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Thursday, January 17, 2013

Fabric Folding Tutorial

I'm thrilled to finally have my fabric stashed organized.  
It's a New Year.... so let's get organized!
 
I recently bought some storage shelves and boxes from Ikea


 
I ended up separating my stash by color. 
 
Oh, did I mention each box fits about 90 yards?!?!
 
You'll see.....




My stash was pretty masssive, so I made this.  I used cardboard and drew a  12" mark.

 
This is a yard of apple fabric. 
Open up your yard (length = 22" because it's already folded, width = 36")
 
 
Place your cardboard in the middle.

 
Bring one end up to the 12" line. 
 

 
Fold the other side.  You will end up folding a yard into 1/3's.
 


Then fold over...  your piece should measure 11" x 12".


 
Place your folded fabric in your box with the selvage ends at the bottom (like this).


 
Now start stacking...




add more....


 
I'm almost done, but there's still room for more. 
Leave about an 1inch or so of space at the top.
 
Otherwise, it will be too hard to pull out your fabric later. 

 
All done!  My box is full! This is roughly 90 yards... 
(Most of these are 1 yard cuts, but others are more than that.) 
 
How many did I fill up?  Oh, I think I'll plead the 5th....  : /


 
Now get some boxes and get organized!!!
 
Have fun and Happy Sewing!  :)
 
oxox,
Sunny

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Round Draw String Pouch Tutorial



Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were awesome.  Mine were wonderful!  Full of family, friends and some fabric too.  :) 

I decided to start this year off with a quick Tutorial! I think it's only fair since I've been MIA!  Sorry!  : /

My kiddo asked for a new purse.  She's 7 so I wanted to make it fun, so I came up with this round drawstring pouch.  She loves it and I think you will too.  It's fast and really easy....so let's get started! 

Here's what you'll need:  2 Fat Quarters (or (2) 18" squares), scissors, a rotary cutter, a seam ripper, a marking pen, pins (not pictured), safety pins (not pictured), a buttonhole foot (That's right!  We're making buttonholes, peeps!), and some ribbon (or whatever you want to use as your drawstring!)
 
 
 
When choosing fabric for this pouch, pick 2 good onesThis is a reversible pouch! 
 
If you have a bowl or some other circle that measures roughly 18" across, by all means, use that and draw a perfect circle! 
 
If not, no worries! Do what I did. 
 
Cut your Fat Quarter into and 18" square and fold into twice to make a 9" square. 
Then, draw a curve / quarter circle with a marking pen.  It doesn't have to be perfect!


 
Carefully, cut on the line that you marked,  Go slowly! You're cutting a few layers.... 
 
Oh and please, watch your fingers!!!


 
It should look something like this. 
It's not a perfect circle?  Who cares!  It's not a big deal. 
Really!

 
Grab your other Fat Quarter and cut it into an 18" square. 
Place your circle with the right sides together and pin like so.

 
Sew a 1/4" seam all around, but leave a few inches so you can turn it out. 

 
Use your scissors or rotarty cutter and trim off the corners so it ends up looking like this.
 
 
It's now time to turn your pouch through the small opening.  Flatten it out your and press. 
 
You can either top stitch to close the opening or do a quick hand stitch. 
 
I hand stitched mine.
 
 
Now, let's make our buttonholes. I fold my circle into a quarter to make even marks for the holes.  
 
I made a total of 16 buttonholes (8 on each side.) 
Make sure you have an even number of buttonholes on each side.  Otherwise, your drawstring will end up lopsided.  Attached your buttonhole foot and make sure you adjust the size to accomodate your ribbon or whatever you're using as your drawstring. 
 
Make sure your holes are evenly space. 
 
 
 
My holes ended up about 1/2" from the edge. 
 
 
Now grab your seam ripper and make your holes. 
 
Go slowly and don't push too hard.
Otherwise; you're going to rip your pouch!

 
After you've made your holes, get your ribbon and cut 2 pieces measuring 32". 
 
 
Fold your circle in half and place a safetly pin on each end.

 
Your safety pin should be between 2 buttonholes.


Now, we can start weaving our ribbon through the holes. 
I put a safety pin at the end of my ribbon only because it makes it easier to weave.

 
Start weaving!


 
Go all the way around. 


 
Pin the ends together when you're done with one side.

 
Now go to the opposite side.  Find the other safety pin and start weaving the other side.   


 
 
When you're done, knot the ends together like this. 
 

 
Your pouch should now look like this.


Now, PULL!  :)
 
Isn't that cute?!?!

 
They look even cuter when there's a bunch!


 
Oh,  remember?  They're reversible too!


 
They're great for crayons, small toys and English Piecing Projects!
They make great gift bags too. :)


 
So have fun and enjoy your new pouch! 
 
Let me know if you have any questions or if anything is unclear.
 
But don't forget to play nice! 
This is for personal use only.  No selling and no using any of my photos without my permission,  blah blah blah - you know!
 
oxox,
Sunny