by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 13, 2016
What do you think of my new workwear?! Great, right? *Kidding* (of course), but that’s what I feel like they should be! I’ve been wearing these lounge/pajama pants every day since I finished them. This flannel is hands-down the coziest and warmest fabric I have ever had the pleasure of sewing with.
After school today I was out shopping for stocking stuffers with my kids. It is finally acting like winter around here, we even got about 5″ of heavy snow recently! Dark had settled in when we got home and we were all feeling a bit chilled. I went upstairs to change into my new pajama pants, and (I kid you not) I was warmed up in minutes. They really are as fluffy and thick as the photos look. My oldest is asking for her own now!
Sylvia from Country Clothesline and I worked together to bring you this new tutorial today. Adding cuffs to a pair of pants is a quick and simple project. Dress up your handmade pajama pants or add cuffs to a ready-made pair!
This fabric sells out fast! But you can find links to all of these re-stocked Mammoth Flannels below, available as of today. They are 100% cotton, yarn-dyed and double napped + it’s so soft to wear and washes up beautifully. I almost think I should have made a full-body onesie complete with feet and a hood – I’d never be cold again!
Sylvia’s usual selection of fresh and pretty fabrics also provided the contrasting cuff. It was so hard to choose from the three she sent over. After a ton of consideration, the paisley won out.
Country Clothesline Shop News
- All the Christmas fabric is now 40% off while it lasts and in store.
- Just in time for Christmas gifting – Gift Cards are available! Purchase and use them at the 471 Coburn shop in Toronto.
I’m also super pleased to say that I’ll be teaching classes at the Country Clothesline and Fabric Spark’s Toronto brick & mortar location in the New Year. Can’t wait to meet more of you, lovely readers!
DIY Pant Cuff Sewing Tutorial
These cuffs are a great contrasting addition to make a simple pair of pants more special. They use about a 1/4 yard of fabric, so you can probably even make them from a fat quarter!
This tutorial will make cuffs for any size you need. I used my favorite Ladies’ Harem & Lounge Pants pattern for the pants. This is my third pair – it’s great to have a well-fitting go-to pattern!
- Pre-wash and sew your pants according to the pattern, omitting the leg hem. (Or add cuffs to a ready-made pair.) Try the pants on and mark your desired length. Add 1/2″ for cuff seam and cut off the excess.
- Calculate your cuff size. Cut 2.
- Cuff Height = Double your desired height + 1″ for seam allowances
- Cuff Width = Double the Pant Leg Width + 1″ for seam allowances
- Place each cuff RST, matching the short side seam. Stitch with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Overedge stitch, zig-zag or use pinking shears to finish the raw edges.
- Turn and fold the cuff so the wrong sides are together and raw edges are matching, press. This will create a tube.
- With the pants inside out, place the tube over the leg opening, match the raw edges and pin. The cuff seam should line up with the inner leg seam on the pants.
- Stitch the raw edges with a 1/2″ seam. Overedge stitch, zig-zag or use pinking shears to finish the raw edges.
- Turn the pants right side out. Press the cuff seam allowance toward the pants.
- Fold the cuff up along the seam line and press.
- Tack the cuffs into place with a few stitches along each side seam to keep them in place.
- Press well. Done!
Enjoy your new pants!
——————————————————————-
I’d love to see your project! You can share your project on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (links below) using the hashtags #alongforthreadride and/or #threadridinghood. Thank you!
This is a sponsored post. All content, opinions, and ideas are my own.
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 9, 2016
My youngest really likes to sew, but I’ve had a hard time teaching her the basics. I’ve hand-sewn and machine sewn projects with her and let her do her own thing, but neither option seemed to work well. We even bought her a small machine for her birthday last summer (which she loves) but it didn’t help us with the basics.
Turns out it’s not exciting to have Mommy tell you to finish your seams, or tell you how to put your project together. But it is exciting to learn them from a video series designed especially for kids!
A few months ago I was fortunate to run across a Facebook ad for a beta run through Kids Sewing. We had access to 35 sewing project videos for 6 weeks and at the end of the run were to provide photos of 5 completed projects and a testimonial about our experience. It seemed like (hopefully) the thing to get us going, so I made sure my daughter would commit to the projects and signed up.
My daughter chose to finish the Pixie Sandy series, because she wanted to make sewing related projects. We worked our way through a Sewing Bag, Pin Cushion, Fabric Tote, Scissors Pouch and Sewing Apron.
I was so impressed with how great her projects looked when they were finished.
We have created a few things together, but now she was sewing almost on her own – just by following the videos! We’d choose the next project together, use the cute shopping list printout to shop from our stash, then find the video and let her sew. She’d sit and watch them, rewinding or fast forwarding, and then pin and sew through the projects – asking me for help when she needed it. The videos really kept her engaged and interested in the process – we finished most of the items in a couple of hours or less!
The pattern pieces for each project we chose were generally rectangular – and there is a video with each lesson so you (or your child) can draw the pattern pieces. I pre-made a lot of these since my 6-year-old wasn’t as used to measuring with a ruler. I did find one of the project pattern pieces was a bit different than the video – it just included an extra step – but in the end, it didn’t matter to the process.
The instructional videos are so cute and kid-friendly, my daughter was really excited to be taught by a Pixie! Each one has a different colour theme and Pixie name. There are 7 series’ to choose from, each with a different theme. Pixie Zandy will show you 5 “Artsy” projects, Pixie Andy will show you 5 “Cool” projects and so on!
If I did have to choose one thing I had a hard time with it would be that two of the projects we did don’t have finished seams inside. Though I know why Katrina Marie has done it this way – Kids don’t like finishing seams! I’m so used to it, ‘tho I found it difficult to skip, so my daughter got an impromptu mini-lesson on serger use!
This probably corresponds back to why I didn’t get very far with teaching my daughter on my own – I was too adamant about her doing all the “boring” things – and she didn’t get to just play and enjoy sewing.
I’m really thankful I got to try these videos. I didn’t know my daughter could sew this well, or even understand the process of a project until we used them.
I was blown away by how well she did, and how much she could accomplish on her own and I’m so proud of her! It wasn’t just her either, there was a Facebook group for beta testers and all of the kids were doing this well! Plus, the videos are really reasonably priced at $10 or less for most of the projects – and that includes the pattern! Might I suggest a unique Christmas gift?
There are lots of different options for lessons. You can choose the “Yearlong Sewing Adventure” with access to 35 projects. Or one of 7 Pixie Series’ with 5 themed beginner projects in each. This is the one we tried.
You can access the FREE “Ready, Set, Sew” lesson anytime to get your kids used to a sewing machine.
The smile on my daughter’s face was enough to get me excited about these lessons. I hope you consider using them as well. Please let me know your experience, I’d love to see what your kids (or grandkids) are making!
This is a sponsored post, and all ideas, words, and opinions are my own.
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 6, 2016
Dear Diary, Machine embroidery is amazing, and there is so much I still need to learn! I could probably go on for 8 or 9 weeks in a row – yikes! Anyhow, this is the last of this particular series, even though I think might have to write more soon since I have so many ideas.
This week has been one of amazement. (Like, out talking to myself out loud!) I can connect so many useful apps to the S9 sewing machine. And it was fun to relax upstairs while the machine worked in the basement – but more about that later…
This week I’ve been so playing with four apps that connect (via Wifi) to the Skyline S9 sewing machine Janome has loaned me. In fact, I was learning so much in the AcuDesign app that I only embroidered one thing. My oldest is very excited about her new towel, though – so it’s a win! I believe the exact quote was “Wow! Mom! That’s A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!” (Thank you Skyline S9 and Janome for that! And more about my goof-up on the ears in the tutorial.)
There are 4 apps I’ve currently used, 3 free and one purchased. Of all of them, I have used AcuEdit the least so far. Instead, I used the Embroidery Editor on my computer. Now that I am more comfortable using the wifi capability and sending things back and forth I think it will be my go-to app for editing any designs I don’t edit in AcuDesign – or when I need to add lettering to a design.
Follow the Sewing Diaries:Embroidery Edition Series:
Embroidery: Week 1 – introduction to the Skyline S9 and overview & basic tips about machine embroidery
Embroidery: Week 2 – Machine Embroidered Drawstring Backpack Tutorial!
General Impression: This app does everything! You can buy designs or load free designs, edit them and then export the file or send them directly to the sewing machine. It is built to work with many embroidery machines + the Edge wifi cutter – not just the Skyline S9, and not just Janome brand. It is possible to combine designs, add text (with a purchased module) and remove/add stitching from your designs. It is available for use with Apple products and is $69.99 CDN or $50 US in the App Store.
I’m impressed by:
- It is really powerful. The Smart Stitch engine adjusts the density of your stitches when resizing your design. So if your design is very small (say, 1″) and you want to make it much larger (say, 5″) it will increase the stitch density and pattern to fit. That way you don’t lose quality!
- My kids can use it – so it’s pretty straightforward and intuitive! Basically – tap to select, drag to move and use your thumb and forefinger to make a design larger or smaller. There are very specific buttons for moving around once stitch at a time as well if you need to be more accurate.
- It has an undo (and redo) button with multiple levels. So, not to worry, you can always go back.
- Resize your graphic to the hoop size automatically. Instead of guessing how large the design can be – then resizing and placing it yourself – just use one button!
- Real-Time Simulation. Showing my daughter the “movie” of how her embroidery design would stitch out bought me 10-15 minutes of free time to make dinner! Plus, it’s fun to see how it works, complete with realistic sound. (Though you can turn it off if you’d like!)
- It’s cute design! Love the cork board background and clothesline. It feels fun and crafty.
- It’s bigger and does so much more than I thought. I’ve only scratched the surface of this app’s capabilities! It is so much more powerful, I’m sure you will hear from me again on this topic! You can also find more detail and videos on the Janome website.
The only thing that surprised me was the number of graphics that were for sale – even though it is mentioned in the app details. And they are mixed in with the Free ones – so sending my kids in to choose a Free design to work with was tricky when they could see the purchasable ones as well. That said, the pricing is reasonable, and I can see buying them once I get better at this – especially when they are designed by my favorite fabric designers. You can find Bonnie Christine and Bari J among them. (And you might need a tuna sandwich to sustain you while you acciedentally browse through your morning!)
AcuDesign Mini Tutorials:
Choose a Design: Tap on the design you like to move it into Editing Mode.
Choose a Hoop: Many different machines are listed. Choose your machine and choose the hoop you wish to use. In my case, the Skyline S9 is not in the app as yet, so I chose a SQ14 hoop from the MC 15000 folder.
Change Size, Rotate & Skew: The photo below shows the handles/arrows you can grab to skew, rotate or size the design. It also shows what happens when you make the design too large. The light pink box indicates the largest size available within the hoop you have chosen.
Move the Design: Tap and Drag the design to move it around the hoop area.
Thread Colour: You can view all of the pre-set colours in the thread toolbox. Click the part of the design you wish to change on the clothesline and choose a new colour. Or, you can choose the colour itself from the list and then choose a new one. There are several pre-set lists of popular embroidery threads.
Change the Background: A handy way to view what your actual design will look like is to change the background fabric and colour. Choose from things like faux fur and knitted wool!
Help Interface: This part of the app was really useful. Tap on the help button and then tap on the section you need help with for a description of how to use it.
Export a Design: There are many types of files that can be exported or imported into this app. Choose which one you need and then Tap “Export”. I chose to save mine to my Dropbox folder.
An Hour in the Life of the Skyline S9
(ie. How to Embroider using AcuDesign, AcuSetter and AcuMonitor)
Prep: Choose your design & edit it in AcuDesign, use the features mentioned in the mini tutorials above. My oldest changed the colour of the wings I had chosen. (I thought the pink wings looked amazing, but apparently not!) Check out how much difference the new colours make, it’s a totally different design!
- Open the saved Design. My unicorn was saved under the Imported Files section. Check out how realistic the stitches look!
- Select the Hoop size. Choose your machine and choose the hoop you wish to use. In my case, the Skyline S9 is not in the app as yet, so I chose a SQ14 hoop from the MC 15000 folder.
- Size the Design by Hand or Automatically. Use your thumb and forefinger to make the design larger or smaller. You can also choose the hoop button to automatically resize the image to fit the hoop.
- Find the Correct Embroidery Thread. The list of thread colours is listed under the thread toolbox. You can change the thread options to match your brand of embroidery thread.
- Remove Small Stitches. There is an automatic button that will remove stitches smaller than .4 mm. This helps to prevent skipped stitches or a broken thread that needs re-threading.
- Upload the Design. When the Janome Skyline S9 is turned on you can directly connect to it and send the design straight to the machine. Otherwise, you can save it. (See Exporting a Design in the Mini Tutorials above.)
- Check it out! The design is on the machine and ready to stitch. And it was so painless to get it there. Love wifi!
- Fill the Bobbin. Since this design takes about an hour to stitch, I made sure to fill a new bobbin to start with. I also checked that my needle was still sharp and changed it to a brand new one.
- Hoop the fabric. In my case, a towel! I hooped the stabilizer, then used the magnetic clips to attach the towel on top. I also added a clear stabilizer topper. (More about the topper in week 1.)
- AcuSetter app. I wrote about this specifically in week 2 of these Diaries. This time, though it didn’t work so well because the little black lines on the hoop were covered up becuase I did not hoop the towel. This is a rare occurrence since most of the time fabrics would be in the hoop and lining it up would be easy. I ended up hacking it by matching and drawing the marks on my towel. Not great for accuracy – but for this project it wasn’t critical. (Also, I didn’t need to use the app, it would have been fine to use the design as I had it straight from AcuDesign.)
- Connect AcuMonitor. This real-time monitor shows you what the machine is doing so you can walk away! It has a nice sound that chimes when you are needed to change thread colours. It will also stop to let you know if the thread breaks, or something goes wrong.
- Stitch your design.
- Check with AcuMonitor. (Read, go relax!) Since the design takes about 1 hour to stitch, this promotes good exercise while I go up and down the stairs to change thread! I do love being able to do things while it is working. I did make sure to pin up the extra towel so it wouldn’t jam the machine, and double-check that everything else was working properly first.
- Embroidery in Progress.
- Finished Project! Unfortunately in the process of changing the bobbin, I bumped the top of the design (newbie mistake), so the ears don’t quite line up on the final pass. That’ll teach me not to mess with the placement! Plus, I may have needed more/different stabilizer. I’m chalking it up to the learning curve.
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about machine embroidery! I know I have, and I’m excited to continue to play with it and get better at it. (Read: Christmas presents here I come!)
Don’t forget – there are
six more Sewing Diaries posts on Getting to Know your New Machine! Lots of tips and tricks for sewing different types of common fabrics and techniques on any machine.
How do you feel about Machine Embroidery? Love it, Hate it – find it confusing?
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 2, 2016
It feels good to finish a long-term project, right?! That’s how I feel about these Cargo Duffles. I’ve been wanting to make my daughter’s their own overnight bags since I made the first one for myself. That was three years ago now, photographed the day after our ice storm in 2013. Now all that’s left is to sew up a matching 1-hour Dopp kit, of course!
I always feel projects like this are hard to photograph enough to show you all the details, so I’ve included a huge photo-bomb for you today. I’m so pleased with how these turned out, hope you like them too!
Earlier this year, Kelly Panacci sent me a fat quarter bundle of the Tree Party fabric she designed for Riley Black Fabrics. It’s just right for my girls’ bags and split out fairly evenly into a “blue” and a “pink” project since those are the current favorites around here. I have to confess, my oldest’s pink and red duffle is my favorite – though I LOVE the brown faux leather on the blue one too. Kelly was kind to include a few of her Happy Flappers prints as well – they match perfectly! I love all of the tiny details she puts into each design.
My dilemma of what-to-do-with-a-fat-quarter-bundle-when-I’m-“not-a-quilter” was quickly remedied when I realized 90% of the pieces in cargo duffle fit into the 21″ width of the pieces! Next dilemma, how do I arrange the fabrics so they don’t look too crazy together? They all match in colour of course, but print-upon-print can be a bit jumbled if you’re not careful! This was a bit of an epic process involving charts, layouts and lots of photographs.
Now that they are finished? I love the scrappy, coziness that resulted from mixing all the prints together. Plus, the “bunting” fabric I used for the binding on the blue bag is my absolute favorite! (I’d love to use it for a quilt sometime.) To add to the artisan-handmade effect, I used some stitches on my loaned Janome S9. These X’s on the pocket sides and the blanket stitch along the accent piece add so much. Taking time to carefully add a few extras always makes a big difference!
Anyhow, I’m getting off track… Back to the bag construction!
Since I’ve made 5 Cargo Duffle bags before (these were the 6th and 7th!), I didn’t plan to find anything new to do for them. I love following tried-and-true patterns. Once I’ve made them before, it’s easy to make more, so satisfying and less stressful – because I don’t have anything new to learn! All that to say – Yay, I’ve found a new zipper hack!
You can find links to all of my Cargo Duffle bag (and backpack!) posts and tutorials at the bottom of this post. If you look, you’ll find out how to change a double-zipper into a two-way zipper that closes in the middle, perfect for bag making. I’ve always been a bit disappointed in the colour selection for the double-zips at my local fabric store – so I was thrilled to find out I could use a regular one-pull zipper for this. (And honestly, not sure why I didn’t think of it before?)
D-I-Y Double-Zipper Hack!
- Buy a regular (one-direction) zipper in the size you need.
- Buy a matching second one-direction zipper in the shortest size possible – to save $$! (Or a different colour to mix-it-up!)
- Remove the zipper pull from the small second zipper and toss out the zipper tape sides.
- Feed the zipper pull onto the first zipper following the “Change a Double-Zip to meet in the Center” tutorial
- Done, so easy!
These bags were made with the
free pattern Anna from Noodlehead wrote for Robert Kaufman. It’s my go-to pattern for overnight bags so far, as with most things Anna designs! I did get a bit creative with my own Cargo Duffle, and then the ones I made my family for Christmas, so I added a lot of the same things to these as well.
- Corrugated plastic base: It feeds into the bottom of the bag and helps it to hold its shape. I cut up an old Ikea plastic bin I’ve been saving for 3 years – just for these! It fits into a piece of fabric I added to the base gusset before sewing the sides together.
- Zippered inside pocket: The construction of these bags makes it really easy to add pockets to the inside. Sized to the bag sides, they are basted in and then the edges are covered with bias tape after the bag construction. I pleated the pocket at the bottom so it holds more – perfect for keeping socks and underwear tidy.
- Coloured (non-inset) lining: I made these bags a bit more colourful inside by adding a layer of Kona Cotton (from my Sew Sister’s club subscription) before I quilted the different pieces.
- Business Card Slot: Of course my kids don’t have business cards! But they can for sure write their last name and a phone number to slip into the clear slot. It’s attached to the zipper pocket on the inside and if these bags ever get lost I hope they come back to us because of it!
- Non-Cargo Zippered Outside Pocket: Of course, this defeats the purpose of calling these “Cargo” Duffles – but I find the zippered pocket more practical – and less fiddly – to sew on. The original cargo pockets are amazing, but snaps and I haven’t gotten along well in the past! Plus, things don’t fall out of zippered pockets as easily. (Here’s the tutorial for these zippered pockets.)
- Zipper Tabs: I forgot to add fabric ends to the zipper before I installed it, so I added some tabs to cover the extra zipper tape.
I love working with Canadian Fabric Designers and want to let you know about Kelly’s latest designs for Riley Blake Fabrics – Road Trip! It’s gorgeous and inspired by their vintage trailer and trips to Ontario provincial parks over the past few years. Would you believe Kelly and her husband Mario sold their 28-year house in 2015, packed up and moved into a vacation condo! You can read more about her inspiration on the Kelly Panacci Inc. blog.
A little birdie told me she thinks you’ll find some Road Trip around here soon! What would you make with Kelly’s new fabric?
Other Cargo Duffle posts you might like:
by Sherri Sylvester | Nov 29, 2016
Dear Diary, Week 2 of playing with the machine embroidery functions on the Janome Skyline S9 has been so fun! I’ve written a brand new beginner friendly tutorial for a simple lined Drawstring Backpack today. (Plus have one very happy girl who gets to use it!) This bag makes a quick gift and you don’t need an embroidery machine to sew one up.
This post is sponsored by Janome Canada.
Ever since Janome asked me to be one of their Artisans I’ve had the amazing chance to try out their Skyline series machines. I’d love so much to be able to let you try them too – but I’ll have to settle with telling you about them instead. Through today’s free Backpack tutorial I’ll be showing you the Skyline S9 – just released a few months ago! Here are a few exciting features I’ll be highlighting:
- Tapering – automatic settings to create unique designs with decorative stitching
- AcuSetter app – Amazing super-simple to use Apple app designed to allow for crazy-exact embroidery design placement. Check out the machine embroidery section of the tutorial for more details. (Trust me, I was grinning like crazy when I used it!)
The Sewing Diaries: Embroidery Edition started last week with an introduction to how machine embroidery works with videos and lots of photos.
On with the tutorial…
Why a Drawstring Backpack? My 4th grader needs a change of clothes for gym class and asked for a bag to put them in – the perfect project for some machine embroidery and embellishment! She chose the design and the colours. (Still enamoured with pink!) I would have loved to use another Anna Maria Horner butterfly design in blue, pink and teal…. but you don’t argue with the 9-year-old. I’ve learned that she loves things she designs. When I don’t ask and make the decisions, handmade items tend to sit around unused.
Drawstring Backpack Tutorial
This lined backpack is easy to make and wear. It lends itself to all kinds of fabrics and embellishments – machine embroidery, hand stitching or applique! Of course you could use that gorgeous fabric you’ve been saving and skip the extras too. Using only 1 yard of fabric in total, the finished size is about 17″ x 14″. The straps are fully adjustable to fit anyone from a child to an adult.
This tutorial will assume you are machine embroidering your backpack. You can also add your own embellishments, omiting the parts of the tutorial that you do not need.
As usual, please feel free to use my patterns/tutorials for your personal projects and gifts and for charitable fundraising events. Please do not sell anything sewn with this pattern. If you are interested in making this item for sale, please contact me and I will set up a license for it in the shop. Thank you!
Materials:
- 1/2 yard/metre outer fabric
- 1/2 yard/metre lining fabric (I used outdoor slicker fabric I had on hand)
- 160″ total (about 4 1/2 yards) 1/2″ ribbon, clothesline or double-fold bias tape
- Two 1″ grommets
- machine embroidery supplies such as stabilizer, appropriate needles, and thread
Prep and Cutting:
- If you will be washing this bag, prewash and press it before beginning to avoid shrinking the fabric later on.
- Cut the outer and lining. You will need one piece cut to 30″ wide by 18″ high.
- Prepare the straps by cutting your bias tape/ribbon or clothesline rope into two equal pieces 80″ long each.
- Mark the outer fabric as indicated below:
Buttonhole:
- Stitch a 3/4″ buttonhole in the area indicated on the diagram above. This will be where the straps feed through the casing.
Decorative Stitching (with the tapering feature!):
My girl loves frills and so I decided to add some stitching near the top to simulate frills and lace. Just to make it prettier!
- Choose your stitches. I wanted to play with the tapering feature on the S9. You can choose from any of the purple marked stitches on the machine and it will automatically taper the stitching for you using several angles. This would be great for the ends of collars or a tapered space like the angle on a sash.
- Mark a line on the bag outer that is parallel to the top of the bag – you will use this to keep your stitching straight. Add a line of stabilizer behind your stitching line. This will not show, so you can use any type you’d like.
- Set up your stitches. I chose an heirloom stitch with a 30 degree angle on each end to make the stitching look lacy and “ruffled”.
- Begin stitching and the S9 will automatically taper the beginning of the stitch. When you wish to start the ending taper, press the auto-lock button.
- The machine will memorize the stitched length and ask you if you’d like to repeat it. I used this repeat function to stitch to the other side of the bag.
- I added a few other stitches. It was really handy to attach and use the guide bar to keep everything straight.
- Here are the finished stitches, along with a few practice ones I made.
Machine Embroidery (using the AcuSetter app):
- Choose and set up the design you would like on the machine.
- Mark the center of your design on the fabric and hoop it. I did not center the hoop on purpose to show you the AcuSetter app. This app is free for Apple users – and Janome loaned me an iPad mini so I could use it. It’s absolutely amazing!
- “Recieve” the design from the machine – it will show up right on your screen!
- Take a photo of the hooped fabric within the app. Match up the small black lines using the magnifying circle in the center.
- The design from your sewing machine shows up on the photograph for reference. You can move things around and resize it if you want! I tilted the heart and lined it up the center markings I made earlier.
- Send the design back to the machine. It is automatically precicly placed exactly where you want it!
- Run the machine to embroider your design. This heart took about 19 minutes + threading time and has 7 different colours!
- Adding a Monogram exactly where you want is easy with the same steps. Program the monogram, hoop the fabric, receive the design, line it up and send the design back to the machine. Now, embroider it in the exact place you put it!
Sew the Backpack:
- Change the machine from Embroidery mode to Sewing mode. Press the toggle button on the LCD screen and close the embroidery arm.
- Match the top edge of the outer and lining with right sides together. Pin and stitch with a 1/4″ seam. Finish the raw edge if desired with serging, zig-zag stitch or pinking shears.
- Open flat and press the seam allowance towards the lining. I used low heat because the slicker fabric melts easily.
- Fold the lining and outer right sides together matching the sides and the seam you just sewed. The outer and lining sides will match up with themselves. Stitch with a 1/2″ seam and finish the raw edges if desired.
- Fold the lining into the outer with wrong sides together, creating a tube. Press and pin along the finished seamline and match the bottom raw edges.
- Edgestitch along the pinned edge about 1/8″ away from the fold. Also stitch along the pre-marked line (aprox. 1 1/4″ down from the top edge) to create the casing.
- The buttonholes should be centered from top to bottom within the casing.
- Turn the bag wrong side out and align all 4 raw edges. Flatten and pin the bag bottom with the back seam centered on the back of the bag. Stitch through all 4 layers with a 1/2″ seam. Trim to 1/4″ and finish the raw edges if desired.
- Turn the bag right side out again. Push out the bottom edge and the corners and press well. Mark 2″ out from each corner and connect the lines to create a triangle in each corner. Also mark a stitching line 1/2″ up from the bottom fold. Stitch on the marked lines to enclose the raw edge and create a sturdy corner for the grommets.
- Attach the grommets in the center of each stitched triangle as per the manufacturer’s directions.
- Insert one strap through the right buttonhole, around the entire casing and out the same buttonhole. Match the right side strap ends and bring them through the grommet from the back. Knot to hold in place.
- Insert the other strap through the left buttonhole, around the entire casing and out the same buttonhole. Match the left side strap ends and bring them through the grommet from the back. Knot to hold in place.
- Fray-check or finish strap ends if desired. They can be re-knotted at any length appropriate to the wearer. Remove all markings and press well.
Enjoy your new Drawstring Backpack!
——————————————————————-
I’d love to see your project! You can share your project on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (links below) using the hashtags #alongforthreadride and/or #threadridinghood. Thank you!
