Westend Quilter & EQ Designer: The Road to Home Row Along Day 7

Today I finished about 35 vinyl bags from the design on http://so-sew-easy.com/clear-vinyl-project-pouches/ . But I made a ‘switch-up’ with the tops of the bags – I used old metal tape measures that I was saving for a project. I liked the tutorial for using tape measures, but the thought of using vinyl for the sides was more attractive. All my fabric is on open shelves because I need to see what I have, so see-through bags is a great idea.

I ended up with 3 different sizes of tape measuring tapes that had broken and some vinyl I bought years ago.

I gave up on her idea of using scissors to cut the tape and bought a metal cutter at the hardware store for under $20 and well worth it! I also covered the ends with masking tape once I had cut them.

If you look at the pattern in the link above, you’ll notice that the size of the top piece depends on the finished size of your bag. I had 3 different widths of metal tape: ¾”, 1”, and 1 ¼ “. Because I didn’t have enough vinyl for the size made in the tutorial, I decided to make them finish up at 6” wide x 5” high. So for the top pieces I cut:

- For the ¾ “ tape pieces – 7”wide x 3 ¼ “ high (enough space to insert the tape)

- For the 1 “ tape pieces – 7”wide x 3 ¾ “ high

- For the 1 ¼ “ tape pieces – 7”wide x 4 ¼ “ high

Sewing the vinyl wasn’t fun! Luckily I had a plastic or Teflon foot for my sewing machine and that helped immensely! But there was some slipping and the pieces were not perfect!

Bag - inside out

When I reached step #13, I didn’t sew a full ½ “ seam because when I tested it, there wasn’t enough room for the 6” tape pieces. I sewed from the top of one side down, across the bottom and then up just to the fabric strip of the other side. I used pinking shears to finish the raw edges. Then I inserted the metal pieces.

I had made 6” tabs using fabric strips 1 ¼ “. I folded both sides to the centre, then folded and pressed the strip in half and sewed on each side. I did this with full width of fabric strips and then cut the strips into 6” tabs.

After inserting the metal tape pieces, I held the tab in place (with the loop on the inside and the ends so they would be sewn into the seam) and sewed up the top side opening, sewing over the tab pieces a couple of times.

Then it was just a matter of trimming the top and turning the bags inside out. I liked this tutorial and it could certainly be adapted to any other fabric and closure choices!

For Day 6 of The Road to Home Row Along, we have 5 bloggers who wish to present their rows. Enjoy!