I have the greatest last-minute sewing gift idea for you today.
That is right.
We’re going to use this really great plaid and this fantastic cuddle fur to make a super
simple throw.
Let’s get started.
I will admit, I think one of the keys to this super simple throw is actually the fabric
choices itself.
It made it so easy to work with and that’s how I’m going to teach you to work with
the fabrics today.
Now before we get too deep into the video, let’s talk.
We have the Robert Kaufman Mammoth flannel and I chose two yards of it because it is
45 inches wide.
And then the white fur is a Shannon cuddle.
It’s called Llama.
And it’s got this fantastic real organic looking nap to it.
It looks awesome.
And for this I only purchased a yard and a half because it’s 60 wide, they say on the
bolt.
Mine arrived in even a little bit bigger than that.
And as we begin cutting into our fabrics we’re using our fabrics to cut, working with themselves.
I know that sounds confusing so look down here on the table.
Check this out.
What I have done, first of all is I looked at this wonderful plaid and I really couldn’t
tell if there was a right side or a wrong side to it.
So I pet it for awhile.
I tried to get a bit of nap going.
But it’s a truly woven fabric and it’s nice and stable.
So one side has a little bit more fuzzy look to it than the other to my eye.
I’m going to pick that as my right sides because I want it to match the fur.
I have folded it so that my lines are perfectly straight within the plaid because I am going
to use the plaid to cut the fur and then the fur to cut the plaid.
And yes I do mean it that way.
I have both of the folded sides down here along this edge.
And I’ve used some of these wonder clips like this to pinch them and hold them into
place so that nothing is moving while I am manipulating the fabrics.
I was trying to point out in your supply list, your yardage, that there are different widths
of goods so you have to shop accordingly that way.
And now what we’re going to first do is we’re going to come down here.
Oh sorry I got a little excited.
When I was pinning and clipping I should have pointed out way down here on this far edge,
what I did is I’ve already got all of this true and square and clean and lined up perfectly
so that now as I come down here I can address first this edge of the plaid.
And for the plaid I’m actually going to scissor cut it.
So the first thing I do is I come in here right where the black and the red meet because
that’s the end of the fur.
I took that nip and I’m cutting right along where the red and the black meet like this.
And I’m doing a single layer, right?
So that I didn’t have to stay on that line perfectly.
Later on we’ll be sewing and we’ll be using these lines to our advantage as well.
If you haven’t worked much with this Shannon fur.
And you might, let me stop here because what I was starting to tell you was a story.
But I actually made a little bit of a mistake and we’re just going to point that out because
I don’t want you to be worried about this.
The story I was going to talk about was not being worried too.
So let’s just talk about it right now.
The fur itself, when you cut it and sew with it, it has a nap, it has a texture.
So we have a couple of things and strategies we’re going to do to make things a little
easier to work with.
One of those is a big seam allowance.
I’m going to be taking about a half inch seam allowance today.
So what just happened right here, I’m hoping you can see this is the fur got caught on
my scissor tip because I was thinking, I wasn’t paying attention to my real cut.
I’m paying to cameras over here, right?
And as I started cutting, I nipped into there.
But that’s ok because I’m going to have a big seam allowance so I didn’t panic.
I don’t have to cut everything down.
We’re just going to keep that in place because like I said, what I wanted to talk about is
manipulating these fabrics and working with them together, ok?
So I’ve got a clean edge that is clean here to the top layer of fur.
But the bottom layer of fur wasn’t cut perfectly square either yet.
So now I’m going to take my rotary cutter and my ruler.
And I’m just going to slide.
Now we have to learn to embrace the fur.
Ok, it’s going to be everywhere.
I do like to get all of my big cuts first made.
And then I will come back later and clean up a little bit.
And one of the best ways to clean up is a shop vac or a lint roller.
And cutting along the fuzz.
Now the fur will not keep shedding, it’s just because we cut it.
Now those clips were in place on the fold so that I could then turn and spin so I could
still use my rotary cutting and the mat is running underneath like this right now.
But what I’m also making sure was that everything has stayed as it’s supposed to.
And I could choose to use my selvedges from the plaid or I’m going to choose to cut
them off in case that’s how you want to do it at home.
The big seam allowance allows you to use your selvedges too.
Ok, let’s get this so I have a good starting spot down here.
And again I do a lot of petting, a lot of managing of all the fabric.
And here we go.
I’m putting a lot of pressure on my cut.
And I have a fresh blade in my rotary cutter because I don’t want to be sawing back and
forth at this.
But look it, that cut is looking perfect.
Now as I slide this back up over the table I’ve got those clips.
I’m just going to move it up here really easy.
So a majority of the work in this project actually is the prep work.
Once you have your pieces managed perfect it’s really easy just to go over to the
sewing machine.
So we’re spending all of our time here getting our prep work awesome for us.
Make sure I made that cut all the way through there.
And just another minute we’ll be ready to take a little break here and get that sewing
machine out.
As a matter of fact while I’m finishing this off, why don’t you take a break now
I’ll be back with the sewing machine ready to go.
As you can see we’ve already gotten all of our cut and prep work done on both the
plaid and on the fur.
Can you see the fur flowing around in front of me?
Isn’t that fun?
It’s like it’s snowing in here.
I love it.
Now I picked up a bunch of these tips in both working with the furs but also on Shannon’s
website and in the description below we’ve got some great links to some of Shannon’s
fantastic tips and techniques on using their cuddles and their furs as well.
So one of the things I’m going to be using on my sewing machine is I’m going to use
a walking foot.
The walking foot I’ve got a quick tip out there for you on how to put it on your machine
as well.
But it’s going to help manipulate these looser woven layers as they travel under the
machine together.
I’m also going to be using a stiletto.
I’ll show you how to manipulate the fabrics here pretty quick with that.
But the most important is we want to pin.
And we want to clip our edges of our plaid and our fur together.
So I went right sides together remember I found that fuzzier side to be my right side.
And now I have my fur itself inside.
And I’ve used these wonder clips every few inches to hold all the layers.
Now because there’s a good amount of give on the fur I want my feed dogs to be manipulating
on the plaid side.
The plaid is much more stable.
So as I approach my sewing machine I’m going to take one of the short ends of the rectangle,
right?
Of my throw.
And we’re going to leave about a three inch opening that we can turn all of this back
out or maybe just the width of our hand we’ll call it.
So I’m going to start up here.
I believe I mentioned it earlier we’re going to use about a half inch seam allowance today.
And you can use cotton or polyester threads.
This is not necessarily going to be a real washable project.
It could be if you wanted.
But either cotton or poly, nice and strong for us.
Now as I’m lowering my presser foot I’ve got a seam guide on and I can feel my fabrics
are up against it but I can’t see what’s going on.
So I learned in the first few stitches in working with this llama fur because it’s
got such a beautiful fiber is I am now going to go ahead and manipulate this up and out
of the way with my stiletto while I work.
Ok.
So here we are at our very first stitches.
We’re going to do a couple of stitches forward and a couple stitches back just because we
are using that as our opening.
Now I’m holding my stiletto to hold the fur up and away from the needle and the presser
foot because if this fur falls in here it will stitch itself down and all of a sudden
we’ll get stuck.
So I’m not sewing fast.
I’m just taking every couple of stitches.
And I’m just using that stiletto there to keep the fur from getting caught by the needle
the whole time I’m feeling underneath that this plaid is right up against that edge guide
over there.
And that’s giving me a really nice sewn line.
We just don’t see it at the moment.
Ok and we’re just double checking where we’re at location wise as we ready, coming
into that corner.
Ok so as you can see as we’re coming into that corner and because I have that half inch
seam allowance I want to go ahead and stop.
And then I’m going to pick up and pivot and rotate underneath there.
And I want to make sure that I can see my plaid underneath there too.And the beautiful
thing there is about this fuzz or the fur, fiber is I can actually cheat a little bit.
I can tug and pull a little bit if I need to.
And now that that’s caught up and started there and then my stiletto is back in service.
And I’m just going to keep on going around the corner.
Ok so now as I’m sewing out of this corner I’m going to hit caffeinated mode and go
all the way back around except for that opening about the width of my hand to turn it right
sides out.
So here we go.
Fasten your seat belts.
Ok slowing down out of caffeine mode here I’m getting towards that opening here where
my thumb is is where it is.
And I’m just coming in, still making sure everything is lining up nice and square.
And those pins or wonder clips really helped all that happen.
I’ve got about my one hand’s opening.
If we take a few backstitches there to lock that down.
And now I hope you’re as excited to see this as I am.
But when I’m sewing on thick or layers that move around a bunch, a good habit to do before
we turn it right sides out is to go ahead and flip it over where you can really see
your stitching.
And then I’m just going to check all of my seam allowance to make sure that I didn’t
have something odd happen while I was going all the way around.
So I’m checking, checking just to make sure that I don’t have to flip it back right
sides out.
Excellent, now we’re going to find that opening down here.
And the easiest way is just to stick your hand all the way up into the far top corner,
right?
And I’m not even worrying about trimming these corners or anything like that because
we’re not going to do any topstitching or anything.
We’re going to be completely finished here in just a second.
So now I have that corner.
I’m just unpacking this awesome gift.
And I just love as I’ve said millions of times today how this llama fur feels.
But a lot of I think the character to our simple throw is really the fact that we are
not going to do any other stitching other than closing that opening we made.
I’m not going to topstitch around the outer edge.
I”m not going to quilt.
I’m not going to tack or anything throughout the body of the project because it is the
layers moving within themselves I think that make it so awesome and fun and snuggly.
Ok so we’ve got it all set.
Down here is going to be, try to hold it still for you but I’ve got that last little opening.
So what I’m going to do, I’ve got that white thread still in my machine.
I’m folding that edge under.
And I’m going to sneak it back over to the sewing machine and ever so lightly I’m going
to stitch right along, let me do this like this.
I’m going to stitch, oh that fur is in my way, crazy.
I’m going to stitch right along that little edge, right along in there to get that to
close over.
So I need to make sure both my layers are folded so the right sides are out and the
wrong sides are hidden down in here.
I’m going to slide it back into position here.
And I still have that walking foot on.
So I’m just going to take a couple little stitches, lock them in place.
And we’re just going to go right across that edge to seal it off.
If you need your stiletto close it’s not a bad idea to have that handy.
And a little backstitch.
And you, ladies and gentlemen, have finished an awesome, easy to construct but super easy
to give and receive.
Simple, simple throw using some fantastic fabric.
So I certainly hope you enjoyed this project today on Man Sewing.
I love coming up with simple great gift items because we all know how much we enjoy sharing
the love of sewing.
We’ll see you next time.
Thanks for being a Man Sewing fan.
It’s great to have you out there encouraging me to create fantastic new content.
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