Shopping Bag Holder (small)

Lately I've been looking for something to put my plastic shopping bags in to keep in different rooms in my house. Especially for my son's bedroom. We use cloth diapers and have a diaper pail for those, but when we have a babysitter or the grandparents are watching him, we put him in disposable. So I keep some shopping bags in his room to make throwing away easy.

I wanted something to hang from the changing table to hold shopping bags. This is what I came up with. It has a snap for easy removal from the changing table, and it holds up to NUMBER bags so Grandma will never run out!

Supplies
(2) 12 x 6.5 inch pieces of material
(1) 8.5 x 1 inch piece of material
(2) 7 inch pieces of 1/4 inch elastic

First, fold over & iron the top of the 12 x 6.5 inch material 1/4 inch. Then fold over again 1 1/2 inches to make a cuff. Sew along the very top of the material. Sew again 1/2 inch below the previous line. Do this on both large pieces of material.

Feed the elastic through the 1/2 inch between the sewn lines. Sew down the elastic on one side. Do this on both large pieces of material.

Pull the elastic until the material measures 4 inches. Sew down the second side to hold it in place. Do this to both large pieces of material.

Round off the remaining two corners of the large pieces of material. I used a 4 inch circle to round off my corners.

Take the small piece of material, fold the sides into the center. Also fold one of the short ends down zigzag across the center to hold it in place.

Pin the unfinished side of the small piece of material between the two rounded edges. Then pin the two large pieces of material together with like sides facing each other (bad sides out). Sew along these lines.

Flip the bag right sides out. Take the seams and fold them apart and zigzag them down. This will help prevent fraying when removing baggies from the sack.

Attach a snap to the loop, and you're ready to use this bad boy! Hang it where you know you need bags.

Album Square

The Album Square is a classic quilting design. Back in the day ladies would make  these big enough to embroider in the middle and exchange with friends to make a friendship quilt. Mine are quite a bit smaller, but all the cuter for it.

Supplies

1 7/8 inch square (color 1: center)

(2) 1 1/4 x 3 inch (color 1: corner squares)

(2) 1 1/4 x 2 1/2 inch (color 2: side bars)

2 1/2 x 3 inch  (color 2: side bars)

(2) 2 1/2 inch squares, cut diagonally to make 4 total triangles

Pin the two 1 1/4 x 3 inch strips onto the 3 inch side of the 2 1/2 x 3 inch strips. Sew them down. Iron towards the center and cut into two 1 1/4 x 4 inch strips.

Center two of the triangles onto the center square. sew them down and iron towards the triangles.

Center and sew the remaining two triangles onto the square and press towards the triangles.

Cut down the square so it is 2 1/2 inches.

Lay out the final square as above. Sew the top and bottom bar to the center square and iron away from the center square. Pin the sides on and sew them to the center.

These squares should measure 4 inches total.

Gathered Clutch Tutorial

I have so many bags and each has a specific purpose. But I didn't have a bag the right size to carry around my hand sewing stuff when I wanted to take it with me. Something big enough to bring my scissors, thread, and everything else in. But also small enough to fit in my purse as well! The finished dimensions are 4.5 by 6.5.

If you want, you can make the side string longer to fit around your wrist, but I wanted a small carabiner on mine so I can clip it onto my big bag (which is also purple).

Supplies

4 7 x 5 inches (Cotton: you can do different for the inside if wanted)

1 11 x 5 inch (Cotton)

2 1 x 3 inch (Cotton)

2 7 x 5 inches (Warm & Natural)

1 7 inch piece of ribbon (1/2 inch wide)

1 4 inch piece of ribbon (1/2 inch wide)

1 6 inch zipper

Take the 11 x 5 inch piece of material, mark a line across the 11 inch side 1 3/4 inches from the bottom. Mark 1/2 inches away from that line as well. Sew across those two lines with a loose/far apart stitch (also known as a basted stitch). 

Pin down the two sides of the material to one piece of the Warm and Natural batting. Pull one of each of the basted stitches (holding onto the strings on the other end) causing the material to gather. Keep pulling until the material lines up with the other side of the Warm and Natural batting. 

Pin down the other side and spread out the gathering so it's even. Pin down the 7 inch piece of ribbon on top of the gathered material (right on top of the basted area. Sew down the ribbon on the top and the bottom. It should look like the picture above. Take your iron and lightly press the ruffles down. You want texture here, so don't be afraid of a lot of folds.

Zigzag along the edges to hold everything down for the final sewing. Also, zigzag the outside back piece of cotton (7 x 5) to the other Warm and Natural batting piece.

Iron 1/4 inch of each (2) end of the 1 x 3 inch cotton down. Then fold the piece in half and iron it as well. Pin each piece to the ends of the zipper and sew them into place with a 1/8 inch seam allowance.

Lay down the front piece (good side up), the zipper (bad side up), and the inner lining (bad side up). Pin all three together and sew with your zipper foot. Flip the pieces around so the zipper is outside, with the two sides correctly out. Iron.

Lay down the back piece (good side up), the piece you just ironed with the front side facing the back (zipper should be down), lay the inner lining on top of the rest (bad side up). Sew across with your zipper foot. Flip the pieces inside out and iron them so the zipper is in the middle (like below).

Fold the piece of ribbon in half and iron. Pin the ribbon onto the edge of the back piece (about 1/2 inch from the zipper).

Fold the material so the front and back are together, and the two lining pieces are together. Make sure the zipper is unzipped inside these pieces or you'll have a hard time getting it open later. Pin around the edge of each.

Sew completely around the front and back piece. Sew the two sides and part of the bottom of the lining, leaving a 3 inch gap in the center of the bottom. Make sure you back stitch before and after the gap. Flip the bag inside out, through the 3 inch gap. iron everything down and into place. Using a blind stitch, sew up the 3 inch gap! Vola! You're ready to use your new bag.

New Years Resolution: Clean the Machine

I got a new sewing machine for Christmas! It's a Bernina 125. It sews far better than the $150 Singer I got for Christmas 12 years ago. I love it so much! One of my New Years resolutions is to clean my machine twice a month.

I got 4 free classes teaching me how to use my new machine, and in it they said to clean and oil your machine after 8 hours of sewing or after you use up one bobbin. I would never calculate how many hours I have sewn strait, and I use too many colors to know when I've used up a bobbin, so I thought I would do it twice a month.

So I thought I'd show you how to clean out your machine too. I've taken pictures of my Bernina, and for shock factor my old Singer (which I have cleaned and oiled out once before in 12 years).

Bernina

First, remove the top plate.

Use your cleaning brush to dust out the top.

Next, open up the bobbin housing place and remove the bobbin. You will see a button on the left that you push to pop the bottom open.

Remove the bobbin thing by sticking your finger in and pulling it out. Dust everything out with your brush.

Now place a drop of oil in the bottom on the bobbin place.

Close everything up and you're done! Didn't take too long and your machine will run so much more smooth!

Singer

Remove the plate from the top.

Remove the Bobbin home by sticking your finger in and pulling it out. Dust everything with your brush (I found a lot of dust in this one...)

Place a drop of oil in the center groove (not the circle, the doughnut around the circle).

Put everything back together and you're ready to sew again!

Baby Rings Tutorial

Teething is probably my least favorite part of being a mother. My son won't sleep through the night for a week strait every time he's cutting a tooth. He'll get up at 1 and not go back to sleep until around 5 or 6! It wears me out.

I made a few sets of these teething rings to give  along with other gifts for baby showers. They're stuffed with cotton, so when they've been gnawed on too much and they're starting to look a little scary, they can just be thrown in the wash machine. 

They're a easy sew, and uses up the scrap flannel I have lying around.

Supplies:

5 pieces of flannel (2 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches)

Filling

*the 2 1/2 inch sides are considered the top and bottom

First you fold down the top piece of material a half inch and sew across the end with your standard 1/4 inch seam allowance. Now fold your mateiral in half so you have a 1 1/4 x 8  inch piece. The good/right sides should be facing in, and the wrong sides facing out. Sew along the side edge. Flip this inside out and you should have a tube like above. Now, sew along the bottom of the tube to close it off.

Now it's time to stuff these bad boys. Just use what ever filling you have on hand. If you have an old pillow you no longer use, that batting would work too. You want to stuff these pretty full, but leave about an inch from the top unstuffed.

For the first, center, and last ring, fold the sewn off end into the other side and sew the ends together by hand. I found it easiest to pin the sides together, then sew through the entire thing. I chose a blue, pink, and green ring for my three.

After the first three, you'll need to connect the first and third ring with the second ring. Do so by stringing 1 and 3 onto number 2, then sewing 2 together. Do the same with 4 and you're done! Enjoy happier teething.

Manly Doll Clothes

I think it's good for babies and young children to have a doll. It helps them learn how to be gentle to babies and those smaller than them. It's also helpful in teaching body parts (Where are the babies ears? etc.) So when I saw this doll at the thrift store, I picked it up for Logan. I removed the eye shadow, blush, and everything that made the baby look girly and deemed it the man doll.

The only thing lacking was some manly clothes. So I measured the baby and came up with some overalls and a t-shirt. Nothing too fancy, just something that wouldn't look like a girl.

My favorite part is how the back of the overalls connect. I used material from an old pair of pants, so the back triangle is the bottom part of the back pocket. It makes me smile every time I see it and think of the recycling.