mini travel sewing case

I have created my mini travel sewing case and I love it. It has a zip pocket and a slip pocket, optional felt needle minder and all fastens with a ribbon. 

I have made two so far, one to keep my sewing essentials in at home. The second is this scrappy patchwork one, that I'm planning to keep in the car with a small cross stitch kit in. Its super neat and perfect for travelling.

If you don't want to use it for sewing, fill it with what ever else you fancy, it also fits a passport and money nicely. 

 

You can now purchase the #minitravelsewingcase pattern in my Etsy store!

Mx

Sally’s choose and sew supply case...

 

One of the gifts I choose to make for Sally (my birthday stitchers partner) was a choose and sew supply case. She had suggested needing a sewing case for her EPP supplies. When she made herself the case I was planning on, I decided to make my own pattern.
 

I had already started planning the supply case, but thought Sally would prefer different options to me. We are good friends on instagram, so without giving it away that I was making for her, I asked what she’d prefer. I planned and worked out measurements. Next was fabric choice, cotton and steel was an obvious choice. I picked some patterns and colours I thought Sally would like, but wasn’t convinced by any for the outer of the case. I decided I’d join the #100hexies100days challenge on instagram and join them together for a cute fussy cut panel. Since I was making a large case, it took more than 100 and I was quite a long while hand stitching, but I’m so pleased I did now. 

For the inside of Sally’s supply case I decided to make a vinyl workspace with 2 pockets and a piece of felt, then a zip vinyl pocket at the back for storage. I did the binding with a flap closure construction method on this case. Of course, I made one of the snap in pouches and have sent the measurements to Sally for her to be able to make as many more as she wants. 
 

 

I also made some beaded zip pulls to finish it nicely. I really hope Sally likes her choose and sew supply case and finds it useful.
 

The pattern for the choose and supply case is now available in my Etsy store. It is a large pattern with 2 sizes and has lots of pocket options and 2 construction methods. It means you can make tons of different combinations, so that you can make the perfect case for you and maybe even one for a friend!
 

This project was also one of my finish a long projects, you can read  more of my list here.

Mx

Dashwood advent

After making a stocking last year for a friends little girl, I decided an advent calendar would be perfect for this Christmas. I picked out the dashwood studio panel, with a very cute illustration, and little pockets for chocolate coins.
 

 

After I’d cut out the pockets, I decided to wundaweb all of the sides down to help stop it fraying with use. I top stitched across all of the top edges and then stitched all the pockets on to the panel.
I cut a piece of backing and wadding to the same size as the advent panel. I also cut out 4 rectangles of backing fabric to create hanging loops. With these, I stitched 2 pieces of backing fabric wst, then turned it out and repeated to create 2. I topstitched the two pieces in place to the upper section of the backing, leaving a gap between them. I then stitched the advent rst to the backing and wadding pieces, trimmed some wadding from the seam allowance and turned out. I stitched up the turning gap and added some top stitching/quilting to the advent to hold the layers together. I cut a piece of dowel to size and threaded it through the tubes. I then ladder stitched both outer ends closed to stop it falling out. The gap in the middle means you can just hang it up or add a ribbon if you need too. 

 

This is one of my finishalong projects, you can check out the rest of my list here.

Mx

Choose and sew supply case

It's release day for my latest pattern and I’m so excited, I thought I’d share a little more about how and why I designed this choose and sew supply case.

At the beginning of the year, I started an EPP quilt. I knew it would take me a long time to sew and would mainly to sewing while traveling, so of course, it needed its own pouch. I picked the 2 in 1 designed by aneela honey and it’s a great pouch but unfortunately not for this. It wasn’t long before I was getting frustrated with it and decided to design my own!

 

The main problem is that there isn’t anywhere to put the pieces your working on, other than on top of the vinyl pockets. This was fine until I was sewing in the car and my fabric and papers ended up going down the side of the car seat. I knew I needed somewhere to tuck my pieces safely whilst still having easy access to them when sewing.

The second thing was, since all my tools was in the same pocket, I was constantly in and out for my scissors. They would get lost amongst the other tools, plus I couldn’t leave the pocket open for easy access since everything would fall out.

This workspace section of my new pouch was the solution I came up with...

 

The next problem I encountered was when I started putting my pieces together. Once sewn together, they no longer fit in my pouch. This was ok if I was at home but, when out I didn’t want to spoil them. Since I didn’t have anywhere to put them, it meant taking another pouch. I decided one large pocket was the solution on the other side of my new pouch...

Next was some storage to take my fabric and papers with me. I thought a simple pouch would be just fine. Then I thought about it a bit more and remembered how annoying it is when you fancy something else for a change. I’d either have to take all of my quilt pieces out or find a different pouch for the new project and have to move all of my tools. I came up with the idea of a removable pouch. This way I could keep my tools in the case but make multiple pouches to store different projects. Even better they just snap in or out whenever I fancy a change. This one was a tester, adding kam snaps to a premade zipper pouch...

For the outside, I chose to make a patchwork panel with a mix of cotton & steel prints around this fab sloth scrap I had. I finished this one with some pink binding to tie in with the inside and an open ended zip fastening. To make it portable, the whole case folds neatly in half with all the supplies inside.

 

If you like this idea, I have written it up into a new pattern so you can make your own. Not happy with just one version though, (since one pouch isn’t for everyone) I have made several options within the pattern. It actually includes 4 workspace pocket options, 3 large storage pocket options, 2 construction methods, in 2 sizes and I even added optional handles to make your supply case more portable! You choose how you would like your workspace and storage, from the different pocket variations and fastenings and follow the instructions to sew up a case and snap in pouches to suit your needs... Hence why I decided to call it the 'choose and sew supply case'. I hope it gives you plenty of choice and I can't wait to see everyone’s different versions!

The pattern is available in my Etsy store here...
 

Mx

Send a little love swap...

I signed up to take part in the IG based swap for valentines. It was the #sendalittleloveswap2019 which was a quite fun little swap to take part in. I signed up just before I made my Q1 finish-a-long list so I decided I would add it to my list. I knew it would be an easy finish since I hate to let people down, so I knew it would be completed on time. This Blog post about it is little bit late though. I have the worst memory and basically forgot to write it til now when it’s time to link up our finishes. I would forget my own head if it wasn’t screwed on!

On to the swap...

It was a small swap that was to be love themed and opened on Valentine’s Day. There was a £10-£12 budget and you needed to include:

• A heart shaped item
• Something edible 
• Stationary 
• Craft notion
• Handmade item

I was partnered with @susyb65 and her inspiration mosaic was brilliant. There were so many wonderful ideas , I was very tempted to do a few of them. The swap did say 1 handmade item though and given personal time restrictions I decided it was best to just make the one thing and buy the others.

 

I found a very simple ceramic hanging heart decoration, it was embossed with the word love and I thought was quite nice. I had noticed we shared the love of malteaser buttons so got the biggest bag I could find. For stationary I found a couple of notebooks with hearts on and thought they were so lovely (wish I had bought myself some too) of course I just had to include a coordinating pen too. I was spoiled for choice when it come to picking a craft notion. I spotted these cute love themed ribbons and since sue does multiple crafts I thought they would be perfect.

Lastly was the handmade item, this was more challenging deciding what to make. I was all set to make a draw sting project bag/basket, when sue made herself one. I finally opted instead to create my own zip pouch pattern. Fabric choice was the next decision, I posted a couple of fabric options on ig and was very happy when sue commented her favourite. 

It was a nice pouch to make and after a few suggestions to make it in to a pattern, I am now in the process of doing so! I’m so excited but more on that in the next few months.

Now to share what I received from the lovely @michellehollyoak

 

I was sent some malteser buttons, a pen and little heart shaped paper clips, some Riley Blake fabric and a needle felting kit. She also made a lavender filled heart (with her home grown lavender) and a crochet market tote. A hexie coaster was also sent as a little extra.  I love all my gifts and am especially excited to try the needle felting. This swap made me feel very spoilt this Valentine’s Day.

Mx 

my #sew6organizers sewalong

This year I decided to host a sewalong on instagram, with the help of a friend zena. We chose to do 6 projects each from the Aneela Hoey stitched sewing organizers book, one per month. Everyone who joined in could choose their own patterns and make any little adjustments to the projects to suit them. The idea was to share our projects and we had a little group chat for any questions or help, making the most of the lovely sewing community on Instagram.

These are the six projects I made for the sewalong: I used the distant dreams collection from dashwood studios. I split the collection into 3 mini collections and added some dashwood twist fabric, (indigo and cherry I think).

 

I kept the first project simple with a little fold up pouch. This is a great little project that doesn't require a zip. It is an simple pattern to follow and can easily be adjusted to make other sizes.

The second project was this handy needle book. I liked this pattern, although I did make a few changes to the suggested pockets used in the pattern. In the book it shows 2 different sized pockets at the back, at the front is a single pocket with the addition of a small pin cushion. I changed the back to just have the 1 large pocket and since I didn't need a pin cushion, I chose to just do one large pocket at that side too. These work out perfectly to hold all the needles I keep in packets.

 

 

 

The next project was the see-it-all pouch... this is a very useful pouch and quite simple construction although the use of binding does make it slightly harder. I used sparkle vinyl as I liked the look and fussy cut the back to ensure I had a full peacock in the centre.

The fourth project was the 2-in-1 case. I love this case and I am using it to hold all my tools. This is made in a similar way to the see-it-all with the addition of a fastening tab. I had a few options for fastenings; I did try a button first but the button hole on my singer machine was not very neat and I was struggling with placement, I also considered using a magnetic clasp, but decided against this option as they are very strong and I didn't want my tools attracting to the magnets. The best solution I found worked as a fastening was a kam snap, both simple to fit and to use.  

 

Next was the fold up sewing folio. I found this project slightly tricky, not because of construction but directions. I kept getting very confused about the direction of things, so my layout differs slightly from the one pictured in the book. It is still fuctional though and my mum has taken it to store her sewing supplies.

 

The final project was the boxy pocket pouch, I like this pouch and it is definitely bigger than I expected it to be. Since it was the last project and I had been avoiding it slightly (I'm not sure why, maybe because I didn't want the sewalong to end) to give me a little nudge, I added this to my  finish-a-long list of things to make. You can read more about that here!

 

Overall, I enjoyed hosting the sew along and would definitely do another one. It was a joy to see everyone else's projects and make some friends along the way too. If you're interested in seeing all the projects for yourself, you can visit the #sew6organizers on instagram.

Mx

get organised zipper purse ...

I got this fun Christmas fabric, Copenhagen print factory copyright design by Josephine Blay and decided to make a purse. I have designed it like the zipper purse on last months step by step, only this time with the addition of a divider/pocket inside. It's simpler to make without the divider, but it helps with organisation when using the purse and we all know you need to be organised for Christmas!!

You will need to follow last months instructions to cut the pieces for the pouch, along with an additional piece of lining fabric to create the divider. This extra piece will need to be around 2" less than twice the height of your lining piece. So, if you want a purse with a finished height of 4" x 5" long, cut your divider to measure 6 1/2" x 5 1/2". This will create a 3" high divider to sit neatly inside to create sections without catching on the zip. 

To construct, begin with the divider and fold the fabric in half wrong sides together and press. Add interfacing to one half of this piece on the inside to add stiffness (following to the product instructions). Then, top stitch along the folded edge to give a crisp neat finish, as this will be the visible part of the divider. Next, add the divider to the right side of one of the lining pieces, pinning along the base and both sides. Stitch along the three edges to hold it in place and give it a press. You can then make the purse as normal, simply following last months instructions found here.

Mx

sewing roll...

 

 

i have made this sewing roll, i used a grey sewing themed fabric that i bought at the market. i added contrasting red bias binding and ribbon, to brighten it up a bit.  i have been wanting to make an EPP quilt for a while now, as i felt i needed a little sewing project that is more portable. this will be perfect to keep all my things together when im on the move. i will keep threads, scissors etc in the bottom pocket. material in the centre slip pocket, and paper cut outs in the zipped pocket. i will also add a piece of felt at the top to keep my needles safe!!
I think this could also be used as a cosmetics roll, to keep bits of makeup and brushes together to travel...

 

red felt, needle keeper not pictured. contents just to show pockets better.

Mx

alex the elephant!!



inside



 

I used the alex pattern from the debbie shore bags galore cd-rom. i used some elephant and matching spot canvas fabric. I added a pop of colour by using red fabric lining and webbing for the handles.

this project was quite easy to make and only required a straight stitch, which makes this perfect for a beginner. i chose to add the magnetic clasp and a inside zip pocket shown on the pattern. To keep it simple you could leave these out.

 

I hope you like my new make...

 

Mx

money, money, money!!

 

i made this little apron to keep money secure when doing a craft fair or market stall. i recycled some jeans that didn't fit as the main material for this project. If you want to make your own, follow the steps below...

1. cut off the leg to the required length, then cut up both of the seams (you could just cut one seam and keep the other as the base of the apron).
2. if you want extra detail, add this now, (I added an applique butterfly with free motion stitching to the front of mine.)
3. add the zip to the top of the apron on the front and apron tape to the back section (make sure its long enough to fasten around your waist). 
4. put right sides together and stitch all the way around the rectangle (no need to leave a gap for turning, just remember to undo the zip enough to turn the fabric through!!)
5. once you have sewn that, overlock or zigzag stitch around again for strength.
6. turn out and press.

You now have a finished money apron. the next steps are not needed, so if your just a beginner or prefer a simple design you can stop and admire your work. If you want to add more, follow these last two steps...

1. mark a line where you would like a divide then draw a line to about half / three quarters way up, then sew up this line.
2. add bias binding around the edges for extra colour and decoration.

 

Mx