Well, it’s that time of year again! You know, where we all do a mad scramble to get everything ready for the first day of school, and avoid malls and stationery stores like the plague because it’s far too crowded, or is that just me? My oldest starts back at school tomorrow and I’m excited, but also not looking forward to the mayhem that happens for most of September while we try to settle into a new routine.

I’ve been planning on making my oldest son a custom backpack for a while and was so pleased when I saw Erin from Diedelbug had come out with a tutorial to expand her Tiny Explorer backpack pattern to a Not-So-Tiny Explorer. The Tiny Explorer was a tad too small and the Back to Campus Backpack was a tad too big, so this tutorial was perfect; it adds 3″ to the Tiny Explorer, making it tall enough to carry a folder. The tutorial also explains how to create a cargo pocket on the front. **UPDATE: Unfortunately, it appears the tutorial is no longer available. I will keep an eye out and update if it reappears.

I let my son pick everything, right down to the zipper colours and webbing I used. For the exterior, he chose this Marvel licensed print from Funky Monkey Fabrics. I liked working with it because it’s not really directional, so I didn’t have to think too hard for the cargo pocket.

I’m not going to lie, this was not a quick sew, but that probably doesn’t come as a surprise. It’s also not cheaper than buying one; but the quality is superior to the cheap ones too. I made it with Pellon Flex Foam, and was advised I should increase the zipper panel width by 1/2″ so that I could use a 1″ seam allowance there instead because of the foam – thanks sewing friends, that was great advice! 

I used mesh in the outer elasticized side pockets, to make it seem more professional. Just perfect for a water bottle! I’m so glad I didn’t skip the piping because it really does add that extra special touch.

The lining is super fun and since I prefer smaller scale for lining, I’m glad my son chose it. I convinced him to select this Mixology – Woven in black as the accent, for the pocket linings and straps. Both the Marvel (lining) and the Mixology (accent) are Camelot fabrics, available from Sitka Fabrics. I also used the tip from the Swoon Blog to help combat saggy linings when you do a drop in lining; it was my first time using that technique, and I’ll definitely incorporate it into all my drop-in lining bags from now on. You can find that tutorial here. 

The Tiny Explorer Backpack pattern by Diedelbug is a PDF pattern. I really liked the layout of the pattern. There are 24 full colour pictures to go along with the instructions. I appreciated the rectangle dimensions in addition to the pattern pieces, as I prefer to use my quilting ruler and rotary cutter to cut those, and it’s nice that the rectangles are included for others who prefer it that way.  I found the directions easy to understand; however, I am familiar with this style of what is called a “drop-in lining.” There was a lot of what I call “fussy work,” especially since I chose to add the cargo pocket from the tutorial add-on. The work is definitely worth it, but may deter a true beginner . I recommend this pattern if you’re looking for a kids’ backpack. The add-on tutorial was tricky to follow in a few places during the cargo pocket steps, but overall I really appreciated having that free extra option.

• Exterior – Marvel licensed print from Funky Monkey Fabrics. 
• Lining – Marvel licensed Camelot print from Sitka Fabrics
• Accent fabric – Mixology Woven by Camelot from Sitka Fabrics
• Piping available from Funky Monkey Fabrics and Sitka Fabrics
• Webbing, zipper supplies and mesh from Paccana; webbing and zippers available at Funky Monkey Fabrics too
• I interfaced my lining with Pellon Shape Flex 101 from Amazon.ca
• For the foam interfacing, I used Pellon Flex Foam 77, available from Funky Monkey Fabrics

The Companion Carpet Bag Sew Along over on Mrs H’s blog is well underway. If you haven’t checked it out yet, head on over and see where we’re at, and the awesome prizes up for grabs! I promised a quick piping tutorial, so here it is. I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, so I’m including some really great piping tutorials as well. For the purposes of the Carpet Bag, you only need one small piece, so I’ll show you that here. The tutorials I’m linking to show you how to make proper piping from bias binding (and how to make that too), which can be used to pipe a whole bag, or a larger, curved area.

If you only need a small piece for a straight edge, you don’t need to cut on the bias, which can save you some fabric. To start, you’ll need cording; I like 5/32″ cording, or even smaller. You’ll also need a zipper foot or a piping foot. Wonder tape will help, but isn’t necessary.

1. Cut a strip of fabric the length you’ll need by 1.5″, plus a matching length of cording
2. Place a strip of wonder tape along wrong side of one long edge
3. Place cording along wrong side, in centre of strip
4. Fold in half, matching long edges, and with cording in between, pin or clip
5. Using zipper foot, baste cording in place, snug, but not too tight.

Alicia from Swoon made a very thorough and great tutorial here. 

Crazy Little Projects has a quick and easy to understand tutorial here. 

You know what I love? Fabric, friends, and coffee (plus my kids and all that good stuff, of course). So when my sewing friend Kelsey, a volunteer for Ryan’s Case for Smiles, suggested we meet up for coffee to discuss this blog post, I thought it was a great idea. Kelsey shared with me her favourite quick method of making a pillowcase, and she talked about her experience with Ryan’s Case for Smiles, formerly Conkerr Cancer. She told me about the heartfelt letters she receives, thanking the organization for the cheerful pillowcase that really made a difference. She also told me about the trips her and her mother took to the hospital, bringing fabric and machines along, and allowing the kids choose their own pillowcases to make with them. I want to help this great cause, so I’m going to show you a really quick way to make a case to donate. I’m also happy to report that one of my amazing sponsors, Daryl at Fabric Spark, has set up some specially priced kits to purchase and is offering a giveaway of a Tula Pink pillowcase kit! Giveaway is over; thank you for everyone who contributed!

Here’s some info Kelsey has shared with me to pass along:

This super quick tutorial may be a new fave! Use it to make some for charity, but for your own kids too! You can make each pillowcase with just one yard total of fabric! You’ll need 26″ x width of fabric for the main part of the pillowcase, and 10″ x width of fabric for the side band of the pillowcase. I don’t have a serger, so I used my overcast foot for this project.  If you don’t have either of those, a zigzag stitch will work in a pinch. 

Start by folding the 10″ wide piece in half, wrong sides together, matching the long edges, and press.

Now place the folded (narrower) strip, on top of the wider piece of fabric, matching the long edges, right sides together. Pin or clip in place and sew along that edge.

Now fold in half, right sides together, matching selvage ends. You probably need to trim a small amount at this point, otherwise your selvage will show through. Leaving the folded end open (yellow in my example) sew up bottom and remaining side. 

Turn right side out, and you’re done! 

Kelsey tells me each and every case is appreciated, so if you can send 5, 10, or 1, they all count, and truly make a difference. Do you have friends that sew? Why not get together and challenge yourselves to see how many you can make? My personal goal is for this post to generate 100 cases. Can we do it?!

Kelsey may be reached by email at ryanscaseforsmilesbc@hotmail.com 
You can mail your completed cases to:
Kelsey Funk 
19467 67A AVE 
Surrey, BC 
V4N 5T4

If you’re joining me from Mrs. H’s blog for the Companion Carpet Bag sew-along, welcome! As mentioned over there, here’s my tutorial to make your own vinyl handles. I’ve found a few tutorials on Pinterest, but none of them were exactly what I was looking for, so I decided to experiment a bit and come up with something on my own. I’m really pleased with how they turned out, and I think you’ll be pleased with your own pair too! They came together quite quickly and easily too! Please read all the way through before you try it yourself. If you have any questions, I’m happy to help as best I can, just send me a message through my contact page.

You’ll need vinyl of course. I used marine vinyl, but this same method should work with other vinyls. You’ll also need:

• 16/32″ cording – I don’t know they don’t just call it 1/2″ haha!
• leather sewing machine needle
• fusible web tape (like wondertape) – this is optional but very helpful
• wonder clips, or similar – pins won’t work, since they’ll leave holes in the vinyl
• zipper foot
• 4 x 1.5″ O-rings or rectangle rings
• fabric glue (like Beacon’s fabritac)
• Fabric paint to match your vinyl (like Tulip soft fabric paint in matte – don’t use “puffy” paint)
• small paint brush
• rivets and punch (optional)
• scotch tape
• thread to match vinyl 
• sewing machine and basic supplies

This sounds like a big list, but don’t let it intimidate you, many items you’ll already have, and others you can use with other projects.

Note: The size I’m using is just a personal preference. Please feel free to experiment with what you like best. I found that cutting the vinyl 6″ longer than the cording yields the best result. 

Cut 2 12″ pieces of cording and wrap up each end with scotch tape.

Cut 2 strips of vinyl measuring 4″ x 18″ and place a strip of wonder tape about 1/4″ away from one long edge of vinyl, then fold vinyl, matching long edges, with cording centred vertically inside. Use wonder clips to secure edges together. Repeat with remaining vinyl and cording for second handle.

Now bring your handles over to the machine, and, using your zipper foot with the needle position to the left, sew along the vinyl lengthwise as close to the cording as possible, starting at one end of the cording and stopping at the other end. Don’t forget to backstitch a bit and start and stop too. Also, a longer stitch length is better with vinyl; I used 3.4 for for mine. Depending on your vinyl, you may have troubles with your foot sticking to the vinyl. My regular zipper foot had no problem, but if yours sticks, try laying wax paper over top of the vinyl and rip it away when you’re finished. I’m not sure if you can get a teflon zipper foot, but if you can, it should work too!

It should look like this now, with loose, unsewn ends beyond the cording.

Now you can trim the excess long edges, leaving a scant 1/4″ beyond the stitching. You may want to trim more, this part is just personal preference.

This part is tricky to explain so I hope I do an ok job: You will need to trim the loose ends of the handles, along a tapered curve for about 1.5″, then straight for the last part of the loose end. I found it easier to put a wonder clip at the very end, to keep my pieces folded nicely and so my cutting was symmetrical. If you’re using 1.5″ rectangle rings, you’ll want the folded end to be just under 3/4″ wide (folded). It may be easier to cut 3/4″ away from fold, for 1.5″, then curve out toward the cording. Once you have that cut out, make the end slightly curved. Your piece should look like this pictured below. Repeat for remaining 3 ends (other end of this handle, and 2 on the other handle).

Now we feed the end through the ring, fold down and fit into open end at cording, this step is just a practice, to see if it fits, or needs additional trimming. The end should now look like this:

Once you have a good fit, lift up the end and stick some glue under there, and fold it back and secure with a wonder clip until the glue dries. Repeat until both ends are done on each handle.  At this point, you can add your rivets if you choose to use them.  Once the glue dries, bring the handle back to the machine, with the zipper foot still in place and continue the line of stitching as far as you can to the end, being careful not to hit the ring with your needle.

 The final step is painting the raw edges of the cut vinyl. It doesn’t fray, but most of the vinyls have a backing that shows when it’s cut. If you look closely at store bought vinyl handles, you’ll notice they’re painted too! I used Tulip matte finish fabric paint. I couldn’t find a colour to match, so I mixed some and I’m pretty pleased with how well my first attempt matches! I bought the cheapest set of paint brushes I could find and they worked just fine for this job. The trickiest part to paint is around the ring, so you may actually decide to paint that part before you glue and sew it up. I didn’t want to risk it because I knew my mixed colour would dry up, and I didn’t think I’d get a perfect match a second time! If you get it on the vinyl, just wipe it while it’s wet. If you choose to do a second coat, make sure the first coat is fully dry first.

Once the paint is dry, curve your handles and store them that way to help form the curve of how they’ll be on your completed bag. Now you’re done! 

If you follow this tutorial, I’d love to see your handles! Upload your picture at my contact form, and I’ll share them here!

I’ve seen a lot of posts lately from other crafters and sewists about trying new things, so when this opportunity came up, I decided to go for it! I’m joining Pattern Revolution for the One Thimble blog tour. I made some hats! They aren’t even remotely close to bags, and this pattern I’m sharing with you today was easy peasy, even for a bag-maker like me.

I’m also really excited to tell you about One Thimble, a Sewing Ezine, loaded with PDF patterns, tips, and articles.  This latest issue includes 12 PDFs for a variety of patterns, including accessories, clothes for kids and a few extras.

I really loved the layout of the pattern, it was very visually appealing, plus Red Hot Tips throughout were helpful. I wasn’t familiar with the interfacing brand mentioned, so I used what I figured were Pellon alternatives based on a couple quick searches with google (Shapeflex, Craft Fuse and Thermolam), and was really pleased with the results. I’m also quite possibly the world’s slowest sewist, but I managed to get each of these sewn up really quickly, so I imagine anyone with a normal pace can get one done in under an hour start to finish.

My youngest preferred to wear his as a bucket hat, which I think makes this pattern that much more versatile, like 2 hats in one. I also had a bit of fun with trying out a couple different coordinates for one hat. I picked up a twill remnant at my local fabric store and it paired so nicely with my designer cottons. The only thing I changed was the way the lines are added on the brim at the final step. I did spiral for my first one (pictured on the left below), but preferred concentric circles of stitching instead.

I couldn’t help but to get an action shot at the beach since these Robert Kaufman ‘Message in a Bottle’ prints are all about the ocean.

Fabrics used
Dinosaur hat: Natural History by Lizzy House for Andover Fabrics fromFabric Spark
Robot/Shoes/Numbers hat: Boy Crazy by My Mind’s Eye for Riley Blake Designs from For the Love of Fabric
Ocean bottles/Whales hat: Message in a Bottle by Suzy Ultman for Robert Kaufman

Hop on the tour to see some of the other great patterns in this issue!