BEADED DRAGONFLY TUTORIAL

All beads are iridescent glass, except
the oval-shaped beads used for the tail.

Head: 1 - round 6mm clear glass bead
Body: 1 - round 6mm Cloisonne' bead
Wings: 4 - 13mm dagger beads
Tail: 6 - 5mm oval beads
Beading thread that will blend into background
Beading needle, (or fine #11 or #12 short quilting needle)

Directions and illustration shown below.


The dragonfly is designed to be sewn directly in place onto fabric.

The dragonfly's body is attached first, using the Cloisonne bead, and positioning the bead opening to run horizontally. Attach the body firmly to the fabric using two or three passes through the hole and the fabric. Pass the needle and thread through the body and then thread the needle through the holes in the narrow tip of two of the dagger beads, and then pass the needle back through the Cloisonne bead, exiting on the other side of the body. Thread through the two remaining wings, and then back through the body. Do this a couple of times, being sure that the body and wings are strung together tightly enough to keep them in place, but not so tight that you bread the bead. Refer to the photo and the illustration. If they seem to be a little wobbly, take a couple of stitches up through the fabric where the set of wings attach to the body and down over the thread that holds the two wings together. Repeat for the second set of wings. Do this until each side feels tightly attached.

Attach the clear glass bead for the head. The holes in the bead should run horizontally, and should be sewn in place just as you did the body. Be sure to snug the head tightly against the body while you sew it in place. Pick up one of the tiny glass beads for the eyes, and then run the thread back through the head, and then repeat for the second eye. Take the thread down to the fabric by running the needle down through the space in between one of the eye beads and the head. This helps to hide the thread a little better.

The tail is attached by bringing the thread up snugly against the body, and then through one of the oval beads. Go back down through the fabric and back up at the beginning of the first bead, and then run the thread back through the first bead again. Thread on the second bead, then go back down through the fabric, back to the beginning of the second bead and back through the second bead, and then on through the third bead. Repeat until all six beads are in place.

Hope you enjoy making them!!!

SILK RIBBON PANSY TUTORIAL

SILK RIBBON PANSY

This is the little pansy I came up with after some of the HGTV crazy quilting girls asked for a “real looking” silk ribbon pansy. I sat down with needle, thread, 13mm (about ½” wide) silk ribbon, pencil and gridded paper (which I can't seem to live without...), and the result is this fairly simple little pansy.

The three front petals will require about 7” of ribbon (mine is yellow), and the two back petals (purple) will need about 5”.

Illustration #1

Illustration #2


THE TWO BACK (purple) PETALS:
When looking at the above patterns, note that both of the back petals are made from one piece of ribbon, and are separated by the deep upside down “V” at the center of the length of ribbon. Notice, also, that the stitching/gathering line, shown on the pattern with a broken line, is done with one continuous length of thread, so you can gather it.

Using a pencil or a disappearing ink pen, draw a small 3/8” circle where you want your pansy to be. Draw a horizontal line through the center of the circle. Mark a dot in the center of the circle.

Using a very fine needle and thread that matches the silk, make the tiniest gathering stitches you can make, and run the continuous stitch as shown on the pattern, and described above. Draw the gathers up until the gathered edge of the ribbon will fit around the small half-circle that you have drawn. The gathered edge of the ribbon will be toward the center of the half-circle. Use several small stitches to attach the end of the gathered ribbon at the point where the half-circle and the horizontal line meet. Distribute the gathers evenly, being sure that the “V” shape is at the center top of the half-circle. Carefully pull the two center petals apart a little so the “V” between the two petals are a little more obvious. When you are satisfied with the arrangement of the petals, use the threaded needle to very carefully stab stitch the gathers in place all around the line of the upper half-circle. Again, take the time to be sure the gathers are evenly distributed before you tack them in place. The angled tips of the ribbons can be shortened to reduce bulk, and can then be tucked under and tacked in place.

Illustration #3

Illustration #4

THE THREE FRONT (yellow) PETALS:
Before beginning the yellow set of petals, notice that the three ribbon segments are not the same size. The larger segment will be the large yellow front petal. The two smaller yellow segments will be placed directly in front of, and sightly below the set of purple petals. (Please see Illus. #5 below.) The two yellow petals are the same size and shape as the set of purple petals. Begin your gathering stitches at the end of the yellow ribbon that has the two small segments, then continue your stitches until you've finished with the larger segment. This time you will pull the gathers up only on the segment that has the two small yellow petals, and working in a clockwise direction, fit the petals in place around the center dot in the circle. Using the center dot instead of the outer ring of the circle will automatically drop this second set of petals down below the original purple set. Distribute the gathers evenly; making sure that the “V” between the two yellow petals are aligned with the two purple petals. When you are satisfied with the arrangement of the petals, use a second needle and matching thread to tack the gathers in place. Take several tiny stitches to hold the two upper petals in place, but don't cut the thread. Using the original needle and gathering thread, tightly gather up the remaining large front petal, fold under the angled tip and then take the needle to the center dot and tack it in place. This will make large yellow petal lie in front of the smaller petals. Arrange the gathers as evenly as possible, and tack them in place. Turn under and tack down any of the angled tips that might be showing. If the tips are a little too bulky, you can trim them a little before tacking them in place.

Illustration #5

Illustration #6

You may need to tack the petals down in a couple of places, but do this sparingly, as the stitches can easily distort, and pull the petals out of shape. Often, just doing a little finger pressing will keep the petals in place.

Illustration #7

To finish the pansy you can sew a yellow or gold bead, or a pearl in the center, as shown above. Or, you can make a French knot using four strands of gold embroidery floss for the center, and a fly stitch (or two bullion stitches) for the pansy's little mustache.

The leaves shown above are acrylic “beads” found at local craft stores.

SILK RIBBON LEAVES:

Illustration #8

Cut a 2” length of 7mm green silk ribbon, and fold in half. Start at the folded end of the ribbon, and run a gathering stitch along the narrow selvage edge.

Illustration #9

Pull the thread and gather the ribbon slightly, and then fasten off with a couple of small stitches.

Illustration #10

Turn right side out and finger press the leaf flat. Gather the stem end of the leaf, fastening the thread securely, and then sew in place. Tack the leaf down using as few stitches as needed to do the job.

I hope you will be making lots of these sweet little pansies to make all of your CQ creations even more beautiful!

Carolyn

DESIGN WALL TUTORIAL

My husband and son put up a large, 96" wide x 84" tall, Design Wall for me last year, and I love it!!!
FABRIC:
I went to JoAnn Fabrics and I brought several small pieces of cotton fabric with me so I could see how well they would stick to the surface of different types of fabrics. I had heard that flannel worked well, and also that the backside of vinyl tablecloths. But, after trying different qualities and grades of flannel, I was really disappointed that none of them really held the cotton in place!!! BUT, what I did find that was absolutely perfect was FLEECE. There are a lot of different qualities of fleece, and the one I decided on was a fairly low-napped but thick fleece. In other words, it wasn't too fuzzy, but the weight and thickness of the fabric was impressive to me. I chose a cream color. Because the width of the fleece is 60" and each of my design wall panels is 48", I was able to have two completely seam-free panels. Plus, I was able to use my JoAnn 40% off coupon on the whole length of fabric!!!The fleece doesn't stretch much lengthwise, but is a little more stretchy width wise. Also, the fleece that I bought has a right side and a wrong side. When you're looking at the right side of the fabric, all you see is fuzz, but when you look at the wrong side, you can see the knitted fabric surface beneath the fuzz.You will have a lot of the fleece fabric left over, and I've found that it makes a wonderful, soft batting for baby quilts. It is also perfect for the needle pages in our sewing kits!!!

DESIGN WALL:
The guys purchased two sheets of 4'x 8'x 1/2" insulation board that's generally used for sound deadening. The insulation board also comes in 1.5" to 2" thickness.They can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes. The insulation board being really lightweight is a real plus!

Since I could use the 96" combined width of the two panels, we didn't need to cut anything off. We did need to cut the length of each panel so it would fit the height of the wall.

The panels were attached to the wall by using three 1"x 2"x 40" wood strips that were attached horizontally (3" in from each side) across the top, the middle and the bottom of the back side of each panel. The bottom edge of each of the wood strips was cut to a 45 degree angle (creating a cleat) before attaching to the backside of each panels. (Please see illustration #1.)

Correspondingly spaced wood strips were attached to the wall. The top edge of each of the wood strips that will be attached to the wall with screws are cut to a 45 degree angle (creating a second set of cleats) that the panel cleats will fit into before being attached to the wall. (Please see Illustration #1)

Okay, it's time to upholster the panels with the fleece fabric. I used an electric staple gun (less than $20 at Lowes) and 1/4" staples. Lay the fleece on the floor with the wrong side facing up, and smooth out any wrinkles. Lay one of the panels on top of the fleece fabric with the wood strips facing up. The fleece can be generously trimmed before you begin stapling it in place. It's always better to have too much fabric than too little! Begin stapling at the top center of the panel, staple an 8" or 10" area, then go to the bottom center of the panel and staple the same amount there, being sure not to pull and stretch the fabric too much. Repeat until you're about 5" from the corner. Then adjust and smooth the fabric and begin stapling the sides of the panel alternating from one side to the other just as you did for the top and bottom. Finally, fold and staple the corners.

INSTALLATION:
To install your Design Wall, line up the wood strips of the panel with the wood strips attached to the wall, and then simply lift the panel up slightly and push gently toward the wall allowing the 45 degree angled cut to slide down and "nest" into the corresponding 45 degree angle cut of the wood strip attached to the wall. They fit together like puzzle pieces. (Please see Illustration #2)

This makes a really nice clean installation with no nails or screw heads showing.