Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The New Travel Sewing Kit

I'm supposed to be getting the house cleaned and packing finished for our vacation.  I don't like either one of those chores.  Instead, I made this sewing kit for the trip.  My old kit was just not working for me anymore.  I looked all over the internet for a design but none of those I found worked for me.  I ended up creating my own design.
 
 
It opens flat.  The inside has four zippered pockets and a few open ones for small things.  I guess I'm in a rectangle mood lately.  Like the sewing machine covers, this is basically two rectangles.  Each rectangle has a zipper at each end.  Then the two are sewn together down the center like a book!. 


I'm not sure why those pink zips look so bright in the photos.  They're not that vivid in person.
Back to the bag!  One side of the bag is for my yo-yo making supplies.
I forgot to take a pic of the fabric for the yo-yos which is in the first striped zippered pocket right next to the yo-yo makers.

In the middle, I overlapped the striped fabric a bit to hold the odds and ends--scissors, pens, needles.  It's a bit hard to see in the photo.

The other side has my embroidery things.  The striped pocket has the thread
and the back pink zipper pocket has the hoop and fabric.
Yes, that is black fabric in there.  I've got a ton of fabric with designs in primary colors on black backgrounds that I'm hoping to coordinate with these embroidery designs.  I'm going to have  to do some free-hand drawing cuz I've not been able to come up with a way of getting the designs on black.  Wish me luck with this idea.  I am not known for my ability to draw much beyond stick figures, but I'm determined to give this a go. 

I really, really wanted those center pockets (pink stripes) to be clear plastic but failed MISERABLY in my attempts to sew zippers on plastic.  I spent hours trying every trick I could find.  First, I'm spatially challenged.  I had the worst time trying to figure out how to put it together.  Then, my use of tape to keep the plastic from sticking to the machine didn't quite work out.  The plastic kept shifting away from the zipper even when pinned.  Any tips for my next venture with zippers and plastic would be most appreciated.

7 comments:

  1. You were supposed to put the sticky side of the tape towards the vinyl - not towards the sewing machine! SILLY!!! *Sandra ducks and runs, grinning widely*

    You could try paper clips (or maybe those red Clover clips, if you have them?) to hold the layers in place - I do admit that it's very hard to see the edge of the vinyl against the sewing machine! Your travel kit is lovely (despite the seemingly fluourescent zipper, HAHA) - do I know about your vacation and have forgotten (entirely possible, yikes!) or was it a newish decision?

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  2. I really, really like your sewing kit... a fabulous design, despite the seemingly bright zippers. It's compact, yet roomy and nothing can fall out. Well done... rectangles seem to be the way to go.

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  3. Cute, cute sewing kit! I have never tried to sew a zipper...seems scary! You did a wonderful job!

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  4. Oh and I thought Sandra would be helpful to ya. Then I see her comments here. Ain't she a ball? LOL
    Had to laugh that you would sew instead of packing and cleaning. You go girl! The bag turned out cute despite the plastic sewing miss-hap.

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  5. This is gorgeous!! And so well thought out! Am with Danni on the zipper issue. Have tried sewing them in before, but it wasn't pretty.
    Hugs to you
    Jutta

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  6. Love your little sewing bag! Wish I was talented to figure out how to make one!

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  7. Sweet little bag! An idea for the zip? Stitch the zip to a strip of fabric, maybe 1", and then the fabric to the vinyl.

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