Scare up some spook-tacular fun this Halloween with a tabletop tic-tac-toe game. This game is a great activity for children’s parties and is also the perfect way to unwind after a night of trick-or-treating.
Materials
- Baby Lock Evolution Serger
- Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery Machine
- Floriani Total Control-U (loaded on your personal computer)
- 3/4” Belt Loop Binder (BLE8-S12)
- 4 Spools Maxi-Lock serger thread
- Fusible thread
- All-purpose thread to match fabrics
- Cut Away mesh stabilizer
- Five 4” x 4” squares of orange cotton fabric
- Five 4” x 4” squares of purple cotton fabric
- Two strips of 1 1/4” x 45” green cotton fabric – small border
- 1” Wide black cotton bias strip at least 55” long
- 7/8 Yard decorative Halloween print for borders and backing
- Iron and ironing board
- 5/8 Yard thin fleece or batting
- Rotary cutter, mat and ruler
- 2 White felt squares for game pieces
- Fusible web
- Scissors
Instructions
- Thread the serger and set it up for a four-thread stitch with the width set for
¼” stitch. - With right sides together and alternating the colors, serge the 4” x 4” squares together in rows of 3. Press.
- Once you have 3 rows of 3 squares, serge the rows together. Press.
- Set up the Evolution for a wide cover stitch with the fusible thread in the chain
looper and attach the belt loop binder. - Insert black bias strip into the belt loop binder and serge the strip of bias. The
edges are folded under and the fusible thread is visible on the underside of the
strip. - Align and press the finished bias strips across the edges of the blocks so the
bias covers the seam. Repeat for remaining seams. - Fold each of the green strips in half and press.
- Reset the serger for the four-thread stitch. Stitch the raw edges of the green borders to the quilted square. Attach the top and bottom then the sides. Trim off any excess of the green fabric strips.
- Cut two 4” wide x width of the fabric strips from the Halloween print.
- Serge the border strips onto the center piece and press, square off the side
using the rotary cutter. Repeat to add the border to the bottom and sides.
Press. - Trim edges so the project is square, using the rotary cutting blade and mat.
- Layer the batting then the backing fabric on your work area. Then place
the front onto the backing with right sides together. Cut the excess backing
and batting to match the front piece. - Serge around all four sides leaving an opening in one side for turning.
- Turn and press. Finish opening by pressing closed with a strip of fusible
web.
For embroidered game pieces
- Open Floriani Total Control-U. Select the font “Ghostly” and type “X space
space O” to create the ghost letters X and O with enough room between the
letters to cut the shapes apart after stitching. - Size the letters to approximately 2” in height. Save this design and transfer
it to your embroidery machine using your preferred method (i.e. card, flash
drive, or direct connect). - Hoop one piece of white felt and stabilizer.
- Embroider as many designs as you can fit into your machines hoop size. To maximize the fabric, embroider the designs close together. Leave even space between designs to trim them apart later. You will need 5 of each “X” and “O” piece.
- Once the embroidery is complete, remove the excess stabilizer from the
entire felt piece. Then fuse the remaining felt square to the wrong side
of the embroidered felt square. This will cover the bobbin thread of the
embroidery so it is not seen on the game pieces. - Trim around each piece close to the design.
Options
Use a glow-in-the-dark thread for the embroidery or topstitching on the
project to add additional Halloween fun!