I recently hinted that I found a wonderful new tool when I was at the trade show in Houston, it's arrived!
My friend Katy Jones wrote me before I went to the show. She works with Crafter's Companion company and asked me if I'd like to take a look at the die cut machine they make. If Katy asks me, I'm going to take a look! I've known Katy for a long time, she has been on my podcast, and she is a super talented quilt maker and friend.
The Crafter's Companion company is run by an amazing lady, Sara Davies. She has designed a lot of super useful crafting products. Her die cutting system is cooler than cool! It is a little different than other die cutters I’ve seen and I couldn't wait to get a demo from Katy.
The Gemini is fully electronic, so there’s no hand crank. You push the die and fabric sandwich into the machine and it does all the work for you. This is perfect for anyone with dexterity issues as well as those of us who could really grab an extra hour or 2 in the day. It’s so fast! Each of the dies are stored in a cute little set of drawers, so they’re easy to place on your table or on a shelf without taking up too much valuable space.
For beginners, there’s a block book right in the box with 20 different blocks in different sizes to start you on your journey and a sampler quilt pattern to test your new skills.
There are MANY more dies than the one box. Like a die to cut 2.5" strips. I'll be showing that one in the future!
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Here’s some facts about the dies.
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They don’t have a sharp blade edge so they don’t dull. The cutting works from pressure, pressing the shape out using a cutting edge
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Each die, so each size and shape you want to cut, is separate so you can cut multiple shapes and sizes at once to minimize waste to practically none
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Inside the Build A Block set you get squares, half square triangles and quarter square triangles in sizes from 1.5 to 6.5” with seam allowance included, and dog ears already trimmed. It’s as simple as cut, sew and press for perfect points every time. Please note that on the website they list 'finished sizes' . Example - for a finished 2" square, you cut with the 2.5" die like I'm showing above.
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They’re great for fussy cutting – because you can lay the die right on top of your fabric and center to pick out the design you want to feature
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They really work, and they work so well! There’s no missed threads to snip with scissors, it’s a clean cut every single time
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You can cut fabric, vinyl, leather, felt, cork, craft foam, batting – all kinds of materials. As well paper and cardstock.
Keep reading to see a video on it in action!
My friends Katy Jones and Jen Tryon do lots of videos about the machine for the company.
Watch Jen demo the machine for us. It really is as easy to use as she is showing. My shipping department even tried it out, Jen showed him how!
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While I was out of town, Katy made up a darling quick and easy project to show you using my Star block from Merry & Bright.
Here are the step by step photos of how Katy cut out the star mat with the Build A Block die system to make this table topper. Because you can cut 6-8 layers of fabric at once, this project is perfect for a last minute hostess gift over the holiday period. You can also lay both sizes of square onto the folded fabric at once, cutting multiples of each size. This project was finished in just a couple of hours!
Design tip – if you’re using a low volume background fabric, flip over some of your pieces and use the reverse side. It’s subtle but gives a soft faded and vintage look to the finished project.
Layer the fabric, dies, and cover, just like Jen showed us in the video above.
Push the button to run it through
Here are the squares with the dies!
** Download my FREE Star Block from Merry and Bright **
Make 4 start blocks for a darling table mat!
BUY a Gemini and all you need to get started!
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Over the coming months I’ll have some projects for you and other fun ideas using the Gemini and Build A Block system. I can’t wait to share more with you!