Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Patchwork pinkeeps tutorial

Many of you are like me in that you enjoy doing various types of needlework. One of the fun things we can do is to combine various types of needlework together. I wanted to share this idea of making a pinkeep, which most of us are used to as a way to finish cross stitching, by adapting it to use patchwork.


For this example, I took it a step further and used a crazy quilt block so I was able to combine some embroidery too.


Take a piece of muslin and draw a crazy quilt block on the fabric with pencil. These are your sewing lines and if you enlarge this photo, you should be able to see my own lines. Be sure to make the outside lines of this block to aide you when doing your decorative stitching. Since these stitches and some beads are bulky, you will have to be sure you do not continue past these lines to make sewing your pinkeep together easier. These lines are the exact size the pinkeep will become and are shown with bold pencil marks where I would be making decorative stitching on a sewn seam.

If you feel uncomfortable with creating your own crazy quilt design, use one from a book or free online site.


To help with the bulk of the various layers of fabric, I have left a bit larger seam than normal. Once the block is sewn, it is helpful to sew a basting line around the outer edge of the block. This helps keep the fabrics well in place when you come to sew the front over your matting board. Have fun with stitching on the block but stay within your lines of space marking the front view of the pinkeep.

For patchwork, simply sew the block, again being sure to leave a wider seam around the finished block than normal.

We are now ready to put the pinkeep together. This is done using the same method as with a stitched pinkeep and my tutorial can be found here .

The finished pinkeep is a unique piece and has a vintage look.


And for those redwork fans, why not try using a piece of your redwork stitching? I hope this might inspire you to try out some new ways to make a pinkeep.

21 comments:

Solstitches said...

Heidi, this pinkeep is so gorgeous.
Nery romantic looking and just right for Valentines Day.
Thanks os much for the tutorial.
I only tried CQ once and my first attempt ended up in the bin :(
I think I need a good tutorial on how to actually make a decent block first.

Anonymous said...

joli!!!!!
hugs
françoise

Rhondi said...

Hi Heidi That pinkeep is just lovely. So elegant and romantic looking. You do geat work! Hope you are having a greeat day. Rhondi

Nancy said...

Very pretty Heidi. Isn't it fun to combine different techniques? I love the look of crazy quilting.

Anonymous said...

This is really pretty - thanks so much for sharing!

Nancy said...

Heidi, I think this is one of your best. It is soooo you. Love it.
Love you too, Mom

CONNIE W said...

This is so inspirational. Crazy patch is on my to-do-one-day list. Yours are lovely.

Ginny said...

What a lovely idea! I can see using machine embroidery test stitchouts, or leftover pieces of heirloom lace, just for starters. Thanks for sharing.

Carolien said...

What fun this is, Heidi! I can see you doing that on that rainy day like yesterday ... It looks lovely and what an idea to do this with some leftover fabrics, for example.
Thanks for sharing!

Have a nice day!(The weather is much better, tada! But of course you are right: the plants do need some rain ...)

Hugs, Carolien

Karen said...

Wow Heidi this pinkeep is gorgeous. I love all of the different elements to it. Thanks for sharing :)

Hugs - Karen

Kristen said...

OMG! Only you can do something so random and make it look soooo beautiful! Maybe in the coming year I will try to make some more time to try my hand at stitching a bit! :) BEAUTIFUL, it really is!!!! My favorite yet!

Christine said...

Inspired is right!! Wow. I'm going to try one. Thanks Heidi for showing us the way. You really should be writing craft books. I have tons of books and I have to say your things are better than the things in a lot of my books.

Inger said...

This pinkeep was abslutely lovely. It is my first visit at your blog, and you have a lot of beautiful work. Have a nice week.

Anonymous said...

Very pretty, Heidi! ~ Lynda xo

Dani - tkdchick said...

How beautiful!

Fete et Fleur said...

Hi Heidi! The pinkeep is wonderful!! I love the vintage look of it.

Thanks so much for visiting me and your comment on the shoes. Yes! They would look great on one of your trees.

Blessings! Nancy

Angela said...

Heidi, this really is delightful. I love the different textures and techniques. Your make everything very clear and easy to understand and make us ALL look like professionals :>)
Many many thanks, Angela

Sweet Cottage Dreams said...

Dear sweet Heidi ~ Another amazing creation of yours! Ok, that's it, I am sewing today! ~~ LOVE the choice of fabrics and embroidery. This is sure to be an heirloom someday. It is just so pretty and very old fashioned looking!

Hope all is great over there in Holland. Hugs to you and Dagi!

xo
Becky

Anonymous said...

Heidi,

Thanks for letting browse your nice blog today.

I think this vintage pin keep is the neatest project!! You did a very nice job.

-Julie

Yuko said...

Hi Heidi, this pinkeep is absolutely wonderful!
It's so sweet and also romantic looking, and I love your finishing as well!
Thank you so much for the wonderful tutorial, I would like to try to make one or few when I have enough time!

Yuko

Rhondi said...

Heidi
I've read this before but as I was looking through some of these older posts I just had to tell you again how precious this liitle pinkeep is. Your work is so beautiful and so detailed. I love all you do! Rhondi xo