Sewing Cover Mat and Tutorial - Sew Chatty for Riley Blake Designs

Hi Friends,

I hope you are all well and taking care of your family and selves. I decided to do my first tutorial for you all since we are all home caring for our kiddos (and husbands ha!), cooking, cleaning, teaching, and I hope you are squeezing in some sewing/crafting time for your souls too. 

Sew Chatty by Kelli Fannin for Riley Blake Designs is stinking cute and is a must have for our fabric collection friends! Perfect fabric for sewing rooms or sewing gifts! Kelli designs the cutest, Kawaii quilt patterns and she has translated that work into Sew Chatty. Check out her blog too, it's absolutely adorable!

When I first saw Sew Chatty, I knew I had to make a sewing mat. It was screaming at me "make me into a mat please". So, I obliged and turned it into a mat but of course I had to add my twist to it and make it into a cover as well, making it serve double duty! This is a pretty easy project and will give you some well needed hand sewing time with the hexie panel.

Here's what I made:

Sew Chatty is out now, so check out your favorite quilt shop or online to see if they stock it. 

Okay, let's get started with the tutorial! 

** Note: I based the measurements of the sewing mat on my machine - Bernina B350. You can adjust the measurements for your own sewing machines to your liking. Use a 1/4 inch stitch unless noted otherwise. Basting stitch uses a a 3/16 inch stitch (or the farthest to the right of your sewing machine). Also, sorry for the bad lighting. It's been crazy raining here in SoCal. 


Materials

• Duck Cloth (or heavy weight cotton in a neutral color)
• Quilt Batting (I ran out and only had insul brite batting, that's why it's silver)
• Sew Chatty Fabric (or fabric you have on hand)
• Clear Vinyl
• Bias Tape - 4 yards (or a package and a half)
• Hexie Paper

Measurements

• Cut the duck cloth, quilt batting, and cotton fabric to 19 x  29 1/2 inches
• Cut the vinyl fabric to 19 x 8 inches
• Cut one strip of bias tape to 20 1/2 inches
• 2-inch hexagon template, for a total of 24 hexagon shapes

Instructions

1. Create 24 hexagons and sew them into two long columns. When  finished piecing, take the papers out, and pin to the right side of the duck cloth, using a 3 1/2 gap from the right. Sew in place and trim any excess hexagons. Set aside. 

2. Using baste spray, baste the cotton fabric to the quilt batting. Create 1-inch quilt lines and quilt entire panel.

3. To create the vinyl pocket, attach the bias tape to the top edge of the vinyl. Sew in place. 

Attach the binded vinyl to the bottom of the quilted cotton panel. Clip in place and baste. Mark the center of the panel and sew down the center of the clear vinyl to create a pocket. From the center, space 4 1/2 inches to the left and sew a vertical line along the vinyl. Repeat for the right side. If you want, you can place the pockets wherever you feel your tools and notions will be placed.

• Tip - Place a piece of paper underneath the vinyl  (but not directly underneath the sewing area or you will sew the paper in place) just to left edge of your sewing foot. This will prevent the vinyl from sticking. You can also use a vinyl sewing foot if you have one.

4. Now, take the quilted panel and face it down (with the under side facing up). Place the duck cloth panel facing up on top. So both right sides are facing out. Clip in place and baste around the edges. At this point, you can trim the piece if it's a bit wonky.

5. Clip the binding to the edges and sew in place. You are done!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I will be making more soon, so please follow me on Instagram or check back sometime! Take care!

Karen