A present for my friend, two pink cases

In  January there was my friend Katherine's birthday. She is my running partner, very important at the moment as I don't seem to find the will to run by myself. It is pretty cold outside.

Our other friend Helen made her a felted bag. She is very clever, made it without a seam. That's something I would like to learn.

I thought I would make something to go with the bag, and here we are.

I wanted my cases to be 5 1/2" by 4 1/2" for the smaller one, and 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" for the bigger one ( that's including the seam allowances), which can take pencils. So here are my sizes :

Small case bottom pink cut 2" by 5 1/2", top fabric 3" by 5 1/2".

Bigger case bottom pink cut 2" by 8 1/2", top fabric 3" by 8 1/2"

 You need 2 panels per case, and the lining is cut  in one piece for each panel. Same with the wadding, 2 pieces per case. I chose some synthetic one, very light. Sew the top and bottom fabric together for each case.
I quilted the front panel with one seam 1/4" under the separation between the 2 fabrics. Quilt as you like.

 My first step was to sew the zips to the lining. I do a small seam allowance, and a normal one when I attach the main panel. It hides the first seam.

 This photo shows the way the zip is.

 Now I have attached the front panel on both sides of the zip. Make sure you can operate the pull, that it doesn't catch the fabric.

To finish the case, open the zip halfway at least, and pin the parts as on the photo, the 2 linings together and the 2 fronts together, right sides facing. Sew all the way around. Don't forget to leave a gap at the bottom of the lining to turn everything out.

I thin the wadding out with scissors to limit the bulk in the seams.

 And I cut the corners so they are neater when turned.

 Now turn your case inside out, slip stitch the gap at the bottom and Voila, a beautiful case, like you can't find them in the shops.

The small one is a great size to take all the cards you have from coffee shops and the like. It takes less space than having them on display.

Have a great time sewing.

Pascale.

Little lavender houses

I found this tutorial to make a house ornament from Retro Mama. Inspired I thought I would try to make some. They seem particularly appropriate as we have just moved house.

 I made 6 of them, and added some lavender to the filling.

They are gorgeous, if I may say so.

Have a great day sewing,

Pascale

Progress for me and a tutorial for you

It's so nice to be able to use my arm again. I went to the hospital on Friday with DH who has been a great help all along. My slingy thing is off and I was told to use my arm a bit. I can now type with 2 hands, and knit and sew. All is not perfect yet and I can't do some movements going up or on the side with my arm, but I'm more mobile.

So here is a little tutorial I made earlier for a little purse, or to wrap a small present in. You can see Christmas coming around the corner, better start on some projects. Benta from Slikstitches asked for a tutorial a long time ago when I made my first one,

 First you need 2 squares of fabric. You decide on the size, mine was 9 1/2 " because that's the size of my ruler. The finished pouch is just under 4 1/2" square.
Sew right sides together 1/4" all the way around leaving an opening in the middle of one side, for turning.

 Trim the corners, and turn right side out. Poke the corners out. Slip stitch the opening closed.

 You get this nice reversible square.

 Fold in 2 along one diagonal.

 Then fold the top corners again, on both sides. The photo is the best way to explain this.

  Sew a litlle chanel along the fold, enough to pass a ribbon through.

Now draw a vertical line (in blue but not very visible on the photo) starting from the corner of the fold, in cream for me, going down to the central fold. Sew on these 2 lines, one on each side, to form a square pouch in the middle. This line of sewing will be hidden by the next step.

 Now my seam on the left is in the fold. Do the same on the other side.

 Secure the folded fabric and you are nearly done.

The last step is to put 2 pieces of ribbon through the little chanel we made. One starting on each side. And then pull to close.
It's an easy project, you need just a little bit of hand sewing.

Meanwhile our move to the new house is planned for the 2nd of December. That date will come quickly now. I will try to do some sewing , as I can't lift things,  and show you my projects.

Enjoy your time sewing.

Pascale.

a nice little cake

As a group activity, we made some fabric cupcakes. I was hoping to take a photo of several others, but they don't seem to have been finished.

 To make a cupcake, draw a circle on your bottom fabric, including a seam allowance (you can use a bowl, plate whatever is at hand). Cut and then use wadding or felt to cut a smaller circle (no seam allowance, that's the only difference).
To get the shape I made some cuts in my 2 circles. Holding them together with pins, fold in half and cut on 2 folds. Repeat the other way, you have 4 cuts around your circle. then pinch the folds inward and sew the fabric together, making a triangular shape. The end of your seam, towards the centre of the circle is thiner than the beginning.
I repeated the process and finally had 8 seams all around. That gave me a good cupcake shape.

 The next stage is purely decorative. I used ric rac on the edge.

  I had some pink fabric for the top, but it was a bit boring, so I used 2 colours of embroidery and randomly put some stitches. I cut this red flower from a piece of flower ribbon.
Fill the interior of the cupcake with soft toys filler, or bits of wadding left over.
Sew the top fabric by hand.

And there you have a yummy cupcake. You could of course use it to put your pins in.

Enjoy your sewing.

Laptop bag

I'm still here and as the girls have now gone back to school, I am slowly catching up on everything. I read my emails on the day they arrive, which is a big progress. There are a few things still demanding my attention.

But I want to show you my new laptop bag. Having 4 girls in the house, 3 of them teenagers, we have a lot of laptops. 5 plus DH work one. At home he is sharing his with DD4. We bought laptop bags but they are very bland. And they are obvious in their design so not very good to protect your property from being stolen. Why not have a different bag.

I've tried to take some pictures while working on this project. Here are my pieces prepared. You would measure your own laptop to adjust the size.
I had some fabric for the body of the bag; it is a long rectangle that goes from the front, around to the back and makes the flap as well. You  need it twice, or in my case a 1 metre piece, folded, and the left over was used for the pockets.

 Here is the piece folded.

 This strippy fabric is for the partition in the middle of the bag, to create a pocket for the computer, and separate it from the papers, wires,etc.... There wasn't enough of the first fabric for that part. It makes you creative !
There is a piece of wadding the same size, which is the surface of the computer plus 2 rectangles, one on each end for the depth of the computer. Add a seam allowance of course.

For my strap I had to find another fabric again. It's quite fun. It measures finished 3 1/2"(9cm) wide by 63" (160 cm). The strap is also the side of the bag. There is some wadding inside to make it more comfortable to carry.

So here is my partition quilted. 11" high by 20 " long. It's not a snug fit, and again you need to measure your own computer.

Next I made some pockets with bits of fabric left over. I like to make them lined, so I cut my fabric twice the size of the pocket, fold it right sides together, and sew around 3 sides and 4 corners, leaving a small opening that will be sewn when the pocket is put on the bag. Easy.

Cut the corners and turn right side out.

I sewed a line at the top, 1/4" from the seam. I should have ironed it !

For the main body of the bag, I used the envelope method to attach the fabric and wadding in a rectangle shape, leave a gap, cut the corners, turn right side out.
Then I quilted following the design that was to be outside, with a walking foot on the machine, plus around my rectangle about 1/4" all the way.

This is the time to put your pockets on . Here on the inside partition.

I was wondering how to attach the partition to the sides, in a nice way. The first side is easy, and the seam allowance is in the pocket.

That's a nice finish inside.

This is the other side, slightly more tricky because you can't hide it inside. So I folded and sewed.

Here is a view of the pocket for the laptop. I have left the bottom open, because the computer can't go through it, but other things could. You could decide to sew the bottom.

My next step was to attach the strap/sides. It's easy but you need your walking foot. You position the bottom  of your strap where you want it (back, bottom and front of the bag), use plenty of pins and sew around. Pivot at the corners. Take your time.

Inside view of the compartment for paper and wires.

There is also a pocket on the body under the flap of the bag for pens and paper.

Bag open with the flap at the back.

View of the 2 compartments of the bag, plus pockets.

My bag is finished.

I hope you enjoyed these explanations. I haven't put many measures because this needs to be adapted to your laptop.
Have fun sewing.