Wednesday, February 18, 2015

How to Put a Sleeve on a Wall Hanging-a Better Way!


Have you ever seen a wall hanging that was 
absolutely stunning, except for how the dowel created 
curvey bump in the top?


I have, and it just made me cringe.
Your eye goes toward any change in the plane.
The Devil's in the details, folks! 
Don't slap the last bit together
just to say, "I'm Done!"
We're ALL guilty at some point.

The top photo shows how I start to pin a strip 
across the top edge of my piece. 

Do choose to go right under your binding. 
If your placement is down a few inches, 
you may have floppy corners.
Not pretty.


Lay your dowel rod under your casing, and pin over it. 
You'll create a curve in the casing, and not 
in you beautiful wall hanging.



Because your dowel is round, it has to take up 
space somewhere, and the casing is better than
the front. It should look like this. 
Now hand stitch on.

You'll have a smooth front, 
and no distortion in your work.




Sometimes we toil and sweat, and have Zilch to show 
for it. It's frustrating when you see no tangible 
progress for all your work. I think that's typical 
of work in our daily lives, and is why I enjoy sewing 
so much. At least at the end of a sewing session 
I can say, "See what I made!"


I'm dealing with stacks of homeschooling materials 
that need a new home. In turn, I can finally move 
the bookcases to paint the walls to deal with the 
lighting issues when photographing.
It sounds like, "This is the house that Jack built."
It is!

Meanwhile, we've had sewing at JoAnn's, and 
Marlene gifted Kelly with a handmade treasure
and a matching tote bag. 
Beautiful!


The weather has been horrendous here in Ohio, 
but the Llama Boys don't seem to mind. Misha
doesn't know when to come out of the blizzard...


but seems to be faring the winter much better this year 
in his new barn with windows. They spend hours 
looking out from the inside--


and in through the outside!

If they've been in too long because of the 
cold, you're guaranteed to see the 
Happy Dance when turned out. 
We should all be open to feel such joy! 
In a funk?
Shake it off!


Today I promise to practice
Joy.

Come on, Doxie Girls.
Lots to do.
Little time to sew.
Let's make it count.








5 comments:

Unknown said...

Love your how-to on the backing sleeve-- necessity is, indeed, the 'mother of invention' -- way to go Julie! The 'happy dance' made my morning. I would almost be tempted to go out and sweep the front walks and kick up my booties a bit!?!? lol

kathyinozarks said...

thanks so much for the tutorial-and I really enjoyed the video-smiling for sure--It is blustery cold here in Missouri too today-I am working up some raw wool-teasing-carding-spinning--finally getting better at learning how to draw out my fibers-so am happy dancin here too-enjoy your day
Kathy

Ruth said...

Great video! They look like fun animals!

Kim said...

Great tips on the backing sleeve; thank you. Those Llamas are very sweet. How lucky are they to live in a barn with windows...heaven!!

Barb Neiwert said...

Jumping for joy, it looks like! Nice idea about placing the dowel in the sleeve before you stitch - thanks!