Finish to our October Sew along

As promised, this is a very quick project to make - so today I'm providing you with the final cutting and assembly instructions for your Windswept Table Mat.

Last week we went thru the process of creating pairs of identical 8-1/2" fabric strips, placed them right sides together and set them aside.

To complete this mat you will place your pair of fabric strips on your cutting mat.

You will place your 60 degree triangle ruler as close to one edge of the fabric pair as possible. The 8-1/2" line on your ruler should line up with the bottom edge of your fabric strip. Begin cutting your triangle pairs, flipping your ruler with each cut so that the left (or right) side of the ruler is always facing the edge you just cut out. You should have 5 pair of triangle sections cut from this pair of fabric strips.

Here is an example of how little waste you should have when you begin cutting:

Cutting is now complete for your table mat - so let's begin with the assembly process...

Keep out the 3 sets of triangle pairs that match nearly identical along the wide bottom borders and set the other 2 pair aside.

Sew 2 pairs of triangles. (right sides together) Be careful to line the striped section of the triangles together. It's a good idea to pin these.

Press open.

Add another triangle to the left side of each pair.

Now you have 2 half-sections that are made up of 3 triangles.

#3 - Right sides together, pin the center section to make sure the 2 pieces match up properly. Sew the 2 halves together, press open and your Table Mat is completed.

You should have plenty of fabric left over to make a couple more of these table mats.
I hope you enjoyed this free pattern tutorial. If you make this table mat and wish to share, please add your blog link below so we can stop by and see your Windswept Table Mat.

every quilt tells a story....

Early October Finish

Here is the border I designed to go around my October redwork block. I'm determined to make a dent in a few of my Fall themed ufo projects this month.
And here is a picture of a pair of Acorn & Oak Leaf blocks I'm working on to make into decorative pillows. I'm stitching these using a method of sewing called reverse hand applique'.

wishing you all a fabulous start to October!

every quilt tells a story....

Week #1 of October's free Sew-along

Have you found a yard of border print fabric to work with? If so, let's begin this easy peasy Table Mat. Today we will begin cutting out our "not so fussy" fabric sections.

First, you will want to open your fabric up and lay it out in a single layer. Have the stripes running vertically to make it easier for cutting.

You will want to cut (2) identical 8-1/2" wide strips of this border fabric to make the design work. And it's important to include a stripe as part of the design. Here you can see I'm making my first cut along the edge of a stripe in the fabric.

I could use the piece to the left (shown above) if I want a stripe as my outside border on my table mat. But I've decided I'd like to have leaves or flowers around the outside edges and a stripe running in the center of my table mat. So I chose to isolate my 8-1/2" fabric strip from the piece on the right. You can see a picture of my first cut below:

Once you choose your starting point, you will need to cut this piece 8-1/2" wide. Here you can see that I've aligned my ruler along the cut edge of my fabric at the 8-1/2" mark.

Cut the strip 8-1/2" wide by the entire WOF (width of fabric)

You now have (1) 8-1/2" x WOF strip of fabric completed for your Table Mat.

You will need to repeat this process again to create a 2nd identical strip of fabric. So let's repeat the steps... find that same stripe again on your single layer of fabric with an identical pattern to the right and left side of it - just like the first strip you cut out. Cut along the stripe, measure over 8-1/2", cut and voila... you now have 2 identical strips of fabric.

Next you will place your(2) identical 8-1/2" fabric strips on top of each other - right sides together.

Fold them in half and then place them aside until I post the cutting instructions for next week.

If you are using at least 1 yard of fabric - you may have noticed that you will be able to make several of these hexagon table mats from your left over material. As tempting as it may be to cut all this fabric up ahead of time - you may wish to wait until after you've assembled your first one. It will give you a better perspective on all the different pattern possibilities you can create with the remaining portion of your fabric.

If you'd like to share your fabric choice for this project - please share your link at the bottom of this post once you've blogged about it.

every quilt tells a story....