The Fab Floor Cloth

One of the most frequent questions we get is about our floor cloths.  We think they are a unique and fun way to display and use special fabrics.  Debbie makes a new one every year for the MN Shop Hop.  We keep it on the floor right in front of our cash register counter, a place that gets lots of traffic.  It gets walked on all the time, and lasts through wet shoes, sandy shoes, slushy shoes and salty shoes.

We've shared the instructions on this blog before so I will reprint them here.  We also hand out those instructions to anyone in the store who is interested.  You can make your own floor cloth to the size that you want, from big all the way down to coaster size!  The multi-purpose cloth (by Roclon) that is the foundation for our floor cloths is 54" wide. That would be the max width of a floor cloth but the length could be longer than that because we buy it on a roll and sell it by the yard.

If you are planning to make your own floor cloth, the usual size container of Mod Podge is not enough.  You are better off to watch for it on sale at a craft store and buy the big container.

Mod Podge Floor Cloth

Supplies:

 Mod Podge   
Fine grit sandpaper or steel wool    
Multi Purpose Cloth    
Fabric for the front and back

   Foam Brush   

Plastic Drop Cloth to protect work surface

Directions:

1.  Cut the main fabric and the backing one inch larger than the desired finished size of the floor cloth.

2.  Cut the Multi Purpose Cloth to the desired finished size.

3.  Apply Mod Podge to one side of the Multi Purpose Cloth. 

Immediately attach backing fabric to the Mod Podged surface, smoothing out wrinkles and bubbles.

4.  Apply Mod Podge to the backing fabric.  Let dry 1-2 hours.

5.  Trim backing fabric even with the Multi Purpose Cloth. Use your rotary cutter for an even trim.

6.  Turn the floor cloth over and apply Mod Podge to the other side of the floor cloth.  Center the main fabric on the floor cloth so that you will have fabric to wrap to the wrong side of the cloth.  Smooth out wrinkles and bubbles. Let dry.

7.  Sand lightly with steel wool or fine grit sand paper, if desired.

8.  Repeat so that you have 4-5 layers of Mod Podge on the front and 3-4 layers on the back, sanding between coats.

9.  Wrap excess front fabric to the back side and apply Mod Podge under the fabric to hold it to the floor cloth and over the fabric so that it will also be finished.  If desired, Mod Podge one inch strips of fabric  to cover the raw edges of the wrap around fabric for a more finished look.

10.  Apply Mod Podge to the back side one more time.

You can get as creative as you want with fabrics in assorted colors, shapes and sizes.  You can make it look like quilt blocks, or a collage, or a Van Gogh!

A Sneak Peek At My New Quilt MN Pattern

I've been spending lots of hours designing and making a new quilt for the fabric from the 2017 Quilt MN group.  Here's a little look at some of the quilting that I'm putting on it--

It's a medallion style quilt, and incorporates the Bear Paw block that is part of our store logo.  Medallion quilts are based on some type of center square, then bordered on all 4 sides.  I know that a lot of quilters would much prefer to make a rectangular quilt than a square one, so I have added some inches on the top and bottom sides to make it "un-square", yet keeping the look of the medallion.

We will be selling the pattern and kits at Bear Patch starting July 28, and requests for orders can be placed prior to that.  I haven't settled on a name yet, and the directions aren't finished.  They will need to be proofread more than once before any printing is done.  I can show you a diagram of what the quilt looks like but not the real thing yet:

It measures 54" x 64".

If you really want to make it square, it would be easy to modify, and I will probably include something about that in the directions.

Some info about my machine:

I quilt on an A-1 Elite machine purchased 10 years ago.  It is all hand-guided, no computer attached, just me!  It does have a stitch regulator, which I always use.  I have a 14' table, so can do up to about 150" wide quilt.  Probably more like 140" to allow for enough room to have the backing and batting extend a bit beyond the quilt top edges.  I like to have 5" all around for better freedom of movement.  I use an extended base on my machine whenever I need to use rulers, and if I don't have that 5" cushion, the base bumps into the clamps for the sides.  That makes a nasty little bobble in the stitching.  I also do free-hand without that base, as well as some pantograms.  I haven't been using my longarm much during the past 2 years, before that I did quilt for customers, but I found that I was taking on way too much.  Having too much on my plate does not make me a happy quilter!

The thread I use is a real hodge-podge of what color and weight works best.  The blue thread in the video is actually Isacord (by OESD) and is normally used for machine embroidery.  It's lightweight, yet sturdy enough to run on this type of machine.  I used another thread, usually cotton, on the bobbin.  For most of the rest of this quilt, I used King Tut, Sew Fine and Omni (Superior Threads).

I never really keep track of the time I put into quilting something like this.  I never can work for long periods, needing to stop for a break often and then spending time thinking over what design I'm going to do next!  And my neck and shoulders ache when I overdo it, so that doesn't help.  It's just not something that I can dedicate more than about 2 hours at a time to.

The Magic Quilt Coach!

It's time to get the party started!

We are preparing samples using the new Quilt MN fabrics 

and taking orders for those fabrics.

Plus...

A great bus trip opportunity!

You really can't go wrong for that low price -- no hassles with traffic, construction, parking, map reading or GPS following, re- fueling, timing stops, etc., etc.  And, you know we'll have some treats for your snacking pleasure!  Plus, we do have a bit of fabric and all kinds of patterns to tempt you!  We will have a great display of quilts and projects with patterns and kits for you, too!  And, as a bonus, you get a pack of 5" squares of Moda's Grunge fabric line, one of our most popular "blenders" 

that coordinate with so many things!

So don't miss the bus, call 651-429-1039 to reserve your seat on the Magic Quilt Coach!