I discovered the joy of sewing vinyl when I whipped out a few little bags to organize things in my purse. I have one for everything: receipts, gift cards, business cards, lip glosses. I even made one to hold little things I find while out and about.
How to make your own organizational pouch (“King Regent” pattern, shown above in upper right corner of pic):
- Cut a rectangle of vinyl (5″x6″)
- Choose various colors of thread to embelish the outside, and sew lines or little pieces on
- Fold three ways (along the 6 inch side) and pin down one of the folds (when you sew this will be the pouch part, the other part is the flap)
- Sew up the sides to close in the pounch
- For the flap edge, trim a curve and sew a decorative rim~or simply cut with pinking sheers
- Sew a button on the pouch side, then dtermine where the hole should be on the flap
- Cut a button hole with scissors or a blade
- Repeat with all colors of vinyl and your purse will be cool and organized!
Until Tomorrow~Sarah
I got lucky last month when my mom gave me her like-new Viking 500, preferring her 30-year-old Viking 6000. I have never owned my own sewing machine, preferring to beg and borrow from friends. I could never justify spending the hundreds or thousands of dollars they cost to buy since I wasn’t sewing everyday. Well how about that: when there’s one in the house, I end up sewing every day!
I began sewing with a vengeance a week ago when I got my hands on several pieces of vinyl. The stuff cuts like butter (love butter) and since it doesn’t fray I can leave a raw edge. The possibilities of a raw edge are endless, and I started by punching three holes in the side pocket of this bag I whipped out in an afternoon.
The inside I lined with ironing board cloth (the silver stuff) which makes it look all the more urban. There’s a pocket on the back side, too.
I am sewing coin purses as well, trying to figure out the best way to put in the zipper. Mom told me I started the hard way with zippers by going small, but I love a challenge and I am here to tell you putting a four inch zipper into these little bags has me scratching my head sometimes. No one seems to notice, but for me they aren’t perfect just yet.
I started selling them at Made (a super cute bungalow-turned-shop in downtown Phoenix), as well as my other little creations. Cyndi and I will be running a set of workshops at Made this summer. As soon as I have our schedule and the projects I’ll post the info.
Charming embroidery for fun tote bag
The little bee in me buzzes around to different things: screen-printing, painting, writing, sewing, scrap-booking, drawing, etc. etc. You get the idea.
Well, Grandma got me on the embroidery kick and I decided to do it up a little differently. I screen-printed stems onto linen and then hand embroidered the petals and bugs. Now I couldn’t just leave it at that, so I zipped up this little number on the machine.
In this pic, it’s hanging pretty on my studio door—a 1964 Airstream travel trailer. It’s time to head out to Michael’s for more thread—I’ll pack up my new favorite bag with my wallet and a list of colors I need.
