Triangle Pouches, Not a Sandhill Sling / Beauties Pageant 241

If you’ve been keeping up with my posts the past few months, you may recognize the sweet zippered makes in this post. Yes, I sewed some more of Sew Lux’s Triangle Pouches! Using scraps from a Songbook jelly roll (Fancy That Design House for Moda) and a Holiday Essentials Christmas mini-charm pack (Stacy Iest Hsu for Moda), I made two more pouches. (You can read my original post about the Triangle Pouch here.)

Although there are three Triangle Pouches pictured in today’s post, I’ve actually made a total of four—the last of which was sewn with Melody Miller’s Stay Gold collection. It proved to be my favorite thus far, so I’m sad I didn’t think to snap a pic before I wrapped it up with a little plate from the Fish Museum and Circus as my contribution to a guildwide Yankee swap.

Now, you may be thinking that all signs point to the fact that this post is about Triangle Pouches. In fact, it is a post that’s not about a Sandhill Sling finish. : /

I bought a kit to make the popular Noodlehead sling from Stitch Supply Co. back in January 2022. Then, because I had yet to embark on making it despite owning a kit, I signed up for a Sandhill Sling class through my guild this past September.

And here we are, almost four months later, with no finished Sandhill Sling. 

I can summarize the problem in one word: gussets. The exterior bag is completed, with the lining waiting to be inserted, and the outer gusset is off by 3/8 inch. That 3/8 inch has me completely paralyzed. Do I just forge ahead and live with what might seem to some makers like a minor oversight? (In a quilt project, 3/8 inch would almost always have me ripping out lines of stitching.) Or do I unpick the exterior gusset and hope that a second try will improve the situation, when it may actually end up making things worse?

Well, I tell you what I do ... I write a post about Triangle Pouches!

Needless to say, I will be spending the last days of 2023 trying to muster the courage to unpick that gusset. I wish you the best—with sewing, quilting, and beyond—as we wrap up this year and step into the next. : )

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More Pouch Patterns for Gifting / Beauties Pageant 236

 

 

So many of you reached out to me here, on Instagram, or in person to share that last week’s post might as well have been written about you. What can I say? We like to complicate things, but our gift giving is the better for it, right? 

In my last post, I sang the praises of Jeni Baker’s Lined Drawstring Bag pattern and an accompanying sew-along that starts next week. Just to make sure you have some ideas in your back pocket, waiting for an opportunity to level up the presentation of a holiday gift (or 12), I have a few additional patterns to introduce you to. 

In true let’s-complicate-things form, you could wait until you have a gift on hand before embarking on your next pouch-making journey. There is something to be said, however, for setting up your own little production line and banging out a few at a time, so there’s always one at the ready.

Sotak Handmade’s Drawstring Bag Tutorial

I first made Sotak Handmade’s Drawstring Bag tutorial back in 2015. The casing for the drawstring is unique and is what I think makes the bag something special. The directions walk you through making a 8-inch by 9.5-inch pouch, but it’s a pattern you could easily modify for the gift on hand. I recommend using a fun contrasting fabric for the casing and finishing these beauties off with a little faux leather cording.

Tinkalong Pouch

Cheri Lehnow’s Tinkalong Pouch pattern comes in two sizes: small and large. During a past sew-along, I printed the small size at 65%, making it perfect for holding a gift card. I used OG Cotton and Steel fabric and black cotton cording in the four bags I sewed to give them a polished look.

Popcorn Pouch

I found Amista Baker’s Popcorn Pouch to be a fast and easy sew, even for zipper newbies (not that I am one, but if you wait long enough between zipper projects, it’s easy to feel as if you’re tackling zipper for the first time again). I’ve been known to make several at a time ... I’ve used my Popcorn Pouches to wrap presents. I’ve slid a card into one, presenting the pouch itself as a small token of thanks. I’ve even packed my charging cords into that blue and mustard beauty, below, as I headed out the door on a quilt retreat.

I think a call to action is in order, so go forth and sew some pouches! And when you’re done, please report back to us about your triumphs. : )

Coming Soon

I have so much to share with you before the end of the year ... my Legendary quilt (pattern by Elizabeth Hartman), my Patchwork Sky quilt (Camille Roskelley), my Sandhill Sling (Anna Graham). So. Many Projects!

I am also participating in a specially curated bundle and wanted to get that on your radar screen today. The Bountiful Bundle will be available next Wednesday, November 22, through Monday, November, 27 (that’s EST, or GMT-5). 

It includes 10 PDF patterns for $19.99 (or $2 per pattern). Each design is beginner friendly and comes from a different designer. I am sure you’ll recognize some favorites in the collection, including Laura Piland’s Exploding Heart, Emily Dennis’s Quilty Trees, and my own Irish Twist. Stop by next Wednesday (or newsletter subscribers, keep an eye on your inbox) to get your bundle!

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Let's Complicate Simple Tasks! / Beauties Pageant 235

One of my special talents is turning a simple task into a more complicated and time-consuming one. I truly excel at this, friends.

Exhibit A

Let’s consider the case of my niece’s 14th birthday gift.

I decided to get her a Crumbl Cookies gift certificate because she’s such a fan of the store’s sugary offerings.

Most people would order the gift certificate online and call it a day. But do you know what’s better than an emailed Crumbl gift card? A physical gift card and a fancy pink Crumbl cookie cutter.

And do you know what’s better than a physical gift card and a fancy pink Crumbl cookie cutter? A physical gift card and a fancy pink Crumbl cookie cutter … in a handmade drawstring pouch! (Darn you, presentation—you get me every time!)

In other words, what I could have accomplished in two minutes at my computer (and what would have arrived on my niece’s actual birthday) ended up requiring a trek to Crumbl, a sewing session, and a trip to the post office … two days after her special day.

And that’s how I roll!

Project Specifics

If presented with a comparable wrapping conundrum, you may be tempted to draft a quick pouch pattern yourself. Do not bother: The Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern from Jeni Baker of In Color Order has all the math we need. It includes many different sizes, so it’s easy to home in on one for the gift at hand. 

I sewed the snack bag size, tweaking the measurements for boxing the bottom so that the fancy pink Crumbl cookie cutter would fit.

I wish I could give you information about the fabric, but all of it came from a collection of fat eighths I won through my guild, and there wasn’t a printed selvage among them. Perhaps the star of the project isn’t the fabric, though—it’s that awesome mint-colored flowery twill. My niece prefers black, gray, and white, so that twill tape adds a subtle and sweet bit of color to the project. 

If you find yourself in need of some mint-colored twill, it’s available for purchase through the designer’s website. Check out KP Creates for all the details. (All of my stash suggestions are just to enable your purchases. There is no affiliate anything on my site.)

The Lined Drawstring Bag is a well-loved pouch pattern. It was released a full 10 years ago, and I know that I am not the only sewist who considers it her go-to for making pretty pouches. It just so happens that Jeni announced a Lined Drawstring Bag Sew-Along on her blog recently. The fun begins on November 22. Both the original pattern and expansion pack are on sale through November 28. (Again ... just here, aiding and abetting your sewing purchases. You’re welcome!)

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Triangle Pouch by Sew Lux / Beauties Pageant 234

It always feels good to end the week with a finish, even a pint-size one!

I’ve long admired the pouch and pillow patterns designed by Chrissy Lux, and I finally made time in my sewing schedule to try out her Triangle Pouch. 

This pattern is a great way to use up a lone mini-charm pack or, in my case, the remnants of a jelly roll.

I love how this project exudes personality both inside and out. The autumnal palette on the exterior opens up to a gray and cream dot on the interior that’s punctuated by contrasting binding strips. Because if you’re going to take the time to bind raw interior edges, you might as well give them a little oomph, right?

This may be my first Triangle Pouch, but it will not be my last! I have three additional striped zippers that are begging to be transformed into something special. With one Triangle Pouch under my belt, it’s easy to plot three more.

Should you want to make your own Triangle Pouch, you can find the pattern on the Sew Lux site and view the accompanying YouTube video here. The fabrics, alas, are all out of print: I used Songbook by Fancy That Design House for the exterior and a Swiss dot by Jen Kingwell for the interior. The super awesome zipper comes in tomato (pictured), as well as aqua and black, and can be purchased at Stitch Supply Co.

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Quick Christmas Gifts / Beauties Pageant 156

One of my crafting specialties is making a small project into a big project. I mean, I truly excel at this. All I do is find a project that can be easily tackled in an hour or two—it could be a pouch or a tote bag or something—and then I make that project a half-dozen times. Or a full dozen times. Or if I’m experiencing serious delusions of crafty grandeur, say, 27 times!

Want to join me on this crazy crafting train? First, pick your own project. I recommend all of those pictured here, including tiny drawstring pouches, pin cushions, and tissue cozies.

Then write up a list of recipients—like a half-dozen new guild board members or a dozen elementary teachers or the 27 staff members at your kid’s preschool (true story). Now multiply that number by two ... just in case. : )

 

To be honest, I am not making any gifts for holiday giving this Christmas, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enable your frenzied, last-minute sewing and quilting! For more on the projects pictured here, including links to the corresponding tutorials or patterns, click below ...

• Tiny drawstring pouches
  
• Pin cushions
  
• Tissue cozies
• More simple gift ideas   

Heads up: The following two Fridays fall on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, so I won’t be back until January with the next Beauties Pageant. Until then, fill us in on what you’ve been up to in this week’s linky. Wishing you all the loveliest of holidays!

 

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Back to Being a Bag Lady / Beauties Pageant 114

Before I started quilting, I sewed bags and home decor items. And although I’d rather carry a bag of my own making or sew some window treatments instead of buying them off the shelf, it can be hard to change gears. These days, it’s usually all quilting all the time.

So when a friend and I made plans to go for a walk, it was the self-imposed deadline I had been missing. I had promised her a handmade backpack, and our date to walk was what I needed to get it done!

The result is pictured here. It’s a simple, straight-forward drawstring backpack with a single pocket on the exterior. I used the Lionel Drawstring Backpack Pattern, by I Think Sew. It was fine for the five dollars I paid for it. If you are interested in making something similar, there are plenty of other options—including free tutorials—online.

I chose to quilt the exterior panels to give the bag more body; otherwise, I didn’t do anything fancy. Heck, the pocket doesn’t even have a zipper.

For me, the hard part of bag making is finding the necessary notions. I found the gray synthetic drawstring from a nice selection of colors at Crosscut Sewing Co., a local fabric shop.

I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome here; the final product was much nicer than I was expecting. In the past, I’ve sewed certain bags patterns ad infinitum. (For real. Plug “Jane Market Bag” into the search function in the right-hand sidebar, and you’ll see what I mean.) This backpack may be my next serial sew—it would make good end-of-year teacher gifts.

What I really want to work on next, however, is a new quilt that I designed with huge blocks. I’m super excited about it, and the background fabric should be arriving on Monday. Yahoo! Now that I’m in this home dec mode, however, I should bang out a few more projects I’ve had planned, including a pillow and two pouches, first. After those are done, I have two in-process quilts to finish and then I can start the new one. Darn you, self-discipline!

A quick public-service announcement: Love Boldly, my most recent pattern release, is still available at Quilt Pattern Mart at the introductory price of $7.50. I’ll be sure to share tester projects in next week’s post! In the meantime, check out some pics on Instagram.

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Finishes Big and Small / Beauties Pageant 75

Buy the Warm and Cool Coin Quilt pattern here!

It’s been fun to have my family around during this hunker-down-at-home pandemic. All four of us get to have dinner together every night and talk more than usual. I have ample time to do whatever the kids want me to do with them. Mom, do you want to watch a show/read a book/talk about video games? The answer is almost always yes—although to be truthful, when it comes to talking about video games, I just smile and nod in agreement with whatever my 11-year-old is saying.

But sometimes it’s not fun. Sometimes I find myself—quite literally—running away from that same 11-year-old, locking doors behind me, yelling, “Leave me alone!” For as much as I love my family, I am an introvert who recharges by spending quiet time by herself. That’s where my sewing hobby comes into play.

I am often quilting for sanity these days. After all, my sewing machine doesn’t talk back to me. Actually, it makes few demands of me at all, apart from the occasional drink of oil and new needle. And it lets me think without interruption; I feel smarter when I spend time with it. Also, when a project is finished, it stays finished. I wish I could say the same about the state of the laundry, the dishes, or the house in general.

As a result, I am making good progress on a lot of projects. Some of them, like the quilt at the top of the post, were among the 21 WIPs I identified back in November. (For the record, that list has been whittled down to 15. Yahoo!) That is my Warm and Cool Coin Quilt, the first official From Bolt to Beauty pattern, sewn with Kate Spain’s Canyon collection. It’s with a team of great testers now. I will be sharing more pictures of and details about that pattern in upcoming weeks. : )

Other projects are small and satisfying. Remember my See-It-All Pouches? I made two more. The latest pouches started out as a pillow cover that was over quilted and, as a result, rather stiff. I cut it up to make two lovelies that went straight to guild friends. Here are the before and after pics ...

Yes, that’s much better.

Have you had the luxury, like me, of getting extra sewing time these days? If you have finishes to share, please add them to the linky below!

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Vinyl See-It-All Pouches / Beauties Pageant 68

This past week I spent some time doing one of the things I do best: making a bunch of small projects into one big project.

My original plan was to make two zipper pouches for friends who will be attending QuiltCon later this month and fill them with silly items that will remind those friends of our past QuiltCon adventures. I followed the pattern for Aneela Hoey’s See-It-All Pouch, from her Stitched Sewing Organizers. The pattern calls for one 10-inch zipper per pouch, but I had five 10-inch zippers on hand. So, I started up the assembly line—after all, busting one’s stash includes busting one’s zipper hoard.

I cut into some Kokka fabric, designed by Ellen Baker, that has been aging in my stash since 2013 for the first two pouches. Apparently, it can take seven years to find the right project for a fabric.

Then I used up some bits of a Rifle Paper Co. print for pouch #3 ...

And cut into a mystery fabric (middle, below) and some yardage from Rae Hoekstra’s Lotus line (far right, below—in the stash since 2014!) for the fourth and fifth pouches.

This was my first time sewing with vinyl, and it wasn’t a big deal. I had some issues when finishing the binding on the pouches, though. I attached the binding to the back and finished by machine-sewing the binding from the front, and I couldn’t get the bobbin thread to stay on the binding on the back, especially at the curves. (The straight pieces of binding along the zipper were easy-peasy.) It wasn’t a problem that got better with each pouch, and I had to accept I was doing the best I could. Some sewers would look at the backs and think they are perfect as is. I just like precision with finishing details like that.

You’re welcome to skip this numbered list. There are my notes to my future self for sewing with vinyl in general and sewing this pattern in particular!

1. Iron the vinyl to address any wonkiness when it comes off the roll—just use a lower heat setting with a pressing cloth, and weight the vinyl to cool.

2. Use a bigger needle size (I used a 14 here) and a longer stitch length.

3. Cover vinyl that comes in direct contact with the feed dogs or presser foot with tissue paper. The tissue paper prevents the vinyl from sticking and easily tears away after sewing.

4. Use a 3/8-inch seam for attaching the binding to the back instead of the scant 1/2-inch seam called for by the pattern. (Hmmm ... that may be part of my binding sadness, though. Perhaps I should try a scant 3/8-inch seam for a sixth pouch?)

5. Remember that you’re perforating the vinyl when you sew it, so you have only a few times to pick out stitches and resew without undermining the integrity of the vinyl. If you need to resew the final strip of binding, you can always trim away from the perimeter of the pouch so the next set of holes hits at different spots on the vinyl.

Have you sewn with vinyl? I no longer have any 10-inch zippers in my stash, but I had to buy the vinyl for these pouches and have some left over. (How is that for irony? I used up all my zippers of a particular size but now am stuck with leftover vinyl.) I would love to hear any recommendations you have for using that vinyl up! : )

Linking up to TGIFF at Sarah Goer Quilts ...

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