fabric

Handbag accessories kit, from just one fat quarter

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A batch of mini sews, together make a little handbag set

first a round earbud holder, two 4″ circles of outer fabric and two of lining, a 2″X 1.75″ strip folded to make a tab and a 5″ zip.

next a mini tissue holder: a 7″ X 6″ piece of fabric and a 8.5″ X 6″ for the contrast lining

then a loyalty card holder: 4 pieces of 4.75″ X 6.75″ fabric ( one of them interfaced) and one piece of .75″ wide elastic about 5″ long

and a glasses case that takes two 7″ X 4.5″ pieces of fabric and lining in two 7.5 X 4.5″ pieces, both outer pieces interfaced

finally ( not pictured) a lip balm key ring holder 1.75″ X 8″ outer and the same of lining

all sews from popular tutorials and covered in earlier posts – only the earbud holder is new here

Scraps leftover  from the fat quarter (which was actually a freebie from an upholstery fabric samples book)  and lining from the spares box so just the zip to purchase for the next set I make.

Personalised photo cushions

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A crafty trick to personalise two plain cushions…

We printed two old photos on to xcut adhesive fabric (in sepia tones to match the linen and ‘frame’). This goes through a standard ink jet printer and has a canvas/linen finish.

The adhesive isn’t strong enough for practical use, it kept lifting at the edges, and yet is too thick to machine sew through so I cut a frame from heat and bond backed fabric, which just overlapped the edges of the photo, and ironed that over it. Now the cushions can be sat on or plumped and stay in shape.

The frame was a scan n cut library shape but could well have been cut by hand. The cushions are b&q standard but the final effect really uplifts them.

These won’t be washable but make a lovely gift.

Robust drawstring bag

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This bag has the drawstring channels stitched on the outside so they create a nice ruffle top

outside fabric one piece (mine was 22 x 9”), lining fabric two inches longer to create the contrast border, two strips of outer fabric about two inches narrower than the width of the bag and three inches high, scrap of contrast fabric backed with heat and bond for appliqué monogram and one metre cord

method: press raw edges of strips under then fold in thirds to create thin channel to thread cord through,

fold outer fabric in half and pin strip to outside about two inches from upper edge on each side – you want there to be an equal ish gap at either side of the bag. Sew top and bottom of both strips in position, leaving sides open

If sewing appliqué monogram, position and stitch now

now turn fabric inside out and seam both sides closed, if you want a boxed bottom cut a 2 inch square  out of each bottom corner and then bag it out

seam lining fabric sides , leave a gap for turning, use same seam allowance as for the outer, and box bottoms or not to match your outer

with right sides of bag and lining together pin upper edges together, match seams. The lining will be a bit baggy as it is longer than the outer, that is deliberate but the top edge of lining and outer should match as you pin it. Sew around the top.

reach through the turning gap and pull the inside out, then push the lining inside the bag so the bases match and the longer lining top poking out. Press. Reach inside and sew up the turning gap in the seam

top stitch around the top, use decorative stitch or hide in the seam if you prefer

cut cording in half, thread from each side all the way round and knot ends to secure

iron appliqué at end if you are using iron on

job done

 

Personalised cushion

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A unique creation made for a particular person!

aiming for a 15″ cushion I cut 3 x 16″ rectangles of red base material, one for my front and two for the back panel

For the decoration I filled a 12″ white fabric panel with heat and bond backed fabric shapes (cut on scan n cut from basic shapes library) and ironed them in place when I was happy with the layout. I then satin stitched around each shape to complete the panel.

I cut four strips of 2″ wide brown fabric – aiming for a wood frame effect and sewed them around the panel then ironed under the raw edge and stitched the whole onto my red front rectangle

to make up the cushion I folded 2″ under and under again on each of the back panels and top stitched the turned hem in place. I put the finished front piece face up and laid the back panels outside down on top so that the hems created overlapped in the centre. With lots of pins to keep everything square, I then sewed a half inch seam around all four sides.

turn inside out, press, job done!

Handy lip balm key ring holders

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Scrap buster quick gifts to make a couple of key rings that hold convenient ‘Burt’s bees’ lip balms

Method: cut two rectangles of fabric, contrasting if you want a different lining or the same if you don’t. My rectangles were 1 3/4 inches wide by 8 inches tall. Sew face together around three edges (leave one of the widths open) with a tiny seam allowance then turn inside out. Poke out the corners. Press if you can.

With the open seam at the top, and whatever you want to be the lining face down, fold up about 2 1/2 inches from the bottom, just enough to form a pocket for the lip balm. Sew each edge of the pocket, again with the smallest seam allowance you can manage. Check the balm will fit snugly or seam with a bit bigger allowance before you flip inside out so the pocket seams are concealed.

Now take the open edge and fold 2 inches over a key ring, turn the raw edge under again and top stitch so that the raw edge is hidden. Make sure you keep the key ring well away from the machine needle or ladder stitch by hand if too fiddly for machine work.

job done!

 

Up cycle peg bag

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scan n cut to decorate my tablecloth to peg bag project

the old oilcloth tablecloth has been taking up space in my fabric pile and all I can think of using it for is peg bags, any ideas?

I used a smallish plastic hanger ( note to self remember to keep hangers when next buying stuff in m&s as stash now depleted) and traced around the width of the hanger on the reverse of my oilcloth. I gave myself a half inch seam allowance and some wriggle room as the oilcloth doesn’t stretch.

The fabric length was cut at one and a half times the planned length of the bag (this gave me the back and folded up to make the bottom of the bag front.  When this piece was cut I folded it in half lengthwise to check it was symmetrical

To get the top front of the bag a separate piece of fabric was cur to match the width and shape of the back piece but length to just more than half of the planned bag size.

I planned the cutting  so the cut pieces finished on the bias bound edge of my tablecloth. This saved a hemming step. (That is why the right edge of my front does a little bend in the picture, I thought it would look stylish, actually it just looks wobbly).

The two pieces were stitched wrong sides together leaving a small gap to put the hanger through. I then Turned them  right sides out and creases were finger smoothed out (even a cool iron melted a prototype).

I cut shapes from external use vinyl on the scan n cut to decorate (and cover the iron damage on my prototype) and trust the project will enjoy a good second life somewhere

 

Crazy quilt

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A stash buster built on the base of an IKEA throw, using crazy quilt 9 inch blocks

I cut wonky hexagons as the scentre of each block and added strips, working my way round the sides of the hexagon until it was about  9 inches square, then trimmed it against a 9 inch card template to be accurate

blocks were sewn into strips and then directly on to to the throw base until it was covered

where there were gaps or tears- I made a few mistakes!- I added ribbon or ric rac or just did a line of decorative stitching over it

ikea fleece is brilliant and a cream coloured bobbin thread is invisible on the finished item

this truly is crazy as it combines all sorts of materials,  doesn’t have a backing, frame or proper quilt finish I just seamed ribbon along two edges and hemmed with a zig zag elsewhere

never going to be a quilter but loved doing this …. if I forget how long it took I might even do another one!

Cutting fabric on the scan n cut

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I have struggled to get the settings right, but may finally have sorted fabric cutting on  the scan n cut

cut speed four, blade four, pressure four on light cotton that has had heat n bond or bondaweb fused on the back and the paper peeled off i.e. stuck wrong side down directly on the mat

the fabric peeled easily off from the mat and was just ironed on to the suedette drawstring bag: hot iron- no steam and with an ironing cloth for protection

so here I have decorated some glasses bags in a festive style so they can be given another life as gift bags later this year