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handmade student emergency kit

virginia tech birthday gift

My brother is very smart. He’s got one of those jobs where he can’t tell you what he does. I have a feeling I probably wouldn’t understand a lot of it if he could. He’s also working on his PhD. Both involve a lot of hard work and math. Two things that he can always use: pencils and caffeine.

virginia tech birthday gift

If you’ve been reading my personal blog for awhile, you know that he went/goes to Virginia Tech. He never tires of Hokie-themed gifts. (I asked.) I figured what he needed these days was something for all of those pencils and caffeine. I made him a pencil case and tucked some extra mechanical pencils, lead and erasers inside. I also made him an adjustable coffee sleeve and sent him a big bag of his favorite tea.

recycle: I can’t believe I am still using up VT fabric scraps from a yard I purchased over a year ago. Denim was from a pair of jeans. (Freecycle is a great source for denim!) Fabric and button were from my stash. Elastic was a colored pony tail holder.

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how to sew a placemat zipper pouch with only four seams

zipper pouch tutorial

I found this cute Orla Kiely placemat at Target a few weeks ago and wanted to make something quick and easy for my knitting. Because the edges are already finished, I only needed to sew four seams. If you want a gusseted pouch, you can sew two more seams. Either way, it’s a very fast and easy project.

zipper pouch tutorial

Materials
a placemat (mine was 14 x 17 inches)
a zipper that’s at least 14 inches
coordinating thread
heavy duty sewing needle
zipper foot

zipper pouch tutorial

Using your zipper foot, stitch each 14 inch side to the zipper, beginning and ending 1/2 inch from each side.

zipper pouch tutorial

With the zipper halfway open, turn the placemat inside out. Sew your side seams while holding the zipper out of the way. (This is why you left 1/2 inch unsewn on each side.)

zipper pouch tutorial

Turn the placemat right side out and you’re done! If your zipper was longer than 14 inches, you can trim the extra.

Optional Gussets

zipper pouch tutorial

Box your corners, but don’t trim. The triangles are small and won’t take up much room. Plus, you’ll have no raw edges that might unravel.

zipper pouch tutorial

Want to see more projects using Orla Kiely placemats? Thimbly Things made a cute purse with hers and linked to a bunch more adorable bags.

refashion: Using finished items like placemats make your projects fast and easy because your edges are already finished.

Thanks to Whip Up, Craft Gossip and One Pretty Thing for linking to my tutorial. Subscribe to my RSS for more crafty goodness!

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vacation fabric: omaha tote bag

I don’t buy a lot of my craft stash new, especially without a sale or a coupon. There are times, though, when I indulge myself and it’s usually on vacation. No matter where we go, either for a week or just a night, there’s usually a yarn or fabric store to visit. I try to buy something that I normally wouldn’t find in Lincoln. Most of the time it is yarn. Last year, when T and I had “date night” in Omaha, it was fabric.

amy butler fabric

All I really wanted for Mother’s Day this year was some time to myself to sew something for me. Kind of self-indulgent, I know, but I always seem to be making for someone else these days and this fabric has been calling to me. I didn’t buy a lot — only 1/2 yard of each. I am planning to make a matching zipper pouch and change purse. To make the most of the floral print, I used some yellow fabric from my stash for the lining. I was planning to box the corners, but I kind of like the squareness without them. What do you think?

stash: floral print was “vacation” fabric, lining fabric from garage sale, batting was a remnant, zipper thrifted from goodwill

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pinquitos change purse

bean bag zipper pouch

I love how these little purses turned out. They weren’t at all what I was thinking, but I really wanted to show off the flowers and mountains. A square zipper pouch was the best way to do just that.

bean bag zipper pouch

I didn’t want to wash them because I was afraid that the color might fade, but I had to because they were kind of dirty. I was worried that they might unravel, so I sewed a basting stitch around the edges before I put them in the wash. Good thing, too! The edges totally frayed up to the stitches.

The bags were a little delicate and I wanted to make them more substantial so I used some cotton quilt batting to give them their shape. I used the front of the bag for the outside and the back of the bag for the lining. To solve the fraying issue, I enclosed the raw edges in a french seam. There were a few holes from the original stitching that didn’t work themselves out in the wash. They don’t look like they are going to unravel, but I dotted them with some Fray Check just in case. These were super fun to make and I finished them in one evening.

recycle: bean bags purchased at garage sale, leftover batting from stash, one zipper was thrifted, one zipper was reclaimed from a garment