Grime Guards

Today I sat down and cranked out some grime guards - elasticized fabric covers for Q-Snap embroidery frames.

Grime guards for 11", 8", and 6"

I've been wanting to make sets of these for a while. I had bought the 1/4" elastic and was just dithering about what fabric I'd use. While rummaging around in one of my fabric cupboards, I found this fabric that in a previous life had been a valance over a window in my family room. It was in perfect condition - not faded at all, and perfect for this project.

I used the dimensions and information from this post from the Thread-Bare blog. Commercially, they're between $9 and $12 each. With this reclaimed fabric and a couple of packages of 1/4" elastic, I have a complete set for a couple of dollars.

The fabric wraps around the project mounted on the Q-Snap frame. Excess fabric can be tucked in to keep things neat and out of the way for stitching.

This is the back of a project.

Basically, measure one side of the frame. Multiply by 4 and add a couple of inches. For an 8" frame, that would be 4 x 8" + 2 = 34".  That will be the length of  your fabric strip. For extra coverage, cut the piece 8" wide. Sew the strip ends together to create a loop.  The elastic is the length of two sides plus 2". For the 8" frame, that's 2 x 8" + 2 = 18". Run through a channel sewn on each long side. Easy peasy.

I have LOTS more fabric to make more sets. I just need to get some more elastic.