Tutorial - How to make a simple tote bag from a teatowel

I'm looking forward to next months Choose Your Own Bag Adventure, but in the meantime, I thought I'd re-publish some of my bag tutorials for anyone who might be a little new around these parts.

You can find an online version of this tutorial as published in The Weekly Times, or you can download a PDF version.

It's super simple and will take you less than 30 minutes (I promise)!

Tutorial - Little Girls Skirt

Fabric - Go Granny II 100% Cotton

Download the PDF

You will need:

Fabric
Thread
Sewing Machine
Overlocker (optional)
Wide Elastic
Safety Pin (for threading the elastic)



Step 1. Determine the Size:


I'm choosing to make a size 4 skirt for a friends daughter using the online Childrens Clothing Sizing Guide from the Target Website. It gives me a waist measurement of 54cm.

The length is a little bit of a guesstimate, but I'm aiming for have a finished length of approximately 36cm.

Step 2. Calculate the Fabric Size:

The skirt is just one large rectangle of fabric.

Width: Finished Waist Size x 1.5 = 54 x 1.5 = 81cm
Length: Finished Length + 5 cm = 36 + 5 = 41cm

Step 3. Fabric

Cut the fabric rectangle and overlock all four sides (if you have an overlocker)

Step 4. Hem

On both of the two long sides of the rectangle, fold over a 1cm hem and iron and stitch into place.

Step 5 - Sew into a cylinder:

Fold your fabric in half with right sides together, so that the two short sides are lined up facing each other.

Measure and mark 3 cm from the top, then sew a 1cm seam all the way to the bottom

You should now have a large fabric cylinder.

Step 6 - Press Seams Open

Place the cylinder shape over your ironing board, and press the seam open.

You should have the 3cm gap at the top of your seam.

Step 7 - Create the casing for the elastic

At the 3cm mark, fold the fabric over and press into place.

Stitch into place along the same stitching line. You can now see the little gap in the inside seam where you can feed the elastic through at the end.

 

Check the width of your elastic, and then sew another row of stitching along the top edge of the skirt. This ensures that the elastic stays nice and neat and flat inside the casing.

Step 8 - The Elastic

To determine the length of the elastic - just add 4 cm to the waist measurement.
I've cut the elastic at 54 + 4 = 58cm

Attach a safety pin and feed it through the casing until you have both ends out.

Lay the elastic flat with a 2cm overlap and stitch together securely.

Once stitched, feed back into the casing, spreading it evenly around the elastic.

Stitch the gap closed.



Step 9 - Finishing the bottom.

I've chosen to add binding at the bottom of my skirt, but you can just fold and iron a 1cm seam, and stitch it into place, or even add a little ruffle.

That's it!

Super simple and easy peasy.

If you make one, I'd love it if you added it to my tutorials Flickr Group

Tutorial - Craft Space Tips and Tricks

It's been a little while since I've written a crafty tutorial, so I thought I'd share some of my favourite Craft Space Tips and Tricks.

After a long career in the manufacturing industry where the focus is always on safety, ergonomics, and productivity, my craft space has naturally evolved to include these same elements.

It's taken a few years to get the space to work perfectly for me, but it's worth taking a step backwards, and thinking about what will work for you.

Tip 1 - Desk or Table

This is piece of furniture where I would begin a scheme.

Think about the not only the height and width of your table or desk, but also the depth (how far it will protrude from the wall).

I have overhead cupboards, so I've chosen to have a slimline depth desk so that I can reach above. It also works for the small projects that I make such as pouches and bags and clothes.If you're a quilter, then a slimline depth desk probably isn't going to work for you.

For sewing purposes, I wanted a desk with a shiny laminated top. Not only is it really easy to clean, but fabrics glide across with ease as they move through the sewing machine.
 
On the negative side, this surface scratches really easily so it's not suitable for pinning.

Tip 2 - The Chair

If you're going to spend a lot of time sewing or crafting, then this is probably going to be the most important piece of furniture in the space. Try to think about if from the perspective of a worker who may spend all day at a desk, or at a table in a factory. They use an adjustable ergonomic desk chair for a good reason.

You need to be able to adjust your seat height to suit your table, and you also need to be able to adjust your back rest so that you sit up straight (and try not to hunch over).

I know a vintage wooden chair with a floral cushion looks much more pretty, but I'd rather be comfortable when sewing.

An adjustable desk chair is also very useful when it comes to the ironing board tip.

Tip 3 - Lighting

It's very important to be able to see what you're doing, especially if you like to craft or sew at night.

I don't have very good natural light in my craft space, so I went to the extreme and had a skylight installed, but you can pick up a great adjustable lamp (like the one pictured above) for around $20 from Officeworks.

Tip 4 - The Ironing Board

Most ironing boards are height adjustable.

Adjust the height of your board so that it's the same height as your table, and set it up right next to your sewing table.

As you're sewing, if you need to stop and iron, you don't need to stand up and walk to the ironing board, you simply swivel on your desk chair, iron your fabric, and then swivel back.

Tip 5 - Easy Access

To save time and frustration, keep everything you need easily accessible.

You may not have desk drawers, but think of other ways to keep necessary items close to your workspace so that you don't need to get up and search.

I have all of my threads, bobbins, tools, sewing machine feet, scissors etc. exactly where I need them.

Tip 6 - The Power

One of the things that drives me completely bonkers is that powerpoints are only ever installed right down low along the bottoms of walls, behind the furniture, making them completely inaccessible.

These powerboards with switches are a godsend. I have one sitting on top of the desk so that I can easily plug and unplug all of my appliances such as the iron, laminator, cordless vacuum charger etc.

So much easier than getting on the floor under the desk to access the powerpoint! 

Tip 7 - The Cutting Table 


I'm not sure  whether you can tell from this photo, but there's quite a big difference in height between my sewing desk and my cutting table.

I rotary cut everything standing up, so I've had my cutting table raised (by adding lockable castors) so that it is approximately the standard kitchen bench height of 900mm (of course, this height won't work for everyone as it depends on your own height).

Think about whether you're bending a lot when cutting. Is there a way that you could raise or lower your table so that it's more appropriate for your own height? A good test is to put your cutting mat on your dining table, and then then on your kitchen bench to see what difference it makes for you.


I hope there's a little helpful hint in there somewhere.
If you try something out and like it please let me know!
 

Tutorial - How to Make Go Granny Mini Bunting

Jess from Epheriall Designs contacted me a few weeks ago, and asked me if I could write a little crafty tutorial for her gorgeous blog.

How could I possibly say no?

I was sitting at the kitchen bench with little squares of Go Granny and little squares of felt, inspired by Jennie's girls..... when I lined them up in a row and immediately pictured them as bunting!

This tutorial is quick and easy and lots of fun - even the kiddies can make the 'non sew' version just using fabric glue.

You can find Go Granny Fabric right here and you can download the PDF version of the Mini Bunting Tutorial right here.

Enjoy!

Tutorial - How to Make a Pouch for your Electronic Gadget

I'm super excited that this tutorial is on Whip Up today - a huge thankyou to Kathreen for inviting me to contribute to the Guest Blogger Series!

My sister recently bought me an eReader so I desperately need to Whip Up an eReader Pouch, using one of the original testing samples (in a larger scale) of my Go Granny fabric.

The tutorial explains how to measure your very own eGadget to make a pouch that fits perfectly.

If you'd like to make your very own, using my Go Granny fabric (tip: all those lines make it really easy to sew in a straight line), then pop over here to the shop.

Oh, and if you do make something lovely using Go Granny, then please upload your photos to Flickr and join the Go Granny group!

Download the PDF Tutorial - How to Make a Pouch for your Electronic Gadget

Tutorial - An easy way to create fabric letters for applique

A friends little boy has a birthday coming up very soon, and he needs a new pencilcase.

I really wanted to personalise it with his name, but I also wanted to use my favourite font, so I came up with this super simple solution.

Download the PDF Tutorial 

You will need the following:

A sheet of A4 sized Freezer Paper
Inkjet printer
A piece of fabric large enough for your printed letters
A piece of fusible webbing the same size as your fabric (I use applifix)
Sharp scissors
Iron

Step 1:

Create your chosen letters using Microsoft Word (or any other such program). Place the sheet of A4 freezer paper in your inkjet printer, taking care to ensure that the print will end up on the paper side (not the waxy coated side).

Print the letters onto the freezer paper.

Step 2:

Cut your piece of freezer paper down to an appropriate size.
Cut your chosen fabric so that it's a bit larger than your freezer paper.
Cut your piece of fusible webbing the same size as your fabric.

Step 3:

Place your fusible webbing onto the back of your fabric (making sure the fluffy gluey side is touching the back of the fabric), and iron into place.

Leave the backing paper intact.

Step 4:

Place the freezer paper on top of the fabric and iron into place (waxy coated side faces the fabric).
I used a rajah cloth on top to protect my iron from the ink.

There will now be a paper layer on both sides of the fabric.

Step 5:

Using a very sharp pair of scissors, cut the letters out.

Step 6:

Peel the backing paper from the fusible webbing and place your letters onto the piece of fabric which will be appliqued, and iron into place.

It's best to use a rajah cloth or scrap of fabric to protect your iron from the ink.

Follow the correct manufacturers instructions for the brand of fusible webbing that you're using.

Step 7:

Once cooled, carefully peel off the freezer paper.

Step 8:

Now you can choose to do whatever you wish - machine stitch, hand stitch, straight, blanket, zig-zag.... whatever takes your fancy!

 
I used the Zippered Pouch project from Nikki's book, You Sew Girl to create this fully lined pencilcase using my Dragster Dominoes Fabric and the appliqued fabric letters.

Now I just have to wrap it up for the birthday boy!

My Creative Space & A Book Launch

In my creative space today is a project that I was supposed to get finished yesterday, instead of spending the entire day faffing around (somewhat due to my lack of patience and interest in computer hardware).... Oh, yes, and I  might have gone out to have lunch at a nice little cafe too.

But anyway, I digress....this is going to be my Softie for Mirabel. It's just a simple little fuzzy bear softie that I designed yonks ago to use for Toy Society drops.

I had grand plans of having a proper tutorial written for making him, but I'm not going to have time, so I'm just going to share my pattern, and some super basic instructions. You can download a pdf copy here if you're interested, or I've also added links via my tutorial page.
It was written in a huge hurry so if there are any glaring errors, I'm apologising in advance!

Lovely photo used courtesy of Kate

In other crafty news, I was very lucky to be able to go along to Pips book launch for Sew La Tea Do on Tuesday night. I forgot to take my camera, so lets just pretend that Pip is signing my copy of her lovely book in this photo, shall we.....


The home of My Creative Space....

New Flickr Group

I've created a new Flickr group for photos of creations made using my tutorials.

Feel free to pop on over and add some!

Tutorial - How to make a Tea Towel Drawstring Bag

I have another tutorial printed in the Weekly Times today.

Below is the full version with photos.

Whether you're heading off for an overseas trip, or just a weekend away, making a drawstring bag for your shoes is a great way to keep them separated from the lovely clean clothes in your suitcase.

Of course, drawstring bags have a multitude of uses - so make as many as you like. They're fabulous for kids toys, keeping puzzles together, and storing precious collections.

Download the PDF

Step 1

Gather your supplies:
Tea towel
Twill tape
Large Safety Pin
Pins
Sewing Machine
Scissors
Ruler or Tape Measure
Drawstring Cord (or a piece of ribbon)

Step 2

Fold the tea towel in half lengthways, with the right sides facing together.

Step 3

Using your sewing machine, stitch a straight line down both side seams. The top remains open.
You will now have what looks like a large inside out tea towel pocket.

Step 4

Turn the tea towel back out so that it is facing the right way.

Step 5

Each tea towel will be slightly different is size, so now you will need to do a little maths.
Measure the width of the tea towel envelops and then double it (this is to calculate the length of twill tape that you will need to use).

Cut the piece of twill tape to the required length.

Fold over the edge of the twill tape on either end and run a couple of lines of stitching along to ensure that you have a neat edge on both ends.

Step 6

Pin the twill tape right around the top edge of the tea towel envelope and stitch along the top and the bottom to create a channel for your drawstring.

Step 7

Using the previous twill tape measurement, add on 30 centimetres, and then cut a piece of drawstring cord (or ribbon)  to this length.

Attach one end of the drawstring cord (or ribbon) to a safety pin, and thread it through the drawstring channel.

Step 8

Once the drawstring is evenly threaded through on both sides, tie a knot at either end to prevent fraying.

To prevent the drawstring from being removed, run a line of stitching down the side seam at the opposite side to the drawstring opening.

Step 9

Pop in your favourite pair of shoes!