So, this weekend is so busy, I have Friday through Monday off, but both Saturday and Sunday we will be in Bloomington at the dog show for Sprocket's Rally competition. Keep your fingers crossed he gets his Novice Title this weekend. I also need to sew a whole bunch more for the Washington Cherry Festival Crafts on the Square which is June 2nd from 10-5. So far we have 20 handbags, numerous collars, some tote bags, wallets, and small zippered bags along with a whole bunch of key leashes. Lets hope we make back the money that was spent on the booth fee. I don't know how busy the craft fair gets so not sure how well we will do, this is the first time for us at this fair.
Well, better go to bed, lots to do tomorrow to prepare for the dog show.
Good Night!
Peace, Love, Grapefruit!
CollarCraze
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Tutorial - How to add an inside zipper pocket to a purse/handbag
This is my first tutorial, and as such, I'm hoping this turns out okay.
A lot of handbags I make have basic pockets, where if you need to hide something from everyone's sight it is kind of hard. So I went in search of patterns to make an inside zipper pocket. What I got out of that was pretty much nothing. But I found a couple patterns for wallets that had zippers inside. So with the help of a McCall's pattern and these other tutorials this is what I have come up with.
First you will need your fabric for your lining, mine is cut for a new style of bag I am trying out and is 17 1/4" x 19" and the pocket fabric which is 10" x 15".
zipper (whatever length you want to make your pocket, remember the zipper should be about 1 1/2" - 2" longer than your pocket.
rotary cutter (optional, makes life so much easier though)
cutting board (optional)
ruler
marking pencil/chalk
scissors
pins
iron and ironing board
I am using an outdoor fabric so I used no interfacing, if your fabric is light-medium weight you should use a light-medium weight interfacing.
First, you take you handbag lining, fold wrong sides (the sides not going to show inside the bag) together to find the center and mark with your chalk
I am using a 7" zipper so I am making my opening 6 1/2" long and 1/2" wide. about 3" down from top I need to find the center of my opening which is 3 1/4", I then draw a line that is 6 1/2" long.
All polyester zippers should use a 1/2" wide opening, if you are using a larger zipper adjust your opening accordingly.
I then draw a parallel line 1/2" down from the original line and connect the edges.
after drawing your lines, flip the lining fabric over and place your pocket fabric right sides together and pin together, about 2" down from top of bag.
flip the fabric back over and sew around the rectangle you drew using a basting stitch.
this is what it should look like on the reverse side.
using your ruler and rotary blade, cut 1/4" down from top sewn line and 1/2" or so in from the edges
This is what it should look like
using scissors trim from edge to each corner of rectangle, creating a triangle like so...
pull the fabric through the hole... this is kind of tricky, it sometimes doesn't want to pull through very easily, and depending on what your fabric is it could bunch up. but in the end it should look something like this
using the iron, flatten down, making sure the edges of the rectangle are crisp and the fabrics have clean edges
you are now ready to add the zipper. pin the zipper in place carefully, I'm sorry for the puckering...
edge stitch around zipper using a small stitch length.
now fold bottom of pocket up so that top edges match and pin, making sure to pin only the pocket, not the lining and pocket.
stitch around 3 edges of pocket, using 1/2" seam allowance and small stitch length
this is how it should look, you should be able to move the pocket freely from the lining
you are now finished installing your zipper pocket!
now just sew the lining into your handbag like you normally would.
if you are pulling through an edge opening I would add a little extra room to be able to pull the bulk and zipper through the opening.
I hope you enjoyed my tutorial, if you have any questions, ask away. As I said before, this is the first tutorial that I have made, and I hope it lives up to the others found online.
So, this is CollarCraze signing out!
Peace, Love, and Grapefruit!!
Lynsie
A lot of handbags I make have basic pockets, where if you need to hide something from everyone's sight it is kind of hard. So I went in search of patterns to make an inside zipper pocket. What I got out of that was pretty much nothing. But I found a couple patterns for wallets that had zippers inside. So with the help of a McCall's pattern and these other tutorials this is what I have come up with.
First you will need your fabric for your lining, mine is cut for a new style of bag I am trying out and is 17 1/4" x 19" and the pocket fabric which is 10" x 15".
zipper (whatever length you want to make your pocket, remember the zipper should be about 1 1/2" - 2" longer than your pocket.
rotary cutter (optional, makes life so much easier though)
cutting board (optional)
ruler
marking pencil/chalk
scissors
pins
iron and ironing board
I am using an outdoor fabric so I used no interfacing, if your fabric is light-medium weight you should use a light-medium weight interfacing.
First, you take you handbag lining, fold wrong sides (the sides not going to show inside the bag) together to find the center and mark with your chalk
I am using a 7" zipper so I am making my opening 6 1/2" long and 1/2" wide. about 3" down from top I need to find the center of my opening which is 3 1/4", I then draw a line that is 6 1/2" long.
All polyester zippers should use a 1/2" wide opening, if you are using a larger zipper adjust your opening accordingly.
I then draw a parallel line 1/2" down from the original line and connect the edges.
after drawing your lines, flip the lining fabric over and place your pocket fabric right sides together and pin together, about 2" down from top of bag.
flip the fabric back over and sew around the rectangle you drew using a basting stitch.
this is what it should look like on the reverse side.
using your ruler and rotary blade, cut 1/4" down from top sewn line and 1/2" or so in from the edges
This is what it should look like
using scissors trim from edge to each corner of rectangle, creating a triangle like so...
pull the fabric through the hole... this is kind of tricky, it sometimes doesn't want to pull through very easily, and depending on what your fabric is it could bunch up. but in the end it should look something like this
using the iron, flatten down, making sure the edges of the rectangle are crisp and the fabrics have clean edges
you are now ready to add the zipper. pin the zipper in place carefully, I'm sorry for the puckering...
edge stitch around zipper using a small stitch length.
now fold bottom of pocket up so that top edges match and pin, making sure to pin only the pocket, not the lining and pocket.
stitch around 3 edges of pocket, using 1/2" seam allowance and small stitch length
this is how it should look, you should be able to move the pocket freely from the lining
you are now finished installing your zipper pocket!
now just sew the lining into your handbag like you normally would.
if you are pulling through an edge opening I would add a little extra room to be able to pull the bulk and zipper through the opening.
I hope you enjoyed my tutorial, if you have any questions, ask away. As I said before, this is the first tutorial that I have made, and I hope it lives up to the others found online.
So, this is CollarCraze signing out!
Peace, Love, and Grapefruit!!
Lynsie
Sunday, January 9, 2011
1/9/11 - Why you do what you do...
So, has anyone ever just sat and thought about why you do what you do? I was sitting here thinking of a good blog to write today and the first thing that I thought of was to tell everyone how I came into making collars and bags.
The collars came into being because as most everyone knows I have a Great Dane girl named Ximmy. When we first got her we just put her in a generic collar and I was always getting, "Oh, what a pretty boy!" and I would always correct them and tell them that she is a girl. We also got "my, that is a tall Labrador" but that is a different blog all together!
Well, I ordered a collar for her and it was expensive. Once I got it tho, I looked at how it was made and I thought, "I can do that!" I went online, ordered enough parts to make 5 collars, and a business was born. I enjoyed making them for Xim, but if I kept them all, she would have over 30 collars already, plus a lot of the fabric I found I really liked, but it didn't show up against her black coat. So I sold a few to some people I knew from Great Danes Online who seemed interested after I posted pics of Ximmy's new collars, and then someone told me about etsy. I went on that night and posted my first collar.
But as you can imagine, there are only so many people out there that have danes or other large necked dogs, so I wasn't selling too many collars. And if I'm not selling them, I really had to quit making them because I was spending a fortune and not getting much back.
In November my aunt visited and wanted a new purse, I told her I would make her one. We went to the fabric store, bought material and handles and so forth and I made my first "tote" bag (it was more of an envelope style but the idea stuck with me"
A few months later I decided to try to make real tote bags and so I bought fabric and made the first 3 tote bags, within 1 week I sold 2 of them. Now I'm hooked.
Well, that is how CollarCraze came into being. and now I have to go cook dinner. so, peace, love, grapefruit!
~Lynsie
The collars came into being because as most everyone knows I have a Great Dane girl named Ximmy. When we first got her we just put her in a generic collar and I was always getting, "Oh, what a pretty boy!" and I would always correct them and tell them that she is a girl. We also got "my, that is a tall Labrador" but that is a different blog all together!
Well, I ordered a collar for her and it was expensive. Once I got it tho, I looked at how it was made and I thought, "I can do that!" I went online, ordered enough parts to make 5 collars, and a business was born. I enjoyed making them for Xim, but if I kept them all, she would have over 30 collars already, plus a lot of the fabric I found I really liked, but it didn't show up against her black coat. So I sold a few to some people I knew from Great Danes Online who seemed interested after I posted pics of Ximmy's new collars, and then someone told me about etsy. I went on that night and posted my first collar.
But as you can imagine, there are only so many people out there that have danes or other large necked dogs, so I wasn't selling too many collars. And if I'm not selling them, I really had to quit making them because I was spending a fortune and not getting much back.
In November my aunt visited and wanted a new purse, I told her I would make her one. We went to the fabric store, bought material and handles and so forth and I made my first "tote" bag (it was more of an envelope style but the idea stuck with me"
A few months later I decided to try to make real tote bags and so I bought fabric and made the first 3 tote bags, within 1 week I sold 2 of them. Now I'm hooked.
Well, that is how CollarCraze came into being. and now I have to go cook dinner. so, peace, love, grapefruit!
~Lynsie
Thursday, December 30, 2010
New Year
So most everyone I know is ready for the new year to start. Well so am I. and here are a few of what I'm hoping for in the new year.
1. More sales at my etsy shop - www.collarcraze.etsy.com
2. Better health for my family.
3. For my Great Dane, Ximmy, to maybe calm down just a little bit.
What are your New Year's wishes?
Things I've accomplished this year.
1. I have been Smoke-free for almost 2 years,
2. I have become Senior Pharmacy technician.
3. I got my Great Dane, Ximmy, in March.
Well, I have started making reversible tote bags and I think they have turned out pretty cool. I have 3 of them up right now in the etsy store, so you should go check them out.
you should check out my treasuries! Well, gotta go now. Hopefully I'll check in more often and post more. Who knows!
1. More sales at my etsy shop - www.collarcraze.etsy.com
2. Better health for my family.
3. For my Great Dane, Ximmy, to maybe calm down just a little bit.
What are your New Year's wishes?
Things I've accomplished this year.
1. I have been Smoke-free for almost 2 years,
2. I have become Senior Pharmacy technician.
3. I got my Great Dane, Ximmy, in March.
Well, I have started making reversible tote bags and I think they have turned out pretty cool. I have 3 of them up right now in the etsy store, so you should go check them out.
you should check out my treasuries! Well, gotta go now. Hopefully I'll check in more often and post more. Who knows!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
New collars are up!
Just put up 4 new collars, 3 of which are from the new Christmas collection.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61809126/the-elegant-collection-purple-paisley
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61822650/christmas-collection-gold-on-burgundy
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61823618/christmas-collection-red-and-green-plaid
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61824320/christmas-collection-gold-sequins-on-red
I am loving the new elegant collection I am making. They are made with pretty sari and brocade fabrics. I can't wait till I get some more hardware in so I can finish making some more.
Hope some people will start buying some collars for christmas presents. I really love making them but I'm gonna be broke if I keep buying things and no one is buying the collars. oh well. Guess I will go sew some more!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61809126/the-elegant-collection-purple-paisley
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61822650/christmas-collection-gold-on-burgundy
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61823618/christmas-collection-red-and-green-plaid
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61824320/christmas-collection-gold-sequins-on-red
I am loving the new elegant collection I am making. They are made with pretty sari and brocade fabrics. I can't wait till I get some more hardware in so I can finish making some more.
Hope some people will start buying some collars for christmas presents. I really love making them but I'm gonna be broke if I keep buying things and no one is buying the collars. oh well. Guess I will go sew some more!
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