New Embellished Fabric Pins in My Etsy Shop

Just in time for Valentine's Day, I've added some embellished fabric pins with heart charms to my Etsy shop. If you'd like to make one yourself, go to this tutorial. Or, try to win one in my One World One Heart giveaway!

How-To: Fabric Gift Card Pouch

I sometimes feel like a gift card is a little bit impersonal, but so many people like to receive them, and they're so much easier to send long-distance, so I end up buying quite a few of them. Last night I was getting ready to put one in a card and send it off, when I came up with an idea to personalize it a little bit. The gift card pouch pictured here took only minutes to make, and I didn't have to buy any new materials for it.

I always have bits of fabric on hand that I've applied Wonder-Under to, just in case I want to do a project like this, so I was able to pull from that supply for my gift card pouch. In addition to the fused pieces, which are used for the outside, the lining, and the decorations, I used scraps of quilt batting (in this case, Warm & Natural).

First, cut 4 rectangles of my background fabric and 2 of batting, each sized 3-3/4" x 2-3/4". Set 2 of the fabric rectangles aside to be used for the lining. Fuse each of the other pieces of fabric to a piece of batting.

Cut your embellishments out of a contrasting fabric that already has Wonder-Under applied to the reverse side. In my case, I used a circle template to mark and cut circles in several sizes. Place those contrasting pieces onto your previously fused fabric/batting pieces and iron in place.

Using a decorative thread (I used Madeira rayon), embellish the surfaces as desired. Decide which embellished rectangle you want for the front of your pouch, and cut one end off at an angle. You could create a fancier edge, but I was trying to keep it simple. Zigzag that edge with decorative thread. This will be the top edge of the pouch front. If you want the edge to be completely smooth, you can use a satin stitch (a slightly rough edge doesn't bother me, so I just used a narrow zigzag).

Now fuse the 2 remaining fabric rectangles to the backs of your other pieces, completely covering the batting. You now have lined front and back pieces. Place one on top of the other, lining sides together, and zigzag or satin-stitch around the 4 raw edges. You're done!

In addition to the gift card, I was able to tuck a few other small goodies into my pouch. The next one I make will be about 1/4" bigger in both directions so I can use it for artist trading cards. The pouch pictured here almost worked for that purpose, but it was just a little too tight.

Ooh La La!

After a very long sewing and craft drought, I finally finished a bag that I started last summer. It was very easy to make, but I made a cutting mistake that I didn’t notice until after I’d already done some sewing. I wasn’t motivated enough to get out the seam ripper, thus the long delay in getting it finished. I used the Ooh La La pattern by Kathy Fernholz (Indygo Junction), and it’s available at Joggles. For the fabric, I just pieced together a bunch of wide strips (from some plaids and stripes I bought years ago at the Painted Pony in LaPorte, TX), crinkled the stitched piece, then embellished on my machine, mostly with a triple straight stitch, until I was sick of doing it. I still have some of the embellished fabric left, so I see a tiny bag in my future! Actually, this one isn’t very large -- just big enough to hold a wallet, cell phone, and keys. The original plan was to have a bag that coordinated with a favorite green top, which I’ve already been wearing without its matching purse.

Ooh La La Bag

Detail

On the list of items to complete: a vinyl tote bag to carry files and other business-related stuff; a velvet bag I started almost a year ago, when I wanted to sew and didn't feel like ripping out the Ooh La La bag; and a drawstring pouch for Dan's saxophone swab (yes, unusual, but he's been requesting it). Then hopefully on to some painting and mixed media.

Now off to the kitchen for a baking project to satisfy my sweet tooth!