Sewing « karenika

52 Things – Sew something for myself

I did this one during my June Projects:

32. Sew something for myself

I thought a lot about what I wanted to make for this project. I would love to have made something to wear but my sewing talent really doesn’t extend that far. Then I wanted to make a tablecloth but I promised myself I wasn’t going to buy more fabric and I just don’t have enough large pieces to make a tablecloth, and it’s a huge project. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that I have no patience so I needed a quick-ish project.

I found this bag and really wanted to do it but it looked complicated and I wasn’t sure I had enough of the fabric I wanted to use. I definitely didn’t have enough interlining and interfacing.

But now I was very interested in making a bag. I have this large camera bag but it’s huge. And I have this tiny bag that I carry my cash and cards in but it doesn’t hold my book reader. So I needed something in between that just held my small purse and my book and my keys. So I searched and searched and when I stumbled upon this tutorial I was in heaven!

Being impatient as I am, I did the whole thing in just a few hours and made SEVERAL mistakes. But I still love the way it turned out.

In case you do plan to make this bag, i will note that the measurements aren’t fully accurate! the distance on top on either side of the handle should be equal and I should have figured that out but I didn’t until I’d already cut everything. So I had to cut off the handles and sew them back on in the middle. And let me tell you they do not meet on top properly. One is considerably wider than the other. I could have fixed that but it’s a reminder that it’s ok for things not to be perfect.

There’s a pocket inside which is also totally crooked.

I love this black polka dot fabric and was saving it for a project. Now I get to use it and see it everyday.

Nathaniel likes my bag, too.

And it fits all my stuff perfectly. It even fits the huge camera if I want to carry it with me.

One day I might aim to do something more sophisticated or even make this one over so it’s not so imperfect, but for now I am loving it.

June Projects – Fabric Bag

I wanted to make this bag ever since I first saw it.

I don’t know why I never realized how small it is, but it’s tiny. It’s just a cute, little bag. I am in love with these polka-dot fabrics so of course I used those again:

It now stores my fabric scraps. Love love love this little bag.

June Projects – Fabric Keychain

This was inspired by these awesome keychains I saw here.

Mine is much simpler of course. But I love it nonetheless.

makes me happy.

June Projects – Fabric Ball

I moved my schedule around for June but it seems I haven’t saved it, so while I fix that, here’s the project from this morning.

Here’s the link to the tutorial for these fun and super-simple balls.

And here’s mine:

I literally did it while I was waiting for Jake to pickup the baby sitter.

David’s a fan.

And so is Nathaniel.

Love easy peasy projects that are also fun for everyone!

June Projects – Counting Bean Bags

When I saw these counting bags I knew I wanted to make them.

I didn’t have any fusible webbing so I just glued and I am not nearly as good at hand stitching as I should be but it doesn’t matter. Also, I didn’t have any beans to stuff them with so I just used the stuffing I had at hand. They look like mini pillows.

Since they are for David, he got to choose the fabric. Since his favorite color is green, there’s a lot of green.

For the cover, I used white muslin:

Here’s 1-2-3

4-5-6

7-8-9

and 10

here are all the backs:

here are all the fronts:

and here they are on his shelf:

This was a super-fun project. Highly recommended.

June Projects – Cross Stitched Hearts

This project was inspired by this tutorial. I had found and saved it months ago so today I just sat and worked on it while I woke up.

I picked the two I liked the most. Here’s one:

and both:

I then tried to machine-stitch the two together but it didn’t work so I ripped the seam and hand-stitched them together.

they didn’t line up perfectly so it’s not perfect but I like it stuffed.

and here it is hanging on my board.

the other side.

loved doing this one, it was long but fun.

June Projects – Sew Cover for my Sony Reader

As soon as I saw this awesome project I knew I was going to be making it. I love my book reader and use it every single day so it only makes sense that it looks prettier for me. And I love that this project is so simple.

The hardest part was picking my fabric. Since this reader travels with me everywhere, I didn’t want to make the cover very light so it doesn’t get dirty but I still wanted it to feel nice to the touch. After hours of deliberation, I picked my fabrics and got to work.