Piped Pin Keep
“Another Quickie with Tammie”
Finished size/dimension: approximately 6” wide by 3” deep
Adapted from technique by Rosanne Campisi’s “Mrs. King’s Gallery Baskets” DVD
¼ yard cotton fabric… choose based on colors in fabric, not print design
40 wt. thread – variegated is fun, either to compliment or contrast with your fabric
Sewing machine capable of 5mm width stitching, the zig-zag stitch & needle repositioning
1 – 3cm HandBEHG Felts ball
9 – 2cm HandBEHG Felts balls
5 yards cotton clothesline cord
Fabri-Tac glue
Open toe foot
Zipper foot
Microtex 90/14 machine needles
Utility scissors
Ballpoint awl
Flower head or corsage pin
6” length of yarn or narrow ribbon
From cotton fabric, cut 4 – 2” strips selvedge to selvedge. Trim selvedge ends off. Using a straight stitch, center needle position and a stitch length of 2.0, piece strips together end to end with ¼” seam allowance.
To create piping, use a zipper foot, needle in the left-most position and a straight stitch length of 2.0. Tuck cotton cord into the lengthwise fold of the fabric strip and sew as close to the cord as you can without sewing through the cord. Use your awl to groom the cord in place and keep your fingers away from the machine needle. Sew all the way to the end of the fabric. Now trim away the fabric, about 1/16” from the sewing line, careful not to cut your stitching.
At one end of the piping, open the seam about an inch by trimming it off. Turn the fabric back away from the cord and cut away ½” of the exposed cord. Sparingly daub the glue on the back side of the fabric and fold the fabric back over the cord end to create a neat, covered end. Working on a flat surface with the raw edge of the piping facing up, bend the tip on itself to the left, secure with a dot of glue, then wrap the cord clockwise around the center (the free end of the cord should be to the right of your coil), gluing sparingly as you go just to the left of the seam. Continue to coil the cord, keeping the raw edge up, until you have about a 2½” coil, keeping it flat, and secure with a corsage pin. Leave this to dry for a few minutes.
Now with your machine set to straight stitch with the open toe foot, center needle position, a 3.0 stitch length and needle-down position AND with raw edges facing up, begin at the center of the coil to sew straight out to the edge. Sew slowly, you may need to walk the needle using the hand wheel of your machine… this is THICK sewing. Stop needle down at the edge of the coil, lift the presser foot, pivot 180° and sew back to the center. Continue sewing straight out to the other edge then turn and come back to center. Pivot 90° and sew out to the sides and then pivot 45° and sew between the previous lines sewn, in the same way. You are sewing a starburst or an asterisk… this will secure the base of your bowl. Remove pin, if you haven’t already done so, and tie the ribbon to the cord just where it is free from coil. This will mark the place where you can change angles in your bowl construction to build the sides consistently.
Set your machine to the zigzag stitch (a triple zigzag works best if your machine has that stitch) using the open toe foot, a stitch length of 1.2 and a stitch width of 5.5. With the raw edges facing up, begin zigzagging about ½” before the free cord (which should still be on the right), turning the coil base, and keeping it flat, as you go. Keep the needle centered between the coil base and the free cord you’re attaching so that the needle hits both as it goes back and forth. Once you do two revolutions and you’re back at the ribbon marker, with your left hand, lift the base about 45° and continue zigzagging, always making sure that your raw edge stays up on top. If you want a steeper side to your bowl, lift the base to a higher angle, but make the change at the ribbon point. Sew all the way to the end of your piping, leaving 2” loose.
At the end of your cord, carefully trim away JUST an inch of the piping stitches to reveal the cord and then pull back the fabric. Take a deep angled cut of the bare cord, apply a thin coat of glue to the folded back fabric and the underside of the trimmed cord, flip the fabric back over the cord and press (with your fingers) the cord back in place. Secure with the corsage pin to dry for a few minutes, then continue to zigzag stitch the end in place.
Squeeze a quarter-size dollop of glue in the center of your bowl base and place a 3cm ball on it. Then squeeze more glue in a ring around that ball, at the base, and press the 2cm balls around it to create what looks like a flower. Allow the glue to dry overnight, and TA-DA!... you have your own unique pin cushion made with wool balls which will condition your needles as you use it!!
Tammie Clarke 2012©
