Pouchie Love

I've been a little quiet on the blog front lately (which is pretty much the only area of my life where I'm ever quiet...Angela and Karen can vouch for that *wink*), because I've been frantically sewing Christmas presents for my family and numerous other secret projects that can't be revealed on here. One thing that I did forget to mention, is that I received the most gorgeous Echino pouch from Rebecca last week! She was my secret partner in the Pretty Little Pouch Swap, and she totally nailed my style!

There's a little snap closure pocket on the front (which is incredibly convenient for storing receipts).

And on the inside of my pouch, she tucked in a voile sunglasses case (since I live in the year-round sunshine of New Orleans...seriously...it was 70 degrees yesterday), a folding needle case, a Thor card for the hubs (he was SO excited), and some treats for me and Mr. Whiskers which were eaten long ago (some Reese's Cups and doggie treats...just to clarify - I ate the Reese's and Whiskers ate the dog treats).

Here's a better shot of the little origami needle case. LOVE it! It's really gonna come in handy, because I like to carry portable sewing tools with me for wardrobe emergencies at work. I can't tell you how many times I've fixed tears and missing buttons on my coworker's suits. In fact, a month after I was promoted into my new unit this summer, I ended up having to stick my hand down my boss' dress (lol!) and sew the top button back on her shirtdress because it was gaping open and exposing her bra. Did I mention we were also driving down the interstate in my coworker's minivan on our way to a lunch meeting while I was doing this? So yeah. Portable sewing kits are a must-have. And so are bosses with a good sense of humor :)

All of your handmade goodies will be much loved and used. Thanks Rebecca :)

Read More

Pretty Little Pouch Swap

I love tiny wee pouches so much, that I broke my "no swaps for a year" rule again *sheepish grin*. I signed up for Kelly and Michelle's Pretty Little Pouch Swap because it's one of my favorites!

I just finished my pouch for my partner, and I'm proud of myself because I actually finished two whole days ahead of the mailing deadline. That's gotta be some kinda record for me :)

I love playing with texture and odd techniques, and I've been wanting to try my hand at finding a way to "weave" fabric without having a bunch of raw seams. My solution was buttonholes! I made a total of 42 buttonholes on each side of the pouch so that I could weave fabric strips in and out....I kinda screwed the pooch on the placement of the buttonholes on the alternating rows, because I off-set them instead of directly lining them up with the previous row. Oh well. Things still turned out okay (I think) - hopefully my partner likes it because I saw a lot of linen and rainbow colors in her mosaic and photostream :)

Read More

Revisions & Reminders

Remember the Apple Core Apron tutorial I posted about the other day? Well I agreed with your comments that the one print was too dark, so I removed it and reworked things a bit. As much as I love the peacocky blue with the prints, I felt it was a little much and overwhelmed the prints. So after working with my "design consultant" (aka my hubby) last night for about an hour, I finally came up with this. Ray's the one that suggested the linen....he likes when I pair linen with things - how cute is that? I think maybe this quilt is what won him over *wink*

And speaking of linen, don't forget to pop by Kristie's blog today! My tutorial for the Quilted Hexie Pouch went up this morning!

Read More

Quilted Hexie Pouch Tutorial

Howdy ho neighbors! I'm Kaelin from The Plaid Scottie and I'm collaborating with my favorite Canadian Kristie to bring you a Quilted Hexie Pouch for her fabulous Bag Lady Week! The finished pouch measures about 7.5" x 7.5"

SUPPLIES

First of all, you'll need to sew together a small panel of 2" hexies - 23 to be exact. The finished hexie will be about 1.5". If you need paper piecing templates for that size, you can create free ones here. Just type in 0.75" in the "Hexagon Size" box and hit "Download PDF". The panel will have five rows with this many hexies in each (starting with row 1):  5 - 4 - 5 - 4 - 5. Refer to the 2nd photo down if you need a visual. If you've never made hexies before, then you can check out my other tutorial here for instructions. The finished panel should measure 5.25" x 5.75".

In addition to that you'll need:

(1) 9" zipper

Exterior Fabric (I used linen)
(2) 1.25" x 5.75" pieces
(2) 6.75" x 1.75" pieces
(1) 1.5" x 8.25" piece
(1) 8.25" x 8.25" piece
(1) 2" x 14" piece, with a medium-weight interfacing fused on the back (for wrist strap)

Lining Fabric (I used Orange Kei Dots)
(1) 1.5" x 8.25" piece
(1) 6.75" x 8.25"
(1) 8.25" x 8.25" piece

Flannel (I used white, but you might want a different color depending on your fabric choices)
(1) 1.5" x 8.25" piece
(1) 6.75" x 8.25" piece
(1) 8.25" x 8.25" piece

Note: You might notice throughout the photos that I have interfacing on the back of my exterior fabric. You won't need interfacing if you use regular quilting cotton, because the pouch is sturdy enough without it. I only used interfacing because I was working with linen and it keeps the fabric from stretching and distorting.

Alright. Let's get this party started. Grab you hexie panel. It should be sewn together just like the picture below.

Once you have your hexie panel sewn together, you'll need to square it off by trimming the ends. The top and bottom are fairly easy - just lop off the pointy ends. But on the sides, you'll need to fold out the seam allowances on the hexies in the short rows (the two rows with only 4 hexies). 

Once the seam allowances have been pressed out, line up your ruler with the edge of the seam allowance and trim off the excess.

 
 Grab your two 1.25" x 5.75" pieces and sew them onto the top and bottom of your hexie panel.

Press your seams to set in place. 

Attach the two 1.75" x 6.75" pieces to the sides and press to set.

Grab your three flannel pieces and coat with a spray adhesive like 505. You can pin, but with something this small, it's much much easier to spray baste. I keep a cardboard box lid in my sewing room just for spraying small projects like this.

Grab your 6.75" x 8.25" flannel piece (leave the other two where they are) and place your hexie panel on top of it. Press to adhere. 

Quilt the flannel and hexie panel. I used free motion, but you can quilt it however you like - straight line, etc.

Here's a view of the back so you can get a better look at the quilting. 

 Grab your other two pieces of flannel and match them up with their corresponding exterior pieces. Quilt.

 Now find your 6.75" x 8.25" lining piece. Layer as follows: Lining (right side up), zipper (right side up and centered), hexie panel (wrong side up). The zipper should be running across the top, 8.25" side.

Make sure the zipper pull is hanging off the end, and pin the layers in place.

Sew together using a 1/4" seam allowance. 

Fold the lining back and press both sides in place. You might have to tug the fabric down a little before ironing. 

Top stitch (about 1/8") from the edge.

Grab your remaining exterior and lining pieces and repeat the same process (layer lining (right side up), zipper, and exterior (wrong side up) - just like you did on the other side of the zipper).

 Pin in place and sew 1/4" seam. Unfold, press and top stitch.

Move the zipper pull over a little, and sew the two sides of the zipper together to keep them from pulling apart too far. If you look below at the right end of the zipper (the part that's hanging off), you can see my stitches where I sewed across the zipper. When you're done, go ahead and open the zipper 2/3 of the way.

 Now grab your 2" x 14" interfaced piece. Fold in half and press.

 Unfold, and tuck the edges in toward the center seam you just made.

Fold in half along the original center seam you made and top stitch down the open end. It should be about 1/2" wide and look like the photo below.

Fold the strap in half and place the raw ends about 1" below the zipper. Fold the lining back so it doesn't get caught in the seam, and attach the strap to the exterior with an 1/8" seam. Doesn't have to be fancy - it's just to hold the strap in place until we sew the pouch together.

Next you'll layer as follows:  remaining 8.25" x 8.25" lining piece (right side up), exterior hexie panel (right side up), remaining exterior panel (wrong side up). Pin and sew all three pieces together along the top side only using 1/4" seam.

Now fold your exterior panels back so that they're right sides together. Sew a 1/4" seam along the bottom only.

Repeat for the lining panels, leaving about a 3" opening in the center. 

Now fold all the layers back together so that they make a wholesome and delicious fabric sandwich.

Sew ALL four layers together along the sides, starting 1/4" from the top and ending 1/4" from the bottom. I brought out big momma walking foot for this job because of how thick the layers are together, and I recommend you do the same. When you get to the zipper, sew over it, and then back up and run over it again to make sure it's good and dead secured. You'll actually end up going over it three times once you go forward, hit reverse, and then go forward again. Do this for each side of the pouch.

Your pouch should now look like the photo below. Trim the four corner and excess zipper to reduce bulk.

Trim the corners and excess zipper, then turn the bag right-side out through the opening in the bottom of the lining.

Then sew the opening shut with a teeny tiny seam.

Finish turning your bag right-side out and you're done - YAY!

Read More