Winter Mystery Project

The long awaited Winter Mystery Project Sew Along for the Sip Tea and EPP party starts on Monday 6th of January 2023. Larisa @stitchingnotes and I, @nordiccrafter hope you can join our adventure yet again and have fun sewing together with us.

If you are new here, you might want to know what a Mystery Sew Along is. Last year, Larisa and I successfully hosted two fun Mystery Sew Alongs for Sip Tea and EPP (you can read more about Sip Tea and EPP here). We made a great Hexagon Sewing Folder and a lovely Spring Zipper Pouch. To see all the amazing versions made by our followers, please check the hashtags: #mysteryhexagonproject, #springmysteryproject and #sipteaandepp on IG.

What is the Mystery Project SAL for Sip Tea and EPP?

It is a free Sew Along with an element of intrigue that is run on Instagram for approximately 3 weeks by the hosts of the Sip Tea and EPP party Larisa @stitchingnotes and I, Irina @nordiccrafter. Each of our projects is designed for educational purposes, in order to help you learn new skills and implement them in your own work. We provide

templates and step by step guidance on what is needed to complete every project, how to baste and sew the shapes together and what sewing techniques to use with each make. The final product is always revealed at a later stage of the Sew Along, closer to the finish.

Please bear in mind that all provided projects and patterns are for personal use and gifts only.

How to join and what to do?

No membership or sign up is required to join our Sew Alongs. Anyone is welcome! Our projects are suitable for any skill level, but require basic sewing skills. All you need to do is to pick your fabrics following our guidance, download the provided templates and sew along at your own pace following the instructions that we share in our IG posts. Post photos of your progress on Instagram under the hashtags #wintermysteryproject and #sipteaandepp and always tag the hosts Larisa @stitchingnotes and Irina @nordiccrafter. Tagging us directly helps us see your posts, leave comments and answer your questions rather than spending a lot of time scrolling through the hashtag looking for new posts.

The #sipteaandepp hashtag now has more than 12k posts, but unfortunately, sometimes people misuse the hashtag by promoting their own businesses or their own work. We have no control over it and that’s why we ask you to help us see your posts by tagging the hosts of the party.

Every project starts with a fabric pull. In this blog post, Larisa and I would like to guide you through the process of picking your fabrics and other necessary supplies for the Winter Mystery Sew Along.

Let’s go through the list of the required supplies for this Sew Along. Please DO NOT CUT your fabrics yet! Just go through your stash and pick the prints you would like to use for this project. We will provide the templates and all the measurements and cutting instructions once the Sew Along starts on the 6th of February.

1) Solid colour linen or quilting cotton for the Exterior

Larisa and I both like to use medium weight linen in a natural colour for our makes as it gives a perfect background to any English Paper Piecing embellishment.

Personally, I always pre-wash linen as it shrinks a lot. It really is a matter of a personal preference as Larisa never does that.

If you don't have any linen, you can use canvas or any solid coloured quilting cotton. The main idea of this project is to make the patchwork elements stand out, please keep this in mind when picking your background fabric.

2) Single sided or sew in foam stabiliser

We will need a piece of single sided fusible foam that is at least 20" x 15" (50.8cm x 38.1cm) that we will cut into three parts. We highly recommend you to use fusible foam for this project in order to achieve the best result possible. Foam stabiliser gives a nice structure to any make as it combines foam, fusibility and lightness as well as it gives your makes great stability and shape retention. For this particular project we recommend using single-sided foam, but you can also use sew in foam stabiliser if you have it. Just use pins or basting spray to hold all layers together. I

use either Bosal In-R-form or Soft and Stable by Annie's just because I can get them locally. Both are really good and easy to work with. Larisa uses Legacy Flex Foam Stabiliser Fusible Wadding.

If you don't have foam stabiliser, you can use batting or even batting scraps sewn together into panels. We recommend medium loft batting. If you only have a thin (low loft) batting, then use 2 layers. Keep in mind that if you use batting, the structure of the finished make would not be the same as with foam stabiliser. You might also have to interface linen with medium weight fusible interfacing to add more structure to your

make.

3) Quilting cotton fabric strips

We designed this project thinking that you might like to have an item that coordinates well with the two makes from our previous Sew Alongs: the Hexagon Sewing Folder and Mystery Spring Pouch.

If you would like to have a coordinating set, then pick the fabrics from the same range you used for the previous two projects.

When sewing a set of coordinated items, it is a great idea to use fabrics from the same designer because the colours even from various collections coordinate well. For example, I used Tilda Windy Days collection for the Hexagon Sewing Folder and scraps of Tilda fabrics for the Mystery Spring Pouch. For this project I will be using Tilda fabrics from various collections as well.

This pattern calls for 24 strips. You can either use 24 different prints or 12 prints (2 strips in each colour) in various prints about 5" x 2" (12.7 x 5.1cm) each. The best advice we can give you is to pick the fabrics that you love, fabrics that make your heart sing, not fabrics that simply fit a particular colour scheme. If you sew with the fabrics you love, you would love the finished product even more and enjoy using it.

Once you have selected a few options, audition them with the solid linen or quilting cotton you chose for the exterior.

4) EPP embellishment

You will need 8 scraps of the same fabrics as mentioned in step 3 and 1 solid coloured scrap. The solid colour should not be the same colour as the exterior, but it should coordinate well with the rest of the prints. Get a few options ready, but make the decision once we get to that step during the Sew Along.

5) Quilting cotton

Larisa and I always go for the harmonious look both on the outside and inside of our makes. In our humble opinion, the interior fabric should coordinate with the quilting cotton strips and solid linen you chose. But everyone is different and if you feel that you would rather have something contrasting, then go for it! We recommend using the same

fabric for the interior but if you don’t have enough of the same fabric,

you can use 2 different prints.

I decided to use my treasured Belle and Boo fabric, but since I don’t have enough of it for the entire interior, I will combine it with tiny grey dots by Tilda.

6) Binding

In this project we use straight binding (cut on grain). The choice of binding depends on your personal preferences. Pick what you like: gingham, stripes or solid colours. You can audition a few options with the exterior and quilting cotton strips and see what looks best to you.

Have your options ready, but again make the final decision once the binding step comes.

At the moment I am thinking of using Tiny Stripe in Grey, but I might change my decision later😊

7) Embroidery floss

We use DMC embroidery floss. We recommend to pick the colours later during the process.

Larisa and I hope these tips help you choose supplies for the Winter Mystery Project with ease!

If you would like to see what fabrics Larisa has chosen for the projects, please visit her blog.

We are looking forward to seeing you soon and sewing together!

With love, Irina and Larisa