Tutorial: Reversible Tote Bag

This is by far the most popular item I sell in my etsy shop, or locally. It's functional, practical, cute, machine-washable, reversible, totally lovable! I call it the "Momma Tote". When I got back into sewing about a year and a half ago, I started in with bags made out of home-decor weight fabric. There is a local store near me that sells it for 3 bucks a yard!!! 3 bucks! Crazy! It is sturdy enough to hold a good shape with-out interfacing. Most big box craft stores carry it, (just not for the crazy price of 3/yard!)

Choose two corresponding fabrics, we will call them outer and inner. Cut 2 rectangles 16"x18" of each outer and inner. Cut 1 rectangle 8"x12" of outer and inner. These will be pockets. Cut one 4"x 44" length of outer and inner. This will be your strap.

Fold each pocket in half right sides together, and sew around three sides, leaving a spot for turning. Clip corners, turn and press.

Turned and pressed pockets.

Top stich along one shorter edge of pockets (merely decorative), and attach 3 sides to one side each of outer and inner. Be sure to stitch back and forth a few times along the top where it attaches, this area will see a lot of pressure.

Sew outer together, right sides facing. Repeat for inner. I used a 5/8" seam allowance.

Sew strap along one edge, with right sides together. Open up and press seam to one side. Press one side up by 1/2".

Press remaining side in 1/2" to meet other side.

Press the entire strap very well. Sew each side with a 1/4" top stitch.

Strap

Miter corners. Do this by popping open the bag with one hand, pressing the bottom flat. I measured 3.5" from side to side and marked. Sew back and forth along this line several times. I serged the edges after sewing. You can also just trim.

Serged edges.

At this point my assistant got a little fussy. I let her help. She's very demanding.

Turn outer bag right side out, and stuff into the inner bag, right sides together. Pin strap into place, with the right sides together. The strap will be inside the bag "chimichanga". That is where it belongs. Have faith. It will all come out the right way.

Stitch around the entire bag with a 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a gap for turning.

Pull the whole bag out through the opening (I love this part!)

Stuff the inner bag back inside the outer bag.

Press and top stich 1/4" away from top edge. Congrats! Take it to the beach! Or the pool, if you live where I live...

Enjoy- Feel free to comment with any questions! -S

Tutorial: Ruffle Butt Bloomers

Problem #1: We cloth diaper at our house. Most of the time, anyways. I love those little dress and bloomer sets sold at warehouse stores, or even Target. However, I'm finding that those tiny bloomers don't accomodate Ruby's fluffy tushy.

Problem #2: We have beautiful granite tile counter tops. With a very rough edge. All of my shirts look like this. I refuse to spend more than 5 dollars on a shirt. I have seriously worn this shirt twice. Seriously.

Solution: Women's t-shirt to baby bloomers! With an awesome short-cut!

First, I cut out the holey part. (giggle, giggle) Cut across the top where you would like the top of the bloomers to be. Mine is about 7 inches from the bottom. I also pressed the top down about an inch. I always use spray starch when sewing knits. It make them a lot less slippery, bendy, and generally unruly.

Next I cut across the top in successive strips (omitting the pocket). I ended up with four 1" strips (picture shows two 2" strips, before I cut them in half.) Switch to a ball-point needle. Your regular needle will wreck knits. Trust me. A four pack is like 2.59. You will thank me.

I ruffled the strips with my sewing machine tension set to way loose, and thread length super long. (I love doing this!!)

I tacked down 3 of the strips on each side (not sure yet if I would use the fourth strip). I then stretched the ruffles to fit, while sewing them right across the gathering stitch with a zig-zag stitch)

Turn them back inside out, and sew the crotch together. DO NOT sew all the way down to the sleeve hem. You will use this little casing to thread the elastic through.

I used 1/4 in braided elastic in both the waistband, and the leg casing. Thread through, sewing the elastic securely together, then sewing the leg casings shut. Do the same with the waistband, finishing the opening where you inserted the elastic. Don't worry if it's not perfect, your baby won't care!

Enjoy the day. You could totally personalize these, with an applique of your choice. They took me about an hour, but I had all three kids at home today. And one had strep. Ugh. If I could've muscled through, I would say these are a 45 minute project. Even ommiting the ruffles would seriously shave down on the construction time. You could use some really cool shirts to give these some extra flair!

PS, I used the last ruffle to make this super cute flower headband! It took me less than 5 minutes!

Camera Bag/ Sunglasses holder

Forgive this post (one of my firsts!) Pics are really tiny!



For our anniversary last year, my in-laws got us a fantastic camera. As this was 7 months ago, I know we are tempting fate by not having a camera-bag, and taking that thing everywhere! We are headed to San Diego this week, and I figured it was time to take care of business. I had been looking at camera cases casually, but was horrified at all the black techy zipper stuff. Yuck! Anyways, whipped this little guy together in about 30 minutes.

Materials:

2 in. piece velcro (front and back)

Inner fabric - 2 pieces each cut the size you need your finished bag to be

Outer Fabric - 2 pieces each cut the same as the Inner

2 small pieces fabric for the flap - as wide as your bag will be, as long as you want

I started by sewing one side of the velcro to one side of my flap pieces. Once I sewed it, I made the flap by sewing the 2 pieces right sides together, with the velcro sandwiched in the middle.

I sewed the top flap pieces (right sides together , with the velcro on the inside) into the flap shape.

So now I have the flap (turned right side out, pressed, and top-stitched), my inner lining (I didn't want to deal with batting, so I used a cool funky chenille). I sewed the lining into the size I needed to hold the camera, and cut my outer fabric to match. ( I needed 3x5), so I have 2 pieces of 3x5 outer fabric. Sew the outer pieces on 3 sides (right sides together).

Along about this point I realized I would want a strap on it, so I threw in a piece of grosrgrain, too!

Here are all of the pieces, ready to be pinned together.

I pressed in the seams at the top of the inner pouch, and the outer.

I pinned everything, as I would sew it.

Then, I topstitched around the top, removing the pins as I sewed.

This is the almost finished product. I just added a few pieces of velcro to the ribbon, so i could attach it to the stroller, or my wrist,or whatever.

Voila! And much cuter than the"Best-Buy Special!"