First we’ll start with the bias tape. Begin with a large square piece of fabric. Most quilting fabrics are 45″ wide , so to get a square piece you’ll want the length to be 45″ also, or 1-1/4 yard. Either way, just make sure that the length and width of the fabric you are using are equal lengths. Cut edges should be squared (90°) with the selvedges.
Step one: Find the center of the square. You can do this by folding the fabric in half twice (see grey lines) and marking their intersection with a pin. Step two: Fold corners inward, to meet the centerpoint.
Next, rotate your fabric 45 degrees so that it is a square in front of you, rather than a diamond, and use a rotary cutter and straight edge to slice strips. These strips are now naturally cut on the bias!
We used 1-1/2″ wide strips, with 1/4″ seams, and it yielded a 1/2″ wide border.

To prepare your new bias tape for application, press it in half lengthwise, like this, and it’s ready to go. A yard and a quarter of 45″ wide material will yield more than enough bias tape for a 45″ x 45″ blanket. You may have to do some math for other sizes and uses, as we haven’t created a formula yet!
Now for the blanket itself. You will need two large, square pieces of fabric, plus any batting or lining you choose to put in between. For this tutorial we chose the new Karavan Collection, from Free Spirit by Valori Wells, plus two accent materials, the green one being for the bias trim. But we also have an expansive collection of other quilting cottons here.

Sandwich the batting between the two blanket fabrics, right sides facing out, and pin. Use a circular object (like a saucer or a glass), and mark rounded corners; then trim. This cuts out the work of beveling or folding bias tape at corners, so you can just curve right around those edges with your curve-friendly bias tape!
Now, quilt the fabric as you like, stitching through all three layers. You can quilt along the printed pattern on the cloth, or rectangular shapes, triangles, zig-zags, swirls, flowers, spirals, or vertical lines. You can hand quilt, or use sashiko thread and use big stitches. Just remember that this quilting is only being used to keep those three layers together and in tact, plus it can be decorative and attractive.  Make sure your layers haven’t shifted; if there are some threads or a little unevenness, now is the time to trim the edges.

The last step is to attach your bias tape. Now there are so many tutorials on the web (YouTube, for one, is a great resource), I am going to link you to this one here (just ignore the part about beveling the corners, because we rounded the edges a few steps back) and I’ll wait for you here and then carry on with the rest of my tutorial when you get back… some hand stitching will be required but if you minded that, you wouldn’t be a quilter now, would you?!? ~Wink Wink~

Once you’ve put on your bias tape, you’ve got an attractive and tidy little blanket to bundle up some joy in! This is an easy and personalized project.  For a baby shower, tie this up with a nice piece of satin or grosgrain ribbon and you can forget about those gift registries!

In case you are unfamiliar with broadcloth, it is characterized by a dense weave, which lends itself to sturdiness and long term durability. So as you can imagine, quilters choose this material for its ability to hold up to many washings and time, as quilts are traditionally handed down through families and generations as long lasting heirlooms. Not to mention the fact that it is 100% Cotton. If you know me well enough by now, you know that I am a huge advocate of natural fibers, especially for worn or slept-in items. I think blankets qualify. Nobody likes waking up clammy or damp. A material like Kona Cotton will give you the vibrant colors and long-term durability, paired with the added benefit of being a breathable, natural fiber that will ensure a comfortable sleep.

There are a ton of online tutorials and quilt patterns if you’d like to try your hand at a Kona Cotton Quilt. The most elaborate designs use analogous colors to create dimensional and gradated patterns.  This one here is an interesting take on a classic chevron. I like the simple instructions drawn out on graph paper, very clear:

Another notable, somewhat retro, design using Kona Cotton can be seen here. Or the Shattered Rainbow,which is here. The possibilities are endless. Just do an online ‘image’ search for “Kona Cotton Quilt” and you’ll be overwhelmed by choices.

But you aren’t only limited to quilts with Kona Cottons, I imagine them working wonderfully in both children’s garments or women’s dresses and skirts. And as the examples show, Kona Cotton works great for making bows and other semi-rigid items. You can also use a Kona Cotton Solid for any of the components in our pillowcase blog or the potato bag blog. Here are a few photos of garments that could easily be replicated using Kona Cotton Solids as the main fabric or contrast:

    

Whatever you decide to do or make with the Kona Cotton, it’s bound to yield pleasing results, and this weekend is a great time to stock up during our Kona Cotton Solids Sale!

What I love about Marcy’s patterns is that they are all any-age appropriate, and if you’ve got an eye for classic styling and cuts, you will appreciate them. We’ve just recently added a nice selection to www.LowPriceFabric.com.  My ‘Top 3′ favorite Marcy Tilton patterns are these:

This asymmetric top/jacket (appropriate for all ages, and would be cute lengthened as a trapeze coat-dress!):

These cropped trousers (suitable for any woven fabric and so easy to pair up – you could dress these up or down, night or day! Plus there are three style variations):

And this asymmetric urban jacket (with so many different fabric options, it’s easy to get excited about it!):

It’s always refreshing to meet creative people who have found success doing what they love and who are just as interested in others’ work as their own. Marcy was very kind and intrigued by our operations and endeavors here. I highly recommend reading Marcy’s dissertation on fabric shopping, full of practical tips, found here. I hope you will pay a visit to our section dedicated to Marcy’s patterns; I’m sure you’ll find one that strikes your fancy. And who knows, maybe one of you will end up meeting Marcy in Paris!

I’d like to share a couple of projects I’ve come across or made myself, that are prime examples of a perfect Valentine. You don’t even have to make anything functional; throwing together some nice materials in an artistic way with a lovely sentiment attached is really all you need to show somebody your admiration.

The first idea comes from Designed by Jane, and was featured on my previous blog entry about felt:
I just think this is so adorable and every little stitch and detail shows dedication and time. You could very easily embroider a sweet message onto the back – and voilà! Love delivered! You can shop our collection of eco-friendly felt, perfect for a variety of holiday crafts, here.

My next suggestion is something for the kids. My mother always supervised the making of home-made valentines for us to distribute to our classmates. Heart shaped doilies, Valentine’s fabric, some lace trim, red and pink construction paper, pinking shears, a bottle of Fabri-tac, and perhaps a little glitter is all kids really need to get crafty and show some love to their classmates. When I think of store-bought Valentines, I think of that song “Can’t Buy Me Love.” There’s just so much more dedication and affection that come with home-made Valentines. Plus, kids will love crafting their own Valentines, it will keep them out of your hair for an hour or two, and every one is happy! These are just a few of the many Valentine’s items we at Michael Levine’s have just added to our online store, www.LowPriceFabric.com!

      
Another idea comes from my previous blog about Personalized Pillow Cases. It would be very easy to adapt this project and incorporate some of our Valentine’s Day Fabrics and possibly use some of our eyelet trims instead of piping. You could even tie it up for presentation with one of our decorative ribbons and top it off with an adorable Cupid Brooch:

      
One more thing for the kids – or anybody for that matter – is a simple ribbon bracelet accented with a ‘diamond’ heart charm. You could add a clasp and it’s done!
This last project – I cannot take credit for, but – is certainly worth highlighting, is this lovely Heart-Shaped Mailbox for Valentine’s Day deliveries. This is a great idea for kids or teachers who want a fancy little place to receive their Valentines.
Again, this project would be a nice use for many of our Valentine fabrics (some are priced as low as $4.00 a yard!), and you could always trade out the scalloped edge for some lace or eyelet trim!
      
So whatever your Valentine’s Day plans are, and whoever receives your affection on this special day of love, hopefully you’ll find a place in your heart for some good, old-fashioned meaningful home-made gifts! And if not, if Valentine’s Day just isn’t your thing, you can always show some love for Arizona, whose Centennial Celebration of Statehood is this February 14!

Here is what we found…Chenille, by definition, is the French word for ‘caterpillar’.

In textile terminology, it describes a yarn or a fabric made from yarn that is fuzzy in texture or has a velvety quality. The fabric piles used to create chenille are most commonly cotton. However, chenille can also be made of other fibers as well.

So while we love true cotton Chenille what we we have uploaded to the site is this super soft Minky. It is a polyester fabric with many patterns and textures, one of them being a Chenille.

http://www.lowpricefabric.com/p-1601-minky-chenille-stripe-ml14215-white.aspx

It is great for baby blankets, robes, and more. The other great thing about Minky is that you can get the look of Chenille, but it is much easier to take care of and cost 1/2 the price. Take a look at the new Minky that we just put up.

Secondly, this super cute book called Felt Friends just came into our store and oh, how I wish I was a giddy 12-year-old again, so I could sit at home with free time to make these silly cute felt pets! This paired with an assorted variety of the Eco-fi felt would make a great gift for any crafty girl who loves Japanese style cuteness!

A lovely heart like this, as well as the “Over the Rainbow” brooches pictured at the top, are Designed by Jane, and are great ideas for a home-made way to show your Valentine some love year-round. To view the entire gallery of Jane’s past works, click here.

Doing a few searches on Google yielded plentiful ideas and adorable displays of talent. I love all these felt cakes! What a sweet gift to give for a friend’s birthday, or any holiday for that matter!
And lastly, with the holidays right around the corner, there’s a plethora of Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa crafts to be made! You could easily adapt this idea of a felt advent calendar to represent the ideals of Kwanzaa also. It would be fun for kids of all ages to make as a group project (older ones cut out shapes, younger ones glue) and everyone can enjoy stuffing the pockets with treats – and of course – eating them too.
In conclusion, there are so many possibilities with the new Eco-fi felt, and now is a great time of year to get started exploring them!

Besides showing me this fantastic apron our elf reported on a new tool she found in our Notions department. It’s called Turn-it-All. She told me that it made making the neck strap and the tie at the back a cinch!

In 4 easy steps you can turn so many items inside out. Since it has 3 different sizes it’s perfect for the apron shown, as well as Spaghetti straps, scrunchies (great easy gift for your tween!), doll parts, and any thing that needs to be turned inside out after you sew it.

For $10.00 this tools seems like a steal. Find it online at http://www.lowpricefabric.com/p-1971-turn-it-all-ml203015.aspx

If you’re looking for an easy gift idea, here are a few that I really love….

We have many beautiful skeins of yarn that (with 1 skein) you can make a beautiful scarf. The directions are included. Just add a large pair of needles (check the pattern to see what size is called for) and a pretty basket and your set. Great and super easy gift for the holidays.

We carry so many great books as well. If they love to knit, add a knitting one:  

If they like to crafts, try a fun felt book:

And I could go on and on.  What about filling a basket with fabric? Here are just a few of our pre-cut cotton bundles that make great gifts for your friends who like to quilt:

Lastly here is one of our cute sewing baskets. Have fun filling it with various items from our notion department.

Okay now for those of you who want to make something for those special someone in your life here are a few options…

I will start with the easy ones and work my way my up to the more advanced sewer…

We have so many fun polar fleece panels, from kids characters to sporting teams. These can simply be cut and used as blankets, especially for the kids, or you can finish the edges off.

Want your own grown up throw? Try lining this amazing, super soft faux fur.  I’m sure your honey would love to snuggle up under one of these.

Love to quilt? Look at this amazing flip flop quilt….Who wouldn’t love to get that!

I also really like this cute holiday flannel blanket:

Two other great holiday gifts, very pretty & completely usable are table runners and pot holders. While they may sound old fashion with all the amazing choices in fabrics at the store they won’t be dated. You can make them as cool as your imagination lets you. Here are a few holiday ones our busy elfs just finished…

Thanksgiving table runner

Pot holders and an adorable place mat

Okay just when I thought your tour was done I saw a few more goodies…

Love these Ugg-like baby booties. If you have any extra yarn around these would make up so quick and what a perfect gift for anyone with a little one.

If you crochet here are 2 great little purses that all your friends would love to get.

Okay so that is it from the Apparel store. I will be checking out the Home Decor store in the coming days. I hope our elves are hard at  work over there as well!

I recently made a pillowcase for a friend who was moving to the southern Pacific island of Palau. I chose an appropriate variety of appealing cotton prints from Michael Levine’s, all with an island air, in a palette of sea greens and azure blues, and featuring tropical foliage, birds, and flowers. It isn’t the first time I’ve made a pillowcase as a “Bon Voyage” gift, because as I mentioned before, a gift for this occasion must be practical and pack flat. He later wrote to me and said “I had to stay in a shady motel the first night, so your pillowcase saved me!”

Before you begin, be sure to choose fabrics that are 45″ wide, 100% Cotton. You may also want to pre-wash and dry your materials to prevent uneven shrinkage. I recommend that cotton prints be machine washed in warm water and tumbled dry on warm, and then pressed smooth with an iron on the cotton setting.

1. Cut the fabric using this guide, although you will probably be using different fabrics for each piece:

You will need:
7/8 yard of main FABRIC A
1-1/2″ x 45″ strip of piping FABRIC B
3/8 yard of band FABRIC C

2. Press both band and piping strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together:

3. Place main fabric (A) right-side-up, design facing you. On the right-hand edge (which will be a 45″ edge), layer the piping strip (B) and then the band (C), all raw edges aligned on the right. Stitch together using a 1/2″ seam allowance, then serge if you wish. If you would like a no-serge pillowcase method, check out this video.

4. Open and press band to the right, while pressing piping strip to the left:

5. After pressing, topstitch 1/8″ from left edge of band:

6. Fold pillowcase in half, right sides together, wrong sides out, aligning both ends of piping and band. Edges should form squared corners. Starting at top right corner of picture below (band edge / pillowcase opening), stitch and back-stitch, then stitch long edge, pivot at corner , and stitch short edge. Serge if you desire.

7. Iron seams flat, turn pillowcase right side out, and press and steam all seams flat/smooth from outside. You may want to launder once more before using, to soften it up a little.
8. Lastly, if it will be a gift, I like to add a ribbon or bow. Fold or roll up the pillowcase, and tie it with a ribbon or a coordinated strip of silk georgette like I did:

Next time you are looking for a very personal and meaningful gift to give, I hope you will think of this tutorial and give the gift of sweet dreams!

At 8:45, fifteen minutes before opening on Saturday morning, all of the “contestants” lined up at the front of the store and paraded in front of our judges/store supervisors, fellow employees, and insiders/photographers like myself. They came to the front, stated their names and Halloween personas, and worked the catwalk as much as they could for ten to twenty seconds. By the end of the work day, winners had been selected and were announced and given prizes:

This is our First Prize Winner, Gaga Miranda, a.k.a. Alex, from our buttons department. His completely hand made cabana queen costume won him the GRAND PRIZE, and, as you can see, in the background his peers enjoyed the performance! Alex says he “was up until 2 a.m., the morning of the contest,” finishing up his costume. He used curled boning and horsehair to accomplish some of the finer details of his headdress, as well as tulle and sequined glitter mesh for the majority of the costume.

Rosie, Second Place

The second place prize went to the Queen of Hearts, a.k.a. Rosie, from our wholesale department. She stormed onto center stage with her commanding glare and dramatic eyebrows, which is honestly so far from the cheerful every day Rosie, that at first I didn’t realize it was her! Rosie used red velour, sequined glitter mesh, and a white feather boa, among other things, and completed the look with a fabulous pink dodo bird croquet mallet.

The Third Place prize went to Pinocchio, a.k.a. Jose, one of our floor clerks. His costume was great; he used assorted colors of felt, feathers, and faux suede, and I loved his tree-branch nose with birds and leaves and a nest! He even had Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder!

And now for some honorable mentions… A shout-out to Pilar. I like to say that she is a ‘pil-lar’ of our community here because we all enjoy her fun, lively spirit! Saturday happened to be a special day for her. Happy Birthday Pilar from all of your friends and co-workers!

Definitely worth mention and probably a close contender for one of the prizes was Ursula, a.k.a. Raquel from our Home Decor store. She floated into the spotlight in full character, arms raised and wickedly sneering deep sea threats as she twirled her tentacles! She really was scary!

It’s always neat to see the creativity that’s under the surface amongst our crew. Look what they came up with! Clockwise from top left: Karen as a Hobo, ‘La Vuida Negra’ Rosa (the black widow), Orange M&M Carlos, Pink Lady Elsa, Tanya as the Goddess Athena, Israel the Zombie, Gangster Alicia, Mariachi Jocelyn, Native American Shelly, and American Soldier Blanca.

And last but certainly not least, the Halloween aprons that the girls in our buttons and notions departments came up with were very crafty and cute!

All in all so many of the employees turned up in costumes, helping bring fun and celebration to the store and inspiring others to let loose and have a good time!