But Aussie Themed
I love receiving handmade gifts – doesn’t everyone? Last year I wasn’t certain I would have the time to make any for family and friends. Particularly since I have to send some of our gifts to Europe – which need to be ready to go by the start of December. So I tried to keep it simple- and made everyone Liberty Hot Pads (Aussie themed)!
I’ve been wanting to try out the Liberty Hot Pads tutorial for a while now. It’s a free tutorial by Purl Soho and gets it’s name from the fabric originally used (Liberty). I’m a big fan of Purl Soho and have made quite a few of their projects in the past. Like my Railroad Tote or Easy Drawstring Bags. They have so many great tutorials – I can highly recommend checking them out if you haven’t already.
As with previous makes the Liberty Hot Pads tutorial is easy to follow – with plenty of photos to help. It’s a great project for sewers of all levels – including beginners. And although you don’t need to, I purchased a Hera marker. Just so I could try it out (and they use it in the tutorial). The Hera marker is a tool that makes a faint line on your fabric. It replaces the need for chalk or a non-permanent marker. I found it quite good, particularly on plain fabric. Not so much on the patterned fabric as the marks were hard to follow.
After making the first set Liberty Hot Pads I made some minor adjustments to the tutorial. The first thing I changed was the overall dimensions of some pattern pieces. This tutorial creates a lot of excess waste so I decided to start with smaller sizes. So less overall waste at the end. I also basted the interfacing/wadding to the bottom fabric pieces to make the quilting step easier.
Don’t be fooled (like me) into thinking this will be a quick make! It may be easy but certainly not quick. The quilting takes a very long time to complete. But once you’ve finished that, the rest of the project comes together nicely. I suppose you could skip the quilting if you really wanted to. But I think the time spent is worth it.
Overall I’m very happy with how my ‘Liberty’ Hot Pads turned out. Although I need more practice at applying the twill tape evenly. Also (after some feedback) I’m going to make any future hot pads with an extra piece of insul-bright. The main thing is; everyone that got one for Christmas loves them. Now I just have to make a set for me!
