Saturday, April 23, 2016

The Pixie Cup Tutorial

The Pixie Cup Tutorial by Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt

By popular request, I'm sharing the Pixie Cup Tutorial with you today! These are similar enough to my Pixie Basket tutorial that I thought they ought to share the name, but there are definitely differences.

The Pixie Cup Tutorial by Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt

Keep in mind that when you're working with curves, things are always a little trickier. Go slowly while you're sewing a side piece to a circle piece and don't let it worry you. Here's a great tutorial for this type of sewing, even with ideas for getting the math right if you want to make your circle larger. Honestly, I didn't really do anything fancy while sewing those curves on my cups -- no pins, no clipping, no trimming the seam -- and everyone lived happily ever after. But if you feel better taking these steps, then by all means, do it!


You'll notice from this picture inside the cup that everything doesn't lie perfectly flat. Wrinkles are normal, especially when you're using linen. The inside opening can either be sealed up by machine or hand stitching. I tried it both ways and found that, as usual, machine stitching is faster while hand stitching is neater. Go with what you prefer. Since you're going to fill this cup with something useful or pretty, odds are pretty good that no one's ever going to see that seam anyway.

I've included dimensions for both sizes of basket: short and tall. The patchwork can be whatever you want as long as it fits in the exterior panel rectangle. I give you one patchwork square size option for each version just to get you started. It's also perfectly fine to just use a single piece of fabric instead.

Please do share pictures of your finished cups on social media -- I always love to see your projects! You can tag these #pixiecup (remember -- different from the #pixiebasket!) and be sure to tag me @fabricmutt. Since I've been getting a lot of questions from people about using these projects for classes, retreats, and pop-up shops, I've also added a Frequently Asked Questions section to my tutorials page where you can find all the answers.

Okay, let's sew!

Materials & Cutting

Tall Version
1 rectangle 4 1/2 x 13" of fabric for exterior panel (patchwork option: 8 rectangles 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" each)
1 rectangle 4 1/2 x 13" of batting for exterior interfacing
1 rectangle 4 1/2 x 13" of linen for lining
1 rectangle 4 1/2 x 13" of fusible interfacing (I use Pellon Craft Fuse) for lining interfacing
2 circles 4" diameter of linen for exterior and lining base pieces
1 circle 4" diameter of batting for exterior base interfacing
1 circle 4" diameter of fusible interfacing (I use Pellon Craft Fuse) for lining base interfacing
2 strips 1/2 x 3" of leather for handles (other options: twill tape, double fold bias tape)

Short Version
1 rectangle 2 1/2 x 13" of fabric for exterior panel (patchwork option: 8 rectangles 2 x 2 1/2" each -- you'll sew the 2 1/2" sides together)
1 rectangle 2 1/2 x 13" of batting for exterior interfacing
1 rectangle 2 1/2 x 13" of linen for lining
1 rectangle 2 1/2 x 13" of fusible interfacing (I use Pellon Craft Fuse) for lining interfacing
2 circles 4" diameter of linen for exterior and lining base pieces
1 circle 4" diameter of batting for exterior base interfacing
1 circle 4" diameter of fusible interfacing (I use Pellon Craft Fuse) for lining base interfacing
2 strips 1/2 x 3" of leather for handles (other options: twill tape, double fold bias tape)

Other Supplies
Adhesive basting spray
Thread & needle (if hand sewing the opening closed)
Chopstick or knitting needle
Binding clips

Note: all seams are 1/4" unless otherwise stated.

Instructions


1. Sew together any patchwork pieces. Use adhesive basting spray to fuse the wrong side of your exterior panel piece to the batting rectangle and trim down to the size of the exterior panel (depending on which version you're making). Quilt as desired.


2. Fold the leather pieces in half, wrong sides together, and stitch 1/8" from the raw edges. Line up the raw edges on the top edge, about 3 1/2 inches from each side edge of the rectangle (see above).


Baste in place.


3. Use adhesive basting spray to fuse the wrong side (if there is one) of one linen circle to the batting circle -- or to a 4 1/2" square that you will later cut down into a circle. Quilt as desired.


4. Place the exterior rectangle on top of the exterior base, right sides together, lining up the bottom edge of the rectangle on the side of the circle. Starting 1-2" from the short end of the rectangle, carefully sew the lower edge of the rectangle to the outside edge of the base, stopping about 1-2" before the other short end of the rectangle.


5. Match up the two short ends of the rectangle, right sides together, and sew them together. Then carefully finish sewing the rectangle piece to the circular base. Turn the exterior piece right side out and set aside.


6. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to fuse the wrong sides of the lining rectangle and lining base to the coordinating interfacing pieces. Repeat what you did in steps 4 and 5, using the lining pieces, but this time, do not finish sewing the rectangle piece to the circular base. Leave a gap of 2-4" for turning and leave the piece inside out.


7. Place the exterior inside the lining, right sides together, and clip them together along the top.


Carefully sew all the way around the top opening.

8. Reach in through the hole in the lining and pull out the exterior of the cup, pressing carefully with your iron. Push out the all the edges of the exterior by gently poking a knitting needle or chopstick through the hole in the lining. Stitch the opening in the lining closed either by machine or by hand. This is probably the trickiest spot for sewing around curves, so here I did find it helpful to use binding clips to hold the edges together, removing them one by one as I stitched it up.

The Pixie Cup Tutorial by Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt

9. Push the lining down into the cup and topstitch all the way around the opening.

Fill with goodies and enjoy!

38 comments:

  1. Adorable!! Thank you for sharing!!!

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  2. These are really sweet, I absolutely want to make some of these one day. They will be great for presents. x

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  3. Thank you so much Heidi! I really enjoyed making the pixie basket and I will certainly try the cup now!
    Myrto in Athens, Greece

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  4. Heidi, these are so so cute and functional too! Thank you for your tutorial and tips.

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  5. Thanks for the tutorial! These are too adorable, and I see several as gifts in the future!

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  6. Thank you so much for sharing this, Heidi!
    I can think of so many ideas to use this pattern, and making them for gifts to give to the peeps that I love.
    Happy Sunday

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  7. Sweet tutorial, something else to add to my To Do list. Will share when I make one, thanks.

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  8. Can't wait to make these!! Cutest idea ever!!

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  9. What adorable little cups! I really love the little leather handles!
    Thanks for another Pixie Tutorial!!
    Susie

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  10. Thanks Heidi for sharing this great tutorial, these little cups are so adorable!

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  11. Yay, was waiting for this! Thanks for sharing and also for inspiring with your projects!

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  12. Yay, was waiting for this! Thanks for sharing and also for inspiring with your projects!

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  13. hej heidi,so cute, these baskets :0) thank you for sharing... greetings from denmark Ulrike :0)

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  14. Oh thank you so much for sharing this!

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  15. Wonderful tutorial. Thank you for sharing!

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  16. Thank you so much! These are adorable. I'm very happy that you made a tutorial ;-)

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  17. These are so cute! I love making fabric containers. Thank you for sharing the tutorial.

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  18. Thank you for this info it has helped me a lot. I make a lot of different bags for my grandchildren and there moms to carry all the toys and stuff you need for the little ones. Thanks again.

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  19. Thank you for this info it has helped me a lot. I make a lot of different bags for my grandchildren and there moms to carry all the toys and stuff you need for the little ones. Thanks again.

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  20. Love these! I'm so gonna make one, or some, or alot! Thanks for the tutorial!

    Hugs,
    Karen

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  21. Love these! I'm so gonna make one, or some, or alot! Thanks for the tutorial!

    Hugs,
    Karen

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  22. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  23. Would it work to use something besides linen for the lining?

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  24. Heidi, thanks so much for the tutorials for these and for the Pixie basket! I will put all of them on my "to make for gifts" list...after I make myself a set, of course!

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  25. great tutorial. Thanks for sharing

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  26. thanks so much for this tutorial, its very nice and beautiful !
    and sorry for my bad englihs, i'm french woman sewing !

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  27. Heyo, I made three of these! (Well, sort of - I messed up and just went with it, ha!). Thank you so much, I LOVE them! :D:D

    -CaLynn

    http://www.thecrafties.com/2016/09/pixiecup/

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  28. Just too sweet. Thank you so much for sharing. I shall try and make it over the next week. Patricia ❤️

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  29. Thanks for the tutorial. I made one tonight. Next time I am going to cut 4.5 inch squares, quilt exterior fabric, fuse lining fabric, and then cut out 4 inch circle. Maybe that will help the rectangle and circle go together a little better.

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  30. Thank you! What a great tute! It gave me a great idea, too. Instead of using the tabs, I think I'll make some with ribbons, so they can be tied onto the lavatory shelves, to hold toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc for our cruise, this fall. I hate just leaving them like on the shelf to roll, if we hit rough seas!

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  31. So cute ❣️ I look forward to making some. What a great gift idea. Thank you

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  32. I can't wait to try making these! Thank you for sharing the pattern.

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  33. Thank you, for showing us how to make the basket.

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  34. Just the project I needed today! I'm trying to upload my pic but can't seem to do it. I made the small for my wonderclips! It's perfect.

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Aren't you the sweetest for leaving a comment! Due to all the ads that bombard this section, I have to moderate everything first, but look for your comment to post in a day or two. Thanks so much for writing!

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