{Tutorial} Dollar Tree Scarf Tote Bag

Dollar Tree has some of  the cutest scarves,  but I don't wear scarves so I couldn't quite justify buying one.  I did wind up with a couple...but I couldn't come up with a decent excuse for the purchase. Not until I saw my daughter's new camera strap and realized that this scarf could be a pretty strap. 

Oregon's bag ban has been spreading from town to town for the past few years and I can never keep track of which place has which rules. What I do know is that between grocery shopping for five of us and library runs and everything else, I'm going to need a LOT more bags.

So I made one.....

I also made a video tutorial so you can make one of your own.

Nail Polish Bottle Zipper Bag Tutorial

You know how they put displays in the checkout line so that things will jump into your cart? The Dollar Tree had glittery red vinyl pencil cases and as soon as I picked one up I knew I wanted to cut it apart and sew something with it. It came home with me. 

It took half the drive home for me to figure out that I was going to make a zipper bag shaped like a nail polish bottle, and another couple of days to figure out that I'd need a second red glittery pouch and a black one for the lid, and maybe some clear vinyl for the air space because if I'm going to do something like this I'm going to make it as complicated as possible.

Except for the zipper. I was able to cut the bag apart in a way that let me keep the zipper in place and not add one from my own stash.

The plan was to take still pictures and write up a tutorial, but I forgot to tell my fourteen-year-old camera man so all we've got is video and one progress  picture -- and I know most of you can figure it out from there! Cut the two red bags so that one has the zipper running down the center and one is a plain piece. Cut a clear bag into two rectangles for the air place and a black bag into two smaller rectangles for the lid. Tape the zipper so it doesn't fall apart until you've got things sewn together. And, whatever you do, please please please leave that zipper open so that you can turn the bag once you've got the front and back sewn together!

Old Fashioned Shoes and Burlap

This shoe print has been in my stash for a long time, although I looked up the blog post where I first mentioned them and it's not nearly as long as I thought it had been. It's a cute print but the fabric itself is almost like burlap and definitely not something that belongs in even the scrappiest quilt. 

I thought it would make a nice zipper pouch and set it aside until I conquered my zipper phobia. And then I forgot about it. It surfaced again when I was stash diving last year and I added it to the pile of fabric that's supposed to become bags. 

Last night,  I finally got around to sewing it up and in my tradition of grabbing whatever is suitable and closest to me I found the absolute perfect lining. I probably did have that when I first bought the scrap bag with the outer fabric in it, but it wasn't in a place where the two of them would have come together.

Sometimes waiting works out well.  

This post is linked to Crazy Mom Quilts and Bag It.

Is She Picking Apples?

Same fabric, different bag. 

The back of the bag is a solid blue fabric that comes close to matching her gown. This image was partially cut off by the selvedge, but it still had her face and arms and the fruit. That's the only part I really need.

Miraculously, a zipper from my thrifted stash was exactly the right length for the pieces I'd cut -- and it was on top of all of the others. I regularly shorten zippers to make them work, but if one already happens to be the right size, I'll happily take advantage of that.

I really like how  this little bag turned out, and it's given me an idea for another possibility. The great thing about having a big hunk of fabric is that I don't have to worry as much about the opportunity cost that comes with my design choices. There's enough to try again and again with different techniques.

I'm Not a Fan of Fussy Cutting

Now that I've gotten more comfortable installing zippers, it's the fabric giving me fits. The piece of yardage I used for this bag was on the freebie table at our quilting group, deemed "not suitable for charity quilts." (On the same day that I picked up the fabric I used in my last bag.)  It was pretty, so it came home with me and I decided to make a project bag or two while I try to figure out why classical artwork isn't suitable for charity quilts. 

I wanted a bag that showcased one image without having chopped off bits of the others along the edges. That was easier said than done and involved too much fabric waste to make me happy. I'm not a fan of fussy cutting when it involves taking a hunk of the center of the fabric, but to get the ladies I wanted, I had no choice...

What would you do with this hunk of fabric? I could see using it as a quilt back, or maybe someone using it to make a skirt. Or apron? Whatever it is, it's going to require either a big stretch of uncut fabric or some seriously wasteful fussy cutting.

The other side of the bag has a different image. In my head, I wanted it to be bigger, but that wouldn't have looked right. Now I'm thinking of two different ways I could have worked with this fabric...happily I have two yards of the stuff so, even if I'm being wasteful, it'll go a long ways.

This post is linked to Bag It! and Crazy Mom Quilts. 

Potluck Project Bag

I struggled with the placement of these fabrics. Some I adore and others are just fillers. It wouldn't be the best use of my precuts to only pull out the ones I love, not when I'm just working with 2 1/2" squares to begin with. So I fussed and fussed some more and got them all pieced into two panels.

That was the hard part. Sewing a zippered project bag is easy, even if I succumb the influence of Lier over at Ikat Bag and line it properly. And quilt the outside because if I'm playing with the fabric that's too good to cut, I should do things right. I'll like the finished bag more if it has some substance and holds its shape.

After all of that careful fabric placement and choosing the best thrifted zipper to match the yellows, can you see what I did? (Hint -- look at where the zipper is and which direction the prints are facing.) I didn't see the problem until I had the entire bag assembled and I wasn't about to rip out every seam to redo it. I keep hearing that we're not supposed to point out our mistakes, but if I can save one of you from sewing directional prints the wrong direction, I'm happy to share my embarrassment.

For the Washi Tape and Post It Notes

I wanted a little bag that would keep my sticky notes and a couple of rolls of washi tape contained. This should do the trick --

My finishing skills are getting better with each bag. There's usually something I tell myself I'll do better on the next one. This time it's the black zipper stop. That should have probably been white. And I should have left the zipper a half an inch longer.

An invisible zipper probably isn't the traditional choice, but I had a white one in my stash and figured it'd be better to use it up on this little experiment. It zips and it'll hold stuff in.

This post is linked to Crazy Mom Quilts. 

Ribbon and Vinyl

I made a little thing. And I figured out how to photograph it without either the overhead light or my camera flash reflecting off of the vinyl. I just may be happier about that little achievement than I am about the bag itself!

Pattern: Ribbon and Vinyl Zipper Pouches

When the Ribbon and Vinyl Zipper Pouches Tutorial from SewCanShe showed up in my Pinterest feed  I immediately thought of all of that ribbon that Ila sent. There's more than enough of the leopard print ribbon to experiment with and I've got plenty of vinyl and zippers. 

Despite the fact that I managed to attach the little tab/handle wrong twice, the pattern isn't difficult at all. Vinyl and ribbon are a slippery combination, so you'll want either the clips that the tutorial suggests or tape like I used to keep everything lined up until it goes under the needle. And you'll want to double check the instructions for the handle. 

Quick and Easy Library Bag from Vintage Pillowcases

I need more bags. Lots more bags. As many as I've got around this house, there are never enough empty ones handy to haul everything we need to take with us. Add the single use grocery bag bans in a couple of the larger towns near us and now I apparently need to carry empty bags in both vehicles. 

So the idea was to use existing pillowcases to make nice, sturdy bags with as little waste and extra sewing as possible. I used a lot of the same techniques as I'd use to make a bag from scratch and cut corners by using the existing seams and measurements.  Now I'm on the prowl for some pillowcases in brighter prints because I want more of these. A lot more.

Start with two pillowcases, both the same size. You're going to lose whatever pretty details are along the cuff, so save the ones with fancy embroidery or lace trim for a different project. For this bag, we want fabric with a lot of life left in it. Vintage bedding can be worn thin, so take a careful look before buying it.  

Cut each pillowcase into three pieces. Starting with the sewn together end of the pillowcase (Is there correct pillowcase terminology?) on the let and measure 17 or 18." That will be the bag itself. Now go to the other end and cut an inch and a half farther into the pillowcase than the stitching lines that form the hemmed  edge. That will become a strap.  Cut both pillowcases the same way. (That middle piece can go in your scrap bags.)

Different pillowcases have different structures. If there's a seam down one side, cut that open so that you won't have one in the middle of your strap. If there are seams down both sides, cut one open and don't worry about the other. That 1 1/2" from the seam you measured -- fold the raw edge in over the strip and then fold everything else in half lengthwise so that the raw edge is encased by the rest. You're making a strap that has at least four layers of fabric. Press the whole thing, pin if you like pins, and then sew a layer of top stitching 1/4" from each long edge. Make on strap from each pillowcase.

Now take the two bag portions and box the corners of each. Your pillowcase may or may not have seams down both sides. If there aren't seams to use as a guideline, use the existing fold.  Turn the bottom portion of your pillowcase inside out and line up the bottom seam with the side seam to form a triangle. Measure up three inches from the point and mark a line from one edge to the other. Stitch along the line.

Boxing the corners will give the bag more structure and help it stand up once it's full of library books, but you can skip this step if you'd like. I trimmed away the extra triangles, but that's another step you can get away with skipping.

Nest one bag section inside of the other, with their right sides together. You'll have visible seams on the outside of the outer section and the inside of the inner section. Match up the side seams (or folds) and pin around the raw edge. Sew around the whole bag, leaving an open space wide enough to turn it right side out. Four inches or so should be plenty

Turn the bag right side out and top stitch around the top edge, using the top stitching to close up the space you left for turning. (If I was making a bag from scratch, I'd hide that opening in a side seam of the lining, but the goal here was to use as many existing seams as possible.

Turn under the raw edges at the short end of each strap and securely sew them to the outside of the bag. (You could hide the ends in that top seam and make the bag truly reversible, but I've lost a lot of bags to torn straps over the years and want the extra layers of stitching as well as an easy way to resew them if they do come loose. After four years of carrying around my Nancy Drew Tote, which has straps attached the same way, they're showing no signs of failing.)

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The Wrong Schoolhouse Block

I've had this block pinned up over my sewing machine since I made it in August. I was just playing with fabric at the time and didn't really plan to make the entire quilt. So I'd been thinking about finishing it into a little zipper bag, then telling myself I'd  regret that if I decided to go ahead with the full quilt...

I can always make another block if I change my mind, but I don't expect that to happen. It turns out that the block I've been wanting to make wasn't incredibly easy. What I made was the wrong block...

To make the house quilt I want, I'll have to play with templates. But I can do that. Someday. 

Another Vinyl Zipper Bag

Inspired by lots of pretty examples on Pinterest, my search for the perfect project bag continues...

This one should have been easier than my first vinyl project bag, especially since I wasn't dealing with homemade bias tape. Instead, I made every math error possible and wound up re-sizing the vinyl windows so I wouldn't have to cut new pieces of the novelty print. Vinyl from Walmart is cheaper and more expendable than pretty stuff from the quilt shop.

I do like the bag I wound up with. It's a nice way to enjoy the pretty fabric without using up too much of it. And it lets me see what's inside.

Now My Pens Are Safely Hidden

I'd forgotten that non-Crayola felt tip pens were a thing. Now that Pinterest has reminded me, I'm absolutely in love. Those little white stars at the top of the cap make me happy and conjure up vague hazy memories of red pens in my dad's desk at work.

To keep my pens mine, I needed a little bag to keep them contained in my bigger bag. The fabric choice kept stopping me in my tracks. I've got all kinds of cute novelty prints, but they're all sewing themed and that didn't seem right for office supplies. I'd finally settled on the American Jane ruler print and has the pieces cut before it registered that these are not rulers...

I'd say "oops" if  this print wasn't an even better choice for a pen bag. Measure twice, cut once, and actually look at the fabric you're using!

Yarn Swift Storage

I've been meaning to sew a zipper bag for my swift, especially because it spends much more time in storage than it does in use. It takes a few minutes to wind a hank of yarn into a ball and a couple of weeks to knit the project. And most of the yarn I buy isn't in hanks to begin with. 

This is one of those tools that proves the "if you haven't used it in several months you don't need it" rule wrong. I don't use mine often, but when I do it's worth having. I've also used the rear view mirror of my car, my own knees, and a kid's hands to wind yarn. The swift is much easier! 

If you're not a knitter, here's what it does when it's expanded -- 

The top spins as you wind the yarn into a ball, either with a ball winder (have one, never use it) or your hands. It makes the job much faster and helps to avoid a hopelessly tangled mess of yarn. Although I've managed that even with the swift.

The bag is as simple as it gets, with three seamed sides and a long zipper. I decided a long time ago that when I did this I didn't want to be sliding the collapsed swift into the end of a long tube. All of those little ends want to  get caught on everything -- that's why it needed a storage bag in the first place.

I didn't make a lining or box the corners or anything fancy, even though it makes me feel like I'm cheating. Lier over at Ikat Bag makes a pretty convincing argument against unlined bags. It's a good thing that I skipped the lining though, because I wound up adjusting the length and width three times before I was happy. Figuring out the proper size to make a bag for an oddly shaped thing isn't one of my strong points.

The fabric is one of the oddest things I've found in my scraps to date, yellow calico spinning wheels. Just why? I like it because it's old and quirky but I'm not sure what I'd ever want to use it for besides a swift bag which won't see the light of day very often. (The bits that were left over will get chopped up and sewn into a scrap quilt so I can point at them in years to come and talk about the calico spinning wheels. They should fit right in with all of the other random bits of novelty prints.)

This post is linked to Bag It and Crazy Mom Quilts.

Vinyl Zipper Bag

I've wanted to try sewing with clear vinyl for a long time now, but never took the plunge and bought any of it.  The more I look at zipper ideas on Pinterest, the more intriguing possibilities I stumble across.

I had enough advance notice before I lost my car last week to pick up a yard of the vinyl and decided to see if I could pull this project off without a teflon presser foot. It turns out that I could, since all of my sewing was through the fabric on the outside of the vinyl. The most fiddly part of the whole thing was making my own bias tape.

This is a mish-mash of a few different tutorials.  I'm not happy with all of  the little details, but I'll be giving it another try soon.

This post is linked to  Bag It over at Elm Street Quilts. 

Triangle Bag

I'm not sure what I'll keep in this oddly shaped little bag, but I love the way it turned out! 

The pattern is Triangle Bag, a free tutorial from Elm Creek Quilts and the fabric is from a black and white scrap bag I bought while we were doing the Row by Row experience. (The original plan was to make a Zentangle quilt, but I've got more than enough fabric to do both.)

Instead of the 2 1/2" squares the pattern calls for, I used 1 3/4" strips. I also adjusted the construction a bit because I was feeling too lazy to try something new.

This post is linked to Elm Street Quilts,  Crazy Mom Quilts , Wrap up Friday

something special

I've got a new goal that I've been playing with for a while now, but not actually committed to.

More days than not, I want to do something more than just getting us through the day, whether that's quilting or knitting, an art project or special game with the kids, or taking them for a walk, or making cookies. Something.

I do already do those things, but I want to do more of them.

So today I read the littlest guys my favorite Dr. Seuss story from when I was little. Our copy went missing a long time ago and I had never gotten around to reserving it from the library until this week.

And because I couldn't get motivated to work on any of my current projects, I started a Buttercup Bag. I fell in love with the fabric at Walmart last week and bought a yard for two bucks, and the lining was marked down to a dollar a yard, so I've got a grand total of seventy-five cents invested in this project.



It would be done, but I'm going to stop at Joann's tomorrow and see how much a magnetic snap will cost. Far more than the rest of the project, which makes me a little nuts...but if I add the snap, I'll actually have a chance of using it. And it's too cute not to use.