We had a great time at the last Free Friday Demo and hope all of you that were there did too!
We showed how to make an easy mitred napkin and as promised, here is a pictorial "How To".
For each napkin you will need:
one 18" square of fabric (this will be the border and back)
one 12" square for the centre
Mark the centre of all four sides of the 18" square with a marking pen or a pin as shown above and below
Do the same thing for all four sides of the 12" square - Best Press Spray Starch works well to get rid of any creases in your fabric (you definitely do not want any creases when you go to do the mitred corners!)
Place the squares of fabric right sides together, raw edges aligned, centre pins matching, and pin all along, leaving a two inch opening for turning. See below.
Begin sewing 1/4" from one end and stop sewing 1/4" from the other end, back stitching at each side of the opening. (Peach pins show the 1/4" start/stop and yellow are the opening - click on any picture to enlarge). Press all seams under border fabric.
Line up the raw edges of the opposite side, matching the centre pins and sew, again beginning and ending 1/4" from each end. Sew all the way across (no opening!). See below.
Match up the raw edges and centre pins for the third side and sew as you did above.
The photo below shows the third side pinned. Sew and repeat for the fourth side.
Pull sides of napkin out so there is an even border all around and each corner has a piece of excessive fabric that forms a kind of upright triangle (like the sail of a ship). Press as crease as shown below.
Carefully pull that triangle free from the back fabric and sew along the crease, ensuring you do not sew beyond the 1/4" connection of the two side seams. See below.
Clip seam and press open. Repeat for all four corners.
Turn napkin right side out through opening you left on first side, press. Stitch with either a straight stitch or a decorative stitch, just to the right of the centre fabric, along the edge, all around the napkin. This will close up the opening as well as stabilize it for laundering.
Bon Appetit!
The other thing we showed was the 18 degree wedge ruler. The Dresden Plate design below was made with 6 1/2" wedges cut from scraps of Christmas fabrics. Once it is appliqued to the background fabric a circle is appliqued over the centre hole.
The ruler is clearly marked and comes with an instruction booklet with lots of ideas and how tos.
The photo below shows (from left to right) a cut wedge, a wedge that has been folded, sewn and trimmed and finally a wedge that has then been turned and pressed.
The ruler makes it easy to create Dresden Plates of many sizes that would be ideal for table centres, table runners and tree decorations not to mention pretty quilt blocks.
We have several in stock - just ask at the counter for yours!
