AccuQuilt – SewingMachinesPlus.com Blog

Hi Ya’ll, good to see you!

I hope you are well and staying out of the heat! It is definitely summer in Texas today!

The last time I wrote I hoped to inspire you to take a step or two out of your comfort zone and try some applique projects with a great tool called the AccuQuilt GO Fabric Cutter. I hope you checked them out here at SewingMachinesPlus.com for the one that would suit you the best.

Let us talk about my fabric obsession today. It is called Batik!

The reason for my suggestion of trying “improvisational” quilting or one that you create yourself, is that it brings much satisfaction knowing that no one else has put together the fabric combinations that you love. the best.

Let us talk about my fabric obsession today!! It is called Batik!

What is Batik?

It is a hand dyed textile that is made using a wax resist technique to cover some parts of the fabric so they are not dyed with the color. Selected areas of the cloth are blocked out by drawing or brushing wax over them and the cloth then several colors are used to dye the fabric.*

Contemporary batik, may have etching, stencils and different tools for waxing and dying and use things such as leather, paper, wood, silk or cotton to use in techniques to make the most expressive and subtle of wax resist projects. Note from the pictures above, some look like the fabrics tie dyed and others have small details. Using various amounts of colors, the textile looks printed, but in fact it is hand drawn places of wax resist, it becomes a unique piece of art.*

Today, keeping in line with those thoughts, I want to share with you some beautiful fabric that would be a great choice for these fabric cuts to design a beautiful quilt, utilizing the shapes you can make with the AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter. To keep it simple at first, just blocks or basic shapes or strips can be easy to cut and sew in patterns that you can replicate for your own taste.

Let’s go through the design stages. That’s the most fun!

Check out the internet for new ideas about quilts
Purchase magazines on quilting at the bookstores or online
Many of the patterns look complicated, however don’t get discouraged. They are only for inspiration right now
Depending on your quilting experience, play with paper and pencil and come up with a simple pattern using a few different basic shapes. Perhaps blocks and triangles or perhaps all strips
Perhaps all squares or rectangles, it’s all your design
Study the batik fabrics available in online fabric stores and curate your own choices on a design board. It is good to make notes on the particular fabrics so you can go back and order the ones you really like. Depending on where you live, you may be able to find fabric you love in the local fabric stores (I personally have purchased many yards of fabric and precuts online with no problems. It is like Christmas every time I order. Sometimes I get surprises!)
Then play with how these colors look good together. There is no right or wrong. It is your creation, your taste
Leave the palette alone and come back to it to see if your color choices still suit you. If not, play some more
Cut out color combinations from magazines that you admire. Once you are happy with your plan, look for fabric, order online or purchase

Start a small project, a table runner, a pillow, a tote bag or go for a quilt.

Start a small project, a table runner, a pillow, a tote bag or go for a quilt. Any of things will be something beautiful using Batik.

Now would be a great time to check your sewing supplies!

Take a look at your rulers, scissors, pins, rotary cutter blades, and other tools you frequently use. SewingMachinesplus.com has everything you need to make your next project look precise and professional. Besides the AccuQuilt Go, I value my collection of acrylic rulers and cutters for time saving cutting and more time for designing and sewing. Having the necessary tools makes the project more enjoyable as well!

As I said last time, I believe that if I strive to keep an attitude of “I am proud to use this, because I made it with my own design and it shows a part of me”, my positive attitude brings positive results. Find your Happy Place in sewing!

Until next time, discover Batik fabric and let me know what you think! Would I ever love to try making my own Batik fabric and using them in sewing!

‘Winging it.’

Good morning My Sewing Friends,

I appreciate all the comments I received from my last blog. I feel the need to preface this one with the explanation that I always try to do the best I can about measuring and sewing seams straight and accurately. I felt a little guilty telling you that I kind of “winged” it in the blog time before last about the scrap quilt made from pieces that were matched not measured in size. I just want to say that I firmly believe anything you attempt to do, do it well, or do it again to make it better. Perfection with sewing comes with practice, but don’t be hard on yourself if it doesn’t turn out the first time. Your time is valuable and the reward of doing something that looks great takes work and focus. But please, enjoy it along the way!

Angela jumps down now!

Today I want to do a product review that saves a lot of time and makes great sense to do when you are planning a quilt. So many ideas are available through quilt patterns and packaged quilt kits. Online stores have a multitude of pattern quilts and instructions.

Those are great for ideas, but to me, a quilt designed by the person sewing it, is much more rewarding and showcases your personal style.

Fly into the comfort zone

Come out of your comfort zone and design your own patterns using different textures, shapes and colors. Look through quilting magazines for inspiration, Pinterest or other sewing books. Most quilts are made by geometric square, triangles, parallelograms, and blocks of different sizes. Sewn together or apart, so many options are available, but make it your own with your favorite elements.

Make a design board of your favorite shapes and colors, then decide which type of fabric designs that you enjoy looking at, and the colors that would blend in your home or those you may make for donations or gifts. All fabric fits into design groups. Learn about which are modern, traditional, tribal, and vintage. Look at the different patterns and discover that most are blocks and triangles, strips and even other cut pieces that when cut from different pieces can form a very sweet quilt made like a picture.

So, let me introduce to you to the product regarding these concepts to build the precisely cut quilt pieces that would you would love making and know that you have the only one like it. The products are the AccuQuilt GO Cutter Line of fabric cutters.

SewingMachinesPlus.com has these products that fit any budget. You can quickly cut accurate blocks, triangles and many other shapes with these fabric cutters. The idea is that a die is in the machine and up to six layers of cotton can be placed on a cutting mat and be cut all at once. What a time saver! No turning the fabric on the mat and measuring again and again and cutting with your rotary cutter. The best part is they have a wide assortment of strip dies, alphabet, parallelogram, rectangles and blocks as well as other small shapes for baby appliques and seasonal shapes.

You can have all your shapes and strips cut to be able to sew a quilt in record time.

AccuQuilt Go includes

In summary, the AccuQuilt Go line of Fabric Cutters have the following to promote beautiful sewing projects.

Faster than rotary cutters or scissors
Safe to use
Portable and lightweight ( See the “Go Baby” and the “Go” Cutter (Great for sewing class or retreats and smaller projects)
Includes die and cutting mat that last for many die cut pieces
Additional dies of many types are available for designing patterns besides
blocks and triangles
AccuQuilt “GO BIG” Electric Cutter for larger projects and more die choices
Ask about financing – you will save so you can purchase the fabric you love (love this one!)
Ask about Limited Warranty on the machines when you order
Still can be used when following patterns and with ready made design kits if you are not ready to “plunge in the fabric pool” and design your own patterns

There you have it! Order online from SewingMachinesPlus.com or call them and ask for help to decide which cutter best suits your needs. Then send me a picture in the comments space below of your beautiful personally designed item. I would love to see it. Start small and you will finish projects and love the results!

Ready? One, two, three, AccuQuilt GO!

By the way, tell SewingMachinesPlus.com that Angela sent you!

Tag / AccuQuilt

Creating with Batik Fabric