Fabric Zip-loc Baggie Tutorial

I absolutely love these little quart-sized baggies!  I've been raving about them since the beginning of this school year and finally have a moment to put up a tutorial for you.  Sorry for the long wait!

Here's what you need:

• Exterior: 2 rectangles of cotton fabric 7.5" x 9.25"
  
• Interior: 2 rectangles of 2mil PUL (poly-urethane laminate)  7.5" x 9.25" *this is the wipe-able component of this baggie. You can order some from here or at JoAnn Fabrics! **I was happy to see my local JoAnn store carry PUL now!
• 7.25" strip of 3/4 inch wide velcro
• Optional: small scrap of muslin and Heat-n-Bond Lite for a label
• Fabric Marker

1)  Stitch a strip of velcro to the top end (short side) of the interior lining.  Place the strip 5/8 inch from the top edge of the right side (as in not the wrong side). Stitch in place.

2) Following instruction on the Heat-n-Bond Lite, iron on a 2.5" x 1" strip to the front side of one of your exterior pieces.  I placed mine at the bottom right corner, and used zig-zag scissors to give it fun edges.  Stitch around the piece to reinforce it in place (will help it to last through many washings!).

3) With right sides together, stitch exterior pieces together on all sides except the top edge. Use 1/4 inch seam allowance.  Do the same for the interior pieces, except leave a 3 inch opening along the bottom edge for turning.

4) Slip interior into exterior with right sides facing each other.  Line up side seams and pin top raw edges together.  Stitch using 1/4 inch seam allowance.

5) Turn right sides out and top-stitch along the top edge for a finished look.  I used a 1/8 inch seam allowance.  Stitch another seam just below the bottom edge of the velcro.  This encases the velcro and will help the baggie keep its shape as it's open and closed, repeatedly.  Plus, it gives the baggie a nice, finished look!

 

 

6)  Stitch  the opening of the interior of the bag that you used to turn the piece earlier.  Congratulations! You are finished!  You can use a fabric marker to write a name on the baggie. My son uses his for a snack baggie for school each day.  *Not recommended for hot foods.  Can be washed by hand or in the machine.

Bookmark Tutorial

These bookmarks are so smart looking, and very easy to make!  Make a few at a time (like an assembly line!) and you'll have several to give as gifts.

What you need: (scraps work great!)

• 2 fabric rectangles: 12.5" x 2.75"
• 1 rectangle of single side fusible lightweight interfacing (I use Pellon 911 Featherweight): 12.25" x 2.25"
• Scrapbooking charms to stitch on (optional)

1) Fuse your interfacing to the wrong side of one of your fabric rectangles as shown below: Center it horizontally, but place the bottom edge of the Pellon along the bottom raw edge of the fabric. This fused piece will be end up being your front side of your bookmark because it will have more  body to it.

2) On the piece you've just interfaced, use your ruler (a cutting mat with a grid works great here!) mark a horizontal line 2 inches up from the short end of your rectangle (see picture above).  Find the midpoint along the bottom of the short edge and mark it with a dot.  Now pay attention closely: you will draw diagonal lines creating a triangular shape. These are the sewing lines for the bottom point of your bookmark.  Connect the line from the dot at the bottom up to the spot where your interfacing edge is on your horizontal line. (see picture above)  You do NOT want that line to be drawn to the outer edge of your fabric as that is not your sewing line. The edge of the interfacing IS your sewing guide (as we'll be sewing 1/4" seams).

3) Stack your 2 fabric pieces on top of each other, right sides facing each other.  Stitch all the way around your bookmark using  a 1/4" seam, leaving a 2-3" opening for turning along one of the long sides.  *Note: You will be stitching all the way to that bottom dot on your fabric to create the point of your bookmark, though.  There is not a 1/4" seam at that bottom; it would create too much bulk for the tip when turning it. Trim/clip seams a bit as shown above, especially at corners.

4) Turn bookmark right side out. A knitting needle works wonders here to work the corners (see above).  Press with iron, turning in the open end neatly.  Pin closed if needed.

5) Topstitch around all sides of bookmark. I use approximately 1/8" seam for this. **TIP: Top stitch in a color that most closely matches the main color of your fabric. It can hide imperfect stitching, especially if you are not confident in your stitching skills, and it looks much more professional.

6) Add a scrapbooking charm, if desired, to finish it off.  I handstitched these on.  This is where you can get creative!

Great job!  Now, be sure to let me see any that you make! I'd love it!  Enjoy!

Crafty Little Bookmarks

My mom likes to give clever little gifts to her Mah Jong friends each Christmas.  She asked me to make some bookmarks for them, and I whipped out a dozen of  them this past weekend.  They are so quick and easy to make, and turned out fantastic!  I added small scrapbooking charms from Making Memories (found them at Michaels) to finish them off.

Yep....you'll be seeing a tutorial for these this week!  They would make great holiday gifts for teachers, avid readers, etc...don't you think?

Handmade Holiday gifts for Teachers

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Are you putting together your ideas for Teacher Gifts yet?  I have a few easy (and quick) tutorials that might be fun for you to make as holiday gifts.  Lanyards are something every teacher can use to keep track of  her keys and badge.  Most teachers are coffee or tea drinkers and a coffee cozy in a festive print would be perfect!  Key Fobs are universally great gifts; you can never go wrong with these!

Will this get you started? Stop by again soon as I have another tutorial coming for a great holiday gift as well!

Welcome to Cute2Carry's new home!

My work and craft are changing, and handbags are not all I'm creating. My new blog
sew.simply.creative will incorporate all the fun tutorials, projects and tips you found on Cute2Carry and much, much more! More importantly, this new name reflects my crafting philosophy: I believe projects don't have to be complicated to be fabulous!

Join me as I create new designs and tutorials for you all, try out others' patterns and find some great deals on the web!

Please help me spread the word (you can even Tweet it above!) that I can now be found over here!

****Below are some of my favorite posts and all of my tutorials that I brought over from my C2C Blog.***