My FIRST Sewing Projects!

I'm falling behind in posting again!  GAH!!  But at least I've been busy lately and have something to show for it!! ;)

If you follow my sporadically updated blog, you know that for my birthday this year, my parents got me a sewing machine! :) WOO!! You can read all about that here.  Well I haven't really gotten to use it much since then, but I whipped up one project a few weeks back, and then I got busy and made something else last night!!  Want to see?? :) 

Here is my VERY FIRST project.  It turned out a little crooked, since I'm just learning, my lines weren't very straight.  But I did use my button-holer!  (After, having to go to Mom's and have her show me what in the heck I was doing wrong!) ;)  But we figured it out, and I came straight home and got it to work!! YAY!

Do you like my crooked stitching?? :) haha

more crookedness ;)

I used a tutorial from Sew4Home that is used as a gift card or business card holder. I did change it up a little by using a button and creating a buttonhole instead of the elastic loop, but I used the exact pattern for everything else. I also didn't put ribbon on mine either.

Check out the tutorial below! :)

Source: sew4home.com via Beth on Pinterest

For my next project, I've been wanting forever to try my hand at making a cute pouch with a zipper. Yes, a zipper. ;) Althought confusing at first, they are actually pretty easy to sew in. (If you sew straight, and follow your 1/4" foot that is. If you don't, you'll have to rip out 2 seams and re-do it.) ;) Not that any of that happend to me. *wink* haha :) But overall, I think it turned out pretty cute. The fabric was SUPER CUTE to begin with! It was just a fat quarter, and the interior is a white with brown polka remnant I found at Joann's for cheap! :) I ended up using felt for the batting, since that's all I had at the time, but it worked out really well. I was able to cut a 9 x 12 piece of felt in half, and it worked out perfectly since my makeup bag was 9x6!! WOO!!

Here it is!! :) 

 

I actually used a tutorial from YouTube!  It made installing the zipper so much easier being able to see it 3D. I setup my iPad, and probably re-watched the same sections 20 times. haha :) I did change a few things from the tutorial. I used 9x6 fabric and felt. I also did not quilt the bag, instead I straight stitched some ric rac along the front. I didn't pin it down or anything, I just positioned it where I thought it looked ok, and sewed diagonally down and across the front.

Also, I used a scrap piece of fabric for the wristlet part. It was supposed to be 2" x 10", but my piece only ended up being about 1.25" x 10". I think I like the look of the skinnier wristlet anyways.

I did have some trouble sewing over the zipper on the edges, but I think I've figured out how to avoid that next time. I'll be cutting my fabric the actual length of the whole zipper, ends and all. So It would be about 10" wide fabric with a 9" zipper. This gives some room to sew over the flat ends of the zipper and you won't run into the metal parts. I'll post about how that works next time. Oh, and another tip. If you jam your needle while sewing, don't panic like me. Just turn the handwheel, it lifts it right out. ;) hehe

Oh, and don't forget to BACKSTITCH!! This is SO important!! It locks your stitches in so they won't rip out!! :) Trust me, just do it!

Here is the YouTube tutorial from Crafty Gemini!

That's all I have for now!  I just wanted to quickly share my first sewing projects!  I can't wait to make something else!! :)

PS -- Just wanted to give a quick shout-out to my Mom for not only buying me my first sewing machine, but for always being there to help when I have questions. :)  YouTube and books are great, but you can't beat having a "sewing sensei" in the family.  hehe :)  I know that Grandma would be so excited that I'm finally sewing.  She always used to say, "Oh I wish you could sew."  Well now I can Grandma, and I can cook too.  So thank you for being you and for passing down your special traits to us.  And thank you Mom for always being supportive and for going on this adventure with me!  :)

And of course I can't forget Gussy at Gussy Sews.  I found her blog earlier this year, and she is SO INSPIRING!!  If you haven't been to her site yet, you need to GO NOW! :)  She has the sweetest story about how she got started, and she makes AMAZING products!!  Trust me I have an iPad case that I LOOOOOVE!  See below! :)

Plus, she is just an amazing lady! :)  You can't read her blog without smiling!!  She has such a passion for her life and her business.  And her words just exude happiness and inspiration in every post she writes.  Here are links to her blog and her shop! :) 

Hope everyone has a great day!!  Get busy and go make something!!! :)