Last week we made satin ruffles. This week we'll attach them to a blanket.
As before I'll be sharing some hints and showing you some cool tools to make everything easier.
I must apologize for the crumby photos. Seems your hot shot photographer (that would be me) changed lenses and didn't remember to change it back. Too late for a redo. Aurgh!
Grab your finished ruffle and let's get started!
Start by sewing the finished end of the ruffle (the end you folded back) at the middle of one long side of your blanket top. You will want to be sewing about a pressure foots width from the edge of your fabric.
Use an awl, seam ripper or sharp scissors to guide the ruffle as you sew.
I love Clover's tapered awl for this. It does the job and saves you from sewing your finger into the seam which can be painful and rather messy.
At this point you will be sewing just to the left of your ruffles gathering stitch and want to keep the serged edge of your ruffle even with the edge of your blanket top.
Round the corners as you come to them. Use your awl to scrunch the satin closer together adding extra fullness to the corners.
Keep sewing all the way around until you come to the spot where you started. Overlap by a few inches then take the blanket from the machine. Cut off the extra ruffle (remember last week I told you to make more ruffle than you needed). Unsew the gathering a few inches so you can fold the satin back to create a finished edge. I make all my ruffles this way. It's so much easier than trying to figure out the math on how long your strips should be. Just make extra and cut off the part you don't need.
Easy peasy.
Fold back, pin and sew in place.
Speaking of pins. Here are a few of my favorites. Although I love the little glass head pins for most projects, the flat flower pins on the right are best for pinning the ruffle out of the seams way. The little glass head pins can get lost in the ruffle and all I can say is OUCH when you accidentally find them later.
You need lots of pins for this project.
Pin the ruffle really well so it won't get caught later as you put the backing on.
Here's a Helpful Hint:
Use masking tape to help tame the ruffle. I absolutely hate it when I catch the ruffle in my seam when I sew the back on. Tape helps keep everything in place.
Now we're ready to prepare the backing.
Helpful Hint: Tape the backing with right side up to a table, smoothing and stretching it taunt as you tape.
Put your blanket top with attached ruffle down on top of the backing, right sides together (the ruffle will be between the front and the backing). Be sure that the backing is larger than the top all the way around so the tape doesn't interfere with the pins or get sewn into the seam.
Pin well all around.
Remove tape from the table and sew starting in the center of one long side (not the side where the ends of the ruffle overlapped).
Helpful Hint: Use the edge of your machine foot as a guide. You may need to move your needle position to the left so your stitch will be to the inside of the stitch you are following.
Sew with the top of the blanket facing up. Sew to the inside of the seam you used to attach the ruffle.(I just said that didn't I?, but it's worth repeating).
Leave an opening for turning just big enough to reach into.
Trim off the extra fabric from the corners.
Remove the pins and pull everything inside out.
Remove the masking tape.
Check your beautiful ruffles to make sure everything is perfectomente then pin one more time and top stitch using clear thread and your foot as a guide. Catch the little opening as you topstitch or you can sew it closed by hand.
Helpful Hint: Use your walking foot and a lengthened stitch.
And that's it. You're done. Aren't you proud of your beautiful even ruffles and your professional looking blanket? It really wasn't too bad was it?.
I hope these tutorials have helped you. Please share with us if you have anything to add or have suggestions for additional tutorials.
Encourage one another,
