Tutorial for New "Krazy Kats" Candle Mat - Part 1 of 2

My newest design is well underway, called "Krazy Kats", for a 15-inch candle mat I'm making in both 100% wool and also with National Nonwovens Woolfelt (a wool/rayon blend that looks and acts a lot like 100% wool). You'll find that National Nonwovens Woolfelt is inexpensive, comes in many wonderful colors and is ready to use as-is (it won’t fray).  You can usually find both regular 100% wool (hand or factory dyed) and National Nonwovens Woolfelt at your local fabric or quilt shop and in many places on the internet.  However, If you don't enjoy shopping for wool or would rather have everything in one place, I'll also be offering a kit next week on this blog and through my website at www.americanpiedesigns.com,

I promised a tutorial for "Krazy Kats" while I'm developing the full pattern, and I wanted to get you started with how easy and fun this candle mat is to make.  Unfortunately, you might not get away with making just one when your in-laws see how cute your alley cats turn out!  So let's begin . . .

Photo of Unfinished Candle Mat

Here's How it Looks on the Drawing Board!

Step 1 - The Scalloped Background

In the pattern I'm releasing next week, you'll find a template for the scalloped background pieces you'll make for the front and back of your candle mat.  The first step in creating your mat is to trace the scalloped template onto the non-shiny side of common freezer paper you can find in your grocery store.  We use freezer paper because (1) it's cheap and readily available, (2) we can iron it to our wool or Woolfelt and it won't leave a sticky residue, and (3) it stabilizes the wool while you cut out your templates.

Place the freezer paper against your wool or Woolfelt with the shiny side facing the wool and iron it to your wool with a fairly hot iron:

With a pair of sharp scissors, cut out your background piece along the traced lines and then peel away the freezer paper to reveal your perfect background piece.  Repeat for the back of the candle mat and then set these pieces aside for now.  Remember not to worry, because the freezer paper peels away without leaving any residue on your wool!

Step 2 - Let's Make Some Cats!

The full paper pattern will also supply you with all the templates you need to make the cats and their little friends, the mice and birds. Remember, if you don't enjoy shopping for wool or would rather have everything in one place, I'll also be offering a kit next week with all the National Nonwovens Woolfelt you'll need to create your own candle mat.

As with the scalloped background, you'll just need to trace those templates onto the non-shiny side of freezer paper and then cut them out with sharp scissors.  The following photo shows you what your freezer paper looks like when it is ironed to the wool.  Again, the freezer paper will easily peel away and won't leave a residue!

 Step 3 - Arranging the Pieces on the Background

Once you are done cutting out all the pieces, just peel the freezer paper away and position them on the background.  In my pattern, I will provide a full-color photograph of the finished candle mat, as well as a master diagram so you can see how to easily position your template pieces. Some are small (like the eyes and noses), so if you are like me this will be the most time-consuming part of completing your candle mat, but it's still fun!

When you are satisfied with the layout, we'll use washable fabric glue to temporarily tack the pieces into place.  If you make a mistake, remove the template piece and dab it with a warm washcloth to remove the glue.

Looks Hard, But It's Simple!

You can see by now that by breaking this candle mat down into simple steps, it makes it very easy to complete your own candle mat that will look adorable on your table or china hutch.  And remember not to panic if you're no good at picking colors or if you don't want to shop for your own wool or Woolfelt, because the kit will be available next week too!

Step 4 - What's Coming Up Next . . .

Here's how our candle mat looks so far. In Part 2 of my Tutorial, I show you how to embellish and finish your candle mat with simple stitches, and we'll add the eyes, face details and some other surprises along the way.  And I do mean the stitches will be simple!  If you've never done embroidery stitches before like the blanket stitch or the french knot, my pattern will have very complete details on how to do these stitches, along with diagrams so you can get them just right.

I hope you've enjoyed Part 1 of my tutorial for "Krazy Kats".  Stay tuned for the final Part 2 coming in a couple of days and for the pattern and kit release next week.  Please leave me a post if you have any questions or if there is something you would like to see added to this tutorial.  In the meantime, have a great week, and Happy Stitchin'!  xoxo--Melanie

For Rug Hookers: "What the Heck is a #8 Cut" (and Other Musings of a Beginner Rug Hooker)

When I first started rug hooking, I remember being confused by the "cuts" referred to for wool strips. The cuts refer to the width of a wool strip.  Since I don't have a mathematical mind and never successfully committed the cuts to memory, I keep this handy chart posted on a bulletin board in my workshop:

#2 Cut	2/32-inch	1/16-inch
#3 Cut	3/32-inch
#4 Cut	4/32-inch	1/8-inch
#5 Cut	5/32-inch
#6 Cut	6/32-inch
#7 Cut	7/32-inch
#8 Cut	8/32-inch	1/4-inch
#9 Cut	12/32-inch	3/8-inch
#10 Cut	16/32-inch	1/2-Inch

The most common width used by beginning and experienced rug hookers alike is the #8 cut, which is 1/4" wide. This cut is often used for folk-art-style or primitive pieces because it is an easy width to work with on the hook and you can fill the canvas in a reasonable amount of time.  To this day, the #8 cut remains my favorite width and the one I use most often in my patterns:

If you are creating a very primitive rug, I suggest you use a #9 or #10 wool strip.  Primitive rugs are charming in that they don't have a lot of fine detail and they are fun to hook because the canvas fills quickly. And last, for a finely-shaded rug, I recommend you use a #2, #3 or #4 cut.  These cuts are very thin and allow you to hook a great deal of shading and detail into your piece.

How Long Should You Cut Your Strips?  The length of your strips does not have to be absolute.  For me, it often depends on how big the piece of wool is that I am working with (obviously I can't get an 18" strip from a 12"x12" piece of wool). Conventional lengths are 16" to 18", but I have worked with strips from 26" to 30" long. The thing to keep in mind is short strips must be ended and started more often (which allows you to build more color/shading variations into your rug) and long strips let you hook longer without stopping and starting (alas, less color/shading variations). Remember, there are no right or wrong choices here and the rug police are not watching.  Just grab your hook and go!

Speaking of Hooks . . .  There are many types of hooks available and you might be confused as to what to choose.  Very generally speaking, if you are working with a fine cut of wool, say a #2 or #3 cut, I recommend you use a fine-tipped hook like the ones you see below. They have a small shaft and you can grab the wool strip easily with the small head:

For primitive pieces using a #9 or #10 cut (up to 1/2" wide), you might choose a hook something like the ones you see in the lower-left-hand-side of the picture below.  These types of hooks allow you to grab the wool and pull the loops up through your canvas with a minimum amount of effort:

However, my all-time favorite hooks are bent hooks.  Like most people, I started with a straight hook and held it like a pencil.  Unfortunately, I noticed lots of strain in my wrist and my arm would tire easily.  First, I changed to "palming" my hook, meaning I held the hook as one would grip a bicycle handle so the top of my clenched hand was facing up toward me.  And then finally, I combined the palming method with the use of a bent hook, as the bend naturally lessens the amount of work my wrist and arm has to do:

I hope this information helps you with understanding cuts and hook choices.  Next week, in addition to showing the beginning tutorials for a new wool applique candle mat pattern, I'll post a guide on how to figure how much wool you need for your rug hooking projects.  Please feel free to post a comment or just let me know how you're doing!  In the meantime, Happy Stitchin'!  xoxo--Melanie

I'm Having a ONE-DAY FLASH SALE!

Just a quick post today to announce my ONE-DAY FLASH SALE FOR 15% OFF EVERYTHING ON MY WEBSITE!  The sale begins when the clock ticks to February 22, 2013, in your part of the world and ends when the clock moves to February 23, 2013!  This is a special FLASH SALE that's good on all my patterns and kits, so if there's something you've been wanting, this is a good time to take advantage!

To participate, visit my website at www.americanpiedesigns.com and add the items you want to your shopping cart.  During checkout, enter the special code below and you will automatically receive 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER!

If you don't want to check out through my website, just email me at melanie@americanpiedesigns.com and I'll personally arrange for your discount.

That's it for today (I'll have a longer post tomorrow).  In the meantime, Happy Stitchin'!  xoxo--Melanie

My Spring Gift: FREE Images for Scrapbooking, Greeting Cards, Baby Clothes, Etc!

Your loyalty and friendship is so important to me I thought I would post some of my favorite spring and Easter images as my spring gift to you! To the best of my knowledge,  these images were created during the late 1800's or early 1900's and are copyright free and in the public domain.  That means you can share them, use them for scrapbooking, transfer them to children's t-shirts and other clothing and use them for greeting cards and other projects.  If these images are not high enough resolution for your projects, just email me at melanie@americanpiedesigns.com and I'll be happy to send you the images in high-resolution format so they will print and transfer nicely!

These first three images were created by Beatrix Potter for her Tales of Peter Rabbit children's books in the early 1900s.  I think these images would be darling on a baby's bib or onesie.  I love the the use of simple springtime colors in these pics . . .

These next two images are collages of old greeting cards or trade cards I collected from the late 1800's(?).  If you email me, I can send you these collages in better resolution so you can cut, paste and print them as you like for your projects.  I think these would make wonderful scrapbooking images or cards to send to friends . . .

The last two images I have for today are from old greeting cards.  Again, I think they would be great for scrapbooking or for your own greeting cards to send to family and friends . . .

Don't Forget my "2013 Spring Contest" on Facebook!

Even though winter is still hovering in my neck of the woods here in Idaho, it's still time for three things: First,  it's time for a new contest, second, it's time to show off your creativity, and third, it's time to look forward to EASTER and SPRING!  I couldn't think of a better way to combine all those wonderful things than to start my "2013 Spring Contest", and I encourage you to enter. The winner will receive a bundle containing FOUR beautiful pieces of hand-dyed wool (each piece is approximately 6-7" wide and 16-18" long), and they are in wonderful butternut browns . . .

Just email me a picture of your favorite SPRING or EASTER-THEMED project you personally made (it does not have to be your own pattern and it can be hooked rugs, quilts, dolls, painted items, etc). I'll post it to my Facebook page, tally up all the "LIKES" or "COMMENTS" on each photo, and ANNOUNCE THE WINNER ON MARCH 25!  To see the current entries, just visit my "2013 Spring Contest" on my Facebook album page at www.facebook.com/americanpiedesigns.com. Enter and win some wool!

THE AMERICAN PIE BIRTHDAY CLUB HAS CHANGED! 

Remember the great benefits you'll get when you join, including an instant 10% off coupon when you join, and here's the new details:

• It's free to join (always and forever).
• You get an INSTANT COUPON FOR 10% OFF everything on my website.
• When your birthday time comes around, you'll receive a SPECIAL COUPON GOOD FOR 15% OFF all during your birthday month.
• You are automatically entered in current and future contest to WIN FREE PATTERNS AND OTHER PRIZES!
• You are always FIRST TO KNOW when new patterns are available so you can take advantage of special sales and discounts.

Just click here, enter your name and email address (yes, it's confidential) and in a few seconds you'll be a member.  I hope you'll join!

That's it for today!  I'm sorry for this short post, but I promised I would get these images to you in time for your spring projects.  Later today, I'm beginning work in earnest on a new candle mat design that I will post pictures and tutorials of during progress.  In the meantime, Happy Stitchin'!  xoxo--Melanie