Quilt Series...Scrapin' w/ Cat "Starfish Trivet"

 Hey quilter's....hope your weekend is off to a good start. My prayers go out to everyone dealing with these crazy storms again across the U.S. The project that I'm sharing today is the completion of my "Coastal Trivets." My recent design of "Sea Turles" and now the "Starfish" complete my set. I had fun playing with my decorative stitches on my machine,,,trying to come up with one to make a "starfish" without being too complicated. I appliqued the background with AURIFIL thread to enhance the "starfish." This project was so much fun that it inspired another design for a gift for my daughter's upcoming birthday. My gifts are "tiny" these day's due to my health situation...so frustrating sewing at a limited time but keeping positive :-) Needless to say they need to be cute, useful & easy to make. If you wish to enlarge the trivet just add more borders. Just remember to allow for larger pieces of backing fabric....batting....stabilizer....and heat n bond lite.  Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

email q's cmhdesigns2@yahoo.com

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Here's all you need...

AURIFIL thread ( 50 #...1126)

Scrap Fabric (Hoffman Batiks)

Lightweight batting

Heat n bond Lite

Sulky Lightweight Stabilizer

Here's all you do...

*Rotaty cut your fabric front piece to  7 1/2 x 7 1/2.

*Rotary Cut batting, back fabric, batting & stabilizer 7 3/4 x 7 3/4

*Rotary Cut Border strips 2 " x 7 1/2, 2 x 9 3/4, 2 x 8 3/4, 2 x 10 1/4

TIP...you can cut strips longer & square up as you go if that's easier for you.

*Using the "Log Cabin Method"...sew with right sides together...using a 1/4" seam allowance the bottom border strip to front design....press....square up & trim....next sew your left strip to front fabric...press, square up & trim....then top border strip....then right border strip sew together all using the same method as above. 

*Using a "real starfish" & a tracing pencil, outline the starfish design on front fabric (I used muslin)

See pic.

*Layer front fabric, batting then stabilizer & applique starfish design as desired. 

TIP...play with your stitch width on your machine using a "scrap piece of fabric to get your desired design" :-)

*For background (water affect) I used the zig zag stich to mimich waves on the sand. 

TIP...I stitched up to the starfish then hopped over it by raising my pressure foot and continueing on other side to keep the lines straight....ONLY trim thread on front up to starfish design. See pic. It's not perfect but this trick helps....

Remember being "Imperfect is Perfect" for me anyway :-)

*Layer your heat n bond lite and backing fabric & pin in place

*Border Strips now become your binding by folding to the back side of design and using the Log Cabin Method...pinning in place as you go. I used the "zig zag stitch" on the front side of trivet. This stitch allows you to catch both front & back sides as you sew. Adjust your width on machine to accomplish this method. 

*Press if needed.

Thats it! You now have another trivet for yourself or give as a sweet gift for any occassion.