Tutorial – Artquiltmaker Blog

Gift Bag Reminder

I saw an article about Christmas coming up fast. That article and the gift bags I made for birthdays recently reminded me that it was time to encourage all of you to make gift bags! I updated the tutorial and am reposting it here.

I love using fabric gift bags for all types of gifts – birthdays, Christmas, graduations, weddings. Besides the fact that I intensely dislike wrapping gifts with paper, the fabric feels so much nicer in my hands. For Christmas, or other specialty holidays, I also get to sew with the new and beautiful fabrics each year with out committing to a holiday quilt.

Gift bags are a great way to use up scrap fabric that would otherwise hang around unused. If a fabric is no longer to your taste, it will make a great gift bag.

You don’t need super high quality fabric for gift bags either. If stored properly gift bags can be reused year after year.

Supplies:

Basic Sewing Kit
Sewing machine
Thread
Fabric
Ribbon

Supply Notes:

Fabric: the amount you need depends on the gift you are wrapping. If you are making some to have on hand, you can make one bag from a half yard or small bags from a fat quarter. Making gift bags is also a great way to use different fabrics such as upholstery fabric, velvet and other lush fabrics you wouldn’t normally use for quiltmaking.

Decorative stitches: This is a good way to get to know the resources required to use your decorative stitches. I made a lot of bags systematically using all the decorative stitches on my machine. This allowed me to know how much thread each one used and how long they took to stitch out.

Instructions:

Press a double hem on the edge of your fabric that will be the top. I often use the selvedge so I can skip this step.

Finish the hem with a decorative stitch. If you do not have decorative stitches on your machine, two straight stitches close together make a nice finish.

Once done, I fold the piece in half, wrong sides together, aligning the hem at the top. I put a piece of ribbon, folded in half. The end of the ribbon should be sticking out of the piece. Place the ribbon about a quarter of the way down the side.

Stitch down the side, starting with the hem using an 1/8 inch seam allowance. I reinforce the start backstitching over it a few times. I do the same for the ribbon and the end.

After sewing, trim any stray threads. Trim the corners.

Turn the bag wrong side out.

Stitch using a larger seam allowance. A quarter inch seam allowance may work, but you need to make sure you cover the entire previous seam allowance. Again, I reinforce the start backstitching over it a few times. I do the same for the ribbon and the end.

- - N.B. Be very careful that the end of the ribbon is out of the way.

Turn your bag right side out and poke out the corners carefully.

Hooray! You have finished a gift bag!

UCAB: Separating Zipper Top Tutorial

In order to sew along, you will need to:

Purchase the pattern
- Etsy
- Quiltessa shop
Gather your supplies
Print the tags
Cut your fabric

You can find more information at the following links:

Tour of the bag -Instagram
Bag-a-Long project post – 9/27/2019
Thoughts behind the bag – 8/7/2019
Sotak Handmade’s video on making a neat and tidy zipper end
Find all posts about this bag, including posts on my progress,
by using the hashtag, Ultimate Carry All Bag

Additional Supplies**

Separating zipper

Notes:

I was not able to find a 12″ separating zipper so I used a 10″ and it worked fine. you might be able to find one the right size at Wawak.

Use E8 pieces for this step. The zipper flanges (fabrics surrounding the zipper) should be exterior fabrics ifyou want them to match the outside of the bag.

Tutorial:

Use a 3/8″ seam allowance for this step.

You will be using the pattern starting on page 20. Use the exterior fabrics for the fabrics surrounding the zipper (E8-zipperr flanges). Match thread to those fabrics.

Take the zipper apart. Keep all the pieces oriented as if you are going to zip them back together.

Make a zipper sandwich

- Lay 1 E8 piece right side up
- Position the zipper tape along the center of E8 half an inch from the end (see photo above where clips are)
- Clip fabric to zipper tape
- Put another E8 piece face down to make the sandwich
- Reposition the clips on the E8 pieces to encompass the entire zipper sandwich
- Clip the top of the zipper (side where the stop will be when the bag is closed) so you can veer it and the top of the tape will be hidden. Sew Sweetness has a tutorial on veering a zipper.
- Follow these directions for the second piece. You want to continuously check that the two pieces of the zipper are lined up so the zipper will work properly.

Look at the images on pg.20 of the pattern as they will help.

Install the zipper. Stitch to the end of the fabric.

Stitch both short ends closed. You have, basically, sewn around the zipper lining/edges in a U shape so that the ends are closed and three sides are finished.

Make sure the end of the zipper is OUTSIDE of the seam allowance. You want to stitch as close as you can to the stop, then match the seam allowance on the second side of the zipper.

Turn the piece right sides out and press. Top stitch the U after you have finished the second side.

Throughout this step:

Remember that this zipper comes apart.
Make sure the two sides of the zipper are in the correct orientation and the ends are even the whole time.

Keep checking.

N.B.: Quiltessa Natalie calls these zipper tabs, but I have never heard of zipper tabs being applied to the sides of the zipper. I call them zipper flangesI have also never used a separating zipper, so who knows?)

Previous Tutorials:

Large Pocket #1 pt.1 tutorial
Large Pocket #1 pt.2 tutorial
Large Pocket #2 Clippy Pocket tutorial (type 2)
Large Pocket #2 tutorial pt.2
Small Front Pocket Tutorial pt.1 – center section
Small Front Pocket Tutorial pt.2 – Clippy pockets (instead of badge holders)
Pocket information – post showing additional mesh pockets (not a tutorial)

**Obviously, you should shop at local fabric, knitting shops or quilt shops. However, if you can’t, please know that I use affiliate links. I may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I do not recommend items I don’t like. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

La Pass Center Medallions

Kelly Pena, a quiltmaker/sewist also working on La Pass and in the private La Pass FB group, creating a basic and an easy to understand tutorial for making center medallions. She has kindly allowed me to use her photos for this English Paper Piecing technique. This question has come up a few times in our La Pass group. I consulted with Kelly and said that I would write a blog post using her photos so there would be a permanent link to the information. I have added a little bit of additional explanation to Kelly’s already excellent tutorial.

Tula Pink's Parisville Cameo — Tula Pink’s Parisville Cameo

Our La Pass rosettes require certain sized fabric pieces that correspond to the paper we are using to create various rosettes. We fussy cut the fabrics and make cool designs. Sometimes people want to use a larger motif, such as Tula Pink’s Marie Antoinette from Parisville Deja Vu. This motif would be difficult to put together using the various shapes and pieces. Not impossible, but very difficult.

In order to use up, in this case, the entire cameo and not make ourselves completely crazy, we need more ‘paper space’.

1. Find all of the paper pieces you need (want to use) to make the center medallion. Tape the paper pieces together for the final shape. This can vary depending on the shapes making up the rosette and you can adjust the shape by adding or deleting papers until you are satisfied. You can create quite a large shape.

As far as I know, there is no size limit as the paper will be removed at some point anyway. My gut tells me that you may have some issues with the bias if the pieces are too large. As a result, and, as usual, be careful with the bias.

You can configure the papers into any shape that will work for the fabric you have. I tried this technique on one of the Month 4 rosettes and found it moderately successful. In looking at Kelly’s example above, I should have added the long, thin diamonds to my center in my attempt. I think it would have made the process easier. The concave edges around the center diamonds are difficult and the long, thin diamonds make the edge easier to deal with.

2. Lay the combined and taped papers on the fabric. Adjust the placement until you have the fabric motif you want centered on your papers.

Remember to take seam allowance into account.

You can use a light board or light box** here for more accuracy.

3. Cut around the template allowing for seam allowance.

N.B.: In the image (left), Kelly is cutting freehand. If you are not confident, you can also use a small rotary cutting ruler**. If you use a ruler, you will need to keep moving it around the piece. In this case, a rotating cutting mat** might be helpful.

4. Baste as usual. Kelly and I are both using glue for La Pass. I am using thread basting for my Half Hexie Star project. Either method will work with this center medallion technique.

You may find it helpful for circular shapes to cut notches into the seam allowance when basting.

5. Stitch up your new larger piece. The paper shapes used will allow you to sew as if you were stitching all the shapes separately.

Thanks, again, to Kelly for allowing me to use her words and photos.

**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops, knitting shops or art stores. However, I use Amazon affiliate links. I may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on that item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I only link to items I like. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support the costs related to maintaining this blog.

Finishing Bullseye Blocks pt.2

The other day I showed you how to finish the bullseye blocks in preparation for the next circle. I didn’t have all of the photos, but I do now. Until I can write a real, complete tutorial you’ll have to look at both posts and integrate them. I know you can!

This tutorial assumes that you have cut your backgrounds and appliqued your circles to those backgrounds.

Supplies (same as previous post)

Bullseye blocks
Inspira duckbill applique’ scissors

Applique’ scissors** – I have two pair. One is by Gingher, which I have had since the dawn of time. These are maybe 10 inches, but probably 8 inches. The other is a much smaller pair (6?) I bought last year at Cottage Quilting in Medford. The brand is Inspira and they are shown on the Husqvarna/Viking website. I thought they were super cute and I had never seen a pair this size before. N.B. after using them for this project, I really like the Inspira duckbills. The holes are really small, so if you have large hands, they may be uncomfortable.
Cutting mat**

Optional Supplies:

Chalk** or Air erasable pen**

Steps:

As mentioned above, previous steps can be found in the previous post.

…Your goal is to be able to cut a circle out of the background fabric without harming the front circle.

Bullseye: Cut parallel to the line of stitching

Second, cut a slit. You will need to continue pinching the background layer of fabric away from the front circle. The slit should be cut straight down, parallel to the line of stitching. If it is angled, you will see it right away in the V shaped cut that results. It’s no big deal, but try to keep it straight so it is parallel to the sewing line and makes a neater cut.

Now, continue on to step three in the previous post.

**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops. However, I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

Finishing Bullseye Blocks

Since I am working on a Bullseye project, I thought it would be a good opportunity to write some tutorials about the process. At the moment, this will not be a full set of step by step tutorials. You’ll have to use the skills you have gained from my Quilt Class tutorials to extrapolate the rest of the process.

This tutorial assumes that you have cut your backgrounds and appliqued your circles to those backgrounds.

Supplies

Bullseye blocks
Inspira duckbill applique’ scissors

Applique’ scissors** – I have two pair. One is by Gingher, which I have had since the dawn of time. These are maybe 10 inches, but probably 8 inches. The other is a much smaller pair (6″) I bought last year at Cottage Quilting in Medford. The brand is Inspira and they are shown on the Husqvarna/Viking website. I thought they were super cute and I had never seen a pair this size before.
Cutting mat**

Optional Supplies:

Chalk** or Air erasable pen**

Steps

First, take one block and lay it face down on your cutting mat.

The picture shows the sewing line (arrow is pointing to it; you may need to enlarge the photo). Use the sewing line as a cutting guide. If you want, you can draw in an erasable line to follow for cutting. You don’t need to do that, though. Just eyeball one quarter to a half inch.

Bullseye: Pinch fabric layers away from each other

Pinch the background fabric layers away from the front/circle fabric layer. Your fingers should be about half an inch away from the seam line, as the photo shows.

This is usually a two handed process and you will need to feel around to make sure both layers are well away from each other.

Your goal is to be able to cut a circle out of the background fabric without harming the front circle.

Second, cut a slit. (no photo) You will need to continue pinching the background layer of fabric away from the front circle. The slit should be cut straight down. If it is angled, you will see it right away. It’s no big deal, but try to keep it straight so it is parallel to the sewing line.

Third, let the fabric layers go back together, e.g. they are not pinched anymore, but, again, laying flat on the cutting mat.

Fourth, carefully stick the duckbill tip of your applique’ scissors into the slit and start cutting away the background layer. Cut one quarter to a half inch away from the seam line.

Be careful to only cut the background layer. The duckbill part of the scissors should help keep you from cutting the foreground. This doesn’t mean you don’t have to be vigilant. You do!

If I sound like a militant dictator, it is because I have cut through the fronts of appliques and had to do them over.

Be vigilant.

Fifth, continue cutting carefully around the whole circle. I keep the circle out of the way of the scissors to try and preserve as much fabric as possible. I can cut some of the shapes I need for other projects from the leftovers.

This part of the process becomes easier once you have cut a large enough slit so the front circle fabric shows.

In the photo, left, you can see how the duckbill rests on the front/circle fabric.

When you have cut the whole circle out, you will have a back view to the front fabric.

Repeat for all blocks.

Tutorial: Adding Zipper Heads

I have said before that adding zipper heads to zipper tape is pretty easy. I don’t do it that often, so I always have to look it up. The main tutorial I use is Sara Lawson’s tutorial. Sara provides a ton of detail and I would advise watching it at least once. I am writing a quick tutorial so you can see another version.

Supplies:

zipper tape
zipper heads
towel holder** or fork*

1. Place your zipper head face down in your towel holder

2. Flip your zipper tape wrong side up. N. B. This means that both zipper tape and zipper head are facing in the same direction, wrong side up

3. Pull your zipper tape apart 3-4 inches and configure in a V formation

4. Carefully place each end of the zipper tape into each side of the zipper head

5. Push the tape in evenly until you can pull from the bottom

Voila! You did it!

In the future you can find this tutorial on the tutorials page.

Resources:

- Natalie from Sew Hungry Hippie has a video tutorial using a jig she sells

*N.B. : If you use a fork, you might want to get one at a thrift store and just use it for zippers rather than using one you eat with.

**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

Reminder: Gift Bags

Once again, I am posting a gift bag tutorial to encourage you to forego paper wrapping and wrap your gifts in reusable gift bags. As a reminder, if you do not celebrate Christmas or another gift giving winter holiday, you can still make gift bags for birthdays, graduations, weddings and for giving quilts to people. You can make them using the tutorial below. You can make them using your own tutorial. You can use the In Color Order drawstring bag pattern or you can buy reusable fabric gift bags.

Supplies:

Fabric – I use either a half yard, a yard or a fat quarter. If you use a yard you can make 4 smallish bags, two medium bags or one large bag. You can make bags with any size piece of fabric and you can use the directions to make a specially sized bag for a special gift. Also, check out FabMo, if you are local, and get some super special fabric that makes up gorgeous gift bags.
thread
ribbon or cord or use your imagination (braided yarn?)
Sewing machine
basic sewing kit

For this tutorial, we will use a fat quarter of fabric

1. If your fat quarter does not have a selvedge, create a hem using two folds so there are no raw edges. If your fat quarter has a selvedge, use the selvedge for the top. It won’t unravel. If you are using the selvedge and not making a hem, skip to step 4.

2. (If you need a hem) Press hem in place.

3. Sew hem with a decorative stitch, if you have it, a zigzag or straight stitch work fine as well.

Optional: If you have stitch letters on your sewing machine, stitch your name and the year so you know when you made the bag.

4. Fold hemmed bag in half WRONG SIDES TOGETHER so that half of the hem is underneath itself towards the top and the fold is on the left. You will be making a French seam.

5. Fold a piece of ribbon about 1.5 feet long in half. You can adjust the size of ribbon you use depending on how much ribbon you need to tie.

6. Place the folded ribbon in the open side of the bag about 4 inches from the top edge/hem.

7. Pin ribbon in place.

8. Pin rest of the right side and bottom closed. NOTE: If you are folding your fabric in half, you will be sewing two sides rather than the side and bottom. Basically, sew the sides or bottom closed depending on where your open edges are.

Use an 1/8 inch seam allowance or as small as you can.

9. Starting from the top, sew down the right side, backstitching at the beginning and over the ribbon 2-3 times. Backstitch at all stress points to keep the bag from ripping apart.

10. Turn at the corner and continue across the bottom, backstitching at the end.

11. Turn the bag inside out, so the right sides are together and the ribbon is out of the way of the seam (It will be inside the bag, but I put mine as straight as possible towards the opposite side of the bag).

12. Press seams, taking care to push them as far out as possible so there is no extra fabric near the seams.

NOTE: If you ribbon is synthetic or delicate, keep it out of the way of the iron.

Use a 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch seam allowance.

13. You are now sewing on the wrong side. Starting at the top, sew down the side and across the bottom again to finish the seam.

The raw edges will now be hidden inside the seams.

14. Open bag to make sure the raw edge is hidden inside the seam.

15. Turn bag inside out and press.

Voila! Your bag is really to use!

Benefits:

reusable
good way to use fabric you might not use for quilts
- Novelty fabrics
- fabric you don’t love anymore
- Use fabric you already own
- orphan blocks
- vintage sheets
opportunity to buy holiday fabric without committing to making a holiday (or birthday) quilt
quick way to wrap
no need to rush out to buy gift wrap
no tape or scissors needed
small children can help wrap, or wrap their own gifts
Fabric costs can be amortized over the years of the gift bag use
bags are made quickly
good opportunity to try out decorative stitches
Can quickly make a gift bag for an oddly shaped gift. I once wrapped a weed whacker in a gift bag!
Odd sized bags can be cut up later and used for different sized gifts
I reuse ribbon I get from other places for the ties
Easy to open and close the gift bag up again if the gift tag falls off
Embellishment possibilities are endless, if you want to take the time. Gift bags are a great way to try out different techniques, stitches, embroidery and embellishments

Drawbacks:

takes time to develop a stockpile
reusable gift bags have to be stored
fabric costs are not insignificant
You don’t get beautiful mounds of boxed gifts under your tree

Any gift bags you make will add to your stockpile. You can use leaders and enders to make them, which means that your regular sewing isn’t interrupted much .

Resources:

Gift Bag tutorial
In Color Order pattern (and some information from another post)
Trim Tied Gift Bag Tutorial from A Quilter’s Table

Tutorial: Mitered Borders

Supplies:

Why Miter?

You can sew 2 or more borders together first then put them on your quilt top and miter them
Blends prints well
Lines up linear designs such as stripes
Add some pizzazz to a block that needs something extra, especially if you have to add coping strips

How to Miter:

Cut top and bottom border strips to the quilt top side lengths, plus an additional 2x the border width plus 1″. The 2x the border width gives you enough space to make the 45 degree angle. The extra 1″ is added for insurance. You can always add more “insurance”.
1. Formula: quilt top side lengths plus (2x the border width) plus 1“
2. Example: When the top of the quilt is 45”l and you want the side borders to be 5”w: 45 + (2×5”=10)=55”+ 1” =56
Sew the top border to the quilt top, starting and stopping ¼” away from the ends of the quilt, backstitching at each end.
Repeat for the other 3 borders. The corners will be flapping around.
Fold the quilt top in half diagonally, right sides together, creating a triangle.
Line up two adjacent borders; for example, the top border and the right-side border.
Fold quilt in half diagonally

Place the ruler along the 45-degree line.
Draw a line

When lined up, draw a line using a pencil and a ruler along that 45 degree angle and extend it over the borders.
Pin firmly in place.
Locate the stitch line you made when you sewed the border to the quilt top and begin sewing there.
Sew from the stitch line out toward the end of the border, directly on the pencil line.
Backstitch at the beginning and end
Sew and open to reduce bulk

Open up the quilt top to check the miter. The corner where the three seams meet should lie flat when viewed from the front. There should be no tucks or gaps. The borders should also be square.
When the corner is perfect (or at a point that you’re happy with it!), refold the top to reveal that 45 degree stitching
Trim the seam (the extra border length) to 1/4″.
Press open to decrease the bulk of fabric at the seam corner.
Repeat these steps with the other three corners

Resources:

How and Why to Miter – Quilting Hub tutorial

UCAB Small Front Pocket Tutorial pt.2

I know these tutorials are taking forever, but they also take a long time to write. Doing them in smaller chunks fits my schedule better. Hopefully, the smaller chunks makes the bag more doable as well.

Today we are going to make the Clippy Pockets (type 1) used on the sides of the small, interior pocket instead of using the badge holders. The other day, we made the center zipper section. These Clippy Pockets will be placed on either side of the center zipper section. The pleats hold your WonderClips. The Clippy Pocket is not part of Quiltessa Natalie’s original pattern.

You can find the original pincushion instructions, from which this tutorial evolved, in Love of Patchwork & Quilting, issue 39. It is available digitally in the Apple and Google Play stores. The same pincushion pattern is available in the book 50 Little Gifts** from Lucky Spool.

Additional Supplies:

Clover Chalkoliner**
Corner poker (wooden knitting needle, skewer, etc)
Creative Grids 4.5″ x 8.5″ ruler**
Double-fold elastic (or twill tape)
Hump Jumper (helps deal with thick layers)
Sewline pencil**
Large WonderClips**
SF101 – add this to whatever section you think needs it. I added it to P4 to add some stability to the Clippy Pocket
Post-it Notes** (really, you can use any post-it notes. I just like the shape and color of these. Another good product is Semikolon’s Sticky Tab Markers in a Booklet-no affiliation)
WonderClips**

Notes:

Use a quarter inch seam allowance
Pay attention to the flaps and pin them back if necessary so you don’t sew them down

Tutorial:

Side front interior pocket with clip holder

The front pockets needs two of these side pockets. They will go on each side of the center zipper/mesh pocket.

You can make four and put more Clippy Pockets on the back, if you want. We won’t do this in this tutorial, but it is an option.

You will need P4 and all the pieces for the Clippy Pocket, v.2.

The Clippy Pocket section is inserted on the bottom of pattern pg.13. I made the Clippy Pocket instead of vinyl badge holders.

Yes, I am using different fabrics. I am sure you can manage.

Directions:

1. Cut the following:

A – cut 1 -1 1/4”x5” for edge
B- cut 5 – 2”x4” for Clippy tabs/flaps
C – cut 5 – 1”x5” for between the flaps
D – cut 1 – 3 ¾”x5 for back
Shapeflex – cut 1 piece 19 ¾” x 3 ½”

Sew flaps: fold B pieces RST and sew short sides. One long side will remain open
Turn sewn B pieces right sides out
Press B pieces. Fold will have a crisp seam. B pieces are now flaps
Lay A piece right side up

Layer and center a sewn B piece (flap) on top of the A piece

Layer and center a sewn B piece (flap) on top of the A piece

Layer a C piece on top of the A and B pieces WS up

Sew 3 pieces together along the long side where the raw edge of the flap will be sewn shut

Press Piece

Press C piece away from the other two pieces

Layer another flap (B piece) on top of your sewn pieces

Follow steps until you are out of flaps (B pieces) and C pieces

You will end up with a piece comprised of strips and flaps that is approximately 3 ¾” x 5”. This piece looks like a ‘flap ladder’. The sides of this ‘flap ladder’ should reach the sides of your P4 strip

Press Shapflex on to your P4 piece

Layer your ‘flap ladder’ RST with piece D and sew along the short sides

Layer your ‘flap ladder’ RST with piece D and sew along the short sides

Carefully press seams open without creasing piece D or the ‘Flap ladder’

Now you have a loop.

Turn your loop right sides out

Press flat

Place 2" from the bottom of P4 — Place 2″ from the bottom of P4

Place your sewn piece 2” from the bottom of your P4 strip.

Pin in place with the raw edges at the side
Fit your machine with your matching or top stitching thread
Pin and sew across the bottom using matching or top stitching thread

Sew across the bottom. N.B. : I used a contrasting thread so you could see it. For my final bag, I will use a matching thread.

Finished Clippy Pocket ready to add to small front pocket

Continue with the directions on the Ultimate Carry All Bag pattern, pg.14, starting with “then fold the pocket fabric in half…”

Next time we will work on the Exterior front pocket

Previous Tutorials:

Large Pocket #1 pt.1 tutorial
Large Pocket #1 pt.2 tutorial
Large Pocket #2 Clippy Pocket tutorial (type 2)
Large Pocket #2 tutorial pt.2
Front Pocket information
Pocket information
Clippy Pocket Hack (type 1) – prelude to a tutorial
Clippy Pocket Hack (type 1) pt.1
More on Clippy Pocket Hack (type 1)

STB Hidden Zipper Tab Tutorial

The Sew Together Bag pattern tells you to put the binding on the bag, then sew the zipper tabs over it. With a little effort, you can hide the ends of the zipper tabs under the binding, which is what I did with my recent Sew Together Bags. My hack takes place after you sew the binding on to the sides.

Extra Supplies

Top stitch** or Denim** needle
Thread to match your binding

First, I sew the side bindings on to the exterior. The pattern says to sew it to the interior, but trust me. This will work.

Second, I mark where to stop sewing. The goal is to leave that section of the binding under the middle fold open so I can insert the zipper tab. My regular practice is to use 2 pins. That is a sign to me that I need to stop sewing. use whatever method works for you. A Chakoner** or a Sewline Air Erase** pen can also work.

Next, I wrap the binding around to the top. In this case, I have to switch to WonderClips to mark where to stop sewing. because that whole area is WAY TOO thick. Ask me how I know. Note: my clips are in the same place as the two pins and I deliberately used pink only to mark the stopping point. The clips on the rest of that edge were different colors. Do whatever you need to do to mark your stopping point.

Finally, I sew. I stop halfway between the folds of the bag’s side on each side of the center fold.

After following the directions in the pattern to sew the binding to the long, top zipper, I sew the zipper tabs to the ends of the zipper.

It occurred to me while I was doing this that next time I would cut the zipper tabs the same size as the binding. It would make wrapping the zipper tabs around the zipper ends a little easier.

Once the zipper tabs are sewn to the end of the zipper, I insert the end of the zipper tab into the space in the binding. Then I connect the stitching lines from where I stopped sewing to where I started sewing.

After that I sink the threads and the side bindings are done. I suppose you can backstitch, but I don’t like the look. It takes more time to tie knots, but I think it looks more finished.

Zipper tabs sewn into binding - finished — Zipper tabs sewn into binding – finished

Here is the first Sew Together Bag I made according to the directions (left). See how the zipper tab is just sewn to the top of the binding after the fact? One from the most recent batch is on the right. See how much better the end of the zipper looks tucked in? Is it a pain to sew it this way? Yes, it is an extra step, but it looks so much better.

UCAB Small Front Pocket Tutorial pt.1

Recently, I posted the tutorial for the second Large Pocket. That is one of the pockets needed to complete the Ultimate Carry All Bag by Natalie Patton. Next we are going to work on the first part of the small, interior front pocket

In order to sew along, you will need to:

Purchase the pattern
- Etsy
- Quiltessa shop
Gather your supplies
Cut your fabric
Print the tags

You can find more information at the following links:

Tour of the bag -Instagram
Bag-a-Long project post – 9/27/2019
Thoughts behind the bag – 8/7/2019
Sotak Handmade’s video on making a neat and tidy zipper end
Find all posts about this bag, including posts on my progress,
by using the hashtag, Ultimate Carry All Bag

Additional Supplies**

Blue painter’s tape**
Clover Chalkoliner**
Corner poker (wooden knitting needle, skewer, etc)
Creative Grids 4.5″ x 8.5″ ruler**
Double-fold elastic (or twill tape)
Hump Jumper (helps deal with thick layers)
Sewline pencil**
Large WonderClips**
SF101 – add this to whatever section you think needs it. I added it to P4 to add some stability to the Clippy Pocket
Post-it Notes** (really, you can use any post-it notes. I just like the shape and color of these. Another good product is Semikolon’s Sticky Tab Markers in a Booklet-no affiliation)
WonderClips**

The directions for the small interior, front pocket start the bottom of pg. 12 in the pattern.

N. B.: My version of this Small Front Pocket eliminates the vinyl/badge holder pockets and includes a second type of Clippy pocket that I developed from a pincushion pattern.

N.B.2: put a Post-it note on pg.9 to remind you where her zipper instructions can be found. She refers back to them in a non-specific way and marking them is helpful for quick access.

N.B.3: I am using a couple of different versions of the front pocket for this tutorial. Ignore the differences in fabric and pay attention to the location of the parts as well as the piece numbers.

Tutorial:

UCAB - Front, small pocket — UCAB – Front, small pocket

This pocket is made in 3 parts.

Center Zipper Pocket

First, we will make the center zipper pocket. If you haven’t already done so, fuse SF101 (or similar) to the pieces that make up the zipper pocket.

We need to add a zipper to the center part of the pocket. Full directions for adding a zipper start on pg.9. We also talked about this in the Large Pocket Tutorial.

First, lay L5 down face up/right side up.

Lay zipper on top of L5 with zipper pull facing up.

On top of L5 and the zipper, lay P5 on top of zipper face down/right side down. The layers should be L5 and P3 RST with the zipper in between.

As I said before, Natalie Patton does something really clever with her zipper. She folds the zipper tape at a 45 degree angle and pins it. This makes it look really neat and tidy. Do this, as shown in detail in the Large Pocket Tutorial. Sew the layers including the zipper, being careful to move the zipper pull out of the way as needed. The last photo above shows how to sew (green line) and reminder to stop half way (red line) in order to readjust the zipper pull.

Turn over and press. Top stitch next to the zipper.

Wait to sew second side of zipper until later.

Cover mesh edges with double-fold elastic

The center pocket has mesh, so cut the mesh and the double-fold elastic. The pattern doesn’t say, but you need to cover both long edges of the mesh with double-fold elastic or twill tape. I prefer the double-fold elastic.

In order to attach the mesh pocket to the center zipper pocket, first mesh 2″ down from the zipper.

Move L5 out of the way (right photo above).

Clip the mesh pocket to P3/partly sewn zipper section.

Leaving the top open (opening/top is closest to the zipper), sew around 3 sides of the mesh pocket. If you want to divide the pocket, mark as many divisions as you want with painter’s tape and sew very close to the painter’s tape without sewing through it.

After you finish sewing the mesh pocket, finish the center section by layering the other sides of P3 and L5 with the zipper the way you did before and sew. You will be sewing more of a roll this time.

Your finished center pocket will look like the above photo. You still need to make the pleat so you can add 3D items to the pocket.

Stick your ruler 1/2in into the bottom of the mesh/zipper pocket to create the right sized pleat.

Use Wonder Clips on the sides and the bottom to keep everything in place, especially on the top double-fold elastic. I didn’t take a photo, but you do want to put clips on the top double-fold elastic, because it tends to curl in from the mesh pocket wanting to curl.

Sew up the sides. These seams will be sewn again later, so you just need to sew enough to hold them in place until final assembly.

Your center section is finished.

Next time we will work on the side Clippy pockets.

Previous Tutorials:

Large Pocket #1 pt.1 tutorial
Large Pocket #1 pt.2 tutorial
Large Pocket #2 Clippy Pocket tutorial (type 2)
Large Pocket #2 tutorial pt.2
Front Pocket information
Pocket information
Clippy Pocket Hack (type 1) – prelude to a tutorial
Clippy Pocket Hack (type 1) pt.1
More on Clippy Pocket Hack (type 1)

UCAB Large Pocket #2 Tutorial – pt.2

Recently, I posted the first part of the tutorial for the Large Pocket #2. That tutorial included a pocket that would help you organize your WonderClips.

In order to sew along, you will need:

Purchase the pattern
- Etsy
- Quiltessa shop
Gather your supplies
Cut your fabric
Print the tags

You can find more information at the following links:

Tour of the bag -Instagram
Bag-a-Long project post – 9/27/2019
Thoughts behind the bag – 8/7/2019
Find all posts about this bag by using the hashtag, Ultimate Carry All Bag

Additional Supplies**

Basic sewing kit
Blue painter’s tape
Creative Grids 4.5″ x 8.5″ ruler**
D-ring** or similar
Double-fold elastic AKA fold-over elastic
Fabric
Mesh fabric
Sewline pencil**
SF101
Thread that matches your mesh
WonderClips**

Today we will finish putting together the second large pocket. As I said in the previous tutorial, the Clippy pocket is not part of the original pattern, but using that tutorial, you can easily add it to P1 and still have enough space for other tools.

The pattern calls for a mesh pocket on the back of P1. You can add slip pockets instead, if you want. Follow the general directions in the tutorial for the first large pocket. To add the mesh pocket, follow these directions:

Seal the edges of the mesh with doublefold elastic like you did on Large Pocket #1.

The first step is to bind the top of the mesh pocket. Take the fold over elastic and fold it in half. Use WonderClips to hold the elastic in place.

Using matching thread, sew along the edge of the binding closest to the mesh. I used a straight stitch.

Mark 3” down from the other side of the right side of P1.

Tip: Make sure, before sewing that both pockets (Clippy & Mesh) have their openings in the same direction up. When the two raw edges are held WST, both pockets should have their openings up, closest to where the zipper will be sewed.

Line up top of mesh with 3” line.

Sew bottom of mesh pocket to P1.

Mark your pocket divisions with blue tape – make however many you want. I have two, separated by one line of stitching

Sew NEXT to blue tape.

Add Zipper

You can also look at the zipper instructions from the first large pocket tutorial.

Lay L1 down face up/right side up.

Lay zipper on top of L1 with zipper pull facing up.

Line up P1 with Clippy Pocket on top of zipper right side down.

Natalie Patton does something really clever with her zipper. She folds the ends of the zipper tape at a 45 degree angle and pins it. This makes it look really neat and tidy once the zipper is sewn in.

Zipper's 45 degree angle — Zipper’s 45 degree angle

In the pattern (pg.10), she talks a lot about pinning, horizontal pins, etc. I found it to be kind of confusing.

The photo (left) shows how I interpret her instructions. I tried it and it worked for me. Sotak Handmade has a video where she adds the zipper using a similar method.

Once you have the zipper tape folded and pinned, continuing layering the last piece of fabric on top.

The edges of the folded zipper tabs stick out a little bit from the side of the piece where you will be sewing. This is ok and how it is supposed to look.

Sew along clipped edge to secure zipper. I use my quarter inch foot, but you can use your zipper foot, if it works for you. Make sure you move the zipper out of the way as you sew so it doesn’t interfere with your seam.

Open up three layers.

Top stitch near zipper. Follow the same directions for the second side of the zipper.

Pleat the bottom.

I use the ½” marking on a ruler to mark the ½”. Push it into the bottom.

Clip to keep it in place and sew along the edges using the seam allowance noted in the pattern.

Your pocket will look something like this.

Previous Tutorials:/

Large Pocket #1 pt.1 tutorial
Large Pocket #1 pt.2 tutorial
Large Pocket #2 Clippy Pocket tutorial (type 2)
Front Pocket information
Pocket information
Clippy Pocket Hack (type 1) – prelude to a tutorial
Clippy Pocket Hack (type 1) pt.1
More on Clippy Pocket Hack (type 1)

UCAB Large Pocket #2 Tutorial – Clippy Pocket

A few days ago, I posted the second part of the tutorial for the first Large Pocket needed to complete the Ultimate Carry All Bag by Natalie Patton. This is the tutorial for the second Large pocket.

In order to sew along, you will need:

Purchase the pattern
- Etsy
- Quiltessa shop
Gather your supplies
Cut your fabric
Print the tags

You can find more information at the following links:

Tour of the bag -Instagram
Bag-a-Long project post – 9/27/2019
Thoughts behind the bag – 8/7/2019
Find all posts about this bag by using the hashtag, Ultimate Carry All Bag

Additional Supplies**

Basic sewing kit
Creative Grids 4.5″ x 8.5″ ruler**
D-ring** or similar
Double-fold elastic AKA fold-over elastic
Fabric
Sewline pencil**
SF101
WonderClips**

Today we will start the second of the large pockets. The directions for this step in the pattern start on page 8, step 2 of your pattern.

My version of this Large Pocket #2 includes a type of Clippy pocket that I added. The elastic holds your WonderClips and the pocket holds a rotary cutter.

This Clippy Pocket is not part of the pattern, but I will share how to make it.

The picture shows all the pieces with which we will be working. If you want to omit my Clippy pocket, skip those parts of this tutorial. If you want to include it, make this Clippy Pocket before starting on the bulk of Large Pocket #2, but after you have cut all the pieces. Having the small bits and bobs ready makes the assembly of Large Pocket #2 easier.

1. Cut the pocket fabric 4.5 x 12.5”
2. Cut the SF101 interfacing 4×12
3. Apply SF101 to wrong side of fabric
4. Cut double fold elastic (you can also use a strip of fabric) 4.5” long. You can add two strips if you want more space for WonderClips
5. Clippy Pocket Fabric folded, finger pressed
  
  Fold pocket fabric in half and finger press. You want the short edges to touch when you fold and finger press. The folded piece will be 4.5”x6.25 (approx.)
6. Pin RST with Elastic
  
  Unfold and pin elastic to piece 1/3 down from the fold or 1 ¾” down from finger pressed center
7. Sew around edge
  
  Sew around edge, leaving an opening the bottom to turn and avoiding the top with the fold.
8. Press Clippy Pocket
  
  Press.
9. Clip corners Tip: try to press the opening seam allowances as straight as possible
10. Turn RS out
  
  Turn RS out, push out seams, especially corners. Make sure seams are crisp, the press again.
11. Measure to place Clippy Pocket
  
  Measure to place Clippy Pocket -2
12. Place Clippy Pocket in place on P1 by:
  1. Measure 9” down from top
  2. Measure ½” over
  3. Place Clippy Pocket
  4. Pin in place
13. Cut an additional piece of double fold elastic 9 1/8 – 9 ¼”
14. Measure down 3” from the top of P1. Place elastic in this location.
15. Tuck one end of the elastic under the Clippy pocket to hide the raw edge
16. Pin in place
17. Mark the elastic so that your tools will fit. At some point prior to this, I looked at all the tools I thought I would use and measured them to make sure they would fit.
18. Attach Clippy Pocket and divide elastic
  
  Sew around 3 sides of the Clippy Pocket (not the top), ensuring that you catch the elastic in your seam.
19. Sew on your marks in the elastic
20. Add D-ring using a scrap of double-fold elastic or some fabric. Sew it in the seam allowance. I backstitch or go over the stitching a few times. This helps prevent the D-ring from becoming unsewn.
21. Leave long tails at the start and end of your seams, pull threads to the back and tie off with knots

If you are not adding the Clippy Pocket, cut your elastic 20″, mark and sew, following the directions on the pattern.

Check back in a few days for the rest of the tutorial for putting the large pocket #2 together.

UCAB Large Pocket Tutorial #1 pt.2

A few days ago, I posted the first part of the tutorial for the first Large Pocket needed to complete the Ultimate Carry All Bag by Natalie Patton.

In order to sew along, you will need:

Purchase the pattern
- Etsy
- Quiltessa shop
Gather your supplies
Cut your fabric
Print the tags

You can find more information at the following links:

Tour of the bag -Instagram
Bag-a-Long project post – 9/27/2019
Thoughts behind the bag – 8/7/2019
Find all posts about this bag by using the hashtag, Ultimate Carry All Bag

Additional Supplies**

Creative Grids 4.5″ x 8.5″ ruler
Sewline pencil
Large WonderClips

Finished Ultimate Carry All Large Pocket #1

Today we will finish the first of the large pockets.The directions for this step int he pattern start on page 8.

In the first part of this tutorial, we made the P2 pocket. We will continue from where we left off.

Tutorial:

Sew P2 to P1

Take your P1 fabric piece and your P2 pocket.

Measure line 9” down from the top of P1.

Draw a light line with a Sewline** pencil. You can leave the ruler in place and adjust the placement of the pocket using the ruler, if you don’t want to mark your fabric.

Place P2 upside down on top P1. Line up the bottom of P2 with the 9″ line.

Pin the pocket in place.

Remove the ruler, if you haven’t already.

Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, stitch (see red line) across the bottom of the pocket ONLY. You may want to backstitch carefully or tie knots and sink your threads to secure.

N.B. In this picture (right), the pocket is unfinished. On your pocket, you will not need or being using the small clips show on the bottom of the pocket, which is in the middle of P1 in the picture.

Flip the pocket up so you can see the mesh pocket. Clip or pin in place.

Sew down the center of P2 (red line), going over the mesh pocket to secure everything and make the final division in the center of the mesh pocket.

Sew down the sides of the pocket (blue lines). Leave long thread tails at the beginning and end of these securing seams. Pull the threads to the back of the piece and tie the threads off with knots. You can use a backstitch, but tying off the threads will look better in your finished bag.

Add Zipper to Pocket

Lay L1 down face up/right side up.

Lay zipper on top of L1 with zipper pull facing up.

Line up P1 on top of zipper face down/right side down.

Natalie Patton does something really clever with her zipper. She folds the zipper tape at a 45 degree angle and pins it. This makes it look really neat and tidy.

In the pattern (pg.10), she talks a lot about pinning, horizontal pins, etc. I found it to be kind of confusing.

The photo (left) shows how I interpret her instructions. I tried it and it worked for me.

Once you have the zipper tape folded and pinned, continuing layering the last piece of fabric on top.

The edges of the folded zipper tabs stick out a little bit from the side of the piece where you will be sewing. This is ok and how it is supposed to look.

Open up three layers

Top stitch near zipper.

Episode 4 of Natalie’s video is actually pretty good. I like the way she shows installing the zipper.

The confusing part is putting the pieces you have already sewn together with the other side of the zipper. The photo above shows kind of how this looks. This is the step where Natalie talks about opening up the first sewn side like a butterfly (pattern pg.10).

L1 face up/right side up.

Zipper on top of L1 face up/right side up.

P1 on top of zipper face down.

Sew along clipped edge to secure zipper. I use my quarter inch foot, but you can use your zipper foot, if it works for you. Make sure you move the zipper -See red line in the middle of the second side? – out of the way as you sew so it doesn’t interfere with your seam.

Top stitch near zipper.

Make Pleated Bottom

The pleated bottom allows you to more easily store items that are 3 dimensional

Use 1/2″ marking on my Creative Grids ruler, stick the side with 1/2″ marking into the pleat to measure it.

Clip the sides (the ruler should not interfere) to hold it in place.

Remove the ruler.

This is where I add D-rings. In this case, I used leftover bits of doublefold elastic to stand in for a loop.

Sew up the sides. Make sure to catch the loop/D-ring.

Your pocket is now finished.

Resources:

UCAB episode 1 : preparing for sewing pockets
UCAB episode 2 : sewing pockets, discusses thickness of pockets
UCAB episode 3 :badge holder pocket technique
UCAB episode 4 : Large pocket, installing zipper
UCAB episode 5 : installing a swivel hook, front and back of bag, front and back pockets
UCAB episode 6 : insert pockets into side panels
UCAB episode 7 : very brief video showing how the piece looks after installing the pockets in the side panels
UCAB episode 8 :Brief video showing the finished bag. No sewing

UCAB Large Pocket Tutorial pt.1

Last year at the guild Lynette and I started leading a sew-along with the Ultimate Carryall Bag pattern from Natalie Patton. The pandemic kind of blew the idea out of the water in the sense that we had thought about it. I decided that we needed to get back on track, because people had bought the pattern and cut out the pieces. On Sew Day earlier this month, I went into a Zoom breakout room and gave people a tutorial on making one of the large pockets.

In order to sew along, you will need:

Purchase the pattern
- Etsy
- Quiltessa shop
Gather your supplies
Cut your fabric

You can find more information at the following links:

Tour of the bag -Instagram
Bag-a-Long project post – 9/27/2019
Thoughts behind the bag – 8/7/2019
Find all posts about this bag by using the hashtag, Ultimate Carry All Bag

Today we are starting to make one of the large pockets. We will work on the front pocket.

Tutorial:

First, mark all of your pieces using the tags that Lynette made.

Next, go through your pattern and mark all references to cut pieces with the numbers Lynette created. If you don’t do this, you will have no idea which pieces I am talking about.

N.B. I am using two different pockets, which use different fabrics, to illustrate this tutorial.

Supplies for this step:

Basic Sewing Kit
Foldover elastic / double fold elastic
Mesh
Sewing machine
Thread to match mesh binding
WonderClips
12″ Zipper

Note: I am just calling out a few supplies. You will need to check the pattern for a full list of supplies

With everything assembled, you should be ready to sew.

N.B.: instead of twill tape, I use ByAnnie’s double fold elastic (AKA fold over elastic). I like the way it matches the mesh and I like the way it folds over exactly in half so I can machine stitch it. If you are using Twill Tape, you will have to bind the mesh in best way you know.

Mesh Pocket

The first step is to bind the top of the mesh pocket. Take the fold over elastic and fold it in half. Use WonderClips to hold the elastic in place.

Using matching thread, sew along the edge of the binding closest to the mesh. I used a straight stitch.

Once that is done, mark the pocket in half and in quarters. I used pins.

N.B.: In the picture on the left, I have marked the mesh pocket in halves and quarters with pins, but I have not yet bound the mesh with the fold over elastic. Ignore the clips in this photo.

Add Mesh Pocket to P2

Clip the bound mesh pocket to the bottom of P2.

You will need to ease the excess mesh fabric into pleats at the bottom of P2.

I used as many WonderClips as I needed to keep the mesh in place. It is a little bit challenging to keep in place. It isn’t exactly slippery, but it doesn’t stick to the quilting cotton like another quilting cotton would. Sew the bottom of the mesh pocket to P2, sewing the pleats you clipped in place as you remove the clips.

After you sew the bottom of the mesh pocket to P2, you will notice that the mesh will look like the picture on the left on the bottom where you have pleated the mesh. This was a little bit of a challenging concept for me to understand. I don’t make many garments, as you know, which may be the reason. Also I had to figure out why to pleat. The pleats give the pocket dimension so you can use it for things that are not flat. You could also make this pocket with vinyl instead of mesh, if you want. I don’t really talk about that in this tutorial, but make the pocket the same width as P2 as bind it with quilting cotton rather than fold over elastic.

Fold P2 down towards the bottom RST. The top of P2 will cover the mesh pocket.

Clip or pin the sides in place to secure. Watch out for the other Wonder clips that you used for the mesh pocket. It would probably be bad if you sewed over them.

Sew down sides of P2 only. The orange lines in the image on the right indicate where to sew.

Backstitch at the top and bottom to secure.

Before turning, I pressed the seams on the sides open, being careful about the mesh. I was also careful not to press the top fold yet.

Turn P2 right sides out.

Press again, watching out for the mesh. ByAnnies mesh doesn’t seem to melt when pressed, but I was still careful.

Also, now press the top fold.

I pressed the bottom seam allowance inside the P2 pocket and sewed it closed when I sewed P2 to P1, which I will talk about in the next tutorial.

P2 is now finished. In the photo, I have already sewn it to P1, but I will talk about that next time.

Use the seam allowance indicated in the pattern. Tip: Natalie, the designer, sometimes switches seam allowance sizes so pay attention to those directions.

I made two of the P2 pockets and put them on both sides of this large pocket, using the same directions. In the next tutorial, we will sew the P2 pocket to P1 and add the zipper.