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want to make a tuffet?

5/31/2015

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If you'd like to make your own tuffet but you don't live in Wisconsin or near one of the other tuffet affiliates to take a class, then you can find what you need in my shop. In this post, I'll go over exactly what you'll need to make your tuffet.

1. Tuffet pattern and printed interfacing. This includes the instructions for making the tuffet. It also includes a full set of printed interfacing to make one tuffet. If you want to make more tuffets after the first one, you'll just need the interfacing.

2. Tuffet kit. This includes all of the "innards" of a tuffet. In it you get a wood base (with strategically-drilled holes), four tee nuts, furniture-grade upholstery foam, upholstery batting, a button form, and cording. These are all of the unusual things that aren't going to be readily available at your quilt shop or, really, anywhere else easily accessible. These are things that I generally order many of at one time in order to price them reasonably.

3. Fabric requirements. Oooh! The fun part! It breaks down like this: you really just need 64 strips that are 2 inches wide. You can do that to have every strip different. You can also use 32 strips and have them repeat. This makes a mirror-image tuffet which can be quite striking. My Kaffe Fassett tuffet is like that.
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See the two yellow strips? They are directly opposite from each other.
You can also use a jelly roll. These are quite often 44 strips and they are 2 1/2 inches each. There's no need to trim them; they just produce more waste. Of course, if you use a jelly roll, you will likely end up using half strips, so you'll have some fabric left over. That's okay. Just know that it will happen.

So, aside from your strips for the top, you'll need a fat quarter for the bottom of your tuffet, and a square of about six inches for your button. This is a great time to fussy-cut something.

Also fabric, but not the fun kind, you'll need 1.25 yards of muslin to which to fuse the interfacing.

4. Quilting-related tools. Aside from fabric, you'll also need the following tools that you probably already own: Rotary cutting mat, rotary cutter, sewing machine, thread, an iron and ironing surface, scissors, and straight pins. Additionally, you'll need a 12 inch Add-a-Quarter ruler. I'm thinking of adding these to my shop. Let me know if you think I should.

5. Weirdo upholstery tools and supplies. Here's where you discover the benefit of taking a class versus making a tuffet at home. When I teach classes, I bring things like safety glasses, ear protection, upholstery-grade staplers, staple pullers, pliers, files, hammers, and other tools. I also bring upholstery foam adhesive spray, upholstery thread, staples, and upholstery needles, including a 12-inch upholstery needle. I've also thought about offering those in my store. Any thoughts? [Update: I now offer the 12-inch upholstery needle in my store here.]

Nail heads are an option for finishing the bottom of your tuffet. You don't need them if you are going to glue some sort of trim, or if you don't expect to be showing the bottom of your tuffet much. Many of mine just have staples, but nail heads can be attractive.

6. Feet. I stock many different kinds of feet. Unless you want to set your tuffet on the floor, or you have your own source for feet, you'll want to choose a set.

So, if it's your first tuffet and you can't take a class with me, you'll want to order the pattern (which includes interfacing), the tuffet kit, and a set of feet. If you already have the pattern, then you just need to order the interfacing, tuffet kit, and a set of feet. Nail heads are optional for either situation.

UPDATE: I now offer 12 inch upholstery needles and Add a Quarter rulers in my store, as well as a finished tuffet form. Also check out the Complete Tuffet Kit which includes everything you need except a sewing machine, fabric, an iron, and basic sewing supplies.
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May focus through the prism challenge

5/28/2015

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I've officially completed my Focus Through the Prism Challenge for May! The challenge is through Project Quilting and you can read about it here on the Persimon Dreams blog! There's still time to join in the fun; since there are seven months in total.

To join, you buy a special fabric pack from Cherrywood Fabrics based on the ROYGBIV rainbow. Each month a new inspiration block is announced, and you use one of the fabrics from the bundle, as well as any other fabrics you choose, to make a 20" x 20" quilt. You can use whatever fabrics you'd like, but the quilt should read as whatever your Cherrywood fabric choice is.

May's inspiration block is the Monkey Wrench block. It's an old block that has been around a while and is known by many names. I'm calling my quilt, "Monkey Green, Monkey Do." The tiny Monkey Wrench in the middle is embroidered with perle cotton (it's what I happened to have). The square it's in is only one inch by one inch! I also tried matchstick quilting for the first time. Tedious, to be sure, but it was a small quilt and I love the effect.
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If you're interested in participating in the challenge, head on over to Kim's blog and check it out!
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First madison tuffets

5/27/2015

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My only candid shot because I forgot to bring out my phone. This is the lovely Monica. She's a hoot!
We had a very fun, yet small, tuffet class at Quintessential Quilts in Madison. This shop is so excited about tuffets that they wanted a class right away. So we did! Why wait for the fun, after all?
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Cheryl, Kathy, and Monica. Notice anything unusual?
We had three students, but we sure had a lot of fun! If you haven't been to Quintessential Quilts in Madison and know them as primarily a machine shop, you should stop in -- they're adding lots of fabric and have a beautiful new classroom.
Hmmm. One of these things is not like the other! Well, Cheryl had a very good excuse for not having her tuffet homework done. The day after the first class, she had a new granddaughter! Of course we had to see photos before anything else. If that's not a good excuse to not have your homework done, I don't know what is!

Let's take a closer look at the tuffets.
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Monica's tuffet. Bright and fun! she used lime-colored giant rickrack on the bottom to cover her staples.
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Kathy's tuffet, with calming batiks. The rust/orange button was a perfect pop.
There are lots of other tuffet classes (and other kinds of classes) on my calendar page. If you don't see a class near you, let me know! If you're not near a TuffetSource affiliate and want to make your own, visit my store.
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Quality

5/26/2015

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Let's talk about quality. Wow, it's so important!

The very first quilt I made was out of quilt shop quality fabric. It was a Laurel Burch print with a couple of coordinating blenders that I made into a rail fence quilt during a class at Stitchers Crossing in Madison. This was back in 2003. I even knew who I wanted to give it to: some friends who were expecting a baby. However, I was nervous about quilting it myself. That was part of the class, after all, and I didn't want to mess it up.

I had a great idea. I'd give the top that I made in class to a longarmer to quilt, then I'd make a second top to catch up to where we were in class. So I ran out to Joann's and bought fabric to make that second top. Off went my Laurel Burch top and soon I had sewn the new top out of the Joann's fabric. I brought it to class to finish. It worked out just fine. My teacher didn't even blink, but now that I know better, I bet she was taken aback. Shortly thereafter, I got pregnant myself and we ended up using the Joann's quilt for my daughter.

Well, not really. See, after washing it maybe three or four times, it was already showing wear. The colors were fading. The sparkle that had been in the blue was essentially gone. You could see the wear marks where the seam allowances had been pressed under the fabric. It was awful.

Comparing that to the second (quilt shop quality fabric) quilt I had made shortly after the Joann's quilt, the differences were obvious. She still uses that quilt today and she's almost 11. It's been washed literally hundreds of times -- while she was in diapers, she'd leak every single night. It's finally starting to show some wear, mostly on the binding.

The saddest thing is, both quilts look like they've been used the same amount.

I know fabric is expensive, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to buy high quality fabric. Why would you want to put so much time and effort into something that's not going to last? I look at quilts as either functional or art (of course they can be both, but this is for the sake of making my point). If they're art, I want them to last long enough for my daughter's kids to enjoy them. So I want them to be of high quality materials. If they're functional, I want them to stand up to repeated washings. Again, high quality material.

There are ways to get such fabric without breaking the bank. Several local quilt shops have clearance sections. I love the fabric at Quilt-agious so much that I could buy just about everything in clearance and you wouldn't know it was clearance. Maybe you can't make your whole quilt from the clearance section, but you could certainly get your backing fabric there, and maybe your background or a main print. Massdrop is a great way to get brand new, designer bundles of fabric for a very reasonable price. Join a guild; lots of times people bring in scraps or leftovers from projects they've finished. It can be done.
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Focus through the prism challenge

5/23/2015

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I'm participating in the Focus Through the Prism Challenge featuring Cherrywood Fabrics. It's a seven month challenge and it's based on the ROYGBIV colors -- hence the prism.

Each month features a different block for inspiration. The May block is the monkey wrench block. Here's my top:


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It has to be quilted and bound by the end of the month and for some reason I've decided to do matchstick quilting on it. The question is, what color? Any thoughts?

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Lone star

5/21/2015

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And now for something not related to tuffets and tuffet supplies:

I'm working on a Lone Star quilt for Quilt-agious. I don't know when the class will be scheduled yet, but I'll let you know!

It's based on a QuiltSmart foundation. I love how close the points are. And there are no diamonds to cut or sew; instead it employs a stitch, flip, trim method. The perfect points come from sewing on a line and it's pretty darn near perfect every time.

Because the star is fused into lightweight interfacing, it's stiffer than if it were just fabric. I'm not sure how that will feel in the end. I'll keep this one small to test it out and report back.

I can't decide what to do for the background. I want to make it special. Maybe I'll be able to find ombré or something unsual.

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mukwonago tuffetteers!

5/18/2015

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This past Thursday, four fun ladies in Mukwonago completed their very first tuffets! It was rainy outside, but everything inside Quilt-agious was bright and cheery!
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Students working on their tuffet forms.
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Getting those tops on!
The finished products were just beautiful! Here is everyone holding their pride and joy.
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Such happy tuffets! And happy students!
Let's take a closer look at each one, shall we? I love doing this. They are all so different!

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Cathie's tuffet. She found the perfect button fabric!
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Diane fussy cut an iris for her button.
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Sue used retro fabrics and found a great checkerboard fabric for her button.
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Sue also used fabric glue to cover her staples. I think she is planning to paint her unfinished feet.
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The other Sue used very stately colors (please ignore my slightly wonky camera angle -- her button is dead center).
The Second Sue also used drapery fringe to cover the staples and add a dramatic element. Check this out!
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Congratulations to all of the tuffetteers!
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Tuffet supplies and google

5/13/2015

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Now that I've listed tuffet supplies for sale in my store, I'm trying to figure out how to get Google to recognize it better. I have words (such as "tuffet supplies") set up in my SEO field, but I show up on something like the fourth page in Google, after some of my classes! Aside from having one web page that just says "tuffet supplies" over and over again, is there something I'm missing? If anyone knows more about this, let me know!
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open for business

5/9/2015

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Big news: I officially opened a store on my site! I also opened one on Etsy. In my shop here, you will find supplies for making your own tuffet! I do plan to add more items soon, including skating outfit information. It's a never-ending job! Thanks to all of my friends and my wonderful little family for their support.
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First official tuffet class!

5/3/2015

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My first group of students just finished their first class! They are all staff at Quilt-agious, a wonderful, bright, modern shop in Mukwonago, Wisconsin.

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Here are a few photos of them in action!

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Part of the fun of this class is working together!

Danielle's tuffet is full of golden, geometric elegance.

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Penny is the shop owner. She chose beautiful autumn colors. Her pansy button is so pretty!

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Karen made her tuffet from blues and Browns. I think her button was the perfect fabric choice.

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And last but certainly not least, Kris made hers from brights. Again, the best button fabric! She also chose unfinished feet, which she plans to paint. I can't wait to see them!

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