Hip to Be Square by Rebecca Kemp Brent for Coats & Clark These two funky ornament shapes start with ordinary squares! Made from small pieces, these projects are a great way to use test stitchouts or fabric scraps, especially leftovers from 2 1/2″ strips. Biscornu Ornament “Biscornu” is a French word describing something that’s quirky, weird, or irregular. It’s often used to refer to pincushions and other objects made from cleverly manipulated squares Materials 2 contrasting squares of fabric, each 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ Dual Duty XP All-Purpose Coats Bold Hand Quilting Optional embellishment threads: Coats & Clark Metallic Coats & Clark Machine Embroidery Polyester fiberfill Optional: Two 1/4″-diameter sew-through buttons Optional Decorative Stitches Stabilize a 6″ square of fabric with spray starch or embroidery stabilizer and sew parallel rows of decorative stitches across the square with Metallic and Machine Embroidery threads. Choose a solid fabric or one with a subtle print. Our samples are stitched on a chevron print that was handy to use as guidelines for the decorative stitches! When the stitching is complete, cut up to four 2 1/2″ squares from the decorated fabric to use in making ornaments. Instructions Seam allowances are 1/4″. 1. Mark the midpoint of each side of each square with a 3/16″ clip into the seam allowance. Be careful not to clip through the seamline. 2. With right sides together, place the backing square on the ornament-top square, with the corners of the backing aligned to the midpoints of the top. Pin the midpoint of one side to its corresponding corner and pivot the fabric as necessary to align the raw edges just before the pin. Fig A3. Shorten the machine stitch length to 2.0 mm. Begin stitching 2-3 stitches before the pinned corner, backstitching to secure the beginning of the seam. At the corner, pivot with the needle down, allowing the seam allowance to spread open at the clip. Fig B4. Match the next corner and midpoint. Stitch and pivot as before. This time the corner and its clip will be on the underside, so be cautious about the position of the seam. 5. Continue stitching around the pillow, matching corners to midpoints as you go. End stitching and backstitch 1-2 stitches past the last midpoint/corner to leave an opening for turning. 6. Turn the ornament right side out and stuff firmly with fiberfil. Slipstitch the opening, tucking the seam allowances inside the ornament. 7. To add the optional button embellishment: Thread a long needle with Bold Hand Quilting thread and even out the thread tails so that you are working with a doubled thread. Insert the needle through a button from the right side and then pass through the center of the ornament from front to back, leaving a 3″ thread tail. Stitch through both holes of a second button and back through the ornament center from back to front, exiting through the unoccupied hole in the first button. Tie the thread tails tightly in a knot, indenting the ornament center and bringing the buttons close together. Trim the thread tails 1/4″ from the button. 8. Add a hanging loop made from Bold Hand Quilting thread to one corner or side of the biscornu ornament. TIPS: Although it provides the neatest finish, the method above leaves only a 1/2″-5/8″ opening for turning and stuffing. You may prefer to leave an entire side of the biscornu open by beginning and ending the stitching at adjacent corners. Another possibility is this alternate assembly method that avoids turning the ornament right side out through a small hole: 1. Cut 2 1/2″ squares of lightweight fabric or interfacing in addition to the outer fabrics. 2. Sew an outer fabric square to each lightweight square, right sides together. Sew around all four sides. 3. Cut an opening in the lightweight fabric only, near the center of the square; if you cut on the diagonal, the opening can be about 2″ long. Trim the corners diagonally to reduce bulk and turn each square right side out. Smooth the corners into place and press each square flat. 4. Mark the center of each side with a pin. Matching centers to corners as directed above, whipstitch the squares together by hand, leaving the last segment open for stuffing. 5. Finish making the ornament as directed above. This technique can also be used to prepare the sides of the Retro Ornament. Retro Ornament Materials 3 squares of fabric, each 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ Dual Duty XP All-Purpose thread Coats Bold Hand Quilting Optional embellishment threads: Coats & Clark Metallic Coats & Clark Machine Embroidery Polyester fiberfil Instructions Seam allowances are 1/4″. 1. Using the end of a thread spool as a template, round two corners of each square. Mark the seamline intersections of the remaining corners with dots; these will be the top and bottom of the ornament. 2. Line up the three rounded squares as shown. Fig C 3. Sew the first two seams from the top dot to the bottom dot. Fig D 4. Sew the third seam, leaving an opening for turning and stuffing. Fig E5. Turn the ornament right side out and stuff. Slipstitch the opening invisibly, tucking the seam allowances inside the ornament. 6. Add a hanging loop made from Bold Hand Quilting thread to one corner of the ornament. TIP: Experiment with larger templates for rounding the corners to create a narrower ornament shape. Making the Hanging Loop 1. Thread a needle with 12″ of Bold Hand Quilting thread and take a tiny stitch (1/16″ long) through the ornament fabric, leaving a 4″ tail of thread. Fig F2. Take a second stitch on top of the first to secure the thread; be sure the 4″ tail is still extending from the ornament. 3. Make a third stitch on top of the others, but leave a 3″ loop of thread. 4. Take a fourth stitch next to the others to secure the loop. 5. Tie the thread tails into a bow and trim the excess thread.
