Today I’m joining Annie on her Facebook Live (it’s at 2pm Mountain!) and I’m excited to share a bunch of tips for working with Cuddle® fabrics and ByAnnie patterns. I’ve used a number of her bag patterns over the years (A Place for Everything, Pack It In, Tools of the Trade, and Travel Essentials, to name a few), but for this we decided to use Cuddle® for a few other patterns and started with the Bosom Buddy as part of the #SewPink initiative.
The Bosom Buddy pattern is a free download from ByAnnie and was designed to help create a comfortable way for the seatbelt to rest. This is a great project to add a little Cuddle® to since it will just make it even softer and more comfortable!
I made a couple of versions of it, and Annie made her own version, which gave us an opportunity to compare and contrast what worked and what didn’t. The first one I made with Cuddle® fabrics and Soft and Stable foam stabilizer. I used Pellon® SF101 (ShapeFlex®) to give the strap wrap some body, which worked out great! Then I used the typical 1/2″ Cuddle® binding method rather than the one in the pattern. You can find out more about it here, but Annie went rogue and did it with a 1/4″ binding! I love that she tried it her way (and now I’ll need to!) You can see the wider binding in the version I made:
I also used the Cuddle® to keep my iPad comfortable in the iCases pattern. It seemed like a no-brainer that the inside should be soft, but I’d never really considered it before. It was easy peasy and I love the look and feel.
Both of these projects use Soft and Stable to give it shape and stability. Adding Cuddle® was super easy using the ODIF 505 spray and then stitching around the outside edge with a big zig zag stitch. I found this kept it in position pretty well and I didn’t have any issues with shifting. You could also use Wonder Clips along the edges and of course, I use my favorite stiletto to control it even better.
All of this soft sewing is wonderful and I would hope that the only reason any of us would need a Bosom Buddy for is to keep the seatbelt from rubbing against our necks, but we all know that breast cancer is too common to avoid us all. In fact, one in eight women, on average [source], will develop invasive breast cancer and the best ways of catching it early is to do breast self exams and get regular mammograms.
To find screenings available near you, visit one of these sites or ask your physician:
• Breast Screen (Australia)
• CDC.gov (US)
• WebMD (free screenings)
It’s important to take care of ourselves; we’ve got so many things still to see, do and sew! For more projects, ideas and info follow along with the rest of the folks on #SewPink blog hop:
✂ Oct. 1 (Fri):Fat Quarter Shop – The Jolly Jabber
✂ Oct. 2 (Sat):Sallie Tomato
✂ Oct. 4 (Mon): Hugs ‘N Kisses
✂ Oct. 6 (Wed): Sewfinity
✂ Oct. 11 (Mon):Beyond the Reef
✂ Oct. 13 (Wed): Great Heron Thread Co.
✂ Oct. 15 (Fri): Love You Sew
✂ Oct. 15 (Fri): Emmaline Bags
✂ Oct. 16 (Sat): Meadow Mist Designs
✂ Oct. 18 (Mon): OklaRoots
✂ Oct. 20 (Wed): Suzn Quilts
✂ Oct. 20 (Wed): Teresa Coates
✂ Oct. 22 (Fri): Knot and Thread Design
✂ Oct. 23 (Sat): Shannon’s Studio
✂ Oct. 25 (Mon): The Littlest Thistle
✂ Oct. 27 (Thur): Mister Domestic
✂ Oct. 27 (Wed): Sookie Sews
The #SewPink Initiative was created by ByAnnie.com LLC to raise awareness for breast cancer throughout the year. Our efforts culminate in an annual blog hop during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month to promote self-care, awareness, early detection and support for those affected by breast cancer.
To learn more and see the calendar of events visit: https://www.ByAnnie.com/SewPINK
