Cozy Christmas Sew Along - Sew Simple Shape Dresden Star Tutorial!!

I LOVE sewing Christmas decorations...

and I LOVE dresdens...

and Six Pointed Stars!

So...

I've been making these little 

Dresden Stars...

do you want to make some too?

YaY!

Grab your Cozy Christmas fabric...

And your B-14 

Sew Simple Shape

My 2 1/2" x 4 1/2"

rectangles leftover from making the 

Cozy Christmas quilt for this sew along 

work perfectly for one star point.

Place the triangle upside down

 and even with the top edge...

 trace down both sides...

Like this.

Cut on your traced line.

Six of these make one cute little dresden.

To sew the point on top

 of each dresden blade...

fold like this with right sides together.

And sew 1/4"...

I like to chain piece mine:)

Open the seam like this 

and give the seam only a little press 

with just the tip of your iron....

Then flip it right side out and use your 

Clover Turning Tool 

and gently push out for a nice point.

Lay out on your design board...

 and stitch them together

 using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Cute!!!

It's super important to

 press your seams open 

so that they will lie nice and flat.

You could make fabric circle centers 

for a more traditional dresden 

if you want and that would be super cute!

But I thought it would be fun to

 use the largest size in my 

Cute Little Buttons

 jar for the centers of these:)

 I made a few more 

because they're so fun!!

After cutting...

 I separated them 

into sets of 6.

And sewed them together!

(This is BEFORE pressing the seams open)

They look like cute little 

Christmas Cookie Stars!

They would make super cute coasters...

all you would need to do is back them with felt or wool...

or appliqué each one on

 a square or a circle:)

I just love these cozy stars...

they're so fun to play with:) 

You could even hang them on your tree! 

I decided to use 5 of them to make a pillow.

I grabbed 16 - 3" squares 

that were leftover from the sew along 

and laid out the pillow like this.

(I sewed one four patch 

using four squares:)

I chose 5 different buttons 

but didn't sew them on yet 

until after appliqué and trimming.

I decided to appliqué mine onto 6" squares...

then I trimmed them down to 5 1/2" using one of my new 

Bee in my Bonnet Trim-It Rulers!

(available in January)

     It's super easy to make sure that

 your star is centered before trimming 

by using the centering lines on the ruler:)

After trimming...

 I sewed each button on

 using the matching

 Aurifloss

I laid it out on the design board and sewed the blocks together.

I had a 20" pillow form on hand

 so I added borders and I love how it turned out!

I hope you enjoyed this "cozy" tutorial 

and are inspired to make some 

of your very own

Cute Little Stars:)

xx

Lori

Cozy Christmas Sew Along - Cozy Bunting Tutorial!!

Good morning and welcome to

 another tutorial during my 

Cozy Christmas Sew Along!

Today I'm showing you how I made my 

#CozyBunting

Once again...

I used the B-14 from my 

Cozy Christmas

Sew Simple Shapes 

for this weeks tutorial.

It's the perfect size for a cute bunting!

You will need two - 4" squares

 of the same print for each bunting piece.

I cut 38 sets... 

for a total of 

38 bunting triangles.

Or you can use two sets of 

Cozy Christmas 5" Stackers:)

I used these plus some of the prints 

in the Cozy Christmas fat eight panels.

I used one 4 yard package of

 1/4" double fold bias tape.

I placed 2 matching prints

 with right sides together like this.

I traced all the way around the

 B-14 Sew Simple Shape 

on one of the squares only 

and then pinned together.

When using the 5" squares ...

I traced in the bottom corner so that 

after sewing and trimming I could 

use the leftover fabric 

for something else:)

Waste not want not!

I sewed on the two traced lines

 down both sides only...

and backstitched where I 

stopped and started on both ends.

I traced the top line even though

 I did not sew on it because 

I cut right on that line after trimming 

so that each bunting piece

 will be exactly the same size...

Just like this.

Again...

I cut right on the top traced line

 but trimmed about

 1/4" past the sewn lines.

I also cut the tip off just a bit:)

I turned each piece right side out 

and used the Clover turning tool

 to gently push out the point.

I pressed it flat...

And trimmed the little triangles

 off on each corner....

Like this.

Now it's ready to sew into the bias tape.

Unfold the bias tape with the short fold on top and place a bunting piece inside.

I left about an 8" tail on each end for tying.

Start sewing on the end of the bias tape...

backstitch when starting and stopping and when you get to each bunting piece...

Sew across the bias tape and the top of each piece at the same time like this.

I sew one piece at a time and then place the next one in and continue sewing. 

I do not find it necessary to pin but you could pin if you wanted:)

Here is what the other side looks like.

I sewed 38 bunting pieces because

 that's how many fit on one 4 yard package of bias tape

 with an approximate 8" tail on each end:)

I love how it turned out and after finishing one 4 yard length ...

I immediately cut more 4" squares to make more!

It's super easy and addicting...

Bunting can be hung anywhere and it

 always makes a fun and festive addition to any decor.

I love it!

It even looks cute on my aqua piano:)

I hope you have fun making your own Cozy Christmas Bunting!

 Add it to your holiday decor and make your home cozy:)

Next time I'll show you something else

 that I made using B-14 Sew Simple Shape 

so stay tuned!

xx

Lori

Cozy Christmas Sew Along - Cute Little Trees Tutorial!!

Good morning cute people...

I'm excited to share a new

 Cozy Christmas tutorial for you:)

Look at these Cute little Trees!

I know we have finished our quilt...

 but I'm having fun making my home

 "Cozy for Christmas" 

and I thought I'd share with you 

some of the things that I'm making.

Today I'm showing you how I made these fun and easy 

Cute Little Trees:)

First I decided to use a mix of these 

Cozy Christmas prints for the tree block backgrounds.

I cut them 5 1/2" square.

I cut 16 of them:)

Then I grabbed these two 

Cozy Christmas 

Sew Simple Shapes

I cut interfacing according to the cutting guide...

4" square for the B-14

and 

2" square for the B-1

I traced the shapes onto the interfacing:)

I chose 16 - 4" squares for the trees...

And paired them up with the background squares.

I chose 16 squares for the trunks.

I had some 2 1/2" squares already so I decided to use them.

Then I paired up the trunks with the trees.

I sewed the trunks like this...

leaving the top open for turning.

I backstitched when I stopped and started.

However...

I sewed all the way around

 the traced lines on the trees like normal. 

I trimmed around my sewn lines...

and cut an "X" in the interfacing only 

on the back of the trees for turning.

And pressed them after turning and shaping.

16 cute little triangles...

For 16 Cute Little Trees:)

Now for the appliqué!

I placed the trunk in the center 1" up from the bottom.

The tree goes in the center

and 3/4" down from the top...

Although I pinned and machine appliquéd all of the trunks first.

I just used white thread and a tiny zig-zag stitch.

Then I went ahead and pinned the trees 

and appliqued them in the same way.

I layed all of the blocks out 

and did a final audition for placement.

At this point it would be a great idea

 to sew one of the larger 

Cute Little Buttons

on top of the tree...

or decorate the tree by sewing 

several of the tiny ones on each one.

I didn't do that yet...

because I ran out of time...lol

but I will probably add them later!

I sewed all of my blocks together like this...

to measure 20 1/2" square at this point

 because each block finishes at 5" square.

I had a 22" pillow form so I added 1 1/2" strip borders

 all the way around and made an envelope pillow back.

I like to use envelope pillow backs a lot  

so that I can easily slip it off the form

and use it as a mini quilt as well.

(and also making it easy to

 sew on the buttons later)

I put in on the sofa in my family room to cozy it up for the holidays...

and added my Cozy Snowman Pillow too!

I hope you have fun making your own 

#CuteLittleTrees

Stay tuned for more 

cozy project tutorials

 because they're coming your way!

xx

Lori