A Prayer for 2025

Devotion for the week...

Happy New Year to you and yours! As has become my tradition, I'm letting the apostle Paul speak for me for the last devotion of the year. This is my prayer for you for 2025.

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen" (Ephesians 3:16-21).

Stay Cozy Cushions (and Tutorial)

I've had it in my mind to play with bias tape outlining applique shapes for a while, and I finally got around to trying it! I love how it looks!

This was my first time making my own bias tape, and I wrote a post about that. I'm thinking now about other ways I can use bias tape, and which colour I should make next 🤔

I designed this Stay Cozy cushion specifically for doing this with bias tape, but after putting the bias tape around the first one I thought it would be fun to do a 'This or That' post on social media, asking people if they prefer with the outline or without. The results were pretty mixed. On Facebook, 57% liked it better with the bias tape trim. On Instagram, only 35% preferred with the trim. Also on Instagram, there were people voting both ways who suggested maybe using a lighter colour for the trim or trimming with a blanket stitch instead.

I had a second cushion front with the applique pieces already fused on, so I decided to switch it up and do a blanket stitch with black thread for that one.

Which do you like better? 

Personally, I love them both! I love the bold line of the bias tape, which reminds me of cartoons for some reason. I also love the softer look of the blanket stitch.

Want to make your own Stay Cozy cushions or mini quilt? Download the applique templates here, then follow this tutorial.

You'll need

• background fabric
• red fabrics for the letters and mittens
• white fabric for the mitten cuffs
• fusible product like Heat 'n Bond or Lite Steam a Seam 2
• black ¼" single fold bias tape (optional)
• thread to match the applique fabrics and bias tape, if you're using it
• scrap of fabric for the back of the cushion front (this won't be seen)
• batting approximately 15" square
• red fabric for the back of the cushion
• 14" cushion insert

Cut your fabrics

I cut my background pieces at 14 ½". I changed my mind after the quilting, though, and trimmed it ¼" on all sides to make it 14", so the cushion would look more full. You can go with either for your cushion. If you go with 14 ½", you'll need to cut your cushion back pieces 14 ½" wide as well.

Background - cut 114" square

Scrap for back of cushion front - cut 115" square (this will not be seen)

Red fabric for cushion back - cut 2 14" x 10" rectangles

Make the cushion front

This is why I keep small bits of Heat 'n Bond cut off from larger projects! They were just right for these small letters! Follow the manufacturer's instructions to trace and fuse the letters to the back of one red fabric.

Since the letters are small, I found enough pieces of this print in my red scrap box to get all the letters for both cushions. I love having my scraps sorted by colour so I can easily find what I need! If you'd like to get your own scraps organized the way that will work best for the types of quilts you like to make, download my Escape Scrap Overwhelm guide.

I played around with a couple of different arrangements before settling on having the words staggered in the bottom left part of the cushion.

Following the manufacturer's instructions, fuse the letters to the right side of the cushion front. I used the edge of a piece of paper as a guide to keep my letters level. I'm terrible at eyeballing that sort of thing!

Again following the manufacturer's instructions, trace and fuse the mitten templates to the other red fabric and the mitten cuff templates to the white fabric. Arrange the mittens and cuffs on the background, then fuse them in place.

If you're using bias tape to outline your shapes, carefully pin it in place. You could maybe also glue it in place, but I haven't tried that. I did each mitten in two section, first the body of the mitten, then the cuff. When pinning the bias tape around the cuffs, be sure to cover the ends of the bias tape around the body of the mittens. I overlapped the end of the bias tape around the cuffs slightly, and stitched across the end to secure it.

Stitch about ⅛" from the sides of the bias tape, using matching thread. I found it helpful to reduce the speed of my machine so it was stitching very slowly.

If you're not using bias tape, stitch around the applique shapes using a blanket stitch. You can use black thread for a contrasting outline or match the thread to your fabrics for a less noticeable trim. For my blanket stitch, I set the width at 4.5 and the length at 3.5.

Layer the cushion front with the batting and the scrap of fabric for the back, then baste them together.

I did the same quilting on both cushions. First, I quilted the letters in matching Aurifil 50wt thread. I often like to stitch my applique shapes down with the quilting, so I'm only stitching around them once. Work smarter, not harder, right? I use my free motion foot for this, so I don't have to keep turning the quilt top, but you could also use your walking foot.

I used white Aurifil to quilt around the outline of the mittens, then I did a meander with loops and snowflakes in the background. Since the cushion fronts are so small, it didn't take long at all to quilt them. I left the mittens unquilted.

Once the quilting is finished, trim the excess batting and backing even with the cushion front.

Fold one long edge of each backing rectangle ¼" to the wrong side and press. Fold it over and press again to enclose the raw edge. Using matching thread, stitch ⅛" from the fold to secure it. 

Lay the cushion front on your table, right side up. Lay one backing rectangle on top, right side down and with the folded edge towards the middle of the cushion. I layered the bottom piece on first, which means the bottom is the outside piece when the cushion cover is turned right side out. Honestly, that looks upside down to me 😆 If you'd rather have the top piece as the outside one, put the top piece on first.

Lay the second backing rectangle on top, also right side down and with the folded edge towards the middle of the cushion. The two backing rectangles will overlap. 

Clip all the way around the edge, then stitch with a ¼" seam, backstitching at the beginning and end. Carefully trim the corners just past the stitching. 

Turn the cushion cover right side out through the opening in the back. Put the cushion insert in the cushion cover and you're done!

I managed to get the labels on both cushions to be right side up this time, unlike the cushions I made last Christmas. The bias tape cushion was gifted for my book club gift exchange before I even finished the second cushion, and the second one is for me 😊

Don't forget to enter your email address in the form above to get the link to download the templates to make your own Stay Cozy cushion! If you make one and share it on social media, tag me so I can see it 😊

First Foray into Bias Tape Making

Note, products for this post were given to me by Clover for review. All opinions are my own.

I've been quilting since January 1997 (that'll be 28 years in a couple of days 😯), but this is the first time I've ever made my own bias tape. It's not the first time I've used bias tape; I used pre-made bias tape for the binding of my first quilt. You can read about how that went here.

I have a few different ideas in mind for using bias tape now, though, so when Clover offered to send me some notions to review, I jumped at the chance. I requested bias tape makers in the ½" and ¼" sizes, along with a pair of Bordeaux scissors. All three ended up being used for this first go at making bias tape.

First, I followed this tutorial to make the strips for the bias tape, starting with an 18" square. It worked really well, except the tutorial doesn't mention that you have to offset the lines when pinning, not match them up, to account for the seam allowance. Thankfully, I realized that after only sewing a few inches, so I didn't have to rip out much. Once I re-pinned with the lines offset, everything went smoothly.

Cutting the strips apart made me very thankful we don't have to cut every piece for our quilts by hand anymore. That line going around and around and around the tube seemed to go on forever!

I thought I would want to use double-fold bias tape to go around the applique shapes on my cushion, so I cut the strips at 1" wide to go in the ½" bias tape maker (which makes it ¼" when double-folded). Pulling it through the bias tape maker was soooo quick and easy! Apparently I didn't think to take a picture at this point, though.

Since I really wanted to see how the black bias tape would look around the red applique mittens, I tested it out after I had pulled about 1' through the bias tape maker. I'm so glad I stopped to check! The double-fold bias tape was too thick, and the ½" was much too wide to use as edging around the appliques.

I looked at the long, long, long 1" strip I had just cut apart and debated what to do. I could pull it all through the ½" bias tape maker and press it, then set it aside for some future project, or I could cut it in half along the whole length to use with the ¼" bias tape maker. I decided to cut it in half, using my new Bordeaux scissors. I figured my large shears were too long, and I wouldn't have enough control to stay in the middle of the strip with them. These little ones (the blades are less than 2" long) would probably work better.

They worked perfectly! They gripped the fabric nicely, so it didn't slip at all, and they cut cleanly right to the tips. I still didn't stay perfectly centered all the way along the strip, since I was just eyeballing it, but it's good enough. At this point I had two very, very long ½" strips.

Time to try the ¼" bias tape maker! Again, it was really easy to get started feeding the strip through the bias tape maker and it came out perfectly folded. I found it a bit fiddly to try to press those little 1/8" sides without accidentally flattening one side or the other, but once I got into the rhythm of it, it went well. It helped to pull the bias tape maker back slowly, and to keep the iron pretty close to it, so the sides of the fabric didn't have a chance to open up at all before being pressed down. 

All was well, until I got to the first seam allowance joining strips together. The seam allowance wouldn't pull through the bias tape maker at all. Looking at the teeny-tiny end of the bias tape maker, it's not surprising...it's only ¼" wide, after all. I pulled the strip backwards and cut it just before the seam. The piece of folded bias tape I had pulled through already was long enough to go around one mitten, so it was fine. See the finished cushions (and the free tutorial) here.

I cut off the seam, which had gotten a bit mangled as I tried to pull it through, then I started again and when I got close to the next seam joining strips, I stopped and trimmed the seam allowance down to ⅛". With a bit of extra force, I was able to pull that through the bias tape maker. That extra force meant it pulled too far through the bias tape maker and didn't stay folded, though, so I had to manually fold each side over and press it down. This only took a few seconds, but it did reinforce my belief that I wouldn't want to be folding over the sides of the whole strip 😂 If I had to make bias tape by hand, it would never happen!

Once I had the sides folded over at the seam, I continued pulling the strip through the bias tape maker. Easy-peasy! When I got to the next seam allowance, I trimmed it down again, then pulled it more gently than I had the previous seam. It came through the bias tape maker and stayed folded well enough that I could press it down cleanly. Success!

I kept going, pausing before each seam to trim down the seam allowance. It should be noted that the tutorial I followed to make the strip did say to trim down the seam allowance, but I chose to ignore that at the time. Because I obviously knew what I was doing, right? Ha, I paid for that by needing to stop at every seam all along the strip to trim it down.

I suggest using steam as you press the strips as they come through the bias tape maker. I don't put water in my iron, but I started misting a bit of water onto my ironing board to create steam and that really helped to hold the folds in place.

Before long, I had all the bias tape folded and ready to put around my applique shapes! If you want to see the finished cushion, head to this post. I wrapped the leftover bias tape around a piece of cardboard so I can store it until I'm ready for the next project with it 😊

After using the Bordeaux scissors for a few weeks now, they've already become the scissors I reach for first. They're really sharp right to the tips, and they grip the fabric well. I also really like that they come with a leather sheath, so I can take them with me without worrying about them poking holes in anything. I've been using them to cut hexies for my new EPP travel project, especially. I'm using ½" hexies, and these little scissors are perfect for cutting the (very small) hexies out of my scraps. That project hasn't made it to the blog yet, but it will sometime soon.

As for the bias tape makers, I was impressed by how well they worked! Like I said, if I had to fold over the sides myself, I'd never make bias tape. That's especially true at the ¼" width! With this little gadget, though, it went quickly (other than my snafu with the seam allowances, but that was my own fault). I never did pull a seam through the ½" bias tape maker, so I can't say if it's as important to trim the seam allowance at that size, but I suspect it would still be a good idea.

Now, what else can I use bias tape for??? 🤔