*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!!
Best of luck with the change in diet. I have no ideas on gluten free or Paleo
..sounds tough to me.
Your basket is adorable! My toddler and I love pasta and eat it waaaay too often for lunch. Yum!
Yay, hope I win! I tried Paleo and it was challenging, but the lack of sugar crashes was awesome. My tip, always always always toast your nuts. It doesn't take much time and really brings out the flavor. Good luck!
I try to eat healthy, but do enjoy some treats in moderation – especially chocolate 🙂
My new DIL eats Paleo and gluten free and she feels it has made a huge difference in her health. I hope you get the same results. Thanks!
Send it here. I would love to try it thanks
I have this pattern, it's on my list! Yours turned out beautifully!
I don't know anything about paleo diets but I know I need lots of protein along with my veggies to feel my best. And chocolate! Dark chocolate!
Ooh this looks interesting! I'd love to try it out!
Paleo is not for me because I don't care to live without cheese. Keto or other low carbs diets allow cheese are much easier for me to stick to!
I've done a gluten free diet for health reasons and it helped tremendously. The first three weeks were the hardest but after that it's a breeze.
I like the Paleo diet but found it hard to stick to. Oh heck, any diet is hard to stick with. Your basket turned our great.
Love the basket!!! I've never tried Paleo as I LOVE milk!
I have heard the Gluten free pasta from Costco is pretty good.
The basket looks great. I like the idea of clean eating but just don't think i've got time for all the.prep and cooking you need to do!
Looks amazing stuff
I love your One Hour Basket!
I wouldn't mind trying out the Flex-Foam!
I would love to try these products, thank you for the chance to win. I think it is time for me to do a paleo diet again, for me I am healthiest eating whole foods without the junk added in. It takes some time to plan and prepare, give some thought to making healthy snacks ready to go as it is, at least for me, harder to stop to prepare a snack than grab something not on the list.
I LOVE playing with a new product. Thanks!
jean
jlickun@aol.com
I love making bags. . This looks fantastic.
I love making bags. . This looks fantastic.
The one hr basket is great! thank you for the tutorial! My daughter and I vegan and she is gluten free (I monitor how much gluten I eat) -good luck and congrats on a healthier diet!
The Flex Foam looks like a wonderful product and your basket is gorgeous. We have been doing low carb eating since January and it has been good for our weight and our energy levels. One of my favorite snacks is flavored almonds. I like the Triple Chocolate ones. If you are not familiar with them, they have what appears to be cocoa powder on them and are nutritionally about the same as plain almonds — but more delicious. Not sure if they fit the Paleo concept or not.
Very cute basket! I've been waiting for the fusible flex foam – glad to hear it's available now!
Sorry about being gluten-free. My MIL recently found out she needs to have a gluten-free diet and she misses certain things, but better than the alternative?
Love the basket though and thank you for the chance
Hi! Your basket is smashing! I have seen this pattern around but not attempted it yet. It looks like the foam is really wonderful and I would love to try it.
As for healthy eating, I do not follow a paleo lifestyle directly but because of the way I do choose to eat which is also very healthy, I find that a lot of the recipes I gravitate to are paleo ones. The truth is that when I stopped focussing on All the foods I couldn't eat (because of ingredients I need to avoid) I started to discover all the foods I COULD eat. There are tons and tons of resources out there and with some effort I have built up quite an arsenal of recipes I like. You will too! Good luck.
Beautiful basket. The foam makes it look really smooth! I definitely want to try some of that!
Would love to try them out (especially since they will not be available in Hungary for a long-long time, that is for sure, lol).
ehodasz at yahoo dot com
Thanks for the tutorial. I have been doing the eat to live diet by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I have modified it to meet my needs but check it out.
Thanks for the opportunity to win. I would love to try this pellon foam as I am trying to encourage myself to make some bags – usuallu doesn't go well for me
Thanks again,
Brenda T
Love the foam. Have seen it in other projects and have yet to try it. I am a professional dieter. Have tried everything and I keep coming back to the age old adage, "everything in moderation." I have increased my proteins and decreased my carbs (not eliminated) and have managed to lose 97 lbs over the last year and a half. I don't do any formal exercise, and that is something I have to work on if I can pull myself away from my sewing machine long enough. Follow the leading of the Lord. It's the best way if you want to change your life!! Blessings!
j_dobler@msn.com
Great basket! I wish you luck going gluten free. I think there are so many options now! I love real pasta too much to ever do that. I am fortunate that I don't have a gluten allergy or celiac disease. Happy eating!
lenelson(at)mail(dot)com
Love the basket. Thanks for the giveaway. Would be great to try it : )
This is a great idea! Love to make baskets and little blankies for new mom's and this looks like a great product for that…..thanks for the opportunity!
I have been a vegan since the early 80"s, my only advice is to make sure you get enough protein. Best of luck.
Thanks for the wonderful give a way
I have no idea what "paleo" is but I've heard a lot about it. I can't even give up my coke, let alone eat healthy��. Thanks for a chance.
Skeshlaman@comcast.net
what a great idea, would love to win it but definetely will purchase when I find it locally
I can't wait to get some FlexFoam. I've been waiting for it forever. I love Soft and Stable too, none of these products is available locally unfortunately. Your basket looks great. I was thinking about using foam on a one hour basket. Thanks for doing it!
Love your basket. I'm hoping to pick up some of this flex foam soon.
I have been waiting for this to come to a shop near me, and would love to win some yardage to get started experimenting! I'll probably start with a 1 hr basket, seeing as I've never made one!
I have been waiting for this to come to a shop near me, and would love to win some yardage to get started experimenting! I'll probably start with a 1 hr basket, seeing as I've never made one!
I have been waiting for this to come to a shop near me, and would love to win some yardage to get started experimenting! I'll probably start with a 1 hr basket, seeing as I've never made one!
I have heard the Paleo diet is good. My husband does all the cooking. (lucky me) so it might be hard to get him to change his cooking habits.
kdavis1@centurytel.net
What a neat product and I love your bag. Thank you for a chance to win and try it out.
We are mostly vegan so paleo doesn't work for us! But I think eating "whole" foods and less processed foods is good – though it takes more time. Luckily my husband is a good cook or we'd eat clif bars every night for dinner
Love the tote! We've been GF for a year and a half, it's all good. I bought a ton of flour/wheat substitutes, but don't even use them because we seldom want bread of other baked goods anymore, and there are so many GF products available, like Bisquick and brownie mix 😉 Good luck, you'll be glad you did.
Best wishes with your dietary changes. I tend to follow the See Food diet! I wasn't aware of this new Pellon product. I'll look forward to trying it out. Thanks for the inspiration.
Cute basket! I'm a vegetarian, so paleo would be tough for me. I've heard great things about it though – good luck!
Gorgeous basket! No idea about diets I'm afraid – I just try to avoid too much oil!
I like to see the basket made up with the Pellon products to stabilize. Good luck on your diet plans.
Flex-Foam looks like another great sewing notion–love your basket! Thanks for the giveaway.
Thanks so much for the info on this project! Yes, LOVE the Wonder Clips!! My son and DIL Paleo eat for stretches at a time and I have made several great meals from this book: http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Paleo-Family-Cookbook-Real-ebook/dp/B0095JKHIM/ref=sr_1_23?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1441890890&sr=1-23&keywords=paleo+cookbook
There are so many great gluten free options out there right now and restaurants often are sensitive to the issue as well. Good luck!
Super cute! Can't wait to try the product. My advice on healthy eating: Grab a handful of nuts when you're hungry or craving sugar. Eat a handful each day.