Clothes Peg Caddy

CLOTHES PEG CADDY

Here the raw edges have been overlocked and are exposed to give a rugged outdoor appearance.

The finished depth is 36 cms.

The finished width is 26 cms.

The finished length of each plaited tie is 70 cms.

Varying widths of horizontal fabric strips are overlocked and then stitched to a backing of calico.

The side seams of the bag are overlocked before machine stitching with a straight stitch.

The motifs have been cut using the Brother  “ Scan ‘N’ Cut” machine, and were cut from the adhesive PVC that is used to cover school books. The motifs are pressed in place using a quick touch of a hot iron. Use Bakewell paper to cover the motif  and protect the surface of the iron while the motif is being pressed into position.

I used a straight stitch to machine around the edges of the motifs.

For the ties many pieces of fabric of varying  lengths were overlocked. Each ‘tube’ is approximately 2.5 cms wide. The ties are machine stitched in place. The completed bag is tied to the handle of the clothes basket trolley, and adjusted  to the desired length.

Carry Bag - Postal mail

CARRY  BAG – POSTAL MAIL

This is a useful carry bag for our neighbours to collect and store postal mail while we are away.

The finished width is 24 cms.

The finished depth is 36 cms.

The bag is lined. The handles are plaited from braids, ribbons and tubes of fabric. The finished length of each braid is 38 cms.

The technique used is a variation of that outlined in the mosaic tutorial. White tulle netting has been used. The horizontal strips of fabric are secured by vertical strips of fusible webbing, which are ironed onto a calico backing.

The fabric heart motifs have been cut using the Brother  “Scan  ‘N’ Cut” machine.

Bolster Cushion, Cellular Phone Pod and E-Reader Pouch

FABRIC BITZ

I have always enjoyed playing with fabric bitz. My exploring with stitches began as a kid when my Dad taught me how to hand-stitch the tops of grain sacks once they had been filled with barley.

This post is for those who, like me, get a buzz from manipulating fabric bitz and exploring sewing machines stitches. It is aimed at those who have some sewing skills.

I sit at home working quietly on items that are practical for the home or family.

CONCEALED EDGES APPLIQUÉ

Bolster Cushion, Cellular Phone Pod and E-Reader Pouch 

This technique used fabric scraps for the bolster cushion, cellular phone wallet and e-reader pouch.

Requirements for a sample.

Rectangular piece of calico or similar fabric for backing. I suggest you stabilise this with fusible non-woven interfacing.

Bits of fabric in a variety of colours.

Scissors, pins, sewing machine, threads.

Cutting

When cutting scraps of fabric to size, ensure that there is an overlap at side edges before stitching in place. Haphazard shapes can be used. Many different colours can be utilised in these projects.

Using photographs as a guide stitch shapes onto calico backing

Photo 1

Stitch along top and bottom edge of first shape with the right side facing up.

Photo 2

The next shape is placed with right side facing down. Secure with pins. Stitch along the bottom edge.

Photo 3

Fold this over so that seam is concealed. Finger press and secure with pins. Stitch along bottom edge.

Photo 4

Repeat the sequence of photos 2 and 3 for desired length. Using your favorite machine stitch and machine sewing thread, stitch on top close to seam.

Trim back the edges of overlapping fabrics.

When finished the cellular phone pod measures 11 cms by 17 cms.  It is lined, and wadding has been used as an inner layer.

The e-reader pouch measures 14.5 cms by 20 cms. This is lined and also contains an inner layer of wadding.

The bolster cushion when finished measures 60 cms in length and has a circumference of 58 cms. The finished size of the machine embroidered panels is 10 cms wide.

Knitter's Basket

This lined basket is made from soft woven fabric, and is useful for storing knitting wool. It is not designed to carry heavy items.

The technique used for the machine-embroidered panel is outlined in the mosaic tutorial.

Whisper weft iron-on interfacing is used to add ‘body’ to the basket. When finished, the circumference is 60.5cms, and the base has a diameter of 19cms. The finished height is 13.5cms. The fabric handle is 31cms in length.

Bias binding is used to enclose the raw edges on the top edge.

The flowers are made from circles of fabric. A small running stitch around the edge is used to gather the circle in toward the centre.

The basket has two main components, for which patterns can be easily made:

1 rectangle 62.5 by 13.5cms; and

1 circle (base) with a diameter of 21cms.

These patterns include 1cm seam allowance.

There is a variation from the mosaic tutorial. A layer of black crystal organza replaces the tulle netting. The mosaic patches do not overlap, so fusible webbing was not used to secure them in place.

Walker's Pouch for Water Bottle

This pouch is great for carrying a bottle of water when on short walks.

It is simple to construct, and is made up of three parts:

tube;

under panel; and

shoulder strap.

The tube consists of a rectangle of fabric measuring 34 centimetres in width by 23 centimetres length. This includes a one centimetre seam allowance on all sides. To this rectangle I applied iron-on wadding. The finished circumference of the tube is 32 centimetres, and the finished length is 21 centimetres. The tube is lined.

The under panel when finished measures eight centimetres in width, and the length is 22 centimetres. This is machine stitched in place. The technique used for this machine embroidered mosaic panel is described in the Mosaic Tutorial.

At the top of the tube there are two fabric loops that enclose chromed metal rings. The clip on shoulder strap is clipped to these rings. The finished height of these loops is three centimetres long by 2½ centimetres wide, and they also feature the mosaic technique. The shoulder strap came from a travel bag.

Wall Hanging: Grand Kiddies Heights

This is a fun wall hanging for grandparents to measure the height of visiting grand kiddies.

The finished length is 112cms;

The finished width is 39cms;

The tape measure panel width (finished) is 10cms;

The tape measure has centimetres and inches on the same side.

The raw edge appliqué panel is composed of various coloured shapes cut from fabric using pinking shear scissors. These were then stitched in place to a coloured background using many rows of stitching. I chose a machine stitch that was of interest to me at that time. I encourage you to explore your sewing machine stitches.

The cut out foam hands and feet were stitched in place using hand stitches. The hands indicate name, height  & date when the measurement was taken.

Various beads and buttons were used to embellish the wall hanging.

A zig zag stitch was used to stitch the tape measure in place. I have not cut off the unwanted section of the tape, but have folded it over to the back of the wall hanging and held it in place with a safety catch. There may be a time when I change the position of the wall hanging, and then I will need to use this unwanted section of the tape to adjust the new position. The stitching of this tape commenced at the 50cms mark.

I used iron on wadding to add weight to the wall hanging.

My inspiration for this Grand Kiddies Height Wall Hanging came from an article How Tall Am I written by Yvonne Hender. This was published in the Innovative Machine Embroidery Textile Art magazine, volume 17 number 9.

EMBROIDERED TUBE FOR PLASTIC BAGS

Here the theme is about recycling, so oddments of fabrics, threads, etc have been used.

The tube is made from a rectangle measuring 58 cms (height ) by 41.5 cms (width).

The ring is made from millinery wire, with an approximate circumference of 38.5 cms. The height of the six tabs enclosing the ring is 5 cms. The height of the loop attached to the tube is 11.5 cms. Elastic is inserted at the bottom of the tube to hold the bags in.

The measurement for the panel of frayed edge shapes is 41.5 cms by 19.5 cms. This is bordered at the top and bottom by machine embroidered mosaic panels. Each of these measures 41.5 cms by 10.5 cms. The tube is lined, the size of the lining measures 58 cms by 41.5 cms.

The technique used for the two machine embroidered mosaic panels is described in detail in the Mosaic Tutorial. Stitches used here are not illustrated in the Tutorial, I encourage you to explore with your sewing machine stitches.

Different shapes and sizes of various fabrics were used for the frayed shapes panel, and stitched in place using a machine embroidery stitch that appealed at the time. These shapes will fray, but this fits in with the recycling theme.

The ring has been covered with bias binding.

The inspiration for this tube came from an article “Kitchen Bag Holder” that was published in “Fabulous Bags” magazine.