Using Fabric Interfacing with my Silhouette Cameo

I ADORE my Cameo. I did not think it was possible to love a machine more than my Babylock Ellegante, but the Cameo is a strong contender. Sadly, I have not been able to use either machine much because in addition to my fabric business, I also have another job that sucks up pretty much all of my time. I enjoy the work and I'm lucky to have a job, so I can't complain too much. But my machines have been sitting neglected for far too long.

Luckily, my daughter's best friend had a birthday party today, so I had a very good excuse to carve out some sewing time to make a special gift for the birthday girl. I pulled out my much loved Farbenmix Henrika pattern and considered my options. Gorgeous bamboo french terry? Check. Adorable (but expensive) European jersey knit from Stenzo? Check. Embroidery? Or fabric cut on the Silhouette? Oh, the decisions!

I eventually went with the Silhouette because, quite frankly, I just didn't have the time to do an intricate embroidery. I'm also out of cutaway stabilizer, which pretty much sealed the deal. I'm still experimenting with heat transfer vinyl and flock (I'm finding that neither stays on through the wash), so decided to give Silhouette's fabric interfacing a try.

I really debated the necessity of using Silhouette's fabric interfacing vs. the much-easier-to-come-by Heat N Bond. Now, having done both, I think the Silhouette product is better. It makes such a clean cut! The drawback, of course, is that for this particular product, you have to sew it on, which vastly reduces the type of image you can cut with it. Very intricate patterns are just not going to work. They do make a different fabric interfacing that supposedly has a stronger adhesive that sounds better for intricate designs, but it is for "items that don't need to be washed." Obviously, that does not include children's clothing, so I went with the sew on type.

I used a simple flower graphic that I purchased off the Silhouette site, cut it out using some Euro fabric scraps, sewed it on and added a button.  I just love how it turned out.

 Pattern: Farbenmix Henrika

Main fabric: Bamboo french terry from Bamblue Fabrics

Flower file: Basic Layered Flower from Silhouette

I am dutifully brainwashing teaching my daughter about the joys of sewing. She recently sewed 100 scraps of fabric together to commemorate the 100th day of school. After completing this project (I was bursting with pride!) she announced that she wanted to make another one for her friend's birthday, in addition to the dress. I had just purchased some wonderful vintage fabric scraps from AbbyHareVintage on Etsy that were just perfect for this doll quilt. She chose the fabric and sewed everything herself, including the batting between the layers (I did the cutting and pressing. And the embroidered tag on the back). She is going to be out-sewing me in no time!

Both gifts were well received, but of course the doll quilt made the biggest splash!