DIY Bicycle Handlebar Bag

Before I took my new bicycle out for a ride I needed a handlebar bag. I figured I could make one but as I was looking through my purse hardware I realized that I have been saving old handbags so I could use bits and pieces of them. Well why reinvent the wheel.  I found a cute New York & Co. bag that was just the right size so I did some modifications and Voila!

So here is how I altered a handbag to make the perfect handlebar bag.

This is my handbag before modifications.

As you can see it has a zippered top and a cell phone pocket on the front. It has some O rings on brown webbing strap.  I left the O rings on, in case I want to clip something to them, and cut the strapping off.

I cut two pieces of strap, each 7 inches long, and melted the ends with a match so they wouldn't fray. The melting method works great with nylon based webbing.

My intent was to sew the webbing to the front of the purse and have Velcro sewn to the back of the other end of the webbing. So I sewed a 3 inch piece of Velcro to the inside of the back side of my strap.

I now sewed my straps to the front of my bag, about 1 inch in from the side and 1 1/8 inch down from the top. Since I melted the ends, I did not have to fold the webbing under, thus eliminating bulk. The free arm on my sewing machine came in handy here.  Remember to check inside the bag before sewing, so as not to sew into a zipper or snap.

I sewed a 2 inch piece of Velcro on each side of the back of the bag and this is what it looks like when the strap is brought over and connected.

So if you need a handlebar bag, look at what used handbags, camera cases or pouches that you have laying around. Why spend $15 or $20 for a run of the mill black handlebar bag when you can have a unique one for pennies. Be creative!

Making Burp Cloths

 

I have been making personalized burp cloths, see my  Previous Post, for awhile and I really like the ones I do with diapers and I think they are more absorbent.  But every time I need to make another one I have to dig out my scribbled notes.  So I have decided to write a tutorial and not have to go through the search and discovery method each time.


Supplies:

Diaper - wash and dry.  The diaper should measure 17 inches in length so sometimes I have to cut.   It will not be 15 inches wide; that is ok because you want it to be smaller in width.
Flannel - 17 inch X 15 inch (I wash in hot water and dry on hot prior to construction)


So the first thing I do is embroider on the front of the diaper in the top 1/3 in center. I use medium weight tear-a-way stabilizer.

 

Next I lay the flannel right side up and lay the  diaper right side down on top of it.  I line up the left sides and sew a 1/4 inch seam. Remember the length of the flannel and diaper should be the same but not the width.

 

 

Next I line up the right sides and sew a 1/4 inch seam.  I want to have the flannel showing on both sides of the front so the width of the flannel is larger than the width of the diaper.

 

For the top seam I line up the raw edges with the flannel extending an inch or so on both sides. I just make it extend equally on both sides. and sew the top seam.

 

Sew the bottom seam last leaving an opening to turn right side out.  Before turning clip the four corners. Once turned sew a zigzag or decorative stitch around the perimeter.

 

 

 

 

 

Basting a Quilt with a Microstitch Gun

In the past I have made quilts using the 'quilt as you go' method and thus never had the issue of how to hold the quilt top, batting and backing together while quilting the item.  But I have started to quilt the conventional way of piecing the top first and then quilting the backing and batting after it has been sandwiched.  In my first item the  Pumpkin Runner I used adhesive spray to hold the layers together and then free motion quilted it without any problems. However I next had a twin size quilt and a long runner to quilt and did not think that the spray basting was a good solution.  I knew I was not going to hand baste them and really did not think I wanted to pin baste either.  So I started asking other quilters what they do and an employee at my local quilt shop suggested gun basting.  I bought the Microstitch gun shown above on Amazon.com for around $20 and it came with 1200 plastic tacks.

The premise of the gun is that you place the needle through all layers, squeeze the handle and it puts a plastic tack in the hole that holds the pieces together.  One has to hold the item off the surface so that the tack can have space to go through the 3 layers.  Thus you have to hold the bottom layer up with your hand but this could have the potential of sticking your fingers with the needle and tack.  So my hubby had a 2' X 4' ceiling light grid that I employed to keep my quilt up off the surface of my rotary mat. First I laid my mat on my cutting table and then hung the center of my runner over the center of the table with the sides hanging over.  This allowed me to smooth all layers; backing right side down, batting and top right side up.

 

Once my runner was sandwiched and stretched I slipped the lighting grid on top of the rotary mat and under the runner layers.  I then smoothed out all the layers again. As you can see below, this allows the item to be easily stretched over the grid.

 

 

 

 

 

Now I could easily place the needle of the gun into the sandwich through a hole of the grid, allowing the tack to be placed appropriately without having the needle hit the mat below.  I placed my tacks about 3-4 inches apart and approximated the distance by laying my hand flat next to the tack that had been placed.

 

 

 

I used about 720 tacks for a twin sized quilt (about $3 worth) and 150 tacks for the runner shown above.  The tacks hold the quilt together well and I was able to free motion quilt without having the layers shift. Also I was able to sew right over the tacks without any problems. After my quilting was done, I sewed my binding on and then easily snipped the tacks from the backing side. It took about 1 and 1/2 hours to tack baste the twin quilt and 20 minutes to do the runner.  It took about the same time to remove the tacks. 

 

Thus far, I am a fan of gun basting a quilt.  I plan to use this method for any new quilting projects.

 

 



 

 

Make Your Own Decorator Pillows

I always forget how easy it is to make decorator pillows until I get a request to do so.  Pillows are inexpensive and can drastically change the look of a room.  I usually make the envelope style just because it is easy to launder when necessary, but when I am short on fabric I will do panels and just sew the opening closed.

My daughter-in-law wanted to put bright pillows on her outdoor furniture so we bought outdoor canvas that resists mold and mildew.  I sometimes use it for indoor pillows because it holds its shape so well. 

First of all you need the pillow form so that you can determine how much fabric to buy.  For a 16 X 16 you will need 1/2 yard of fabric that is at least 40 inch wide.  The front piece will be cut 17 inches by 17 inches, essentially adding 1/2 inch to each side to allow for the 1/2 inch seam.  To make the overlapping back you will cut 2 rectangles 17 X 12.  So for any size pillow form, the front panel will be the width plus 1 inch and length plus 1 inch.  The back panels will be 3/4 of width and length plus 1 inch. If the fabric is lightweight, the back panel can be interfaced.

On the back panels, one of the long edges of each need to be finished as they will form the envelope. I use my Janome Coverpro because it will hem and overcast at the same time. I press under 1 inch on the length and then stitch on the front and the back is overcast.

Other options for finishing the back edge are serging the edge and then pressing under 1 inch. Also the edge could be turned under 1/4 inch and then pressed under 3/4 inch and sewn with a straight stitch.




Now you are ready to sew your pillow together.  First lay down your front panel, right side up.
Next place 1 back panel wrong side up onto the front panel matching all three unfinished edges.
The next back panel is placed wrong side up, matching the opposite 3 unfinished edges.
Pin securely.

Sew completely around the square backstitching at beginning and end.  When you get to the section where the back sections overlap, backstitch over the 1 inch section to strengthen this area.  Stop sewing 1/2 inch from end of side and pivot fabric to sew the next side.

Before you turn right side out, cut across the point at each corner to reduce bulk and allow for a nice point when turned.

Now turn right side out, use a dowel to push out the corner and press before inserting the pillow.