November 2, 2008
For my Sister’s Birthday I thought I’d make an apron with matching hot pads. I chose some fun fabric to match her tough-girl personality. I used the apron and pot holder pattern from Amy Butler’s book “In Stitches”. The apron features pleats, a pocket, and a towel loop.
Apron Back
What I did different than the book for the Apron:
- I placed the towel loop and the pocket on the left side of the apron because my sister is left handed.
- I cut the blue polka dot pocket flap/trim longer because I thought it looked better. I probably added an extra 3/4 inch.
- I cut the pocket out of pink fabric instead of the same fabric as the main apron panel.
- I don’t know if this is necessarily different from the pattern, but I used color matched thread on the project. I even sewed the pocket to the apron using teal thread on the polka dot top half, and pink thread on the pink part of the pocket.
What I’d do different next time:
- I’d make the top trim of the fabric longer again. I liked the look.
- I’d interface the waistband.
- I might cut the point into apron ties (cut the ends at an angle) and sew them up. The pattern actually has you make square ends and then, after you’ve sewn them up and turned them right side, has you fold them into a point and slip-stitch. It’s very odd. (However, I cheated and used steam-a-seam two sided seam tape to attach it instead of slip-stitching…)
The pot holders feature a place to put your hands in the back side of the pot holder so you can fold it in half and grab hot pans! You are seeing the back side of the bottom pot holder. (Your thumb goes in the bottom “pocket” while the rest of your hand goes in the top “pocket” so you can fold the pot holder in half to grab things with.)
What I did different than the book for the Pot Holders:
- I used special “batting” called Insul-Bright that is made for pot holders. It has something in it that “reflects the heat back to the source” and “consists of hollow, polyester fibers needlepunched through Mylar”. You can buy it in the interfacing section at Jo-Anns, or order it from their web site pre-packaged. I’m sure you can find it at other shops as well. I used two layers in the main square pot holder section and one layer in the hand flaps on the back. Also, this product says it can go in the washer and dryer.
- Since I stuffed my pot holders with insul-bright, they were a little thicker than the pattern expected. When I stitched the bias binding to the back side, I needed to do less than the 1/2″ seam allowance so that it would fold over with enough on the front side.
- I used the dual-feed foot (also called a walking foot) on my machine to quilt the pot holders as well as sew the bias on. I LOVE THAT FOOT. It made such a big difference in how nice they turned out. If you have one of these feet, you really should use it. For those who don’t know what it is, it’s a special foot that feeds on the top while your feed dogs move the bottom. It’s good for thick fabrics (and stretchy ones) as it helps the top layer and bottom layer move through the machine at the same pace.
- My dual-feed foot (as well as some machine’s standard foot) comes with seam guides. This was awesome as I did not have to do the masking tape method to quilt the diagonal lines evenly apart. Here is a photo of what I’m talking about. I had to draw a chalk line for the very first row, and then I could use the guide for all the rest.
Dual feed foot with guide attachment. Place the guide on the previous line of stitching to quilt evenly spaced rows.
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Posted in Aprons
October 18, 2008
I stumbled on this while searching for a photo of some new Alexander Henry fabric. I quickly got off track browsing through Pretty Ditty’s photo collection on flickr. She’s made some beautiful stuff –check out her aprons and children’s jacket as well. This project photo caught my eye — it’s so creative and whimsical. She was so very kind to post a tutorial on her blog about how to make your very own! I’m definitely adding this to my to-do list! Check out her other great posts while you’re there as well as this one about a fabulous handbag she made!
*This is not my photo, it’s is Pretty Ditty’s photo from her Flickr account. It is posted here by using Flickr’s “blog it” option.
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Posted in Cool Stuff By Other Crafters
August 25, 2008
I bought the pattern for Amy Butler’s Weekender Bag which calls for a 30″ plastic or metal teeth heavyweight zipper (non separating). That’s a mouthful. I first had to figure out what “non separating” was. It means that the zipper cannot separate at the end like it does on your jacket. It needs to have a permanent stopper at the end. I could not find one ANYWHERE. Finally, I found Zippersource.com. I was real pleased with the easy to use interface for ordering. I could get any length zipper I wanted, with just about any feature for it. There are more color choices if you get a plastic zipper instead of a metal. I got mine in less than a week. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Bags and Totes, Resources
August 23, 2008
I recently completed a bag for my sister in-law, Sarah, from Sew Liberated’s “Mischievous Gnome Messenger Bag” pattern. It turned out beautifully and only required two band-aids for me….
This bag has a short pocket on the front and a tall one on the back.
Some changes I made to the pattern:
- I sewed in velcro as the closure for the top flap and added a pull tab from the same ribbon that is used on the pocket edging.
- Used ribbon on the pocket top edges instead of the fabric band included in the pattern.
- I had to cut the patch bigger in order to fit the bird on it.
Tough Spots:
- I had a hard time sewing the bottom corners. I had to do it twice because something got caught up in the stitching the first time. (It’s a lot of layers).
- I had problems with stretch while sewing. I think I will try my dual-feed foot next time.
- Plan your layout carefully. You can see there is a bird near the top of the front pocket. That is my second pocket. I thought I had planned to not cut off the bird’s head by leaving the seam allowance above it….forgetting about the ribbon I was going to put on. That fabric is $16 a yard — NOT a good mistake!
Other shots, including inside pocket:
About the fabric:
- The inside swirly fabric is from The Haussmann 1800’s Collection by Sharon Yenter for In The Beginning fabrics. It’s color matched the echino nicely. I don’t know what the blue is.
- The pocket fabric is by Echino for Kokka fabrics.
- The bag flap and body is a corduroy. Source unknown.
- The blue fabric on the inside pocket is also unknown.
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Posted in Bags and Totes
June 23, 2008
This is the first wallet I made and it is from the pattern “A Girl’s Best Friend Wallet” by Jenna Lou Sewing Patterns. The fabric is Freespirit’s Barefoot Roses.
Pattern Notes:
- I cut the seam allowance out of the interfacing. I think it would have been difficult to sew otherwise since it requires pellon craft fuse.
- The inside of the zipper pocket is the backside of another piece of fabric. I think it would have been nice if it were the right side. The zipper pocket forms a pocket behind the whole thing as you can see in the below photo where the piece of pink paper is.
- The wallet does not look nice when closed with a big pen in it…
- I sewed a button on the velcro strap before topstitching around it… that caused great difficulty when the button was in the way of the presser foot during top stitching. I finally figured out a way around it and got it stitched.
- I had to seam rip a little bit larger opening to turn the whole wallet right side out after sewing the wallet outside and inside together.
- I cut the card pockets an extra 1/4″ taller so i could fold down the seam and then fold it over again to enclose the raw edges. I thought it would help keep down the unraveling from pulling credit cards in and out of the pocket.
- I planned my layout in terms of the finished product. I placed pattern pieces on the best spots in the fabric so that it would look the nicest when it was sewn up. For example, I placed the inside pieces on small flowers and i centered the outside piece on a large rose set. I also cut the striped pieces all in a line so the stripes would match up when completed.
Here’s what the inside looks like:
(Click to see larger)
This wallet was made to match a bag previously blogged about.
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Posted in Bags and Totes
June 20, 2008
This is one of my upcoming projects. It looked like fun, and a change from what I’ve been doing. I’ve only done one quilt in my life and this bag is quilt style. It should be pretty simple though. I’m in to pink lately, so I chose Moda’s Simplicity fabric collection. I like that I get to work with a bunch of different fabric patterns at once since the whole line is in the charm pack.
I didn’t know what the heck a charm pack was at first, but it appears to be pre-cut 5″ squares in varying quantities, usually from a single fabric collection. This bag takes 48 squares and the charm packs I ordered contain 50 squares. If you ever order some, be sure to check how many are in the pack because I’ve seen numbers as low as 20 something.
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Posted in Bags and Totes, Upcoming Projects
June 15, 2008
I just finished making the Eco Market Tote (pattern by Favorite Things) for our friend Cyndi. I chose a lovely Japanese linen for the outside and some neutral heavier cotton (maybe a twill?) for the lining and front contrast.
My thoughts on the pattern were that I found the directions to be a little too vague– They just weren’t clear enough to me when referencing the different pieces of the bag. I eventually sorted it all out though. I also found that when stitching in the bag side, I came up short where the top of the side met the top of the front and back bag pieces. I would cut that side piece out a little longer in the future since I can always trim off extra. I don’t know if this was a problem with the pattern with the fabric stretching.
I did make some alterations to the pattern to suit my needs:
- The directions called for a small double pocket on the back, but I felt it would look so much nicer without that. Instead, I put the pocket on the INSIDE and made it wider and maybe a little taller. It’s nice to be able to quickly find your cell phone and other small items w/o it being an eyesore.
- I added ribbon to the top of the outside pocket on the front of the bag. I thought it gave it a little extra detail.
- I did not put in a button hole, but instead sewed the button on for decoration as a “dummy”.
- I installed velcro to hold the outside pocket closed instead of using a buttonhole. However, I think I sewed it a little lower than I should have. If I did it again, I would put it about 5/8″ down from the top of the pocket. The velcro strip was a little over 2″ wide. I sewed the velcro to the pocket lining so the stitching would not show through the front of the pocket.
- I was fortunate enough to have enough linen to cut the 51″ straps as one full piece instead of 6 small pieces that would be sew together in groups of 3 to form the straps. Somehow I miscalculated and cut them 41″ the first time and didn’t know until i had one half of the strap sewn to the bag =O
- I top stitched around the opening of the bag.
- I lined the handles with some lighter interfacing and the rest of the bag with fusible fleece to give it structure (I cut the seam allowance out of the interfacing to reduce bulk; it looks so much nicer). I use the fusible fleece in my bags. On the other bags that I’ve made, where I use a lighter upholstery fabric and quilting cotton, the fleece is the perfect weight. On this bag, which is also much wider, it did seem a little heavy. I used a a heavier lining fabric on this bag too, so that is probably part of that bulk.
Other random notes…
I had never sewn with linen before. I found it to be a little fussy with my machine. It liked to shift on me causing my stitches to be a little crooked here and there.
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Posted in Bags and Totes
June 7, 2008
I have made this bag once before with the button closure. My Aunt saw mine and asked if I could maker her one too. I’ve learned a lot since I made my last one — I didn’t even bleed this time! Hers also has a velcro closure. I hadn’t done one of those before, but it turned out nicely.
Some of the lessons I applied to this version:
1- Cut the seam allowance out of the fusible fleece interfacing. This made the seams lay nice and flat as well as made the finishing SO much easier. Last time the finishing was a nightmare; I had to top stitch through two layers of interfacing as a result of the seams folded down.
2- Put a color match thread for the outside fabric on top of the machine, and a different color in the bobbin which matched the lining fabric. Looks so nice!
3- I did not put pockets on the outside of the bag this time. I think the exterior fabric looks best without pockets covering up. It has a more clean look. I put two big pockets on the inside though.
More shots of this bag:
*Read about the first version of this bag.
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Posted in Bags and Totes
June 5, 2008
On a bad note, I have my Grandmother’s almost done…and I just noticed on the front of the bag there is a thread missing in one little spot which will probably cause a hole. I’m SO ticked off. I could learn how to use my machine’s darning stitch, but then it’s just a bigger blemish. Or, i could tear the whole thing apart and replace the whole bag front. =( I’m not sure what to do yet, I’m too ticked to deal with it right now.
That is from my previous post. Even though the bag already had the ends of the petal ties joined and the only thing left to do was top stitch the bag opening and up the straps, I tore the whole defective side out. I took forever because the bag sides are double stitched, plus the top was already joined to the lining.
I cut a brand new one, inspected it and began sewing it in. THEN, what did I see as I got halfway through, creeping towards my sewing needle? A broken/cut thread in the weave again. I could just pull my hair out. It will just turn in to a bigger hole. I can’t give someone a piece of junk. I’m throwing this whole bag in the trash I’m so mad. Obviously this is a defective run of fabric. It wasn’t even pinned for sewing, so it couldn’t be from that. I pinned the pattern piece on, but I used high quality glass head pins. So i don’t know what the deal is. It’s also prewashed in a front loading machine, so it wasn’t the washer either.
I just had to vent that. I’m on my way to buy some NEW fabric so I can start over. It won’t be the same print, just to be safe!
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Posted in Bags and Totes, Venting
June 4, 2008
This bag is for my Mother In-Law, Trish. It’s so pretty that it’s almost sad to mail it out, but I know it will be well loved!
I’ve made this pattern two times previously, but never with petal ties. I think it went ok. They are very cute, but since the ends get sewn together for the first 5 inches or so, and the mouth of the bag is partially stitched before turning right side out, if things doesn’t line up exact, you don’t have much wiggle room. No one wants to sew a giant wrinkle in… I had a minor issue (where the top of the bag front meets the side strap), but i managed to finagle it so you wouldn’t even know it! I’m not sure if the outside bag stretched some during stitching or if the fleece interfacing that is fused to the inside bag caused a slight variance. Either way, it’s all ok now.
This was also the first time I’ve sewn a button on with my machine. It was a little iffy at first trying to figure out how it worked, but I got it and the button looks great. The only thing that bugged me was the needle would scratch the button as it moved from right to left, but that’s hidden under the thread. I wonder if the needle would have been up higher and not have done that if I found a setting that told the machine I was using thick fabric. I guess I have a little bit more to learn about machine “buttoning”….in other words, more manual reading.
Another first was sewing with stripes. OOOH, that’s something challenging, for sure. I didn’t even think about it when I cut the pocket and then I was so irritated that the stripes didn’t line up when attaching the pocket that I ripped it out and cut a whole new one so that it would line up perfectly.
On a bad note, I have my Grandmother’s almost done…and I just noticed on the front of the bag there is a thread missing in one little spot which will probably cause a hole. I’m SO ticked off. I could learn how to use my machine’s darning stitch, but then it’s just a bigger blemish. Or, i could tear the whole thing apart and replace the whole bag front. =( I’m not sure what to do yet, I’m too ticked to deal with it right now.
If you want to make one: This bag is sewn from Grand Revival’s Flea Market Bag pattern and the fabric is from Freespirit’s Barefoot Roses collection.
Other Notes: I used Pellon’s fusible fleece interfacing on this bag (the one with the little glue dots/bumps NOT the one with the shiny glue, as it’s to stiff) and I cut the seam allowance out of it. If you don’t cut the seam allowance out of this thicker interfacing, your bag won’t look as nice and it will be a lot harder to sew the openings (the ones used to turn the bag right-side out) shut. I learned this the hard way. =( You will can see the difference in the photos of on my “work bag“ (untrimmed) versus the one I made for my Aunt (trimmed). Big difference. Here’s a full shot of the “trimmed one”
Update:
Read about the matching wallet
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Posted in Bags and Totes
