accessories Archives - Page 6 of 6

Spring Clutch

March 30, 2011 By Taylor 14 Comments

Have you ever bought something that came in a fabric bag that you liked and you couldn’t throw the bag away? Because this happens to me all the time. I have a little fabric bag collection going from shoes, sheets and even my Moby Wrap. If you have no clue what I’m talking about here is a picture…

My Mom bought an amazing duvet cover from Pottery Barn a few years ago and it came in this bag… I had to have it. I knew it would come in “craft-project-handy” one day and I was right. It only took me about 30 minutes to make because it was already halfway done for me.

Take out the drawstring and sew up the top.

Fold the bag into itself, take the top that you just sewed shut and make that new bottom. Make sure the two layers are completely touching.

Now sew a line around what is now the top of the bag. This will make it easier to sew the zipper on. I added one of my fabric labels.

Now add the zipper. I bought these zippers from an Etsy shop last week and I love them! They were much cheaper than in a craft store and even came with a zipper pull, it was hard to choose a color with this fabric.

Start with one side of your bag. Now- I know making a traditional zipper pouch would hide your zipper, but first of all I don’t mind the exposed zipper and secondly this way is much quicker. I am big on free time these days so I dont waste it! Pin one side of your zipper to the inside of one side of the pouch.

(outside view)

My zipper was 14″ and my bag was about 12″ so I needed to make my zipper shorter. It is easy, just pick the place where you want your zipper to end and handstitch about 5-6 times around the zipper. You can actually cut the zipper after you do this, but I just tucked mine into the bag.

Sew this first side using your zipper foot if you have one. Tip: move the zipper around when you are sewing so that you dont have to sew around the actual zipper and your line will look uniform.

Do the same thing on the other side. Pin your zipper and sew. You will want the zipper to be open to sew this side.

There are you have it, it literally too me longer to write this post. Also, I feel good about actually crafting somthing out of this “free” fabric!

Silhouette Dust Cover

March 10, 2011 By Taylor 7 Comments

I got a new toy!!!!!!!!! And obviously, I’m really excited about it- the Silhouette SD!! So, because I love it so much, I clearly needed to make it pretty protect it from the dust. I was really excited when I saw that Char from “Crap I’ve Made” posted a tutorial for the Silhouette Dust Cover. I love her blog, thanks Char for the tutorial!

All you need is a fat quarter and Char’s template (and the amazing Silhouette, of course)

Cut your main piece to 18″ by 14″ with the 18″ side on the bottom. Then cut out the sides from the template, make sure to cut them in opposite directions.

Next place the small sides on the large piece with right sides together and the shorter side facing out.

Pin all the way around.

Next I added the yellow ribbon and my little fabric tag. Then I serged all the way around.

I am excited that I won’t have smudgy little boy fingerprints on the beauty! Look at the happy home!

Husband Valet

February 27, 2011 By Taylor 19 Comments

Ok I know I am a little late posting my husband’s Vday present but I have been busy. I did actually give it to him on Valentine’s Day, just now posting it however. Better late than never and not only that but you could make this for any occasion. I had more exciting plans but as I have mentioned, little Clyde had plans of his own :) So we decided to just make each other something. I got a really sweet acrostic sign with my name, so cute! So here is what Bryan got; the Husband Valet. I wanted to give him a place to put all of his “stuff” (seriously guys should have to carry purses too!).

You need a 1/2 of felt, a piece of cross stitch plastic, some regular thread and embroidery thread

Start with the cross stitch plastic. Cut it into 5 pieces, the bottom of the valet, and the 4 sides. Here are my dimensions:

Next, you need to cut a piece of felt out for the top and bottom of each piece. Cut each with extra felt because you will be sewing around the plastic inside so you will need the extra fabric. I started with the bottom – for the sides I folded the felt over so it was less cutting for me. Also on the bottom piece, I personalized the inside with a little embroidered heart. That is optional but definitely do it before sewing because it will be too thick with the plastic inside.

Layer all of the pieces together (felt-plastic-felt) and pin them together to get ready to be sewn. Pin them as close to the piece of plastic as you can. You will sew right along the edge of the plastic.

It doesn’t matter if the edges aren’t straight on the fabric for this step because they will be trimmed later. Now sew the plastic sandwich together. Remember as close to the plastic as you can get your needle!

All of your pieces are done, now you have to hand sew them together with embroidery thread. Trim each piece so that there is only about 1/4″ of fabric on the edge. Use that 1/4″ to sew the valet together. I started with the long sides to the bottom then the short sides to the bottom. Then I sewed the sides together last.

There you have the husband valet, which my husband actually uses by the way!

Lingerie Bag (Clean & Dirty)

April 28, 2010 By Taylor 5 Comments

I can finally share my Clean and Dirty Lingerie Bag that I made my sister for her birthday. We saw a (much more expensive and less exciting) lingerie bag a few years ago and we loved it so I thought I would improve it :) I call it a Lingerie Bag because it’s catchy but it is really perfect for traveling, gym bags, diaper bags etc… The bag has two compartments “Clean” and “Dirty” but share a zipper which makes this a very simple project!

All you need is:

1/4 yard of outer fabric

1/4 yard of inner fabric

22″ zipper

about 10″ of either a third fabric or extra from the inner fabric for the Clean and Dirty square

Step 1: Cut 2 pieces of inner fabric and 2 pieces of outer fabric to 9″ x 24″.

Step 2: Make your background squares for the names “clean” and “dirty”. I used a completely different fabric because my inner fabric was so busy. They need to be 4″ x 5″. Fold and iron all the way around then sew them both on one of the outer fabric panels.

*Here is where I messed up. I kept on making the bag BUT I should have embroidered at this point! I had a friend embroider the words “clean” and “dirty” on after I was totally done but it was really hard for her because of the bag’s shape. Also, some of you might just want to sew a “C” or a “D” on it. Either way, it will look better if you do it now because you wont see the back.*

Step 3: Layer one side of the bag in this order; inner fabric right side up, zipper lined up with the top of the fabric and then the outer fabric wrong side up. Sew along the top line making sure to sew all the way to the end.

Step 4: Flip the fabric around so that the wrong sides are together. Repeat the same order on the other side of the zipper. Sew across the top line in the same way.
Step 5: Unzip the zipper half-way ( a crucial part or you will not be able to flip your bag. Now sew the outer fabric together (right sides together). Then sew the inner fabric panels together leaving a 2″ opening on one of the sides. Flip the bag inside out. Sew the 2″ hole closed. You should now have a lined zipper bag, but we wont stop now….

Step 6: Now you will sew a line right down the middle of the bag to make two individual compartments. Measure to the center of the bag and mark with pins. I used a decorative stitch because it will be seen anyway. I also went over it 3 times to make sure it is good and stable. Across the top, (parallel to the zipper but right under it) sew about 1″ long.

Step 7: Get your lovely friend to embroider the works on for you. However, if you do not have that option, there are many other cute things you can do! You could sew the letter “C” and “D” on it. You could use an iron-on. You could paint or silk screen… the possibilities are endless. Here is my finished product…

Happy lingerie bag making!!