Happy Mother's Day! Garden path hot water bottle cover.

Spring is trying to spring here in England and it is approaching Mother's Day. 

When I say, trying to spring, there are some pretty bulbs poking their heads up and we are seeing a sprinkling of yellow daffodils, white snowdrops and purple crocuses in the hedgerows. 

But it is invigoratingly cold at the same time and although the sun is out, it's not doing too much to warm the air. 

Enter the hot water bottle cover! This is an oldie but a goodie and very useful to have in the house. My Mum loves hers but the old cover for it is worn out. I thought that the ideal thing for her special day was a pretty new one!

I want to combine the idea of spring flowers and brick garden path so here is the big idea...

This is an easy make and I am using some fabrics from the Lavish collection by Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery fabrics. I will put stockist info at the end of the post for the UK. If you Google AGF anywhere, you will be on the right track.

The back looks nice too!

So what do we need for this practical and useful make?
- a few large scraps or fat 8ths of pretty fabric (Hantex)
-a solid which coordinates nicely
-lining fabric
-2 x Fat qu. #279 80/20 cotton mix wadding (Vlieseline)
-coordinating bias binding. You need a couple of meters to go comfortably around the outer edge and the neck of the hot water bottle cover. I have used Robert Kaufman Essex Yarn Dyed linen in Denim for mine. It gives a beautifully earthy feel to the make.
-Your usual sewing needs including a dual feed foot for your sewing machine.

Before we go any further, here is your template for this make. It is a 1:1 scale and should be 37 cm high and 24 cm wide.

The green line (whole piece) is pattern part A, the pink line (top half) is pattern piece B and the turquoise line (bottom half is pattern piece C.

Begin by cutting 'bricks' from your pretty fabrics. These are 6.5 cm x 13 cm.From your solid, cut some strips 2 cm wide and as long as the fabric.
We will use these whole and then trim the excess off the end each time and then re use the leftover bit. Don't worry, all shall become clear in a sec!

Now we are going to build a brick path and the solid strips will become the grout. Start by taking two of your bricks and a strip of the solid. Sew the strip of solid to one short end of a brick....

Add the other brick to the other side....

Iron and trim the excess.....

This is a completed unit. Use the rest of that strip to join another brick....

When you have three bricks joined together, take another solid strip and attach it to the top.....

Make another row of bricks and put it on top using the long solid strip to join. To begin every second row, cut your 'brick' in half and then they will match to a brick pattern...

Keep going in this way until you have a brick path 3 wide and 4 high  and then turn it ninety degrees like this...

Iron it and lay it onto a piece of untrimmed wadding about 3 cm larger all around and a piece of lining fabric the same size as the wadding. This is your 'quilt sandwich'. This pattern calls for two fat quarters of wadding. This will leave you with a bit left over but it will come in very handy for making some thing else. 

Use a water soluble marker to draw a diagonal grid with lines about 3.5 cm apart if you need to (easier for beginners) otherwise, use the spacer bar on your dual feed foot.

A bit closer look...

Coming back the other way...

Quilt along these lines and then remove the water soluble marker lines. 

Lay your template over the top and cut out (pattern part A)...

The back is a bit simpler, You can make it from two larger bits if you have them or you can go with the brick pattern again. The method is the same. Use pattern Piece 'B' for the top of the back and pattern piece 'C' for the bottom. Cut a piece of wadding and lining just a bit bigger for bother pieces but leave these untrimmed.
  Quilt the wadding to the top fabric on the both top and bottom pattern pieces. I have used a slight variation on the front pattern...

Always do this on untrimmed wadding and backing and then cut it back after you have attached the fabric. This puts paid to any fabric creep. Cut the shapes out...

Bind the straight edges with your chosen bias binding...

Add a label to the top part if you like. You can find the instructions on how to do this in the Tips and Techniques drop down menu. Site the label in the middle of the straight bit of top section, just up from the binding...

Now let's put it all together! Lay the front face down and arrange the back pieces on top of it. Linings should be to linings and there should be a slight overlap on the back pieces (the top overlaps the bottom)...

Sew around the edge to keep it together (I like to do this by hand because you have more control). Leave to top bit open. Trim any daggy bits off too.
Bind with your bias binding; sides first....

And then the neck....

All done! Mum will really appreciate this and it is something that is needed in most cases too. Especially older Mums feel the cold in their feet even if you have central heating and because they usually 'have everything' it is hard to find a gift which will really do the trick for them. 

And the back...

Here is your stockists info too so that you can get some of these lovely bits and pieces for yourself - 
For Art Gallery Fabrics, head over to Hantex. They have a special feature on their website to make it super easy to find a stockist in the UK. You need www.hantex.co.uk/mystockists then follow the prompts.
For Vlieseline, visit  crafts@stockistenquiries.co.uk

Thank you so much for stopping by and a very Happy Mother's Day to all the Mums in our world. Especially Happy Mother's Day to my own lovely Mum :-)  See you all again next time!

Love and hugs
Debs
xxx