{SIG} Travel Wallet Tutorial

Time for the final tutorial in the Millie Tote series!

So far in this series we have:

~ Turned the {SIG} Millie Skirt Pattern into the Millie Tote

~ Created a matching key fob to hook onto the Millie Tote's d-ring

and now you can create this fab {SIG} Travel Wallet!

This cutie will also clip right into your Millie Tote
OR

hook onto your keys for easy carrying while out and about!
This would be fantastic to keep on hand during your travels,

quick trips or shopping excursions!

It will hold a good amount of folded bills, cards and change...

all safe and secure and small enough for your pocket!

So let's get to it!

(Remember, you can click on any of these pics to enlarge!)

Gather your materials:

~ (2) 9.5" x 5.25" pieces of fabric 

~ (2) 3.5" x 5.25" pieces of fabric

~ (1) 2" x 2.5" piece of fabric

(I used coordinating fabrics, but you can use all the same fabric if you like)

~ (2) 9.25" x 5" pieces of light to medium weight interfacing

~ (1) 3.25" x 5" pieces of light to medium weight interfacing

~ 1.5" length of velcro

~ purse strap clip

(clips usually come 2 to a pack, so use the extra one from your key fob creation!)

~ zipper (at least 6" long)

Go ahead and add the interfacing to the two largest pieces

and one of the 3.5" x 5.25" pieces.
Follow manufacturer's instructions for the interfacing.
I also shared step-by-step details for this in the Millie Tote tutorial.

Now, lay your two large pieces on top of each other,

right sides together, and stitch with

1/4" seam allowance along the two long sides

and one of the short sides.

Clip sewn corners and turn right side out,

using a sharp instrument (chopstick, knitting needle, etc.)

to poke out the corners to make them nice and square.
At this time, get your smallest piece of fabric

and fold it in half with the 2.5" together 

and sew along that long side at 1/4".

Turn it right side out.
Press both pieces.

Fold the open end of the large piece inwards

about 1/2" and press the edge.

Stitch open end closed, close to the edge. 

Grab that little tab that you have created,

insert it through the purse clip

and stitch closely to the raw ends.
The stitching here is just to hold it in place while attaching it.

Place the raw edge of the stitched tab

along the short edge of one of the

smaller rectangles, centering it.
Lay the other rectangle on top of the first,

sandwiching the clip in between.
Pin through all layers to hold the clip/tab in place while sewing.

Sew with 1/4" seam allowance along the two short sides

and one long edge of the "sandwich".

Clip sewn corners, turn right side out,

poke corners out and press flat.

You now have the two main parts of the wallet! 

Time for some zipper fun!

Grab the larger piece and lay the end that you folded

in and closed up a minute ago alongside the zipper.

Align one corner of the fabric about

1/4" beyond the start of the zipper.

You can carefully pin the zipper to the fabric here

if you need help holding it in place

or just head to the machine and start stitching

(closely to the edge)!
I use the setting on my machine that shifts the needle to the far left.
This lets you get much closer to the edge.
You can also use a zipper foot if your machine doesn't do this.

Now, lay the long side of your smaller rectangle along the other side of the zipper.
Align it with the piece on the left, pin if necessary and stitch close to the edge.

You have just attached a nifty and functional zipper! Yay!

Flip your whole piece over to the back side.

Fold the smaller rectangle over on top of the larger one,

which will place the zipper at the bottom of the fold.

Get this as flat and even as possible

and place a pin in the middle to hold.

Stitch about 1/8" above the raw edge of your small rectangle.

Trim off excess zipper from both ends, as close as possible.

Fold the zippered compartment up and over again

along the line you just stitched.

This stitched line will be the bottom of your wallet.

Now we need to attach the Velcro.

Place one half of the Velcro below the zipper about 1/4",

centering it along the width.

Hold your Velcro in place with one hand

and CAREFULLY unzip the zipper...but NOT all the way!
If you unzip all the way at this point, 

the zipper will come off and you will have to try to reattach it.
Save yourself that trouble...

pull it back most of the way and fold it down to lock it.

You will now stitch around the edges of the Velcro,

making sure that you are only stitching through

the FIRST layer of the compartment.
After it is sewn on, you can close your zipper back up.

Place the other half of your Velcro on the underside of

the wallet's flap and align it with the first piece.
Stitch it in place.

You are so close to being done now!

With your wallet in this position,

make sure all your sides are aligned and flush and place a pin through the middle of it to keep everything straight.

Stitch close to the edge along the two sides of the wallet,

making sure to stitch back and forth over

the zipper ends a couple of times for reinforcement.

Fold that flap closed and you have yourself some major cuteness!

Now clip it into your matching Millie Tote!

How pretty!

You CAN do this...

and you will be so proud to show off your talent!

Thank you for following along with our Millie Tote Tutorial series.
I love being able to help you realize your potential!

XOXO,

{SIG} Key Fob Tutorial

Andrea here again with part 2 of our Millie Tote tutorial series!

If you missed the tutorial for the Millie Tote, you can find it here.

This week I will be showing you how to make
a key fob to coordinate with your new Millie Tote.

Our Millie Tote design includes an interior d-ring strap,
so we will be creating the key fob to clip onto it!

(Click on any pic to enlarge.)

First, gather your materials:

~ 2 coordinating pieces of fabric (2.5" x 13")

~ 1 coordinating piece of fabric (2.5" x 3.5")

OR 1 piece of ribbon (3.5" long & at least 3/4" wide)

~ Stitch Witchery (not pictured)

~ 1 purse strap clip (can be found at Joann's)

Optional:

~ 1 jump ring (key ring)

Now that we have everthing we need, let's get to it!

Grab your 3 fabric pieces and head to your sewing machine.

If you are using ribbon instead of the small piece of fabric,

you will now only be working with the 2 main pieces.

Each piece will be folded in half longways

(right sides together)

and sewn together with a 1/4" seam allowance.

It is important that the 2 long pieces be sewn as identically as possible.

They will need to be the exact same width once finished.

Pay attention to which side you are sewing

on the smallest piece as the 2 sides only differ by an inch.

Fold that one in half along the 3.5" side.

After all pieces are stitched,

press open the seams and then,

using a safety pin, turn them all right side out.

Take your messy, sewn strips of fabric back to the ironing board

and press them with the seam in the middle of one side.

This seam will eventually be hidden.

Feel free to use spray starch to get them as smooth and flat as possible.

Your 2 long pieces should be exactly the same width at this point.

Now get out your Stitch Witchery and cut two 13" pieces.

Lay them along the seam side of one of your long fabric pieces.

It is fine if they overlap. 

This step is primarily for holding our pieces in place for stitching.

Lay the other long piece of fabric, seam side DOWN,

on top of the Stitch Witchery.

With your iron, press the entire length of the fabric,

keeping them as aligned as possible, for a few seconds.

Once it has cooled, you should have a sufficient bond

to temporarily hold them together.

Now, back to the machine to stitch along the 2 long sides,

about 1/8" from the edge.

Take your strap clip and slide it onto the long piece of fabric,
making sure that the fabric you are wanting
on the outside is on the same side as the clip.

Overlap the raw ends of the strap 1/4"
and sew with a zig zag stitch for reinforcement.

Align the new seam about 1/2" above the clip.

Grab your small piece of fabric,
fold it in half (seam towards the inside)
and place the fold on one side of the strap's seam.

Fold both ends of the small piece into the other side of the strap
until it is snugly tucked into the strap.

Ribbon option:

If you prefer, you can use coordinating ribbon to wrap around the strap.

Burn the edges of your 3.5" piece of ribbon to keep from fraying.

Place it around the strap in the same way as shown.

Holding it all in place, stitch along the top and bottom of the small piece/ribbon.

Sew along this line a couple of times for reinforcement.

Guess what?

You're all done!

Now admire your handiwork!

Add some keys to that puppy!

Attach it to the d-ring in your awesome new Millie Tote!

YOU are awesome!

That is what you will hear when you make these cool key fobs

for all of your friends and family!

Did I mention that Helen, one of our dear {SIG} customers,

WON this key fob with her Millie Tote purchase?

Check out our Facebook page,
because we will be regularly giving these away with tote purchases!

Next week, in our final tutorial of this series,

we will be creating a simple wallet to coordinate with a Millie Tote.

Hope to see you there!

Millie Tote/Purse Giveaway ~ WINNER

I just love the new Rafflecopter!
I don't have to screen shot anymore.

Crop, save, post.

Done.

Just with 2 clicks!

If you go back to the original post, HERE,

you can see that the winner is now announced via the widget.

But that isn't good enough for me!
I wanna tell the world.

Or at least, YOU, my blog readers.

It pays to enter.

Lucky number 216 is the winner!
And she just happens to be a sewing compadre!

Jana M...your daughter is going to FLIP OUT.

And see, this is what we call true Southern hospitality.

You are being welcomed to the South with open arms and an awesome tote.

Does it get any better?
Nah.

Much love to all those that entered!
We will continue with the purse/tote series on Monday.

Key fob anyone?

Be looking for the tutorial!

And a special on the Facebook page.

Oh, and we are looking for blog sponsors.

Interested?
Drop me an email at

signature dot creations at hotmail dot com

to get the scoop because there are several ways to do it.

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!

Millie Tote GIVEAWAY

This is a first for {SIG}.

Our first tote/purse.

What ever you want to call it, I love it!

And I promise, you will too.

A big thanks to Southern Fabric for giving us

this gorgeous fabric from Joel Dewberry's Aviary Collection.

It is some of our favorite out there!

I'm letting you drool a little more.

Yeah, go on.

Isn't it perfect?
Best part, it can be yours!

And if you don't want it, this is the perfect gift.

you would be CRAZY to give it away, just sayin'

Now, I think Rafflecopter did an amazing job with the last giveaway.

So, I am going to use it again.

It doesn't get easier than just clicking away!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And please, spread the word.

The blog is growing and growing.

We wanna see it grow some more!

It keeps us motivated to keep giving goodies away.

And to keep pushing our creative minds to find new designs.

So PIN IT and spread the word!

Oh, if you are a sewer, check out yesterday's tutorial to make your own.

Happy Tuesday my friends!

Millie Tote/Purse Tutorial

Hello from Andrea!

{This tutorial is sponsored by Southern Fabric.}

My goal is to show you how to turn our Millie Skirt pattern into a Millie Tote, but ultimately, after this detailed tutorial is done, you will have learned some of the basic skills needed in tote/bag/purse making.

You will learn how to:

~ Create a sturdy strap

~ Attach magnetic snaps

~ Create "box corners" at the bottom of your bag

~ Create a D-ring strap (handy for keeping track of keys!)

To learn how to do all of these skills properly, I spent a LOT of time attempting multiple tutorials and trying and failing and trying again until I got it right...now hopefully we can get you doing it right the first time...all in once place!

So let's jump right into this!

(remember to click on the photo to enlarge it)

At this time you will have already purchased the

Millie Skirt pattern from {SIG}.

You will be using the fabric measurements for the size 5 skirt.

(you can actually make this tote smaller or bigger by using

a different size pattern rather than the 5)

Cut out your skirt piece and then cut and create the ties according to the pattern instructions.

Set your unfinished skirt pieces and prepared ties aside and let's move on to making the pieces we will be adding to create our tote.

THE STRAP

Here is what you will need for the strap:

~ Fabric measuring approximately 28" x 7" 

(this is TOTALLY adjustable to fit your needs!)

~ Lightweight to medium fusible interfacing about the same size

(When shopping for this, ask for the fusible interfacing BY THE YARD. It is much cheaper than buying the pre-packaged stuff. Though, since it is typically only 20" wide, you will have to get it cut to the longest measurement for your strap...in this case, that will be 28". But then you will have extra to make more totes. One 28" cut will make 3 straps!:)

The strap instructions that I will give you are going to result in a sturdy one that is about 1 3/4" wide.

The first purse that I made for myself didn't have interfacing and I wasn't a fan of how floppy the handle was.

You can decide whether to add the interfacing or not for your tote.

If you want to skip the interfacing, move on to the part where we fold, press and stitch.

Cut your strap piece.

(My pictured strap was shorter than the marked measurements and I feel it needs to be a tad longer)

Cut your interfacing.

It needs to be 1/4" shorter than your fabric on all sides.

(For example, if your fabric is 7" x 30", then cut your interfacing to 6 1/2" x 29 1/2")

Attach interfacing according to manufacturer's instructions.

Here's how I do it:

Lay interfacing shiny side down on wrong side of fabric.

Line up with 1/4" of fabric exposed on all sides.

Lightly and quickly touch iron to all edges to baste. 

Wet a piece of cloth and wring it out really well. 

(I use a thin dishcloth)

Cover the interfacing side with the cloth.

Begin at one end and press each spot for 10-15 seconds.

(A dry cloth underneath lets you know what has been pressed.)

Make sure to press EVERY inch of the strap.

Remove cloth, flip it over and steam the other side.

(You want NO bubbles or wrinkles on the right side of the strap.)

Fold strap in half lengthwise.

Press, creating a hard crease.

Open it back up and fold one long side

into the middle line and crease that side.

Repeat for other side. 

Close the strap up lengthwise and press one last time.

Top-stitch along the 2 long sides about 1/8" from the edge. 

Reinforce ends with zig zag stitch or serge.

(not pictured)

Your strap is now complete and can be set aside until later.

THE D-RING

This little guy will be super helpful in a sizable tote like this.

I, for one, despise digging for keys!

We are adding a small strap with an attached D-ring

to hook your key ring or key fob to.

And aren't you lucky...

next week we will be making a coordinating key fob!

Yay!

Here's what you will need:

~ A small piece of coordinating fabric

(at least 2" x 4")

~ A metal D-ring

(as seen in this pic being quite the character

with his magnetic snap friends!)

Cut out a 2" x 4" piece of fabric.

 Fold wrong sides together in half lengthwise

and stitch with a 1/4" seam allowance.

(Back stitch at beginning and end.)

Turn inside out with safety pin.

Press with seam centered on one side,

this will be the underside of the strap.

Slide D-ring on and stitch ends together.

You can do a quick stitch with your sewing machine

or run through the serger.

Set this aside for later.

Now, ready your main piece!

Pre-iron the casing at the top of your "skirt" piece according to the instructions in the pattern.

Do NOT create the bottom hem.

Unfold the casing.

(Oops...forgot to picture it this way)

IMPORTANT (Time to use the pattern!)

Use pattern instructions on how to line up and attach ties at top.

(Well...I forgot to get the ties in this pic!

Gosh! But just pay attention to the pattern for that:)

Stitch/serge along sides with ties attached as stated in the pattern.

Stitch/serge along bottom edge being careful not to catch the ties in your stitching.

Serge around the top of fabric to finish edges. 

THE BOX CORNERS

This will give some fullness to the bottom of your bag...

it is completely optional,

but definitely is the best look for this type of bag.

Grab flat sides of corners and pull outwards.

Line up two seams and lay flat.

Find and mark 4" point.

Stitch along marked line.

Trim off excess and reinforce. 

Voila'! You have the bottom of your tote complete!

THE MAGNETIC SNAPS

Here's what you will need:

~ Magnetic snaps 

(Just a little tip...go to the purse-making section of your craft store and sometimes they will have less expensive and better color choices than they have in the notions department.)

~ Small piece of felt, fleece or other thick material for reinforcement

The snaps needed for one bag will have 4 parts...the back and front snap parts and 2 metal reinforcement plates that go on the inside.

Start with either the front or back snap and one piece of your felt/fleece/etc.

Lay felt on flat surface.

Rub snap prongs back and forth until mark is made.

Snip at mark lines with tip of sharp scissors.

Repeat with other piece.

Find the center of the top edge on both sides

of the bag and crease to mark.

Line one snap piece up with center line.

Measure up from edge about 3/4".

Rub against hard surface again to mark.

Snip marks on fabric as done on felt.

From right side of fabric, place prongs of snap through holes.

Place pre-snipped felt over prongs.

Place metal plate over felt.

Use thumbs to bend prongs outward.

Repeat for other side/snap.

IMPORTANT!

The placement of the snap is going to change where the top line of your casing will fall because you have to allow room for your stitches and presser foot to get past the snap.

The bottom stitch line will be done as instructed in the pattern,

but the top line should be measured to fall about

1/4" above the snap edge.

My top line fell about 1 1/4" above the bottom stitch line.

Continue with pattern instructions for creating the casing

(with now adjusted top casing line) and inserting the elastic.

DO NOT close elastic opening just yet!

ATTACHING THE D-RING

Slide stitched end of D-ring strap about 1/2" into the hole

you used to insert the elastic and pin in place.

Close opening as instructed.

 ATTACHING THE STRAP

Lay strap end along the inside seam line at the top of your bag.

Center strap with seam and ensure that the bottom edge

of the strap falls along the bottom edge of the casing.

Pin in place.

From the outside of the bag,

stitch along the bottom casing line, on either side of the tie.

Repeat stitching along the top casing line.

Repeat this process for the other end of the strap.

We're almost finished!!

Since there isn't a waistline to hold the bow up like in skirt mode,

we will have to stitch the straps in place to the bag.

Lay bag on flat surface.

Lay ties towards the middle and feel where your snap is on the inside.

Sew a few stitches about 1/2" out from either side of the snap.

You can now tie your pretty bow and

admire your gorgeous creation!

Do you love it?

Good because YOU will have a chance to win this tomorrow!

Come back and happy sewing!!!

PS ~ We partied at these places today...

I’m participating in Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.