Welcome back to the Rainbow Quilt Block of the Month designed by Janome Maker Carolina Oneto!  This month you will make the Eccentric Star Block! This Block is very fun and beautiful!

Carolina’s block is made in lovely calm colors!

Remember that all the blocks will have a finished size of 12” so that means the unfinished size will be 12 1/2”

Fabrics:

White background

• - Two 5 1/4” square
• - One 3 1/4” square

Light blue

• - Two 5 1/4” square
• - Two 3” square

Dark blue

• - Two 5 1/4” square

INSTRUCTIONS

Make Half Square Triangles (HST)

Do this process with the 4 white squares of 5 1/4 ”and the two squares of the same size of the light blue and the dark blue fabric. You will assemble 8 half-square triangles that you must square up to the size of 4 1/2".

Press the seams and trim the block down to 4.5 inches square.

CENTRAL SQUARE

For this square you will use the 3 1/4 ”white square and the two 3” light blue squares.

FINAL ASSEMBLY

• Arrange your blocks in correct layout
• Using a quarter inch seam allowance, sew together in rows. Join all rows, using a quarter inch seam allowance.
• Press your completed block and trim down to 12.5″ square (if necessary).

And that’s all!

I hope you enjoy this new block! And don’t forget to share it! 

Making your own handbags is a great way to be able to customize your look no matter what the season or occasion! 

Janome Maker Trish from Trish Stitched designed a new pattern just for you to start your bag-making journey! This DIY crossbody bag is perfect for those gorgeous large-scale fabrics but can also just a fab as an ophan quilt blocks bag! By using this pattern, it is your bag and your rules!

YOU WILL NEED:

- Upholstery or Heavy Weight Cotton (Exterior)
- Quilting Cotton (Lining & Pockets)
- (2x) D-ring (3/4")
- (1x) slide buckle (3/4")
- (1x) Tongue Lock Close (or similar closure)
- (1x) 7” Metal Zipper

Interfacing optional: Apply to the wrong side of the fabric. Lightweight iron-on Interfacing on the lining pieces and heavyweight iron-on interfacing on the exterior pieces. (For heavier weight fabrics, no interfacing needed on straps and strap pieces)

EXTERIOR FABRIC

Cut 1 of each
- Body: 18" x 11.5”
- Flap: 9” x 6.5”
- Strap: 58” x 2”
- Strap Piece: 6” x 2”

LINING FABRIC

Cut 1 of each
- Body: 18" x 11.5”
- Flap: 9” x 6.5”

POCKET FABRIC

Cut 2
- Pockets: 9” x 7”

(Strap Notes: Fabric not long enough? Cut 2 pieces 29" x 2" and sew together)

Create Back Zipper Pocket

Stitch open end of zip together on machine or by hand. Mark zipper placement (7" x 3/8" rectangle, centered) on wrong side of one pocket piece 1 1/2” down. Draw a line in the center of your rectangle with two small V’s on the ends.
Place right sides of back pocket piece and exterior bag back piece together so your rectangle is 2” down from top. Stitch exterior rectangle. Cut center line of rectangle open, and cut into corners of the V’s. Cut close but not through stitching. Feed pocket through to wrong side. Press pocket.
Line up zipper with the pocket opening. You can use hem tape or pins to keep the zipper in place. Stich around the zipper, securing zipper in place. With right sides together, sew pocket pieces together to finish the pocket.

Sew Bag Body Together

With right sides together, fold front and back of the bag together and sew bag sides. Press side seams open and folds each bag bottom to form a corner. Mark a line 2" long. Sew and trim seamline. Repeat steps for bag lining pieces.

Make Front Flap & Bag Strap

On one long side of flap pieces, curve two corners. Stitch right sides of flap lining and exterior together, leaving the non-curved long end open. (Draw curve for easier stitching). Clip curves and turn right sides out. Press and topstitch flap. Take the strap and press both long and short edges in ¼”. Fold and press long sides in half.
Stitch all the way around the strap, and repeat for strap piece. Cut strap piece in half, making two equal strap pieces. Feed each strap piece through a D-ring and clip or pin raw edges together.

Finish Bag Body

Line up center of strap piece with the side of the bag. (I stitched 1/2" down from the raw edge of strap piece to make my strap piece shorter, but this is up to you!) Baste bag flap to bag back, right sides together,  and side straps to sides of the bag, right sides together.
With right sides together, sew bag lining to exterior, matching seams. Leave a 4" gap free in the front of bag. Turn bag right side out, pushing corners out and pushing lining into the bag. Press.
Following hardware instructions, attach tongue lock. On bag front, my tongue lock attached 3 3/4" down from edge. Topstitch bag closed. TIP: If your strap pieces are thick, hammer them before top stitching to reduce bulk while sewing.
Take finished end of strap and feed through center of slide buckle leaving roughly 1 1/2” free. Stitch down. With wrong side of strap facing up, feed other  end of strap through bag D-ring. Feed the strap through the slide buckle. Continue to feed the strap through the remaining D-ring. Sew end of strap down.

Enjoy Your New Bag!

Father's Day comes at a great time of year for the dad that enjoys fishing and a summer fishing trip with a new fishing pole-carrying bag makes a perfect and relaxing afternoon.

Janome Maker Heidi Proffetty has just what the Fishing Dad in your life will treasure! A free tutorial for a fishing pole bag using her Janome Continental M7!  Not only does the carrying bag sew up in a jiffy, but the fabric is also made from is waxed canvas which is both durable and water-resistant. You can also customize this bag. Make alterations to the overall length to fit Dad’s specific fishing pole length and change the bag’s accent panel to give it that extra special touch. Give him something he will love using the rest of this summer and beyond. 

Skill Level: Beginner 

Makes: 1 Fishing Pole Bag 

Dimensions: 48” Length x 10” Width

Time: 1 ½ hours

Before You Begin: 

Measure the fishing pole’s length and width around the reel (if the reel is attached). This will determine your specific dimensions and the amount of fabric that you will need for this project. This project is suited for a lightweight, freshwater, 4.6” to 5” fishing pole with an approximate 10” diameter (attached) reel. 

Project Supplies:

1 ½ yards of waxed cotton canvas fabric, Color: Moss

½ yard novelty upholstery or canvas fabric, Pattern: Fishing

24” x 1 ½” webbing or belt strapping 

20” piece of cording and a cord stop

2 – 2” x 3” twill patches

General color matching sewing thread for construction

Scissors

Fabric marking chalk pen (light colored)

Cutting mat, rotary cutter & ruler

Mini clips (not pins)

Compass

Glue Stick

Janome Continental M7, Overcasting M foot & HP foot & plate

Part 1 – Cut Fabric

Use your rotary cutter, cutting mat, and ruler. 

1. Cut 1 – 35 ½” x 12 ½” piece of waxed fabric

2. Cut 1 – 5 ½” x 12 ½” piece of waxed fabric

3. Cut 1 – 10 ½” x 12 ½” piece of novelty fishing fabric

Part 2 – Sewing Instructions

Set your sewing machine up with the Overcasting M Foot (or serger). Use mini clips to hold the right sides of the fabric together at each end. Position the novelty fabric so that the fabric is facing in the upright direction (not upside down) to the top section of the bag.

On the outside of the bag, using the fabric marking chalk pen, mark a center indications at 1 ½”, 6 ½”, and 24” down from the top edge of the bag. Next, draw a vertical centering line from 1 ½” mark to the 24” mark. 

The 6 ½” mark will be the guideline for the top edge of the shoulder strap and the 24” mark will be the guideline for the bottom edge of the shoulder strap.

On the wrong side of bag, use a glue stick to temporarily secure a twill patches to both ends where the strap will be sewn . The patches provide extra support for any tugging on the shoulder strap.

Using a chalk pen, mark indications on the strap, 2 ½” down from the top and bottom edges.

Fold the strap under a ½” at each end, sew the strap onto the right side of the bag at the 6 ½” & 24” markings you made. 

To securely hold the strap to the bag, stitch on top of the strap around all 4 sides creating a box. Stitching close to the outer edges. Inside the stitched box, mark an X from corner to corner. Then stitch on top of the X markings you made. Repeat this for each end of the strap.

Trim the excess fabric around twill patches close to stitching but be careful not to cut bag’s fabric.

For neat inside seams, serge or fold the raw edges ¼” under twice. Using mini clips to hold folded edges in place. Then sew close to the folded edge. 

To create the casing for drawstring at top of the bag, fold the fabric under twice ½”. Then sew close to the folded edge, creating an opening for the cording to pass through.

Place right sides of the bag together, hold edges secure using mini clips, and tucking the strap inside the bag out of the way. Starting approximately 4 ½” from the top edge of the casing (top of bag), backstitch, then stitch (or serge) down the side seam or edge of the bag. This closes the bag and will create a long tube with a 4 ½’ opening at the top.

Use a compass to mark and cut a 2” diameter circle from a leftover piece of waxed canvas. Fold the circle in quarters and mark to create temporary alignment markings.

Starting at the seam on the bag, mark 4 (90 degrees) cross indications around inside bottom edge of the tube. Using the 4 cross markings on the cut circle to align with the markings on the inside bottom of the tube. Use mini clips and attach the cut circle to the tube aligning bottom edges evenly. Using HP Foot and HP plate (or your preferred sewing foot) to sew ¼” around inside bottom edge.

Part 4 – Finishing the Bag

Turn the bag right sides out.

Using a safety pin attached to one end of the cording, work the cord through the casing. Add a cord lock and tie a secure knot at the end. Add a dab of glue to the cord ends to keep them from unraveling. 

Now this fishing pole carrying bag is ready to go on Dad’s next fishing trip!

Happy Sewing and Happy Father’s Day!

Heidi

www.heidi@heidiproffetty.com