Three Jacks Notepad Cover
Three jolly jack-o-lanterns lighting up the night.
Three jolly jack-o-lanterns giving us a fright!
- Anonymous
Let's stitch up some jack-o-lanterns for Halloween!
I made this design to fit on a notepad cover but it also can be stitched up into a mini quilt.
You will need:
- 1/4 yard black quilting cotton - background
- 1/4 yard orange/green plaid quilting cotton - lining
- Felted wool (recommended colors)
- 2 1/2" square orange/brown houndstooth- jack #1
- 2" x 3 1/2" (orange)- jack #2
- 2 1/2" x 3" (orange tweed) - jack #3
- 3" x 4" dirty white - mouths and eyes
- 2" x 3" black - noses and eyes
- 2" square light brown - stems
- Thread - Valdani perle cotton (Valdani.com)
- Size 12 (or 2 strands of embroidery floss)
- #O217 - Jacks #'s 1 - 3
- #O518 - stems
- black - eyes, noses, mouths
- #P4 - eyes, mouths, berries
- #P1- berries
- Size 8 (or 3 strands of embroidery floss)
- #O575 - berry stems and blanket stitch border
- #O217 - nose stripes
- Size 12 (or 2 strands of embroidery floss)
- Lightweight fusible web
- Fine point chalk pencil
- Chenille needle, size 24
- 5" x 8" tag board or mat board
- 5" x 8" notepad
- Steam iron
- Sewing machine
Instructions
Background assembly
- Download Three Jacks Layout and Pattern and Butternut Plaid Stitch Guide if needed.
- Cut one 6 1/4" x 33" piece of background fabric and one 6 1/4" x 33" piece of lining fabric.
- Cut both the black background fabric and the lining fabric into 6 1/4" x 33" strips.
- Place right sides together and sew the 33" sides using a 1/4" seam allowance. Do not sew the ends together.
- Turn right side out and press. Fold each end under 1/2" and press. Fold each end under 1/2" againand press. Top stitch each end.
- Place the fabric lining side up and fold each end toward the lining fabric. Fold one side in 6" and the other side in 8". Press each fold and pin the 6" side only. Do not sew together.
- Flip the fabric over, so that the black side is on top. Leaving both sides folded under, use a chalk pencil to draw a line 8" from the end that is folded under 8". The area between the chalk line and the fold will be the front cover. The chalk line will be the top and the fold will be the bottom.
- Unfold the 8" end prior to stitching your applique.
Applique - Use one strand of thread for all stitches.
1. Trace patterns onto fusible web (reverse image first). Cut out and fuse to designated wools.
2.Cut out wool pieces.
3. Position each of the three jacks with their respective noses, mouths, eye whites and pupils onto background using the layout as your guide (make sure you leave room for the berry stems). Fuse in place using steam. DON'T FORGET TO REMOVE THE PAPER BACKING BEFORE FUSING!
Note: I'm always trying to eliminate steps (and I'm lazy) so I try to fuse as many pieces as I can get away with. If you wish, you can fuse the pieces separately and whip stitch the pieces down as you go.
4. Whip stitch the jacks with #O217, size 12.
5. Whip stitch whites of eyes and mouths with #P4.
6. Use the same thread to make a single French knot in the pupil of each eye (see layout for positioning).
7. Whip stitch noses and pupils with black.
8. With the same black thread, use a blanket stitch to create the teeth. Use a back stitch to make the line between the upper and lower teeth.
9. Use #O217, size 8 to make the lines on the noses of Jack #1 and Jack #3
10. Use a chalk pencil to draw the berry stems.
11. Stitch an open fly stitch over the chalk lines with #O575.
12. When you get to the last pair of side stems, back stitch the remaining portion of the stem.,
13. Make two lazy daisy leaves on the stem adjacent to Jack #3 and three pairs of leaves stem adjacent to jack #1.
14. Use #P4 and #P1 to make a French knot berry on the end of each side stem.
You are done with the applique! Now on with the finishing.
15. Re-pin the 8" side and blanket stitch the sides of the notepad cover together to create a 6" and an 8" pocket. Refer to the "Finishing" section of Snow Day for detailed instructions.
16. Slide the tag board into the 8" pocket.
17. Slide the back of the notepad into the 6" pocket.
ENJOY!