Purple and Lace

The bad news, this post is unbelievably late, like several weeks late.  The good news, I finished all the projects on my list.

First up..

…a laptop case.

This project is actually a bit of a substitution on my list.  I intended to make something to “cover” something else, but this became more of a priority.

I found myself needing to replace my laptop computer (one of the reasons this post is late) for a larger but thankfully better one.  Since it was larger it was too big for my old case so I needed something new to cover it with.

I made it nearly the same way as one I made previously for an old netbook I had (see It's Covered), just no bias tape and I use fleece and poplin fabrics instead of denim.  It’s actually the same purple poplin fabric as I made for my tote bag (see Catching Up: Bags and More Bags).

Fits my new laptop perfectly and matches my bag, what’s not to love?

Next project…

…yet another bag, that matches too.

Yes, I am really loving the purple fabric.  At first glance this looks like a small lacey purple duffle bag.  But it’s designed to carry something besides gym clothes, dolls.  It’s a carry bag for my ball jointed doll so I can take her places without fear of damage.  The design is roughly based on this doll bag tutorial.

The inside is lined with fleece just like the laptop case, and there’s plenty of pockets to stash extra clothes and supplies.

There’s a pocket on the outside for convenience.

As you can see, there’s plenty of room for her, and possibly for a friend if I get another ball jointed doll in the future.  Or if I just want to lug other dolls or plushies with me somewhere, I’m set.

And this isn’t the only thing I made for my doll, or the last of the purple fabric either.

I also made clothes.  A cute lace trimmed skirt with a matching light jacket, they’re perfect for spring.

I originally planned to make the jacket a little different around the collar, but I goofed up with it so had to improvise.  I actually like it better like this so all is well. 

I also goofed with making the pattern for the front of the jacket.  My doll is a tiny bit more developed in the bust than she looks and I neglected this fact, so that’s why there is only one snap at the top to close it.  Anyway, it looks adorable and that’s all that matters.

Here’s the updated list:

• Covers
• Bag
• Jacket and Skirt
• Hearts
• Little Dresses

Five down and out.  Coming up, Easter sewing!

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When Not to Share

At my house we sometimes have a problem with telling whose cup/mug is whose when ever someone sets it down.  I do recall an incident when I picked up a glass of water I thought was mine only to find someone had used it for something that wasn’t water. 

I decided to make these little covers to fix this little problem.  I used some of my favorite scraps for them.  For the red one I added some nice lace to it, that’s the one I’m using.  The covers wrap around with Velcro, making them adjustable for various sized cups.  Also, they are tapered on one end to fit through handles.  They are actually kind of fun to make, maybe I should make some to put in my shop.  For now there should be no more problems with mix ups around here.

Here’s the updated list:

• Needle case
• Mug cozy
• Pants
• Hair accessories
• Brooches
• Necklace
• Other jewelry
• Food
• Top
• Skirt

Two down, eight to go.  The next should be up by Wednesday, but I may have something amusing tomorrow or Monday. 

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Clean and Covered

More with the school crafts today.

Believe it or not I found this old binder in a small recycling bin on campus that was marked “paper only”.  Someone had dumped a huge amount of large sized binders in the bin.  They were each full of paper so I guess that’s why someone thought it would be okay to toss in them in binder and all.  What’s remarkable is that these were the same sort of binders I see selling at Office Max for $5 or more.  Roughly about $50 plus worth of binders.  I was thinking “Why? They’re plastic,” and  “Aw, such a waste of money,” and “Whoo Hoo!  Free binders!” all at the same time.  Of course the real point, I found this binder in the recycling bin and it needed my special touch.

And it certainly got my special touch.  After cleaning the binder, I made this cute cover for it with some green plaid and ribbon.  You can probably tell that I still have trouble sewing ribbon to fabric, see the not so slight puckering of the fabric.  Maybe I should have glued it on instead.

Anyway, you can see here how the binder slides into the cover instead of the cover being glued to the binder like in similar projects I have seen.  This way I can remove the cover to wash if it gets dirty.  And if the binder itself breaks, which is likely to happen eventually, I can use the cover on a new binder or even a book.  Yay, it’s reusable and pretty.

Here’s the updated list:

• Slippers
• Handkerchiefs
• Cases
• Pens
• Binder
• T-shirt
• Skirt
• Bag
• Background

Six down, three to go.  Almost done!

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