Tag Archives: recycle

Sew-it…Today Magazine Pretty Little Pouch

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2014-03-05 15.05.11-1I am always on the look out for the “perfect little bag” to carry various objects of necessity in my purse.  Generally, I find that they are all the wrong shape.  I don’t want a large 4in. by 4in. square bag.  I want something long, narrow and easy to toss in a small purse.  (I am not known for having the patience to pack a suitcase when going anywhere.)  I picked up the latest issue of Sew-it… Today magazine on a local newsstand.  Being a tech person, I have made the jump to “the cloud”, ebooks and mobile devices so for me to purchase an actual paper publication meant that there had to be something intriguing in it. 

Flipping through the pages, I ran across this Pretty Little Pouch. I could not resist it.  But I cannot follow instructions completely letter for letter.  I must add my own unique spin to everything I make.  That is the whole point of sewing, right? The cotton fabric and interfacing used in the article was nice but my thought was “what about some recycled blue jean denim?”  Everything in my purse takes a beating and needs to be as sturdy as possible. So here is my version:  recycled denim outer fabric which is sturdy enough I didn’t have to add the interfacing along with a kicky lining fabric that makes me happy and some vintage trims from the Grandmother’s stash.

And I love the shape!

 

Blue Jean Baby Bibs

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2013-11-23 16.45.27-2I love working with denim.  The new Re-purpose, Recycle trend really has me intrigued.  I was recycling denim before it was cool.  My mother insists that each family member receive a homemade denim throw on the successful completion of a driver’s license test. This denim throw is to go in the car trunk for anything, accidental or otherwise, that might come up.  And each time a new significant other has been brought into the family, she very promptly gifts them with one.  So it is natural for me to make purses, tote bags, and other fun accessories out of denim.  I find it to be a very sturdy serviceable fabric that needs very little special treatment. If it gets dirty, throw it in the washing machine.

I pinned an adorable set of baby bibs on Pinterest that linked back to a Notes From The Patch blog tutorial.  I think that image has been pinned thousands of times.  It is very well-liked.  I printed off her .pdf pattern and set about making my own version of these bibs.  I had several baby showers coming up and several pairs of jeans stored up in the sewing stash.  I couldn’t help adding the heart nailheads on each.  But I did lay my pattern with the wrong sides together and cut out 2 bibs that fastened on the right side and 2 bibs that fastened on the left side.  Oh, well. As long as I give them away to separate people, no one will know the difference.  Ah, the joys of making mistakes look like a creative twist!