I found some fabulous bias binding in my local shop and just had to have it... floral bias binding is the future! Then what could I make from it... well, the answer was in my handbag, my reading glasses case was looking a little the worse for wear, also it was black and I could never find it in the bottom of my handbag to say nothing of the suitcase which held my sunglasses which was almost as big as my handbag... so I was off an running. What I need is a simple quilted speccy case!
You will need
2 pieces of cotton fabric
1 piece of wadding
Sewing cotton
Pins
Cutting mat, Rotary wheel and Ruler or Dress making scissors
Sewing machine
Iron and Ironing board
Small drinking glass
Scraps of contrasting fabric if you decide to applique
Iron your fabric and cut out two pieces of fabric 8"x 8" If you have larger sunglasses or are making the case for Dame Edna then you will need to increase the size a little. Cut out your piece of wadding about 1/2" wider all round
Now make a sandwich of your fabric, wadding and fabric and pin it together. Take your top fabric and mark it lightly every inch along the side, as we are going to become expert straight line sewers on this project as we quilt it together with our machines.
To make our diamond pattern sew all the lines in one direction, then turn it and sew across in the opposite direction to create the pattern above.
Trim off all the excess fabric... the square will shrink with quilting and I trimmed it to a 7" x 7" square.
Pin your bias binding across one edge of the square and sew it into place, if you are feeling a little nervous tack it into place using a a contrasting cotton so that it is easy to remove when you have finished.
Fold the square of fabric in half with the bound edge at the top, take your glass, place it in the bottom open corner and trace around it with a water soluble pen and cut around this to give you a gently curving edge.
At this point I thought it looked bland, so out came my pastry cutters and I found a suitable cutter to create a little bit of applique.
Sew the patch into place.
Fold the fabric together, match up the edges and sew a fine seam of about1/4" from the base up to the bias binding at the top. Now, you may find that your machine baulks at the amount of fabric you are trying to push through it, so just increase your stitch length as this will make it easier for the machine.
Take your bias binding and fold about 1/2" under to create a neat end, you may find it easier to iron the bias binding in half before you tack it into place. When you come the rounded corner, because this is bias binding it will ease around the curve leaving a really smooth finish. As you get to the end cut half an inch more than you need and tuck it under just as you did at the beginning. You really do need to tack this bias binding into place, I do this because I know no matter how well I pin it together, it will slip, it's the law!
Sew in your loose ends, I usually over-sew the ends to make it look really neat... however you guessed it, I still thought it needed more, so I found a heart shaped button to sew onto the case (next time I will do this before I sew it up!). The great thing is that I can find this in the stygian gloom that is the bottom of my hand bag and better still, because it is cotton it is easy to wash.
Now everyone over to Wendy's Handmade Monday as I reckon there will be great ideas for things to make and buy for UK Mother's Day.
And in a couple of weeks I will show you how to make your own bias binding.
