Wedding presents

I have two weddings to attend this summer for people who don't know each other and will never meet, so I am making the same thing for each of them. One asked for placemats and the other already has everything but you can always use some new table linens, so I got fabric enough for two sets and will make them up in one batch.

The younger couple asked for a burgundy colour scheme. Did I ever have trouble finding that colour in the quilting cottons! I was surprised at how little there was of it. After some searching, I found two complimentary prints in a really nice, smooth cotton. It was so nice in fact, I wonder if I should go back and get some of that fabric for myself. I am going to use the larger, abstract "flower" print for the napkins and the smaller print for one side of the placement. I know the main colour is blue but there IS burgundy in the print. I will use the dark, solid burgundy for the other side of the placemats.

For the other couple, I chose green for the opposite side of the placemat but everything else will be the same.

I've already pressed all the napkins, ready for sewing the edges. I'm going to miter the corners. I press over each edge twice, to enfold the raw edge. Then I find the creased corner and stick a pin in it.

Then I open out the pressed edges and fold the corner over on the diagonal, twice, to encase the raw edge.

Then I fold the long edges back in and secure them for now with a pin.

Here's the mitered corner, ready for sewing. I'll use a zipper foot and stitch right along the folded edge on the "wrong" side of the napkin, using off white thread on both upper and bobbin threads. I like doing stuff like this in assembly line style, where I complete all the same steps and then move on to the next thing. After I finish sewing the napkins, I'll rip the other fabrics up into the placemat pieces and get to work on them.

Meanwhile...

I was right - I ran out of seam binding. I have done the entire under-arm seam, both sides of the seam, on one side of the jacket but still have the other (about 2 meters), the hem (about 1.5 m) and sleeve hems to do so I need at least one more package for the jacket and then there's the skirt hem. So tomorrow, I'll be out on my bike, going to my fourth annual mammogram test - I'm telling you, they have GOT to invent a better way! - and on my way home, I'll swing by the store to get 2 more packages.

In the meantime, I thought I'd try again to illustrate the benefit of a clappered (or is it clapped?) seam. (There is no definition for the wooden tool that is the almighty clapper in any online dictionary I have found. I just discovered Wikitionary and now I guess I have to add to it but whatta pain to sign up, etc.) Anyway, these are the underarm seams, put side by side. I have pressed both but only clappered the right one. I can see the difference, so I hope you can too. If you are still straining to tell the difference, the right hand one is a little bit flatter, so the tiny trench formed by the seam is a tiny bit deeper on the left hand one. It may not seem like much but when the entire garment has been carefully pressed like this, it looks more professional than if it wasn't.

Okay, I just went back and made the photo "original" size and Flickr and it really is hard to tell the difference. That big fold in the middle is the entire jacket back folded out of the way, so I am pointing to the seams! Trust me. :)

In the meantime, while I wait to get my seam binding, I ironed and laid out some inexpensive but fun cotton with which I will zip up another of the bike shirts that Peter loves. It's just a plain old shirt pattern with short sleeves but he likes the roomy (capacious, even), breezy style as he commutes to work. I wasn't sure if he'd like these birds but he claims to. I am wondering which way is "up". I think "up" looks like it is on the left but that's the cross grain so I have to choose one of the other ways.