Happy NEW Year with Michael Miller Fabrics

Fabrics featured in this post were provided by Michael Miller Fabrics as part of my being a Michael Miller Brand Ambassador

Happy New Year! Let's kick-off 2020 in style, using the beautiful Atelier Fabric Collection by Sarah Campbell, with a few Hash Dot accents:

Windflowers - top large-scale floral print

Spotted in Fuschia and Mermaid - polka dots on left and right

Rhythms - bottom left stripe

Hash Dot in Cadet - bottom right blender fabric

Atelier Fabrics Plus Hash Dot

In honor of New Year's, I designed 4 projects to help you make 2020 absolutely fabulous!

• Composition Notebook/Bullet Journal Cover with Pockets to help you organize and manage your time.
• Drawstring Bag to transport your yoga mat to class for exercise & meditation.
• Infinity scarves and coordinating pet bandanas to add fashion fun for the entire family 

Read on for the step-by-step photos and instructions to create your own set of New Year's inspired projects!

Project #1: Stylish Composition Notebook/Bullet Journal Cover complete with pockets
Organize all your notes and projects by starting a BuJo (short for Bullet Journal). You can read more about how I got started using a BuJo and use it to organize my monthly/weekly projects, appointments, and tasks.

Supplies Needed:

Composition Notebook (or Profolio Anywhere Journal) with cover measuring 7 1/2" x 9 7/8"

50wt matching thread (Aurifil White-2024)

Straight pins and/or clover clips

Frixion marking pen

Fabric scissors

Rotary cutter, rulers, and mat

Iron (dry and steam settings will be used)'

Purple thang or chopstick to help turn out corners

Sewing machine

Hand sewing needle

Fabric Needed and Cutting:

1/2 yard of Windflowers. Cut a 11" x WOF strip of Windflowers print. Subcut strip into the following units:

 Cut a 6.5" x WOF strip of Windflowers print. Subcut strip into the following units:

Fat Quarter (22" x 18") of Hash Dot in Cadet. Subcut into 3 units as shown below left. 

5" x 11" piece of Rhythms Stripes

• 1/3 yard of Pellon Fusible Fleece (987F)-Cut 11" strip x WOF of Pellon Fusible Fleece (987F). Subcut into the following units.

Construction Steps:
1. Preparing Outside Cover with Large Pocket:

Fabric Units Used for Front Cover

Follow Pellon's instruction for using steam to fuse 5" x 6.5" Fusible Fleece (bumpy side down) onto the bottom half, backside of the striped fabric. Fold top half of striped fabric to cover fleece and topstitch 1/8" inside from folded top edge.

Place striped pocket on top of 5" x 11" Hash Dot unit, with raw edges towards the bottom. Stitch baste within 1/8" around the sides and bottom of striped pocket. Flip pocket side down onto 11" x 12" front cover floral and stitch with 1/4" seam allowance. Press floral print away from seam. Fuse 11" x 16.5" piece of Fusible Fleece onto backside of this assembled panel and topstitch 1/8" along the floral side of the seam.

2. Preparing Inside Pockets:
Create inside left pocket by fusing 2.5" x 6.5" Fusible Fleece inside 5" x 6.5" unit of Hash Dot. Press top half over and top stitch along folded edge. Place blue prepared pocket onto floral pocket panel and baste within 1/8" along left, bottom and right raw edges of blue pocket.

Repeat same steps to create larger inside right pocket using 6.5" x 11" unit of Hash Dot and 6.5" x 6.5" Fusible Fleece.

Lay 6.5" x 11" pocket panel on top of each prepared pocket panel. Stitch along right side of inside left panel (with the shallow pocket) and along the left side of the inside right panel (with the larger pocket). Press seam open and then fold along seam with backsides of fabric together. Stitch 1/8" along all 4 edges.

3. Putting It All Together:
Place front cover with pocket facing up in center. Place inside right pocket to the left with raw edge closest to front panel and folded edge facing left. Place inside left pocket to the right with raw edge closest to front panel and folded edge facing right.

Flip inside right pocket over onto the front cover with raw edges along the left. Flip inside left pocket over onto the front cover with raw edges along the right.  Pin (or use Clover clips) all along the edges and topstitch 1/8" seam from outside edge.

With pockets on top, cover with lining fabric (11" x 16.5") right side down and pin (or use Clover Clips), leaving a 2" opening along the bottom edge between the two pocket units. Use Frixion pen to draw rounded corners. Stitch 1/4" inside edges and rounded corners, taking care to leave 2" opening along the bottom/middle section.

 Trim 1/8" off along left, top, and bottom to minimize bulk. Use rotary cutter/ruler along straight edges and fabric scissors along curved corners. Keep 1/4" seam allowance along 2" opening to help with closing.

Turn inside out. Use iron/steam to press outside edges flat. Use Elmer's School Glue or Pins to close 2" opening and hand stitch closed with a neutral/matching thread.

Ta Done! 
Carefully slide front and back covers of notebook or Bullet Journal into the side pockets. The front pocket is perfect place to store your cell phone, calculator or pen/pencil. The inside left pocket is shallow enough to stow your business cards and Post-It notes. The back pocket can hold postcards, notes, etc.

Project #2: Drawstring Bag for Your Yoga Mat
Transport your yoga mat to and from yoga class with this stylish drawstring bag.

Supplies Needed:

• Yoga Bag rolled up (length 26" with a 16" circumference when rolled)
• Rotary mat, Ruler, Cutter
• Measuring Tape
• Aurifil 50wt thread (#2024-White)
• Ribbon (30" or longer)
• Straight Pins
• Elmer's School Glue
• 2 safety pins (1")
• 12" piece of 3/4" Schedule 40 PVC piping (in lieu of a fasturn tool)
• 8" square piece of freezer paper
• Compass
• Scissors: Paper, Fabric, and Snips
• Clover Clips
• Needlenose Pliers
• Plastic Toggle Stopper

Fabric Requirements & Cutting:
All the units can be cut from one yard of fabric or mix and match with 2 coordinating fabrics for more interest.

• Windflowers: 20" x 31" (tube)
• Rhythms Stripe:
• 1 strip measuring 1.25" x WOF (drawstring)
• 2 strips measuring 2.5" x WOF (handle)
• 6-8" square (circular base)
•  Pellon Fusible Fleece (987F)
• 2.5" x WOF (handle)

1. Prepare Handle:

Fuse one of the 2.5" wide fabric handle strips to the Pellon 987F Fusible Fleece (glue dots onto the backside of the fabric) using steam as directed by Pellon's instructions. Trim off any excess Fusible Fleece to prevent transfer of glue onto iron. Place the other handle strip right sides together and topstitch 1/4" along both lengthwise edges.

Turn handle tube inside out using a Fasturn tool or using a 12" length of 3/4" Schedule 40 PVC piping. Gently place PVC pipe between the two fabric layers and scrunch entire fabric tube onto PVC pipe. Slip ribbon inside the length of PVC pipe and pin top of ribbon to the fabric tube. While guiding top of fabric tube inside PVC pipe, carefully pull on ribbon exiting the bottom of the tube to invert fabric tube.

Press seams first before pressing flat with seams along the edges (pressing with steam may help handle to lay flat). Topstitch 1/8" from the edges.

2. Prepare Tube:
Place the 25" x 31" tube panel with right side facing down onto ironing board. Turn both 31" long edges over 1/4" and press. Use a small bead of Elmer's School Glue and heat set with iron to glue baste and turn both edges over 1/4" again (with another thin layer of glue) to encase raw edge prior to topstitching close to folded edge.

3. Prepare Drawstring Casing:

Turn one of the shorter ends over 1/2" and glue baste. Place length of ribbon as place holder and press bottom edge 1.5" down to create drawstring casing. Hold ribbon in place close to outside fold with a safety pin at both openings. 

Use straight pins and stitch along inside folded edge to create casing.

 4. Attach Handles
Trim handle to 28"-30" in length. Take care to avoid additional twists when laying out the handle. Pin one end 2" below bottom edge of drawstring casing and the other end 6" from bottom edge as shown below. Secure handles in place by topstitch 1/8" from edge, going forward, back, and forward to create 3 layers of stitching.

5. Sewing Into a Tube:
Fold other edge over and align finished edges. Pin into place and start stitching 1" below casing seam just inside the turned under edge. Use backstitching to secure at the start. I recommend back stitching again over the handles to secure. Press seam open and trim bottom edge as needed.

6. Prepare Circle Base:

In order to calculate the circle base needed, I had to along the base of the tube and complete some simple calculations:

Measure from fold to seam x 2 = Circumference of your tube

8.75" x 2 = 17.5"

Circumference  ÷ 3.142 (Pi) = diameter of circle needed

17.5" ÷ 3.142 = 5.5" diameter

Then add 1/2" for seam allowances. 

5.5" + 1/2" = 6" diameter circle needed

We'll need the radius to use a compass to draw a circle. 

Diameter ÷ 2 = radius

6" ÷ 2 = 3"

Set your compass points 3" apart and draw a circle onto the paper side of freezer paper. Use paper scissors to cut out circle.

If you want to selectively cut your circle fabric, you can finger press the freezer paper circle in half. Press shiny side down onto fabric and use dry iron to temporarily fuse in place. Use fabric scissors to cut along edge of freezer paper circle. Remove freezer paper.

7. Attach Circle Base:
Press fabric circle in half to help align with the seam and folded edge of fabric tube. Use fabric snips to make small 1/8" clips every 1/4" or so along base of fabric tube.

Align folded edge of circle, right sides with inside of tube's seam (right sides of fabrics together). Use clover clips to hold in place. Continue working around the perimeter of the circle, aligning the edge of circle with the clipped edges of tube, using clover clips every inch or so.

With circle base down, stitch with a 1/4" seam allowance, working your way slowly around the perimeter of the circle. Remove clips as you approach, take care to align both the tube and circle edges and keep both layers of fabric flat to avoid puckers. Stitch around a second time to secure. Turn tube right side out.

8. Prepare/Add Drawstring:
Using 1.25" strip, press top and bottom 1/4" into center. Use thin bead of Elmer's School Glue to baste into place.

The toggle stops have small holes so great effort is needed to minimize any fabric bulk along the two ends of the drawstring. Small triangles were snipped from the inside folded fabrics prior to folding top and left corner into the center (similar to an paper airplane). More fabric was snipped away from these triangles prior to folding triangle down to create straight edge.

Use small bead of glue to baste flat prior to topstitching along all four edges of drawstring.

Pin one end of drawstring onto the ribbon placeholder. Slowly feed safety pin into casing and pull opposite end of placeholder ribbon to replace the ribbon with the drawstring.

Use needlenose pliers to feed both ends of drawstring through Toggle Stop and tie knot at end.

Namaste! 

Project #3: Infinity Scarves
These infinity scarves are a stylish way of adding a beautiful pop of color and pattern into your wardrobe.

Supplies Needed:

• Two coordinating fabrics each measuring 9.5-11" x WOF
• Matching 50wt thread (Aurifil 50wt, White #2024)
• Rotary cutter, ruler, mat
• Straight pins
• Needle for hand sewing
• Iron

1: Sew Strips into a long tube

Place strips right sides together and stitch 1/4" along the both the long edges to create a tube. Press seams open before turning tube right side out.

2. Add Twist and Align Ends

Trim as needed both ends of fabric tube. Lay tube flat and twist one end of tube around 1 full rotation. Align the end seams together with right sides of fabric strips facing each other. Use 1-2 pins to hold into place when moving to sewing machine. 

3. Stitch and Close
Use 1/4" seam allowance to slowly stitch around circle. Leave a 2" opening to turn tube inside out. Hand sew opening closed with matching thread.

Accessorize!
The Fuschia/Mermaid spotted scarf (left)was made using 9.5" wide strips, while the Windflower and Rhythm Striped scarf (right) used 11" strips.

Project #4: Adorable Pet Bandanas
Create coordinating bandanas for your four-legged friends with these reversible pet bandanas!

Supplies Needed

• 2 fat quarters of coordinating fabrics will yield 2 large pet bandanas OR 4 small pet bandanas OR or 1 large and 2 small pet bandanas.
• 2.5" x WOF strip to make ties for each pet bandana
• Coordinating/Matching 50wt thread (Aurifil White 2024)
• Rotary cutter, mat, ruler
• Straight Pins
• Purple Thang or chopstick
• Elmer's School Glue
• Iron/Board

To Make:

Cut an 18" x 18" square from each fat quarter. Layer both squares right sides together and cut once diagonally to achieve 2 large pet bandanas. You can trim these triangles in half again to create two smaller pet bandanas. With fabrics right sides together, stitch with 1/4" seam allowance along sides of triangle adjacent to the right angle.  Leave the diagonal edge unstitched.

• Clip corner and turn rightsides out.  Use purple thang or chopstick to carefully turn out corner.
• Press stitched sides flat
• Topstitch 1/8" from edge along both finished edges

Prepare binding strip: Press in half before pressing top and bottom edge into the center. Use Elmer's School Glue to baste.

Finish both edges by folding outer corners into center, like an paper airplane, before folding in towards cente to create finished straight edge. 

Place bead of Elmer's School Glue inside strip along bottom edge. Place unfinished edge of triangle in towards center of strip. Add another bead of Elmer's School Glue on top of triangle close to unfinished edge. Press top half of strip down and heat set with dry iron. Finish with topstitch along all four edges of strip.

Pawesome Style!

Wishing you a Happy New Year. May 2020 bring you good health, happiness, and lots of fun quilting!!