Tutorial Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Today's tutorial comes to you courtesy of all the good things summer brings, especially camping, roasting marshmallows around the fire, and pitching tents in the woods. I like to call this the Summertime Campfire Shirt, featuring a free firefly embroidery pattern from the So September blog. Some of you may know Corinne's embroidery patterns from her September House shop.

Not only is today's tutorial good for making your own Summertime Campfire Shirt, it's also good for reviving some older shirts that need a little mending or brightening up.

To make your own Summertime Campfire Shirt you'll need:
- a shirt that needs some new life - an 8.5x11-inch piece of muslin or cotton fabric - quilting ruler or ruler from a rotary cutting mat - firefly embroidery pattern from So September - embroidery floss, hoop, scissors, and needles - water soluble marker or pen - iron and ironing board - sewing machine and supplies

Step One: Print out your pattern and transfer to fabric. This particular pattern fits perfectly in a 4-inch hoop.

Step Two: Embroider your pattern. I varied my stitches throughout this pattern with a split stitch for the little branch, stem stitch for the leaves, french knots for the holes on the jar lid, back stitches for the jar, and satin stitch for the fireflies. You can choose any stitches you like and really have fun with it!

Step Three: Using a quilting ruler and cutting mat, measure out one inch away from the design. Use the cutting mat to ensure the line is straight, and mark with a water soluble pen. Repeat on all four sides.

Step Four: Using the 1-inch line as a guide, measure .5 of an inch below the line you created in the previous step. You'll want to measure inward toward the design, and mark this line. Repeat for all four sides. You'll end up with a grid, that I am hoping you can see in the photo above.

Step Five: Using a running stitch, trace the inside line to create a square frame around the main embroidery design.

Step Six: Using a contrasting floss color, use a running stitch on the outer line to further frame the embroidery design.

Step Seven: Lightly press around your embroidery to create a flat even surface. Trim around the edges of the fabric to create a 7.5 by 7.5-inch square.

Step Eight: Fold over the edges of all four sides of the fabric by .5 of an inch and press. Fold this pressed edge over again and press to seal the raw edges.

Step Nine: Take your shirt, and place the fabric where you like. I need to cover this hole I have above my pocket, so I am going to place the embroidered fabric just along the top edge of the pocket.

Once you have your fabric where you like it, pin it in place and sew around the edges.

Step Ten: Clip away the threads, and your Summertime Campfire Shirt is ready for the summer fun!

Hope you enjoy and give this a try!