Kid's Bug Hunter Tote

 

 

Bug Hunter Kid’s Tote: 13.5 W”x10.5 H” x 4 D”

I promised to list some measurements for a basic tote in a recent newsletter. I decided to share the steps I used for a Kid’s Bug Hunter Tote, now listed for sale on my Etsy shop. The instructions are pretty basic for making a tote. This is a little smaller than an adult’s would be. I have not included photos for each step, but I’m assuming most sewists have made other totes and will not need them. Please feel free to email me for further explanation. I had started taking photos of each step, then “lost” them on the computer, so finished the bag without photographing. I then “found” them and decided to write up the steps with what I had anyway. I’m sure I’ll be making other bags, so will be more attentive as to where to put the photos for safe keeping. Feel free to use the pattern and check out the embroidery designers on Etsy.

Cut:

(2) 14” tall x 15” wide for exterior fabric

(2) 14” tall x 15” wide for lining fabric

(2) 14” tall x 15” wide for foam interfacing – Pellon, byannie, Bosal, etc.

(2) 28” long by 6” wide for straps

(2) 28” x 1.5” nylon webbing for inside of straps.

(2) 14” x 14.25” for inside slip pockets

(2) 7” x 14.25” Shapeflex 101 for inside slip pockets

(1) 6.5” x 13.5” double-sided pre-quilted fabric for bugs pocket – allow extra size if embroidering

(1) 6.5” x 13.5” cotton fabric for bugs pocket liner

(1) 11” x 9” double-sided pre-quilted fabric for bug hunter pocket – allow extra size if embroidering

(1) 11” x 9” cotton fabric for bug hunter pocket liner

1.     Straps: Fold in half lengthwise, then fold in sides to middle. Insert nylon webbing and fold together. Sew 1/8” seams on either side lengthwise. Set aside to add later.

2.      Pocket: If using embroidery, do this now on outside pocket fabric.  I used double-sided pre-quilted solid fabric from Joann’s. I also used embroidery patterns from Hug A Bug Applique on Etsy and pesDispenser on Etsy. Embroider the small bug pockets separately, then sew the two pockets together down the middle. Allow extra fabric for draw-up. I used cutaway stabilizer for my hoop and décor bond fused to the back of my pocket fabric before embroidering.

 

3.     Trim joined pocket fabric to 6.5” x 13.5”. Use this to cut the liner fabric for the pocket to the same size. Iron on Shapeflex 101 to the liner before sewing to the outside of the pocket. Stitch the liner to the outside pocket piece, right sides together. Leave a 3-4” opening in the bottom. Turn right sides out and turn in opening. Repeat same procedure for sewing liner to pocket for Bug Hunter pocket. Place pocket fabric and pocket lining together right sides facing and sew around, leaving several inches at the bottom for turning. Press the pocket from the liner side. Close up the bottom using the iron. You will sew this closed when attaching to the purse exterior pieces. Set aside.

 

 

4.      Purse: Cut exterior fabrics as well as fusible foam interfacings. Fuse interfacings to fabrics. Quilt foam interfacing onto each of the exterior pieces if desired. I used a freestyle curvy line for mine. Trim and square up all sides, making sure both exterior pieces match. Use one of the pieces to trim each of the lining pieces and SF101 Shape Flex Interfacing to match the lining pieces. Iron on the Shape Flex to the lining pieces. 

 

5.      Cut 2” squares from bottom corners of outside fabrics and liner fabrics.

6.      Place pockets on exterior fabrics. Center on fabric 3 inches from the bottom of the exterior fabric. Pin in place and top stitch around sides and bottom of pockets. This will close the bottom openings.

 

7.      Place exterior fabrics together, right sides facing. Sew along the bottoms using a ½” seam. Open out and press seam. Stitch down along either side of the seam. I use my presser foot for measuring.

      

  

8.      Sew up each side using a ½” seam. Press seams open.

9.      Box corners by bringing bottom seams to match side seams right sides together. Sew across with a ½” seam.

10.  Inside zipper pocket (optional): I didn’t add this to this tote, but it can be used in place of one of the slip pockets. There are a ton of really good zipper pocket videos on YouTube. I recommend this one by Sew Sweetness: https://youtu.be/ET3IpIDq02o. I usually use the dimensions 9”x18” for my zipper pocket and a 9” zipper. I would also recommend Sew Sweetness Acrylic-Template-Zipper-Pocket. It’s awesome for placement.

11.  Inside slip pockets: Fold over slip pocket fabrics so that they measure 6”x17” each. Fuse Shapeflex onto the inside of one long half of each folded pocket. Right sides together, sew together along long open side with a ¼” seam. Turn and press. Topstitch a 1/8” seam along top folded edge. Place on right sides of the liner fabrics 3” from the bottom with sides of liners flush. Stitch along the bottom of the pocket using a 1/8” seam. You can pin or baste sides onto liner if desired to hold in place until sewing the side seams.

12.  Mark pockets vertically using a ruler and a heat-erase pen. Stitch vertically along these lines to form individual pockets. 

13.  Sew up bottoms of liners (right sides together) and next sides as you did with the exterior fabric, leaving a 4-5” opening for turning in one of the sides or in the bottom if you prefer. This will be used to turn the purse when combining exterior with the liner. Box the bottom corners.

14.  Place straps bottoms flush with top of exterior piece on each side, centering on the side seams. Baste in place along the top edge using a 1/8” seam.

15.  Place liner (right sides out) inside exterior (inside out), matching side seams. Make sure straps are inside the bag so that they don’t get caught in the seam. Sew around the top of the tote using a ½” seam catching the straps in the seam as you go.

16.  Turn all right side out using the opening you left in the side or bottom.

17.  Close the gap left in the bottom or side of the liner. You can hand-stitch or bring sides together keeping the seam even with the sewn part of the side or bottom. Stitch closed.

18.  Position the lining inside of tote, now right side out.

19.  Press the top of the purse and make sure the lining stays inside. Top stitch around the top of the tote 1/8” from the top. Finished!

 

 

Thinking Outside the Yarn Box

I've been a weaver for a number of years, but I always feel like there’s so much more to learn. I recently watched a lesson from The Woolery called Self Striping Sock Scarf. The presenter showed how to use self-striping sock yarn as the warp and then the weft, using two identical skeins of yarn. Well, I didn’t have that yarn, but I do carry several sock yarns that are faux Faire Isle patterned. I’ve never woven with that before, but I gave it a go. I followed The Woolery’s method with my Wisdom Pix (75% Superwash Wool/25% Nylon) yarn in the Street Art colorway, making sure to start the warp and then the weft (weaving yarn) at the same place in the skeins.

And, I have to say, it wove up beautifully. The yarn doesn’t weave the same patterns as they create when knitted, but the result was a subtle plaid with random random bits of color throughout the scarf. The drape is lovely and the scarf itself is soft for a wool. The fringe was twisted to finish. I have listed this scarf this weekend on my site as well as another striped scarf, woven in Kelly Casanova's Weaving Boot Camp using her pattern. I hope that this will not be the last of its kind – maybe a wider shawl next with the new Cotton Supreme Waves. If you'd like the measurements I used for this scarf, see the Sock Yarn Scarf Directions tab at the top of this page.

Thinking of other ways to use your cotton yarn? Another use for cotton yarn is crocheting plant holders. Universal Yarn will offer a free crocheted plant holder using Clean Cotton Multi in their Blog for Free Pattern Friday on March 11. 

Our March featured fabrics are Camelot Promo Woodland Portrait 100% Cotton Fabrics. This very sweet and understated pink with brown tones set of fabrics works beautifully together. They feature woodland animals as well as coordinating geometric patterns. The baby quilt shown here was a real labor of love for our friends’ first baby. I have to give a shout out to my sister and mother for their help with this. The center quilt block embroidery patterns are from all three Nursery Quilt Blocks from Designs by Juju. The outside border was quilted freeform. I love making these embroidered quilt blocks.

Have you signed up for my Ewesletter? Sign up here and get a 20% subscribers only coupon for your next purchase at The Irresistible Ewe and find out what's new in our store.

Changes

Big changes have come to The Irresistible Ewe on Etsy. I've been juggling three Etsy shops for almost three years. I started off with The Irresistible Ewe almost eleven years ago. I've carried yarns from Universal Yarns here in North Carolina. I next added Tangled Moons where I sold Zentangle products and made over 1500 explosion boxes. As arthritis in my hands has increased over the years, I've found myself knitting less and less and rediscovering sewing and lately machine embroidery. I opened a third shop, Maplewood Textiles, February 2019 where I've sold fabrics. I decided recently that this is getting to be a little much to keep up with and one of them had to go. Since the Ewe is the oldest, I decided it would be easier to close the youngest site and move my fabrics and handmade items in with the yarn. So far, it's going well and my sales are transitioning nicely. Tangled Moons will have to stay open for a while. I'm selling some of my husband's Star Trek memorabilia for him there now, but no more explosion boxes. Yes! 

I find that a lot of crafters do more than one craft, so combining fibers and fabrics pair well together. To kick off these changes, and to share a project I just finished, here is a tutorial for recycling a pair of jeans into a rigid heddle holder. I have two sizes of the Cricket rigid heddle looms and storing the heddles is always a challenge. I used a pair of my husband, Henry's old jeans for a wall bag for the small size. I found a lovely embroidery design from Embroidery Library of a weaver at the loom. It was a dense embroidery fill, but stitched out beautifully on the denim. I used Sticky Tear-Away from Sulky in a 6"x10" hoop and floated the denim on top to embroider. Here are the steps I took to make this.

I compared the two sizes of heddles and decided to go with the smaller 10-inch size. The top of the jeans was too much and I needed a straight part. The section under the pocket was a perfect size. Next, I trimmed off the excess fabric, first cutting off the inside seam and zipper to make it easier to trim. 

I evened out the bottom and top of the strip after trimming the side that had been cut. This made it easier to mark it with a heat-erase pen for positioning in the hoop. 

Time for the embroidery before sewing the side seam. This took quite a while with 42,005 stitches and quite a few color changes. After the embroidery was finished, I unhooped the denim and carefully tore away most of the tear-away stabilizer. 

After embroidering, it's good to square up the sides of your fabric. The denim had drawn up just slightly, so before stitching, I straightened up the sides, top and bottom again, then laid the entire piece out with a piece of coordinating cotton batik fabric for the lining to make sure they were the same size.

 

I sewed a half-inch seam down the sides of each piece, then across the bottom of each. I wanted some depth to this bag for the three or four heddles it would hold. I boxed the corners of the denim and lining. First, I measured and cut out a one-inch square in each bottom corner. Then, I lined up the side seam with the bottom seam to form a triangle on each side.  Note in the photo of the denim boxed corner. Make sure not to fold both of the sides in the same direction, or you will have too much bulk. Also, make sure the two boxed corners are not leaning in different directions from one another or you'll get an unwanted twist at the bottom seam.  I used a quarter-inch seam for the corners. 

Sorry, I didn't take photos of adding the lining. Basically, after completing the lining and denim sections (both followed the same sewing directions), I turned both right sides out. I turned under and pressed one- half inch all around the top edges and pressed the folds flat. I inserted the lining into the denim, wrong sides touching and pinned two six-and-a-half-inch pieces of grosgrain ribbon between layers, one-half-inch from the outsides . The heddles are heavy and I thought distributing the weight would be better than one loop in the back. I sewed a half-inch stitch around to tack everything down. I could have stopped there, but I felt it needed a nice trim and I was just completing an inkle loom band which worked perfectly. 

I measured the length of the band I wanted and sewed across the band on each end with a straight stitch to hold the stitches in place before cutting the length. It was then sewn around the pouch starting and ending on the back side. Yay! It's finished and turned out even better than expected. Now all I need are two nice hooks to hang my new heddle pouch. 

Holiday Krokbragd Pattern

I have been interested in weft-faced weaving, especially Krokbragd, for a while now, fascinated at the tiny details that can emerge from simply changing weft colors and sequencing. One of the areas that has had me baffled, though is how weavers design these pieces. I would love to eventually be able to "read" a woven piece and figure out how the design was planned. I'm still in the experimental stage for now.

Through a lot of trials, I've managed to do a simple piece that has held up through repeated tries. I find a lot of examples of beautifully woven Krokbragd projects on Pinterest, but rarely any instructions as to how they were woven. I'm not sure why this is. Maybe it's more of an obscure weaving style than I realized or maybe it's like family recipes that weavers hold close to home.

I have enjoyed some help through Debby Greenlaw's book, Krokbragd How to Design & Weave and through Kelly Casanova's online videos and classes. There is also a fun weaving project you can access for free on the Schact website.

Since instructions are not always free or accessible, I decided to share my pattern with my readers. We all need fun new projects to while away some time at home. I'd be happy if you try this and give me some feedback. The piece shown above was warped with 8/4 cotton rug warp and was woven with Universal Yarn's Deluxe Chunky yarns. They're wonderful for packing tightly for Krokbragd and come in a myriad of colors.

Please send me any questions. The pattern is made for a floor loom, but it can be done on a rigid heddle as well. I haven't woven this on one of my Cricut's yet as I have the one I need already warped with another project. I will again refer you to Kelly Casanova's online weaving school. She does have a class on adapting patterns to the rigid heddle.

One last thing I will recommend that I didn't follow closely enough myself. Stop every few rows or inches and snap a photo of your work. I thought I was doing that enough, but got to the end and discovered a few mistakes. Photos don't lie. Have fun with this. It makes a cute holiday mug rug. The snowmen could use some eyes, but their heads are so tiny, it didn't work and the reindeer's antlers are rather chandelier styled, almost begging for some colorful ornaments to hang on them. It's all fun and good. Enjoy!

I converted the PDF to a JPEG this morning to make it easier to access. 

Tablet Weaving

I have been learning to weave with cards, or tablets, combined with my inkle looms during these stay-at-home times. I love the active role of the square cards which greatly increase the complexity of a narrow weave. I have several small sets of various sized cards. I started learning with the Palmer Looms cards, two-inch squares with the ABCD, and color-coded sides. These are great to learn with, especially if, like me, color helps you organize.

I have a larger set by Brush Creek Wool Works, but I think with the size of my hands, they may prove to be a little large. I decided to try to make a set on my Cricut Explore Air with scrap 140-pound watercolor paper.  I have quite a bit from making the watercolor paper explosion boxes on my Tangled Moons Etsy Shop. The nice thing about cutting them on the Cricut is that you can also draw the letters to mark the holes and color code if you wish. I made a set three inches square and they are doing very well for weaving. I think I would be a little more comfortable with slightly smaller cards next time, maybe 2.5" would be a good fit for me. I'm also hoping to make some sets for The Irresistible Ewe Etsy Shop.

I tried to explain card weaving to my mother over the phone, but she said she needs to see this in person. I'll try to upload a video here to share with her and everyone else. I couldn't get it to go through on Facebook, but maybe it will work here. The pattern I'm weaving is from the book, A Tablet Weaver's Pattern Book by J Mullarkey, M. Emerson Holtzer, L Hoffman, J Treumann, and B White. I would highly recommend it if you're looking for less history and more patterns.

Free Pattern Friday

Free Pattern Friday is featured each Friday on Universal Yarn's blog. This week, the featured pattern is the Maya Scarf, knitted with Bamboo Pop. It coordinates well with the Maya Top in the Bamboo Pop Adult 2 book. The pattern is free, so check it out!

Inkle Loom Weaving

I've had a few goals this spring. The largest one was to warp every loom that I owned and have them ready to weave at the same time. A smaller offshoot goal of this has been to learn to use my Inkle loom in a more productive and informed way. I've had a very small set of weaving cards for this for a while, but never learned to use them.

For my birthday recently, I received a mini Inkle from Henry, a set of color-coded tablets from my in-laws and a four-peg cone holder from my mother. I treated myself to an online course called Weave Turned Krokbragd on an Inkle Loom with Joan Sheridan. I've woven Krokbragd on my floor loom and rigid heddle, so the concept was not new, but I learned a lot of new techniques in this video. I can highly recommend it, but I will say make sure to do exactly as she says for the added heddles. This took me a couple of tries to get it right. It was so much fun to see the sheep emerging on this weaving.

I've had to get used to slight differences in the mini Inkle loom since it's structured a little differently from my larger Inkle.  I used the pattern that came with the loom and have just taken the piece off today. I'm thrilled with how it came out, even though I don't think I'll weave this width on this small loom again. I ended up adding rubber bands on the ends of the pegs to keep the warp from sliding off. Part of it did once, and that was not fun getting it back on the loom properly. It took time, but was worth the effort not to lose the thread. I used mercerized cotton, cone and Nazli Gelin 5 & 10. I plan to use this as trim on a purse in an upcoming sewing project.

I have retied my java hemp yarn on the 10" rigid heddle and have decided to weave the length that's left into a table runner. I've used one of the cloths I cut out for dishes and the other two for spa cloths. I'm still making up my mind on these, but again, being someone who hates to lose thread, I'll finish out this project and then share the pattern.

Two more looms, my floor loom and 15" rigid heddle are next. I'll save them for another post. I found a beautiful pattern in the May/June 2020 Handwoven that I'll try on the Mighty Wolf. As soon as another thread comes in, I'm going to attempt the North Light Meets Southwest Dish Towels. Cotton is definitely my favorite yarn to weave with so look for future posts.

Weaving With Java Hemp Yarn

I have had Java Hemp Yarn in my Etsy shop for a while now and it always sells really well. I always wonder what customers are making with this fascinating yarn. I have wondered how it would be to weave with this yarn, but haven't been able to find a single weaving pattern for it.

I gave up searching for a pattern and decided to just try a simple plain weave with the three colors that I have in the shop at this time. I'm using a Schact Cricket 10-inch rigid heddle with a size 10 heddle. I warped with stripes of red, purple and golden yellow. I then wove with one color at a time to see how the colors played against each other.

I wove plain weave for the red and golden yellow weaves. With the purple weft I added an extra pick-up stick to vary the weave slightly. I wove a few rows of this and then returned to plain weave. This seemed to add only slightly more texture, so I'm not sure if this is worth the extra work to get this difference. The hemp yarn has a lot of textur e and depth to it and with the bright colors, extra heddles or pick-up sticks don't seem really necessary.

Hemp yarn is from plants and does not feel as soft as cotton or even some wools. I does soften when wet, but returns to a little stiffer feel when dry. It will soften when washed and I'm thinking it will continue to soften the more it is washed.

I used one of the cloths I cut off the loom and hemmed on the sewing machine tonight to wash dishes. It felt very sturdy and did a great job on the hand-washed dishes. If you're planning to use this woven cloth for mug rugs or table runners or small rugs, I would suggest leaving enough between pieces on the loom to have fringe. I hated cutting off the fringe when I was hemming them. The fringe had fluffed up to a pretty size and would be very attractive in a small rug.

For more ideas of what to make with this fascinating yarn, check the listing on www.universalyarn.com. There are patterns there for crochet items. I'll try to write up the pattern I used tomorrow. I'm happy to share it. If you try weaving or crocheting with Java Hemp Yarn, please leave a comment and share your experiences.

Stash Buster Crochet Basket

My husband and I are self-isolating at home, only going out for groceries or appointments. Like a lot of you, I'm trying to use this time to do activities I've been putting off and also to use up materials that have accumulated. I came across a nice video by Jayda InStitches called Big Beautiful Basket -

What To Do With Variegated Yarn. I'm trying to improve my crochet skills, which are so-so. I'm also someone who hates to have to count stitches on every row. I have had to do that on this basket, but it hasn't been as painful as I remember.

The video itself is well-done and Jayda explains each row on the base. It uses three strands at a time with a size N hook, so it goes fairly quickly. Using three different variegated strands together means you come out with an entirely different look, too. It's a great way to use up a lot of yarn for one project.

For this basket, I used three size 4 yarns to start the base and part-way up the sides: Universal Classic Shades Metallic, some old Plymouth variegated, and Universal Classic Shades Chili Peppers.

Halfway up the sides, I ran out of the Classic Shades Metallic and switched to Universal Classic Worsted Nostalgic Rose because I was out of the Metallic.

The crocheted handles are nice for carrying and it should pack flat if needed. I think this would also make a good crocheting or knitting basket, using the handles to run the strand through so the ball or skein doesn't take off on its own:). The basket itself is soft (made out of yarn) and has a nice squishy feel. The colors are so bright and really don't translate in the photos. Sorry, this is a dreary day here.

Now that I've had success with this basket, I plan to try a second one with some destash bulky yarns, so that I used two variegated strands instead of three. It should be fun! If you're looking for a new project, and have lots of yarn in your stash pile, check out this video! Jayda also has an adorable Etsy shop, so check her out!