Friday, December 3, 2010

handmade gifts- day 4

Today is the day of the zippy. Zippered bags, pouches, whatever you want to call them can be customized for anyone-- picky preteens, conservative grandmothers, etc.

I made a vinyl zippy (using the instructions from the oh-so-awesome Denyse Schmidt Quilts):


And a denim quilted zippy:



I've been trying to use up some home decor fabric too, and they work great because I don't have to use interfacing!


There are dozens of great tutorials on making zippered pouches out there. When I made my first zippered pouch, I used this tutorial. My secret for avoiding broken needles and a lot of frustration is to allow plenty of extra fabric on either side of my zipper opening. So for my 7" zippers and quilting weight fabric (with a lightweight interfacing fused on), I'll cut my fabric to be 8" wide and do a 1/4" seam allowance. When I do a pouch that has fusible fleece or batting as the interfacing, I cut the pieces to be 8.5" wide and do a 1/2" seam allowance. This keeps me from accidently sewing over the metal end pieces.

Check back next week for more gifts! I have to be selective now about what I show since some friends and family are reading, but I think I can give some sneak peeks. And I'm still working on those men's gifts. In the spirit of making things easy this Christmas, I might have to give up on them. A hint and a tip for one of the things I'm trying to do-- do NOT google "beer koozie tutorials" or you will discover that it brings the motherload of virus-laden results. Trust me. Don't do it.

5 comments:

Amy Friend said...

Those pouches are all fantastic! I think your tips for zippers are good too. I will make sure to do that next time because it is always a frustration for me. I am laughing so hard at the beer koozie tutorial bit.

Poppyprint said...

Awesome. But what I want to know is how your vinyl one is so nice at the ends of the zipper - you didn't get that diagonal foldy edge at all! More detailed photos for that part, please, because that is my biggest complaint with making zippy pouches. I cannot figure out how to deal with that seam allowance/zipper tape bulk and make the ends look nice. Also, since I've got you here, what type of needle & thread did you use to sew through the vinyl?

Dani said...

That's the same tutorial I used (and still refer to)! It's really good. And I agree about leaving extra room.

Zip pouches have been a favorite go-to gift for a while now...so much so that I've worn them out a bit.

Yours are rad.

Emily said...

I agree with poppyprint - I can't seem to get the ends of my zippers to look nearly as nice as I'd like. I have not clue why. lol.

Leslie said...

i really like the contrast of the stitching and zipper to the denim!!!