*the giveaway is now closed*
Pellon has a really exciting brand new product available: Flex – Foam. I think you are going to like it!
Pellon® Flex-Foam™ is a lightweight stabilizer consisting of a layer of foam sandwiched between two layers of soft fabric. It is excellent for use in crafts, accessories, and home décor projects for an elegant finished look. It can be used in place of or in addition to other stabilizers. Flex-Foam is a breeze to sew through and adds shape and body to projects such as computer cases, eyeglass cases, purses, tote bags, cup holders, diaper bags, and more! It is compatible with a wide variety of fabrics. It is available as a sew-in, a 1-sided fusible or a 2-sided fusible. Available 20” on the board and 60” on the roll in all of your favorite stores.
I was lucky enough to get some advance product to test it out and I decided to make my good friend, Kelly’s, Hour Basket. This is a free pattern that Kelly has offered and I know tons of you have already downloaded it and made it. But I’m COMPLETELY sold on making this with Fusible Flex Foam. Love it. Seriously.
I used a precious piece of fabric I own for my basket…a fat quarter size piece of fabric cut from an old Orla Kiely table cloth sold at Target YEARS ago. So, sorry! Good luck finding any! I used Kelly’s pattern and cut my pieces of foam and fabric to size. And easy peasy, I fused the fabric to the Foam. I used the one sided Fusible Flex-Foam because I added a lining that was separate from the base of the basket. To sew the pieces together, I broke out my Clover Wonder clips. (If you don’t own these you should!!) And this was the first time that I wanted the jumbo version actually. But the regular ones worked really well to hold these layers together.
I used a foot that could accommodate some bulk…any kind of dual feed foot system or walking foot should do fine. It was super easy to sew over this. I was really surprised by that. I expected it to be more difficult.
Following the steps of Kelly’s pattern, I again used my clips to start sewing box into three dimensions. Again, this was so much easier than I anticipated. The foam moved so easily into this shape. I did finger press my seams open as you can see to help eliminate any bulk and match my seams easier.
You can see below how well this basket is standing on its own without even being sewn or encouraged into a square shape.
I added the lining as per the instructions and again broke out the wonder clips (seriously…buy these) to hold the edges of the two together. I was pretty easily able to put this under my machine foot and sew all the way around the edge. The next step which you don’t see is always the trickiest when making any lined bag…pulling the whole bag through a small opening in the bottom of the lining. There was some tugging that went on, but again…not painful. (I may have a hidden fear of bags lol…I’m realizing that as I write this). It all turned perfectly and…..<
I am SO HAPPY with my new basket!! This is a really good size basket. I know people who made these for Easter Baskets last year for their kids and I understand why now. I personally took a note from Kelly and chose to fill mine with bundles of precuts. I’ve got a huge F8th bundle and two Fat Quarter Bundles in there.<
I couldn’t be happier with it!! I did a little hand pressing on the sides to encourage the foam into shape, but it did not need much. It has a beautiful shape empty (I just like it filled with fabric!)
Overall, I was very impressed with the fusible flex-foam and would use it again in a heart beat. I was particularly impressed with how well the fabric fused to the foam. There is no rippling in the fabric on the foam…I hate when that happens with interfacing. I’m sure that is user error, but I had no user error here. I just have a beautiful finished product.
*the giveaway is now closed*
Congrats to the winner! #189 AnnetteSeptember 12, 2015 at 7:31 PM
And now for the giveaway!!
Pellon is offering one lucky winner a package of 1 yard cuts of each of the three varieties of Flex-Foam.
To enter, just leave a comment below. I’ve recently gone Gluten free for health reasons and may do a Paleo diet in the future. So if you have any tips on healthy eating I’d love to hear those….or tell me why you could never do it! lol Good luck!!
Good luck with that – I am supposed to be going low carb, but it is a struggle with a busy schedule as carbs are so quick to prep. Trying cauliflower cream today for a soup recipe – something different.
Your basket is awesome! I would love making some for my sewing room. I feel so decadent saying that – a whole room for my sewing! But, hey, it's one of the perks of an empty nest. I can't help you with the Paleo diet but I admire your bravery if you decide to try it! Thank you for the giveaway!
Beth
I've been thinking about doing the Paleo diet.
Love your bag and would love to try this new product. Good luck with your diet.
Really love the way the basket looks using the Fusible Flex Foam. Beautiful fabric choice as well.
As far as the Paleo diet, I can't help much, but wish you great success considering you've done so for a health reason. Me? Could never do that. I'm way too addicted to all things gluten. Well, not so much addicted since I can go days without eating bread or things with gluten, but cutting them out completely, I'd have withdrawals I'm afraid.
Great giveaway, new products are so exciting! Thanks for the chance to win!
Love your basket!! The foam really does make it stand so well. Sorry I don't have any paleo or gluten free eating advice 🙁
Amanda
I had to go gluten free because I was diagnosed with Celiac. I don't know if I have as many restrictions as you might–I just have to cut out gluten. BUT–my number one tip is to buy America's Test Kitchen's GF cookbook. They have another one coming out in October. It's amazing. I just made cupcakes and couldn't tell they were GF, and some of the recipes are better than regular. It's really great. Their flour blend is a little starchy, but I tend to not bake as much as I used to, so it's okay. Millet is a great whole grain that can be used in many of the same applications as rice, but will provide more nutrients. And polenta is great for when you need a pasta sauce fix, but GF pasta just doesn't sound appealing (because it costs 4x as much and isn't as good…). Udi's bread is my favorite, but it's not great either–I eat a lot less bread than I used to. And Snyder's makes GF pretzels that are quite good. There are some nice crackers by a company called Milton's I think that are pretty good. My family snitches them from my bag. It's tempting, but avoid buying replacement junk food and focus on eating whole foods and you'll be fine. Good luck! It's really not so bad, although I seriously still mourn gluten every once in a while.
Love this basket!
The best gluten free cookbook around is the one by America's Test Kitchen. With their special flour mix and recipes you can't tell they aren't made with regular flour. I also like using corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas. An easy switch and they have way more fiber.
Basket is cute, love the fabric!
My daughter does gluten free.
Love this bag! Cannot wait to try this out! Best of luck on your new healthy diet.
I love the basket. The foam looks like a great product. I have been wanting to make on of Noodlehead's divided baskets so when I do I will try the flex foam.
Amei seu trabalho. Ficou muito lindo! Vou tentar fazer uma cesta.
Awesome tote …beautiful fabric too!