Charity Sewing Continues

 Even though we can't get together at the library, the charity sewing group continues to work on projects.  These days they are kind of social distanced drop-off-completed/pickup-supplies-for-next-round in the library parking lot affairs.  The past few go arounds we have been doing baby quilts for local newborns.

Photo one, above, is towards the end.  But I figured I'd do a quick run through on what is involved.  It's a fairly quick process and Pam, our lead, gives us a really detailed instruction sheet.

The quilt packages come with precut fabric strips.  A 6 1/2" center for the top.  Four 3 1/2" side strips, a piece of backing fabric and a piece of batting.

The process starts by ironing a center line lengthways down the 6 1/2" center piece and and the batting, then stitching the center to the batting, right side up.

Yeah, this is where I was using the 401 with less than stellar results.  Coincidently today on the Vintage Singers mailing list someone posted a question about 401/403 tension and how to get it perfect.  Bill Holman (who is to Singer maintenance what Tom Brady is to quarterbacking - see that, a Superbowl reference) responded that:

"In theory, they told us to set the tensions so that the straight stitch was at its best on 3, and the ZZ best at 5. But each instance was still an individual one, and in most instances, there was no way to get the ZZ stitch to lock equally on both sides. Fortunately, there are very few instances where this is important in actual use."

I'm glad to know it wasn't just me.  Again, a big 'thanks' to Bill.  And yes the stitches weren't horrible, but I still hate seeing any unbalanced stitches.

Next, stitch the first 3 1/2" strip to the 6 1/2" strip, right sides together using a 1/4" seam allowance.

And yes that is the Goodwill 15-91 nickel plated machine.  Just because I received a machine a week ago, doesn't mean it gets any downtime.  Once it is making good stitches, it goes into the rotation. (Well other than 66s which don't see quite as much use.)

Next, the second 3 1/2" strip is attached to the first.  I align mine so there they have lots of contrast between the light and dark strips to keep little eyes entertained, something I remember from when our oldest was born.  Babies don't care about things colors clashing, but lots of contrasts engages them.

For anyone keeping track, that is the 1949 221 that I had posted on for sale Craigslist a couple years back.  Darnit, it didn't sale after one try and now I HAVE to keep it. Oh well, we all make sacrifices in life.

The next step is one I think doesn't get stressed enough.  Before ironing the seams open, first you need to set them.  That means ironing everything flat so those lock stitches are creased together before you stress them apart by opening the seam.

That's for every seam on everything you sew.  And don't be gentle.  This is a battle of the wills, a beatdown with the iron.  You want that thread to know that if it every tries to slip out of place you will be there and three pounds of hot steaming metal to show it who is boss once again.  No lightweight wiggling of the iron on it.  Get your weight behind it and press!

After crushing the spirit of the stitches, press the seams open.

Again, don't just brush the iron over the seams, Press those puppies flat.

Then lay the quilt top and batting face up, place the back piece face down on it and pin it all together.

Trim the whole sandwich down to 18 1/2" x 24 1/2" (more or less).

Stitch the layers together with a 1/4" seam allowance. Leaving a 6" gap at the bottom for bagging out.

Press those stitches!  Trim the corners to reduce bulk and bag out.

For getting nice pointed corners everyone has their favorite technique.  Mine is to use a semi-sharpened chop stick.  Not too much of a point, but not completely dull either.

Once everything it turned and nicely pointed.  Roll the seams between your fingers until you can see the stitches then pin them in place so you have a sharp edge all the way around.  Roll and tuck the gap to also give a straight edge.

Stitch a boarder around the entire quilt.  The instructions call for 1/4", but I really want to make sure that I don't miss the edges of the turned in opening so I do mine at 1/8".  And honestly running a 1/8" seam allowance is much easier on the old machines than a 1/4".  Just keep it lined up with the small toe of the presser foot.

After that the finishing touches are stitching in the ditch between each of the front strips.  I start each stitch near the middle of seam to avoid pushing bulk down the entire length of the quilt and ending up with bumps at the end.  Then just snip off all the loose thread ends and give it one last hard press.

Voila! A finished baby quilt.  Now just do that four more times and it's a good day.

Tomorrow?  Well I'm caught up on quilts and not sure when our next drop off is, so tomorrow it's re-lining a pair of my wife's vintage slacks.

Oh! one last thing. I've had this for a couple of years now but have never really mentioned it.  I can not give enough praise to the Reliable 320lb 2-in-1 ironing board.

It was a Christmas present a couple of years ago.  Prior to the Reliable I had a nice, but kind of aging board that I got in the UK back in the early 80s and it was nearing the end of its useful life.

This Reliable is a beast.  Even without the extension on it (I haven't gotten around to putting it on), the main board area is 18x24" before it begins to taper in.  Large enough to use as a temporary work space.  Which I've had to do off and on for the past year since the wife is teaching her college courses from our dining room table and it's off-limits to me during the school term.

The Reliable also has a great iron storage pan, with a nice cable routing cut out and a small rack below for storing lightweight stuff, like extra fabric.  The lower rack can be flipped up out of the way when not needed.

I'm not certain if the 320lb has ever been tested by anyone, but I have pushed down hard enough when pressing to lift a foot off the ground and this thing hasn't budged.  

They aren't cheap, but by gosh I'd be hard pressed to say it isn't worth the price.