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Taste of Asia Placemat
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Supplies Needed:
**1/2
yard solid-colored quilter's
cotton (for borders and back)
**1/4
yard solid-colored quilter's
cotton (for embroidered blocks)
**4 fat quarters (in four
different
colors -- for block borders)
**Small pieces of print
quilter's
cotton (for lotus blocks and
borders)
**Batting or extra-loft
batting
**Medium-weight cutaway
stabilizer
**Temporary spray adhesive
**Air-erase pen (or other
marking
tool)
**Straight edge
**Quilting cutting mat
**Rotary cutter
**Nylon monofilament thread
**Needle and thread for some
hand sewing
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To begin, we will prepare the
fabric for the embroidered
blocks. Using an air-erase pen
(or other marking tool), draw a
5 inch by 5 inch square on
the solid colored fabric
-- leave a couple of inches of
excess fabric around the shape.
Measure and mark the center of
each side of the square by
measuring and dividing by two.
Draw lines to connect the
marks. Where the lines meet is
the exact center of the shape.
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Create paper templates of the
designs by printing them at full
size using embroidery software. If you don't have embroidery
software, you can cut pieces of
paper to the shape and dimensions
of the designs to help with
placement and centering. If
you'd like a recommendation for
an embroidery program that can
make templates, consider Embird
from
www.Embird.com.
Poke a hole in the center of the
first design and align it with
the center point on the fabric.
Make sure the design fits well
within the shape -- there should
be at least 1/2 inch of space
between the edges of the design
and the edges of the shape.
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Remove the template and spray a
piece of medium-weight cutaway
stabilizer with temporary adhesive
and smooth the fabric on top. Hoop
the fabric and stabilizer together
by aligning the marks on the hoop
with the lines on the fabric. Attach
the hoop to the machine and load the
first design. Move the hoop so that
the needle is directly over the
center point on the
fabric. Embroider the design. |
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When the design has finished, cut
out the shape (we did not trim the
stabilizer on the back of the
embroidery).
Repeat the fabric marking, hooping,
and embroidering process for each
embroidered block (we are
embroidering three blocks). |
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Now we will prepare the fabric
for the borders of the
embroidered blocks. For each
block, cut two pieces of print
cotton 1 1/2 inches wide by 5
inches high (for the sides), and
two pieces 7 inches wide by 1
1/2 inches high (for the top and
bottom).
Align the side pieces
with the side edges of the
embroidered square with right
sides facing. Pin in place, and
sew a 1/4 inch seam along the
pinned edges only. We are using
a "walking foot" attachment on
our machine -- this helps prevent
the layers of fabric from
shifting as we sew. Press the
back seams open with an iron.
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Align the top and bottom border
pieces with the top and bottom
edges of the block with right
sides facing. Pin in place, sew a 1/4 inch seam along the
pinned edges, and press the back
seams.
Repeat this process for each
embroidered block. |
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Next,
we will prepare the fabric
pieces for the lotus flower
blocks.
For the background
fabric, cut six squares 1 5/8
inches wide by 1 5/8 inches high. |
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Cut three squares 1 7/8 inches
by 1 7/8 inches. Cut them in
half diagonally (cut from one
corner to the opposite corner), for a total
of six
triangle pieces.
Then, cut the
following pieces for the flower
(we used white fabric)
and the leaf (we used yellow
fabric):
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Flower
--
two squares 1 5/8 inches
wide
by 1 5/8 inches high. Also, two
squares 1 7/8 inches wide by 1
7/8 inches high, cut in half
diagonally.
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Leaf
-- two squares 1 5/8
inches wide by 1 5/8 inches
wide. Also,
one square 1 7/8 inches wide by 1
7/8 inches high, cut in half
diagonally.
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Next, we will assemble the lotus
block row-by-row,
starting with the top row.
Take four of the square
background pieces and align two
of them together with right
sides facing. Pin in place, sew
a 1/4 inch seam along one of the
sides, and press the
seams. Align each of the
remaining squares with the outer raw edges
of the assembled squares, with
right sides facing. Pin in
place, and sew a 1/4 inch seam
along the pinned side edges.
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Press the back seams open. |
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To assemble the second row (from
the top), align one of the
flower triangle pieces with one
of the background triangle
pieces, with right sides facing. Pin in place, and sew a 1/4 inch
seam along the long angled
edge. Press the seam.
Repeat this process for a total
of two flower/background pieces. |
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Align
the two assembled pieces
together with right sides
facing, and the flower and
background pieces aligned. Pin
in place along the side with the
background fabric and sew a 1/4
inch seam along the pinned edge.
Press the seam. |
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Align
two of the background squares
with the raw edges of the
assembled
flower/background piece, with
right sides facing. The colored
flower edges
should be at the bottom. Pin in place, sew a
1/4 inch seam along the pinned
edges, and press the seams. |
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To assemble the third row (from
the top), align two of the
flower squares together with
right sides facing. Pin in
place, sew a 1/4 inch seam along
one of the sides, and press the
seams.
Assemble two finished squares
using two of the flower triangle
pieces and two of the background
triangle pieces just as you did
for the second row. Align the
assembled pieces with the raw
edges of the assembled flower
squares, with right sides facing.
One edge of the flower should
align with the side raw edge and
the other with the top raw edge. Pin in place, sew a 1/4
inch seam along the pinned
side edges, and press the seams.
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To
assemble the bottom row, repeat the
same process you used for the
third row using the leaf pieces
and the remaining background
pieces. |
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Now that all the rows are
complete, it is time to assemble
the block. Place the top row on
top of the second row with right
sides facing. The bottom edge of
the top row should be aligned
with the top edge of the second
row. Align the seams, pin in
place, and sew a 1/4 inch seam
along the top edge only. Press
the seams. |
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Repeat
this process for the third row
and the bottom row: Align the
bottom edge of the previous row
with the top edge of the next
row, with right sides facing. Align
the seams, pin in place,
and sew a 1/4 inch seam along
the pinned edge. |
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To
add the flower detail, spray a
piece of cutaway stabilizer with
adhesive and smooth it on the
back of the block. Using a
straight stitch, sew lines up
and down
starting at the center "v" of
the flower, leaving
about 1/2 inch of space between
the ends of the stitching and
the top edge of the block. Trim
away the excess stabilizer on
the back of the block. |
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Add a border to each block just
as you did for the embroidered
blocks: For each block, cut two
pieces of print cotton 1 1/2
inches wide by 5 inches high
(for the sides) and two pieces
7 inches wide by 1 1/2 inches
high (for the top and bottom).
Repeat the fabric cutting and
sewing process for each lotus
block (we made a total of three
blocks). |
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Now that all of the blocks are
assembled, it is time to
assemble the front panel. Arrange the blocks how you want
them to look. |
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Align
the top left block with the
bottom left block with right
sides facing, and the seams
aligned. Pin in place along the
top edge. Sew a 1/4 inch seam
along the pinned edge only and
press the back seam. |
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Repeat this process with the top
and bottom center blocks and the
top and bottom right blocks. |
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Lay the left blocks flat and
align the center blocks on top
with the right sides facing.
Align the seams and pin in place
along the right edge. Sew a 1/4
inch seam along the pinned edge
only. Press the seams. |
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Align
the right blocks on top of the
center blocks with right sides
facing and seams aligned. Pin in
place, sew a 1/4 inch seam along
the pinned edge, and press the
seams. |
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To prepare the fabric for the
side borders, cut two pieces of
fabric 1 1/2 inches wide by 12
3/4 inches high. Align the side
pieces with the side edges of
the assembled front panel, with
right sides facing. Pin in
place, sew a 1/4 inch seam along
the pinned edges, and press the
seams. |
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To prepare the fabric for the
top and bottom borders, cut two
pieces of fabric 20 inches wide
by 1 1/2 inches high. Align the
top and bottom pieces with the
top and bottom edges of the
assembled front panel, with right
sides facing. Pin in place, sew
a 1/4 inch seam along the pinned
edges, and press the seams. |
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To prepare the fabric for the
back of the placemat, lay the
assembled front panel on top of
the fabric, pin, and cut out the
shape. Also, cut a piece of the
batting just as you did for the
back. Lay the batting flat and
align the back panel on top with
the right side facing up (wrong
side faces batting). Align the
front panel on top of the back
panel with right sides facing
(wrong side of front panel
facing up), and pin all the
layers in place. Sew a 1/4 inch
seam along the top, bottom, and
one side edge -- leave the other
side edge open for turning.
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Turn the placemat right side out
between the front and back
panels (the batting will end up
inside the placemat), and press
the seams. Also, turn the fabric
of the opening in 1/4 inch and
press. |
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Hand-sew the opening closed with
a needle and thread.
With nylon
monofilament in the needle and
matching thread in the bobbin
(thread that matches the back
fabric) quilt through all the
layers by stitching along the
existing seams of the front
panel -- we stitched around the
inner edges of the outer border,
and around the inner and outer
edges of each block. |
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Size: 5.86 x 9.25 (148.8 x 235.0 mm)
Designs in Pack: 6
Price: $12.97
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Size: 4.86 x 6.86 (123.4 x 174.2 mm)
Designs in Pack: 6
Price: $12.97
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Size: 3.86 x 3.87 (98.0 x 98.3 mm)
Designs in Pack: 6
Price: $12.97
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Size: 5.87 x 7.27 (149.1 x 184.7 mm)
Designs in Pack: 6
Price: $12.97
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Size: 4.86 x 6.02 (123.4 x 152.9 mm)
Designs in Pack: 6
Price: $12.97
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Size: 3.87 x 3.85 (98.3 x 97.8 mm)
Designs in Pack: 6
Price: $12.97
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Size: 5.85 x 7.17 (148.6 x 182.1 mm)
Designs in Pack: 8
Price: $14.97
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Size: 4.84 x 5.92 (122.9 x 150.4 mm)
Designs in Pack: 8
Price: $14.97
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Size: 3.87 x 3.85 (98.3 x 97.8 mm)
Designs in Pack: 8
Price: $14.97
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Size: 4.85 x 6.85 (123.2 x 174.0 mm)
Designs in Pack: 7
Price: $9.97
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Size: 3.15 x 3.87 (80.0 x 98.3 mm)
Designs in Pack: 7
Price: $9.97
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