Small Stash Sewing: 24 Projects Using Designer Fat Quarters

By Melissa Averinos and Amy Butler

25 projects to make the most of designer fat quarters

Sewing with designer fat quarters is a great way to stretch your dollar without sacrificing quality. Now, Melissa Averinos, the face behind the popular Yummy Goods blog and one of the newest Free Spirit fabric designers, brings you a collection of projects dedicated specifically to making the most of your designer fat quarters.

From belts to handbags, from children‘s gifts to a laundry hamper bag, and much, much more, Small Stash Sewing gives you 25 sewing projects to make unique pieces that showcase your favorite, longed-for designer fabrics.

• Gorgeous full-color photography throughout
• Sewing with designer fat quarters is budget-friendly and hip
• Melissa’s blog, yummygoods.com, is read by thousands of dedicated fans

If you’re a veteran sewer looking to use up your existing stash of fabrics or are new to sewing and want to experiment with designer fabrics without breaking the bank, Sewing with Fat Quarters gives you the skills and know-how to create 25 stunning pieces that give new life to your home and fashion style.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
• Release date: Apr 20, 2010
• ISBN: 9780470638729

Melissa Averinos

Melissa Averinos is a designer, painter, blogger, good listener, and lover of strawberry rhubarb pie. She can usually be found getting messy in the back of her Cape Cod home. She is the author of DIY Handlettering, DIY Mason Jars, and DIY Wine Corks. You can visit her website at YummyGoods.com.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

When I was little, I had an awesome sticker collection. I snatched up anything that had a self-adhesive backing: the coveted Lisa Frank series, those oil ones that changed colors when you pushed them, scratch and sniff (strawberry, bubble gum, pickle!), even the little yes and no stickers that sometimes came in the junk mail. I loved looking at my collection, but I was always afraid to use any of them in fear that I would regret it later. I thought I would waste or ruin the stickers if I did anything but admire them with their paper backing intact.

It’s not the eighties anymore, but until recently I still found myself hoarding and protecting my current obsession, fat quarters, in the same way I did back then. Whether the fabrics are from a new line that I have anxiously anticipated, or a fresh discovery in the towering fat quarter stacks at my local quilt shop, I would just look at my beautiful fabric collection and be paralyzed! What to do with this gorgeousness, this precious resource? My trepidation doubled when it was a print that was no longer in production!

Maybe you know what I’m talking about. Maybe you have a little stash of the good stuff sitting on a shelf or in a drawer that you are saving for just the right project. If only you could find something that you could make (that you actually want to make) with just a quarter yard of designer fabric.

In Small Stash Sewing, you can find 24 projects that fit the bill — 24 different ways to incorporate your prized stash into objects for you, your home, and the children in your life. You might find that by actually using your fat quarters you’ll enjoy those fabulous prints even more.

For the uninitiated, a fat quarter is a ¼ yard of fabric that is sold precut in quilt shops and fabric stores. Unlike buying a ¼ yard of fabric off the bolt, which results in a long skinny piece that’s 9 × 44, a fat quarter is what you get when a yard is cut in half and each of those halves are cut in half. You end up with an 18 × 22 piece, which is kind of a chubby quarter yard. Fat Quarter, get it?

ABOUT THE PROJECTS

The projects I’ve created are a way to use your precious designer fat quarters, but this isn’t a fat-quarter-only book, if you know what I mean. My inspiration for the book was Oooh, how can I feature this little morsel of fabric that I love so much? So, I have made up 24 projects that feature fat quarters with other odds and ends in supporting roles.

Some projects use more than one fat quarter (or less than one, in the case of the Fridge Frame). Some use different kinds of fabric in addition to the cotton quilting fabric. Let’s be honest, if you are hoarding fat quarters, you probably have some muslin hanging around (which you can put to good use with the Fancy Fabric Liner) or maybe a yard or two of a print you bought super cheap (perfect for the lining of the Magic Caper Cape). Many of the projects give you a chance to use some of your hoarded notions and doodads (for example, check out the Cute as a Button Clock and Yo-Yo Tiara).

In case you’re intimidated by any of the projects, know that I’m not amazing at sewing; I just love to do it! I have been sewing on and off since I was in high school. In fact, the Jester Crown and Cuffs project in this book is almost an exact replica of something I created when I was 16! I have gotten in and out of the habit of sewing since then (a stint in my early twenties resulted in my first patchwork blanket) and, luckily, my work as a fabric designer has inspired me to sew more regularly in the last few years. Even though I don’t have amazing skill, I do have passion and a willingness to just dive in and make something my own. So if I can make the Faux Pillowcase Dress and the Strapping Bag, you can, too!

Dreaming up ideas for this book was a cinch, but execution, for me, is another matter. See, I’m not really a perfectionist when it comes to sewing, so I kept in mind my own preferences as I was writing this book. I tried to make the projects as simple as possible. In fact, you’ll find that none of the patterns require a zipper and only one requires a buttonhole (but not even a button to go with it!).

When sewing for myself, I usually just whip up something easy and embellish it with my signature freestyle stitching. There are a handful of projects in Small Stash Sewing that use that style (such as the Silk Scarf, Cozy Cowl, and the Bath Mat) so that you, too, can express your creativity however you like. If you haven’t used a free-form style of sewing before, you might learn that you like it. For example, after using my method of sewing for a little while my friend Oksana, who is an experienced seamstress, said, I see why you like to sew this way; it’s so freeing! Maybe my next book will be totally pattern- free so that I can encourage you to improvise like I do.

I know, though, that there are many sewers who have different skills and more patience than I have, so I also went outside my comfort zone and created projects with a little more detail and precision (such as the Fancy Fabric Liner, Apron for All, and Faux Pillowcase Dress).

Whatever your skill level, relax and have fun with the projects in this book. Be detailed when you have to be, but let the creativity flow every chance you get.

USING THIS BOOK

I’ve made some assumptions with these projects, for sure. For example, I’ve taken a leap of faith that you have a sewing machine and thread and scissors. You know, the basic stuff. Here are some little details about how to use the instructions in this book:

Because I have a phobia about fractions and measuring, I use ½ seam allowances as my standard, rather than the usual ⅜. To be on the safe side, I’ve noted all the seam allowances in the steps.

Unless otherwise stated, your favorite all-purpose thread is perfect for all projects.

It is best to backstitch at the beginning and end of the seams.

Not all of the projects require pattern pieces, but for those that do you can find the patterns at the back of the book. I designed most to fit in the book at actual size, but some of them will need to be enlarged on a photocopy machine, and I’ve included information so you know by how much to enlarge the pattern.

If the instructions say to trim a corner or clip a curve, you need to remove some of the extra fabric in the seam so that it doesn’t bulk up when you turn the piece right side out. For squared corners you can just cut some fabric off the tip of the corner. For rounded pieces, such as in the Lovely Ladybug, cut little triangular notches in the seam allowance every so often, making sure not to snip through the seam, of