Sweet Summer Sewing: Shannon Fabrics + Aurifil with Amista Baker

Welcome to our second week of our blog series featuring Shannon Fabrics + Aurifil. We are featuring projects handcrafted by both Aurifil Artisans and Shannon Fabrics Ambassadors using Embrace® Double Gauze, Cuddle® Minky, and Aurifil 40wt thread! Today we are thrilled to feature one of our treasured Aurifil Artisans, Amista Baker. Amista joined our Artisan team for 2018 and we have been in awe of her sweet projects and stunning photography. Today, she’ll be sharing a free project featuring both the Embrace® AND the Cuddle® + some delicious colors of our Aurifil 40wt thread.

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Hi there! I’m Amista Baker from Hilltop Custom Designs, a maker and mom from Ohio. Today I want to share with you some super soft little bibs made using Shannon Fabrics Cuddle® (minky), Embrace® (double gauze), and terry cloth along with Aurifil 40wt thread. I’ll be sharing a free pattern and tutorial as well for a reversible minky/terry cloth bib, so keep on reading!

As a mom of three, if there’s one thing I’ve always absolutely loved to make, it’s baby accessories! Shannon Fabrics products are so delicate and soft. They are perfect for babies and toddlers and they make the absolute cutest quilted bibs, teethers, burp cloths, wash cloths, and blankets. There are so many options for boys and girls!

My goal with this guest blog post is to show you all how you can mix & match Embrace®, Cuddle®, and Terry Cloth from Shannon Fabrics in baby accessories for boys and girls alike, and how Aurifil 40wt threads work beautifully with these fabrics

First, download the free bib pattern.You’ll need to print one of each page, cut them out along the lines and tape together at the center.

Supplies needed:

• One 11” x 15” piece of Terry cloth or Embrace® double gauze
• One 11” x 15” piece of Cuddle® minky
• Printed pattern pieces
• Water soluble marking tool
• Pins
• Basic sewing supplies
• Snap set and pliers for snaps or sew-on velcro hook & loop
• Aurifil 40wt Thread

Making a Reversible Bib:

You’ll notice sewing with things like minky and double gauze can sometimes be a bit tricky. Here is a tutorial on making bibs with the template provided, plus some of my favorite tips for working with these products.

• Gently trace your bib pattern using a water soluble pen onto the center of the backside of your 11” x 15” piece of Terry cloth or Embrace® double gauze.
• Lay your Terry cloth or Embrace double gauze onto of a 11” x 15” piece of Cuddle®. Both cuts of fabrics should be right sides facing (traced pattern facing upward). Pin, pin, pin!
• Do not stretch or pull the fabrics. Simply smooth them out with your hands if necessary and pin generously around the entire length of the bib. Using some Aurifil 40wt thread, stitch around the bib using the lines of the bib pattern you drew previously as a guide with a short stitch length (I prefer 2.2 or 2.4). Be sure to leave a 3” opening either along the bottom of the bib for turning right side out. Back stitch at both sides of the opening.
• Trim off excess fabric and cut out your neck hole when finished, leaving a ¼” seam allowance (I promise its easier doing this last!).
• Use pinking shears or regular scissors to make small cuts along your ¼” seam allowance around the length of the bib, especially in curvy areas, taking care not to cut through your stitch line. This makes it much easier to get a nice flat seam when turned.
• Turn right-side out. Once turned, finger press and put a few pins around the perimeter of the bib once more, tucking in the raw edges from the opening inward. Sew around the entire bib using a ⅛” seam and a long stitch length with the same Aurifil 40wt thread. I like to use 3.5 or 4.0 stitch length.
• Attach snaps or sew on velcro to the flaps of the bib to finish off. Use the circle markings on the bib pattern for snaps.

Add some flair!

There are a lot of great ways to make these bibs personalized. You could stitch the child’s name, add a few rows of decorative hand or machine stitching, your own handmade tag, and more!

The Shannon Fabrics Cuddle® (minky) and Embrace® (double gauze) are so luxuriously soft, you’ll love making baby items from these products! I highly recommend you give it a try!

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and free bib pattern! You can catch me @amistabaker on Instagram for daily sewing posts and read my blog at www.hilltopcustomdesigns.com! Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful day!

— Amista Baker

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Thank you SO much to Amista for sharing such a sweet, fun, and easy project! I’m sure we all know some little guy or gal who might love a new bib?

Don’t forget to pop over to the Shannon Fabrics blog on Friday to get a peek at a brand new project by Shannon Fabrics Ambassador Pamela O’Neill.

SCHEDULE
August 10 – Intro
August 15 – Aurifil, Hilary Jordan (By Hilary Jordan & Aurifil Social Media Coordinator)
August 17 – Shannon Fabrics, Jayme Christensen (@findingsweetland)
August 22 – Aurifil, Amista Baker (Hilltop Custom Designs)
August 24 – Shannon Fabrics, Pamela O’Neill (@pamelaon)
August 29 – Aurifil, Faith Essenburg (Sarana Ave)
August 31 – Shannon Fabrics, Colleen Bell (The Embroiderist)

ABOUT AMISTA
Website — Facebook — Instagram

Amista Baker is a wife, a stay-at-home mom to two girls and a boy, and the owner of Hilltop Custom Designs. She began her business in late 2012 by making her very first hand drawn birthday board for her daughter’s first birthday. She posted a photo of it online to her personal Facebook page and soon after, she was getting requests to do boards for other people. To date she has done hand drawn boards for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, birth announcements, inspirational (various types of cancer), nursery wall art, and family wall art.

After getting a lot of local business, she decided there might be a place in the market for her product and went online to set up shop! 🙂 She now make lots of items including digital invitations, banners, cupcake toppers, and more party printables as well as hand sewn baby bibs, burp cloths, quilts, and more!

Amista’s love for quilting didn’t begin until 2014 when she made her very first quilt, a Jelly Roll Racer. It was so fast and easy she immediately became obsessed. She’s now made several quilts for others and for her own family and it is truly a passion of hers. She also enjoys making bags, pouches, and so much more. It is really a stress reliever and something she is truly proud of!