My quilting thoughts and inspirations sprinkled with a glimpse of life down on the farm

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A flimsy and a (short) tutorial

While hunkering down with all the rain we've had recently I managed a little some sewing time, not much else to do once the animals are fed and the fire stoked!
I (finally) got Goodnight Irene, the scrappy sewalong hosted by Terry of Terry's Treasures, to the flimsy stage!! I am really happy with how she is looking! At this stage I have no idea how I will quilt her (any thoughts?) so I guess it's ok that she sits on the flimsy pile for a bit waiting her turn - it will give me some thinking time :-)
"Goodnight Irene" onto the flimsy pile :-)

I also had a little fun making this trivet/hot mat —
I had come across a video on YouTube, Potholders and Kitchen Quilts by Kaye Wood, and thought it would be nice to try it out. It was pretty straight forward to make, and a little different, too. So I don't have to watch the video again I started to take notes, and then thought that it could be a good idea to take photos to remind me and then I thought why not put them on my blog in tutorial form so I can easily access it all and so that others could make one too, if they wished ..... So here it is
(Full credit to Kaye for her YouTube instructions; there is a lot more information on the video, including variations, than what I am writing here, so do go to the link if you are interested.)

Step One; Start with a Hexagon. The ones Kaye used were 8" (measured from a straight side to the opposite side) but mine is 8 1/2" so I adjusted some measurements accordingly.
(Kaye talked in detail about fussy cutting the main fabric so a feature or detail ended up in the centre of the star. I didn't bother).
You also need a 5" strip of contrasting fabric. Because my hexagon was slightly bigger I cut my strip at 6" wide. To determine what width to cut if you have altered the hexagon size, go to step two and play with a square of paper.
Press the strip right sides together and sew LESS than 1/4" along the bottom edge...see photo below :-)

 Step Two; Slice the strip into 5" pieces.... if you have altered the width of your strip, slice it at that measurement..ie.. My strip was 6" wide so it got sliced into 6" pieces. You will want 6 pieces.
Fold the strip as shown in the photo below, pressing as you do it so that you have nice crisp edges to your triangle. Find the centre of each side of the hexagon and pin on the triangles, matching up the centres.
(*If you are altering the sizes, the bottom of this triangle should measure about the same as a side of your hexagon*).

 Step Three; Sew down the centre of each triangle (where the folded edges meet)to secure it. This is indicated by the pin in the photo below.

 Step Four; To complete your trivet you need some Insul Bright and some cotton batting (this absorbs condensation), both cut the same size as the hexagon. Make the hexagon for the back about 7/8" bigger all round. This will be folded to the front as binding so use a fabric you like for this!!
Lay the background down, wrong side up, then centre the cotton batting, the Insul Brite and the top piece (right side up) on top of it.
Pin through all layers to prevent them from moving, then press over the edges of the backgound twice to form a binding. Pin in place.

Step Five; Carefully machine stitch the binding on. Sew around the outside of the folded triangles (but not on them) to add more definition to the star.
Tada! One finished trivet! These don't take too long to make and I think they would make nice little gifts :-)
I'm keen to make some more...these would be fun as coasters and placemats too..... Maybe they will inspire some of you too.
And thank you to Kaye Wood for her video.
Happy creating everyone, and thanks for visiting,

34 comments:

  1. That quilt is lovely. Now I may just give that trivet a go, seriously, you may have inspired me!

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  2. Goodnight Irene is gorgeous. Hope you find some quilting inspiration soon it'll be lovely to see her finished. Love the tutorial for the trivet... they will make great gifts. Hugs....xx

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  3. Hi Raewyn,lovely quilt and thankyou for the tutorial and I love your trivet,well done.xx

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  4. Thanks for sharing! What a great gift idea! Love your quilt! Looks like it's time for sitting down and quilting!

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  5. Your quilt is beautiful!!!! well done scrappy quilts have a sparkle that all-one-collection-quilts don't

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  6. Your Irene quilt is gorgeous. I don't have any ideas on the quilting, but I would like to make this quilt sometime, so I will watch with interest to see how you quilt it. Thanks for the tutorial...looks like a fun project!

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  7. I really love the quilt, can't wait to see how you quilt it! Great tutorial, would be a great idea as a gift for the Grandparents or mother in-law, they get to an age when they are hard to buy/make for!
    Michelle

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  8. Irene looks great! I love the hot pad too! :0)

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  9. I love the flimsy Raewyn. I look forward to seeing it quilted one day. Thank you for the tutorial. A great gift idea that has been added to my 'must make' pile

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  10. i love the trivet. I'm always looking for ways to use up leftover fabric. A quilted trivet will, indeed, make a nice little gift.
    Sandy
    Hurst, Texas

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  11. Great little trivet ! thanks so much for the tutorial - will be on the Christmas gift make-it list!

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  12. Great finish there. I love the variation on making hexagon hot mats. Thanks, I will store the idea away till I need to make some.

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  13. Love your new flimsy. Sometimes I need a little break from a flimsy before the quilting ideas come too. Great little tutorial. Thanks.

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  14. your goodnight Irene flimsy is lovely.... and thanks for the trivet tutorial.. it is really effective done like that... I bit different..
    Hugz

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  15. I love your Goodnight Irene top!! Sorry I don' t have any suggestions on the quilting. That is always hard for me to decide on. Thanks for the tutorial for trivet! Very pretty!

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  16. Goodnight Irene looks fantastic and thanks for the tutorial for the trivia , so cute .

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  17. Awesome pot holder/trivet! What lovely gifts they would make.

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  18. Lovely quilt! and thanks for the tutorial - I was just having a look at trivets the other day in a patchwork book!

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  19. good tutorial that I will have a go at, like you I have a flimsy stack 6 now and another soon to be added just needs the blocks sewn together. Must conquer my fear of quilting!

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  20. Your quilt is looking beautiful and I love the trivet, thanks heaps for the tutorial!

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  21. Quilt looks great - love the trivet - thanks for the instructions!

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  22. Now that is one seriously cool quilt! Love how they've been pieced together. My pit holder looks very much like a tea towel!...ah hang on a sec....it is a tea towel lol x

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  23. Aren't you the clever one!! And a "STAR" to boot!!! I may have to try it when I get some time!! Goodnight Irene is so wonderful!!! I'll think about the quilting - but I'm sure you'll come up with something that suits the quilt and you!!

    Blessings and hugs!

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  24. Hi Raewyn the quilt is beautiful, I see feathers in the white areas????? Thanks for the trivet instructions in time I will make one, too busy doing UFO'S.

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  25. Gorgeous quilt Raewyn - now I know what a flimsy is !!! :-)
    That potholder tutorial looks really neat - I would be most keen to have a go at that. Just lovely.

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  26. Irene turned out beautiful! Can't wait to see how you quilt it. Those are really cute trivets. They would make great little coasters. Oh, Christmas ornaments! They would make awesome Christmas ornaments or gift tags.

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  27. What a lovely quilt - and thanks so much for the tutorial, Raewyn. I love making little things.

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  28. The quilt flimsy is wonderful :)
    What a cute trivet, love it, and thanks for taking the trouble to make up instructions for us :)

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  29. Thank you for the potholder tutorial. Is was very easy. I just finished one for my sister in law.

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  30. I love this trivet, I just don’t understand step number three.

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    Replies
    1. HI, sorry I can't reply in person as you have shown up as Anonymous. This was only ever supposed to be a supplement to the original tutorial but as that tutorial is now gone, it might be lacking a little detail!! Joy did another tutorial for this trivet on her blog recently. If you follow this link, she should be able to help you. https://www.daysfilledwithjoy.com/2023/07/05/christmas-pot-trivet-or-hot-pad/

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