Pocket tutorial

A pocket for a handbag might be easy enough to make, you say? Yes, I agree, there are numerous ways of making pockets that are quite OK, but I have worked out one that really works for me, and the people I have made bags for are very happy with this design too. The advantage is that you make the pocket on its own, and add it to the bag as you stitch the bag and lining together, the pocket hanging freely inside the bag with easy access to cell phone, keys and whatever you want to keep in the pocket. I was looking for my notes while making a new bag, and that's when I realized that I should have it all in my blog. And if anybody else can find it useful to, why not!

So, here goes:
You need :
three pieces of fabric:

• A: 3 1/2" x 4",
• B: 8 x 4" and
• C: 8 x 24".

• a 4" zipper,
• a 3" piece of grosgrain ribbon,

If you want to be able to attatch your bunch of keys, a metal ring or a carabiner hook or similar might be a good idea too.
Seam allowance: I generally use a standard seam allowance, aligning the right edge of the sewing machine foot with the edge of the fabric (that should be about 5/8" I think).

Fold piece A in half lenghtwise and press. Fold the edges towards centre fold, press and fold along centre fold. Stitch a narrow seam along edge of the strip along both sides and cut the stitched strip into 4 tabs. Next, you fold pieces B and C in half. The 8" folded edges will be placed alongside the zipper as shown in the picture above, using the tabs (placed behind the large fabric pieces) to separate the pieces. The tabs at the edges should be placed about 5/8" in from the edges. The ribbon will be stitched onto the back of the fold to strengthen the opening of the cell phone pocket. To do this, begin with the folded C piece, stitch the zipper along the edge, adding one tab at each end, the ribbon on the back and the third tab on the far right. Stitch another seam along the edge about 5/8" from the first, stabilizing the tabs and catching the lower edge of the ribbon on the back. It should look something like this when you're done. Ideally one should use a matching ribbon, but I used what I had and I'm not too bothered, as it wont really show.

Next, attatch piece B along the other edge of the zipper, catching all three tabs. If you want to add a ring or hook for your keys, use the fourth tab now. Thread the ring or hook onto it, fold it in half and pin it to the middle tab, attatching it while you stitch a narrow seam along the edge of piece B.
Now you have all the pieces stitched together, with the zipper attatched and the opening for the cell phone pocket next to it. Now fold the long C piece in half, right sides together, bringing raw edges of pieces B and C together (4 layers) at the top.

Stitch a seam along each side, backstitching at both ends. Trim corners and turn pocket inside out. It's beginning to look like a pocket now, isn't it? Add a seam 5/8" from the zipper seam along the upper edge to close the upper piece, and a seam on each side to make a sturdier edge and to enclose the raw edges on the inside (shown with red lines in photo). Now to make the cell phone pocket, stitch a seam starting at the right edge (1) on top of the lower seam above the cell phone opening and onto the middle tab (2). Keep needle down and turn 90 degrees and stitch a seam down to the bottom of the pocket (3) to separate zippered pocket and cell phone pocket. Keeping needle down, turn pocket 180 degrees and stitch back on same seam about 1 1/2" (4), turn 90 degrees and stitch a seam to the right edge of the pocket (5) to form the bottom of the cell phone pocket. You might want to measure with your own phone where you want this seam to be - you don't want your phone to slip all the way into the pocket so it is difficult to get out, but it should not be too shallow so the phone falls out either.
That's it, your pocket is done and ready to be stitched to the edge of your lining so that the upper edge can be caught in the seam when you stich bag and lining together.

Now this pocket consists of four layers of fabric, making it very sturdy. I like that, and also the fact that I see the front of the fabric inside the pockets. However, you could make the pocket from a fabric like canvas or linen that is sturdy enough in itself, and looks the same on both sides. You would only need to cut pieces B and C at half the length, and just hem the edges you stitch to the zipper.

Holiday sewing

I'm waking up from the holiday coma and today I ventured into the sewing room again to get some work done. I finished trimming all my x-blocks for the second quilt and stitched them together in rows. A bit of ironing here and I can stitch the whole thing together - I might actually finish the top this year, but no promises...

I also finished the body of my sister's bag and auditioned some fabrics for the lining. This one won. It will give her something to read on the bus ;-) I'm also going to make a hanging pocket with a zipper and room for a cell phone. I have made a similar one on several bags now and really like them. As I was looking for my notes (which I couldn't find, of course) I thought it might be a good idea to document the different steps and measurements for future use. There might be a tutorial in it, in fact. We'll see. It will have to wait until daylight so I can get some decent photos anyway. It looks like we'll be snowed in tomorrow as well, so the sewing room might actually be the best place to be.

Correction: The mittens mentioned in the previous post are actually Norwegian, and the pattern can be bought here.

In between time

Enjoying some quiet time after the hustle and bustle of Christmas and before New Years Eve, with family and friends gathered around some lovely meals. I'm going to another party today, but for the rest of the week I expect to get time to venture into the chaos which is my sewing room. I'll start off with some tidying up tomorrow morning, and then I get to sew to my heart's content - looking forward to that!

I got some lovely presents this year. My sister visited Estonia earlier this month and look at these lovely mittens I got! I've heard these described as Latvian mittens earlier, but I expect they share the same tradition in all three Baltic countries. I like the cats on the front, and the fact that their curly tails are repeated in the border, but look at the fish on the thumb - it took me a while to discover that, but I just love it!
The minute I put them on I felt the urge to go outside and have a snowball fight, and this morning we woke up to snow, so now I can ;-)

Fantastic journey

Fruity surprise

placemat2
Originally uploaded by crafty mathea

I just finished a couple of placemats for the parents of a childhood friend. They both turned 75 earlier this autumn, and I had no clue until after the fact. I considered sending them flowers, but decided to make these instead, as a pre-Christmas surprise.
The other one has two blue suares and one green, and one is quilted with green thread and the other with blue, so they are different, yet matching. Click on the picture to go to Flickr and see the other one if you like :-)

Assembly line

It happens every year. "Oh no, I'm taking it easy this year, not making lots of presents - I don't want all that stress during December". And no sooner have the word escaped, I start thinking that it would be nice if I just made a little something for so and so, and while I'm at it, I might as well make some more as that would make a nice present for... - And before you know it I have an assembly line production going.

Well, I don't really mind - it's all part of the hustle and bustle and fun of preparing for Christmas, isn't it? So yesterday I made six of these little fabric baskets, using the tutorial from Pink Penguin.Very nice and easy, and made even easier by the fact that I used only one fabric on the upper pieces and ribbon for handles.

At about 3"x5" they are sweet little things, just right for filling with some homemade goodies, which I have yet to make - I think I'll make some dough for ginger bread cookies today, and some fudge and spicy almonds later in the week, and that will be it, as far as holiday baking is concerned, I think...

Well, I have said that in previous years too, of course. We'll just have to wait and see...

I think I'm in love again...

I've been doing a bit of web surfing lately, and I keep coming across all sorts of loveliness which has me reaching for my credit card, but so far I have managed to quell the urge to spend madly...

But have a look at this book by Anne Kyyrö Quinn and that gorgeous cushion on the cover. I'd love to have a go at making one like that, but I keep telling myself sternly that I'd probably give up halfway across - that's an awful lot of felt to cut and stitch, I imagine. I think it might be made like this awesome wreath found via Whip-up. With at least 286 felt circles to cut and fold, this is a project I'll only admire from afar - I know my limitations!
Now I might just be able to stick with this (unless it sticks to me...) lovely model of a Scottish tenement house from Finch & Fouracre found via India Knight via Jane Brocket - wow, I'm amazed that I actually remember the circuitous route that brought me there...

Or maybe I should rather go for this "Tinyment" (love that word!) which comes ready to fold. At 6 cm tall, all that detail is amazing - it's even got it's own little TV aerial!

Not that I haven't had enough to spend money on lately - I've been dragging home bags full of Xmas-pressies every night this week, but at least I'm almost done! I had to give up on finding my sister a new garlic press, though (found her something much nicer, though!) - you'd have thought that such a humble utensil would be available at a reasonable price, but no. All the shops that sell cookery stuff seem to have gone down (or up?) that same superior designer road and expect me to fork out at least £45. For a garlic press? As if.

Extreme makeover

After a hearty Sunday breakfast inspired by Nigella, (strips of tortilla wraps fried with spring onion and mixed with scrambled eggs, served with baby tomatoes - mmm!) I decided it was time to get my act together and get started on that Christmas sewing. First of all I grabbed that thing that has been weighing on my conscience for a while now - the granny mousie! I keep saying that I wont take on any commissions, and only make what I want to make, and then if somebody wants it after I have finished, we can discuss it. hat sounds great in theory, but sometimes it is almost impossible to say no. A co-worker mentioned that she had this mouse somebody had made for her years ago and she wanted it redressed in more Christmas-like colours. I told her I don't usually do things like that, preferring to quilt, but she said: "I'll take it to work anyway and you can have a look and tell me what you think".

Well, what can you do? Before I knew it I had agreed to make a new outfit for mousie, and despite assurances that there was no rush, I have been thinking about it ever since. So today was the day. Better get this out of the way before I start what I really want to do. I haven't really bought much holiday fabric in recent years, apart from some with snowman motifs, and they weren't really appropriate for this. But eventually I managed to find some pieces among my scraps that were just about big enough. I spent the better part of the morning constructing, testing and resewing, but eventually I got it right.

I changed the style of the apron - no ruffles this time, just a simple lined piece with rounded cutouts on the sides to accommodate the arms. And that's where the title comes in - the arms were originally stitched on to the apron, but it made more sense to me to attach them to the body itself and adjust the clothes accordingly. And if moving the arms to a new position doesn't constitute an extreme makeover, I don't know what does! So there Granny Mouse is in her new Christmas finery. Let's hope my co-worker likes it!

No for some dinner, and then I'll get started on some place mats. Better stitch while the iron is hot, so to speak ;-)

x-blocks

I have a new batch of X-blocks on the go. Same colours as in the previous one, but different setting. I don't know what took me so long, because once I got started this was done in no time at all. But there you have it, I seem to be procrastinating big time lately. It might be that the holiday season arrived so suddenly (so what else is new...) that I feel the urge to put the brakes on. As if my silent protest would help at all - no, I might as well embrace the season and get going on those Christmas projects. Hm, maybe I need to make a list first. That usually helps...

Don't listen to my grumbling - I don't mean it really, I love the holiday season, although I could do without the snow - or slush, which is what it has become today. Now I just need to sit down and decide what to make, bake and buy for the holidays, so I can get started...

Pre-Christmas inspiration

Look what as in the parcel I picked up from the post office yesterday: hours of browsing fun and inspiration! So what if the first snowflakes are floating through the air? They still melt before they hit the ground and I don't actually need to go outside. So I'll spend some time stitching and a lot of time browsing through my new mags gathering ideas for things to make.

The world might turn white during the day, and I might just be tempted to venture out to place my first footprints in pristine snow once it does, but not just yet - I have important reading and planning to do :-D

Anybody home?

Yes, still here. And thankful that the weekend has arrived. Busy, busy, busy. And there has been very little sewing going on. I'm hoping that tomorrow will improve matters, though. I have started on some new x-blocks, for another red and turquoise quilt and I'm having a friend over for some cutting and stitching lessons tomorrow. The plan is to make a holiday table runner. We'll see how that goes... She has been very interested and made one quilt under my guidance a few years back. Now she feels ready to attempt her next one, but claims to have forgotten everything, so we'll see if I can manage to teach and inspire her to continue down this quilted path I seem to follow. Or maybe we should call it a slippery slope of fabric and notion purchases... - I won't mention that during her first lesson though ;-)

Seed stitches on photo

Seed stitches on photo
Originally uploaded by crafty mathea

Still working on the bag. There will be a bit of handstitching - seed stitches on the backround of the photo, beading around the edge and some decorative embroidery along the seams.
I'm enjoying a bit of quiet time stitching by hand before I start on the main job, which is constructing the bag itself.

Sneak peek

I've been working on my sister's messenger bag today. This is just a glimpse of the flap with a photo of her as a little girl transferred to fabric. I have stitched angled strips of fabrics around it, log cabin style, finishing with charcoal linen, which is what the rest of the bag will be made from. Next it needs a bit of hand stitching - some embroidery and some beads - before I construct the rest of the bag. I never thought that I would be making another one, but luckily I jotted down some measurements and a rough sketch in my notebook for the previous one*, so I should be able to remember how I did it.
I'm enjoying a quiet Sunday at home, sewing, reading and watching films. It feels really good to slow down a bit after yet another hectic week at work. There doesn't seem to be much energy left for evenings during the week at the moment, but things should improve in about a fortnight. I do have some pretty quilting fabrics waiting in the wins, and if I can just concentrate for a while, I might be able to remember what I was going to make from them as well...

*I can't believe I never posted a picure of the finished bag! Here it is now!

Blog hopping

I have spent most of my morning here hopping from one blog to another, following the Cross Country Christmas Designer Blog Hop started by Gudrun. There are 12 quilt designers sharing stories about their Christmas traditions and memories, and a free project every day. I only found out about this yesterday, and they are half way through, but there is lots of fun stuff to read and some pretty good projects to get inspired by too. I feel myself getting into that good old Christmas spirit, and have also stocked up on some nice holiday magazines. So I guess this weekend will be all about planning holiday projects - what to make and buy for everybody and to get started on all those lists: shopping, baking, parties... oh, what fun! I think I like this part of Christmas the most - all that anticipation and figuring out what to get for everybody that they'll really love - luckily we aren't that large a family, so the strain on the credit cards doesn't get too heavy. And I tend to go in for lots of handmade anyway, which means that most of my spending has been done in advance (read: fabric stash!).

The illustration is yet another of those "Listen, Honey..." designs from Twisted Thread, see the links in the sidebar.

Red and white

I thought I'd show some of the things I have made from that red and white fabric, over the years, and have managed to unearth some, not very good photos. The items in question have long since gone to new homes, so these photos will have to do for now. These Christmas hearts were made some years back when I came across a bag with lots of little cross-stitched christmassy motifs I had stitched when I was a young girl. I added some fabric, cut out heart shapes and stuffed them, making them into Christmas ornaments for someone's tree. It might not be entirely clear from this picture that this is a fabric cone filled with sweets. It has an angel's head and wings attached to one side, making it look as if the angel is offering an armful of sweets to you. I made some of these for friends, and had planned on making some for myself as well, but as these things go, I never got around to it. This Christmas, however...

These angels in their nighties are ready for bed. The pattern for these, and the angels above came from one of Tone Finnanger's books, one which has been put to good use here over the years. I think I might have made about half the little people and creatures she presents in this book, so it is one I can really recommend. Hm, I suddenly got the urge to sew something - must go and have a look at that book...

Preparing for Christmas

Preparing for Christmas
Originally uploaded by crafty mathea

I have been rather quiet lately, mulling over what will be my next project, rifling through my fabric and notions, but not getting anything done. It might just have been that quiet moment before the storm sets in, though - it suddenly dawned on me that it is Christmas in just over a month, and if I am to make any presents I really need to get started! Some recently added fabric might give me the push I need, though.
Now, what to make... I'm thinking of making some storage bags/buckets from the first two. The red and white seersucker is one fabric I keep coming back to, so I keep buying more. It has been used for christmas ornaments, angel clothing, and all sorts of christmassy things over the years, and I'm thinking of making some candy cones from them, decorated with some pretty ribbon or something. The charcoal linen/cotton blend at the bottom of the pile is the only one I have very specific plans for - it is destined to become a messenger bag for my middle sister. She has requested one similar to the one I made for my youngest sister a while back. She didn't seem all that interested at the time, but after seeing all the use it has been getting, she has come to the conclusion that she "needs" one too. It's nice to know that my efforts will be appreciated, so I'm more than happy to make one for her. I'd better get my act togehter and get started !

Bewitching

It must be the season, the chill in the air and the darkening evenings, but I'm getting the urge to do some hand stitching again. I have been thinking along the lines of doing some hand quilting and was very inspired by Jan's post yesterday. But a bit of cross stitch wouldn't be so bad either, and looking through my charts, I realize that I have several fun ones from Twisted Threads, two of whi(t)ch seem to fit right in with the season. I have several witchy pieces in my collection already, and these would fit right in. I just love the quirky humour here. I have the chart for the first one in my stash, but when I was looking up the page to link to these, I came across the pumpkin one, which made me laugh out loud. I might have to order that one too!

The first witch is saying: "I made my husband a pumpkin pie" The other one replies: "I made mine a toad".

Grateful

It was my birthday last week and I took the opportunity to gather friends and family for a small party. Any party, however small, takes a bit of planning, shopping and work, of course and I tend to get myself a bit worked up about all the things that "ought to be" in place before people arrive. I ought to dust and hoover, the sink ought to be empty and shiny (creating the illusion that all the food didn't take any work at all, but just appeared by magic) and the windows should be clean and... You get the picture. Sometimes it just gets too overwhelming, and all the fun seems to drain straight out of the event.
It might just be that I'm getting older and wiser, but in the midst of all my preparations it suddenly dawned on me that I was the one setting the standard for how things were supposed to be, and that really there was no need to strive for perfection. After all, the guests were all close friends and family members who choose to come because they want to be with me, not to check on the cleanness of my floors.

I did get some dust bunnies out of the way, but there were unwashed dishes in the sink, and I allowed my guests to help me setting the table. It all made for a lovely, casual gathering where the hostess was relaxed and had time to chat with everybody - and you know what? I don't think anyone noticed the state of my window panes! As we were all gathered in my living room I realized that I have so much to be grateful for - lifelong friends, newer friends and family who all get along and care enough to take time out of their busy lives to give me a wonderful birthday! I got lots of nice presents too, and one of the best was this ladder that was made especially for me. I happened to mention some weeks ago that I was looking for an old ladder to use in my living room to hang quilts from. And it turned out that they had all been searching high and low for old ladders, but because none were to be found, an old friend had spent the evening before my party making this! A certain way to win a special place in my heart - a handmade gift is really the best gift of all, isn't it?

On a roll

I was saying in a comment over at Jan's the other day that I hadn't bought any Jelly Rolls yet. But it seems that her post about Moda's new Authentic range got me on a roll ;-) I just couldn't resist Authentic, and went straight online to order some yardage of the most interesting prints, and a Jelly Roll too. I could see several of these fabrics as accents in quilts and other projects, and smaller pieces would be just right for these. A bit of a "stroll" through some web shops later I had come across this roll from Westminster - strictly not a Jelly Roll, (as that is a registered trademark, I believe), but lovely just the same. So, of course I "had to" get some...

I have been thinking of getting some Kona cotton solids too, but there were so many colours I wanted, and I didn't really want that much of each, so getting a roll seemed like a good idea. The only problem with these rolls is that they are so pretty, that it is hard to convince oneself to unroll them.

Maybe just as well that the Authentic strips came flat-packed in a zip-lock bag. I was slightly disappointed at first, but realized that probably was so that they could be mailed in a small envelope and get here quicker, and anyway, the roll already being opened makes it easier to start using the fabric.

Another little something

I seem to be dabbling away at lots of little somethings these days. But at least I'm doing something. I showed the beginning of this and told the story behind it here. But I knew that it wasn't finished. It needed something, but I didn't know quite what. Some kind of caption, I thought, and finally managed to decide that it would be "Say cheese!" Yet another curious thing adults demand, without explaining why. - I seem to have gone through my childhood completely baffled by all sorts of strange, unexplained adult behaviour, which is probably why I tend to go at great lengths to explain things to the children in my life. My cousin has a fond memory of a conversation I had with his first-born when she was about one year old, and I tried to explain to her what it meant when her parents said they were going skiing on their winter holidays. My explanation was apparently complete down to the description of the wooden sticks that they would fasten on to their feet and that white thing that covers the ground and that we call "s-n-o-w". The sweet little girl was sitting on my lap with a deep frown of concentration as if she were really trying to understand it all. Well, I'm still the one she comes to fourteen years later when she wants things explained to her, so I must have been doing something right!
Anyway, back to the subject. I stitched the letters on black felt using my sewing machine, and cut them into tiles which I stitched to the background with a running stitch. It just didn't look right. The tiles were too big and overwhelming next to the sketch. I tried adding some black blanket stitch around the edge to counterbalance it, but no, that wasn't enough. I added some shisha mirrors in the top left corner with black perle cotton, thinking that you would occasionally catch flashes of light in the mirrors like the one's you get thrown in your face in a photo booth. I liked the effect, but the black tiles were still too big. I contemplated removing them and making new ones, but having used a sturdy perle cotton to attach them, I realized that there would be holes in the background fabric, so that was not a good idea. Eventually I came up with adding some decorative stitches in green to blur the edges of the black a bit.

It took a while, but the time I used was really what I needed for it to evolve into what it wanted to be.

By the way - I wanted the blanket stitch around the edge to be a bit uneven and random looking. I didn't realize how hard that was! My hand and needle only wanted to make even stitches, and I had to pull them out and start again several times before I got the hang of it!

Now off for another little project: hosing down the balcony to try to get rid of the mossy patches a mostly rainy summer has left- how exciting...

A little something

I vaguely remembered having seen a tutorial for a moleskin pencil pocket a while ago. After a bit of googling I managed to find it again here. Thank you Krommama. I made my version with a whole piece of fabric for the pocket, and attached some selvages and a scrap with the text "for colour" on it. That seemed fitting for this book, especially as there turned out to be room for three watercolour pencils in the pocket next to the drawing pen. So there you have it. A few minutes by the sewing machine and a handy accessory was made. Very satisfying.

Caption decided

All done!

No quilt is considered all done to me until it has been photographed and posted online, so although I finished stitching the binding on my zigzag quilt last weekend, it wasn't until the weather cleared enough today so I could snap a few pictures for a bit of show-and -tell that I really felt I was at the end of this labour of love. It seems to have taken me forever to stitch. After I chose the fabrics and tried to create a pleasing arrangement where the colours from one would run gradually into another, I needed a while to ho and hum about it, before I had to make a couple of them go. That meant that the quilt ended up narrower than I wanted, so I had to find some border fabric. I found that black worked well, if it had some tan or brown in it, making it a bit warmer. But wouldn't you know it - years ago when I was trying to find pure black fabric, the only ones I could find had lots of tan or brown in them, but this year all the blacks seem to have grey in them, making them too harsh for this project. Eventually I came across a piece in a bargain bin which was just right, though, and the top was finished. Then, wouldn't you know it, the backing fabric I had in mind was too small... I was considering this issue, when my gaze fell upon the discarded triangles from the end of the zig zag strips, and started playing around with them. Before you knew it they became blocks, and there I had my solution: I would include some borders and the discarded fabrics that were meant for the front and make an interesting backing as well. The rest should be easy... Well, it wasn't too complicated, but I decided I would quilt it in lines following the zig zag pattern. And being such a clever clogs, I decided that it was much quicker to do this by machine than quilting by hand. It didn't occur to me that I would have a plus size quilt on my hands where I needed to stop every four inches and turn the whole thing 90 degrees. Well, I can tell you - it was rather time consuming... After a while I got bored, so towards one side I started making the lines gradually less angled, ending with wavy lines on the black border. On the other side, I let my quilting lines shoot out towards the edge to create smaller areas to be filled in with stitching. It ended up quite densely quilted, but it has retained its soft drapey feel, and at 66 x 95" it has become a lovely quilt to snuggle under on a chilly autumn evening. And when I toss it aside, there's that interesting backing to look at as well. Now it's time for a little rest while I consider what my next project will be.

And here it is

So I finished this little quilt. This was my first attempt using the X-block ruler. Not very tricky, but there's a lot of waste, as you make 9-patches first and cut away a skinny triangle on each side. I have a bigger version in mind in the same colours, and I'm already cutting strips and squares for that one - I might as well since I had already started. That one is going to have a few extra borders, making it a larger quilt (40 x 40" or so) but this one, at 19 x 22" (I made the borders slightly wider than planned) is just what that extra spot on the wall needed, once I started rearranging my pictures. I need to adjust it a bit so it hangs straight before you see a picture of the whole wall.

We've hit a cold spell here lately, and I'm finding it increasingly difficult to spend time actually doing anything other than snuggling under a quilt in the evenings. I always seem to go through a bit of an adjustment period (considering hibernation...) when we enter the cold season, before I'm back on track sewing and crafting again. I'll just have to let the mood run it's course for a few days, I suppose and spend some time with a good book instead. There's a quilt guild meeting coming up in a few days, and all the new inspiration and companionship should sort me out ...

X-actly so

New quilt on the go...