A New Two Zip Hipster

I wasn't planning on making any bags anytime soon. Bags aren't always my favorite thing to sew; any bag worth it's salt (well, most of them, anyway...) has a zipper and other hardware. I have a lot of zippers and hardware in my stash because I'm picky about them and buy extras whenever I need to buy some to maximize shipping and to make sure I can sew when I want without waiting for hardware. Plus, I tend to make the same patterns, or similar enough patterns, that I know what sizes of hardware I need. I buy my hardware on Etsy from Bag Maker Supply, who has a great selection, great quality, and good pricing. They have really professional looking stuff that makes bags shine. Anyway, the point is, sewing zippers and hardware aren't my favorite part. And, some parts of bags get awfully thick with layers of fabric and interfacing (also not my favorite...).

So, I wasn't planning on making any bags anytime soon. But, I switched out one day to my two zip hipster which I don't use very often because the linen I used is starting to wear on the top (grr...) and I remembered how much I love that size and style. And, then I saw an instagram post (can't remember who, sorry...) and they used a pair of worn out jeans to make a bag. But the real kicker was a few days later when my husband needed to discard a pair of dockers he'd worn holes in. We were rounding up bags of worn clothes to recycle at H&M, and I pulled them out, remembering the IG post. 

I still didn't have any intention of making a bag anytime soon, but then I found myself between projects. I'd finished my trip sewing, and I was waiting for an order of fabric before I washed a bunch for a quilt project. But I didn't want to just...not sew. So I decided a new two zip hipster from old, worn out dockers was just the ticket.

This is the leftover fabric after I harvested all the usable fabric...plus the zip and the buttons which I'll save for other potential projects.

And it was. I opted to use some of a hoarded Alison Glass panel for the front focal print, and then I used Alison Glass fabric I had for the interior as well. I had a hard time deciding on a lining fabric because I sort of wanted to use the pink floral that I used for the interior pocket for the whole interior, but I have already used it as a lining in a bag. The turquoise works great, too, and I really love how it turned out. I think the yellow zips are great, and I think overall, the bag turned out better than I expected. I'm really excited to start using it, and I hope it will be more durable than my beautiful linen one that I'm trying to not overuse. 

The two zip hipster pattern is by Dog Under My Desk and I absolutely love her patterns. They're more like tutorials with all the photos and detailed instructions, they're well-tested, functional, and she takes care to minimize bulk. I highly recommend her patterns. The only change I made was to NOT add as much interfacing. I did not interface the twill fabric, since it's pretty thick as it is (at least where it's not worn thin from years of wear...). I think that's it. I did use the sew in interfacing, because even though it's thick fabric, it's surprisingly flexible. Or whatever the right word is. I wanted just a bit more structure. I'm pleased with the end result, so I think I made the right call. I was really worried about the strap being too thick if I interfaced it, and I think it's just right. 

Travel Pouches

I always think I can just whip up a pouch and it will be totally fine. And when I'm not careful, I'm inevitably disappointed. They are simple, but they do require a bit of care and finesse. Case in point, one of my twins wanted to make something for my sister, just randomly. I figured I'd made enough pouches to help her through it without re-reading instructions, and we just went for it, using the zipper length as a guide for how big to cut the fabric. 

I neglected to topstitch the fabric next to the zipper, though, so it tends to get stuck...

See, just a bit of care. 

The other day, I had an idea for a travel solution. I want to take a some loose silverware on our trip. We'll be doing some picnicking, I'm sure, since it'll be easier with kids, but also we'll be buying plenty of pastries and I'd love to enable sharing by taking a butter knife. I looked at travel sets, but the knives look pathetic, and I realized that they're just smaller utensils in a zippered pouch, often made of silicone or similar. I realized I could easily make a pouch, and I have some oilcloth, and then use some old silverware.

I couldn't find my old silverware, but I was able to buy some really inexpensive silverware from Wal-Mart. We're talking 3 knives for $1.25. Cheap.

But I was nervous about making the pouches because I needed them short and long. And I didn't have a pattern for it specifically...and oilcloth is trickier than quilting cotton...

I measured the knife, and then used Sotak's Essential Pouch for loose directions. I didn't make a contrasting bottom panel, and just went for it. 

The first one turned out okay, but not great. I used a metal zipper, which I think look so great generally, but it was obviously an exact length and I think would have been better 1/2" longer. The second one I used a regular wide purse zipper, and I also made the boxed corners just a tad smaller. I think it turned out better. And now we have two, one for gluten free silverware, and one for non-GF silverware. Obviously, utensils can be washed, but they'll go in the pouch unwashed after use, which would contaminate the pouch. So, two.

I also tried to make a small coin purse. I found a great yoga style security waistband that you wear under your clothing, and I thought it would be more secure to keep credit cards in a pouch that would be less likely to fall out. It's pretty secure, but I haven't used it yet, and I can just see a slim credit card getting pulled out by mistake and misplaced, which is the exact opposite point of the waistband. So I used a tutorial from Sotak Handmade for a small coin purse. I found some coordinating scraps and it went together really quickly.

The only hiccup was the very end when I turned it out and needed to sew the opening closed. She had you baste the inside panel all the way around and then add the exterior panel and leave an opening for turning. I didn't see any point in basting, so I just went for it, but that meant both the interior and exterior had holes  that needed to be closed. But what really didn't make sense to me in reflecting is that she had the hole to turn on the exterior. I think it would make more sense to have it on the interior. If I make another one, I'd try that.

It's also a tad small for a credit card...but it's nice that it's so small, I guess? I am undecided on whether I'll take it or not. Or make a slightly larger one. *shrug* I am very worried about pickpockets this trip; Europe is reportedly more crowded than ever before, and I'll have four children I'll be trying to keep track of and manage. I'll be pretty distracted, which makes for a prime pickpocket target. So I want to protect myself as much as I can. We'll see! 

Scrap Quilts: Irish Chain Edition

I have far too many scraps. And I'm not very good at using them, not really. My problem is that I save pieces that are far smaller than I should because I *might* use them. I do, on occasion, use excessively small pieces, but not super often. Another problem I have is hoarding those scraps. If I have a large-ish scrap and I need a smaller piece, I'm loathe to cut it down if I cut off a large but not large enough piece, because then that piece I'm cutting off is wasted.

Yes, I have a problem. 

So, as you can imagine, I have a lot of scraps. I wanted to do a scrap quilt just as a quilt instead of my usual leaders and enders project this year (I have a great one going right now that I think will turn out so good!), and I saw a simple Irish Chain quilt in a monochrome color way with low volume scraps on Instagram somewhere. They're not groundbreaking, of course, so it could have been anywhere, but I think it might have been on A Crafty Fox, she has a lot like that. And I think Diary of a Quilter has a tutorial...

Anyway, I decided to wing it, because I know how to sew nine patches. And  I did it in aqua. I opted to sew with what I had, so some got sewn as strips and then subcut, and others got sewn together as individual squares. 

Against my better judgement, I decided to alternate the nine patches with single squares of fabric. I should have sewn nine patches together with just low volumes for the alternate squares, but in my head I thought that might get too busy. However, I think the way I did it is too plain. It did make it quick, though! 

I don't love this top. (It is fully sewn together, now, I just didn't get a pic of it while it was daylight before I folded it up and delivered it to the quilter...so you'll have to wait until it comes back!) AND, somehow I still manage to get blocks mixed up as I sew rows together. I ended up with a couple of background squares way too close together even though I did lay it out before I started...weird. I mean, weird that I clearly haven't figured out my method for getting rows to my sewing machine in order, even though I totally think I have, and I've been sewing quilts for a lot of years by now. Oh well, that's what seam rippers are for, eh?

I exclusively used scraps for this top, and I decided to use a piece of Anna Maria Horner fabric that I was given for the backing. It's a turquoise and it doesn't really match my aqua tones super well, though there are some that are a fair enough match, and it has yellow and red and pink and citrine flowers in sort of stripes. I didn't think about lining up the stripes before cutting and luckily I was able to flip one piece around and have it work out well enough...sigh. But, the backing was FREE, and I'm all about that for a scrappy project, lol

Fabric Friday Week 30: June 9

Summer is in full swing around here and my days are simultaneously so fast and also glacially slow. Why is that? I've never quite understood how that aspect of the time continuum works. My kids are keeping mostly busy, and mostly not fighting, which is always nice. And we're eating plenty of creamies and snow cones. 

Today's fabric bundle came from these nice blues. Two of them are from Jill Howarth's Little Women line, and of course I added in the green that matches perfectly, but then added in some other fabrics to round it out and make it mine. Because that's what I always do. I rarely use strictly one line, I find it too matchy, and not individual enough. I mean, the lines are great, and quilts made from single lines are beautiful, but they're not really me. And I like to express my creativity through quilts. Or at least, that's what I tell myself...

I find it interesting that it looks much different than I remember my economy block quilt looking. It's off being quilted right now, but it had lots of Little Women fabric in it, but lots of others as well. I don't think I pulled teal for that one, and it had some awesome butter yellows, but this one just feels different. Maybe I'm remembering wrong, who knows? 

I hope you're enjoying the summer! 

Sewing lanyards

Later this summer, we're heading to Europe with the girls. I'm really excited, we have some really fun things planned! We will be spending a few days in both London and Paris, though, and I know they are going to be PACKED. Europe is packed right now, and it's only going to get worse as the summer goes on. We've got reservations made for dinners in London and we've already purchased tickets and a few other reservations, so I'm not too worried about getting into what we're interested in doing, but I am a tad worried about walking around in busy crowds with our four kids. 

SO, we decided to use airtags to keep track of them. I was looking around for necklace holders, and couldn't find any that were simple but secure (some look awfully breakable...) and then it occurred to me: simple lanyards. We could attach the airtags to keychain holders, and then use keyrings on the lanyards. I let my girls each pick pretty much any fabric from my stash, since it would require so little fabric, and I whipped them up a few days ago.

I did some googling for basic measurements, but didn't end up using them. I cut strips 2-1/2" wide by WOF, and then I pressed them in half lengthwise and then pressed the ends into the middle. I stitched down both long sides and then kinda held it up and measured around my own neck, figuring if I could get over my head it would be more than plenty for the girls. I settled on cutting the strips 30-1/2". 

Once I cut them, I serged the two ends together so they wouldn't fray, fed the keyring on, and then did two lines of stitches across the ends, one close to the edge and one 1/4" closer to the keyring, with a short stitch length. And that's it! Super fast.