Owl Zippy Pouch Tutorial = Kindle-tastic!
Thanks to everyone who voted in the Spoonflower Bag contest. My Geeky Owl bag placed 8th. Woot!
In addition to a pink version, I have also since added additional versions for the Linen-Cotton Blend fabric. It is awesome fabric to work with and it holds the bag shape a bit better than the lighter weight Kona. The Linen is 54″ wide, which also allowed me to lengthen the strap on these versions. But that’s not all. There was still extra space left over, and I hate to waste fabric, so I added in a bonus matching Geeky Owl Zippy Pouch on the two Linen versions. (Double woot!!) And this my dears, is the tutorial.
This tutorial uses the bonus zipper pouch fabric that is part of the Linen versions of the Geeky Owl Bag fabric available here (pink & grey) and here (yellow & turquoise). (Note that the Kona versions do not include the Zippy Pouch due to lack of space as it is 12″ narrower than the Linen)
If you’d like to make a zippy pouch using this tutorial with your own fabric you can easily follow along. Cut 4 pieces of fabric 9″ x 7″ (225mm x 175mm) – 2 for lining, 2 for the outside, and 2 Zipper Ends 3″ x 1″ (75mm x 25mm).
FYI the pattern for this whale pincushion is available as a pdf in my Etsy shop.
PATTERN INFO & HANDY TIPS:
Seam allowance = 1/4″ (6mm)
Double stitch at start and end of all seams. Sew at a SLOW speed when going around curves. It makes accuracy so much easier. Use pinking shears for notching curves – it’s easier, quicker and there’s less chance of you snipping your seam.
STEP 1: PREPARATION
A) Press your fabric. Cut out all your pieces along the black lines.
B) Use a fabric marker or pencil to transfer the black dots on the one Lining piece to the Wrong Side of the fabric with two lines. (If you’re using your own fabric, these lines should be 3″ (75mm) apart on the bottom end of one Lining piece.) I draw lines instead of dots when I transfer as it’s easier to see them coming when you are sewing.
STEP 2: ZIPPER PREPARATION
A) Fold the Zipper Ends in half with Wrong Sides together. Press.
B) Pin the Zipper Ends onto the zipper with the folded ends towards the zipper centre, covering both the metal block on one end and the end of the zipper opening on the other end. The space between the two Zipper Ends should be 5.5″ (137mm).
C) Top stitch over both the folds to secure the Zipper Ends to the zipper.
STEP 3: POUCH SIDE ONE
A) Place Zippy Pouch Front Right Side Up. Open the zipper half way, then place it Right Side Down along the top edge of the Pouch Front as shown. Make sure that the 5.5″ space between the Zipper Ends is centred on the Pouch Front horizontally.
B) Place one of the Zippy Pouch Lining pieces Right Side Down on top, matching up all the sides and rounded corners.
C) With your zipper foot on your machine, stitch the zipper in place. *NOTE: Start at the closed end of the zipper, stop about 1/3 of the way along with needle down in your fabric, lift the foot and open the zipper to the end to move the bumpy zipper out the way so that you can get a nice straight stitch line. Drop the foot back down and then finish the line of stitching.*
D) Here’s is where you are at:
E) Fold the two Pouch pieces Wrong Sides Together back onto each other. Press.
STEP 4: POUCH SIDE TWO
A) Unzip your zipper halfway again. (more than shown in pic below) Place Zippy Pouch Back Right Side Up. The Place Zippy Pouch Front on top with Right Sides Together. Line up the top edge of Zippy Pouch Back with the top edge of the zipper, and the sides of Zippy Pouch Back with the sides of Zippy Pouch Front. *Note that the bottom edge will not match up.*
B) Place your last Zippy Pouch Lining on top with Right Side Down as shown. Again, match up the tops and sides, but not the bottom.
C) Stitch along the zipper as you did in STEP 3C. The trim Zipper Ends as shown.
D) Open up the pouch sides and press the seam along the zipper.
STEP5: POUCH ASSEMBLY
A) Open the zipper. Place the two lining sides Right Sides Together and the Zippy Pouch Front and Back with Right Sides Together. *Note: Pins should be on the side that you made your markings between the dots in STEP 1(B).*
B) Stitch all around the edges leaving a space open between the dots. Trim a little of the bulk at the zipper without cutting your seams. Notch around the curved corners. (Sorry I forgot to take a pic of this but if you don’t know what it means you can see an example on the bag tutorial here.)
C) Turn right side out through the opening between the dots. Press the front nicely. Turn the seam allowance at the opening inwards and press.
D) Topstitch the opening in the lining half closed.
E) Tuck Lining inside the pouch, smoothing out the fabric as much as you can. Use a chopstick, knitting needle or semi-pointy stick to poke the corners out to be sharp as possible.
Great! You’re done!
Now stuff that pouch with whatever goodies you want. Here are a few ideas:
Who knew I had so much pink stuff in my house!
And here’s a little reminder to rebloggers:
Kindly DO NOT REPOST or use my pics or text without written permission from me. Thank you!
Crafty Egg Heads – FREE downloadable paper craft
Easter is a great time for craftiness. So I thought I’d design a little paper craft for you, lovely readers. You don’t have to have kids for this one. You may just want to decorate your window sill or Easter table. But kids will enjoy it too, and as long as they’re scissor savvy, then they can handle it. For more precise cutting use an Exacto knife. (Not so much the kids though, obviously!) I used my Swann & Morton scalpel, but I doubt many of you have one of those lying around. I got mine in the UK where they sell them at decent art shops. If you do a lot of precision cutting it’s an invaluable tool. I’d say it is one of my most used tools, if not my all time fave. My doctor friend, J, keeps me well-stocked with blades. I think if I asked my actual doctor for scalpel blades she may give me a frowny eye stare. But I digress…
The first download is the more obvious Easter fare: Bunny & Chicken faces for your eggies. Although I have to say the chicken is rather ridiculous looking. He made me chuckle though, so I threw him in for good measure. He looks more like a super-hero chicken to me, but you be the judge…
Then I got doodling while I was on the phone to a client. My doodles turned into these. I wonder whether while we stand with the fridge door open, trying to remember what it is we’re looking for, as we stare at the eggs, that the eggs are in fact staring back at us? You might think not, but I bet next time you look at them, now you’ll wonder. Heh heh. I can’t exactly call these Easter decorations. But hey, they’re on eggs, and so there you go. Love the way they look like they’re in Disguise on this pattern.
"Eggs in Disguise." (Guess I'm on a nerdy specs tangent these days.)
Lastly one for all those girlie girls. I’m not a big fan of the Princess paraphernalia, but I spent enough time designing shoes for Robeez to know that you always have to have a princess option in the mix. Here is that option…
Click on these to download the files. Print them out on card stock and get cutting. Take care if you’re using a sharp knife, though. You’ll need all your fingers for the Easter Egg hunt on Sunday.
FYI: Please DO NOT REPOST this as a free download from another site. These are my designs and are only for free download on this site. They’re not up for reblogging and dishing out willy nilly. But hey, feel free to giveaway anything that is yours. Thanks!
Geeky Owl Bag Tutorial
For this project, you will need one yard of Happy Sew Lucky Geeky Owl fabric available here. This design is available in two colours and in files designed to maximize two fabric weights: a Kona version and a Linen-Cotton blend version. The Kona is quilting weight cotton, so makes a softer bag with a 38″ strap. I prefer the linen-cotton blend though, as it holds the bag shape better, and since it is 12″ wider than the Kona, it allows for a longer strap – about 49″ long once sewn on. But best of all, because of the extra width, I was able to include a bonus matching zipper pouch on the Linen version that is large enough to hold a Kindle. (IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ORDERING: Make sure that you pick the design with the correct fabric type in it’s name. i.e.: LINEN or KONA. If you order the design with “Kona” it it’s name on “Linen fabric” it will not include the Kindle pouch pieces. You can see the second owl face for the kindle pouch on the Linen options.)
My initial tutorial was done using the turquoise & yellow design, but I have since added some additional images using the pink. Take care to check pattern piece names as you follow along, to make sure that you are sewing the correct pieces. The initial turquoise and yellow design that I used for the pics did not have the notch markings on it. These were added later to make the pattern easier to follow.
Additional note: Since Spoonflower requires the instructions to be printed on the fabric as part of their contest rules the initial design had them on. But I find that this is a terrible waste of fabric, so now that the contest is over, I have replaced the instructions with an extra pattern piece for an inside pen pocket. If you bought your fabric before this change was made, you can add this pocket by cutting a piece of fabric from your stash to a size of 9.5″ x 6.5″ (240 mm x 165 mm). On the Wrong Side of one of the 6.5″ sides, mark 2 dots 3″ apart, 1/4″ (6mm) from the edge.
The tutorial for the matching Owl Zipper Pouch will be posted by April 25.
NOTIONS:
2“ (50mm) of 3/4” (20mm) wide Velcro
14″ (30cm) of cord Elastic
20″ x 40″ (52cm x 104cm) of Iron-On Medium-weight Interfacing
PATTERN INFO & HANDY TIPS:
Seam allowance = 1/4″ (6mm)
Double stitch at start and end of all seams. Sew at a SLOW speed when going around curves. It makes accuracy so much easier. Use pinking shears for notching curves – it’s easier, quicker and there’s less chance of you snipping your seam.
STEP 1: PREPARATION
A) Press your fabric. Cut along the yellow dashed line to separate the pattern pieces needing interfacing. (to the right and below yellow dashed line) Iron interfacing onto the Wrong Side of all pattern pieces within interfacing area. (Do not iron interfacing onto Zipper Pouch pieces) Cut out all pieces on the black outlines.
B) Transfer pattern markings to reverse side of fabric with pencil or fabric marker on FRONT BELLY POCKET, FLAP INTERIOR and BACK INTERIOR LINING pieces.
STEP 2 – FRONT POCKET:
A) Fold FRONT BELLY POCKET in half with Right Sides Together. Stitch from dot around each side up to the fold, leaving open between dots. Notch curves and trim corners.
B) Turn Right Side Out. Fold in the opening seam allowance at the bottom, and press.
C) Separate velcro strips and cut the soft side in half. Stitch one of these 1” lengths onto Right Side of FRONT BELLY POCKET on where indicated.
D) Place Pocket on Right Side of BAG FRONT EXTERIOR 1.5” from the BAG FRONT bottom edge, centred horizontally. Topstitch Pocket in place, leaving top end open.
STEP 3: SIDE POCKETS:
A) Fold both SIDE POCKETS in half Wrong Sides Togther. Press then fold 1/4” (6mm) top edge over line A. Press. Fold 1/2” (12mm) over line B. Press.
B) Top stitch fold down, leaving open on each end.
C) Fold and pin box pleats in place so that the “box” is on the side with the markings.
D) Thread the cord elastic through the casing you sewed at the top edge of the pocket. TIP: Tape the end of the elastic to a skewer and push it through the casing. Secure one end of the elastic by stitching over back and forth.
E) Pull elastic until the top side of the pocket equals 3.5”, and secure the other end of elastic down. Repeat this with second SIDE POCKET.
F) Pin each pocket on Right Side of the SIDE EXTERIOR between the dots, matching notches. Note that the elasticated sides of the pockets should be towards the cut ends of this SIDE EXTERIOR piece, and the pleat sides towards the centre.
G) Top stitch the bottom of the pockets into place, securing the box pleats. Pin the elasticated ends down.
STEP 4: BAG BODY
A) With Right Sides Together, match notches at the centre of the SIDE EXTERIOR piece with that of the BAG FRONT EXTERIOR.
B) Pin at these notches then match the notches on the sides, and the fabric ends. Make sure that the elastic ends of the pockets are in place and have not pulled inwards.
C) Stitch all around one side of SIDE EXTERIOR, leaving open at the top flat edge.
D) Do the same with BAG BACK EXTERIOR, making sure to match the notches as you go.
E) Notch all curves.
F) Turn BAG EXTERIOR Right Side Out. Press seams open as best as you can. If you have a sleeve press, use this to get inside the bag.
PEN POCKET: This piece was added after the tutorial was written, so I marked the pics with an asterix. Apologies for any confusion.
*A) Fold PEN POCKET pattern piece in half with Right Sides Together. Stitch from each dot around the side up toward fold, leaving the space between dots open. Trim corners and turn Right side out. Press turning seam allowance between dots inward.
*B) PLace the pocket piece 2.5″ (64 mm) from the bottom edge of INTERIOR LINING BACK, centre horizontally. (The open edge between the dots should be towards the bottom so that it gets sewn closed when you stitch the pocket on.)
*C) Stitch down the sides, and along the bottom of the pocket. Then using either a fabric marker or painter’s masking tape mark two lines 1″ (25 mm) away from the one side. These will be your pen pockets. The larger pocket will fit either glasses or a phone. You can change these measurements if you prefer other size pockets or if you would rather have lots of pen pockets and no phone pocket.
*D) Stitch these two lines along your guides.
OK, that’s that little segway done! Now back to the rest of STEP 4.
4 G) Repeat STEPS 4 A-F with the INTERIOR LINING pieces. (But don’t turn Right Side Out)
H) Place the bag EXTERIOR inside the INTERIOR LINING with Right Sides Together, lining the top edges up nicely. (Note that the LINING will be 1/2” taller than the EXTERIOR, so the LINING will be hanging lower for now)
I) Stitch 1/4“ from top edge all around leaving open between dots on BACK INTERIOR LINING.
J) Turn bag Right Side Out through opening left at the back.
K) Tuck LINING into BAG EXTERIOR.
L) Press bag edge, turning seam allowance inwards at the open end.
M) Neatly topstitch all around the bag top to close opening between dots, and to secure binding edges.
STEP 5 – FLAP:
A) Place the 2” length of velcro onto Right Side of FLAP INTERIOR on rectangle marking. (This will be the scratchy half of the velcro). Stitch in place.
B) Place FLAP EXTERIOR onto FLAP INTERIOR with Right Sides Together. Stitch from dot to dot, all around edges leaving open between dots. Snip inner corners at beak, taking care not to cut your seam, and notch around curves.
5C) Turn FLAP RIght Side Out. Turn seam allowance at open end inwards. Press.
5D) Place this back edge of the Flap on the EXTERIOR BACK 3/4” from the bag edge.
5E) Top stitch FLAP in place and then stitch another line 1/4” up to secure the flap well.
5E) Admire your beautiful Geeky Owl Bag so far. You’re almost there.
STEP 6 – STRAP:
A) Fold STRAP in half lengthways and pin.
B) Stitch an L-shape, closing one end of the strap and then all down the length of it. Trim the corners and turn Right Side Out. Press with seam on side edge.
C) Measure how long you’d like your strap to be, and cut off any excess length. Fold seam allowance inwards at open end, and press. You can top stitch down both sides of the length of the strap if you like. This is a nice finishing touch and helps to prevent the strap from twisting. Place the strap in place on one side of the bag and pin.
D) Stitch on with a box shape then stitch an “X” in the centre. Repeat with the other side making sure that the strap is not twisted before stitching.
E) That’s it, you’re all done! Woot! Woot! Time to sling your new bag over your shoulder and head out for a spot of shopping!
Vote for Geeky Owl Bag (Who says nerds can’t be funky?)
The last few months have been really busy work-wise for me, but finally, I found some time to work on a new design for a Spoonflower contest. How do you like my Geeky Owl Bag pattern? If you think it’s a potential winner then fly by the Spoonflower contest page and give it a vote, before end of day Wednesday, April 4 (eastern time).
Here's what to look for on the contest pages. The turquoise nerd glasses are my fave thing about this design.
The design is a cut and sew pattern to make a bag 9.5″ x 9.5 with a 3″ gusset, and two elasticated pockets on the sides for keys and phone. If you’re voting click on the design, then remember to click “save my votes” at the end. Thanks! Will let you know how it did on Thursday when the results are out. I’m working on the tutorial which should be up in a few days.
Thanks to the lovely Becky for being a fabulous last minute model.
And thanks to all you readers for your support! 
Sweet dreams: Hand-printed pillow cases
A couple of weeks ago I hosted a couple of Kids Craft Camps while our BC teachers were on strike. The first was for littleez (age 5-8) and our project for the day was to paint a pillow case, which was a great success. This is a great project for kids of pretty much any age five and up.
If you’re inspired to do this project, then here’s what you will need:
White Cotton Pillow Cases (I got ours from Ikea), White Cardboard sheets to put inside the pillow cases, Fabric Paint (I like Jacquard brand), Freezer Paper, Pencils, scissors, an Iron, Stencilling Sponges or make your own with a small piece of sponge duct-taped to the end of a chopsticks – this is what we ended up using. (The spongey tips distributed the ink more evenly than our paintbrushes did, so we abandoned the brushes.)
STEP 1: Cut the cardboard to fit inside your pillow case. This will stop the paint seeping through onto the bottom layer of the pillow case. Cut the freezer paper into a sheet about the same size as your pillow case. This will be your mask / stencil for painting.
STEP 2: Draw your design onto the non-shiny side of the freezer paper. TIP: A simple design works best with this technique, given that you have to cut out everything that is to be inked. i.e.: no fine lines or finicky detail. Also bear in mind that with freezer paper you don’t always get a very crisp edge, especially doing this with kids. So fine detail will be lost. Now cut out your shapes that you’d like to ink. Note that if your colours have white space in-between them, try and keep that white space to a minimum of about a half inch (12mm).
For a bit of bonus fun, I gave the kids each a few sheets of price stickers to stick inside the stencil area. Polka dots galore!
Look how clean and tidy everything is still. But not for long...
STEP 3: Place your freezer paper onto your pillow case, shiny side down. Carefully iron the freezer paper, taking care not to crease or tear the stencil. After this step take a break for a snack. We had cookies and apples, that didn’t last very long on the plate.
STEP 4: Put a teaspoon of ink onto an old plate and use your sponge ink applicator to apply the ink onto the pillow case. Take care around the stencil edges, but make sure that the ink goes all around the inside space of the cut out shape. (You may have to help the kidlets check this as at this age the concept of stencilling can be confusing when it’s the same colour as the pillow case)
Lots of chatting going on while painting!
STEP 5: Drying time! If you have sunshine & time on your hands you can let these dry by themselves. We were on a mission, so we used a hair dryer to speed things up.
STEP 6: The big reveal! This is definitely the most fun step. Carefully peel your stencil off. Starting with the polka dot stickers…
Ta dah! Look how fabulous.
STEP 7: Important! Heat seal the ink. Since your pillow case will need to go in the washing machine, you will need to heat seal the inks. Usually this involves ironing without steam, or about 20 minutes on high heat in the dryer. I usually do both to be safe. Check the instructions that come with your inks.
STEP 8: Make your bed and sleep on your work of art!!
You never know when you may find yourself in a drawing emergency. You’re waiting for a bus and there’s a chap with a prize moustache, shiny shoes and fabulous hat – you just have to draw him. Or you’ve been agonizing over a design problem for days, then while sitting in the car waiting for your kid to come out of school, BAM! there it is: the solution you’ve been waiting for, right inside your head. Gotta get it down on paper fast! These moments are why I love Moleskin note books and journals.
They come in a variety of different paper stocks, from regular notepaper to watercolour paper. You can choose from blank, lined or a grid print. So you can write, doodle, paint or calculate. And they have different sizes too.
Mr.C uses them at work for all his concept work, so I decided to get the kids to personalize a couple for Father’s Day gifts a few years back. They drew and painted with pen & ink on thick watercolour paper, which I then varnished. Then I just sewed the suckers on with my machine, right through the cover.
Because you have to negotiate the book inside the sewing machine arch, the stitching is not always as perfect as you’d like. But that just adds to the drawing book factor. (I wonder if Mr.C did come up with some monster ideas as hoped…)
Here’s another one N made for his dad. He drew a guitar on tracing paper, then stitched over the paper on the machine. Then he removed the bits of paper with tweezers! I love the way he used the stitching on the inside as part of the design.
Then I made some using metal scrapbooking tag rims and some photos.
I stitched just inside of the metal rims to attach them. For the fabulous green frame one, I had to use glue and double-sided tape to stick it to the cover. The tree photo book was made for my gardener friend, Rina. The red image I took of a door detail in France. I gave this one to my French painter friend, Sandrine. The funny bead picture is an abacus N made for himself, so this book was for his Pop.
My friend Jacquie and I go for dimsum regularly, so for her birthday I scanned the dimsum menu and superimposed a pic I drew of her famous retro glasses.
Then this week I made one for Krista who is flitting off to France soon, lucky canard. I figured she’d take it around with her during the day so I picked the small notebook, that wouldn’t fill up her day bag. I decided on the grid pattern for the pages – perfect for designing quilts while sipping chocolat chaud with a croissant.
Being the stitchy gal that she is I had to embroider it, of course. The space inside the frame was tres petit so I embroidered the weeniest little Eiffel Tower I could. Oo la la!
Are you all inspired to go and draw, write, scribble and doodle now? If so, mission accomplished!
Needle books!
Crafty dame, Amy, knows I have a bit of a thing for needle books. In fact, her face was the inspiration for my Milly needle books. She has a lot of character, and that always catches my attention, so I doodled her during a VMQG meeting a while back. I liked the doodle, and made it into a needle book kit which you may recall from this post. (The three versions available in my Etsy shop: red head, blonde and purple rinse)
Last week Amy dropped me a line to tell me about this little challenge by Generation Q ezine. Oooh. Needlebooks. I’m in! The challenge involved making a felt needle book using their free toadstool pattern, available here. Not being a placid, taupe kinda girl, I of course had to take it on the bright side of life.
The next step was to develop your own pattern. I decided on a Japanese girl face. I thought she was quite sweet and innocent looking. My kids, however, immediately decided that she was “Miss Swan” from Mad TV. LOL. Not quite what I had in mind! Might be the bob hair-cut that got them going. Either way, here she is:
Inside are felt pages inside for needles. Needlebooks are quick & fun to sew up, and make great travelling needle carriers when you’re taking your stitch work on the go with you.
So what do you think: sweet and innocent Japanese girl, or crazy Miss Swan? If it’s the latter I may have to make a matching handbag mini pincushion.
