Free Friday: Gingham String Bag

This week's pattern matches last week's, the Gingham Needle Book.  It's in some pretty teal shades so you can see that you can make your gingham in just about any color to match your fancies! 


In case you don't know, a string bag is a neat little receptacle for snips and strings you collect while you're crafting.  It keeps your lap/couch/desk/lap cat from getting covered in little strings.  It's very handy!  Like the needle book, it's something you don't really know you need until you have one.  My hubby loves the one I keep next to the couch, because he can throw his pistachio shells in there and not have to get up (yes, he's quite lazy).  

By the way, this also works well for a pencil/scissor/rotary cutter holder as well.  I have three sitting on my sewing desk; one for strings, one for pencils, and one for cutting tools.  Technically you could just use an empty can (this is just a pattern for a covered can, after all), but this is so much prettier! 

Gingham String Bag 

Skill Level: 

 Beginner

Materials: 

• 1 sheet 7-count plastic canvas 
• Red Heart Super Saver yarn in colors in key 
• 20 oz metal can (such as from a can of pineapple) 
• Craft glue 
• #16 plastic canvas needle

Instructions: 

1. Cut plastic canvas according to graph. 
2. Without stitching on red sections, stitch plastic canvas according to graph. 
3. With right side of piece facing out, overlap the two short ends, overlapping red sections on the graph.  Add the remaining stitches, which will stitch the two ends together and leave you with a circle. 
4. Thoroughly clean and dry the metal can.  If it was a pop top type can, use a can opener to remove the inside lip.  Slip the plastic canvas circle over the can; carefully squeeze a small amount of glue between the can and plastic canvas around both ends.  Let dry fully.

Click on the graph above to see it larger.  You may share this pattern however you please as long as you don't alter it or claim it as your own.  You may sell items created from this pattern.  However, you may not sell this pattern.

I have several other patterns planned for this sewing set, but next week I'm going to take a break so I can post a cool Halloween pattern!  Stay tuned!

New at Annie's

YOU GUUUUUYSSSSSSS!!!!  Check out what's new at Annie's Craft Store!

Those are my designs!!!  I can't believe I actually got my designs posted at Annie's!  (Click on the images to go check them out.  Don't worry, it's not an affiliate link.)

Two months ago, when I was designing the apple and pear patterns, I would never have dreamed that I'd get my creations in a big store like that.  But look! With just a little perseverance, I actually got somewhere.  Now I know I can do anything I put my mind to, and the only thing holding me back is myself.

By the way, I should have another canvas tip for you later, I just need to take some pictures!  I'm such a bum sometimes. 

Candy Corn Tissue Box Cover

I finished this tissue box cover last week but only got around to making the pattern and posting it on Etsy today.  I can't stop laughing at it!  It's so friggin' cute!

It goes perfectly with the cute candy corn coasters I listed last week!  Make sure to check out both patterns in my Etsy shop.

In other news, my smashed thumb is starting to heal.  I can actually stitch now!  It was really hard not being able to do any stitching for a week.  It did give me a chance to come up with some great new designs though that I'll be able to share with you soon! 

I hope you're all having a wonderful autumn day!

Free Friday: Gingham Needle Book

I have a cool new set of designs that I made for all of you!  I'll be posting a set of gingham sewing tools and accessories for your sewing room.  Today I'm posting the needle book, which is in my opinion something people don't know they need until they actually have one.  I used to keep my needles in the little plastic cases you can buy in the store (or sometimes even in the piece of cardboard they come in), and that's just a fuss to use.  Not to mention kind of ugly.

This needle book, on the other hand, is cute and handy, and because it's got a sturdy plastic canvas backbone, you're not very likely to get poked by needles when you grab it (have you ever gotten stabbed by needles when you're rifling through your sewing box?  Ouch!).

The cool thing about this set is that you can make it match your sewing room by changing the yarn colors you use.

Gingham Needle Book

Skill Level: 

 Beginner

 Materials: 

• 1 sheet 7-count plastic canvas
• Red Heart Super Saver yarn in colors in key
• 1 sheet craft felt
• Craft glue
• #16 plastic canvas needle

Directions:

1. Cut and stitch plastic canvas according to graphs.
2. Whipstitch pieces of needle book together using Medium Purple yarn.
3. Overcast around unworked edges with Medium Purple.
4. Cut two 2 ¾ inch squares of craft felt. Glue pieces to the inside of needle book as pictured. ♥

Click on the graph above to see it larger.  You may share this pattern however you please as long as you don't alter it or claim it as your own.  You may sell items created from this pattern.  However, you may not sell this pattern.

Enjoy!  Next week I'll be posting a cool string bag to match the needle book, so keep an eye out!

Canvas Tip: Scissors

When you pick up plastic canvas for the first time, you might not know exactly how you're supposed to cut the canvas.  Or is that just me?  At first, I thought you were supposed to line up the canvas with the graph on the pattern, lol.  Which is a cool idea, except few patterns are actually printed 1:1!  Usually they're a lot smaller to save room.

I eventually figured out you had to just count the holes on the pattern and match those up with your work piece (later on I figured out it was much easier if you marked your canvas).  The next question you might have is what should you cut the canvas with.  We all have scissors, afterall, but I think certain kinds of scissors are better for the job than others.

I was lucky that I already had a nice pair of Iris scissors, which are long handled and meant for precision.  They're the ones on the left in this picture:

They work perfectly; their long handle keeps my fingers out of the way, and the thin, short cutting part lets me do very fine work.

They're not great for ultra stiff plastic though because the blade tends to slip a lot.  That's why I got that other pair of scissors, the purple handled pair above.  You may have seen them in craft catalogs or on craft supply websites.  They're supposed to have serrated blades to hold onto things, which I figured would help with the slipping issue with stiff canvas.  They look cool and all, but unfortunately the pair I got was badly manufactured and has a large gap between cutting blades:

It may not look like much from the picture, but it means that it doesn't cut for crap.  I have safety scissors that I bought for 50 cents that cut better than this expensive pair, which is sad.  These things don't even cut paper!

So that's my opinion about scissors: start with a pair of Iris scissors, which are fairly easy to find and not too expensive.  If you can find some angled surgical scissors, those might be useful too, but I haven't found any yet to try them out.

On a side note, I've actually heard that some people use x-acto knives to cut their canvas, which sounds a little extreme to me.  But if it works for you, give it a try and let me know how it works!

Happy stitching everyone!

Candy Corn Coasters

I just posted a new item in my Etsy shop!

Candy Corn Coasters

Pretty cute, right?  I plan on making a tissue box cover to match it sometime, as soon as this silly smashed thumb of mine heals :(  You'd be surprised at how much you use your left thumb (or right, if your left-handed).  I tried to do some stitching today on a new design, and I just couldn't!  Sigh.  I guess I'll have to sit out until it heals.

Have any of you got fall projects going on?  I started my fall projects in August!  I'm actually about ready to start working on my Christmas stuff, lol. 

Free Friday: Plastic Canvas Alphabet

Well, it's Friday again, and I have a cool free plastic canvas pattern I'd like to share with everyone!  Unfortunately, I smashed my thumb in the door of my car last night and it hurts so bad that I think I'll be riding the couch today.  I don't think I broke it, but it's so black and blue and so sore that it hurts to move it at all.

So to tide you over until next week, here's a cool free pattern I found on the web!

Some really cool plastic canvas letters from Jen at Creatively Homemade!  Click on the image above to check out her blog post about them.  You can use them for lots of things, like birthday or holiday banners.  And I'm sure they have tons of other uses too!

Stay tuned for next week's pattern.  I'll be posting a gingham needle book!

Now I'm off to ice my poor thumb :(