Nature Basket Sew-along Day 1 - Prep

Описание: Welcome to the Nature Basket Sewalong! Originally hosted in the Twig + Tale Chat group on Facebook, join us for a closer look at how these nature-inspired play baskets come together, where you can follow along any time.

In this episode, we will be preparing the pattern + materials for the Nature Basket assembly - come along!

Video Transcript:

Hello everyone! It is day 1 of the Nature Basket Sewalong here at T+T, and I am so excited to get to sew along with you! My name is Erica, and I have so loved being a part of the Twig + Tale team this last year, and getting to know you all via social media and customer support.

Please know, a Twig + Tale sewalong comes with no pressure - please feel free to join in, but continue at your own pace. There is no requirement to finish every step every day, or even complete the project by the end of our sewalong period - these videos will stay available for as long as you need to refer to them, and we encourage you to take the time and care you need to complete the project in your own time. We'll be here to cheer you on whenever you need - you've got this! You are also welcome to just tune in, and see if the Nature Basket is a project you would like to work towards. Many of the tips you will learn will help you in other T+T projects as well.
So, shall we start?

(Day 1 Title)

The most important part of any project is planning - now is the time to put some thought into your project, to help the rest of it go smoothly. You'll want to have all of your materials gathered - for more information on that, refer to our previous sew-along video.

First things first - you’ll need to decide which of the Nature Baskets you intend to make, and in what size. There are three separate Nature Basket patterns. I’ve already made this one, an extra small Ocean Basket. There is also the Cloud, and Forest Basket options. I will be making a Forest Basket during the sewalong, but don’t worry - the method is nearly the same for all of them, and I will be highlighting any differences. There are 4 sizes included as well; extra small, sized to fit a 9” inch doll, up to large, sized to fit an 18” doll. More information on the sizing can be found in your pattern tutorial.
Also, now is a good time to consider any applique, embroidery, or other embellishment you might like to add - knowing this ahead of time will help you add them at the appropriate point, and of course, have them prepared. Any embroidery is often best added in the beginning, prior to quilting; appliqués are best added after quilting, which I will show later on. It is also possible to use pre-made embroidered patches or create your own embroidered patches - that's what I've done here, to add the new Humpback Whale to my Ocean Basket!

Of course the world is your oyster here - the only limit is your imagination! The inspiration pages in your pattern will give you lots of other great ideas, as well as searching the Facebook Group.
Of course, the next step, as usual, will be to prepare your pattern. If you have already had your pattern printed in A0 large-scale, you are all ready! Otherwise, fire up your projector or your printer, and get things ready. The T+T blog has a really helpful primer on printing and assembling a PDF pattern - I’ll add the link to the post!

Once you have your pattern assembled, it's time to start cutting! This pattern is a bit different than some, in that you won’t be cutting your pieces out entirely right away. You can refer to page 16 in your pattern tutorial to see exactly which pieces to cut out for your desired basket at this point in time. You will be cutting out all of your lining and batting pieces, but only a couple of the exterior pieces - the remaining exterior pieces and interfacing will be cut out at a later time. Just make sure the rest of your exterior fabric is pressed now, so it's all neat ready to go.

(optional - prepare interfaced pieces)

I find it helpful to trace all of my interfacing pieces at once - this lets me have all of them prepared in one fell swoop, and not have to fiddle with it later. It also allows me to use my interfacing a bit more efficiently. However, you are welcome to also do the pieces as you need them, as described in the tutorial. Here is a rundown of all the interfacing pieces you will need.

(see interfacing list in video)

No need to trim them carefully right now - just trace them all, including notches, and rough-cut around them. Then, if you'd like, you can go ahead and fuse them to the appropriate fabrics, which are mostly exterior pieces, and then trim more carefully.

And that concludes Day 1! I know, I know - we haven't even touched the sewing machine yet. That's OK! A little prep now will leave us much better prepared for the rest of the process, which is always worth the time spent. If you have any questions on today's video, please leave me a comment, and I will answer them for you. Then, join us right here tomorrow for Day 2!