I actually did it - I finished my first needleroll for the Monthly Finishing Challenge. The chart can be found here. I have to say I probably wouldn't have tried making one for quite some time; they looked so daunting, especially the hemstitching. I forced myself into doing something new by signing up for the challenge (even though you don't have to do every one, I figured I might as well see what I could learn to do). I used the clear as a bell tutorial that was posted by Anne S. and she made it so easy to follow that I had very little trouble doing it. I even enjoyed the hemstitching process. Not that this needleroll is perfect by any means, in fact, I have some tips for anyone making a needleroll for the first time. You can learn from my experience!DOs and DON'Ts for Making a Needleroll:
DO: Make sure you leave enough fabric on the sides of your design so that your needleroll has adequate width to it (see title of this post for the reason why).
DO: Stitch along the edges of your linen first so that you don't lose a good 1/2 inch of fabric on either side due to fraying (see post title again).
DO: Take special care to line up your hemstitching properly along where you will make the French seam, so that the hemstitching on either side meets in the middle properly (at least the seam is in the back).DON'T: Use your 30 year old sewing machine that can't handle tension correctly (the only tension you'll have is your own!)
DON'T: Forget that you don't have any polyfill so you have to cut up lots of tiny pieces of batting with which to stuff your needleroll.
DON'T: Let your son burst into the house from outside leaving the door open, causing your dog to escape and run crazy around the neighborhood, interrupting your finishing for far too long while you chase him.
If you can follow all these instructions, you'll have yourself a needleroll!
I'm not the only stitcher who made their first needleroll for the challenge - take a look at Kim's gorgeous creation, which she designed herself using motifs from some favorite designers. Isn't it beautiful?
I wonder what challenge will be next...
15 comments:
It's gorgeous Michele!!! I love it! There is nothing wrong with it being long and skinny (I wish I were! haha!). And thanks for the shout out! I'm blusing :)
That's lovely! And kudos to you for challenging yourself. Hemstitching is kind of intimidating until you do it once or twice and get a rythm going. Congratulations!
Congratulations, Michele, it looks great!!
Congratulations on your finish! It looks great.
Greetings, Carolien
I love your needleroll Michele! It is beautiful and I think you did a fantastic job.
"Have you lost weight?" is almost always a compliment, so your slender little needleroll should be feeling pretty good about itself right now. :-)
Great work!
Fabulous job Michele!!! Love the design and your finishing looks fantastic!!!
If I manage to get to this then I will keep all your hints in mind...especially the boy/dog bit-x2, LOL!!!
Great job! Looks fantastic. Bettter than the ones I have done. None.
Keep up the great work!!!
I'm so impressed! Long and skinny is great and this turned out lovely! You should be very proud of it!
You did GOOD :) Congratulations!!
You're braver than I...way to go! It looks great and I'll remember your advice when I go to make my first needleroll someday.
I think you did great! Congratulations!
Job well done!!! I did laugh at your post, esp thinking about your dog running around!!!
In a pinch, you can always use quilt batt -- just roll it up & stitck it inside. It works for me.
Enjoy the day : )
Thank you SO much for your dear comment on my post today about the JA design. Wouldn't it be neat to see Jane Austen 'see' it - how fun it would be!
Enjoy your day.
Tanya
It's a wonderful needleroll, congratulations!
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