Well, AppleGreen Cottage is at it again.
You might remember her from these handy little
KAIA MINI Fabric Bins. These were another fun, quick project. I love quick sew's that look unique, and help me use up my stash. The scalloped edge is a nice touch and looks great up, or folded down. These can be used for lots of quick gifts.
I was given the pattern and asked to give an honest review, so here goes.
EEEK how cute are these, my daughter is going to flip. First off this pattern comes in 3 different sizes, all of the dimension are on the pattern. I went with the medium. I know I will be making more. These are perfect for gifts. Stuff with all kinds of fun things. You could fill with stationary kits, mini diaper bags for emergencies, put in a diaper onsie, wipes. Or sleepover bags, lotion, lip balm, sleep mask . . . The options are endless. Ok now that you know you want to make a few lets see how it went for me.
When you first look at the pattern it might seem a bit overwhelming. There are a ton of charts and numbers, but that is because she is very thorough. She has provided pattern pieces for everything to print out, but has also given a cutting chart in case you don't want to print it and tape it together, so everyone is happy. So if you're going to print the pattern out, just skip past the cutting charts, and get started. That is a great feature for someone that doesn't have access to a printer, or is out of ink or paper . . . not that I would no anything about that 😉.
Now as you'll see I did make a few minor changes to my version. And this is not because I thought it was better, by any means, I've just been trying to make things out of my stash.
The 3 changes I made are as follows:
1 & 2: Ribbon: I used a piece of ribbon instead of making my own casing, which she has you do in the instructions. I also used the same ribbon folded in half for the tab.
3. Grommet: I didn't have the size recommended in the pattern on hand, so I used ones I'd bought. Which turned out to be a bit too big....sigh. oh well they still look cute, and I'll keep my eye on the smaller ones going on sale.
Now the set I had was an eyelet set, and didn't cut through the grosgrain ribbon, so I just folded it and snipped a wee bit off the edge. Which gave me these diamond shapes.
I rounded them out with the tool a bit and they slipped on no problem. GREAT!!! Ok now we need to wack them in place. And wow they're not kidding about how hard you really have to hammer them. I tried upstairs in the sewing room, but it was a no go.
Thankfully the garage floor worked perfectly. A few firm taps with the hammer and Viola!!! we're done. (I was really nervous about this aspect of the project to tell you the truth, but once you do it once, you'll realize how simple it is. You can always look on YouTube as well)
Yay, they're in!!! I liked her tip about sewing the casing down with the cord already inside, BUT since my ribbon was a bit narrower I was worried it would be harder to lay flat. But no worries I used my trusty threading tool and just slipped it right through, worked like a charm.
It worked. Now if the thought of grommets has you scared, or you really want to be able to make this like RIGHT NOW. There are a few other options, like a button hole, or even just cut your casing in half and hem the ends, and then leave a 1-2 gap in the middle. I think that would work just fine. But I do encourage you to give these a try, they look really nice.
Now I don't want to give too much away, but the pattern has great pictures, and step by step instructions. Just follow along and you'll do fine.
Another quick tip is to stack your bottom main fabric and batting together and just cut once, I don't know how many times I think to do this AFTER I'm done cutting everything.
I tacked my tab in before sewing just to keep in place.
PINS!!! yes I used a lot of pins at this point, we're sewing the sides down, and you really want to make sure your casing, trim and top edge are perfectly lined up, and aren't going to move on you. I know I don't usually use very many pins, but sometimes you really need to.
The rest of the pattern goes together great, she really has done her math the bottoms lined up perfectly on both inside and out. Just follow her simple steps and you'll be done in no time. I like to use my applique, or duck-billed scissors for trimming, and trim right into my scrap bin, beats getting little bits all over my pants.
Now it's time to turn your bag out, and and after a quick top stitch, and stitching your lining shut you're done. It's really a quick project, and once you've made one, you'll want to make several more.
Pattern 5 out of 5. Highlights: 3 sizes, easily customized, easy to follow instructions, and the step my step photos are very clear. She also caters to everyone, be it those that like a cut chart, or prefer to have the actual pattern pieces, there's something for everyone.
Check out her website
AppleGreen Cottage, for more adorable patterns, tutorials and some fun freebies. She's also on Facebook
AppleGreen Cottage--Facebook, like her page and never miss an update.
Please comment below with more ideas of items you could put inside!!! This is really a great pattern for a quick, but beautiful gift. It's also a wonderful stash buster!!!!!! Check out my FB page for more gift ideas as well.
That's Sew Venice
