I had very little sewing time that I could squeeze in this week, but I was determined to do something every day towards my project, and I did every day except one ...
On more than one day, I pinned and prepared items for stitching and stacked them where I put items that are ready to run through the sewing machine. I call this batch sewing. Rarely, are they the same items, sometimes they are, but usually they are different projects in different stages of completion ... if that makes sense!
One day, I pressed fabric for a project
One day, I stitched up the small stack of items that I had previously pinned, pressed and prepared for stitching
One another day, I wound the bobbin for my sewing machine.
None of these tasks took long, 5 - 30 minutes each. Several days of 5 - 30 minutes of prep or sewing adds up by the end of the week.
Having a designated sewing nook means I can snatch bits and bobs of time all through the day. My sewing nook is in one corner of my kitchen/dining/living room, right there in the hub of our home. Does it sometimes look, unkept? Yes, but in my opinion, a bit unkept is different than the area being dusty, dirty and unkept in the cleanliness department. To me, a clean but somewhat untidy (within reason, of course) sewing nook screams a busy seamstress who is trying to get in as much creating as possible!
So, what project did I complete this week in spite of my busy schedule ...
I call these pocket aprons ...
I wear one when I garden or go for a walk, each section holds something different such as:
a bottle of water
a phone
and anything else that's pertinent to the outside task or activity I'll be doing.
(This is a good way to use fabric you have in your stash that may not be your favorite ... if you know what I mean!)
These little pocket aprons get used almost daily and consequently wear out over time. The ones I was using before I completed these have been repaired and repaired and repaired again and are soon reaching the point where they will need replacing ... hence, it was time to get some stitched up. They are really easy to make and don't require a pattern.
I take one yard of fabric and cut it on the fold. This will give me 2 (approximately 22 x 36 inch) pieces. Then I take each piece and fold it in half lengthwise. This gives me 2 folded pieces that measures 22 inches wide and 18 inches tall. I then pin the desired size fold (pocket) up and in place and stitch along the outside edges (Approximately 1/8 inch from edge.) of each 'pocket apron' and across the bottom (Approximately 1/4 inch from bottom fold. This re-enforces the pocket bottoms). Next, I mark where I want to stitch to divide the apron up into individual pockets. I like to run a stitching line from the top of the fold to the bottom about every 4 - 5 inches.
(Yes, I know that using this method uses more fabric, but I choose this method so that my pocket aprons will be stronger and hold up longer under the kind of use they get.)
To finish it off, I place biased tape on each raw edge side and stitch it down.
The last step is to measure how long I want the ties to be and add it to the width of the top of the apron. Stitch it down along the raw edges of the top of the apron all the way down the open side of the ties as well ... and it is ready for use! Just like that, easy peasy and oh so useful ... or they are for me!
That's it for this week. I have several projects in various stages of completion ... which one will I choose to finish up next! Meet me back here next week to find out!
Please share what you stitched up or created this week, I would love to hear about what you're working on!
Until the next time,
patsi @ Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine
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