Featured Fabric: Blank Quilting Corp. Forget Me Not digital collection by Marilyn Lee

Pattern Designed and Sewn by: Elaina Sabado

Make a personalized sewing or quilting room (or both) sign with your name to keep or to give to someone special!

The idea for this entire project was inspired by this beautiful sewing-themed digital fabric collection set in a woodland wonderland with charming Forget-me-not flowers. It features a rather striking and dramatic panel of a vintage sewing machine that I knew I wanted to use. Personalized items are fun to have, make and give, so the idea to combine both was how this project came about. For my sign I used ‘On 5^th Ave’ because that’s the name I sew under.

This tutorial will take you through the steps to make a custom sign for your quilting or sewing space using a quilt panel. The pattern includes all the letters, numbers, words and shapes as a free download below. If you haven’t tried the raw edge fusible appliqué technique this is a fun project to begin with! Appliqué is a great way to make any shape and design you can imagine with fabric. You can embellish, enhance or transform your project -- the sky’s the limit! Using the fusible method is just another way to appliqué that makes it easier and faster with a sewing machine. I hope if you’ve been wanting to try raw edge appliqué you’ll give it a go, it’s very beginner-friendly!

Skills Learned: Raw-edge appliqué

Skill Level: Adventurous Beginner

Finished Size: 41 3/4” x 36 1/4” (1.06m x .92m)

Fabric Requirements:

Blank Quilting Corp. Forget Me Not digital by Marilyn Lee:

• Panel 4287P-30 Tan
• 4282-60 Moss: *for pieced backing only 1 yd or 1 1/2 yd for full backing
• 4285-33 Sienna: appliqués and binding 1/2 yd
• 4286-64 Sage: *for pieced backing 1/2 yd
• 4283-41 Ecru: 1/2 yd
• 4281-75 Blue   6”x 6”

Blank Quilting Corp. Jot Dot:

• 9570-45 Gold

*I pieced my backing for this project using 1 yd of 4282-60 Moss and 1/2 yd (.46m) of 4286-64 Sage.

For a full backing piece, uncut, you will a need 1 1/2 yd (1.37m) cut.

Equipment & Supply List:

• Sewing machine
• Microtex needle 80/12
• Cutting mat
• Rotary cutter
• 6” x 24” quilting ruler
• Lite Steam-a-Seam 2 fusible iron-on or similar product (1 1/3yd you may need more or less depending on how many words and letters you choose.
• Regular or mechanical pencil
• Chaco Marker or erasable marker to use on dark fabric
• Scissors for fabric
• Scissors for paper craft (I use Stitcher scissors by Fiskars for both)
• Matching thread (My pick is Aurifil 50wt 2360 Chocolate)
• Iron with steam or a spray bottle with water to use with iron
• Batting 48”x 42”
• *Isopropyl alcohol to clean off glue from fusible iron-on from needle
• Large flat surface to work that can also be used to iron on.
• Free pattern download

*NOTE: Depending on what fusible you use, you may or may not need to clean your needle with isopropyl alcohol. I have had to use it often in some projects, but I just used a paper towel this time.

1. Let’s get started by preparing our appliqués. There are two types we will be doing. The first ones are the one-layer appliqués like the words, and then there are some layered ones that include the scissors, spools of thread, etc. We’ll do the easier ones first. The free pattern download contains the full alphabet, numbers, words and shapes to customize your sign.

For the words 'sewing' and 'quilting', I couldn’t fit them on letter-size paper, so you will find ‘sew’ and ‘quilt’ on their own pages with ‘ing’ on a separate sheet.  There are lines to match up to make the full word on the arrows indicated. This tutorial will only feature the word ‘sewing’ in the photos. The letters and numbers are reversed to ensure they will read correctly when they are fused to the project. Just pick the combination of letters and words you would like to use and trace them onto the Lite Steam-a-Seam (or your iron-on fusible of choice) with a pencil.

2. Next, go ahead and cut around the lines of words or letters making sure to leave a small margin around the shape. Make sure not to cut on any of the lines yet. We’ll do that after it’s been ironed down.

3. Peel the paper only off the back of the fusible. The front side -- the part you traced on -- should  have the fusible still attached. If part of the adhesive from the fusible is coming off, press the part you just peeled back in place and smooth the area and then try pulling it off again making sure the fusible isn’t coming off. Place your tracing where you would like on the backside of the fabric.

4. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for the iron-on fusible you are using and apply the cut-out shape making sure it is on the back of the fabric.

5. Now, for the cutting part: Since this is raw-edge appliqué and nothing will be turned under, every cut edge will be the final look of your shape. When working with a lot of curves I like to move the fused fabric more than my scissors for smoother and easier cutting. When we’re done with all the letters, numbers and words, we’ll set those aside and move on to the other shapes and some that are layered appliqués.

6. For the layered appliqués on pages 9 and 10 of the pattern download.  I have lettered the template pieces alphabetically in the order which they will be placed first, from the bottom to the top.

Here’s a reference for all the finished appliqué shapes:

7. Yay, it’s almost time to stick on all our appliqués! It’s best to work on a flat surface where you don’t have to move the project around to use an iron and risk dropping and losing your work and some pieces in transit (I’ve done it). You could slide something like a wool mat underneath the section you are going to iron to protect the surface, or something similar.

It’s a good idea to iron the panel to remove any wrinkles or creases before we start. This will also make it easier to get an accurate, even placement when we lay out our letters and shapes. We need to mark the center and make a vertical line using a Chaco marker or whatever you prefer that is erasable. Then, we’ll make horizontal lines across the panel where you would like your name, words and shapes placed as well. I used the inner black line that’s printed on the perimeter of the panel to find the center and help measure and get the lines straight.

8. Now, we can start figuring out how the sign will look! I used the centerline to help me gauge how even I thought thinks looked and to line up some of the shapes in the center. But place them however you like. Here is a simpler version, just words:

I had fun experimenting with some different layouts and went with this one. Notice how I layered some pieces on top of the others. I chose a fabric with a print for the letters so in some places there isn’t as high a contrast as others. That was just a design choice. If you really want the letters to stand out, using a solid or blender is a great option.

Once you have placed everything the way you want it you can iron all the pieces in place.

9. Now for the sewing! A Microtex needle is great for applique and is what I use for most of my sewing. Depending on what fusible you use, the needle may tend to get gummed up. Cleaning it with isopropyl alcohol is helpful. There are now nonstick needles on the market but I have yet to try them. Some seem to really like them. I found the Lite Steam-a-Seam to have a minimal amount of adhesive and was able to easily clean it with a paper towel. I went with contrasting color of thread (Aurifil 50wt 2360).

You’ll be sewing around all the edges of the appliqué shapes. Sew about 1/8” from the edge and use a small straight stitch length of 1.5mm as it will be easier to maneuver around curves and have a smoother, more even stitch.

Begin by dropping your needle in the shape you want to sew and stitch slowly, trying to maintain that 1/8” seam allowance from the cut edge of the appliqué. Go around the entire perimeter of the shape until you reach back to where you started and go over the first stitches to complete a solid line of stitching around the shape. No need to back stitch. When you have gone about 3/4”of an inch of the beginning stitches you can cut the thread ends as close as you can. You are done with that shape. Begin and finish each section of stitching around all your shapes. This will take a while. Go slowly and keep the needle down when you stop or pivot as needed to make it easier to have even stitching. Try and make sure that the areas you are stitching down are smooth and aren’t puckering before you stitch over them as those won’t iron out. My stitches are far from perfect as you can see from the close-up pictures so don’t worry if it goes a bit wonky. The more you sew the easier it will get!

10. So, that sewing down the appliqués took some time. But now you're done and you can add a border to frame the edges of our panel sign. Depending on how much appliqué and thread has been applied you’ll probably find that your panel is now uneven or has shrunk some in spots where it’s been sewn. That’s totally normal. Let’s iron it again so we can straighten and even out the edges. You can trim to any size you like but the measurements for the border and finishing the rest of the project are based on the measurements below.

I trimmed mine to:  38 1/4” x 32 1/4”

For the borders strips cut: 2 1/2”x 38 1/4” twice for the top and bottom

and 2 1/2”x 37 3/4” twice for the sides

You will be cutting selvage to selvage as pictured.

11. Make a half fold line and crease just edge of the panel on all four sides. Do the same to the cut strips and match the fold on the centerlines of each side as you pin them.

12. On a flat surface, pin all borders to the panel on a flat surface and sew them on with a ¼” seam allowance

13. Press the borders after attaching them.  I almost forgot to put the “i” in sewing so I’ll have to do that!

14. Now to prepare the backing. I’m doing a pieced backing using one full yard and 1/2 yard sewn together as pictured, using a 1/2” seam allowance. For a full backing, use 1 1/2 yards. Press the seam allowance to one side.

15. Quilt and bind as desired. I chose an all over free-motion stipple pattern. For the binding strips, I went with 2 1/2” binding from fabric 4285-33 Sienna. Made 4 cuts from the width of fabric (selvage to selvage) at  2 1/2” wide.

Yay! We’re all finished! Thanks so much for reading my first tutorial and please be sure to tag us with your makes we would love to see them!

Learn more about Elaina here