Play with Me QAL: 04-2016 GO/Embroidery

I am really having fun with these Play with Me QAL board game block pillows!

This month we made a GO board and used embroidery.

Click and see what the others have created this month!

This month it's a GO board, and the skill is embroidery.

I used this as an opportunity to get more familiar with my new Brother sewing machine.

I changed the foot as needed, but tested how the stitches would look on a sample piece of denim.

I sewed on the back as that was how I was marking my pillow top, and wrote the stitch number with pen so I could refer back to the piece.



I was pretty pleased with how well the stitches looked on the opposite side.

I thought the column of asterisks stood out and was narrow so picked that to start!

In looking up GO boards I found there are different number of lines but that the 9 x 9 was a good beginner's board.  

Some of the sites discussed how the cells were not to be square, but then there was discussion about how the size was very different and if the object was to make it appear square then it would also have to do with how tall the players were.  

I did find one place that said the cells have a ratio of 15:14.  Luckily this was easy to put into action as 1.75 inch is also 14/8th so I drew that for one direction and then did 15/8th for the other direction. I used a pencil and then a pen to mark the lines.  

I sewed the center lines, then consulted my husband on what stitches he wanted.  He requested that the inner lines all be the same, that there be a different outer border, and that the little dots (hoshi) be added with black thread.

Link One Equipment Dimensions
Link Two Seattle GO Center

Link Three Print out GO Board - see hoshi placement

Link Four - 15:14

I discovered that by unplugging the foot pedal of my new Brother 600i sewing machine, I can press a button on the machine to control the speed and to turn the machine on and off!  So all I had to do was guide the material so the lines were between the center of the foot.

So although this did take time, it didn't take as long as I thought it would!  The secret was in the marking and in having this cool new machine to sew fancy stitches with!

I had to fill the bobbin during this process, but I bet you can't tell where I did it.  I'm not sure I can find the spot again myself!

 This is what the board looked like once the lines and border were done.

I pinned the flap to the back and the zipper.

Doubling checking what will show on the flap.

This time I trimmed the corners before joining the front to the back.

Again added a row of top stitching. Note to self: the zipper foot should not have been used for this step.

Pinning the second part of the zipper in place.

Triple checking!

The Reward!

Here are my four pillows!


Click and see what the others have created this month!