step, and when I opened it up it was filled with Liberty of London scraps!! If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I treasure my scraps especially my Liberty of London scraps... You can see some examples of how I used my scraps; even the tiniest pieces in the past; like mod podge mini tree, wooden spool necklace and wall art.

Obviously, she is a kindred spirit... she kept tiny and skinny scraps. How sweet of her to pass that on to me with a sweet card saying "I thought you might use these tiny bits & pieces in you crafting!..."

Yes I will!!

Look how pretty they are even as scraps.

These strips will be perfect to make more of the spool necklace or connect them together to make twine to do some knitting. I am going to have a procedure soon, that will be perfect thing to do in bed while recovering.

I can use them to do mod podge projects or piece them together to create something.

More and more strips...

Organizing them well gives me an idea of what I have to work with. They are like paint colors when I try to create wall art.

I am working on other projects right now, so I can't get my hands on and play with them yet. Meanwhile... they are on my desk sitting pretty and giving me a happy thoughts. Thanks C for your thoughtfulness and generosity! :)

Wooden Spool Necklace

A while ago I shared a Christmas ornament made out of wooden spools. Because I love them so much I decided to make necklaces for some of my friends (I kept one for myself too!). I was talking to someone about the necklace today and realized that I totally forgot to share the pictures of the necklace on my blog. So, there they are...

I didn't paint the spools this time and kept the natural wood style. I threaded some pastel pearls to the twine and added scissors as a charm. I ran out of the scissors but I want to go get some more, because there are a few more friends that I want to make this for. Wouldn't this be a fun gift for someone who loves to sew and quilt?

I have been working on lots of projects right now, and some exciting things are coming up. I can not spill the beans yet, but I can't wait to share with you when the time comes! Have a wonderful weekend my friends, thank you for stopping by. ;)

Liberty of London Mod Podge Mini Tree

I had ambitious plans for projects that I was going to make before Christmas. Did I get to all of them? The answer is "no".

One of the projects I was going to do was to make a mini tree with Liberty of London fabrics. I saved scraps for this project; even the tiniest pieces! My Christmas decorations are all put away, but I still wanted to make this tree for next Christmas.

All you need for this project is a little wooden tree, white paint for the base if you decided to paint it, fabric scraps, little bit of Mod podge, and a brush. This is such a easy going and low key project. If you are going to try this, my advice to you is just go with the flow... cut, paste, look at the color combinations and cut, paste... so on.

I covered all the surfaces of the tree; even the bottom part.

I hear that many people say January is kind of depressing because all the excitement of Christmas has passed. I figured that it doesn't need to be that way... many of the things that make the Christmas season so special can stay with us year around; being charitable, forgiving, loving, inclusive, being thoughtful and so on and so forth. I have decided not to put away this mini tree. It will be sitting pretty on the shelf in my sewing room year round to remind me of all the good things about Christmas.

Tutorial ~ Liberty of London Fabric Thread on a Spool Ornament

I am going to have a Christmas tree filled with handmade ornaments using Liberty of London fabrics this year. I shared my Framed Fabric Ornament tutorial last time, and I have a new ornament tutorial to share today.

I bought these wooden spools at Hobby Lobby the other day and painted them white...

Here is the list of what you will need to make one ornament:

Wooden spool
1/2" wide fabric strip at least 36" long to 45"
Fabric glue
2 head pins
2 Pearls (need to be larger than the hole in the spool)
1 glass bead(smaller than the pearl)
9" twine
Round-nose pliers
Wire cutter

How to make Fabric Thread on a Spool Ornament

1. Twist the fabric strip to make fabric thread. (I used my sewing machine to hold the tip so I can twist the fabric)

2. Put a small dab of fabric glue on to the tip of the thread and glue it to the spool. Wind the thread around the spool and put some fabric glue to the end and glue the tip between the winded thread.

3. String a pearl to the head pin. Then, string the spool with fabric thread and string another pearl on top.

4. Bend the wire at the pearl and cut off the excess. Shape the wire to create the loop.

5. String the glass bead to the head pin. Using the same method as the pearl, make a loop. Hook that on to the loop with the pearl. String the twine and tie the knots to finish it off.

You are ready to make more! I had fun going through my collection of Liberty of London and trying to decided which fabric will become "thread". I made 6 different spools.

There are several ways to connect the fabric strips, but I sewed them together. If you decided to tie them, that part will be a little bulky and more noticeable when you wind the fabric thread around the spool. It was unexpectedly fun to create my own fabric thread, I might start doing that with my scraps!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial. I will see you at the next post. :)

Tutorial~ Liberty of London Framed Christmas Ornament

My love for the fabrics for Liberty of London goes back to when I was in junior high. There was a fabric store which carried them, in the city I lived, and whenever I had chance, I went to the store; I just admired it with sigh. When I had my first job in high school, I bought my first Liberty of London fabric... over the years I collected them here and there and I have a hard time cutting them.

But, what good would it do if I don't make anything and just let it sit on the shelf?

This year, I wanted to create a Liberty of London Christmas tree with hand made ornaments! Of course I will do the tutorials as well, in case you would like to make some. :) I have several ideas for the ornaments, and every now and then, I will post an ornament tutorial until Christmas. What do you think? Wouldn't that be fun?

So, the first one are these Framed ornaments. They are inexpensive and easy to make and I think this is one of the best ways to showcase some pretty fabrics.

{You will need}

Small wood frames
Acrylic paint
Card stock (index card would work too)
Liberty of London fabric scraps
Mod Podge
Cabachon or other findings to decorate the frame
Thin ribbons or trims
Small bell

{How to}

I found these ornament size wooden frames at Michael's for around $1.69 and they were 40% off! Not too shabby, huh?

1. Remove the twine and paint the frames. Set it aside to dry completely. Lay the frame on a piece of card stock. Trace inside of the frame. Then, add slightly less than 1/4" around the traced line and cut it out. You will need two to make one frame.

The card stock should be large enough to sit nicely but not too large to see from the front.

3. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the card stock and lay that side down onto the wrong side of the fabric you are going to use. Add about 1/2" around it and cut it out.Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge on the card stock, then fold the corners first. This way you can fold the fabric in a miter, and the corners will be less bulky. Fold all sides and stick to the glue already on the card stock.

4. Apply more Mod Podge on the entire surface. Then stick the other card stock to it. Press and hold till dry or lay it on a flat surface with a heavy book on top of it.

5. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge on the front to give a nice coat to protect the fabric.

6. Apply Mod Podge around the edges, then stick it to the painted frame. As you did on step 4, lay it on a flat surface with a heavy book and wait till it dries.

Nice clean back...

7. I added cabochons to decorate the frames, changed the string to a trim that I had and added a bell. This step is totally optional. Depending on what you use it will give a very different look to the finished ornament.

My Liberty of London ornament making has just started, but I am pretty excited about this idea. I can't wait to share the next one with you! :)