Oilcloth Zip Pouch TUTORIAL

On my most recent trip to IKEA I picked up a yard of this great oilcloth for only $3.50, which ended up being perfect for a little zip pouch.  To make your own, first download the pattern here. 

For the pouch you'll need, some oilcloth for the exterior, a quilting cotton for the interior, and a 7inch zipper.

Here are the cut pieces with some extra rectangles for an optional zipper tabs.

If you are going to make the zipper tabs, cut 2 rectangles of oilcloth that are 2 inches by 2.5 inches.  Fold as shown, sew on the end of the zipper, then trim the excess. 

 Lay the right side of zipper down on right side of exterior piece and the right side of the lining on top of that.  Using your zipper foot, sew a 1/2 inch seam across all 3 layers.

Here's what it looks like when you unfold the pieces.

 Do the same for the other side of the zipper.  Again, lay the right side of zipper on the right side of the exterior piece and the right side of the lining piece on top.  Again, sew a 1/2inch seam across. 

 Fold it all back and top-stitch along zipper.

Match up the lining and exterior pieces as shown.  Sew around all sides, leaving an opening for turning in the lining.

To box out the corners, match the side seam to the bottom seam and sew across with a 1/2 inch seam.  Do this for all 4 corners.

 This is what it should look like a this point.  Turn the bag right side out, close the opening you left for turning either by sewing it by hand, or making a little seam with your machine. 

Finished pouch measures approximately 8"x4"x2.5"

Thanks for stopping by!

Post Holiday Gifts

We received some extremely thoughtful and unexpected gifts for Christmas this year and I feel awful that I'm just getting around to reciprocating. Luckily, I know the recipient of this gift will be very understanding.

Here are a few things I'll be sending off...

I found this houndstooth utility fabric at Joanns. At first I wasn't sure about it, but I love the end result. I added a pocket to the outside to break up the pattern a bit. I'm addicted to making these lunch totes. They make a really great gift!

My sister in law is a new mom, so for baby Jacob I'm sending a homemade soft jingle block and toy/pacifier clip. Stay tuned for tutorials for these in the near future.

All packed up and ready to go. Hope they like it!

Oilcloth Lunch Tote Tutorial

Well, if you read this post, then you know I was hoping to get some time to do this tutorial. I'm not sure how it happened, since my husband has a stomach bug, we installed new bamboo flooring in our bedroom (meaning we did it ourselves!) and my 4 year old is sick with possibly strep throat.... Keeping all that in mind, here is my tutorial for this super cute oilcloth lunch tote.
All you'll need for this is about 1/2 yard of oilcloth and your sewing machine. I'd recommend using a size 16 needle (or one recommended for heavy weight fabric).

Some useful links:

• tips for sewing with oilcloth at Sew, Mama, Sew.
• here is a great post about the difference between laminated fabric and oilcloth along with some sewing tips.

I used some old oilcloth for this tutorial and a laminated cotton for this project. Oilcloth makes for a stiffer finished project, but is pretty tough to work with. I think what you'll find around now falls more into the category of laminated cotton.

OK, so here are your pieces.

2 front/back pieces 11.5" x 9"
1 bottom piece 7" x 9"
2 side pieces 11.5" x 7"

2 handle pieces 12" x 3" (you could also use webbing to save time)

My cut pieces.

First sew the handles. I wanted my finished handle to be about 1" wide, so I folded each side over 1" to the wrong side. The nice thing about sewing with this kind of fabric is that you don't have to finish the edges.


Sew a seam down the center to secure the overlapping pieces and then sew another seam right next to the first.

Take your front/back panels and fold the top over 1/2" towards the wrong side. Then mark 2 inches in from the edge. Align the handle at the 2" mark and with the folded edge and sew a seam along the top and bottom of the folded edge. Do this for both the front and back panels.

Take your 2 side panels and fold over 1/2" to the wrong side the same way you did for the front/back panels (do this along the shorter side which will be the top). Sew a seam along the top and bottom of the fold.

Then sew each side panel to the bottom panel with right sides together. Make sure to sew the non-finished side to the bottom.

Now, take one of your front panels and align the top edge with the finished, folded over edge of the side panel and sew a seam (1/4" seam allowance) all the way down the side, stopping about 1/4" short of the bottom panel.

Pivot the front panel so that now the bottom of the front is aligned with the bottom panel and again sew a seam with 1/4" seam allowance, stopping 1/4 short of the end.

Pivot again and sew up the other side panel in the same manner.

Here's what you should end up with.

If you haven't given up on sewing with oilcloth, repeat this for the other front panel and you've got a lunch tote!

Pack a lunch and you're ready to go.

Maybe grab a cute friend to take along too....

Oilcloth Tote and Lunch Bag Set

In our house we are big believers in reusable bags. But, the bags we use for our groceries aren't exactly the bags I want to be toting around at the mall or to friend's houses. I found this great tutorial over at Prudent Baby and decided I needed to make this bag.

This bag is the perfect size for bringing PJs over to a New Year's Eve party or snow pants over to a New Year's Day sledding party, or a day of shopping! As my good friend over at Jane of All Trades would say (though it's never true for her stuff), don't look too close. I could not for the life of me figure out how to do the mitered corners. I just kind of winged it, yelling all the while. My daughter told me to be patient.....

I ending up buying a yard of this beautiful Michael Miller Far Out Floral and had enough to make a matching lunch bag. I decided to do it without the bias tape border.

I really love the way this set came out and it's so useful. I suspect I'll be making another one of these lunch totes and maybe, just maybe the stars will align so that I can get enough time to take photos while it's light out and then write a tutorial. Stay tuned....