Alamosa Quilter: More Rope Sewing

Monday, September 9, 2024

More Rope Sewing

I'm having so much fun sewing with the new rope I received in my shop!

The first thing I made with the new rope from The Mountain Thread Company was this Basket with Handles. I used the kit shown in the photos that the basket is sitting on to make it. I wanted to test out their kits. They are excellent! Each kit includes the amount of rope you need to make the project, a denim needle for your sewing machine and the instructions for the project.

Next I wanted to try out some of the colored rope from The Mountain Thread Company. This is their Spring Poppies Mix and I just made a small bowl. I didn't use a pattern. My base is about 5" and the sides are about 3" tall. Note that the color of the rope is truer in the second photo. In the second photo you can also see how the rope is made. There is no core - it's braided. It's also made in the USA, in North Carolina!

Then I wanted to see how easy it would be to use two different colors of rope in the same project and I wanted to try out the coil finish.

Next I decided to get samples made up of all the kits. Below is the Oval Organizer. To finish it off I did another coil but on the inside of the bowl instead of the outside and I attached the coil to the bowl with a button.

Then I made the set of Nesting Bowls. Note that the kit does not include the wooden bead. I had some wooden beads and wanted to try out finishing a bowl with them. So I added on to the largest size bowl.

Strictly speaking, I haven't made every set. I haven't made the Set of 5 Trinket Bowls or the Set of 3 Bowls or the Coaster Set with Basket. However, the smallest bowl in the Nesting Set is the same size as the Trinket Bowls. And the medium bowl in the Nesting Set is the same size as the bowls in the Set of 3 Bowls. I've made lots of coasters and the size bowl in the coaster set is in between the medium and large bowls from the Nesting Set.

Then I had some rope leftover from years ago when I was making rope bowls. I had it hand dyed by a friend. I made a few coasters off the roll then just decided to sew it all up into a big bowl. Mission accomplished! It is a very big bowl.

First, I really don't like this rope after sewing with the new stuff from The Mountain Thread Company. This rope is lumpy, floppy and uneven thickness. It also has a polyester core so you are limited by how you can end it. The bowl bottom is about 11.5", it's 9" tall and the diameter at the top is 18".

You can use lots of different kinds of rope to make these bowls, but the nicer the rope you start out with the nicer the finished product. If you are buying and can feel the rope, pinch it to see how squishy it is. The Mountain Thread Company rope is not squishy at all and sews up beautifully. Squishy rope makes a squishy bowl that won't hold it's shape very well.

I made a short video for how to make a coaster with rope. The video is 11 1/2 minutes long and you see me make the coaster in real time. It actually takes me about 5 minutes to make a coaster, but everything takes longer when you are explaining to folks.