Burlap Babies

What did I do with the burlap from Ellen (Project Haiti)? I discovered I can stencil letters on the burlap for a pretty cute effect.

Quilted toaster cover with burlap addition.

Pairing the right fabric with the burlap is the first hurtle but this leafy print was a natural. I printed out the words on my printer and then made the stencil by laying a piece of plastic over the letters and traced away. Cutting out the interior of the letters wasn't too hard but there were letters that needed part of their center: O, A, and R. The R got snipped out and I tried to paint it out but it just looked too bold so the next test I put a small piece of tape where the center of the R should be, painted, and removed the tape. Worked just fine and you can see the final results above. Any special kind of plastic for the stencil? I used a piece that originally had bacon on it so, you see, you don't need anything very specialized!

Sewing through that many layers was a challenge for the walking foot on the Pfaff 1222 so I had another idea: why not use the serger to sew the bind all in one on the inside with no bias tape edging. It wasn't very difficult but I did have trouble catching all of the edges so one side had to be resewn over 5 times! In the end, the burlap piece was 1/4 inch off, enough to be visible to the naked eye. There was no do-over so I hope its cuteness help in the sale!

I finished up pincushions with burlap, gluing to the jar lids and adding burlap or cluny lace. Here's a mock-up of the display for the craft fair:

Burlap pieced pincushions on jar lids

Only three weeks until the next craft fair so I feel the clock ticking. Progress on the repainting on the Pfaff 130: first coat of clearcoat is on and if it passes inspection decals are next. Yea!