Fear of Fabric

I started going to a gym again a couple of months ago. I have been making use of various bags for my clothing and realizing I really want something more suitable. So I figured I'd make my own duffel bag. I found a pattern and bought it, but shortly after learned from a friend that a place in Washington, The Rainshed, carries all kinds of waterproof and other specialty fabrics. My friend, who was visiting in Washington at the time, offered to pick up anything I'd like from The Rainshed. So I went online to take a look.

I found that they had a pattern for a duffel bag, too, using fabrics and other materials that could be bought from there. I decided to get everything from there, and compiled my list using their website. I emailed the store to find out if they could put together my order and have my friend pick it up and they said yes, so that's what I did.

I brought everything to my sewing class yesterday. I wasn't about to attempt this project on my own - mainly because I had never sewn with these fabrics before. It uses cordura, ripstop nylon, and mesh. It also calls for zipper tape and pulls that you put on yourself. So this is an adventure.

After I got it all cut out (I worried about the pins but found that my thin pins with plastic round heads are fine) I started to sew. I had purchased suitable needles and thread, too, from The Rainshed, not wanting to leave anything to chance. And what do you know - it sews! I could do it! At least so far. I needed some help getting the zipper pulls onto the zipper tape but I think I'll be able to do it in the future.

Below is what I accomplished yesterday:


It's the end pocket of the duffel bag. Under that flap is a zipper, and those black things are pieces of webbing that I seared with a cigarette lighter to seal, then sewed on. I am inordinately proud of it, mostly because I proved to myself that I could do this. The next challenge is the mesh. I am having some trouble imagining how I sew that together but the instructions are wonderfully detailed so I am hopeful.

Little purses

Several of us in the sewing class have made these little purses. I made these three recently:

They take very little fabric, go together quickly and easily, and are really very handy. I use mine for grocery cards, museum memberships, that sort of thing. Having those cards in a separate bag released my wallet for the credit cards I use most often, making my life easier.

Little projects

Yesterday was the last class of the session so I decided to do some little fun projects. The first was this car trash bag. There are two pockets: the straps obscure the opening of the top one. I am thinking I might use one pocket for recyclables and the other for trash. I also think I sewed that strap on the wrong side of the pocket but I am not going to change it.

The second project was a cute bib. Made of two fabrics, a cotton and a flannel, it closes with velcro. Unfortunately, I packed it up to mail before I took a picture of it. Maybe I will get a pic of it on the actual baby and can then insert that here.

The third project was yet another grocery tote bag! Fun to make, with french seams inside and bias tape on the handles, I didn't quite finish it in class. I added the bias tape last night at home, and the little bit of velcro to the ties this morning:

In rather a klutzy way it folds up so it can be tucked away more easily. I think if it were a lightweight, strong material it would fold better.

A jewelry roll

I made this jewelry roll in sewing class yesterday. It is another of the projects in the One Yard Wonders book. I can make good use of this project because I make many small trips and never have a suitable case for any jewelry. So I rarely bring any along. This way I will have a small assortment of earrings, necklaces, and possibly bracelets.

The roll contains two pockets, each with a zipper, and those ribbon straps in the middle are to hold rings (and then be tied). I don't wear rings so that may find another use.

Here it is folded and tied. I clearly laid out the pattern in the wrong direction - those cats should be face up! But no matter. It works and it looks pretty cool.

Baby Bunting

I made this bunting partly in class, almost two weeks ago, and partly at home. I started it in class because I was afraid of it. By starting it there I can focus better and if I run into issues there is usually somebody who can help me.

I used a Butterick pattern that is designated "very easy". I think this means very easy for an experienced sewer. It was reasonably easy for me, but I had to take time on the zipper and I had a time getting the cuff edges lined up right. As usual, there were places in the directions where I wasn't quite sure what was meant but I did finally work it out. It's good to remember that "very easy" and "very quick" are two different things, also.

A Quick Grocery Bag

Last August I made a shopping bag from a T-shirt, following directions in the book Generation T. See that post.

The directions in the book had me measuring and cutting a shape from the front to make it very much like the plastic bags. That shape bit into the design on the front, however. So those T-shirts that have designs fairly close to the top would not be suitable for that project.

Martha Stewart has another version. You can go to marthastewart.com and hunt it down but I'll tell you the directions right here because it's so easy:

1. Turn the T-shirt inside out. sew the bottom closed, using the seam as a guide.

2. Take a medium-sized mixing bowl (about 9" diameter, more or less). Lay the T-shirt on a flat surface, flat. Place the bowl over the neck opening, making a half-circle shape wider than the neck. Use an air-erasable or water-erasable pen to draw the half-circle onto the T-shirt.

3. Cut out the larger neck opening.

4. Cut off the sleeves along the inside of the seamline.

That's it.

You can, of course, modify it. To make the bag handles narrower I tucked the ends under and sewed a zigzag through the layers. You can also zigzag the raw edges or serge them if you want to get fancy.

Oh, and that's Henry Miller on my t-shirt bag up there. Cool is the goal here.

Coasters

In sewing class I learned a way to make some simple coasters. They are meant for wine glasses but work perfectly well for other glasses and cups. This is a quick, simple project that can use up small pieces of fabric.

Start by cutting five squares of fabric. In this example, the squares are five inches square. They could also be four inches.

Fold and press each of four of the five in half, either on the diagonal or straight across. In this example, it's diagonal:

Now there is one open square and four triangles:

Place one of the triangles on top of the square, lining up the raw edges:

Lay another on top, one quarter turn from the last:

Do the same for the third:

For the fourth, tuck half of the triangle under the first flap:

How it looks (click on the pic for a larger view):

Sew a seam around all four sides. I made it 1/2" You could go with 1/4" if you like:

All sewn:

Clip corners and trim seams:

Turn it inside out - or rather, right-side out. And it's done!

Here is how it looks on a wine glass:

You can wander around the room and set it down wherever and the hostess won't have a fit. This type coaster could also serve as a wine identification tag, if each were different in some way.