Sunday, September 14, 2014

New Sewing Project!

So, for one of my newer projects, we have the Crochet Hook roll-up holder. This is one of my first attempts at creating something entirely patternless as a challenge - I figured, this is simple enough, right?

It helps when your sewing machine doesn't go on strike on you. In my defense, I'm new to sewing machines in general and have been puttering through learning how to use my Bernina 1530 (thank you again, Mom and sisters!) bit by bit. There's a lot of stitches and features, and I've had to go through the manuals slowly and surely...when the manuals haven't been misplaced in my last bout of cleaning that is.


On to the project...

I've been using a piece of soft canvas, though it could technically be considered muslin, linen, etc. It's a sturdy, flexible fabric, and looks like it should be fairly easy to clean.

For the edging, I'm using a sort of satiny finish material. Unfortunately, I don't have the exact name for it since it was provided in a box of spare fabric, but it's been fun to work with so far, and is as sturdy as the canvas material. After cutting a 2" wide strip, I turned it into a bias tape maker using my new Simplicity Bias Tape machine. Again, thank you Mom!

Starting with a panel of the canvas, I cut two pieces of approximately 26" x 4 1/4" inches. The fabric is slightly stretchy, so I did cut it slightly longer than I had initially planned to allow for stretching or the sides being uneven. The panel shown is intended to be a sort of top flap, so I sewed the bias tape along the edge to try to give it a little more of a finished look.

Once it was done, here's the finished result. I know it looks a little rough, but hey - I'm new at this!

Next, I took the other piece of 26" x 6" inches fabric, and sewed a strip across one of the long edges. When cutting the fabric earlier, a larger piece was cut, at approximately 26" x 8 1/2". The canvas pieces were lined up and pinned together along the long edge of the pieces. Previously, on this shorter piece, I had marked reference lines for the crochet hook pockets at approximately every 1 inch or so using a washable fabric marker, with the exception of the end, with has a larger pocket that will be intended for a utility pocket.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to completely finish it, but at the very least, it's a start!