Sew Practical: Quilted Water Bottle Carrier

Knowing how to sew means you can create those little items you can use everyday out of fabric you like and in sizes that work best for you.  Here is another one of those little items that I learned to make and now I can whip one up in a half hour or so (which is great if you lose water bottles like I do).  This same idea can work with a lot of sizes of bottles and have shorter straps for kids.  This bottle carrier will hold many standard size manufactured bottles, but if you want one to fit a specific bottle, you can alter the pattern by using the circumference of the bottom of the bottle and its height as a guide.  Here is the pattern I used to make mine.  I borrowed heavily from this pattern from ilovefabric.com.

You need:

2 pieces of fabric 12" x 10.5" (I use home decorating fabric.)

1 piece of batting 10.5" x 9.5"

2 fabric circles 4" in diameter

1 batting circle 3" in diameter

1 strip of fabric 3.5" x 50" for adult size strap (Use 42" long for child)

The 2 main pieces of fabric can be the same design or if you want to have a coordinating fabric as a liner, you can use 2 different fabric designs (which is what I did on this bottle carrier). 

As a cheat, you can use a roll of duct tape or other circle to get that circle pattern. 

You can use twill tape or heavy ribbon for the strap.  I chose to use the coordinating fabric because I think the straps hold up better.  If your strap fabric isn't 50" long, don't worry - here's how to piece strips.  Take two pieces of fabric and lay them perpendicular with right sides together.  Sew a line diagonal across the area where the pieces intersect and then cut the selvage.

Taking your new 50" strip, sew the ends under and then fold the long side in half, right sides of fabric facing each other.  Sew a seam with a 1/4" seam allowance from end to end, leaving the ends open on either end of the strap. 

Using a safety pin attached to one end of the strap as a guide, turn the inside of the strap out so the right side of the fabric is showing.  Iron the seam.  At this point you can topstitch the lengths of the strap if you wish.  That gives the strap a flat look.

Next, lay the 2 main fabric pieces, right sides together and sew a 5/8" seam along the top (one of the 12" sides).  Iron the seam open.  (This would have been an ideal place to sew the strap onto the main fabric by placing either end of the strap between the outer and lining fabrics with about 1-2" of strap sticking out when you put the outer and lining fabrics right sides together.  The ends of the straps should be about 2" from either side of the fabrics.  You would then sew the ends of the straps to the wrong side of the liner fabric.  I didn't so it that way, so I'll continue with instructions for the straps sewn on top of the liner fabric.)

Pin the batting to the wrong side of the outer fabric.  This will hold it temporarily as you get started on quilting.  If you didn't already sew the straps onto the fabric, sew them onto the right side of the lining fabric, about 1-2" from the edges.  Be sure you are only sewing onto the lining fabric so the seams don't show through on the outer fabric.

Fold the lining fabric over the batting so the right side of the liner fabric is showing.  Topstitch along the top, right next to the seam you sewed to join the outer and inner fabrics.

Starting at the topstitch line, sew straight lines (about 1.5" apart) to the open bottom so the batting is evenly quilted.  Don't worry if you are sewing over the portions of the strap that are already sewn on.  I wish I knew the name of the tool, but see the metal doohickey in the picture to the right of the presser foot?  It has a bar that attaches to the machine and acts as a guide for sewing straight lines equidistant from each other.  You can also draw lines using a fabric marking pen (ink disappears).  Once you finish, if your batting is sticking out at the bottom, trim it back and sew the bottom closed. (Don't worry that the wrong sides are together and the seam shows.)

Take the circle pieces, right sides together, and sew around the circumference, leaving a 2" opening.  Turn inside out:

Gently insert the circle batting into the opening.  Hand sew the opening closed and then sew the circle with seams like a pie - 4 seams in all.

Take the main bottle piece and fold it in half WRONG sides together.  You will use a French seam to make the circular shape, and that is a two-step process.  First sew a narrow (1/4") seam along the raw edges to join the sides.

Now turn the tube inside out and sew another seam on the same edge, this time using a 5/8" seam allowance.  That will have the effect of "capturing" the first seam in a way that looks really clean.

Now you're ready for the hardest part - sewing the circular bottom on the open end of the tube.  Carefully pin the circle onto the bottom of the inside-out tube (striped side in the pictures).  Slowly sew it onto the bottom of the tube.  You can also hand sew it on if that is easier for you.

This is what it looks like when it's done.  It's not pretty, but it's the inside of the bottle carrier.

Turn your bottle carrier inside out and you're done!

cindy

Plans for the Wall of Fabric

Years ago, before I knew how to sew, I visited my sister who is an awesome seamstress.  I opened a double closet in the guest bedroom and it was full of fabric!  Wow, I had never seen anything like it.  Fast forward to today at my house:

And this isn't all of it.  Our local JoAnn Fabrics went out of business last month and everything was 75% off.  Unfortunately, you had to buy it by the bolt.  Pretty stuff, though, including quilter's fabric and Waverly.

Anyway, with my forty day computer silence underway, my plan is to make as many items as I can.  I know my limitations, so it probably won't make even the smallest dent in my stash, but if you're wondering how I'm getting my craft fix, here is just a small example:

 


 

These are actually patterns for things for my daughter, but I'm also excited about making some pretty spring dresses for my Etsy store, Pretty Pretty Cindy.  After Easter, I'll come back to show some off.  In the meantime, if you're in the market for a girl's dress, drop by Pretty Pretty Cindy.

Happy sewing!

cindy

My First Quilt

I'm a wimp about quilting.  It's very intimidating to me.  I love rag quilts, probably because no one in my family made them, so I couldn't be too intimidated.  My grandmother made many quilts, even years after a major stroke, and all by hand.  My sister made her first quilt less than 7 years ago, but as usual she started big - I mean really big.  She made these huge colorful banners for her church.  Yeah, that big thing with the ribbons.

This one too:

So you can see why I might be a bit intimidated.  I finally overcame my fear, bought a pattern and some bundled fat quarters and made my first quilt:

I love the colors.  The blocks are multiple sizes and didn't line up perfectly, but you have to look close to see it.

I can't remember the pattern, but I do remember I purchased it at JoAnns.  I followed the directions for the binding and I'm pretty proud of it.

I was a weenie with the actual quilting.  I "stitched in the ditch".  That means I followed the seams of the blocks on the quilt top to sew through the quilt sandwich (quilt top, batting and quilt back).

I must say I'm pretty proud of it.  I made it a while back and today when I look at it I'm surprised I made it all by myself.  I pretended to be my sister and jumped in boldly - go big or go home.  (O.K., my quilt isn't big, but it's a metaphor for doing something you've never done before.)  Next time I'm going to try "real" quilting and stay out of the ditch.

cindy

DIY - Easy Colonial Costume

This post can now be found (with the Alexander Hamilton update below) at my new blog, Pretty Home Threads.  Check it out!

Crochet - Chunky Cowl

I'm in a crochet mood.  I have a yarn stash that doesn't get used nearly enough.  I found this beautiful yarn I bought a while back and looked for a free crochet pattern for one of those cool cowls that are so popular this winter.  This pattern was so easy and I'm thrilled with the result:

I followed this pattern from JJCrochet's Blog.  It uses a double herringbone stitch which is easy and creates a ribbed effect.  I changed two things from the pattern.  First, I decided how long to make the cowl by "eyeing it" where I wanted it around my neck.  The other thing I changed from the pattern was to whip stitch the ends after twisting the cowl once to create the cowl look.  This pattern was a lot easier than crocheting in the round.  I'm getting many compliments:

cindy