Keeping the wine cool at the picinic with UNIQUE quilting therm fleece

Yesterday I had so much fun making a set of charming reversible fabric bowl covers to go with my new picnic set. Using UNIQUE and Heirloom notions, SCHMETZ needles and Gütermann thread sure makes sewing and quilting easy.

Today I’ll add another great item to the basket as I create a wine cozy to keep my beverage chilled. Once again I’ll be using fabric from the April Showers collection by Northcott.

Let’s get to it.

fabric

• 1 fat quarter each of two different fabrics, April Showers 22595-21 and 22590-81 was used in this sample (makes 1 wine cozy)
• ½ yd each of two different fabrics, April Showers 22595-21 and 22590-81 was used in this sample (makes 3 wine cozies)

• 1 package UNIQUE therm fleece

Other

• 1 UNIQUE 2 in 1 marking pen
• 1 spool Gütermann 50wt cotton thread to match fabric
• 1 package SCHMETZ 90/14 quilting needles
• 1 package Heirloom quilting pins
• sharp sewing scissors
• rotary cutter, ruler and cutting mat
• sewing machine with walking foot and standard sewing foot

For one wine cozy cut the following:

• 2 – 6½” x 16½” rectangles of fabric for the outside, April Showers 22595-21 was used in this sample
• 2 – 6½” x 16½” rectangles of fabric for the lining, April Showers 22590-81 was used in this sample
• 2 – 6½” x 16½” rectangles of UNIQUE therm fleece

Prepare your sewing machine with a standard sewing foot, SCHMETZ 90/14 quilting needle and 50wt Gütermann cotton thread.

Use the Heirloom quilting pins to pin the outside wine cozy pieces along the long sides and bottom with the right sides together and all raw edges even.

Arrange the lining pieces with the right sides together and all raw edges even. Don’t pin yet. Place the cut pieces of therm fleece on either side of the lining fabrics. UNIQUE therm fleece is a heat resistant material used for hot and cold insulation.

I used the silver side out to have the heat and moisture barrier towards the outside of my wine cozy. The shiny side of therm fleece is meant to go against the source of heat or cold so if I chill the wine prior to heading out on my picnic it will stay nice and cool for hours.

Use quilting pins to pin through both the lining pieces and therm fleece taking care to keep all raw edges even. Heirloom quilting pins are long enough and sharp enough that they are able to pin through all the layers with minimal distortion.

Sew the outside pieces together. Use the edge of the standard sewing foot against the edge of the fabric and sew down one long side across the bottom and up the opposite long side. Be sure to leave the remaining short side unstitched.

Switch to the walking foot and sew the lining and batting pieces together. Leave a 3″ section unstitched on one long side so there will be an opening to turn the wine cozy right sides out. Stitch the bottom and other long side as before.

I’ll leave the top short side unstitched to attach the lining to the outside.

Before doing this I’ll create a boxed bottom on both the outside and lining pieces. This will give the wine cozy a square flat base to allow it to stand up.

To create the box bottom pull up one bottom corner and line the bottom seam allowances up to the side seam allowance to form a nice sharp point. Pin in place then use the UNIQUE 2 in 1 marker to draw a line 1¼” away from the point. This will be the stitching line.

Repeat for the three remaining corners.

When pinning the lining pieces take extra care to be sure both the lining and therm fleece are positioned correctly prior to stitching.

Stitch on the drawn line. Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end for strength. Repeat for the other three corners.

Check to make sure all of the edges have been stitched correctly then trim off the point ¼” beyond the stitching line. This will reduce the bulk so the wine bottle won’t tip over.

Turn the front section so the right side of the fabric faces out and slide it inside the lining section with the right side of the fabric facing in.

Line up the top edges and side seams and pin. Sew all the way around the top edge to attach the lining and batting to the outside of the wine cozy.

Pull the outside and lining pieces apart so the outside section is no longer inside the lining.

Turn all the pieces right sides out through the 3″ opening. Hand stitch the opening closed or if hand stitching isn’t something you enjoy use a straight stitch by machine to close the edge. I left the opening in the lining piece so this wouldn’t be visible.

Give the wine cozy a good press, then tuck the lining inside and it’s done.

All that’s left to do is to insert that favorite bottle of wine or sparkling fruit juice and turn down the top to reveal the pretty inside.

TIP UNIQUE therm fleece can be used for both hot and cold insulation, this same method can be used to make a thermos cozy. Simply make the cozy 2″ or 3″ taller than your thermos and 2″ to 4″ wider to allow enough room for the base to fit.

These are perfect for hot coffee or iced tea.