DIY Network

Heirloom Textile Pages From "Scrapbooking" episode SCB-529

Guest Melinda Barta creates a family tree textile album incorporating family-made fabrics. Here, Melinda shares her tips for incorporating heirloom textiles into your own scrapbook pages.

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Instead of keeping family heirloom textiles tucked away in a dark closet, this project invites scrapbookers to bring them out for all to see. The family tree textile scrapbook is a place where you keep and record your favorite fabrics, trimmings, and findings--as well as store bits of textiles that have been passed through the family. It's a fun, rewarding way for a family to share and document its history in the world of fiber. And it has other practical purposes -- if several siblings are fighting over who keeps Mom's first quilt, simply divide it up and give a square to everyone to scrapbook.

Fabric ideas

• Baby's first blanket
  
• Family afghans and quilts
  
• Grandmother's favorite tea towels, Grandfather's favorite handkerchief
  
• Wedding gowns, prom dresses
  
• A favorite shirt or vintage clothing
  
• Edgings and trimmings: lace from a veil, findings or buttons)

Preparing Your Fabrics

To keep the edges of your favorite scraps from fraying, it’s best to trim and embroider the edges. The samples here were trimmed to 2-1/2 inches square. Use a size 7 embroidery needle threaded with four strands of thread to secure the edges with the Knot Stitch Edging technique. Knot Stitch Edging incorporates the blanket stitch, so let’s first review it.

1. Working from left to right on the edge of the fabric, bring the needle up from the back, 1/8" from the edge and make a blanket stitch.

2. Before moving to the next blanket stitch, loop the needle behind the two threads that hang from the edge of the fabric. (To keep even tension, you may find it helpful to pinch the top of the blanket stitch while you make the knot.)

3. Repeat as with blanket stitch, inserting the needle into the right side of the fabric and taking the next stitch about 1/4" (6 mm) to the right of the previous stitch.

Creating Your Pages: Adhering and Labeling Fabrics

You can adhere fabric scraps to the pages of the book with acid-free adhesive. Research your family history, then label each scrap with information about its origin, former owner, and important dates. If you would like to make a detailed logbook, add fiber content information, photographs, places the fabric was used, a list of all former owners, where and when the fabric was purchased or made, and the embellishment and construction techniques.

Creating and Sewing Pocket

Create a pocket to store trimmings and fragments in your scrapbook.

1. To sew a pocket, transfer all the lines of the pocket pattern to a 7" square piece of fabric using a transfer method. Cut the fabric along the outside line.

2. Fold over the top edge at the purple dashed line with right sides facing and press. Fold again along the red dashed line and press.

3. Machine stitch (or use tightly spaced double running or backstitches) the fold created at the purple line to the body of the pocket within 1/16" of the edge of the inside fold line.

4. Fold the side and bottom edges back along the blue dashed lines and press. If you’re sewing the pocket to a second piece of fabric, pin the pocket in place on the right side of the fabric.

5. Stitch 1/16" from the outer edges around the sides and bottom of the pocket. Stitch around the outer edges again, 1/4" from the previously stitched line.

RESOURCES :
Interweave Press
Website: www.interweave.com

GUESTS :

Melinda Barta
Website: www.hiptostitch.com