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Scrap Bags

Quilting Cotton Scraps

For my scrap bag loving sewing friends, a bag with this a piece of my favorite vintage fabric ever is available here and a bag of the "tiny scraps" can be found here.

  Tiny Scraps

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Journal or Planner Pouch

Here's something I've been wanting to make for a while now--a pouch with an elastic band so it can be attached to a journal or planner. 

I actually made something like this as a Christmas gift, but when I went back to make another the "what ifs" got me--what if the pocket would be better going this way, what if it needs to be larger/smaller/shorter/wider, and on and on.  Basically it got tiring thinking about it, which happens sometimes.  So I quit thinking about it and making it, but now I'm ready to try, try again! 

Using an existing pattern seemed the best course to minimize being indecisive and this version of the Improv Zip Wristlet seemed perfect.   

Even though the pouch at the link this was made a few months ago, it apparently didn't get it's own blog post. So let's talk about both the one at the link and the journal pouch now.  First let's do this one:

This is a custom size of the Improv Zip Wristlet with a few mods.  If you aren't familiar with this pattern, the main point is it's easy to customize and make an infinite number of other sizes. 

First, here are the measurements for the pattern piece and where the divisions are placed for this one:

• 7.5" wide (19cm)
• 4.75" high (12cm)
• C is at 1.25" (32mm)
• A is at 1.25" (32mm)

For the mods for the grey floral one above, I didn't use the open wide zipper from the pattern instructions and simply covered the bottom end.  This version doesn't have box corners, and squared off corners tend to frustrate me with tricky it is to make them look square.  So I rounded the corners off by sewing around the perimeter of the pieces, and then tracing around a spool of thread and sewing rounded corners along the spool outline. 

Now on to the journal pouch...the dimensions for this one are the same as above. 

This one has the open wide zipper, but maybe I'll skip it next time because there's something about that extra bit of zipper that isn't my favorite thing.  It's cool how wide it opens, but I'm just not 100% sold on this zipper technique yet.

For the journal pouch I wanted the zipper to open top down along the right hand side, so the direction of the zippers needed to be reversed in steps in 6.a & 9.b.

Finally, the elastic piece here is 10.5" and it's 1" wide elastic.  This is probably a little short for larger planners.  The planner here is a Large Pocket Moleskine which is 5" wide x 8.25" high.  At 10.5" I think this elastic will fit around a few more inches, but it's going to be a bit of a strain and not good for the elastic. 

Next I might make the Zip Pocket Pouch Wristlet into a journal pouch and see how that goes! 

Take a look here to see the other custom sizes I've made using this pattern.
 

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Fleece Piece for Rose Pincushion Cuff Pattern

I've been using fleece in the Rose Pincushion Cuff for a while now--probably a few years at this point! 

Somewhere in the almost 10-years of blog posts here, there is a post mentioning the measurements for substituting fleece for the batting piece D, but finding it is proving tricky--even for me!  So it's time for a post dedicated exclusively to using fleece in the cuff. 

You might be wondering why I'm using fleece, and really the only reason is I bought a bolt of fleece.  A bolt of fleece is A LOT of fleece.  Any place fleece can be substituted for batting, it's happening.  

Since the fleece (Pellon 987F) isn't as dense as batting, it needs to be larger than the piece D for the batting in the pattern.  If you make your fleece the size given below, it will end up being two layers thick once the cuff is folded.  But you only need to cut one piece of fleece this size--pressing and folding the cuff in 5.a is what makes it two layers thick. 

The dimensions for the piece are 3.25" wide x 7.75" high (8.25cm x 19.7cm), or click the link below to download the pattern piece.

Download Fleece

Center the fleece piece on the WS of piece E and apply it before step #5, and then continue on with step 5.a. 

The cuff will be puffy, but stitching some rows through the middle after edgestitching in 5.i will flatten it out some. 

 

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Divided Grocery Bags

These Grocery Bags with the body divided into two fabrics have shown up in a number of recent posts--including the one right before this one. 

Today I have a chart for some suggested dimensions for cutting pieces to make these bags and also some diagrams and info for making pattern pieces that can be used for making these divided bags. 

If you are going to make a bunch of these bags--either divided or not--it goes a lot faster if you have chipboard pattern pieces.  That's what the diagrams are for and then if you just want straight dimensions, here they are:

Here are the diagrams for pattern pieces for all three sizes:

To make a long lasting pattern piece, get some chipboard and use packing tape to join enough pieces together to accommodate the perimeter dimensions given in the pattern instructions. 

Then mark the measurements given in the diagrams above along both sides of the pattern piece.

The top number in the diagrams is for the upper section of the divided bag and the lower number is for the bottom section. They are oriented vertically, so you'd mark your piece out tracing from the number down the side, across the bottom, and up the other side.

For the bottom section of the bag, begin by making a registration mark off to the side of the lower number. In the next step, the horizontal line across the top of the section will be hidden, so you'll need these registration marks to orient the piece.

Then trace from the lower number down the side, across the bottom, and then up to the lower number on the other side. 

Turn the pattern piece upside down, line up the flat edge with the registration marks, and mark the top so you have a rectangle.  Instead of turning the piece upside down, you can simply keep sliding it upward.  It's just easier to flip it upside down though because it sets you up for the next step.

Slide the pattern piece down until the lower number matches the registration marks, and trace up the side, across the top, and then down to the lower number. 

Now you have two pieces outlined for the bottom section.  Repeat these steps for the top section using the larger numbers marked along the sides of the pattern piece.  Then sew the sections together using a 3/8" SA. 

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