Monday, April 14, 2014
"We were on a break!"
I'm slowly coming back from my sewing break and I've done a couple small projects to prove it. But I'm going on vacation in a couple days and won't be posting them till I come home. May we have wonderful weather and safe travels.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Cover it up!
Most if not all sewing machines come with a cover to help protect them. The problem is they're usually a hideous plastic that stinks and frankly doesn't look very pretty. So I figured I can do much better than ugly plastic. I used two different tutorials to help make this project and also flew by the seat of my pants. The tutorials I used will be posted at the bottom of the page as usual.
Here's the beautiful fabric I found at Jo-Ann's almost a month ago. I wanted something colorful and I think the fabric I picked will do this project justice. Now it's time to measure! I've been told by my fellow sewers that I have a tiny sewing machine and truth be told I do. So please do your own measuring. A couple of things to remember while you measure:
1) don't forget to include your flywheel
2) remember your seam allowances
Cut out your pieces according to what you just measured. I added batting to the front and back pieces and sew in interfacing on the sides for added plushness and stability. "Why wouldn't you use batting or interfacing the whole way around?" Good question and here's my answer. It's all I had at the time and I wasn't about to go out and buy more when a snow/ice storm is rolling on through.
I wanted pockets big enough on either side to fit my foot pedal and power cord. Or one of the 5 pairs of scissors I own.
I started with sewing the front and back to the top. As I went along I did press my seams to help it take shape.
As you can see from the picture below I had a small error with my measurements. And looking back I'm still not sure where it all went wrong. But the important thing is I fixed it later on by taking off about 2 inches of fabric. My pockets were tricky because I didn't want them to be too small or too large. I eventually took off a 1/2 inch at a time till I was satisfied.
Here's the beautiful fabric I found at Jo-Ann's almost a month ago. I wanted something colorful and I think the fabric I picked will do this project justice. Now it's time to measure! I've been told by my fellow sewers that I have a tiny sewing machine and truth be told I do. So please do your own measuring. A couple of things to remember while you measure:
1) don't forget to include your flywheel
2) remember your seam allowances
Cut out your pieces according to what you just measured. I added batting to the front and back pieces and sew in interfacing on the sides for added plushness and stability. "Why wouldn't you use batting or interfacing the whole way around?" Good question and here's my answer. It's all I had at the time and I wasn't about to go out and buy more when a snow/ice storm is rolling on through.
I wanted pockets big enough on either side to fit my foot pedal and power cord. Or one of the 5 pairs of scissors I own.
I started with sewing the front and back to the top. As I went along I did press my seams to help it take shape.
As you can see from the picture below I had a small error with my measurements. And looking back I'm still not sure where it all went wrong. But the important thing is I fixed it later on by taking off about 2 inches of fabric. My pockets were tricky because I didn't want them to be too small or too large. I eventually took off a 1/2 inch at a time till I was satisfied.
I knew I wanted to put bias tape at the bottom of all the pieces but I had trouble find colors to match. A good friend came to my rescue and lent me her bias tape maker. I had left over fabric from my fat quarters and thought it'd make good bias tape. There's a picture of it on the second picture below. Some help from my friend and a broken seam ripper (sorry T) later I finally managed to get it right.
I pinned the sides next and this is where I had some trouble lining everything up. The bottom lined up perfectly but towards the top I had to mess with it a bit.
Overall I am very happy with how it turned out. It's the perfect little house for my sewing machine.
Sewing machine cover tutorial #2 (if this link doesn't work please use the one above. I only used this tutorial for the pockets I made.)
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Shade your eyes!
Why are cases for sunglasses so expensive? Most are plastic with a bit of pretend metal or wood material with again pretend metal. I bought a pair recently from a well known retailer in the sunglasses world and my new glasses wouldn't fit in any of their cases. Doesn't make much sense to me. And as my sister so helpfully mentioned at the time "Why don't you get smaller glasses?". Well let me tell you why, smaller glasses look ridiculous on my bighead. I prefer the bigger rounded shades but not the ones that take over my whole face like some celebs wear these days. Alright let's get back on point here...
So instead of buying another case that most likely wouldn't fit, I'm making one. I went to my trusty website Pinterest to see what other crafter's have successfully made. Hey I never claimed to be an inventor of any kind. After scrolling...and scrolling I finally found a case that looked semi easy to make. If you wish to make your own I will as always post the accredited website/blog at the bottom of the page.
Off I went to my local fabric store in search of fat quarters and a zipper to match. I overestimated my ability to make fabric choices apparently because I stood looking at all my choices for a good 15 minutes. I imagine I had a glazed look in my eyes when a friendly sales lady came to my rescue. And wanted to give a quick shout out to my amazing son because he sat in the cart quietly and calmly while I stared at fabric squares. Thank you J!
Once I picked out my polka dots and chevrons it was time to find a zipper. Which I'm sad to report is white...yes I know with all the pretty possibilities I pick white. I did have an issue finding 1/4 inch foam so I picked out a thicker piece of interfacing. I'm 94% positive it'll do this project justice but you never know.
As you can see below I used the template to cut out my pieces and I'm ready to sew the fabric to my zipper. Let me just say sewing zippers scares me almost to point of not bothering with them at all. You can find the template I used by clicking the link below.
Here we go...I'm so nervous and I know how ridiculous that sounds...
I was quite pleased with how my first zipper experience turned out. It could probably be better but practice makes perfect after all.
I made my case a bit different from the tutorial posted below. I wanted interfacing between both layers to give my sunglasses a fighting chance if they're dropped or worse yet sat on. I don't recommend going the route I did with the next step. It was a PITA to line up all the fabric and zipper edges. I even had to break out my trusty seam ripper due to unforeseen complications.
Once that part was over I flipped the case inside out, ironed the edges to make it look nice and abracadabra it's done!
Overall I'm happy with how my case turned out. And I have a feeling I'll be experimenting with zipper a bit more thanks to my new zipper foot.
They're here!
Aren't they beautiful?
I happen to think they are! Now that I'm the proud owner of a zigzag, zipper, and straight stitch foot the project possibilities are endless.
If you're having trouble finding parts for your sewing machine I hope you check out "Sewing Parts Online". I have an 8 year old Kenmore and I had a troublesome time finding the feet above. I tried Jo-Ann's, Sears and their online store, and a random sewing store in my local area with next to no luck. I did find my zipper foot at the "Sears Parts Direct" website but they asked for the astronomical price of $15.99. I think not Sears!
"Sewing Parts Online" has reasonable prices and I had my parts within 3 business days. I can only speak from my experience but if I need parts in the near future I'm definitely buying from them again.
Okay now it's time to catch up on projects...they're starting to really pile up.
I happen to think they are! Now that I'm the proud owner of a zigzag, zipper, and straight stitch foot the project possibilities are endless.
If you're having trouble finding parts for your sewing machine I hope you check out "Sewing Parts Online". I have an 8 year old Kenmore and I had a troublesome time finding the feet above. I tried Jo-Ann's, Sears and their online store, and a random sewing store in my local area with next to no luck. I did find my zipper foot at the "Sears Parts Direct" website but they asked for the astronomical price of $15.99. I think not Sears!
"Sewing Parts Online" has reasonable prices and I had my parts within 3 business days. I can only speak from my experience but if I need parts in the near future I'm definitely buying from them again.
Okay now it's time to catch up on projects...they're starting to really pile up.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Be a hipster!
From the flower power, peace is love, tunic and bell bottoms, Jimi Hendrix 60's era. Not this new hipster craze going on in the nation today. I found this beautiful gem at the local fabric store (and at additional 60% off the lowest price) and you can bet your butt I was taking some home. Some might think to themselves "Well yes I can see why it's cheap! Just look at it.". Well I am and I LOVE it! I even bought a deep red/brown cotton fabric for the lining.
As you can see I cut the printed pattern apart and made it to the size I needed. I carry a lot of junk (no matter how often I clean it out) and need a bigger bag.
When I finally had the size bag I wanted I cut out my main pieces. I pinned them right sides together and stitched a "U" shape with a 1/2 inch inseam. I did have some puckering at the rounded corners so I clipped my corners a bit more than usual. *Don't forget to leave a gap at the bottom of your lining. If you don't you'll be getting your seam ripper and ripping out stitches.*
Then I thought "Hey why not add some pockets? I can't have a bag without pockets." Since I had plenty of extra exterior fabric I stitched two together real quick. They are nothing spectacular but will hold cell phones, chapstick, car keys just the same.
My inside pockets turned out to be thicker than I had expected. My poor sewing machine was a trooper however and stitched right through multiple layers of canvas with only minimal help. Thank God! I arranged and pinned them so I could sew them in when I sewed the exterior and interior fabric together.
Now I missed taking a picture of the next step due to frustration. Not at the instructions but because they were excellent but at my own stupidity. No joke it took me 2 TIMES to comprehend the lining had to be right side out INSIDE the right sides together exterior. See I'm confusing myself again trying to write down what I had done wrong in the first two attempts. Anyway when I post the blog where I borrowed this pattern from read her instructions and save yourself some trouble.
Once you've done this step correctly it should look something like this when you pull the lining through the gap you left open.
This is where you close your gap at the bottom of your lining. Now pardon my hideous stitching job I was at my wits end and just wanted to get the bag itself done. And I finished it in the wee hours of the morning! Yes! Once your gap is sewed shut put the lining into the bag and play with the shape a bit. Because I choose to tackle canvas *still grumbling about it* I had to shake it a bit to puff out my corners and line up the top to do a top stitch around the opening. Follow the "U" shape of the bag do not top stitch over the strap opening.
I made my strap long enough so I could make this a crossbody bag. With toting around my son J it's very important that I don't have to worry about my purse falling off my shoulder constantly. I knew I needed it to be easily accessible and wanted it right at hip level. With my purse on my hip I took my measuring tape to one end crossed it over my shoulder to the other end. I added 2 inches to the length because I put about an inch of the strap into each strap space. So overall I cut 45 inches of fabric for my shoulder strap. I wanted my shoulder strap to look a little bit different and this is what I came up with.
I made a quick stitch across the strap to keep it in place. But don't worry there's a plan to hide the stitching and make it look pretty.
I cut little rectangles and turned them into little covers. Fold over and stitch the top and bottom, my inseam was barely 1/4 inch. Fold over your strap inside out (with your strap inside of it), sew up the side, flip right side out, position where you want it to be, and anchor them down. I stitched my anchor points freehand so I could hide them a bit better.
End result! I'm quite content with how my first little purse turned out. I don't want to make another out of canvas any time soon though. It frays very easily and jammed my machine almost to the point of no return many times. But moving forward I did buy 4 more pieces of fabric to make some more for spring. Very excited about it because my fabric is adorable!
This is NOT my pattern! If you want the pattern for yourself you can find it here. Big thank you to Tiffany at Simply Modern Mom for making this purse available for any and all to copy. Also check out the "All Free Sewing" website, they have SO MANY free projects for any level of sewer.
As you can see I cut the printed pattern apart and made it to the size I needed. I carry a lot of junk (no matter how often I clean it out) and need a bigger bag.
When I finally had the size bag I wanted I cut out my main pieces. I pinned them right sides together and stitched a "U" shape with a 1/2 inch inseam. I did have some puckering at the rounded corners so I clipped my corners a bit more than usual. *Don't forget to leave a gap at the bottom of your lining. If you don't you'll be getting your seam ripper and ripping out stitches.*
Then I thought "Hey why not add some pockets? I can't have a bag without pockets." Since I had plenty of extra exterior fabric I stitched two together real quick. They are nothing spectacular but will hold cell phones, chapstick, car keys just the same.
My inside pockets turned out to be thicker than I had expected. My poor sewing machine was a trooper however and stitched right through multiple layers of canvas with only minimal help. Thank God! I arranged and pinned them so I could sew them in when I sewed the exterior and interior fabric together.
Now I missed taking a picture of the next step due to frustration. Not at the instructions but because they were excellent but at my own stupidity. No joke it took me 2 TIMES to comprehend the lining had to be right side out INSIDE the right sides together exterior. See I'm confusing myself again trying to write down what I had done wrong in the first two attempts. Anyway when I post the blog where I borrowed this pattern from read her instructions and save yourself some trouble.
Once you've done this step correctly it should look something like this when you pull the lining through the gap you left open.
This is where you close your gap at the bottom of your lining. Now pardon my hideous stitching job I was at my wits end and just wanted to get the bag itself done. And I finished it in the wee hours of the morning! Yes! Once your gap is sewed shut put the lining into the bag and play with the shape a bit. Because I choose to tackle canvas *still grumbling about it* I had to shake it a bit to puff out my corners and line up the top to do a top stitch around the opening. Follow the "U" shape of the bag do not top stitch over the strap opening.
I made my strap long enough so I could make this a crossbody bag. With toting around my son J it's very important that I don't have to worry about my purse falling off my shoulder constantly. I knew I needed it to be easily accessible and wanted it right at hip level. With my purse on my hip I took my measuring tape to one end crossed it over my shoulder to the other end. I added 2 inches to the length because I put about an inch of the strap into each strap space. So overall I cut 45 inches of fabric for my shoulder strap. I wanted my shoulder strap to look a little bit different and this is what I came up with.
I made a quick stitch across the strap to keep it in place. But don't worry there's a plan to hide the stitching and make it look pretty.
I cut little rectangles and turned them into little covers. Fold over and stitch the top and bottom, my inseam was barely 1/4 inch. Fold over your strap inside out (with your strap inside of it), sew up the side, flip right side out, position where you want it to be, and anchor them down. I stitched my anchor points freehand so I could hide them a bit better.
End result! I'm quite content with how my first little purse turned out. I don't want to make another out of canvas any time soon though. It frays very easily and jammed my machine almost to the point of no return many times. But moving forward I did buy 4 more pieces of fabric to make some more for spring. Very excited about it because my fabric is adorable!
This is NOT my pattern! If you want the pattern for yourself you can find it here. Big thank you to Tiffany at Simply Modern Mom for making this purse available for any and all to copy. Also check out the "All Free Sewing" website, they have SO MANY free projects for any level of sewer.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Do large bibs exist?
Well sure they do but I'm too cheap to buy them! There I've admitted that I'm a semi cheapskate when I know I can make something for less or better yet free. And frankly there's nothing wrong with that plus I love sewing projects so it's a win win!
Anyway my son is 15 months old now and those bibs we've had since he was born don't cover enough area on his chest. And since I keep most of my scrap fabric I decided to make some large bibs with it. I managed to keep my wiggle worm sitting still long enough to measure across his chest and from his shoulders to his belly button. Now every child is a different size so please don't expect my measurements to work for your child.
After I measured J I figured his measurements were about the size of a sheet of printer paper. I used 2 sheets to make my pattern but looking back I wish I had made it wider. I traced my pattern onto my fabric and cut it out. I also cut interfacing to be placed from the neckline to the bottom of the bib (not shown in picture below). I didn't add interfacing to the entire bib because I wanted flexibility with the neck straps.
It was a quick 1/4 inch inseam around the bib and make sure you leave a couple inch gap so you can flip it right side out. Then I did a simple 1/4 inch top stitch to close it up. I decided not to do Velcro but simple snaps as a fastener. I thought it would look nicer than trying to cut out Velcro to fit properly. Also my little genius rips the Velcro bibs right off and by then you better be looking for your "Shout" to get those food stains out.
Anyway my son is 15 months old now and those bibs we've had since he was born don't cover enough area on his chest. And since I keep most of my scrap fabric I decided to make some large bibs with it. I managed to keep my wiggle worm sitting still long enough to measure across his chest and from his shoulders to his belly button. Now every child is a different size so please don't expect my measurements to work for your child.
After I measured J I figured his measurements were about the size of a sheet of printer paper. I used 2 sheets to make my pattern but looking back I wish I had made it wider. I traced my pattern onto my fabric and cut it out. I also cut interfacing to be placed from the neckline to the bottom of the bib (not shown in picture below). I didn't add interfacing to the entire bib because I wanted flexibility with the neck straps.
It was a quick 1/4 inch inseam around the bib and make sure you leave a couple inch gap so you can flip it right side out. Then I did a simple 1/4 inch top stitch to close it up. I decided not to do Velcro but simple snaps as a fastener. I thought it would look nicer than trying to cut out Velcro to fit properly. Also my little genius rips the Velcro bibs right off and by then you better be looking for your "Shout" to get those food stains out.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Diapers trump makeup case.
If you're a mother then you know your child's toys, bibs, sippy cups, wipes, diapers, changing pad, etc take over your purse. So your favorite items can get pushed out of your purse very easily. None of it bothers me except for random diapers floating about, pulling out a wipes case to realize it's not your wallet, or my personal favorite pulling out your wallet and having all the above fly out.
I have friends tell me "Buy a bag to put diaper changing stuff in". I like the idea...but not enough to spend X amount of dollars on it. Cue light bulb please! I'll make one instead with scrap fabric but it won't be a bag. I've decided to make a cloth wrap (with velcro) for my sons diaper hoopla.
I made the width to match his changing pad as it was the widest. Then I stacked his pad, two diapers, and wipes case to measure enough length so it'll overlap a couples inches. I did two diapers because you never know when you'll have multiple poop explosions.
The picture could be better but hopefully you get the idea. The width for my wrap is 9 inches BUT I tacked on an extra inch for my 1\2 inch seam allowances. Overall I cut 10 inches for my width.
My wrap around length is 15 1\2 inches as shown below. But I knew that I wanted an overlap to hold more or less if needed. So my overall length with seam allowances is 18 inches.
I also cut put a piece of my "beloved" batting to add stability and of course plushness. I did your basic single stitch around the edges leaving a hole to pull the right sides out and do a top stitch.
Time to place your Velcro and sew it on.
I'm happy with how my wrap turned out and can't wait to put it to good use.
There will not be a link posted because I didn't use any specific pattern or tutorial. And just so we're clear I AM NOT taking any credit for "inventing" this diaper wrap. It's stupid to write something like that but with crazy people today you have to CYA.
I have friends tell me "Buy a bag to put diaper changing stuff in". I like the idea...but not enough to spend X amount of dollars on it. Cue light bulb please! I'll make one instead with scrap fabric but it won't be a bag. I've decided to make a cloth wrap (with velcro) for my sons diaper hoopla.
I made the width to match his changing pad as it was the widest. Then I stacked his pad, two diapers, and wipes case to measure enough length so it'll overlap a couples inches. I did two diapers because you never know when you'll have multiple poop explosions.
The picture could be better but hopefully you get the idea. The width for my wrap is 9 inches BUT I tacked on an extra inch for my 1\2 inch seam allowances. Overall I cut 10 inches for my width.
My wrap around length is 15 1\2 inches as shown below. But I knew that I wanted an overlap to hold more or less if needed. So my overall length with seam allowances is 18 inches.
I also cut put a piece of my "beloved" batting to add stability and of course plushness. I did your basic single stitch around the edges leaving a hole to pull the right sides out and do a top stitch.
Time to place your Velcro and sew it on.
I'm happy with how my wrap turned out and can't wait to put it to good use.
There will not be a link posted because I didn't use any specific pattern or tutorial. And just so we're clear I AM NOT taking any credit for "inventing" this diaper wrap. It's stupid to write something like that but with crazy people today you have to CYA.
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