Monday, October 30, 2017

Bag It - Project Bag Tutorial




I just love this Project Bag.  It keeps all my hand-sewing projects neatly contained and the vinyl keeps everything visible.  I've made several of these in all different styles - many using scraps left-over from other projects.



This tutorial is for the basic bag (the one shown in the very first photo.)  Enjoy!

Supplies


# pieces
Dimensions
(height x width)
  Primary fabric
2
9 x 10 ½ ‘’
(one for front and one for back)
Binding for zipper
2
2 x 11’’
Zipper
1
At least 14’’
Vinyl
1
10 x 11 ‘’
Fusible fleece
1
9 x 10 ½ ‘’
Binding
1
2” x WOF

Fabric Preparation

Following manufacturers directions, iron fusible fleece to wrong side of main front fabric.  Lay this unit on top of the wrong side of the main back fabric.  Make a quilt sandwich and quilt lightly.  For my sample, I used my walking foot and quilted lines every 1 ½''.

Vinyl Preparation 

Finger press binding for vinyl in half, wrong sides together.  Lay across top of vinyl.  Sew across with vinyl layer on bottom.  (Keep the tissue paper under vinyl just outside of stitching area to make it easier to sew with.)

Wrap binding completely around vinyl edge and top stitch.



Zipper Installation

Finger press zipper binding in half, wrong sides together.  Lay across top of zipper, right side of zipper facing up, aligning raw edges of binding with edge of zipper .  The binding should be centered on the zipper and the zipper tab should be off to the left.  Sew.   Once sewn, fold binding up and top stitch.

Place binding edge of vinyl unit on top of zipper, right side up.  Sew.




Assembly

Lay zipper and vinyl unit on top of main unit, right side facing up.  Align top edge and secure with binding clips.

Move zipper tab to center.

Sew a seam across the top at something smaller than ¼''.  Sew from along right edge, starting at top, across zipper and taking just a few stitches in plastic.  Repeat on left edge.




Finish

Trim off extra zipper on both sides of zipper vinyl unit so that it is flush with main unit.

Carefully trim vinyl on each side so that it overlaps the edge of main unit by about ¼''.  (Vinyl can shift during sewing so we will retain a bit of excess at this step.)  Likewise, trim bottom edge of vinyl.

Apply binding to unit starting at the top as you would a quilt..  Align with edge of main unit and NOT the vinyl.   Once the binding is attached, trim excess vinyl with scissors.

Flip binding over to back of unit and secure by hand or machine.



Variations

You can vary the size of your project bag to whatever dimensions you would like.  Make sure you choose a zipper that is longer than the width of your piece by about 3 '' so that the zipper tab can hang off the edge during construction.

You can enclose the zipper inside a wider casing as in the two samples below.  In these examples, fabric tabs were added to either side of the zipper before installing.  Sandwich the zipper between the quilted casing and a lining piece of fabric.

Consider adding a handle or a loop to your project bag.

















I'll be linking up my tutorial with  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee SocialMidweek Makers.  Needle and Thread Thursdays, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Friday, October 27, 2017

All Decked Out

Look what I made!


I made a cover to keep my Janome machine all nice and dust free using leftover blocks (from this quilt) and my sewing machine cover tutorial.


My machine actually came with a plastic cover but I never used it because it required the thread holder to be flipped down. (Lazy is my middle name.)  My new quilted cover was custom fit for my machine by leaving some seams open to accommodate the thread holder.  Then I added an extra flap and some hook and loop closures to close up the side.


Loving how these blocks look together!

Have you been making bags?  Over 110 bags  have been shared so far in the link-up (below) or on the Elm Street Quilts Group Facebook page.

Next new Bag It tutorial will be available on Monday for a Project Bag.  I've made several of these - fun and practical.

When you are ready to share on Instagram or from your blog, link-up a photo to claim your Bag It Entry
  • Photos linked from Instagram must contain the tag #elmstreetquiltsBagIt
  • Photos linked from a blog post must contain a link back to Elm Street Quilts.
Want to share and enter from Facebook?  Join the Elm Street Quilts Facebook QAL group and then record your entry via the Bag It Facebook Entry Form  
  • (Why the form?  Winners are notified via email and the form collects your email address plus it makes things WAY easier for me to randomly select winners.)
You can share the photo of your bag multiple times but ONLY enter it once either in the link-up OR in the Bag It Facebook Entry Form.   

You will know when your entry is 'official' because I will come visit and leave a comment thanking you for entering.  (I batch up my bag visits so it may be several days until I stop by!)

New to the event and want to join?  Read more here and check out the participant guidelines for everything you need to know!
(If you don't have blog, IG or Facebook, drop me an email with photos and I'll get your bag entered!)

Ready to link-up?  And not to worry, the event runs through December 15 so there is plenty of time to make bags!








Have a wonderful day! Patty

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

One Monthly Goal - October Finish Link-up

Ready to link-up your October finishes?  
And don't panic, link-up is open until 11:55 pm EDT on October 31!




New to One Monthly Goal?  Welcome!  You can read about the event and the rules on the main event page.
Sign up to receive email notifications when the One Monthly Goal linkup is open.  Think of it as a helpful reminder!
My goal for October was to turn a pile of fall themed hexies into a mini quilt.  This is the first time I've assembled hexies together to make something.  Once sewn together, I appliqued them onto the background fabric and did some top stitching on the hexies themselves and then echo quilting to finish the piece. 


Now it is your turn to link up - share your goal finish for October.

Please only link up if you finished your goal and if you also participated in the October Goal Setting Link-up.



There will be three winners this month - Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate, Make Modern Magazine is offering a 6 month subscription to their digital magazine and Lorna from Sew Fresh Quilts is offering three (3) pdf patterns from her shop.

Congratulations to Nicole, Laura & Anita - our winners for October.
(Winners have been notified by email & accepted their prizes.) - 11/2


Visit the One Monthly Goal event page for the specific requirements for links and social tags. 

And remember, to be eligible for the prize(s) by random drawing you must linkup at both the goal setting and the accomplishment linkup in a given month. (October Goal Setting Link-up)


Make sure you add a link to this OMG post so others can follow where you are linking.   Let's make that easy -  just paste this into your post:  






Thanks for linking up.

I'll be linking up my hexie mini with  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee SocialMidweek Makers.  Needle and Thread Thursdays, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Monday, October 23, 2017

Bag It Featured Designer - SewDemented



My guess is you've heard of the Sew Together Bag.  Perhaps you already know how much fun it is to assemble and wonderful it is to use!  I made my Sew Together Bag about a year ago and use it all the time.  I keep all the supplies I will need when I take my sewing on the road.

I am thrilled to introduce you to Michelle Tucker, designer of the Sew Together Bag and owner of SewDemented. Besides the popular Sew Together Bag, Michelle has several other bag patterns available in her pattern store.

Michelle shared a bit more about her company and the origin of it's name. It is very much worth the time to read it and I thank Michelle for sharing.

The name SewDemented™ is a rather tongue and cheek description of a very hard time in my life and a tribute to the man I am trying to honor.  

As some have read from my blog and website, the name was derived from a flippant remark that I had made about what I would name a blog if I ever had one. I had just been laid off from a job in the industry that I really enjoyed and my father-in-law, who suffered from dementia, was just brought into our home because I found him wandering the street looking for someone he knew. He could no longer be trusted to stay in his home alone, and his caretaker (also a loose use of the word) had left him alone without telling us. We had no choice, no time to prepare. I was angry. Angry was a state I stayed in for some time. He was not an easy man, never had been, and it was worse with his dementia. My husband and I became the primary caretakers. My life was put on hold for the year and a half I cared for him. My days consisted of driving him to doctors, and sitting around watching him. He would become frightened if you were not in the room with him, dementia can be a very scary thing. Sewing was a thing of the past.


I don't know if you have ever spending much time with a person who has a faulty memory, but after awhile you can begin to question your own memory. Stories becomes fuzzy, mixed together. I began to feel as if I had dementia! I know I didn't, but it FELT that way to me!


After we had to move him into a nursing home because he required more physical care that I could give him, I began to tinker around with sewing again. My business was born out of that tinkering. I didn't intend to start a business, it just happened, and I have been immeasurably blessed by it. It has allowed me, an extremely private person, to have a voice in the world. To tell my story of a hard man I learned to love much too late and hear many of the stores other quilters who suffer with and alongside others with dementia.


Because of the name SewDemented™, I think of this man, and the lessons he taught me in the last two years of his life, every single day of my life.


Cherish those around you and the memories you have today.


I hope you'll go visit Michelle at SewDemented™ and on Instagram. Michelle has provided two prizes in support of the Bag It event.  One lucky participant will win the Sew Together Bag pattern plus a fabric starter pack and another will win the pattern of their choice from her pattern store.



Tips:


  • When I made my Sew Together Bag, I made the bag over several days, taking it one step at a time.  I found the posts associated with this sew-along to be quite helpful.
  • Need zippers for your Sew Together Bag? Check out this listing from ZipIt and use the code BAGIT2017 for extra savings.
  • Find the Sew Together Bag pattern here or at your local quilt shop.
I'm ready to make another one - the bag is perfect for organizing just about anything!













I'll be linking up my Sew Together Bag with  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee SocialMidweek Makers.  Needle and Thread Thursdays, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Friday, October 20, 2017

Small blocks and scraps - an update!


These blocks are fun to make and a great way to use up my scraps of Bonnie & Camille fabric - they finish at 5''.  Above are the blocks for September (Grandmother's Choice) and October (Country Roads.)

I've been making them in starts and stops, usually as leader and ender sewing between my other stitching.  (For more information on the Patchwork QAL and access to the block patterns, visit here.)

Look at this pretty bunch of blocks - January through June (the missing camera shy block has been located)


And here are the blocks from August and September.  (Again the camera shy block has been located!)


My plan is to set these blocks in a 8 x 9 grid with a 1'' (finished) sashing and some cornerstones.

These blocks are from this years Fat Quarter Shop QAL -  You can find more information here.

Each of these blocks will finish at 5'' - they are so cute to take out and pet each month!

Hosting a QAL that benefits a charity is an annual event at Fat Quarter ShopThe QAL for 2018 has been announced and it is gorgeous! Find more information  here.


Photo and quilt credit to Fat Quarter Shop





Have a wonderful day! Patty

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

My hexie projects

Aren't these pretty?


These are Christmas themed hexies from a mini charm pack.

Hexies are new to me this fall and I am finding that they are surprisingly addictive.  I got started after seeing the #100hexies100days2017 challenge on IG.  While I'm not sharing my progress daily on Instagram, I have been making at least one (thread basted) hexie each day.

Not sure what I will make with my solid ones but I do know I want it to be awesome.


Before I create too many more, I decided to do something with the 30ish fall themed ones I made to test out the overall technique of assembling these together.  Here is what I have so far.


My thought is to machine stitched down the other edge and indeed to make this into a small mini and do some FMQ in the background area.  I've not yet decided how to quilt the actually hexies but may just outline them.

Have you caught the hexie bug?

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Monday, October 16, 2017

Bag It - Project Basket Tutorial



The Project Basket is fun and quick to assemble and gives you the chance to showcase some favorite fabric and get yourself organized at the same time!

You can make your Project Basket any size you want - just adjust the tutorial to fit your needs.




Supplies


# pieces
Dimensions
(height x width)
  Primary fabric
1
16 x 12’’
Lining fabric
1
16 x 12’’
Fusible fleece or Soft and Stable
1
16 x 12 ‘’

Fabric Preparation

Following manufacturer's directions, iron 2 layers of fusible fleece to the wrong side of primary fabric which will be the outside of your basket.

Mark a line 3 ¼ '' from each side on both the primary fabric and the lining fabric.  (This is the height you want your basket to be.)

On both the lining piece and the main piece, sew on the marked lines.

Trim away a square at each corner by cutting roughly ¼ '' from each cut line.




Assembly

On the main piece, fold up each corner, aligning the sewn line.  Sew all four side seams, right side together.  Turn basket so that it is right side out.




Repeat for the lining piece.  

Turn lining piece so that it is wrong side out.

Nest main piece inside lining piece, right sides together.   Clip together along the top edge using binding clips.

Sew around top, leaving about a gap of 3'' for turning.   

Turn bag inside out through the gap.  Take your time with this step to make sure you don't tear any stitches.  Once turned, the open edge can be closed by hand or closed in the final top stitching step.



Use binding clips to secure and top stitch all the way around.   


Variations

If using directional fabric, cut two pieces, each at 16 x 6 ½ '', and seam them together.  Press seam open.

Easily change the dimensions of your basket.  Find a basket or box that best matches the size you want to recreate in fabric and measure the length, width and height.

  • The width of your new fabric piece will be:  height + width + height + ½''.   
  • The length of your new fabric piece will be: height + length + height  + ½''.
  • Your lines will be marked at height + ¼''


What will you store inside your FQ basket?
















I'll be linking up my tutorial with  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee SocialMidweek Makers.  Needle and Thread Thursdays, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday and to Tips & Tutorials.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Friday, October 13, 2017

Bag It - Go Team!

The holiday gift giving season is fast approaching.  Got a college student on your list?  Make them a bag in fabric themed for their school or in their school colors.

I just finished up this zip pouch (tutorial) yesterday.   It goes well with the Purse Pack I made earlier this year.


Go Tar Heels!

Have you been making bags?  Over 80 bags  have been shared so far in the link-up (below) or on the Elm Street Quilts Group Facebook page.

Next new Bag It tutorial will be available on Monday - Dress up your sewing space with a FQ Basket.

When you are ready to share on Instagram or from your blog, link-up a photo to claim your Bag It Entry
  • Photos linked from Instagram must contain the tag #elmstreetquiltsBagIt
  • Photos linked from a blog post must contain a link back to Elm Street Quilts.
Want to share and enter from Facebook?  Join the Elm Street Quilts Facebook QAL group and then record your entry via the Bag It Facebook Entry Form  
  • (Why the form?  Winners are notified via email and the form collects your email address plus it makes things WAY easier for me to randomly select winners.)
You can share the photo of your bag multiple times but ONLY enter it once either in the link-up OR in the Bag It Facebook Entry Form.   

You will know when your entry is 'official' because I will come visit and leave a comment thanking you for entering.  (I batch up my bag visits so it may be several days until I stop by!)

New to the event and want to join?  Read more here and check out the participant guidelines for everything you need to know!

Ready to link-up?  And not to worry, the event runs through December 15 so there is plenty of time to make bags!









Have a wonderful day! Patty