Represent! Embroidery

Posted on October 18, 2022 Posted in Tutorials4 Comments

Bianca Springer http://biancaspringer.com and I first got to know each other as mutual admirers of a brand of handmade embroidered garments. Our friendship grew into a creative collaboration with the help of others born in protest sadly from the anti-inclusive posturing of the hand embroidery business owner we initially so admired. That collaboration was our “Nude is not a Color” quilt purchased in 2021 by the Henry Ford Museum and now in their permanent collection.

Coming full circle, is an embroidery book Bianca WROTE HERSELF and recently published by C&T publishing concentrating on the inclusion of people with different skin tones, body types, hair textures and shapes.

The realization of that full circle makes me want to cheer from the mountain tops! Finally, there is a book that represents and honors many of my friends, work colleagues and family members who have thus far been largely overlooked in embroidery books currently in print.

When picking a project from the book to make I decided to use some 5mm wool felt I had on hand in a minimalist style. Bianca’s book has 10 projects and over 100 images to use! I chose one of my favorite pictures, a beautiful dark skinned woman with her crown of stars which I printed onto Sulky Stick N Stitch stabilizer. I used both wool and cotton embroidery floss in her Afro then sewed up the felt into an easy tote with leather handles. It has been my constant companion as my husband and I travel throughout Spain garnering compliments everywhere.

There are several more projects I plan to make from the book. Thank you Bianca for including me in this journey and for applying one of your MANY creative talents toward something beautiful and important.

The above picture is from Quiltcon 2021. Look for us both teaching a Quilty Shift dress class at Quiltcon 2022 in Atlanta and also for Bianca’s embroidery classes using projects from her book.

If you would like a chance to win a digital copy of Bianca’s book, like, comment and follow me and all the other participants on Instagram.

Hillary

Felt Messenger Bag Tutorial

Posted on January 19, 2018January 20, 2018 Posted in Tutorials3 Comments

Over the last couple of years I have been playing with a messenger bag design of my own imagining. I have come to love thick wool felt as bag medium and have been using the design to pay tribute to important women using leather appliqué. In hopes of inspiring others to do the same I wanted to share my methods. My demonstration bag is an abstract design. There are a ton of possibilities.

Supplies

3 mm Felt ( I purchased mine from Aetna Felt www.aetnafelt.com . One 72” wide yard makes 2 1/2 bags. You can also use 5 mm felt but it is much harder on a domestic machine)

Pieces of thin scrap leather to use as adornment (It is important to use very thin suede or leather to make sewing on a domestic machine easier)

Fabric Marker (I like Dritz Disappearing Ink pen or chalk pencils)

Quilter’s Ruler

Rotary Cutter

Leather Hole Punch

Small Sized Rivets and Rivet Setter(If you are uncomfortable with rivet setting, screw in rivets are a nice alternative and if you chose to use 5mm thick wool, I recommend medium sized rivets)

Thread (thick upholstery thread is ideal but I honestly use what I have around)

Fabric-Tac Glue

Two 2 inch metal D rings

One 2 inch metal Slide Adjuster

2 yards of 2 inch Black Nylon Webbing

One magnetic bag closure set

Leather Needle and Walking Foot or Teflon Foot for your Machine

Step One: Prepare your leather design and cut out your Felt Pieces

-Draw out a design and then cut pieces of leather or suede to match that design

-Cut one Front/bottom piece 12 x 12.5 inches

-Cut one Back/top piece 12 x 26 inches

-Cut one Side piece 4 x 36 inches

-Round the bottom edges of your Front/bottom piece (remember that it is slightly narrower side to side then top to bottom to assure you are rounding the correct edges) and round all sides of the Back/top piece. I used a 4 inch circle template but you can use a small plate or can as your guide instead.

Step Two: Appliqué your leather Design

-Using your long Front/top felt piece, right side toward you, arrange your leather appliqué as you would like it to appear on the bag. Piece by piece, then glue down and sew 1/8 inch from edge each leather piece. Make sure to use a leather needle and a walking foot or teflon foot on your machine.

-At the bottom of the front piece before glueing and sewing all portions down, insert one part of your magnetic bag closure if you like facing to the back and hide by glueing and sewing a piece of appliquéd leather over it. (see picture)

Step Three: Sew your side and Front/Bottom Piece Together

-Using a 3/8 inch seam allowance sew, right sides together sew the long wool Side piece and the smaller Front/bottom piece.

-Cut any extra of the side piece projecting from the top

-Right sides together, using pins or wonder clips secure the unadorned half of your long Top/front piece to the side piece. Before you begin sewing, the seam should be 14 inches from the end of the long Top/front piece on both sides. Using a 3/8 inch seam allowance, sew along the edge.

-Invert the bag and prepare for strap placement

Step Three: Attach your Straps

-Cut two pieces of the 2 inch webbing 4 1/2 inches long and cut another piece 50 inches long (a lighter or match used at the cut edges helps melt and finish the end of the webbing)

-Fold one short webbing piece over a metal D Ring. Mark 4 positions in each corner at least 1/4 from the edge and punch holes in the webbing at the marked spots using your leather hole punch. Repeat for the second D Ring and short webbing piece.

-Center each D ring/webbing piece on the side 1/2 inch down from the top. Using your marker, mark each hole you have made in the webbing onto the wool. Punch holes through the wool in each of these spots and connect the wool and webbing/D ring piece on each side with your rivets and rivet setter(4 rivets per side).

-Next, wrap the long webbing piece through the center of your Slide Buckle and fold over at least an inch and a half. Mark two places 1/4 inch from the side, mark, hole punch and secure using two rivets.

-Slip the free end of the webbing through one side D ring with the wrong side of the rivets facing up and lace the webbing under and then over through the Slide Adjuster (see picture).

-Fold the open end of the webbing through the other side D ring and secure with two rivets as previously described making sure the webbing hasn’t twisted and keeping the wrong side of the rivets to the inside.

Step 4: Attach the Other Piece of the Magnetic Closure

-Using the already inserted Magnetic Piece as a guide, mark and insert the other part of the magnetic closure facing toward you on the bottom/front felt piece.

You’re Done! Enjoy! Tag me @entropyalwayswins and the project (#feltmessengerbag) on Instagram if you make one. I would love to see.

Hillary

Inset Pieced Strips on the Fly :: A Tutorial

Posted on September 23, 2017September 24, 2017 Posted in Tutorials10 Comments

One of my favorite aspects of sewing is discovering new techniques while experimenting. There are many weirdo sewing tricks I now rely upon but a latest discovery with piecing is so simple and helpful that I thought I should share more broadly.

Of note, there are several sewists especially in my Bee Sewcial quilting bee that have been dancing to the same proverbial melody in making. I think of us often creating in parallel and most certainly learning from each other. Indeed after I posted this tutorial on Instagram, my marvelous friend Marci (http://www.marcigirldesigns.com) said that she had used exactly this technique earlier this year without describing it. For these reasons, the following technique is best attributed to our Bee Sewcial group as a whole.

Although I shared this on Instagram (where you can still find it under #insetstripsonthefly) I figured for posterity’s sake and easier reference I would make a more formal post about it.

I absolutely love some wonk in my makes. Indeed I often seek it out as I appreciate the interest asymmetry adds to a piece. There are times however when I really want things to line up perfectly, have a background seen uninterrupted through layers etc. The classic “slice and insert” method for adding pieced lines in sewing is awesome but is frustrating when using sizes other then 1/2 inch finished strips (assuming a 1/4 inch seam allowance). Unless you spend extra time with math, the background can look distorted. I am actually a math lover, but the more time I have to calculate and think about sewing, the less fun it is for me. This new technique works with any sized inset strips, doesn’t distort the background AND requires very little thinking. All you need is fabric, scissors and washable glue.

Step 1: Gather you background fabric, some fabric strips and perhaps a plan (or not. This technique is very fun to make up a design as you go.)

Step 2: Line up your strip Right Sides Together(RST) with the background fabric along the line you plan to place your strip. You may find it helpful to mark the line on your fabric with an erasable marker. Realize that the marked line is 1/4 inch in from where the strip will be sewn to the background fabric. Next, sew the strip using a quarter inch seam allowance (and keeping RST) along one side to your strip to your background fabric.

Step 3: Fold the strip over along the sewn edge and press. Unfold the strip back and iron a 1/4 inch fold all along the raw edge of the strip TOWARD the sewn edge.

Step 4: With a light touch, apply your washable glue to the folded edge.

Step 5: Fold the strip over and press in place.

Step 6: Flip the whole thing over and cut with your scissors IN BETWEEN the strip the the bottom fabric 1/4 inch away from your sewn edge.

Step 7: With the back still facing you, fold open and sew along the unsewn folded line.

Step 8: Trim both sewn edges to give a clean 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Step 9: Turn the whole piece to the front, press and add more inset strips as you like.

I combined some inset strips, added an inset circle and then added more inset strips on top to exaggerate the sense of layers in this piece. You can see how clean the technique is by a view from the back (something I am often hesitant to do frankly when showing my makes!)

There are so many ways to go with the technique. (hint, hint: You can insert more then straight parallel strips this way). Below are a couple other blocks I made while playing around.

I hope others find this tutorial helpful. I would love to see what folks make with it. If you are on Instagram tag me @entropyalwayswins and your make #insetstripsonthefly.

Hillary

The Metro Tote Tutorial

Posted on May 5, 2017May 5, 2017 Posted in Bags, TutorialsTagged handmade bag, the metro tote, themetrotote, Tutorial5 Comments

I love simple designs made with top notch materials. I also love combining nontraditional materials together. In this case I share a very simple tote design using thick felted wool along with leather handles and quilting cotton scraps. There are so many other ways to experiment with this bag design and I hope those who try it take my instructions as a jumping off point to explore their own creativity.

One finished tote including handles, measures approximately 19 inches high, 12.5 inches wide and 4 inches deep.

Supplies

3 mm Felt ( I purchased mine from Aetna Felt www.aetnafelt.com . One 72” wide yard made 4 bags. You can also use leather or 5 mm felt but both are much harder on a domestic machine)

2 thick leather pieces 18 x 1 ¼ inch for handles or two 18 inch premade handles (I demonstrate with some stitched 18 inch leather bag handles I made but plain leather will work perfectly well. If you are intimidated by leather and rivets you can also use webbing as handles and sew them directly to the felt)

Exacto knife

Fabric Marker (I like Dritz Disappearing Ink pen)

Quilter’s Ruler

Rotary Cutter

Pieced block or textile that you want to feature on the bag in a reverse applique technique less then 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches (I have used paper piecing patterns, leftover quilt blocks, improv panels made from scraps. The sky is the limit.)

Double sided fabric tape (optional)

Leather Hole Punch

Small Sized Rivets (If you are uncomfortable with rivet setting, screw in rivets are a nice alternative and if you chose to use 5mm thick wool, I recommend medium sized rivets)

Thread

Sewing Machine

Step 1: Cut Out Your Pieces

Cut two pieces of Felt 12 ½ x 12 ½ inches (front and back pieces)

Cut one piece of Felt 36 x 4 inch (side piece)

Cut a piece of felt that is 1 inch larger on all sides then the cut out motif you plan for your front. (For example, if you choose to cut out a 6 inch circle in the front felt to show off a special paperpieced block then cut out a 7 inch felt circle. The front felt bag piece with the cut out motif, your chosen feature textile/block and this third felt piece will form a sandwich that once finished will make the inside of the bag look more professional.)

Round the bottom corners of the front and back felt pieces. (I used a 7 inch diameter circle but a round plate would work well too.)

Step 2: Prepare your Front Felt Piece for Reverse Applique

Choose a cut out motif that you will use on you front felt piece (in this example, I used a 6×6 inch red cross sign) , mark with your marker and cut out with an Exacto knife. In previous iterations of this design, I have used a circle, rectangle, lightning bolt and a combination of shapes that will show off the piece I plan to show off in the reverse appliqué. Let your imagination guide you.

Once your motif is cut out in the felt, sandwich your block or textile between the front felt and the back extra felt piece centering them all as best you can. You may use reversible tape to secure everything in place if needed.

Stitch 1/8 inch around the reverse appliqué motif through all layers.

Turn the whole piece to the back and trim away the extra fabric.

Further secure them all together by stitching 1/4 inch again around the block through all three layers.

Step 3: Sew the Bag Pieces Together

The seams on this bag are all to the outside and there are only two of them. SO SIMPLE!

Wrong sides together, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, sew the front felt piece to the long side piece. Trim any extra felt that is hanging off the top. (Of note, I do not use clips or needles when sewing this first seam but just guide it as I go around the corners. For the second upcoming seam I use a lot of clips)

Wrong sides together and using a 1/4 seam allowance, sew the back felt piece to the side piece.

Step 4: Attach the Handles

Using your hole punch, punch two holes along the horizontal bottom of each end of the handles about 1/4 inch in from sides and bottom.

Set your ruler 2 ½ inches from the side and 1 ½ inch from the top. Align your bag handle at the edge and mark the handle holes on the felt with your marker.

Using you hole punch, punch holes at these marked sites and attach your handles to the bag with rivets.

Congratulations On Your New Bag!

Tag me @entropyalwayswins on IG and use the hashtag #themetrotote so I can see your beauties.

Best!

Hillary

Easter Egg Pincushion Tutorial by Hillary Goodwin and Kitty Wilkin

Posted on March 17, 2017March 20, 2017 Posted in TutorialsTagged easter egg, easter egg pincushion, embroidery, entropyalwayswins, nightquilter, pincushion, Tutorial4 Comments

Recently Kitty (Night Quilter) and I had the opportunity to meet in person after following each other’s work online for years. Both loving embroidery, repurposing textiles, creativity and the sewing community in general we plotted a tutorial that would allow us to play off each other’s creative personality and engage the greater sewing community as a whole.

A year ago I made an Easter Egg shaped pincushion out of velvet and repurposed leather. We expanded on this idea and invite anyone who wants to participate to make a similar pincushion and, if interested, incorporate repurposed leather (Earth Day is coming up after all, and repurposed leather is typically thin enough to easily sew on a domestic sewing machine. Be bold. Be brave. Let’s sew leather!).

In this tutorial we give everyone some guidelines but the emphasis is PLAY and MAKING THIS PROJECT YOUR OWN. Don’t celebrate Easter? No biggie, make a similar pincushion in another shape. We will be following on Instagram so please tag your makes #eastereggpincushion (as well as tagging @nightquilter and @entropyalwayswins) so we can all enjoy. To celebrate this group project we will both randomly be giving participants some of our own pincushions as well as supplies to make them. All you need to do to be eligible is to play along, tag us, and tag #eastereggpincushion so that we can find you!

Suggested Supplies

Thin leather (~6×12 inches)

Wool felt, velvet, jeans or any other material for the inner portion of the pincushion (~6×6 inches)

Embroidery hoop (a 4” hoop will *just* fit the inner egg)

Egg Pincushion Template (print HERE) (note updated the pdf 3/20/2017)

Embroidery thread (embroidery floss, perle cotton, or 12wt thread works. Use what you have!)

Embroidery or other needle (Kitty uses Tulip size 3 milliners)

Double sided fabric tape or fabric glue (optional)

Sewing machine with a walking foot

Leather sewing machine needle

Thread (Kitty and Hillary used 40wt Aurifil thread)

Chalk or other removable marker

Muslin or other scrap fabric (6×12 inches)

Craft clips (both Clover wonderclips or Evergreen Art Supply craft clips work great)

Small Funnel

Crushed Walnut shell or other favored pincushion fill

Step 1: Templates and Leather

Print the Easter Egg Pincushion HERE and cut along both inner and outer egg outlines.

Trace the template onto the wrong side of the leather, marking out two eggs–one with only the outline and one with both the inner and outer lines drawn. Carefully cut along the marked lines, remembering to cut one piece along only the outer egg outline and cut the other piece along both the inner and outer egg outlines. Set your leather pieces aside.

Step 2: Embroidery

Using chalk or water soluble marker, trace the inner egg outline onto on your embroidery surface (felt, velvet, jeans, etc) so you will know the limitations of your embroidery design. Adorn at your heart’s desire with embroidery, applique, etc. You are welcome to copy our experiments but please feel free to try your own ideas.

Step 3: Attach the Embroidery to the Leather Upper

Align your embroidered material so that the embellishments fit within the window of your leather upper (the egg with the hole cut out of the middle). Secure the right side of your embroidery to the wrong side of your leather upper with double sided tape, glue, or other method. Then, using a ¼ or ⅛ inch seam allowance, top stitch the two together along the inner egg as shown. Thread the top threads to the back of the piece, tie all loose ends together and trim. Finally, trim the seam allowance of your embroidered material carefully about ½” away from the stitched line so that it remains easily inside the outer margins of the egg.

Step 4: Make an Inner Pincushion

Using only the outer margin of your Egg Template, trace and cut two pieces of muslin. Sew the two pieces together using a ¼ inch seam allowance, leaving a small opening to use for filling. Fill with crushed walnut shells (a funnel can be helpful for this). One half cup of crushed walnut shells for this project seems to be the right amount. Use, a little more if you want a more rounded pincushion. Sew closed the opening of the inner pincushion.

Step 5: Finishing your Pincushion

Place the two leather egg pieces wrong sides together and secure with wonderclips. (Note that pinning will create visible holes in the leather–use clips!) Sew around the outer margin of the egg using a ¼ seam allowance, leaving an opening at least 3 inches long unsewn. Stuff your filled and fully closed inner pincushion through this opening. Ensuring the inner pincushion remains entirely inside, top stitch the remaining way around the outer edge of the egg. Thread the top threads to the back of the piece, tie all loose ends together and trim or bury.

Step 6: Share your creation with us!

Tag your pincushion on Instagram #eastereggpincushion as well as tagging @nightquilter and @entropyalwayswins or link to the blog posts. We can’t wait to see what you create! Enjoy!!

Sew Mama Sew and Art Show Details

Posted on September 8, 2015September 24, 2017 Posted in Quilting, TutorialsTagged art, art show, quilting, sewmamasew, Tutorial5 Comments

Last month Kristin and Beth of Sew Mama Sew sweetly asked me to share details of a tile block I made up while creating this quilt top as a commission for one of my oldest friend’s. Go see their intro about me here: Introducing Hillary Goodwin from Entropy Always Wins | Sew Mama Sew | Outstanding sewing, quilting, and needlework tutorials since 2005 and my Tile Block tutorial here: Tile Blocks Tutorial | Sew Mama Sew | Outstanding sewing, quilting, and needlework tutorials since 2005. I’m thrilled to get this quilt finished and enlisted the help of long arm quilter Jessie Ziegler (threaded quilting studio) for a quilt collaboration. That negative white space is going to look yummy with her quilting.

In other news, some mini quilts for an art show in Seattle beginning next month are in process. I am honored and excited to be sharing space with many gifted artists. A big bonus is that Seattle is where i went to undergrad and Medical School and many friends and family still are Seattle residents. It will be fun to share my work there. For details of the show (and an introduction to an inspiring maker) see Anna’s post here: It’s Official! I Left My Job to Become a Quiltmaker | Quilting Queerly.

Hillary

5/325 Quilt Complete

Posted on February 13, 2015February 13, 2015 Posted in TutorialsTagged modern quilt, modern quilting, quiltcon29 Comments

-You are more likely to die these days from a Prescription Narcotic Overdose then a car accident.(CDC – Facts – Drug Overdose – Home and Recreational Safety – Injury Center)

-There were enough narcotics sold in 2010 in the US to distribute 40 Percocet and 25 Norco to every citizen in the country. (Addiction USA: Painkiller sales soar across nation – NY Daily News)

These may seem like shocking statistics but they are not at all surprising to those of us who work in the Medical Field and despite this news Narcotics remain an important tool especially for acute pain and end of life care.

I finished my 5/325 Quilt, a statement piece highlighting the mixed blessings of prescription narcotics (in this case, the most common formulation of hydrocodone/acetaminophen). To see the process behind my quilt top construction go here: 5/325 | Entropy Always Wins.

Once again, I used Kona Cotton in White and Hand Dyed Fabric in Blue by Kim Eichler-Messmer (Kim E-M Quilts). Trying to echo the pluses and minuses of narcotics, in the white spaces I machine quilted echoing Plus Signs and in the Blue fabric quilted Minus Signs using Aurifil thread. I hope the echo effect reflects the impact both pain control and addiction have on the community as a whole. For the back, I used linen in khaki and scrub bottoms from my time working in Seattle and Cleveland.

I will begin soon to look for venues to get this quilt and it’s message out.

In other news, I finished a quilt block for the Bee Sewcial group. Kari is leading us down a more graphic design path this month. I had an idea that morphed as I was making it, once again without a drawn up plan. It is miraculous that these turned out to be equilateral triangles that made the whole thing work. I would like to explore this design concept more. See Kari’s blog post here: Craft Happy: Bee Sewcial: February.

I am also prepping for Quiltcon next week and am so excited to meet many of you. I grew my “garden” of linen flowers and will bestow them on my Bee Sewcial and “Nude is Not a Dress Color” friends. Say “HI” if you spot me!

I am waiting on some buttons to pass out as well. Did I really make and order up buttons to share? (so not me but love the message)

Lastly, check out the gorgeous lanyard Stephanie (Spontaneous Threads.) made me. It it constructed out of Doe Fabric and a repurposed Sari. I am one lucky duck.

Hillary

Comics Inspired Sweatshirt Tutorial

Posted on October 18, 2014October 18, 2014 Posted in TutorialsTagged tutorial sweatshirt6 Comments

Over the last couple of weeks I have sewn up some of my favorite handmade gifts for worthy kiddos. This time around I leaned on Comics inspired graphics as subject matter but over the years I have made multiple variations of these towel shirts. They have taken on the forms of monsters. They have displayed beakers for a kid science day. I once made one of these sweatshirts for my kids’ swimming teacher with fish, bubbles and all. The possibilities are endless with your imagination as a guide. And do you want to know the best part: THEY ARE SUPER EASY AND INEXPENSIVE TO MAKE!

And because we all could use simple, inexpensive, handmade gifts that even teens like in our arsenal, I thought I would share my methods.

Supplies:

Sweatshirt or tshirt

Towels (old or new)

Thread to match your towels

Misty Fuse

Stick on Stabilizer (I used Sulky Sticky +)

Graphic Design for your shirt, Scissors, an iron, sewing machine and marking pen

Step One: Cut out the graphic design you will use. Iron on Misty Fuse to the back of the towels. Flip the graphic design outline so the front is facing the Misty Fuse side of the towel and draw around it. Cut out the towel pieces you will use on your shirt.

Step 2: Place your cut out graphic over the fusible stabilizer and cut out the appropriate size. Flip the shirt/sweatshirt inside out and peal off the paper. Place the fusible backing on the inside of the shirt in the position you plan to put your graphic image.

Step 3: Flip the shirt/sweatshirt right side out again and center your background graphic image making sure to position it over the stabilizer on the inside of the shirt. Iron on the first background image then using a zigzag stitch with thread that matches the towel, zigzag around all edges.

Step 4: Repeat the last step with your top graphics and iron in place. Zigzag using thread that matches your towel around all edges. When all graphics have been fused and sewn in place use scissors to trim any frayed threads.

Step 5: Turn the shirt/sweatshirt inside out and trim or pull away the excess stabilizer.

Now wasn’t that easy?! The one thing to remember with these towel shirts is that with time, the fabric can fray a bit and may need a “haircut” to trim them off. After a few washes this is rarely necessary but I always tell gift recipients when I give them away.

Happy Creating.

Hillary

FONT-CY BAG TUTORIAL

Posted on June 22, 2014June 22, 2014 Posted in Bags, TutorialsTagged Bag, recycled, sewing, Tutorial6 Comments

I’ve had so much fun making up my these simple bags that feature letters and symbols in fancy fonts and recycled leather accents, I thought I would write up a quick tutorial. These are guidelines on how I have made my bags but I would delight in people taking my idea and modifying to make it their own. I have used both my industrial Juki machine to sew these up as well as my Janome Memory Craft machine with no problem so I know it can be done either way. The limiting factor in using a traditional machine for this bag is NOT the leather since the repurposed leather I use from coats and skirts is fairly thin, it is the heavy weight interfacing. Having said that, using the leather needle, going slow and steady, I broke no needles and had no problem using my traditional machine. I hope the same may be true for you.

Supplies:

Felted Wool for your Number/Letter/Symbol
Embroidery Thread to match the wool
1 yard linen (for the outside bag body) cut into two rectangles (20″x17″)
1 yard cotton (for the bag lining and the inside handles) cut into two rectangles (20″x18″) and two rectangles (20″x2″)
Repurposed Leather (used for the side stripes of the bag and outside handles) cut into two rectangles
(18″x2″) and two rectangles (20″x2″)
1 1/2 yards of Pellon Heavyweight one sided fusible interfacing (for the bag body and handles) cut into two rectangles
(20″x17″)and two rectangles (19″x2″)
Upholstery weight thread
Leather sewing machine needles if using a traditional machine (I used Schmetz #100/16.)
Clover wonder clips (these help so much with sewing leather to prevent needle holes when holding pieces together)

Note: I used a 1/2 inch seam when sewing and a 1/4 inch topstitching unless otherwise noted. RST=Right Sides Together

Step One: Cut out and Sew on your Special Letter/Number/Symbol onto the Bag Front

I found several fun fonts on the internet and my computer as well as drawing up some designs on my own. After fusing the front linen pieces(20″x17″) to the Pellon interfacing pieces (20″x17″), I cut out the image I selected in my wool felt and centered it on one of the rectangles allowing an extra 1 1/2 inch at the bottom to account for the bottom fold and top handles. I pinned it to the front and then hand stitched 1/8-1/4 from the sides using three strands of the embroidery thread and a split stitch sewing through both the linen and interfacing.

Step Two: Make the Outside Bag

Mark a 2″ square at the bottom of both the front fused linen pieces and the inner cotton lining and cut them out.

Using the wonder clips, attach one 18″x2″ leather strips to the side front fused linen piece RST and sew together.

Do this on the other side of the bag and fold the seam toward the leather and topstitch it down after you sew each seam.

Sew the side leather strip to the back so that you have made a bag tube. Turn inside out and topstitch the last leather seam. (This is the hardest part of making this bag as you have to push the other side of the bag tube out of the way while sewing to prevent accidentally sewing the tube together.)

Flip the tube inside out again and sew the bottom seam together.

Next, fold the lines made by cutting out the bottom squares together, matching the center side leather strip to the bottom bag seam and sew these two seams on each side to close the outside bag.

Step Three: Make and Attach the Handles

Fuse the 20″x2″ cotton rectangles to the heavyweight interfacing rectangles 19″x2″ leaving 1/2″ overlap of the cotton on each side.

Set the 20″x2″ leather rectangle on top of the 20″x2″ fused cotton rectangle RST. Hold together with the wonder clips and sew a 1/4″ seam along the two long 20″ sides. Turn the tube inside out. At both ends, turn under the leather and cotton by 1/2″ back into the tube and hold with a wonder clip.

Top stitch along all sides of the handle closing up the ends. Repeat for the other handle. Now you have two handles to attach to your bag front and back.

Measure 4″ from each side and 2 1/2″ down from the top to mark the outside edge of your handles. Topstitch a 1″ square and X at the handle bottoms to secure the handles to the bag.

Step Four: Finish the bag

RST, sew the cotton lining pieces (20″x18″ cotton rectangles) together along the sides and bottom, leaving a 4 inch opening at the center bottom. Then sew the bottom side square openings together as you did on the front piece. Slip the lining RST and attach with wonder clips at the top to the main bag piece making sure to keep the handles out of the way. Sew the main bag and lining together at the top.

Pull the main bag through the opening in the bottom of the bag lining and push the lining into place. Top stitch along the bag at top. Finally sew by hand or machine the bottom opening in the lining together and you are done!

Although I think I’m done with these bags for a bit, I am by no means done with the idea of leather repurposing. Check out some of the other repurposed leather projects I have completed:

Recycled Leather Clutch | Entropy Always Wins.

A Birthday Present for My Guy | Entropy Always Wins.

A Tote for my Cargo | Entropy Always Wins.

The Bianca Clutch | Entropy Always Wins.

Ok, Just One More . . . | Entropy Always Wins.

I WOULD LOVE, LOVE, LOVE TO SEE WHAT YOU COME UP WITH IN THIS BAG DESIGN. IF YOU MAKE UP ONE OF THESE BAGS, SHOOT ME AN EMAIL OR POST IT ON INSTAGRAM AND USE THE HASHTAG #foncy. (You can find me there @entropyalwayswinsblog.)

I hope you have a wonderful week. We are off to the Seattle area to visit friends and family.

Hillary

Remnant Bag Tutorial

Posted on March 19, 2014March 20, 2014 Posted in Bags, TutorialsTagged Bag, charity, Hmong, remnant, Tutorial8 Comments

I am a sucker for charity causes and so when my friend contacted me today with an invitation to donate one of my creations to a silent auction in honor of a nurse we worked with who passed yesterday, I could not say no. (Sidenote: I am humbled at how many of the sweetest people in the world are asked to deal with unimaginable suffering. This was true with my friend who contracted a rare cancer in her 20s and now leaves behind her husband and two young children we hope to raise money for. Ugh!) In any case, with this in mind, I dropped my other projects and pulled out a favorite Hmong remnant and whipped up a bag. I came up with this bag design last year when making another Hmong remnant bag for a friend. It is not a particularly unique design but I thought it would be fun to share as these bags always garner compliments and they are a fun way to show off odd-shaped special textiles.

I am a Macgyver kind of sewist. I’m not formally trained and I always figure things out in odd ways so forgive me if the structure and instructions are unusual (and please share your tips if you have better ways of bag making).

To start off, I gathered some of my fave Marcus Fabric Organic Cotton Canvas for the outside, some peach linen fabric for the lining, my fabric remnant, a heavy sewing needle, fusible fleece, thread to match the outside fabric, the lining and the remnant and a 20 inch black zipper. (for my bag size, anything 18 inches or up would do) I then cut two squares 18×18 inches in the canvas and two same sized squares in the linen lining fabric. I also cut a piece 5×36 inches in the black canvas, two rectangles of the linen lining (6×10 inches) and I cut a piece of the fusible fleece in 2.5×36 inches long. (Depending on the textile you want to show off, you may need to adjust your bag size.)

I then stacked up the outer and inner large squares and rounded off the bottom corners.

I then drew an isosciles triangle freehand on the center of one of the curved corners, I folded the square in half again and cut the triangle out of all 8 layers.

I then sewed the two smaller rectangles of the lining fabric to make an inner pocket leaving a center area at the bottom unstitched for turning inside out.

I trimmed the corners of the inner pocket rectangle, turned it inside out, ironed it making sure the opening at the bottom was pressed to match the sides and finally sewed the rectangle on the middle center of the front back lining with a 1/8th inch seam. I also stitched down the center of the pocket to make it into two separate pockets.

I then sewed the bottom corner triangles together, right sides together on both the outer fabric squares and the inner lining pieces. I used a 1/2 inch seam from here on out unless otherwise stated.

Next, I sewed the bag outer and inner fabrics to the zipper. This part can be a little confusing but I sandwiched the zipper between the lining and the outer fabric right sides together with the zipper top matching the fabric top and the zipper pull facing the outer fabric. I used a 1/4 inch seam for the zipper, pushing the zipper pull out of the way when sewing.

I repeated the sequence on the other side of the zipper and was left with outer fabric and inner fabric wrong sides together on either side of the zipper.

I then placed my fabric remnant on the center of the outer canvas on the side opposite of the one with the inner pocket. I pulled the lining away and made sure that there was 1/2 free at the bottom to allow the bottom seam to come together. I sewed the remnant in place using thread that matched.

I top stitched along either side of the zipper using a 1/8 inch seam and trimmed the end of the zipper.

Next up, I pulled the outer canvas pieces together and the inner lining pieces together wrongs side together and sewed around the whole sandwich leaving a large opening at the bottom of the lining to facilitate flipping it right side out.

I flipped it and started working on the handle. To make the handle, I folded the 5×36 inch piece in half lengthwise and fused the fusible fleece with an iron to the top. I sewed around the rectangle leaving an opening in the middle of the long side to facilitate flipping inside out and also made a curve at each long end. I flipped it and pressed making sure the opening was lined up and topstit hed all around the handle at 1/8 and 1/2 inches.

Almost done, I reached inside the lining opening and secured the ends of the handle to the both sides of the bag so that the curved end of the handles were 3 inches below the zipper. Although it was a tight fit, I used my machine to sew the handle to the outer canvas (keeping the lining out of the way) in a u shape following the curve of the handle and sewing across the top of the U a couple times to reinforce. Lastly, using thread to match the lining I sewed the lining opening closed using a 1/8 inch seam.