Warm & Toasty
Make a "Warm & Toasty" felted-wool throw similar to the one made by Marla Stefanelli in the Nov. '04 issue of Sew News.
Collect wool pants, skirts, jackets, etc., that have at least 90% wool content. Loose woven fabrics will felt better. (Men's trousers will felt a little and have a nice hand, but the edges will ravel if you pull at them.) Cut the garments apart, eliminating the seams so the fabric pieces lie flat. Felt the fabric in the washing machine for one or two cycles, until the felted fabrics don't ravel. Use hot water and the longest and most aggressive agitation for each wash cycle, rinse with cold water and dry in a hot dryer. Steam-press the pieces flat. (See "We Felt Like It" in the Nov. '04 issue of Sew News for more detailed felting instructions.)
Select a wide, decorative zigzag stitch; use a heavyweight needle for woven fabric (100/16) and a heavyweight thread such as 30 wt. embroidery or jean thread. Slightly loosen the upper-thread and bobbin tension. Test the stitch on a sample, making any adjustments necessary, before piecing the fabrics together.
From the felted fabric, cut squares measuring 3" , 6" and 9", and rectangles that measure 3" x 6" , 3" x 9" and 6" x 9". No seam allowances are added.
Piece the assorted rectangles and squares together to form 9" blocks. Butt the edges together and stitch with a decorative zigzag stitch, catching each edge as you sew.
If one of your fabrics ravels slightly, you can still use it; just overlap the edges slightly before stitching--the overlap portion should be no wider than the zigzag stitch and be enclosed in the stitch. The seam will pucker slightly because the edges are slightly different lengths. Simply steam-press the puckers flat, patting the fabric in to fit--this is one of the beauties of working with wool.
Piece the 9" squares and blocks together to the desired size. The throw shown is set five blocks across and seven blocks down.
Use preshrunk cotton flannel for the backing, piecing as necessary to create a rectangle 2" larger all around than the throw. Place the backing right side down on a flat surface. Center the throw right side up over the backing. Pin the layers together in several places to secure. If necessary, trim the backing so only 2" extend beyond each edge.
Fold in the backing raw edge 1", then fold the folded edge over the throw and pin in place to create a 1" -wide bound edge. Use the same decorative zigzag stitch to sew the binding folded edge to the throw, stitching through all the layers.
To hold the throw layers together, use perle-cotton thread to tie the center and corners of each rectangle and square through both layers.
|
