ring pouch

This came about as a solution to gloves and rings not playing well together. Every winter I have the same problem when we get dressed up and I'm wearing a nice ring (or even just my engagement ring). It's too cold to leave my hands uncovered and I don't want my rings just sitting in my purse or evening bag. And while I prefer mittens in the winter, they just don't look nearly as lovely as gloves for a nice evening out.

The solution:

Super simple to make - I used wool felt and cut 3 pieces. One is 4" by 2 1/4". Two others are 2 1/4" by 2 1/4". Stack them up aligning three edges. Edgestitch all the way around. Trim with pinking shears. Add a buttonhole to the flap (or just cut a slit since it's felt and won't ravel). Sew on a button. Done.

You'll have a pouch with two compartments to store two rings so they won't scratch one another. It's small enough to slip into a tiny evening bag.

They go together fast enough that you have plenty of time to make some if you still need stocking stuffers for the holiday.

Fabulous jeweled ring from the private collection of Ellie MacGyver.

selvage cuff

I could have sworn I posted this project over the summer when I made it. When I put up the Waste Not, Want Not quilt I was going to reference this as my "starter project". A quick look at my archives and then my picassa account proved it didn't exist in blogland.

So here you are, the project I used to get my feet wet before starting the selvage quilt.

Like a lot of you who have accumulated a decent amount of selvages, but are afraid to just begin, I decided I should do something with less of a commitment.

A simple rectangle of muslin is the base (just as with the quilt blocks). This is where I played with how closely I could edgestitch my strips and how I wanted to balance plain and printed pieces. You can see on this project I chose to elimate any of the actual fabric print.

After the selvage piece was put together, it was sewn right sides together with another piece of muslin with an opening on one long side for turning. Do the usual thing - clip corners, turn the cuff right sides to, and press that baby flat. I closed the opening with two rows of edgestitching, added some vintage mother of pearl buttons and snaps for the closure.

My cuff measures 3" by 7 1/2" when laying flat. I'd suggest a narrower width for anyone wanting to make their own - 3" is too large not to take the widening of the forearm into account, so my cuff is tight on one edge. I also have a small wrist, so you'll probably want to add some length the other way.

A dear friend arrives tomorrow from Dallas. I'll be taking a little break to have some girl time with her.

napkin pouch tutorial part 1

You'll need:

hemmed napkin(whatever size you like, but it should be square)

4 feet of cord or ribbon for the drawstrings

coordinating thread

1. Fold the napkin in half to make a triangle as shown. It's okay if the points don't meet exactly. Most of mine weren't perfectly square.

2. Divide the bottom edge into thirds (I did this by folding in the side points and adjusting as needed) and mark sewing lines from the bottom edge up about 5 inches for a lunch sized napkin. (I sewed up about 6.5 inches for a dinner sized napkin.) My lines are marked in pink.

3. Sew from the bottom edge up to the 5 or 6.5 inch mark. Backtack at the ends of your seam.

4. This is the trickier part - fold each side back on itself so that the right side of the napkin is now facing out. In the photo below, the left side has been folded back. This is how you create the pockets in the front and back. Do this to both sides. It doesn't matter which side is on top.

5. Pin the side flaps to one another being very careful not to catch the inside of the pouch. Pin all the way around to the other side.

6. Edgestitch the two flaps together. You'll have to slide the the flaps onto the bed of the machine being careful not to sew through the interior of the pouch. Just keep checking and pulling. You can see in the photo that the fabric gets kind of bunched up. Fortunately, this is a pretty small seam. You'll also need to pivot your seam at the corner that rests at the bottom of the pouch. In the picture I'm nearing the end of the seam. You can see the inside of the pouch pulled forward out of the way of the machine's needle.

Keep scrolling for part 2.

napkin pouch tutorial part 2

7. Once you know that you haven't sewn the interior of the bag to that last seam, turn the whole thing wrong side out.

8. Flatten out the bottom corners and sew a seam about 3/4" in from the end to box the corners. You can skip this step if you want a flatter pouch. I had to redo this step on a few pouches because all the fabric in that corner bunched up and I got a few pleats. Be sure you have all the fabric smoothed flat before sewing.

9. Turn the pouch right side out again and fold down the flaps just enough to create a channel for the drawstrings. Mine were about 3/4" wide. Sew a seam along both sides.

10. Cut your drawstring cord in half. Pull one through both channels so it ties off on the left. Do the opposite with the other so that it ties off to the right.

11. Pull the drawstrings to close up the bag. You're done!

school days dress

What to do when I have a perfectly good onesie shirt that doesn't work on a potty trained child and a dress with ruined buttonholes on the bodice? Sew them together.

I got to use more of my favorite buttons too.

Ages ago, someone asked me how I put buttons on by machine and I never got around to posting it before. It's really easy. First, you need to drop the feed dogs on your machine so the fabric doesn't advance as you sew them on. I use an open embroidery foot so I can see the button better, like below.

Put the button under the foot. If it slips a bit, I use a dab of glue from a glue stick on the bottom of the button to give it a little hold on the fabric. Change the stitch to a zig zag - test the width by turning the flywheel by hand. When it's set so the needle goes in the holes on opposite swings, you're ready. Now just sew about 10 stitches. You can either clip the threads close or draw the top thread through to the back and tie them off (the more secure option). This method works well for buttons that are purely decorative. When I'm sewing buttons on by machine that need to work on a blouse, I use another foot that has a pin in the center that gives some extra play in the thread so the fabric on the side with the buttonholes will fit easily under the button. Next time I need to use it, I'll try to take a few pictures.

machine embroidery tutorial

I'm loving how the embroidery turned out on blackbird's apron. I have a feeling this idea will be showing up again around these parts because it was so easy to do. If you're interested, follow along:

1. Sketch out a design that you like on some scrap paper.

2. Trace that design onto some tear away stabilizer - remember to reverse the image if there's writing or you want the motif facing a particular way.

3. Lay the stabilizer in place on the wrong side of your fabric - I use basting spray, but pins will work just as well.

4. Free motion stitch on all of your lines - GO SLOWLY!

Things I like to do/use:

On my machine there's a stitch that goes over each individual stitch three times(forward, back and forward again) - that's the one I use.

I use an open toe embroidery foot so I can see exactly where my needle is going.

I lengthen or shorten the stitch based on the look and size of the design.

The needle used is whatever was left in the machine from the last project.

The thread is basic stuff, the stitch going over it three times makes it stand out.

If you have the option, put your machine in the "needle down" position.

5. I didn't remember to do this, but I will in the future - pull all the top thread tails through to the back and tie them off rather than backstiching. You can see where the backstitching built up on the spatula. It annoys me everytime I look at it.

6. Carefully remove the stabilizer. It helps to put your nail on the stitching as you tear the stablilizer so the stitches don't get distorted.

7. Realize that you need another line of stitching on the spoon after removing all stablizer and slap another piece on to do that before calling it a day.

bias tape hem tutorial

Here's a pretty easy way to add trim and hem a project in one step using single fold bias tape(even though it has two folds, it's still called single fold - double fold bias tape is single fold tape that has been folded in half).



1. Pin the right side of the bias tape to the wrong side of your fabric. Line up the raw edges as you open one fold of the bias tape. Be very careful not to stretch the bias tape as you do this. If you do, you'll be stuck ironing the item flat everytime you pull it out of the dryer. (Trust me, I speak from experience here.)



2. Stitch in the fold of the tape. I use an edgestitching presser foot to do this. It has a blade that will follow the foldline very easily. If your machine has a foot for making a blindstitch hem that may also work.

3. After you've completed the stitching, press the tape to the right side. This will encase all the raw edges making a very neat finish. The bias tape will conform to the curves in the garment as you press.

4. Using your edgestitching foot, sew a seam near the edge of the bias tape. Use the blade of the foot to follow next to the edge of the bias tape. Move your needle to the right and sew the length of the seam.
That's it. The project in the photo was the upper neck edge of a doll dress. The same technique was used for the hems of the girls' dresses. I ran out of the green tape for the hem of the doll dresses so I simply used white and reversed the first step and sewed it on so that it would be on the inside of the dress. If you're sewing in the round (as you would on a hem), start your bias tape with a small bit folded over on itself so you don't have raw edges showing. You can also get fancy and miter the ends together. I refer to a copy of Finish It by Alex Anderson when I need a refresher on doing that. If the ends of the tape will be enclosed in other seams (the neck edge of the doll dress will be enclosed in the bias used to finish the armholes) you don't need to worry about the ends.