It is Me Made May! In that spirit, with Mother’s Day so close and I enjoy adding quilty elements to garments, I was inspired to create a “mom” shirt representative of the two that made me one.
I promised I would give you something to do with the leftover squares from the ice cream pint holders. This is it! well, at least one option anyway. I selected fabrics that are the colors of our birthstones (September/Sapphire, October/Pink Tourmaline and December/Blue Topaz).
Supplies
- 3” Fabric Squares (or any other fabric scraps large enough for your letters)
- Batting Scraps
- Sewing Machine – I’m on my Janome Memory Craft 9410QC
- Thread
- Pins
- Basting spray (optional)
- Lightweight Fusible Interfacing (optional)
- Scissors
- Marking Tool
- Ruler
Instructions
- On wrong side of fabric, draw your letters backwards. Layer fabric and batting and cut out each letter.
I used two layers of batting to give my layers a little more dimension – puffiness. One layer was still too flat for what I was going for.
2. Find the center of your shirt (my pink straight pin). Starting with the center letter, lay out the letters on your shirt of choice to get an idea of placement. A quilting ruler will help you keep a straight line.
3. Set up your machine to the Applique stitch settings. On my machine, you select the button with two scrolls and then Applique. You have different options of stitch patterns. The one you choose depends on how much you want your stitches to show. There’s a single line (one thread pass) and goes up to three lines (three thread passes). I selected the first one. Then I played with the stitch width (3.5) and length (2.5) on scrap fabric until I was happy.
4. Pin and sew your center letter first. If there’s no exact letter, use the first to the left or right.
5. Pin and sew the letters immediately to the left and right of first letter. Continue working outward until all letters are sewn.
TIP: For those of you new to appliqué, you may find Carmen’s (@sweetnayrucosplay) tutorial {link the word “tutorial” to Carmen’s April 6 YouTube video) helpful!
6. You’ll notice I did not cut the centers of my “O” and “A”. I decided to add hearts to the centers! Considering the theme of the shirt it seemed fitting.
7. CAREFULLY trim any loose threads or batting that may be peaking outside the stitches.
Don’t forget to check out the ice cream pint holder! It was a hit gift with my kiddos’ teachers and my friends.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I’d love to see your versions. Please share your creations with me on Instagram, Facebook or by email!
Stitch on me hearties, 💕
