Free motion sewing tutorial: how to make a bowl

Yesterday I had the opportunity to gate crash a meeting of the Embroiderer's Guild in Paignton with my Mum.

Armed with sewing machines, threads and embroidery hoops, about 20 of us came along for a sewing tutorial given this week by my Auntie Liz (aka LimeGreenLizzie). It was a free motion sewing tutorial to make one of these delicate little bowls.

I've put together a tutorial below if you'd like to make one yourself. They're extremely simple so a perfect sewing project for beginners.

Free motion sewing: bowl

#1 - Prepare the embroidery hoop

Fit a piece of water soluble plastic into your embroidery hoop. You can buy soluble plastic laundry bags which are perfect for this. They dissolve in warm water, leaving behind the stitching.

Draw around a bowl or another circular object with a pen onto the soluble plastic.

#2 - Attach the free motion foot

Fit the free motion quilting foot to your sewing machine and select the threads you would like to use. I went for plain cotton to practise with, but sparkly threads give a beautiful shimmery effect. I've used cream cotton for the bobbin and navy for the top colour.

#3 - Stitch a foundation

Slide the embroidery hoop under the foot of your sewing machine and begin to sew. To give your bowl integrity when the soluble plastic is dissolved, the stitching needs to overlap, but you can do this in any pattern you choose.

I started this one by stitching from the centre to the outside line all around the circle.

I've been experimenting with videos so here's one which shows the stitching in progress.



You should end up with something like this.

It's a good idea to sew around the edge of your circle to stop it all falling apart.

#4 - Stitch into your circle

You can decorate your circle however you like. Think about colour and what you want to see on the outside and inside of your bowl.

I turned my circle over when I stitched into it again so that the thread colours were inversed. This video shows how to stitch little circles all over it.



I then added a few more spirals in cream in the centre of some of the circles. This is what I ended up with.

#5 - Cut the circle out

Once you're happy with the design of your bowl, cut the circle out of the soluble plastic. You can save the offcuts for another project as they can be wet slightly at the edges and stuck back together to form a larger sheet.

#6 - Dissolve the plastic

Wash the soluble plastic away in warm water. Don't be too thorough because, when dissolved, the plastic becomes gluey and will give your bowl a bit of structure when it's dry.

#7 - Mould your bowl

Gently mould the circle over a bowl or other rounded shape. If you'd like it to have a flat bottom, make sure the thing you're moulding it around also has a flat base!

Leave it to dry in a warm place. If you're impatient (like me) a hairdryer works a treat!

#8 - Admire your wonderful creation

Gently prise your bowl off the mould. It should be stiff enough to remain bowl shaped.

Here's a little video to show how mine turned out. I got a bit carried away with the music feature of the video editing software here, so I apologise in advance!



There are many, many different techniques you can use to make your bowl individual. Stitch different patterns, use two layers of soluble plastic with fabric in between to trap between stitches, add embellishments when you've finished - the possibilities are endless!

I'm sharing this tutorial on the following blogs: Handmade Harbour, Be different Act normal, Tatertots and Jello, Sunny Simple Life and Lamb Around.

Fantastic free purse sewing tutorial

Well, it's the end of another lovely weekend! We had some friends to stay on Friday night and for once the weather cooperated on Saturday so we went for a beautiful walk at Westward Ho! Sam and I then spent the afternoon on Saunton beach - it was surprisingly warm!

I came back with some seaside bits and bobs to make a beach bag for later on in the year. If I add it to my 'things to sew' list now I might get it done before summer!

Today I was browsing Pinterest as usual when I came across a great free purse sewing tutorial. I decided to make it in the same fabric as my tissue pouch from my last post.

I adapted it slightly as the purse in the tutorial didn't have a coin section.

The tutorial is excellent, so clear and easy to read. First I cut out all of the pieces, with the addition of a coin pocket.

Folding and ironing the piece for the card slots was very satisfying! Here the pieces are all prepared and ready to be sewn together. I made my popper tab rounded instead of square.

Some more views of the finished article. Although it's not quite finished, I still need to add poppers on the tab and coin pocket.

It's got a big pocket for notes too!

It was a little thick to sew and the inside pocket could have fitted a little better, but all in all, I'm quite pleased with it :)

I'll leave you with some photos of our lovely walks at Westward Ho and Saunton...

View along the South West Coast Path from Westward Ho towards Clovelly

Saunton Beach with the tide out

Strange to see the moon on such a sunny day!

A great day topped off by a stunning sunset!

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs: Handmade Harbour, Lamb Around and Tatertots and Jello.

Tissue pouch step by step sewing tutorial

First of all I will start by wishing you all a very happy New Year 2014! Hope you've enjoyed the festivities and had a wonderful time with your loved ones, I know I did!

I've taken a week off blogging as all the excitement has got in the way, but I'm back now with a step by step sewing tutorial for a handy pouch for tissues so that they don't end up floating all round your bag like they do in mine.

One of the reasons behind this tutorial is that I was given a sewing machine by my Mum and Dad for Christmas (thank you guys!) and I can't stop using it! I've already made a mobile phone case, adjusted a pair of jeans which I've not worn for years because of the fit, and begun a handbag (watch this space!).

This is just a quick little filler while I think about bigger projects :)

So, here goes, grab a cup of tea and have your materials at the ready! I'm using turquoise corduroy left over from a coat I had made in Vietnam and some fabric from an old pair of brown trousers. The brown corduroy I bought in Malaysia.

Give them a quick iron so they're nice and flat.

Next, measure and cut a piece of newspaper 5" by 8" as a template.

Lay both pieces of fabric with their right sides together. Pin the template to them and cut them out. I forgot to line my template up with the lines on the corduroy so they're on a slight slant! I'll learn from that mistake next time.

If you'd like strips down your pouch like the ones on mine, cut out two panels 8" long and slightly wider than your ruler. With an iron, fold and press the edges of the panels so that it's easier to sew them to the main fabric.

Pin them parallel to each other, closer to the edges than they are to the middle. Careful not to put them too close though as you'll need room for seams.

 

Sew down the strips about a millimetre from the edge.

I added two rows of stitching because I think it looks nice!

Time for another cup of tea!

After your cuppa, place the main colour piece complete with strips right-side together with the lining colour, in my case, brown. Pin it and sew the two long sides and one short side, rounding the corners. The seam should be a little over 0.25".

Turn the right way out and iron the seams so they're nice and sharp. At the same time, turn in the rough edge and crease.

Interfacing is optional, but I wanted mine to feel quite substantial, so I cut out a piece the right size and fitted it in. Pin the remaining raw seam and sew.



The pouch is now starting to take shape! Measure it into thirds and sew two lines of stitches along each to make it easier to bend.

 

Sew all the way round the edge of the pouch, about a millimetre in.

Now the fun bit! It's the first time I've used the buttonhole setting on my sewing machine! It's a little wonky (gives it character) but not bad for a first attempt!

Fold up the pouch and put a pencil mark through the buttonhole, then sew the button in place.

The pouch is ready to use. Fold up some tissues and pop them in!

Hope you've been able to follow this tutorial, if you have any questions just drop me a line in a comment.

If you've enjoyed this post, maybe you'd like to share it and follow my blog! Thank you :)

I'm sharing this post at link parties on the following blogs: Handmade Harbour, Be Different Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello, Lamb Around and Thirty Handmade Days.