Hey guys!
This is just a quick compilation of some of the awesome giveaways going on right now! And if you're like me you NEED fabric even though you were just at the fabric store yesterday. I totally understand and condone your compulsion ;) Enjoy!
Pile o' Fabric/Bloomerie Giveaway
Katie's Quilting Corner/Southern Fabrics Giveaway
13 Spools Giveaway
Naptime Crafters (win a cruise!)
Please be sure to show these businesses some love. Don't like their pages just to try to win, then turn around and unlike them. :) And as always, if you win free fabric but don't want it, feel free to ship it my way!
Til next time!
**Disclaimer - I did get an extra entry for posting two of these on my blog - they're awesome prizes, can you blame me? I didn't think so. Now go enter!!!
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Some Extra Jo-Ann's goodies!
Here is some more summer fun from Jo-Ann's!
Pin the image here to boost my chances of winning a $100 JoAnns gift card!
And here's a little something for you! Enter here to connect to Jo-Ann's and get a 20% off coupon in your email!
And one more time, here is the link to Jo-Ann's spring catalog!
Pin the image here to boost my chances of winning a $100 JoAnns gift card!
And here's a little something for you! Enter here to connect to Jo-Ann's and get a 20% off coupon in your email!
And one more time, here is the link to Jo-Ann's spring catalog!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Beach Bag Tutorial
Hey everyone! Super excited to be sort of walking you through this.
Here is the inspiration for this bag.... Jo-Ann's Drawstring Backpack but I've decided with the help of my facebook fans to make it waterproof for the beach and pool outings that are right around the corner! This bag can either tote around your wet, sandy swimsuits.... or protect your valuables from the elements.
This is my first tutorial so if I skipped a step or worded a part in a confusing manner, please let me know!
Now, I started out by cutting my 12 x 16.5" PUL and fabric piece on the fold. The 12" section will be the fold.
I also cut out what I needed for a waterproof cell phone pocket. I wouldn't want to throw my keys or phone in the same bag as a wet swim suit! I cut a 11" wide by 4.75" tall square out of both PUL (I wanted it extra water resistant) and cotton. I used a 2" cut of 1/8" elastic (also optional but I like being able to kind of close my pocket). I positioned the elastic between the PUL and cotton, which were right sides together. You should have an elastic sandwich and only be able to see the ugly sides of the fabric when you do this.
Then I cut along the sides and top of the fabric. Trim the corners to a 45* angle for easy turning and turn the pocket rightside out. If your elastic doesn't make a pretty loop, get out your beloved, behated seam ripper and tear it out. Reposition and sew again.
(The purple is where your elastic should be if you were Superman and could see through the top fabric, the blue is your stitch line, the red is where you cut after you sew)
After turning mine rightside out, I decided to topstitch along the top edge just so it would lay flat. You don't have to, but I think it makes it look a little more professional.
Next, I fused my interfacing to my applique. My applique was literally just a cutout of the elephant off of my cotton material. Nothing fancy schmancy. After I adhered the interfacing to the elephant, I cut the applique down to where I wanted it. I didn't cut right on the outside of the elephant - I left a little pink so when I did my zigzag stitching it wouldn't overlap with the elephant.
Yay! Now its time to attach the pocket and the applique. Remember, they'll be facing up on opposite sides so you'll want to be sure they will each face the right way when it is turned into a bag. I just eyeballed where I wanted to place each of them. An important thing to remember is you are only attaching the pocket and the applique to your cotton fabric. Your PUL layer is not in the picture yet!
Now go get your PUL! To make it super simple, I just layered them together. No turning anything inside out - I put the wrong sides together (pretty sides showing) then folded it so the cotton was in the middle. Now we are going to sew up the two sides. The only thing to remember here is that you want your drawstring or ribbon or fabric to have a place to go through. If you are using something thicker, you will need that hole to be a little larger. Mine was a little larger than half an inch, and started about 3/4" from the top of the bag. The blue line shows where you will stitch. You need to stitch the same lengths down both the right and left side, and be sure that all four layers of fabric are lined up.
Next, fold over the top of the bag 1/8" and stitch all the way around, making sure that the seams are pressed out (when you get to the opening, the fabric to the left needs to be stitched down on the left, and the right stitched down on the right. Not doing this will make it much more difficult to thread your drawstring through. You want a nice, wide open hole)
Our next step is to fold over again. What I did was fold over the halfway point of the hole. If you made your hole larger in order to use fabric, you will make a bigger fold. Mine was about a half inch. Sew underneath the hole, all the way around the bag. At this point, it should really be starting to look like something! Only a couple more steps to go!
Grab whatever you are using for drawstring! I used ribbon! How much you use is really up to your discretion. will you be using it as a bag, or backpack? Make sure you have two cuts of ribbon or drawstring of equal lengths.
Turn the bag rightside out. Pin one end to the bottom corner of the bag (see the red circle in the picture below?) Then put a safety pin on the other end and insert it into the opening. The safety pin makes it easier to work through the casing. It needs to go one full circle, so pick a direction. Let's just say clockwise to be safe. I put fray check on the end and then sewed it under where I had first turned the top of the bag over 1/8". Then, get the other half of your ribbon and repeat. It will be inserted into the other opening and go around one full circle in the same direction as the other ribbon - clockwise.
Turn the bag inside out again. Sew at a 45* angle from the bottom to the side. This will catch the bottom of the ribbon so there is no raw edge and it will also help the bag stand up straight and give it a defined "bottom". Repeat for the other side. Be careful not to sew a pin in between the right sides. Trim the excess fabric. Turn rightside out and add the button above your pocket if you decided to add a pocket.
All done and totally beach or pool ready!
Here is the inspiration for this bag.... Jo-Ann's Drawstring Backpack but I've decided with the help of my facebook fans to make it waterproof for the beach and pool outings that are right around the corner! This bag can either tote around your wet, sandy swimsuits.... or protect your valuables from the elements.
This is my first tutorial so if I skipped a step or worded a part in a confusing manner, please let me know!
Now, I started out by cutting my 12 x 16.5" PUL and fabric piece on the fold. The 12" section will be the fold.
I also cut out what I needed for a waterproof cell phone pocket. I wouldn't want to throw my keys or phone in the same bag as a wet swim suit! I cut a 11" wide by 4.75" tall square out of both PUL (I wanted it extra water resistant) and cotton. I used a 2" cut of 1/8" elastic (also optional but I like being able to kind of close my pocket). I positioned the elastic between the PUL and cotton, which were right sides together. You should have an elastic sandwich and only be able to see the ugly sides of the fabric when you do this.
Then I cut along the sides and top of the fabric. Trim the corners to a 45* angle for easy turning and turn the pocket rightside out. If your elastic doesn't make a pretty loop, get out your beloved, behated seam ripper and tear it out. Reposition and sew again.
(The purple is where your elastic should be if you were Superman and could see through the top fabric, the blue is your stitch line, the red is where you cut after you sew)
After turning mine rightside out, I decided to topstitch along the top edge just so it would lay flat. You don't have to, but I think it makes it look a little more professional.
Next, I fused my interfacing to my applique. My applique was literally just a cutout of the elephant off of my cotton material. Nothing fancy schmancy. After I adhered the interfacing to the elephant, I cut the applique down to where I wanted it. I didn't cut right on the outside of the elephant - I left a little pink so when I did my zigzag stitching it wouldn't overlap with the elephant.
Now go get your PUL! To make it super simple, I just layered them together. No turning anything inside out - I put the wrong sides together (pretty sides showing) then folded it so the cotton was in the middle. Now we are going to sew up the two sides. The only thing to remember here is that you want your drawstring or ribbon or fabric to have a place to go through. If you are using something thicker, you will need that hole to be a little larger. Mine was a little larger than half an inch, and started about 3/4" from the top of the bag. The blue line shows where you will stitch. You need to stitch the same lengths down both the right and left side, and be sure that all four layers of fabric are lined up.
Next, fold over the top of the bag 1/8" and stitch all the way around, making sure that the seams are pressed out (when you get to the opening, the fabric to the left needs to be stitched down on the left, and the right stitched down on the right. Not doing this will make it much more difficult to thread your drawstring through. You want a nice, wide open hole)
Our next step is to fold over again. What I did was fold over the halfway point of the hole. If you made your hole larger in order to use fabric, you will make a bigger fold. Mine was about a half inch. Sew underneath the hole, all the way around the bag. At this point, it should really be starting to look like something! Only a couple more steps to go!
Turn the bag rightside out. Pin one end to the bottom corner of the bag (see the red circle in the picture below?) Then put a safety pin on the other end and insert it into the opening. The safety pin makes it easier to work through the casing. It needs to go one full circle, so pick a direction. Let's just say clockwise to be safe. I put fray check on the end and then sewed it under where I had first turned the top of the bag over 1/8". Then, get the other half of your ribbon and repeat. It will be inserted into the other opening and go around one full circle in the same direction as the other ribbon - clockwise.
All done and totally beach or pool ready! Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Drawstring Beach Bag! (Shopping List)
Okay, so our next adventure is a drawstring beach bag! Our twist on it is to make it water proof.
Your mission - should you choose to accept it - is to make a freakishly adorable bag to disguise the wet mess of wet and possibly sandy swimsuits you know you will have in your car this summer!
Here's a coupon from Jo-Ann's for 15% off what you need!
Materials we are going to be using:
Your mission - should you choose to accept it - is to make a freakishly adorable bag to disguise the wet mess of wet and possibly sandy swimsuits you know you will have in your car this summer!
Here's a coupon from Jo-Ann's for 15% off what you need!
Materials we are going to be using:
- 1 yd. fabric for bag
- 1 yd. PUL (waterproof fabric)
- 4 yds. cording or strips of fabric to make your own straps
- OPTIONAL Scraps for embellishment
- OPTIONAL Wonder Under
- Fray Check™
- Coordinating thread
- Iron & pressing surface
- Pinking shears
- Pencil
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