Monday, February 17, 2014

Stitch along with me ~

in my last post I shared the finished punching of the little early bird project ~
so now I wanted to finish it into a sawdust stuffed pillow….

I liked how this cream/blue repro calico cotton looks with the thread colors, 
so this was my choice.



to begin, I measure & mark 1"  
from the last punched row on all 4 sides with pencil, 
...on the back of my punched project:




once the weavers cloth is trimmed away to one inch, I lay my backing fabric
(in this case the blue/cream calico) face up on my work table, 
and then place the punched project face down onto that, 




then I trim the backing fabric to the same size as the punched portion's weavers cloth…
(I usually just 'wing it' here, no pinning or measuring,
... just eyeballing & cutting the backing fabric to approx. the same size)




next, I place my front/back project sandwiched pieces under my sewing machine's foot…
with the needle as close as I can get it to the last punched row of the project.




I will now stitch completely around all 4 sides of the project…
staying as close to that last punched row as possible.
( i have a tendency to sometimes 'pick up' a couple of the loops with my machine thread, but that's really not a problem here)

once I've sewn completely around,
I then trim the excess front/backing fabrics to within 1/4" of my machine sewn line.
I'll do this for all 4 sides as well.




...so now it looks like this:


 then I  miter the corners by clipping away the corners a bit…
this really helps to keep your projects corners nice & crisp once you turn the project right side out ~



now I turn the project over to the back, and using small sharp scissors
I cut a slit into just the backing fabric.
(be careful not to catch any of the loops on the front!)




once the slit is cut into the backing fabric,
turn the project right side out and use a wooden dowel or skewer
to poke your corners out nicely…




I use a tablespoon to stuff my projects full of sawdust.
I like to stuff them firmly and very full!




use that dowel again to poke the sawdust into those corners….




once it is stuffed,
hand stitch the opening closed with needle and thread…




I like to cover that with a patch of scrap weavers cloth
that I've signed with a Pigma pen ~




there is usually sawdust clinging to the front of the loops,
so I brush off what I can…




and use my trusty lint-roller for the rest!
quick clean up!!!





I wanted to add an edging to this project, 
so I chose a complimentary cotton calico
and ripped a 2" wide x 28" strip ~ 
(that's what this project calls for)




using needle & thread
I anchored the end of the strip 
to the center bottom of the stuffed project, and rolled the strip as I whip-stitched it on…




... really a neat finish and one that rug hookers might be familiar with!

the fabric roll covers the edge of the project, 
so if you didn't get as close to the edge as you'd have liked with your sewing the front & back together,
 ...this will help to 'hide' it a bit :)




simple and pretty!




whip stitched on with needle & thread….
I
L O V E 
this look!




~ here is a snap of the completed back:




 …and the front!

and here's a little tip about needle punching an eye, 
~ like the one on my bird...

I punch just the white portion, 
then after the project is finished,
 I go back in and using black DMC floss, 
….I make a colonial (or french) knot for the pupil!
ta da!




I hope you've enjoyed stitching along with me!
and that you will try this technique for your projects ~

I'm off to punch some more :)

* Blessed be *
 Lori

31 comments:

Christine Crocker said...

he's just beautiful, Lori~
Thank you for the wonderful tutorial~

C.

Mindi said...

Thank you so much for providing this tutorial on how to finish a punch needle project! I have quite a few punched, but have never done any final finishing because I just wasn't sure how to do it.

thearttramp said...

LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!

Unknown said...

....as always, beautiful !!!!!!!!

moosecraft said...

This piece is gorgeous! Love the rolled cotton for the edge... and thanks for the eye tip!

village folk art said...

Thanks so much for sharing, Lori. I love this project and I visit your blog almost daily.

Keep safe with Peace and Blessings,
Barb

Unknown said...

I love the original finishing the roll on the edge of the project is just wonderful!!!

backporchcarver said...

Thanks so much that was so easy to follow, great photos and instruction, I needed that!

feltedhare said...

That is just the sweetest!!!!!!!!
I love it. I need to learn how to punch so I can make one

Chelle (Dana) said...

Thanks for the tutorial. I have a project punched and just didn't know what way to go with it. I'll give this a try soon.

Lauren from Minooka said...

Lori, Thanks so much for these instructions! I love the rolled fabrics trim.

Anonymous said...

hello what a great finish- how do you roll the fabric as you are sewing? thanks!!

Robin at The Primitive Hutch said...

Adorable ~ I like that finished edge ~ I'll have to try that one!
TFS
Prim Blessings
Robin

must love junk said...

Wow-beautiful! I don't have that talent that you do...so I'll just admire yours! :)
Susan

Rugs and Pugs said...

Sweet finish.
Hugs :)
Lauren

Tana said...

This may have given me the confidence I need to do the finishing work on some things. Thank you!

Faye said...

Great step by step Lori~ that edging us just perfect also!!!

Faye said...

Great step by step Lori~ that edging us just perfect also!!!

Primitives By The Light of The Moon said...

Looks great Lori and wonderful instructions on finishing!

Unknown said...

I LOVE!!!! thank you Lori , kisses from France

Simply Quaint said...

Thank you Lori love the pattern and was always curious on how the edge was done on some of the hooked rugs....once again you always amaze me with your creations....
Blessings
Rhonda

Anonymous said...

Perfectly finished. Very nice job. You do beautiful work. Thank you for your posts. Roann

Sandra said...

I enjoyed Reading your tutorial lori and learned a lot along the way! Now I need to try this on my punchneedle projects waiting to be finished :0) hugs

TeresaM said...

It is beautiful Lori!!! A great way to finish up a pillow!

Barbara said...

Love it. Thank you so much for taking the time to post the tutorial.
Barbara

Lillie Bowen aka Margot Diersen said...

Wow, wow & wow! Thank you for sharing!

Margs Primitive Quilts said...

Such a lovely finish, Lori. Thanks for the tutorial!

ladyjane22 said...

Beautiful finish and a great tutorial. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for showing us how you finished that! Great instructions and pictures!

Lynn said...

Beautifully done Lori! Thank you so much for the tutorial. Your work is inspiring me to give punchneedle another try.

Deb said...

So pretty Lori and love that rolled edge! Thanks for sharing. Deb