I am probably ridiculous, but I love the concept of using chocolate fabric to make Sweet Dreams pillowcases.
I bought this fabric on a whim at Quilts & Things. Last week I made the pillowcases so I could bring the to my Mom. These were not for my Mom, but for the Angel Family parents. The Angel Family was on vacation for about 3 weeks and I wasn’t going to see them, but I was going to see my Mom. She agreed to bring a plethora of gifts to the family.
Somehow the Zeppelin pattern from Minikins Season 1 got lodged in my mind. I decided to make it as a birthday gift. July is a birthday extravaganza! There is one almost every day.
Once I decided to make it, I got a little nervous, because I could remember what the pouch looked like, but not how many pieces it had or how difficult it would be to make.
Zeppelin: Crazy pattern shapes
I went looking for templates, thinking that I had some. When I couldn’t find them I looked at the pattern and realized there was no way an acrylic template could be made in that shape, which was weird!
I couldn’t imagine how the pouch would go together from looking at the pieces, but I did once I went through the pattern and was impressed with the design. I cut everything out so I could take it to a Sew Day I was having with Tim. There weren’t very many pieces, so this might be a good pattern to have as a quick make when I need a project.
I was pleased that I was able to start and finish this pouch very quickly. This was destined for Tim’s birthday and I wanted to take over to him before he left on his trip.
This is another Retreat Pouch, which is pretty easy to make and comes out very well. I have made both sizes, which come in the pattern. I still want to make the handbag version I talked about last summer, mostly to use the border print. In general, I prefer the small size. The large size is hard to carry.
I also like it that it has a frame (not free). I like the open wide aspect that frames create. They sometimes have the required type of frame on Amazon, but I don’t see it today.
Tim’s Retreat pouch – interior
The interior fabric was printed by Sonja about a million years ago and gifted to me. I thought Tim would really appreciate her artistry and he did.
The high quality of the greige goods she used is another pleasure.
Tim’s Retreat pouch – interior
I consulted with Lynette to confirm my anchoring of the lining to the exterior. I am working on that technique and trying to do it with every bag. It worked well with this one using the same technique as I used on the Open Wide pouches. It is a difficult technique to explain in a pattern, which I why I want to do it over and over with different pouches and bags so it becomes second nature. You can see a little bit that the seams are tight against the bottom of the pouch.
Tim’s Retreat pouch – top
Tim said he would probably use it for travel. I thought he might and would have added Odicoat** to the pouch if I had planned ahead. He is going on a trip so I said I would do it after, if he wanted. He wasn’t sure how he would use it for traveling, but pouches are super useful for organizing stuff in your suitcase, so I am sure he will find a use.
Anyway, the pouch was a success!
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.
As mentioned the other day, I worked on my Open Wide Pouches at Sew Day. They went from flat to 3D.
They are not yet finished, but I have only a few steps left: finishing the zipper tabs and sewing up the lining where I turned the pouches. I’ll definitely be able to finish these to take to my mom next week.
I followed the Sweet Cinnamon Roses IG “tutorial” and had mixed results. I was making 4 at once. Two were ok and I could use them. The other two needed unsewing. I sewed too close to the zipper tape and couldn’t turn them right side out. After unsewing and sewing the two again, everything was fine. Once I gave the zipper tape some space, the technique worked pretty well.
What I learned is that you don’t need to sew right next to the zipper tape. It is actually better to sew farther away so there is less bulk to sew over when inserting the zipper into the pouch later.
I suspect that I don’t even need to sew up the sides next to the zipper. I suspect that is just for convenience, or because it looks better/ easier on the video. I haven’t tried that, so stay tuned for further results.
2. Cut some squares or rectangles of fabric about 2.5 in. by 3.5 in. I made sure I had at least .75 in. on each side of the zipper tape. This is not exact and you’ll be cutting off much of it anyway, so use scraps. These will be your zipper tabs. The longer you make your zipper tabs the more options you will have for positioning the head of the zipper. I found that a solid would have worked better for the pizza print. Having part of the print show just looked a bit weird to me. YMMV.
3. Lay two zipper tab squares / rectangles on top of and under your zipper. You will be able to see the end of the zipper and the stop after you lay them out. The squares will have the zipper sandwiched in between. The zipper stop and 1- 1.5 ish in. of zipper tape will be sticking out. You are going to cut off the zipper stop, so make sure you have enough space so your needle does not hit the stops.
Sew in a U shape
4. Move the zipper pull out of the way
5. Sew in a U shape from the side where the zipper pull lives towards the zipper stops and back towards the pull. Make sure the top of the zipper tab fabric, by the zipper stops, is sewn a quarter inch away from the top. Sew far enough away from the zipper tape (on the uprights of the U) so you don’t catch it in the stitches
6. Make sure you haven’t caught any zipper tape in your stitching
7. Cut off the stops at the top. Use the edge of the fabric as a guide
Zipper tab finished
8. Turn the zipper tab right side out.
9. Press
Zipper with zipper tab inserted into pouch pieces
10. Insert your zipper into your pouch or bag. In the photo of the stingray view of the pouch, you can see that I have at least 1.5 inches of extra zipper tab. I could have lined the end of the zipper tab up with the edge of the exterior pouch pieces in order to lengthen the zipper. This is a good way to eek out a little more space if your zipper is not quite long enough.
In my case, I positioned the zipper head where I wanted it and sewed it into the pouch pieces.
Zipper tab finished
Once I turned the zip pouches right side out, I was happy and unhappy with the results.
I think the technique looks good. It is a useful finish for a zipper end. It came out as expected.
What I don’t like about it is that it isn’t great for an Open Wide pouch like the Noodlehead Open Wide Pouch. It doesn’t allow the part by the zipper to open wide.
Lynette gave me some tips for finishing the zipper ends, so I’ll try those and see what happens. For certain types of pouches, like the Triple Zipper pouch I sewed awhile ago.
Putting Chain Link up on the design wall the other day made a huge difference. I could finally see what was going on with this quilt. I made good progress over the past couple of days and am pleased that this quilt is finally going in the right direction.
In the photo, the fabrics look plaid. Except for a couple of gingham charms, there isn’t any plaid. The rainbow stripes contribute to the effect, I think.
I worked really hard on putting the strip sets together. It is a tedious task, but had to be done, so I just got on with it. Once all the blocks were in place, I could see what was going on with this quilt. I could see how to put it together and the way the design was supposed to work. I don’t know why I couldn’t see that before.
I finally took Sidewalk off the design wall and replaced it with Chain Link. No, Triumphant gets no time on the design wall. LOL! I have a lot of quilt projects happening at the moment. This is the result of starting so much.
This isn’t actually all of the blocks. I have to find a step stool and put the last two rows up at the top. It is enough for me now to see what is happening with this quilt top.
As you can see, I have a lot of the strips sets to make. I think this quilt will go together quickly once those are done.
It is so much easier to get a grip on this design when I can see it.
I sent off the next pillowcase for my youngest nephew the other day. He should have received it by now.
I was able to see him on Mother’s Day, but didn’t really get a chance to talk. I do know that his next big adventure is heading down to Santa Barbara to attend SB Community College. I wonder if he will take these pillowcases with him?
I spoke about the pillowcases I wanted to make for ‘new’ family members that have joined since the last time I made pillowcases for the nieces and nephews. I gathered the fabric and was planning on slowly working through the 8 I needed to make when I had time.
Well, I had time at work when I had to listen to a meeting, but didn’t need to participate. I was able to cut and trim. It is really good, because my hands are busy which helps me pay attention.
Then, while I was sewing the endless bits for the Old Town borders, I used the pillowcases as leaders and enders. Suddenly, the pillowcases were done! More than 6 months early! WTH?
Now they get to hang around waiting for November. I plan to write cards and package them up now so they are ready to go.
You are probably wondering why I am starting yet another quilt. I am kind of wondering that myself. I seem to be in starting mode.
Morning Flower Patch & Pencil Roll start
As mentioned a few days ago, I cut a lot of pieces for this quilt, which can be found in the book, Just Two Charm Pack Quilts* by Cheryl Brickey. I got it out of the library and used Hoopla, but if you have a lot of charm packs, you might be interested in buying it.
Cyndi turned me on to this pattern and she made a really nice version, which I know I photographed, but can’t find the photo. Stay tuned for more.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.
I think I might have had a little dip in my Sew-jo and didn’t really know what was going on. I had a great sewing session over the weekend and I think I bag to my normal enthusiasm and energy.
Vervain in progress
I really made good progress on the Vervain belt bag for my aunt. You might think this doesn’t look like much, but the sewn bits are the result of about 20 steps!
I was concerned about making a belt bag (fanny pack). I am not sure why, but it seemed harder than normal bags. I think I was just feeling down.
I have a few more steps to go – maybe another 15? I am excited about this project and how it is evolving. I’ll probably be done by next week. We’ll see.
Yes, so far May seems to be all about pillowcases!
After reminding myself of the Christmas pillowcase project on which I want to work, I finally made time to check my stock of Christmas fabric. Fortunately, I have 8 yards I can use, though I may need to find some cuff fabric. I’ll mix and match a bit, but I may not have enough.
2025 Pillowcase project fabrics
The fabrics I have are more subtle than I usually use for Christmas pillowcases. I want to use fabric I have, however, so these are the choices.
The mermaid fabric is the one girly fabric I have, so I’ll have to decide which of the two girls get it.
Next steps:
Wash the fabric
Cut pillowcase bodies
Decide on cuffs
Sew
Maybe I’ll have to think about Christmas pillowcases for the Angel family?
This is a pillowcase I made as a bonus when I found I had enough extra fabric to make one additional pillowcase. I also made it at the Retreat. I used the green Tilde fabric for the cuff as Jess’ favorite color was green.
I made it for my friend as an homage to her daughter, Jess, who died last year very suddenly in an accident. The daughter enjoyed fun and kindness and I thought a ‘Sweet Dreams’ pillow would be just the thing.
