This is the second part of my series of tutorials on different kinds of pockets to add to your handmade handbag. For the first part ("How to make an inner elasticized pocket") click here.

Customize your handmade handbag by adding a very practical and spacious pouch on either the front or the back! Not only is this pouch 3D-shaped so that you can fit more items into it – it also closes with a flap, to look more stylish and to make sure all your things stay in place.
I used this pocket in my All Day Out Bag sewing pattern. I like it because it gives you a little extra space for all the things you need to carry around.

--- If you would rather prefer to download this complete tutorial as a PDF file you may
purchase it here for only $2 ---

Finished measurements:
20 x 25 cm (8“ x 10“)
Please note: The bag you are making should measure at least 25 cm (10") in height and
28 cm (11") in width to make sure this pouch fits onto it.  
The pouch will be attached to one of your main body panels. Make it and stitch it to your bag lining BEFORE assembling the handbag!

Please read all instructions before you begin.

All cutting measurements given are height x width.

All seam allowances are 1 cm (3/8”) unless stated otherwise.

Download the pattern pieces from the PDF file below and cut them out.

You need:
- Exterior fabric: 1 fat quarter
- Lining fabric: 1 fat quarter
- Fusible fleece e. g. Pellon 987F: a 20 x 55 cm (8” x 22”) piece is sufficient
- Fusible interfacing e. g. Pellon 931TD: 0.25 m (1/4 yd)
- 1 magnetic snap
- pattern pieces #1, #2 and #3 (download them from the PDF file below)

Cut:
From exterior fabric:
(1 x) pattern piece #1 on the fold – pouch
(1 x) pattern piece #2 on the fold – pouch flap (outer part, with pleats)

From lining fabric:
(1 x) pattern piece #1 on the fold – pouch 
(1 x) pattern piece #3 on the fold – pouch flap (inner part, without pleats)

From fusible fleece:
(1 x) pattern piece #1 on the fold – pouch
(1 x) pattern piece #3 on the fold – pouch flap 

From fusible interfacing:
(1 x) pattern piece #1 on the fold – pouch
(1 x) pattern piece #2 on the fold – pouch flap

Instructions

1) Make the pouch flap:
On the inner pouch flap piece (cut with pattern piece #3, the one you interfaced with fusible fleece) measure and mark 3 cm (1.25”) up from the bottom (rounded) center edge.

This spot marks the center of the magnetic snap, so make sure to position the snap with its center right on top of your marking.

Install the male part of the magnetic snap in that spot, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Set aside.

Fold the pleats at the bottom (rounded) edge of the outer pouch flap piece (cut with pattern piece #2):

On the left-hand side of the pouch flap, bring the marking for the pleat up and over to the center and pin the fold in place.

 

Repeat for the right-hand side pleat. Baste across the pleats at the bottom edge of the pouch flap (approx. 0.5 cm (3/16”) from the edges) to make sure they stay in place.

Put the two pouch flap pieces right sides together, all edges matching.

 Pin in place and stitch around all edges of the flap but leave an opening of approx. 12 cm (4.75”) at the top edge. Trim the seam allowance and notch the curves (i. e. cut small “v”s into the fabric). Be careful not to cut into the stitching. Turn the flap right side out.

Fold the seam allowance of the opening down to the inside, pin in place and press the flap. Topstitch along the rounded edge of the flap using a 0.5 cm (3/16”) seam allowance. Set the pouch flap aside.

2) Make the pouch:
On one of the pouch pieces (cut with pattern piece #1), fold the top corner down so that the two edges of the bottom darts match. Pin in place and stitch along the straight edge of the dart. Repeat with the other edge of the fabric piece and then with the two edges of the second pouch piece.

On the outer pouch piece (interfaced with fusible fleece) insert the female part of the magnetic snap by following the manufacturer’s instructions, at the spot you marked.

Put the two pouch pieces right sides together, all edges matching. Make sure the seams of the darts of both inner and outer piece match. Pin in place and stitch around the edges but leave an opening at the bottom edge of approx. 10 cm (4”). Clip the seam allowance on the curves.

Turn the pouch right side out through the opening. Fold the seam allowance of the opening down towards the inside and pin in place. Press and topstitch along the top edge of the pouch using a 0.5 cm (3/16”) seam allowance. Set aside.

3) Attach the pouch to the bag main body panel

Decide where you want your pouch to be positioned on your bag and put the pouch flap with the pleated side up onto one of the exterior main body panels of your bag (the pouch flap should be at least 3.5 cm  (1.25”) down from the top edge of the main body panel). Pin in place and attach the pouch flap to the main body panel by stitching along the straight top edge of the pouch flap, at the same time closing the opening of the pouch flap.

Put the pouch with the magnetic snap up onto the exterior main panel of your bag and match both parts of the magnetic snap (of pouch and pouch flap) as if closing the pouch. This is how you find the correct placement for the pouch. With the magnetic snap closed, make sure the pouch sits centered on the exterior main panel and that its top edge is straight. Pin the pouch in place.
Attach the pouch to the exterior main panel by stitching along the side edges, curves, and bottom edge, at the same time closing the opening at the bottom. Be careful when sewing over the corners to prevent pleats. Leave the top (straight) edge open.

Your pouch is all set! Proceed with assembling your handbag.

If you would rather prefer to download this complete tutorial as a pdf file you may purchase it here for only $2.
--- I have received many emails with questions, tips and tricks on my tutorials. Thank you all! If you would like to weigh in with a short comment please feel free to let me know what you think of my tutorial below. I am interested to hear your feedback! ---

This tutorial is for all of you bag making lovers who like pockets in all varieties like me :)
It is the first part of my series of tutorials on different kinds of pockets to add to your handmade handbag. For the first part ("How to add a pouch with flap to the outside of your bag") click here.

Customize your handmade handbag by adding a very practical and spacious elasticized pocket! Not only is this pocket 3D-shaped so that you can fit more items into it – it is also divided in the center for more convenience, to keep your things organized.
I used this pocket in my All Day Out Bag sewing pattern. What I like about this pocket is that it reaches across the whole width of the bag interior - plenty of room to arrange your stuff!

For this project you will need (measurements see below):
-    2 pieces of fabric
-    1 piece of elastic

Make the pocket and stitch it to your bag lining BEFORE assembling the bag!

1) In preparation you will have to cut two rectangular fabric pieces for your elasticized pocket:

For the measurements for the pocket fabric pieces use the main body panel of your bag for help:
-    For the height of the elasticized pocket decide on where you would like the top edge of the elasticized pocket to be. Measure this height from the bottom edge of the main body panel and add 1.5 cm (1/2").
(For a medium-sized bag I recommend using approx. half the height of your main body panel).

-    For the width of the elasticized pocket use the width of your bag main body panel and add about 14 – 18 cm (5 ½ – 7”).

→ Cut 2 rectangles of that size so that you have two pieces for the elasticized pocket.
→ Cut 1 piece of elastic (length: about 3/4 of the width of the main body panel).

2) Assemble the elasticized pocket (all seam allowances are 1 cm (3/8”) unless stated otherwise):
Put the two fabric pieces for the elasticized pocket right sides together, all edges matching. Pin in place and stitch along the top edge. Fold the pocket right side out and press.
Measure and mark a horizontal line 1.5 cm (0.5“) down from the top edge. Topstitch along this line to create a channel for the elastic.

3) Attach a safety pin to each end of your piece of elastic. Pull the elastic through the channel you created on the top edge of your fabric piece.
Remove the safety pin from one end and carefully let the elastic slide into the channel so that it ends approx. 2 cm (3/4”) in from the side edge of the fabric. At 2.5 cm (1“) in from the side edge, topstitch down until you reach the bottom stitching of the channel, at the same time fastening the elastic.

4) The other end of the elastic will be in the channel. Pull it out at the safety pin. Tighten the elastic until the width of the top part of the pocket has the same width as the main body panel (see also last picture of this tutorial for reference).
Again, keep the elastic in place with your finger and topstitch down 2.5 cm (1”) in from the side edge, until you reach the bottom stitching of the channel to fasten the elastic.

5) Remove the second safety pin. Pull the fabric of the channel back to the stitching and trim the excess elastic.

6) To get the bottom edge of the elasticized pocket to be the same width as your main body panel, fold pleats at the bottom edge:
Place the pocket onto your main body panel and align the bottom edge and the side edges of both pieces. This way you will have excess fabric at the bottom, which you will use to create the pleat: On the right-hand side of the pocket, bring this excess fabric up and over to the center of the pocket and pin the fold in place.
In the picture to the right you can see the right-hand side pleat already folded and the left-hand side pleat still unfolded.

7) Repeat for the left-hand side pleat. Baste across the pleats at the bottom edge of the pocket (approx. 0.5 cm (3/16”) from the edges) to make sure they stay in place

8) Before proceeding make sure to distribute the elastic evenly over the whole width of the pocket.
Place the main body panel right side up. Place the elasticized pocket onto it, with the pleats facing up. The side edges, and bottom edge of both pieces should be aligned. Pin the pocket in place and attach it to the lining main body panel by stitching along the side edges and the bottom edge using a 0.5 cm (3/16”) seam allowance. 
If your main body panel does not have a rectangular shape but curved edges like mine, you can trim off the excess fabric of the pocket after pinning it down onto the main body panel like shown in the picture below.
To get two compartments, topstitch down from the center of the pocket.

Your elasticized pocket is all set! Proceed with assembling the lining part of your handbag.

If you would rather prefer to download this complete tutorial as a pdf file you may purchase it here for only $2.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

Only two more months of winter and then we can slowly get ready for spring... <sigh>...

To put me in the right mood I decided to make a dress out of one of the fabrics I got at Mood Fabrics in NYC in December.
I usually don't go too bold with my clothing but I just love love love the print of this knit fabric. I think it's phenomenal (just like the store I bought it from)!
(Read about my trip to Mood here)

I wanted it to be simple and casual, so I chose a New Look pattern. I made three changes:
1. I got rid of the sleeves
2. I made it a maxidress, reaching all the way to my ankles.
3. I doubled the bodice. I have a store-bought dress with a fully lined bodice and I really like it since it gives it more structure and a neat finished look.

When I bought this fabric I had absolutely no clue what to make with it. So I bought 2 yards, thinking I would be on the safe side. I am rather tall (5'9") and the fabric was hardly enough for a maxidress. I had to use another knit fabric (plain turquoise) from my stash for the inner back part of the doubled bodice.
I also couldn't play with the print like I had originally planned. The print ist bold and dark on the left-hand side of the fabric panel and kind of fades out to the right-hand side. If I had had more fabric I would have probably cut both the front and back part kind of in the center of the print. Now my front skirt panel is widely patterned and the back panel is rather plain :) To make a contrast to the colorful front skirt part I decided to use the more plain part of the fabric for the front bodice.

It took me a few moments to figure out how to line the bodice but it is actually pretty easy. I decided to share my technique with you, in case you want to try it out yourself.

How to double the bodice:
Note: for your convenience I am offering this tutorial as a PDF file if you prefer to have everything in one structured document. You may purchase it here for only $2.

1. Cut your bodice part for front and back twice each.

2. Put the two bodice front parts right sides together and pin. Stitch along the neckline and the armholes and make sure to start and stop approx. 2 cm (0.75") from the edges (see picture to the left). You will need this gap later to finish your bodice (I forgot to do it at first and sewed all the way up to the top, like shown on the pictures below. Don't do that!!). Turn right side out.

3. Repeat for the two pieces of the bodice back part.

4. Put the outer shoulder parts of the bodice back and front right sides together. Pin in place and stitch.

To do the same with the inner shoulder parts of the bodice front and back you will have to pull the two pieces through the bodice. Pin in place and stitch. Your bodice front and back will be connected at the shoulder seams now, with the gaps still open.

5. Repeat the previous step with the side seams of the bodice: Sew the side seams of the outer bodice parts rights sides together. Then sew the seams of the inner bodice parts right sides together. 

6. To close the gaps on the bodice part, simply fold the seam allowances to the inside. Then topstitch along the whole bodice part (neckline and armholes), at the same time closing the openings.

7. For the skirt part of my dress I used the two panels that came with the New Look pattern and added about 15" in length for a maxidress. The front panel is wider than the back (the back has the exact width of the back bodice). It has to be gathered to the right width so that it fits the bodice front part.
Stitch your skirt front and back together before proceeding.

8. Attach the doubled bodice to the skirt:
Put the skirt part and the bodice outer parts right sides together and stitch around the whole piece. I used a serger which will finish the edge neatly at the same time. You will be stitching through three layers of fabric: the skirt, the outer bodice and the inner bodice.

Finding the right length for my dress took me a while but I finally figured it out. I wanted it to be as long as possible, but without risking to fall or to have the fabric touch the ground (and dirt!) when not standing straight.

I had just a tiny bit of fabric left and decided to make a headband. I simply cut three strips of fabric and braided them. The strips I cut were about 4 cm (1.5") wide and 45 cm (18 ") long. To make the braid stay in place I stitched right over it at both the top and the bottom ends. Now I only have to tie the two ends together and my headband is ready to go!

I think the dress turned out really nice. I can't wait to wear it!! I hope you like it too. I am glad I already made it even though summer still seems like a million years away... Are you already sewing things for summer?
Happy sewing everyone and stay warm!

I am honored to be a guest blogger for Sew Mama Sew!! My review about bag stabilizers was posted two days ago and you can check it out here!

(They also posted a small bio about me which you can find here.)
If you haven't seen it already I would like to invite you to head over to Sew Mama Sew and check out my review. I am sharing my favorite stabilizer product options for making bags, with tips for the best way to use each product. Those products are By Annie's Soft and Stable, Timtex, fast2fuse Heavyweight, Stiff Stuff, Roc-Lon Multipurpose Cloth and two versions of Vilene Decovil which is more common outside the United States.
I hope you will like my review and that it will be helpful to you with your upcoming bag projects. Which stabilizers do you usually use? Maybe there's more out there, that I haven't tried yet? You are welcome to leave me a comment or post a comment over at Sew Mama Sew! :)

I posted this free tutorial the other day about how to turn an xxl-shirt into a dress and I finally made a second one! I had to wait for my new t-shirt to arrive, which I got from my choir. I joined the Rochester Oratorio Society last year and I really enjoy singing with them. A couple weeks ago they offered the opportunity to order shirts and hoodies with their logo on the front, I already have a hoodie (in light pink :-)) and since that other shirt for my friend turned out so nicely I decided to order a big shirt for myself and turn it into a dress as well.

For the basic steps to make this dress, please refer to my free tutorial. Below I will show you how I lengthened my shirt, embellished the sleeves and made the belt.

--- This tutorial is free but for your convenience I decided to offer the complete tutorial as a PDF for download for only $2, if you prefer to have everything in one structured document ---

1. Embellish the sleeves
I didn't want to go with regular sleeves and since I was planning on lengthening my shirt with some nice coordinating cotton fabric I thought I'd be a nice idea to add a small strip of that fabric to the sleeves as well. Another thing I did was attaching a piece of elastic to the wrong side of the sleeve, to get a nice effect. To do this you will have to measure the height of your sleeve and take a piece of elastic of about half that height. Place the elastic centered onto the wrong side of your sleeve, starting approx. 0.75" down from the top edge. Stitch it down to the fabric while pulling it tight, so that the other end of the elastic ends about 0.75" from the bottom edge of the sleeve. This will make the elastic to create crinkles (nice ones!) on your sleeve as shown on the picture to the bottom right.

Next I cut two strips of my cotton fabric (each with a height of 2"), which had the same width as the bottom edge of the sleeves. I put the sleeve and the fabric right sides together and stitched. Next I folded the cotton fabric over to the wrong side of the sleeve, folded down the seam allowance and pinned the cotton fabric down on the sleeve, with the its clean edge being pinned down just about 1/8" above the seam you made in the step before.

Topstitch from the right side of the sleeve to make sure your stitching is even. Stitch approx. 1/8" down from the top edge of the cotton fabric.

I also pulled a strip of elastic through the cotton fabric and tightened it just a little bit, for the sleeve the get a nicer and rounder shape. Stitching the ends of the elastic to the cotton fabric made sure it stayed in place for the next step.

Next I folded my sleeve in half so that the two short edges were aligned and stitched them right sides together. Then I was ready to attach the sleeve to the shirt (see my previous tutorial for this step).

2. Lengthen the shirt
With a height of 5' 9" I am fairly tall and so I had to lengthen the shirt or I would have risked showing to much... and we certainly don't want that :) So I added two 4" long strips of my cotton fabric to the front and the back of the shirt.

3. Adding a belt
I decided to add a little belt to my dress since I didn't quite like the look of it. I wanted it to be fairly long so I actually had to stitch two pieces right sides together along the short ends to get a piece that was about 64" long. I made two of these, so both of my fabric pieces ended up being approx. 64" x 1.75". I put them right sides together, all edges aligned and stitched along both long edges using a 1/4" seam allowance. I used a turning tool to turn the belt right sides out and folded down the seam allowance of both short edges and topstitched them closed.
I acutally put on my dress to find the right height for the belt and pinned it down on the two side seams of the dress. I made sure that the center of the belt was aligned with the center of the back of the shirt. Then I simply topstitched the belt down on the two side seams of the dress.

This is acutally more of a summer dress but I don't think I can wait that long before wearing it. I really like the way it turned out and it took me only about 2 hours to make it :)

Thanks for reading and I hope you like this project :)

One of my October weekends was devoted to a project I like to call "Now-that-it's-getting-winter-get-rid-of-the-freaking-drafts-in-your-house". Seriously, weather-wise I just live in the wrong state. I hate freezing, but I freeze all the time as soon as temperatures drop below 60 degrees (mind you USA, that is 15 degrees on the Celsius scale. Sounds pretty bad, huh?!). Our house here is old, built in the 1930s and while they installed new windows before we moved in, the wooden window frames have cracks and holes, if I hold my hand close to them I can feel the wind. No joke. This is not what you want when you live upstate NY where it usually stays cold from November to April. So this year I decided to finally do something about it and so I gathered as much information about how to weatherize windows when you don't have a clue about home improvement whatsoever.

Before you fall asleep over this blog post that was orininally designed to show you how to easily sew a draft stopper for your door, let me just tell you this: rope caulk is awesome! It is a putty-like substance that comes as a rope (duh...) with different strands and you can simply "unwind" as much as you need, in the thickness that you need to fill cracks or gaps and then simply seal them with it. It is amazing! I spent an entire Sunday filling all the drafty cracks in our house and I used up two of these packages. So if you are looking for a simple way to make your home more cozy, go get rope caulk!

So back to the title of this post. We have a backdoor in our kitchen, that leads into a very cold staircase and the basement. There is a really big gap under the door which I decided had to go as well. I mean, what's the use in fixing your windows if the cold still has this very convenient way to get into your house, right? I thought about making a simple draft stopper, you know, the ones that are made of fabric, stuffed with batting which you simply push in front of the door. I didn't like the idea very much since they always have to be put back in place after using the door. And the gap would be open if I leave the house through that door, so that was no option.

I found a very cool idea over at this website. They used foam tubes (originally designed for pipe insulation, you will find them at your hardware store as well) as a filler, what an awesome idea! I bought a 6' long foam tube that has a 1.75" inch diameter and started designing my own draft stopper. If you have read so far, congratulations and thank you, I really appreciate it :)
If you are interested in my "stylish" draft stopper, here is what I made:
(This tutorial is free but if you would rather prefer to download this complete tutorial as a pdf file you may purchase it here for only $2.)

First you will have to measure the width of your door, so you will know to what length to cut your foam tubes. When measuring, watch out for protruding parts (see first picture below) and take these into account so you will be able to close your door later with the draft stopper attached.
Also measure the depth of your door. You don't have to be too exact. I noted down 1 1/2" for mine.

Get some fabric. I actually had a Polyester fabric lying around in my stash (God knows why I bought this one…) which was perfect for this project. You most certainly don't want to use your best lightweight quilting cotton and you also might want to use darker colors, since the thing is going to be dragged over the ground fairly often.

Measurements: (seam allowance 1/2" included)

The width of your fabric piece should be: the width of your tube (i. e. the width of your door) plus about 3 extra inches.
The height of your fabric piece should be approx. 26 inches (if you use tubes with a diameter of 1.75 inches. Allow more fabric if you use tubes bigger in diameter). My piece of fabric was much too long as you will see in the pictures, don't let that confuse you :)

Fold the fabric in half horizontally (that means, after folding your fabric will still have the same width but will only be half as high as before), right sides together. Sew along the two short edges. Leave the long edge open.

Turn right side out. Put one of your foam tubes into the fabric and push it right into the upper corner, making sure it is centered. Pin it in place by closing the fabric, so that the tube is entirely covered by fabric. Pin as close to the tube as possible, as indicated by the white dashes in the picture below.

With the zipper foot of your sewing machine, sew along the tube, closing the fabric and trapping the tube inside.

Now measure from the seam you just made: the depth of your door, in my case 1 1/2". You can also put the unfinished draft stopper under your door to get the perfect measurements (see pictures below). Use a fabric marker to mark a line parallel to the seam you just stitched. I also recommend pinning the two fabric layers together, so nothing will slip while sewing. Stitch along the line you marked.

Take the second foam tube and put it into the fabric. Slide it inside, all the way to the seam you just made. Using pins, close down the fabric on the other side of the tube, again trapping the tube inside.

Using the zipper foot of your sewing machine, stitch along the tube again, closing the channel. Trim the rest of the fabric to the appropiate size: since this end of my draft stopper is going to be in the staircase and hence out of my view most of the time, I simply trimmed the fabric down to approx. 3/4" (measured from the stitching next to the tube) and did a zig zag stitch to prevent the edges from fraying. I agree this may not be the cleanest solution but I am not going to try winning Project Runway with this thing after all :-)

If you want your edge to be neat, trim down the fabric to a length of 1 1/4" (again measured from the stitching next to the tube) and then bend the fabric of both edges down towards the inside by approx. 1/2". Pin in place and stitch along the edge using a 1/4" seam allowance.

And that is it! Your draft stopper is finished. Slide it underneath your door and enjoy! No more drafts and it looks kinda stylish too. That fabric isn't even as hideous as I thought.

If you live in a cold area, you will have lots of fun with this. We had our first snow last night and I am not too happy about it... On the other hand I realized I really enjoy the sound of snow falling. Seems like I can't really make up my mind about it :) Do you like winter? Or are you one of those happy folks living in a warmer climate?
Happy sewing and stay warm :)

--- UPDATE 12/3/13: I made another dress with embellished sleeves and a belt, and lengthened it with cotton fabric. You can find this blog post here.
For your convenience I decided to offer the complete tutorial as a PDF for download for only $2, if you prefer to have everything in one structured document ---

Another one of my sewing projects is done! A friend of mine had this really big t-shirt and she asked me if I could turn it into a dress for her. This was a really nice opportunity to use my serger again and was easier than I thought.

I had my friend give me one of her knit dresses that fit her well so that I would have some reference for measuremens. I put the xxl-shirt flat onto my sewing table and her dress above, so I could see where her shoulder seams and side seam would have to be. Then I marked everything with a fabric marker. You can see how I folded the sleeve to the side so that I could trace it exactly. The nice thing about knit fabrics is you don't even need to put in darts or pleats to make it fit. Simply let it slightly taper down to the waist.
I only did the tracing on one side of the shirt.

(Before proceeding I already cut the sleeves of. These will have to be adjusted in size later. )
Then it was time to cut off the additional fabric on that side. This is always the part the makes me a little most. After all, this is not my own shirt. Don't want to mess up now.
I simply folded the shirt in half and traced the other side with a fabric marker as well. This way I made sure both sides are even.

Using your serger (if you have a regular sewing machine you can use a stretch stitch) sew both side edges together again, right sides together.

For the new sleeves I actually looked through my paper patterns and took a sleeve pattern piece from a knit dress that seemed to be perfect to be used for the new sleeves. If you want to make sure the sleeve fits exactly into the armhole, measure the width of the armhole and adjust the width of the sleeve before cutting.
You can also go with a wider sleeve and gather it a little at the rounded top edge like you normally do, especially when sewing with cotton fabrics (e. g. a blouse). The only thing you want to avoid is having the width of the sleeve be smaller then the width of the armhole.
I took one of the shirt sleeves that I had cut off, folded my paper pattern piece in half and put it on top, the opening of both pieces matching. Then I traced around the paper sleeve and cut along this line.

With your serger or using a stretch stitch on your regular sewing machine, sew the sleeve together again at its short bottom edges. Repeat for the second sleeve.

Put the first sleeve into one of the armholes, right sides together. Both seams of sleeve and shirt should match. Use a lot of pins to keep the sleeve in place. I measured mine to fit exactly into the opening without having to gather the sleeve fabric.
Then stitch around the sleeve.

Almost done, the only thing I wanted to alter as well was the neckline. It was very small and wouldn't really look good on this dress.
I cut off the neck trim to make the neckline bigger, then simply folded it down to the wrong side by approx. 1 cm (3/8") and used lots of pins to hold everything in place.  Using my regular sewing machine and a twin needle I stitch all along the neckline.

And that is it already! I hope my friend will enjoy her new dress. I have to say I liked her idea so much that I am thinking about making a dress like this for myself as well. I even have an idea of what shirt to use...

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any questions feel free to leave me a comment. Have you made a similar project? I would love to know :)

Some of you might know that making a new bag for myself every time I am about to travel has become a tradition of mine!
(Click "vacation projects" in the category search on the right-hand side to read about my other "vacation" bags!)
I will be leaving for a trip to the Southwest of the States on Wednesday and while I was going through my clothes last week to decide on what I am going to bring I noticed that I actually don't have a smaller handbag which is pretty enough to be used when going out at night. Unbelievable, I know...

I quickly decided to make a rose petal bag since it has the perfect size and looks classy enough to be used for either shopping or for a night out. I decided to go with a neutral brown cotton fabric for the exterior, which has a slight pattern to it (I don't like plain... boring!). For the rose petals I used that same brown fabric (but I folded the petals so that the plain side would be the exterior side) and added a light pink plus three petals made of a salmon colored chevron fabric.

This is only the second rose petal bag I have made so far. It is really quick to sew up (I needed about 5 hours altogether, cutting and interfacing all fabric pieces included). Again I decided to go with Roc-Lon Multipurpose Cloth to interface the exterior fabric pieces. This material is awesome, even though it is very thin it gives the bag great body and the bag feels and looks really good! It in non-fusible, so I had to baste it onto the two main body panels and the flap before I could start assembling the bag. I usually don't baste along all edges but just at some spots, to keep the interfacing in place.

I really like this bag! The colors match nicely with my favorite dress which I am definitely going to bring on my trip. If you like what you see you can check out more rose petal bag designs in one of my previous blogposts. This bag is so versatile and works for so many styles, it is really fun to look at all the different designs.

So I will be off on my trip with my new bag, yay! This is my first vacation since February so I am really looking forward to it (my trip to Germany doesn't count. That was going home :)). Enjoy the rest of the summer everyone! Have you been on vacation this past summer? I would love to hear about it, so leave a comment if you like :)

--- I have received many emails with questions, tips and tricks on my tutorials. Thank you all! If you would like to weigh in with a short comment please feel free to let me know what you think of my tutorial below. I am interested to hear your feedback! ---

Today I want to share my version of how to insert a recessed zipper into the top of your bag. (Click here if you want to read more about this particular bag)
This tutorial is free but if you would rather prefer to download this complete tutorial as a pdf file you may purchase it here for only $2.

The zipper will be sewn onto the lining part of the bag, so in order to determine the length of the zipper and the fabric for the zipper cases, please take your lining main body pieces of your bag and measure the following:
Take the lining main body piece of your bag and measure the width. Then subtract 2 cm (0.75"). This is the width that EACH of your zipper case fabric pieces will have.(This is to have enough room at the edges, so that the zipper won't be squeezed into the sides of the bag AND considering the edges of the zip case which will be bend down to get a clean edge.)

example:
width of the lining: 15"
subtract 0.75" = 14.25"
→ The width for your two zip cases has to be 14.25".

The length is determined by the depth of your bag. Measure the depth (usually you do this by measuring the width of the side panel of your bag) and then multiply this number by 2. This is the length that EACH of your zipper case fabric pieces will have. (This will be plenty of fabric since each case will be folded four times to get a stable, sturdy zip case)

example:
depth of bag: 5”
Multiply by 2 = 10”
→ The length of your two zip cases has to be 10".

All seam allowances are 1 cm (3/8") unless otherwise stated.

1) Cut your two fabric pieces according to your own measurements (in my case, my two fabric pieces for the zipper cases have to be 14.25 x 10” each).
Also: cut a small fabric piece, approx. 8 x 4 cm (3 x 1.5") to make a zipper tab for the end of the zipper.

2) Attach a zip tab to the bottom end of the zipper
For more convenience when using the zipper later, put a zipper tab onto the end of the zipper. Take your zip tab fabric piece and fold it in half along the short side, right sides together. Stitch along both side edges, trim the seam allowance and turn right side out.

Fold the raw edge down towards the inside and press. Take your zipper and put the tab over the end of the zipper, just so that the end of the zipper tape touches the middle crease of your zip tab. Pin in place and topstitch along the open edge of the zipper tape, this way closing the zipper tape and at the same time attaching it to the zipper.

3) Make the zipper cases
Take one of the zip case fabric pieces and fold down both short sides (wrong sides together) by 1 cm (3/8").
Now fold the fabric in half along the long sides, wrong sides together. Press. Open the fabric again and fold the two long sides towards the middle crease. Press and then fold in half again:

4) Attach the zipper to the zipper cases
Place your zipper right side up. Take your folded zipper case and put the zipper tape inside the open edge of the zipper case. The open edges of the case should end approx. 0,3 cm  (1/8“) before the zipper teeth.
At the end of the zipper (where you attached the zip tab), make sure that you leave some space of approx. 1,5 to 2 cm (0.5 to 0.75”) between the zip case and the zip tab:

At the top of the zipper (where the zipper opens), bend down the zipper teeth and hide them in between the layers of the zipper case.

Using the zipper foot of your sewing machine, stitch all along the open edge of the zipper case with a 0,5 cm (3/16”) seam allowance, at the same time attaching the zipper to the case:

Also, topstitch along both short edges of the zipper case. You can either do this with your zipper foot or switch back to your regular sewing machine foot.
Take your second zip case fabric case and repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other side of the zipper.

5) Attach the zipper to the lining fabric of your bag
Place one of your lining fabric pieces right side up. Take your assembled zipper and put it right side up onto the lining fabric. Place it approx. 4 cm (1.5”) beneath the top edge of the lining and place it centered, so that there is the same amount of space from the outer edges of the lining fabric piece to the edges of the zipper case (which should be about 2 cm (0.75") in from each side edge):

Pin in place along the long edge of the zipper case (that's the one opposite from the one with the zipper teeth) and topstitch the zipper case onto the lining fabric with a  0,5 cm (3/16”) seam allowance.

Repeat step 5 with the other side and the second lining fabric piece.

Your recessed zipper is all set! Proceed with assembling the lining part of your handbag.
If you would rather prefer to download this complete tutorial as a pdf file you may purchase it here for only $2.

Happy sewing!

I recently added a shoulder pad to the strap of one of my bigger bags for more convenience so I thought I’d share this in a tutorial. It is not very difficult but keep in mind to add the shoulder pad to your strap before you sew the strap onto your bag! Happy sewing!

--- This tutorial is free but for your convenience I decided to offer the complete tutorial as a PDF for download for only $2, if you prefer to have everything in one structured document ---

Download the pattern pieces from the pdf-file above, print them and cut them out. You should have two pattern pieces (#1 “bottom part” and #2 “top part”). When printing make sure your printer settings are set to "actual size" and NOT to "fit" so the pattern pieces will be the right size.

Hint: if you use oilcloth or laminated cotton like I did, sewing clips instead of pins are recommended, since pins will leave holes in your fabric.

You need:

Fabric: a few scraps will do
Bias tape 0.5” wide: approx. 50 cm (20”)
Fusible fleece, e.g. Pellon 987F  
Fusible interfacing, e.g. Pellon 931 TD

Cut:

-    from pattern piece #1 (bottom part): 2 pieces of fabric, 1 piece of fusible fleece
-    from pattern piece #2 (top part): 2 pieces of fabric, 2 pieces of fusible interfacing

All seam allowances are 1 cm (3/8”) unless otherwise stated.

1) Transfer the markings for the placement lines onto the fabric pieces #1.

2) Interface the two fabric pieces #2 (top part) with the fusible interfacing. Then put them right sides together, the short edges and the long edges should be aligned. Sew along the short edges, trim the seam allowance and turn right side out.

3) Interface one of the fabric pieces #1 (bottom part) with fusible fleece. Set aside.

4) Place the other fabric piece #1 right side up. Place the top part you have assembled in the step 2 onto the bottom part, matching the placement lines on the bottom part. Baste in place along the long edges of the top part.

5) Place this assembled piece onto the other bottom part (the one that you interfaced with fusible fleece). Put the two pieces WRONG sides together. You may baste along the curves or the long edges before you proceed to the next step.

6) Fold one of the short edges of your piece of bias tape down by 3/8” (1 cm). Put it onto the assembled shoulder pad as shown in the pictures below (I suggest you start at the center of one of the long edges). Pin it down and put it all around the shoulder pad. Due to the rounded shape you may have to create a few pleats while going around the whole piece.
When you reach the beginning of the bias tape again, put the end of the bias tape on top of the beginning so that they are overlapping by approx. 1,5 cm (0.5”).

7) Sew the bias tape down onto the shoulder pad, approx. 0,5 cm (3/16) “ from the outer edge.

8) Fold the bias tape over the outer edge of the shoulder pad and fold it down towards the other side. Try to make a neat binding, see also on the next pictures below.

9) Stitch all along the inner edge of the bias binding with a 0,3 cm (1.8") seam allowance.

Congrats! Your shoulder pad is finished!
If you like this tutorial or if you have any suggestions on how to improve it, I would be happy about a comment :)