Thursday, April 2, 2015

B is for Bath


Welcome back for "B" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

Today's project was a Christmas present for Collin's grandmother. I never quite know what to make for her, so every year is a bit of a crapshoot.

I saw a photo of a cute patchwork bathmat made from some fabric and a towel a few years back, so I decided to take a spin on that.

Today at EPJ, B is for Bath...more specifically, Bath Mat

I used:

1 full sized bath towel
1 1/4 yard patterned cotton fabric
~ 1/4 yard solid black cotton
Fusible interfacing

The towel allows for absorption of moisture and the whole thing is easily washable.

How I Did It:

I started out by washing all of my fabrics to remove any shrinkage...always a super important step. With that done, I ironed the towel and the cotton fabric, and ironed my black cotton to some sturdy fusible interfacing. I measured my bath towel and cut the cotton fabric to match.

Setting all of my fabric aside, I hopped on the computer, selected a font, and typed out the word "bath". I cut that out on cardstock using my Pazzle. You could just as easily print it out and then cut your lettering by hand. Well...maybe not as easily, but you could still do it that way.


I laid my letters face side down onto the back of the black cotton. I traced the outline of my reverse letters onto the interfacing and then cut my fabric lettering out. Make sure you pay attention to the alignment of your letters when you're doing this step. You want the interfacing to have a mirror image drawn on it so that your cut out wording will be fabric side up.


I lined up the wording on my polka dot fabric, completed a quick press to adhere it, and stitched around the edges with a zigzag stitch to make sure my letters weren't going to go anywhere. Never trust the interfacing, it will deceive you.


After that, it's just like assembling a basic blanket. I pinned the right sides of the towel and the patterned fabric together and sewed 3/4 of the way around the edge. A quick inside out flip and press later, I folded in my non-sewn edge, and top stitched all the way around the mat. A couple of quilting tack downs probably wouldn't have been a bad idea, but I didn't think about that one until it was wrapped and well on it's way to it's Christmas destination. Next time...


Just that easy. All ready to add a little something special to a bathroom floor. I really just like the polka dot fabric. Of course, it's not hard to see that I have a bit of a thing for polka dots if you peek at the blog's background (especially if you know what the old one looked like).

The A to Z extravaganza continues tomorrow with... C!

14 comments:

  1. I am amazed by your talent - if I tried to make something like that it would come out wonky at the least and might kill someone at the worst ;).
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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  2. Oh my goodness, this is adorable. Please come redecorate my house!

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  3. Good tip about taking care regarding the reversal of the letters. I appliqued a reindeer on a Christmas stocking, and my daughter pointed out it was facing the opposite direction from our drawing. I hadn't even noticed. Good thing it didn't matter,,,unlike letters!

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  4. Wow, what a cute project!

    Good luck with the 2015 A to Z Challenge!

    A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy

    http://pensuasion.blogspot.com

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  5. What a great idea. I love all your how-to pics of the bath mat in progress.

    Sunni

    http://sunni-survivinglife.blogspot.com/

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  6. Ah...don't be fooled. I just know to only show those projects which are the least amount of wonky. I've also injured myself several times...in several quite stupid ways.

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  7. I am an awful decorator. I can make stuff. I have no idea how to put it all together. I leave that to my mother. She's amazing with that kind of thing.

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  8. Glad to know I'm not the only one who manages to make funny mistakes when completing a project. I've had to rip stitches several times because I didn't think it through. I still need to practice the old "measure twice, cut once" adage every time I craft.

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  9. Thank you! Thanks for stopping by as well...looking forward to checking out your A to Z!

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  10. Thanks Sunni! I was a little bit better about in-progress pics this time, but I've still noticed a couple where a few extra detailed steps could have been handy.

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  11. So pleased to find another crafter doing the Challenge and it's always so nice to see what others have been making. I couldn't find a way to comment on your letter C post - I think your children's height measures are absolutely fantastic - what super gifts :)

    Special
    Teaching at Pempi’s Palace

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  12. Hi Pempi!! I agree...I love spying on other crafters. :) Thanks so much for visiting. I'll be heading over to see what you're up to for A to Z.

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  13. notimefordiy.netSunday, April 05, 2015

    This is so cute and I know my daughter (also 4!) would love it. Gotta pin this one! You do make it look easy!

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  14. Thanks so much for coming over! I loved this project. I actually just showed it to another 4-year-old niece this evening and she's decided she needs one as well. Apparently it's a must have for all 4-year-old girls. Give it a whirl! I really is a quick project that they love.

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