Skill Building Project: Foundation sewing
- MAKE A SEWING TOOL ORGANIZER -
Gather Your Tools
BASIC TOOLS
(from your sewing kit)
size 14 machine needle
pins
ruler
small thread-cutting scissors
fabric scissors
seam ripper (yes, it happens to all of us)
chalk pencil (or your favorite fabric marker)
SKILLS USED
Straight stitching, zigzag stitching, basting, and backstitching
Measuring, cutting, and marking fabric
Lining up and pinning layers of fabric
Hand pressing and ironing
Choose Your Materials
The materials for this project should cost around $15. Bonus points if you use what you have on hand or upcycle an old pair of jeans! For my lesson example, I used some linen upholstery fabric and light cotton twill from my scrap stash (free!). TIP: Pick a thread that contrasts with the fabric print so you can clearly see your stitches.
BUY THE FABRIC AND SUPPLIES
A 20" wide x 15" long piece of denim
1/2 yard of coordinating cotton (quilting cotton is great)
all-purpose thread
50" of 3/4"–1" wide ribbon
VOCABULARY LESSON
BOLT– Most fabric is wrapped around cardboard forms that stand upright on shelves or racks. On the end of each bolt is a label that provides important information about the material.
SELVAGE EDGE –The factory-finished edge that keeps it from fraying.
RAW EDGE –The cut edge of the fabric. Is perpendicular to the selvage edge.
FABRIC WIDTH – The short side of the fabric as it is unrolled off the bolt. The raw edge (the side where it was cut off the bolt) is the width.
FABRIC LENGTH – The long side of the fabric as it is unrolled off the bolt.
GRAIN – The direction of the fabric. Parallel to the selvage.
LENGTHWISE GRAIN – The direction of the fabric parallel to the selvage edge.
CROSS GRAIN – The direction of the fabric width that is perpendicular to the selvage edge.
Prepare and Cut Out the Fabric
PREPARE THE FABRIC + THE MACHINE
Wash and dry the uncut fabric to preshrink and remove factory-applied chemical finishes.
Iron the uncut fabric to remove wrinkles and straighten the grain for proper cutting. The threads that run across your fabric's cut edge (width) should be at an exact right angle to the factory-finished selvage edge (the length). Pressing with some steam will help restore the fabric to its proper shape.
Insert a new needle in the machine (size 14 for denim).
Install coordinating thread in the needle and bobbin.
TIP: Cut a small square from each of the denim and cotton and sew them together. Check that your stitches look correct on both the top and the bottom of the seam before sewing with your actual pieces.
MARK THE CUTTING LINES ON THE FABRIC
This project uses rectangles you mark right on the fabric with a ruler and chalk, without using a paper pattern. If you choose to make your own paper pattern, flatten the pieces out (dry iron if needed) and pin the paper to the fabric before marking the cutting lines.
Note the seam allowances for each piece. For this project, you will stitch 1/2" away from the raw (freshly cut) edges, except where the directions specifically give a smaller seam allowance.
You will be cutting out one of each of the following pieces:
A OUTSIDE (denim) - 20" wide x 15" long
B LINING (cotton) - 20" wide x 14" long
C LARGE POCKET (cotton) - 20" wide x 10" long
D SMALL POCKET (cotton) - 20" wide x 7" long
E RIBBON TIE (ribbon) - 50" long
CUT AND LABEL THE FABRIC PIECES
Using a chalk (or fabric) marker and the selvege edge as a guide, draw the outline of each pattern piece. Each rectangle should stay parallel to the selvage edges.
Use fabric scissors to cut along the chalk lines.
Lay the cut pieces flat on your workspace and keep handling them to a minimum. (This will help keep any fraying or stretching of edges to a minimum.)
TIP: Clip or pin a label to the right side of each piece as you finish cutting it. This will make it easier to identify which pieces to sew as you follow the rest of the steps!
Sewing Directions
SEW THE POCKETS TO THE LINING
In this first step, you will use just the pieces you cut from the cotton fabric (my lining is solid blue). I am using a contrasting colored thread so you can see where the stitching lines are.
Pull out the following pieces from your pile:
B: LINING (cotton) - 20" wide x 14" long
C: LARGE POCKET (cotton) - 20" wide x 10" long
D: SMALL POCKET (cotton) - 20" wide x 7" long
Fold both pocket pieces in half, wrong sides together, lining up the long edges of the pieces. Press flat. (They will still be 20" wide but half their original length.)
Stack the pockets on top of the lining in the following order:
Place the lining on the table, right side facing up.
Put the large pocket on top of the lining, matching side seams and raw edges.
Last, put the small pocket on top, in line with the bottom pocket and lining as well.
Pin all three layers together from the top of the right pocket, across the bottom, and up to the top of the left pocket.
Set your machine stitch length to 6 and baste all three pieces together where you just pinned, using a 1/4" seam allowance. This step will keep them from shifting out of place when you attach them to the outside fabric in the next step. (I accidentally used a regular stitch for the side seams in the photo above. No harm done.)
Remove the pieces from the machine and set your stitch length back to normal (about 4.5 for most machines).
MARK AND SEW THE POCKET DIVIDER LINES
Here comes the fun part, where you learn a new skill! You won't be able to use the seam allowance guide on the metal plate of your machine to stitch the small pockets, so you will draw the stitching lines on the pockets with chalk. You can change the width of your pockets to match what you want to store, of course, but the dimensions I used for my sample are perfect for a basic sewing kit. You don't have to be super accurate in how far the lines are spaced apart, but you must make sure the chalk lines are parallel with the side seams and perpendicular to the bottom edge. TIP: Snip off loose threads as you stitch each line to keep your work tidy.
Using a ruler as your guide and a chalk pencil to draw, lightly mark the top of the stitching lines for each pocket compartment across the folded edge of the large pocket.
Lightly mark the bottom of the stitching lines for the same widths along the bottom raw edge of the pockets and connect the marks with a straight chalk line. Pin pocket to lining about 1" away from each chalk line to keep the fabric in place.
Stitch along each of the marked pocket lines, backstitching at both the beginning and end of the stitching line to keep the threads from pulling out later. To backstitch (or "back tack"):
Lower your needle into the fabric about 1/8th of an inch in from the raw edge.
Make a few straight stitches.
Set your machine in reverse, and stitch backward for two or three stitches to secure the end thread.
Change your machine back to a straight stitch and continue stitching until you reach the top end of the pocket.
Set your machine in reverse one more time, and stitch backward over two or three stitches.
Remove your fabric from the machine and trim the loose threads.
TIP: Roll your piece up to fit into the opening over your needle plate as you make your way across the pocket.
SEW THE OUTSIDE AND LINING PIECES TOGETHER (Part 1)
In this step, you will attach the first seam where the lining (with the divided pockets) and the outside fabric join. You will also insert your tie into one side seam so the end will be secure and hidden inside the bag.
Place the lining on your worktable with the pockets facing up.
Pull out the last fabric piece from your pile:
A: OUTSIDE - 20" wide x 15" long
Lay the outside piece face down on the lining piece so that the right sides face each other.
Pin the pieces together along the bottom edge of the lining where the pockets were already stitched on.
Stitch the seam with a ½" seam allowance.
Separate the attached pieces to lay them flat. Press the seam allowance toward the outside piece.
INSERT THE TIE
Turn the bag over so that the outside piece's right side faces up and away from you. (The lining will be below the outside piece as you look at it from above.)
Mark the tie placement on the outside piece 5" above the bottom edge.
Fold the ribbon tie in half lengthwise.
Pin the fold to the outside piece at the mark you just made. (Lay the long ribbon edges to the left and parallel to the top and bottom of the bag.
Baste the ribbon to the outside piece just inside the ½" seam allowance. (This is so the basting stitches will not show when you turn the bag right side out in a later step.)
SEW THE OUTSIDE AND LINING PIECES TOGETHER (Part 2)
Place the right sides of the lining and outside pieces together, lining up the long raw cut edges of the two pieces where they meet to form the top of the bag. (Note that the outside piece is longer than the lining. The extra length will let you wrap it around the bottom edge of the pockets to make an instant hem!)
Pin the side seams together, leaving the top open for turning the bag right side out later. (Make sure the long edges of the ribbon are all tucked inside.)
Sew the side seams with a ½" seam allowance.
COMING UP NEXT:
Stitch top edge.
Turn the bag and close the top hem.
Press and finish!