A Handful of Zippered Pouches

Today I'm back here to show you a set of zippered pouches I've been busy with in the past few weeks.

Each pouch is different because they are made with fabric scraps, but all of them were made using my zippered pouch tutorial - which means that despite the zippers I managed to assemble them pretty quickly.

My Little Girl Bag made the top 100!

I'm so happy, I just got an email saying that one of my projects made it to the AllFreeSewing's Top 100 sewing projects list for 2017. 

There are lots of amazing projects there, so I'm really proud that my Little Girl Bag was included!

Below is the link to the original post (click on the image): 

And here is the link to the AllFreeSewing project page: https://www.allfreesewing.com/Bags-and-Purses/Little-Girl-Purse-with-Flap

Great way to start 2018, right?

DIY Simple Zippered Pouch Tutorial

Following up on last week's post about the purse organizers gift set, I'm sharing today the tutorial for the zippered pouch. 

Adding zippers isn't the easiest thing in the world (at least not for me), especially when there's lining involved. So I've come up with a simple method to make it work.

Check out below the tutorial to make this lined zippered pouch.

DIY envelope purse organizer

So last weekend I created three purse organizers as a birthday gift for a friend (you can read about it here) and I promised I would post tutorials for each of the pieces. Here's the first one: the envelope shaped purse organizer.

Of the three, this is the easiest one to sew, so it's perfect for beginners. Bottom line, if you can't sew you can use fabric glue and get nearly the same result. Here's the how to:

DIY 3-piece purse organizers gift set

Hello, and welcome. Today I'm going to show you a set of purse organizers I made for a friend's birthday. I know I'm already late for all the Christmas crafting, but this birthday came first and I had to rush to finish the gift last weekend. 

Summer tote bag with pocket

Hello, and welcome. Today I'm sharing with you my new summer tote bag, including the tutorial and the pattern in case you want to sew one for yourself too.

 

Summer means spending more time outdoors, so I designed this one with a large pocket, which is great to carry sunglasses, the book I'm currently reading or my latest craft project.

The Spring Bag - with tutorial

Spring is one of my favorite seasons and this year I decided that I needed a new bag to celebrate it! I'd been toying with a pattern for a while, wanting it to be cute, but at the same time functional and really easy to make. 

Well, I'm finally ready to reveal my new 2016 Spring Bag!

This is the perfect bag for spring weekends spent at the park (or at the beach). It easily carries my wallet, cell phone and keys, and still has enough room to add the book I'm currently reading or my latest crochet project. 

 

I made a small tutorial, in case anyone wants to replicate the process. It's not very detailed, so if you're trying to make the bag and have any questions, just leave me a comment or send me an e-mail.   

Check it out below!

Felt Lined Fabric Bags

Even though I have a series of other projects lined up for completion, this weekend I decided to sew some bags. My goal is to use them as gift bags, much the same as I did last year with the burlap bags, for those family members to which I usually give a series of small items I know they need/will use throughout the year (gourmet food, bath accessories, etc). 

 

Last year I had thought of felt lined with fabric and then ended up with burlap lined with fabric. This year I made fabric lined with felt instead. 

And while I'm using them as gift bags, they can be re-used by the recipients throughout the year for a variety of other purposes. 

Want to make one too? Here´s the tutorial.

The ultimate DIY shopping bag - made easy!

I have a problem with most reusable shopping bags. Or rather, several problems. They are either ugly or contain company logos (or a combination of both) and never last too long. Or they are too big. Or they unfold themselves when they shouldn't and then are a pain to fold back.

So, for a while now, I've been brainstorming a way to make a cute, cheap reusable bag that I can fold and keep in my purse. 

Well, finally, the ultimate DIY is out in the open. Complete with instructions and one zillion pictures to show you how it's made.

This shopping bag comes together pretty quickly, it's easy to sew, reversible (if you don't mind one little pocket on the outside) and folds itself into a little cute pouch that perfectly fits your purse!

Want one? Here's the tutorial.

Summer activity bag (with tutorial)

My kids only finish the school year at the end of June, and they they will have summer day camp during the whole month of July (mom and dad have to go to work...).

But the fact that they will be truly off school only during the month of August doesn't mean I'm not always looking for new things to keep them occupied and away from the TV, the Ipad and the Wii, of which they have too much already. This time, I came up with the summer activity bag. 

Summer Water Bottle Holder Tutorial

Hi everyone! I was missing in action these past few days, too busy to even sit down and try to get some posts together. But I'm back today with the perfect summer project: the water bottle holder!

 

For several years now we have banned plastic water bottles in our house. The kids have reusable bottles to take to school, and my husband and I have our own reusable bottles too. Carrying four full water bottles in a bag, however, is complicated, but it's exactly what we ended up doing whenever we are out together. Until now. 

The water bottle holder is a mini bag that fits just one bottle and that anyone, especially the kids, can easily carry out while on a stroll, running, riding a bicycle, going to the beach or anywhere else summertime may take us. 

I didn't make a pattern, because every reusable water bottle we have at our house comes in a different size, but I'm going to show you how to make a water bottle fitting whatever reusable or disposable water bottles you use!

First, you need cute fabric. This one was for my son and I used a Robert Kaufman fat quarter that I've had in my stash for years, waiting for the perfect project.

You'll need to cut two rectangles of fabric wide enough to go around the bottle (with seam allowances to spare) and tall enough to cover the bottle plus an extra 3 to 5 centimeters.

Then place the bottle over the rest of the fabric and mark a circle around it. Repeat for a second circle.

Cut around the circles leaving a wide margin. If you are used to sew with a 1/4 seam allowance, use 1/2, if you're used to a wider seam allowance, increase accordingly (otherwise the water bottle holder will be too tight and it will be hard to get the bottle in and out).

Sew the side of the rectangles length wise, right sides together (creating a cylinder)

Then pin one of the circles to the bottom of the cylinder, right sides together again, and sew all around. Now you have created a small round bag. Repeat for the other two pieces. Turn one of the bags inside out and tuck the other inside it (so that the fabric of both bags is wrong sides together)

Leave it for the time being, and let's focus on making the strap. Decide how long and how wide you want the strap to be and cut a strip of fabric accordingly (adding seam allowances).

Now you have two  choices: sew the fabric right sides together, turn inside out and press flat (prettier finish but hard to turn inside out) or fold the fabric as if it were bias tape, press, fold in half again and top stitch (not so prettier finish since the stitches will be visible, but much easier and faster).

With this water bottle holder I used the first method and cut the fabric in a way that allowed me to have a full row of cars on the strap:

The water bottle holder is almost finished! Return to the body of the holder and fold the edges in as shown below: 
 

Now tuck the tips of the strap in between the two layers of fabric and pin in place. Top stitch all around.

You're done! One water bottle holder ready for summer!

If you want to add a finishing touch (totally optional), sew a folded piece of elastic (or ribbon) over the back seam of the bottle holder and use it to tie around the top of the bottle.

It's totally optional, but helps to keep the bottles in place, especially if you're using it for sports.

Then of course I had to make one for my daughter too, in a cute owl fabric. It's slightly larger than the other, because her reusable bottle is bigger too...

 And here they are together: 

It's time to get ready for summer, so go and make your own water bottle holder now!

Enjoy,

Frozen DIY art bag

Yesterday we went to a Frozen themed birthday party for a little girl turning four. And because I love themed birthday parties I decided I needed to make a custom gift (even though we had a crazy, busy week and I didn't have much time...).

Remember the art bag I made for my daughter last Christmas? I wanted to make something similar, but since I was pressed for time I decided to simplify.

The Handmade Christmas: lined burlap gift bags (with tutorial)

Every year I find myself buying lots of paper gift bags, especially for those family members for which I opt to buy a series of small items I know they need/will use throughout the year (gourmet food, bath accessories, etc). This year, in the true handmade spirit, I decided to make my own gift bags.

My initial idea was to use felt, lined with fabric. But then I found out a large piece of burlap at the bottom of my craft closet. I vaguely remember it coming to our house with the purpose of making a rug, but since I never made one and don't intend to in the near future, I thought it was perfect for the gift bags project. I washed it because of the dust but then decided against ironing it, I kind of liked the wrinkled effect.

I made the bags in three different sizes and though they are very easy to make, I took some pictures of the process while making the last one.

All you need is a long piece of burlap folded in half (the fold will be the bottom of the bag; if your piece of burlap is not long enough, no problem: you will need to sew on three sides instead of just two), one piece of lining fabric slightly longer than the burlap and two extra strips of burlap for the handles.

Sew the sides of the burlap and then sew a triangle at each bottom corner (on the wrong side), cutting off the excess fabric. Since burlap tends to fray a lot, I used a reinforced zig zag stitch and left a large seam allowance to make sure the bag is sturdy enough.

Turn the burlap inside out. The bottom corners should look like this:

Do the same with the lining fabric and then tuck it into the burlap, wrong sides together, folding the excess fabric over the burlap.

 Pin the fabric all around the top of the bag, making sure the edge of the burlap is pinned in between the fabric.

Fold and sew the burlap strips to form the handles and pin them in place on the inside of the bag, pulling up the lining that is folded over the outside of the fabric (to make sure it is not pinned together with the handles). This will keep the stitches used to secure the handles from showing on the exterior and keep the bag neater.

Sew the handles in place. Again, I used a zig zag stitch. This is how it looks on the inside of the bag:

 And on the outside (which will be covered by the lining fabric folded over):

Top stitch around the top of the bag (which you pinned initially). This will help secure the handles in place as well). Fold the edge of the lining and top stitch around it as well.

 Your bag is ready!

 Now make as many as you need and use them to "wrap" your Christmas gifts.

On a side note, the bags would probably look even better if I had used Christmas-y fabrics, but I had none in my stash and I'm trying very hard not to buy more craft supplies until I have used a significant part of the contents of my craft closet. So I used regular fabric instead. Maybe like this the recipients can reuse the bags as shopping bags throughout the year...

Enjoy,

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