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New Items in Spring Bouquet from Moda

Fat Eighth Spring Bouquet

More of this Spring Bouquet print by American Jane for Moda arrived and I ordered just in the nick of time because it's getting hard/impossible to find!  My favorite snaps in the whole wide world (Snap Source Size 24 in Red) also arrived, so things are just grand around here.   

This is one of my all time favorite prints, so of course I got right to work and made a few items with it:

Small Cord Keeper

(pattern can be found here or here on etsy)

Rose Pincushion Cuff

(pattern can be found here or here on etsy)

Coin Purse

(pattern can be found here or here on etsy - this is a mod where Size 1 has been reduced to 85%)

 

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Make a Small Shipping or Mailing Box from Chipboard

One thing I'm going to remember about this year is that I learned how to make a few different types of boxes and an envelope from chipboard, and all of them have been so helpful with shipping.  Just knowing I can make a small box or envelope makes me feel like there will be fewer last minute trips to the office supply store and that feels grand!

I'm so excited about making these--they are very utilitarian, but still fun to make--and thought you might want to make them too?  So here are my first instructions for something from paper! 

The best thing about this box is it uses one sheet of 8.5" x 11" chipboard to make the box.  You might have noticed I bring up chipboard from time to time because it's great for making long lasting pattern pieces, and it's something I try to keep on hand. 

The instructions come with a pattern piece you can tape together to make a reusable template.  Then you simply trace the outline and cut out your boxes.

The finished box is small: 6.75" x 4" x 1".  It can be used for a shipping box or a gift box.  A digital label from etsy or PayPal fits perfectly on the top.  In the photo above there are six cord keepers and another layer would have fit. 

There's one stack of 40 sheets of chipboard in my shop and then there are lots of other options for buying it on etsy.  This listing looks like a pretty good deal (affiliate link). 

Finally, the box instructions are on sale for 20% off through Friday.  The sale price ($4.80) is marked. 

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Pink Kitty Clutch

This pink fabric was out, and calling to be made into some sort of smaller bag.  So I made a simple zip top clutch using the medium size pattern piece from the Zip Pouches pattern. 

Inside there is the #1 pocket from this document.  Having all these pockets to pick from really does work like magic to get me to make a pocket to add to things! I tend to use the smaller ones in this collection most, but having this file of ones to pick makes it almost impossible for me to procrastinate about sewing one. 

Instructions for a zip pull like this one can be found here.

This finished bag is available here in my etsy shop.

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Scrap Bags

Tiny Scraps

Chambray Scraps

Red and White Polka Dot Scraps

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Strawberries and Cats Pink Tote Bag

I've been working on a few more of these divided grocery bags using what's left of my stash of this fabric from Kokka.  The last one in the cream version of this print is already spoken for, but this pink one is available here in my etsy shop and I'm almost finished with a blue one. 

Here are a few more new things:

A lot of 22 of these 7/8" mushroom top buttons can be found here.  These are perfect for making double ball hair ties.  There's even a quick tutorial in the photos showing you how to do it! Come take a look.

There's one last remnant of this print of Boston Terriers from the Maker Maker collection by Sarah Golden for Andover. 

Finally, I made one new cord keeper and plan to make a bunch more of these soon.  I'm just waiting for some snaps and then it will be time to get busy!

  

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Kitty Coin Purse - Patchwork on Fleece

Here's a little birthday gift for someone!  This was made using the #1 template in this document.  It's cute, eh? 

I've made a number of kitty patchwork zipper pouches in this size, but I'm close to being out of this Whiskers & Tails print, so maybe there will be one or two more and then it will be time to call it a day. 

Besides being a gift for a friend, what's special about this pouch is the patchwork was pieced on a base of fleece and muslin. 

Cotton batting is my go to base for patchwork, but there are times when I'm just totally out of it--even the small scraps, which I make into larger pieces by zigzagging them together.  But it's ok if I run out of batting because fleece fused to muslin can work just as well!  If you want to do this too, this post is a quick overview of how I make patchwork on fleece for a small zipper pouch.

The fleece I'm using is Pellon 987f.

1. For the patchwork piece, cut a piece of fleece 1/8" larger than your pattern piece & then cut a piece of muslin 1/8" larger than the fleece.  The measurements don't need to be perfect--you just want each piece slightly larger than the next.  This will keep the fleece off your iron and give you a base piece big enough for the patchwork.
2. Fuse the fleece to the muslin.
3. Piece your patchwork on the muslin side and cover the entire thing.  I almost always use a log cabin layout for patchwork.  My coaster pattern is a good overview of making freehand log cabin patchwork pieces and check out this blog post if you need help selecting patchwork prints and colors.
4. Trace the pattern piece on the patchwork and then cut it out.

When I make a patchwork piece for a zipper pouch, I cut away a notch about 0.75" from each corner of the fleece/muslin after step 4.  That keeps the ends next to the zipper from having too much stuff in them, which makes them want to flare out under the force of all the underlying materials.

 

 

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