It's the little things...
 

Anybody else have trouble doing small projects?

This year I've made 3 bed sized quilts, one crib sized and I'm working on a throw sized quilt.

The big projects are turning out okay, but I'm having trouble with potholders of all things!

They ought to be the simplest things in the world to do. There's always something wrong with it. It's crooked or points aren't perfect and oh my goodness-the binding! I have no problem binding a quilt but the potholders are a disaster.

I think it's just hard to do little stuff and I need to slow way down and just pin heavily.

What little things are hard for you guys to do?

Don't be so hard on yourself! You might try glue basting the binding on the pot holders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErffI5sWovI
Try these. They are cute and super easy. I love making them, they are addictive!!!! Takes about 5 minutes to make!!

People often make the mistake of thinking small equals easy. I've made a lot of sewn items, and still feel one of the hardest is stuffed animals and doll clothing. You've got so little room for fudging with smaller items, and even one small mistake (like one point off on a potholder) is noticed because it's only one of 8 points, not one of 800 points in the piece.

My husband was making mug rugs and putting the binding on. He ended up measureing the binding and sewing it in a loop first, then sewing it on. It was just too small an area to try seaming the binding after sewing most of it on the mug rug.

this is interesting! how does he get the exact right size before sewing? I know you said he measured, but I always have variance with the corner miters, if the two pieces don't feed evenly, etc. it may be just a little, but that would look bad at the end

Potholders and other small things just really magnify any irregularities that would not be obvious on quilt sized pieces. When I make quilts, I sew the binding on the top with my machine, then turn the binding to the back and machine stitch in the ditch on the front side to catch the binding on the backside. It always looks fine, but when I do pot holders I always end up hand stitching the backside of the binding, muttering all the while since I really don't like to sew by hand LOL! So why oh why did I decide to do potholders and table protectors for Christmas presents this year!!!!!!!!

Guess what I'm doing right now and probably for the rest of the day????

Rob (mutter mutter)

I'm going to keep on making little stuff after a break.

But yeah, there just isn't enough wiggle room. :)

I don't know how I made that quilt for my daughter look like anything decent. (1.5" squares) Must have been all that decorative stitching!

I really have major binding issues though. I tried putting some of the stuff away for a while to see if it would be so noticeable after a few weeks. Nope, still there.

On a brighter note, I think I might be getting the hang of FMQ.

But I still haven't figured out the tension enough to use two different colors for front and back unless I'm quilting something really thick.

I just did a quilt top using paper piecing. I thought I would hate it, but it's really grown on me due to all points matching up nicely. (Morning Stars from Quilters Cache in scrappy blues and whites) Looking forward to the next one already after I get this one done.

Made couple potholders for gifts. Kept them hated how they looked to give. Now I just use them at home. DH likes them because they're so big.

Mind is binding. I still try to do it by hand.

Instead of binding, why don't you sew and turn right side out (I think with quilts, they call it "birthing"). Whip stitch the opening that you use to turn them, do a little quilting, then sew 1/4" from the edge all around. Make a loop and sew it in before you sew the front and back together.

Oh lord yes:rolleyes: I have 6 mug rugs haunting my sleep.

Nope I hear you. I rather do a quilt then a stocking or pot holder.

Oh, I have difficulties with small projects too. Sometimes the smaller pieces are hard for me to handle and they get wonky. I don't worry about it. If it were a project for a show, I might be more concerned. But I don't do that.

I'll have to try the birthing method again.

Haven't done that in a while.

There is one that uses folded fabric that turns into a checkerboard or four patch looking deal. That one is quick as lightning and usually turns out okay if the batting isn't overdone.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sipzCAflJQ8

(How to make a potholder in five minutes.)

I was so just there, decided to make coasters and fabric boxes to put them in them for gifts, got everything cut and ready and thought I'd be done with them long before Thanksgiving, oh goodness, they took forever to get right. I ended up doing the self-binding on them and it worked out much better than struggling with separate binding. Corners will always be fiddly for me but I managed to make them all look presentable. Now my walking foot isn't working so I guess I can take a quilt break until I get another one. shucks

I'm right there with you! regular quilts are no problem, but mug rugs, potholders, and the worse--PURSES are just very hard for all the reasons given--so I try to avoid them if possible.

I love making small things, but they eat up time. The potholders mawluv sent the link for, I have made with squares, they are very nice potholders and make great gifts.

I tried glue basting for the 1st time this week. What a time saving experience. Worked like a charm on a pair of hubby's slacks and on a couple of tea towels I decided to make.

A simple solution is to make them round! They come out great and no fussing with corners at all.

I made eight Christmas mug rugs and though they weren't perfect in my opinion, I told myself it was good practice for FMQ and to improve my machine binding technique... The recipients were sent chocolate and a personal card with their mug rug... so hopefully they weren't too critical of my work. ;)

I thought it was only me with the wonky pot holders! Going to try the method that the video that mawluv posted teaches. Or birthing! Life is too short to stress over the small stuff!!!

I have not tried this method, but it looks like it would work very well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FOUyrERSBc
Fabric Junction has many good videos on youtube.

I do a lot of small projects and working with that crazy bias binding can be a real pain. You're right, you need to slow down a little and pin, pin, pin. I even have smaller pins (about 1-1/4" long) I use and they work very well for these types of projects. Plus, with practice, you'll refine those little things on the project that aren't turning out the way you had hoped. Smaller projects aren't as forgiving as a large quilt. Just have fun with it and enjoy the process.

My potholders are never perfect, I use the blocks that have mistakes or orphan blocks.

Oh, mawluv, you're awesome. I had just spent almost an hour looking for these instructions on line. Gave up to check my email and what do I find but the very directions for which I was looking!

We made these as a project at my quilting group, but I don't know where I put the directions. I had seen a picture of it on Pinterest, but couldn't find it (hence the hour on-line!). Now I've written out the instructions and bookmarked the site. Thank you for this link!

Doll clothes for my grand daughter! I've learned to try to sew everything while it's straight, but those little sleeves are the devil!

I like mckwilter's idea a lot. Also, if you are sure to use bias binding on smaller pieces they are a bit easier to work with. It seems there is just that little bit of extra "give" that lets the binding go on smoother.

I think potholders are hard to make, too.

I have never understood why anyone thinks of them as a "beginner" project.

Men just measure differently. LOL
tim in san jose

And the first thing you do is get spaghetti sauce all over the darn thing. Live with the mistakes.

tim in san jose

Maybe because if it's a total disaster you won't wreck too much fabric?

I always hear talk of them being a beginner's project too.

Anybody who can sew a quilt halfway decent is definitely not a beginner, so when I goof up a "beginner" project it messes with my head. 😄

Let's put things in proper perspective...some people work better on larger projects, and produce great grandous projects. - others truly love the finite work, and really excel at them. I personally get gratification out of all of them. Kudos to everyone...they are works of love. my motto is "It's only thread and fabric, don't let it get the better of you"!