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Wash Away Wonder Tape

Maybe you are already using Wonder Tape and know just how wonderful it is, but if not let me tell you about it because this double sided sewing tape because it will make your sewing life easier. 

I first picked up a roll of this tape to use to install an invisible zipper.  Invisible zippers aren't something I have a lot of experience sewing, but using this tape made it super easy and my zipper turned out perfect! Now this tape is my go to thing when sewing zippers.

When using it for zippers, I use just a few small pieces--one at each end and one in the middle. The roll is 10-yards, but if you sew a lot of zippers you'll probably want to conserve the tape. 

If you are new to sewing or haven't sewn a zipper before, skip conservation and tape the entire length of the zipper to really hold it in place firmly. 

Wonder Tape won't gum up your needle and though it does wash away, it also doesn't have to be removed. If you put it on next to the very edge of the zipper tape it will be hidden after you sew on the zipper.

The other place I use this tape regularly is for VELCRO.  Before using this tape my VELCRO almost always ended up slightly off kilter no matter how hard I tried to keep it straight!  So it's nice to not be looking at crooked VELCRO anymore. 

P.S. Check out what other people had to say about this tape here.

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Sevenberry Japanese Fabric

At some point in the near past Robert Kaufman started distributing Sevenberry fabric, or maybe they always did?  I've had a few Sevenberry fabrics in the past, but most were purchased around 2010 or so, and then for years I just didn't see them available anywhere, and I did look! 

Anyway, there is entire rounder of Sevenberry prints Fabric Depot and I picked up some of the one above.  Today I listed one fat eighth of it here and then I made the pincushion below.  Good times, I tell ya...

 

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Slightly Bigger Cord Keeper

These cord keepers are super quick to make and very cute and useful, but it's hard to find prints that work well at diminutive size. So option A was get more small scale fabric, or make it slightly larger.  While I'd love more fabric, the practical choice was to make it bigger.

Below are the dimensions used for this one and then this is sewn like the fabric piece for the zip pull in the Intro to Improv Zip Pouches pattern. 

The fabric piece is: 6.5" x 2.5" (16.5cm x 6.4cm)

I interfaced this one twice.  The first piece is 6" x 1.1" (15.3cm x 28mm) and the second piece is around 5.75" x 1" (14.6cm x 26mm).  These are both centered on the fabric piece and the smaller piece goes on last. 

Check out this blog post for the fabric dimensions of the smaller ones I've made. 

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Modified Size 2 Intro to Improv Zip Pouch

Today I stitched up zipper pouch on a whim after getting these two scrap bags ready:

Some of the denim used used for this pouch is in this bag of denim scraps and some of the floral is in this bag of cotton lawn scraps.

I made some mods, and there are also a couple things I might do differently next time, so here they are:

Interfaced the cotton lawn fabric pieces twice.  This worked perfectly to build the lawn up to a weight and firmness close to the denim.  I applied one layer of Pellon SF101, let it cool, and then added another right on top of the first layer. 

Applied the fleece to muslin and quilted the fleece/muslin to the lining.  Applying the fleece to muslin is a great way to add another layer for structure. If you don't have muslin use some of those prints you are feeling over or wonder what you were thinking in the first place.  Do make sure any color/print won't show through your other fabrics. 

For the quilting, just a few lines is good.  I start in the middle and then quilt to the side about every 2".  The Box Bottom Gauges are useful for marking out quilting lines, or eyeballing where to sew them works too.  No one is going to notice if they aren't evenly spaced, or even very straight!  But it is good to stitch all these layers together by quilting them and makes it easier to work with these pieces if everything is held together.

Increased the box bottom corners by using the 1.5" gauge.  Super simple, but I find I have to remind myself to mark out the new corners or I end up having to cut them a second time!

Used the zipper technique from the Improv Zip Wristlet pattern.  This worked out well, but next time I'd add a 1/4" to the total zipper length.  These pouches have slanted sides, which means where the zipper is attached is actually slightly longer than the top edge of the pattern piece.  The zipper does open the width of the top of the pouch, but it could use just another 1/4" to totally clear the top edge.  

Finally, for next time I'd probably topstitch the lining side only.  Or maybe topstitch around the entire top if I wasn't using this bright pink YLI topstitching thread.  I'm not that excited about the way the topstitching around the top looks for this particular bag.  It's not bad, but it distracts me because this pouch is visually oriented vertically and the horizontal line of the topstitching next to the zipper catches my eye.  Picky, picky...! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Improv Zip Wristlet for a Large Moleskine Journal

This is a custom size of the Improv Zip Wristlet and it fits a large Moleskine journal (5.25" x 8.25"). It turned out amazing in this fabric called Thistle from the Flower Shop collection (Cotton + Steel).  The inside is a patchwork of black and white/cream prints. 

The last page of the text instructions for the Improv Zip Wristlet shows how to make this in custom sizes.  Here are the measurements I used for this one:

• 10.25" wide (26cm)
• 7.5" high (19cm)
• C is at 1.75" (44mm)
• A is at 1.5" (38mm)
• box bottom 0.75" (19mm)

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