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.

I have embedded the video above but if it doesn't play for you then click this link to view it directly on YouTube: How to make rope coaster

If you are interested in getting some rope and trying this yourself, I do sell the kits and spools of rope in my physical shop and my online shop.

Rope Sewing Products from Alamosa Quilt Company

If something is out of stock, I've already ordered more but I'm having trouble keeping this stuff in stock because it's just so fun to work with!

Button Boats

I love quick and functional projects! This one definitely fits in that category. Like the Whatcha Got bags I posted about previously, this pattern has been around for a while but I am just now getting around to making them.

I put the large spools of Aurifil thread inside for scale.

You need two 10" squares of fabric for these which makes it a perfect project for leftover layer cake squares you may have laying around. I used two fat quarters and you can make two button boats from 2 fat quarters and have a nice chunk of fabric left over for your scrap basket.

Gift Sewing and AQC Update

I made a few gifts over the holiday. The first is this set of clothesline bowls.

The bases are 5" in diameter and they are about 2" tall.

I may fill them with something like cookies or candy if time allows, or not.

In new store news, the office/kitchen is framed and the classroom design wall is in place.

The line of two by fours on the floor represents the edge of the classroom (toward the windows). There will be low shelving along this line dividing the store and classroom.

The part of the wall that is just framed out will have slat board on it for displaying notions or patterns or something.

On the Edge of Addiction

I don't seem to be able to stop making things with clothesline. Here are two more items. Previous projects can viewed by following these links: first project post and second projects post.

The first is a large bowl made with an entire 100 ft. package, Aurifil 50 wt. color number 2000 thread and YLI 40 wt. "Teals 07V" threads.

It measures 11.5" in diameter at the top and 5.25" tall.

The second is a small tote bag made with an entire 100 ft. package of clothesline plus two 24" pieces of leftover clothesline from previous projects. Again I used Aurifil 50 wt. color 2000 thread but this time I switched the color to YLI 40 wt. "Cream to Brown 02V."

The tote measures 8" by 14.25" by 7" tall. For the handles I doubled the two 24" pieces of clothesline and sewed them together to make a single piece for each handle. The handles are attached to the tote by machine with the same method used to make the tote.

I wanted a larger tote but this is as large as I could make it with only 100 ft. without having to splice two packages together. I decided I'd prefer to use a longer package rather than splice two packages together since I am not covering the clothesline with fabric. My local hardware store only sells 100 ft. packages, but I found a 200 ft. package on Amazon. It has been ordered and will be here on Monday.

More Clothesline Projects

Last Friday I posted my first bowl made from clothesline. Click here to read that post if you missed it or need a refresher.

Over the weekend I made a few more things with clothesline. The first bowl I made used a whole 100 foot package of clothesline. It was a little thinner than the packages I got from my local Ace Hardware. The first package was 3/16" in diameter. The ones from Ace are 7/32" in diameter. You wouldn't think 1/32nd of an inch would make much difference, but it does. The first one was a bit floppy, these aren't.

First I made these two smaller bowls.

The oval one fits a pair of glasses. It is sitting on a little bookshelf by our front door and has become a home for my husband's sunglasses.

The above bowls were made from one package of clothesline. I have no idea how much each took. I had some left over so I made an even smaller bowl.

Oh my! It sure is cute! So I made a few more tiny bowls and a couple of coasters.

I still have some of that 100 foot package of clothesline left after making two small bowls, three tiny bowls and two coasters. I will probably make coasters until I've used it all up.

My husband thinks these bowls are really neat. He kept coming in and watching me sewing them. It is fun to see them forming.

I took the photo below for scale.

I put the tiny bowls inside my first bowl. So I put the small bowls inside the first bowl too so you can get a better idea of their size.

I have since purchased even more packages of clothesline and plan to make some placemats and a tote bag next.

Oh Dear!

Yesterday I saw this blog post on S.O.T.A.K Handmade. I purchased some clothesline and even bought a book on the subject years ago. Like 7 or 8 years ago. The S.O.T.A.K. Handmade post made me want to give this a try. This morning I dug out my package of clothesline. It was in the first place I looked for it. I took that as a sign that I should put aside the project I began yesterday and make a bowl.

For a first try I'm very pleased with it.

I didn't try anything fancy, just tried to make it bowl shaped.

Now I need to go find the book I purchased and read it so I can figure out how to make different shaped bowls. I'd also love to make a bag.

And I need to go buy more clothesline.

I will definitely do more of these.