Now it’s Christmas, I can show you the present I made for my Mum. It’s a zippered pouch (based on the twelve22 tutorial) with a tsumami fabric flower in the same fabric as the lining of the pouch.

Happy Christmas Mum – hope you like it!

As promised, here are the instructions to make my roll-up crochet hook case. Click the images for larger versions.

1. First, you need to figure out how big you want your case to be. I drew the figure below to design my case.
   
   Here are my calculations, in case you want to vary the size:
• I chose 24 pockets of 1.75cm width each. Finished case width = 24*1.75 = 42cm
• My tallest hook is 15cm tall, so I added 4cm to the height of the case to make the top flap so the hooks don’t fall out. Finished case height = 15+4 = 19cm
• My pockets are 9cm tall so the hooks stay in nicely. Pocket height = 9cm
• I added 1cm around each edge for seam allowance.
2. Cut your fabric as follows:
    
                      

   Materials list:

• Outer fabric (pink): 44x21cm
• Lining fabric (pigs): 44x21cm
• Pocket fabric (pink): 2 pieces, each 44x10cm
• Piping trim for top of pocket (red): 44cm
• Piping trim for edge of case (not shown) = 2*(finished width + finished height + overlap) = 2*(42+19+1) – 126cm
• Ribbon or similar to tie the case closed (not shown)
   
3. Place one piece of pocket fabric face up. Pin the pocket trim on top along the length of the pocket, with the raw edges of fabric and trim matching. Sew all the way along, as close to the piping stitching as possible (I used the zipper foot on my sewing machine):
    
4. Pin the other piece of pocket fabric on top, so the pocket has right sides together and the piping is sandwiched between the two. Flip the fabric over and sew along your previous line of stitching.
    
   
   Pocket opened out, right sides down. Note all the raw edges (piping and both pieces of fabric) are together at the top.                 

   
   Here’s the pocket fabric with the wrong sides together. The piping now shows on the right side

5. Lay out the lining fabric right side up. Place the folded pocket on top of the lining so the bottoms of the pieces are aligned. Now open the pocket fabric upwards as shown below and pin the pieces together from the bottom up to the seam in the pocket. Check under the folded up flap of the pocket to make sure the piping is not pinned down! Pin the seams down toward the bottom.
    
               

   Mark out the lines for the individual pockets using a fabric pen or pencil – remember to add 1cm (the seam allowance) to the pocket at each end. Sew up each line from the bottom of the fabric to the seam as in the picture below.
    
   

6. Place the the outer fabric right side up. Starting with the end of the piping along the middle of any edge of the fabric, pin the piping around the edge of the fabric, with the raw edges to the outside. Clip the corners of the piping as in the photo below, so the piping can go around the corners.
    
    
    
   Sew all around the edge of the piping, leaving a couple of inches free at each end of the piping. Unravel the seam on one end of the piping by 1cm and trim the other end so it slips inside the open end. Fold the raw edge under and finish sewing the piping.
    
   
   Yes, it looks messy, but the stitching isn’t going to show and the piping join looks good!
   
   
   The finished piping.
   
7. Lay out the lining+pocket face up (make sure the pocket fabric is flipped down to hide the stitching), then pin the outer+piping to it face down (i.e. right sides together). Flip the piece over, then sew over your previous stitching (from attaching the piping). Sew all around the edge, but remember to leave about 3 inches open so you can turn the case right side out. This will also be the place where the ties are attached, so decide if you want to roll the case from the left like mine (so it will tie on the right of the finished case) or vice versa. 
    
   
   The gap for turning is in the middle of the left side.        

   
   Here’s the gap – all ready to turn…

8. This is the magic part… Turn the piece right side out through the gap you left:
    
   
   Voila! The gap is on the right side.
    
9. Now all you need is to attach something to keep the case closed. I went fancy with this one, but the easiest thing to do would be to cut a length of ribbon long enough to wrap around the rolled case and tie closed. Fold the ribbon in half and slip the folded end just inside the gap. Hand-sew the gap closed, trapping the folded end of the ribbon as you go. You will end up with the two long ends of ribbon – wrap them around the case and tie them in a nice bow!
     
   
   Finished! The top flaps down over the hooks.      

   
   Here’s the case rolled up.    

    

And that’s it! I hope you find this tutorial useful – please let me know if anything is unclear and I’ll modify it. Please also let me know if you make a case – I’d love to see what you come up with! More pictures of my case are available here.

This is my entry for the December One Hour Craft Challenge (a lovely brooch or boutonniere). I thought with Christmas approaching, I’d try making a poinsettia flower using the tsumami techniques I started learning last week. I tried making up some different folds for this one, and used fabric glue and sewing to assemble the flower from 10 separate petals and 6 leaves.

Here’s some poinsettia trivia: the red “petals” are actually modified leaves called bracts; the actual flowers are the little yellow bits in the middle.

Oh, and here’s my tsumami poinsettia (ruler included for scale; click for larger image) – what do you think?

PS – See the comments below for brief instructions on how I made this ornament!
 

I first saw these folded fabric flowers on Crafty Ginger’s blog, and I immediately knew I wanted to make some. Here are my first attempts:

I think they turned out well. I like both petal styles, and the faux pearl centres are pretty.  Lots of things would be brightened up by a little fabric flower accessory – I think I’ll be making more of these!

I keep losing my crochet hooks… I’ve ended up with 3 duplicate hooks because I can never find the right size hook when I need it. I realised I needed a roll-up case where I could store all my hooks, arranged by size, and then I’d always be able to find the right hook.

I spent ages planning before I started cutting the fabric, and the whole thing came together very quickly (except the knotted strap, but I couldn’t find a ribbon to match the trim, so I thought I’d make my own… and it escalated from there).

I’ve written up a tutorial for how I made this. 

Here’s the finished crochet hook case (as always, click the images for larger versions):

This is a tutorial for a really simple cushion cover. It’s really quick and easy to make (and cheap!) as it doesn’t require a zip – the cushion is inserted like a pillow into a pillowcase.

1. Measure your cushion’s length and width. My cushion is a 35.5cm square but any rectangular cushion will work just as well – it doesn’t have to be square.
   
2. This is the hardest part – working out the size of fabric you need. Add 2x the seam allowance to the width (I’m allowing 1cm for my seams, so I need a 37.5cm width). For the length, you’ll need twice the length of the cushion, plus a flap on one end, and a finished edge on the other.
   • I chose a big 12cm flap, so the cushion will always be well hidden inside the case. I also saved some work by cutting my fabric so the selvedge formed the edge of the flap. It saves having to finish another raw edge, and the edge of the flap will be hidden, so it doesn’t have to be very pretty. If you don’t use the selvedge, add a little extra to your flap so you can finish this edge in the same way as you’ll finish the other edge.
   • You’ll need a double fold on the other end, so add slightly more than twice your seam allowance (20mm for me, so I used 25mm).

   
   Okay, so my rectangle to cut is 85.5cm x 37.5cm. That’s the hard part over – promise! It’s all easy from here.

3. Cut your fabric to the size you worked out. Here’s mine with the cushion for comparison.
   
4. Now to finish the raw short edge on the right (the edge opposite the selvedge). Starting with the fabric face down, fold the edge over by half of the extra you added (12mm for me), and press in place. You may find it easier to pin the fold before pressing. 
   
5. Fold over by the same amount again, to trap the raw edge inside the fold. Press in place.
   
6. Sew along the whole edge to keep the folds in place.
   
7. Starting with the fabric right side up, with the selvedge at the top, bring the edge you have just finished up so the fabric has a fold at the bottom. Arrange it so that the length of the flap is uncovered by the second layer of fabric (see picture: 12cm of the right side of the fabric shows at the top; the fold is off the bottom of the picture): 
   
8. Fold the flap down over the top of the second layer. Pin along both sides of the cushion cover.
   
9. Sew along each of the sides, from top to bottom.
   
10. That’s it! Turn your new cushion cover inside out and press. Then insert your cushion and admire your handiwork!
    

I hope this tutorial is useful – please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

I’ve just finished making the sleeve for my new laptop. I wanted a small slim sleeve to protect the laptop while it’s in another bag, so I intentionally didn’t include a handle or strap.

I made the sleeve out of heavy cotton fabric (actually leftover fabric from curtains that I shortened for a friend). I made a quilted lining out of a soft stretch knit fabric and batting. And yes, the stretch fabric was a mistake – I only picked it because of the colour, and it was so stretchy that it was very difficult to work with. I had to iron fusible interfacing onto the flap lining to make it stable enough to work with. 

I used velcro to close the bag, and sewed a ribbon trim on the flap in a colour to match the lining. I had ideas for more embellishments, but I like it being clean and simple.

The outer sleeve and lining before I stitched them together. See my lovely quilting on the lining?

The finished sleeve, closed…

…and open. The laptop fits perfectly inside with no room to spare.

There’s the quilted lining again.

Ribbon detail from the flap. So pretty!

Ugh, I hate the word shroud! Not sure what else to call this though.

Dave’s telescope is designed to be collapsible, so it doesn’t have a solid tube; it just has 3 poles connecting the top and bottom of the telescope.

He asked me to make a removable fabric tube to keep light out of the telescope. It was complicated to design as the scope has bits sticking out  – I kept going back to the scope for ‘fittings’ as I started each part.

I made this out of two layers of ripstop nylon, so that no light can get in. The top stays up with elastic loops that pass over the top ring of the scope and fasten around buttons on the shroud. There are 2 slits (reinforced with bias tape) near the top for access to the eyepiece and filter wheel. I left the side seams open at the bottom for the pole supports, and the shroud closes below the supports with velcro. 

The shroud can open out flat, and it attaches around the body of the telescope using two zips; one zips up from the bottom of the telescope, and one zips down from the top, so there is room for the finder scope to move up and down vertically by partially unzipping one of the zips.

Lots of work, but it looks pretty good, and, more importantly, it does what it’s supposed to do – keeps stray light out of the telescope.