This simple little cell phone pouch was born from my need to keep my phone permanently attached to my body in case someone calls me for  a job interview.  I have a slider phone with very sensitive soft keys on the front, and I’ve accidentally dialed up the internet while carrying it in my pocket, so a pouch is essential.  I’ve been using another pouch I made last year, but I’ve had to tie the strap to my belt loop, and it either comes untied, or my phone topples out of the top when I’m sitting down.  I wanted something that would attach securely to the belt loop of my jeans, instead of a belt, because I don’t wear belts much, and with a flap to keep the phone safe.  

I played with the idea a bit today and came up with a pouch that attaches with d-rings, and with a flap that is secured with a velcro strip.

Before I show you how to make this, I need to make a couple of points.  First, this is one of those quick and easy projects where you have to sacrifice perfection.  The pieces are zigzagged together on the outside, so if you don’t like that look, this isn’t the project for you. I based this pouch on my eyeglass case tutorial, with batting sandwiched between 2 layers of fabric and the raw edges zigzagged or blanket-stitched.

This tutorial looks long, but it’s mostly photos.  This really is a very easy project.

My phone is the LG Chocolate, which measures 1-3/4″ x 3-3/4″ x 5/8″, so this tutorial is based on those measurements. There’s still plenty of room for a larger phone, but check your phone and adjust accordingly.

A strip of velcro has 2 parts - a soft side, and a stiffer, prickly side.  I like to sew to soft side to the flap.  This way, if the flap brushes against your phone, you don’t riskscratching your phone.  The other side might cause scratches.

The directions that follow are exactly as I made the pouch pictured here. However, there are some things I would do differently next time. First, I would round the corners of my flap so they wouldn’t stick out quite as much when closed.  I would also make the velcro strips longer, so that the entire edge of the flap is stuck in place when closed.  Before beginning, think this project through in case there are any style changes you would like to make.

You could change this pouch to attach to a belt.  Just cut the strap a little longer and rotate it 90 degrees before sewing to the pouch.

OK, for this project you will need the following:

- 1 each of outside fabric, lining, and batting, cut to 3-1/2″ wide by 4-3/4″ high.  This is the front of your pouch.
- 1 each of outside fabric, lining, and batting, cut to 3-1/2″ wide by 6-3/4″ high.  This is the back and the flap of your pouch.
- 1 strip of only one of your fabrics, cut to 2-1/4″ wide by 6″ long. This is the strap.
- thread
- Two  1″ d-rings

First, make the strap by folding the long strip (2-1/4″ x 6″) in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and stitch the long side and one short side. Clip corners and turn the tube right side out. Press flat.

Topstitch edges.

Layer the longer pieces (3-1/2″ x 6-3/4″) as follows to make the back of the pouch:
-batting
-outside fabric, with right side up
 
Pin layers together.

 Pin raw edge of strap (open end) to pouch back as pictured, with the top edge of strap approximately 2″ down from top of pouch back, and raw edge centered left to right.

Stitch end of strap in place.

Thread both d-rings onto strap, and fold strap to the right.

Stitch strap in place with two rows of stitching as shown, roughly in the center of the pouch from left to right.  Go over the stitches a couple of times to thoroughly secure the strap.

Remove the pins.

Flip the entire piece over, with batting facing up.

Place lining on top, right side up (sorry, no photo!).  Fold outer fabric out of the way as shown. Pin layers in place.

Stitch soft side of velcro to lining side near top of pouch, through the lining and the batting.  Remember, the outer fabric needs to be out of the way.  (Actually, you don’t have to fold this out of the way to make this work, but if you stitch through all layers, the stitching will show through on the front. That’s just a personal choice.)

If you expect to be opening and closing your pouch a lot, consider stitching around the velcro twice.

You’re done with the back, so set it aside for now.

Layer remaining pieces (3-1/2″ x 4-3/4″) as follows, to make front of pouch:
- lining, right side down
- batting
- outer fabric, right side up

Pin layers together.

Place other piece of velcro on outer fabric, about 1/2″ from the top edge, and stitch twice through all layers.

Zigzag top edge of pouch front through all layers. When zigzagging, let the right-hand swing of the needle go very slightly beyond the edge of the fabric. I used a stitch width of about 4, and a length of around 1.5.

Now you’ll put the front and back together and finish your project.

Pin front to back, right sides out.

Pin strap out of the way.

Zigzag carefully around all 4 edges of the pouch. This will finish all the remaining edges and will attach the front to the back.

Remove all the pins, add a cell phone, and you’re ready to go!

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This fabric bracelet is another one of those easy accessory projects that you can make quickly and easily, and with minimal investment if you already have fabric scraps on hand. For the version with buttons pictured here, I only needed 2 strips of fabric, each about 1-1/4″ wide, 2 d-rings, and a few stray buttons. You can use smaller scraps as well, as I did with the blue crazy-pieced bracelet. Other variations are limited only by your imagination.

I’ve seen several cute fabric bracelets that were fastened with buttons and cord, and I love them all, but for this bracelet I wanted something that fastened a bit more securely. I also wanted it to be completely adjustable to fit wrists other than my own, just in case a very convincing niece talks me out of it.  These d-rings have been on my table for a couple of weeks, waiting for another project that I’m working on, so they were an obvious choice for my bracelet.

When choosing fabric for the back of the bracelet, keep in mind that it will probably show, so don’t pick the ugliest thing in your stash.

About cutting your fabric strips - I used 3/4″ d-rings, so my strip width is 1-1/4″ (3/4″ + 1/4″ on each side for seam allowances).  Actually, I cut them very slightly wider than 1-1/4″ because my seams tend to go a tiny bit over 1/4″. For length, I estimated that 10″ would be enough, keeping in mind that I would lose about 1-1/2″ of that during construction.

My wrist measures less than 6″, and I had a lot of length left over when I put this on, so I tucked the loose end beneath the bracelet. If you don’t want to do this, be sure you adjust the length accordingly.

Once you determine the size of your strips, the rest is very quick and easy.

With right sides together and using 1/4″ seam, sew the strips together on both long sides and one short side.  Leave the remaining short side open for turning.

To reduce bulk, clip the corners of the short end that you stitched up.

Using a chopstick or a dowel, turn the strip right side out. Press carefully. If you want, you can zigzag the raw end, but I didn’t really think it was necessary on mine.

Topstitch around the edges if you like.  This step isn’t necessary, but you know me, I topstitch everything.

Insert the open end through both d-rings and fold down about 1 to 1-1/4″, to the back of the bracelet.

Pin in place, and stitch through all layers to secure.

You can stop now and wear your bracelet, or you can embellish it with buttons, embroidery, beads, or whatever comes to mind.  Just be careful not to attach anything where it will get pinched by the d-rings.

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With the holiday season closing in on us, I thought some more tutorials might be useful to those of you who like to handcraft your gifts.

The first new tutorial I have for you is the basic Scrappy Pieced Scarf. This scarf can be as simple or as complex as you’d like to make it.  This is a great way to use up scraps in your fabric stash, and the instructions can easily be adapted for charm packs, leftover quilt blocks, or fabric strips. In the directions here, I’ll be working with simple, unpieced sections of fabric, but I encourage you to be creative and to experiment.

1. First, decide how large you want your scarf to be.  You have a lot of flexibility here, and your decision will be based on the size of the fabric scraps you’ve chosen to work with.  In my case, I had originally hoped for a finished width of 7″, but I wanted to include a stack of fabrics that were all no more than 6-1/4″ wide and in varying lengths, so I altered my plans and settled on a narrower scarf. Next, I decided that 60″ would be a nice length, but this measurement is flexible as well.

2. When you’ve decided how wide and how long your scarf will be, cut an assortment of fabric pieces in the width you’ve chosen. They can be squares or rectangles. I chose to cut rectangles, some short and some long.  Anything goes, so don’t feel like you have to be rigid and precise. If you are using leftover quilt blocks, make sure you cut them to fit the predetermined width of your scarf.

3. Arrange your pieces end to end as you’d like them to be sewn together, until you have enough pieces to achieve the length you want. Don’t forget that you’ll lose length to seam allowances, so plan accordingly and give yourself a little extra.

4. Now sew the pieces together end to end, right sides together.  I like to use a 1/4″ seam, but you should use whatever you’re comfortable with.

5. Press all the seams to one side.

6. With right side up, topstitch near each seam line, being sure you are stitching through all the seam layers that you previously pressed to one side.  This will keep all your seams flat, and will give your scarf a nicely finished look.  I like to use a slightly longer stitch length when I topstitch.

7. Repeat this process for the other side of your scarf.  For mine, I made it even more simple by using just 4 long pieces of fabric for the second side. If you like, you can use one piece of fabric for this side.

8. Place the two sides right sides together, and stitch all the way around the scarf, leaving an opening large enough for turning right side out.  I suggest making this opening large enough for your hand to fit through, so you can more easily turn the piece.

9. Clip the corners to reduce bulk, then turn right side out through the opening from the previous step.

Safety tip: When your turn a project like this right side out and are trying to get the corners nice and pointy, I strongly recommend using a chopstick or a very skinny dowel to get the job done.  Avoid using sharp, pointed scissors, as they can poke through the fabric and injure you. I badly cut myself  using scissors this way, and over 10 years later, my scar will still hurt on occasion.

10. Turn the edges of the opening to the inside and carefully press the scarf.

11. Topstitch all the way around the edge. This will sew the opening closed, as well as give a smooth finish to the edges of your scarf.

All done!  My finished scarf measures approximately 5-3/4″ wide by 62″ long. This project lends itself well to embellishment, fringe, fancy trims — whatever your imagine can come up with, so have fun with it!

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Many thanks to all who entered my giveaway this week!  I used the random number generator at Violets Are Blue to pick a number, and the lucky winner of the embellished zip pouch is commenter number 7.  Congratulations to Daisy, who submitted the following comment:

“This bag is BEE-A-YOU-TIFUL!!! It looks like an exquisite sunset. Loooooove me some purple! I love the colors, the stitching, the shape, and the size. It would be my take-my-personal-stuff-to-work bag.

I just started a new job where I don’t have a permanent office. I just use various desks, so I would use this to put my stuff in that I would want at my desk: chapstick, mini-brush, ibuprofen (my very good friend these days), tweezers, nail clippers, and change.

But I would want to take it out a few times a day to show it off, so that’s why I’d put my things in there that I use at my desk.

I can imagine it already. Thank you!”

It was fun to read all your comments, and interesting to see what your bag needs are.  I discovered that there are a lot of you who need a “mommy-only” bag for tucking into the diaper bag, tons of you who need makeup bags, many who need craft supply bags, some who could use a bag for medications, and many more.  You’ve given me some great ideas for future bag projects. 

Daisy, your bag will be on the way to you this week. Hope you enjoy it!  And thanks to everyone for stopping by!

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This week is the Fall 2008 Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival, and if you’ve never entered a giveaway carnival, you won’t want to miss this one!  At the time of this writing, there were almost 1200 opportunities to win something.  You’ll need to visit the participating blogs to find out how to enter each giveaway, so if you find the idea of visiting 1200 blogs exhausting, just go through the list and pick the ones that interest you the most.

For my giveaway, I’ll send one lucky winner this triangular-bottom, embellished zip pouch.  It measures approximately 4-1/2″ x 7″, is lined, has a ribbon and bead zip pull, and is sturdy enough to stand up on its flat little bottom.  And you never know, I might just put a little surprise inside (time willing!).  I’ll even pay for shipping.

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment on this post (and this post only!), and tell me what goodies you would keep in a zip pouch.  Be sure you leave a valid email so I can contact you if you win.  On Sunday, November 2nd at approximately 8 pm Central time, I’ll use a random number generator to pick a winner and will notify her/him by email. You don’t need your own blog in order to enter, just an email address.

If you enter a lot of giveaways, you can go to Bloggy Giveaways this weekend to see a comprehensive list of winners as they are chosen.  Good luck everyone!

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At the request of a few readers, I’ve put together this tutorial for the ever-popular wristlet key fob. These key fobs are so simple to make, and they are a great assembly-line craft.  You can quickly and easily attach fabric or ribbon to several pieces of webbing in one step, then attach the hardware as your second step. They make great gifts that not only require a minimal amount of your time (very important these days!), but fit into a small budget as well.

For this project, you will need 1-1/4″ key fob hardware, a 10″ length of 1-1/4″ wide webbing, a 10″ length of  1″ wide ribbon, coordinating thread, a towel or soft cloth, and pliers.  For my key fob, I substituted a strip of fabric for the ribbon.  I also suggest using an edge-stitch foot to sew your project.  Now, I know I go on and on about the edge-stitch foot, but it really is a great investment if you don’t already have one.  Believe me, it will make your sewing life so much easier! Check your machine manual for the appropriate part for your model number.  Of course, you can still make this project without an edge-stitch foot or attachment.

My finished key fob is approximately 5″ in length.  If you want it longer or shorter, adjust the length of your webbing and ribbon accordingly.

1.  First, I’ll talk about how to use a fabric strip instead of ribbon.  (If you’re using ribbon, you can skip directly to step 2. )  I used a 2″-wide by 10″ long strip of fabric. It’s not necessary to cut this on the bias — it’s fine to cut it on either the lengthwise or the crosswise grain. Now you’ll need to turn the raw edges to the inside to create a 1″-wide strip.  The easiest way to do this is to use a 1″ bias tape maker.  Simply run your fabric strip through the tape maker, with the wrong side up as pictured below, and press the strip as it emerges from the tape maker.  Remember, just because it’s a “bias” tape maker doesn’t mean you have to use a bias-cut strip.  If you don’t have a tape maker, you’ll need to press both edges of your strip to meet in the center, wrong sides together.

2. Next, you’ll sew your ribbon or fabric strip to the webbing.  But first, I’ll lecture you a little bit more on the edge-stitch foot!  See that little metal guide in the center of the foot pictured below? That’s the part that will simplify your sewing life.  You’ll be running the edge of your ribbon along that metal guide in order to stay in a straight line.  It’s important to note here that on my machine, I can adjust the needle left or right of center.  If your machine doesn’t have that feature, your edge-stitch attachment will likely look and operate much different from mine.  Again, consult your manual for instructions.  For the sake of this tutorial, I’ll have to assume that you can move your needle left or right.  If you don’t have an edge-stitch foot or attachment, you can still make this project, as long as you sew slowly and carefully in order to keep your lines of stitching as straight as possible.

3.  Now, layer your ribbon or fabric on top of the webbing, centering it the best you can.  Place the right edge of the ribbon or fabric against the guide on your foot.  The webbing will be beneath the guide. Move your needle to the left, as if you’re topstitching along the edge of the ribbon, and sew the ribbon to the webbing.  How far you move the needle is up to you, but be sure it’s far enough to the left to securely attach the ribbon or fabric.

4. Next, you’ll attach the other edge of the fabric or ribbon.  At this point, you can simply flip your key fob around and stitch along the remaining edge exactly as you did with the first edge, with everything to the left of the needle. If I’m using a soft fabric strip, I prefer to work the second side to the right of needle, so that I’m starting at the same end I started with before.  I find that I can avoid any “creeping” of the fabric this way, and it sits a little flatter on the webbing (but maybe it’s just me!).  If you decide to sew this edge to the right of the needle, don’t forget to move your needle to the right as well.

5.  Trim any stray threads that may be sticking off the ends of your key fob.  Now all you need to do is attach the hardware.  You should have what I’ll call an end-cap, and a key ring. You’ll notice that one side of the end-cap has two prongs on the inside.  These will help keep your webbing in place.  Fold the webbing in half, wrong sides together, and place the raw ends inside the end-cap, making sure all your edges are even and nothing is sticking out the sides that you don’t want hanging out.  While holding everything together with one hand, cover the metal parts with a cloth or towel, and squeeze the jaws of your end-cap together with your pliers.   Take your time with this.  It may take a few squeezes.  I usually squeeze each end of the end-cap, alternating back and forth until I’m satisfied.  The cloth or towel will protect your hardware from being scratched or dented by the pliers.  Finally, attach the key ring to the end cap.

That’s it!  You’re done!  You’ll find that once you make one of these, you’ll be able to make your next one very quickly.  If you have trouble understanding any of the instructions, just leave a comment here and I’ll try to clarify.

If you don’t already have supplies for your wristlet key fobs, you can find them at Crafters Vision.

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EDIT:  It looks like the contest closed this afternoon when the website launched.  Good luck to everyone who managed to enter before then!  Even if you didn’t get to enter the giveaway, their website is definitely worth checking out, so get over there and buy yourself a new bag!

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Holiday gift-giving in my family has typically meant a frenzied Christmas afternoon of ripping into packages and thowing out a huge bagful of wrapping paper, although in recent years some of us have made a big effort to use sturdy gift bags that can be re-used year after year, and we always save bows.  But if you still object to using paper for gift-wrapping, Shelly Stokes of Cedar Canyon Textiles has a solution for you — the Bossa Nova Bag. 

Shelly, who banned wrapping paper from her house a few years ago, has come up with a beautiful and functional gift bag pattern that uses two pieces of fabric and only a few supplies.  She used paintsticks and rubbing plates on some of her sample bags, with absolutely stunning results, and now paintsticks are on my wish list!  Visit Shelly’s blog for information on where you can purchase the pattern.  If you’re lucky enough to be attending the International Quilt Market in Houston later this month, you’ll no doubt be able to see the Bossa Nova bag in Shelly’s booth (#1160-62).

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I love giveaways, don’t you?  Here’s one from Amy Quarry, whose beautiful blog can be found here, and her equally beautiful website here.  If you’d like a chance to win the apron pictured above, you’ll need to act fast by visiting The Apronista and following the directions in this post.  Entries will be accepted until 9 p.m. PST on Sunday, October 5th.

While you’re at it, head on over to Amy’s shop on Etsy, where you’ll find a lovely assortment of items made from recycled and repurposed materials.  Each item is at least 80% recycled, so your purchase will be both stylish and planet-friendly! 

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HP and designer Vivienne Tam announced yesterday their collaboration on a special edition notebook intended to be the ultimate technology fashion statement. 

The digital clutch was unveiled at Tam’s show during New York’s Fashion Week, and features a pink and purple peony design on a red background on the exterior, and HP’s notebook technology on the inside.

The digital clutch notebook includes a matching embroidered sleeve, and is expected to be available in North America in early 2009.

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