Lady bug pouch

I've been playing around with different ideas for my cell phone accessory pouch.
A couple of posts ago, I gave you directions to make a turtle.

And today it's going to be a ladybug.  Both shapes lend themselves well to the round pouch. And they are soooo cute, I can't stop...

Today's project is:
Lady Bug Pouch
You will need:
black felt
red fleece, or red cotton fabric
black ribbon
black cotton fabric
black zipper
fabric glue

First you will cut 2 black circles, and one red circle. I used an old DVD. It's the perfect size to use as a template. Cut one black circle in half, and the red circle in half.

 Iron a small 1/4" hem into the straight edge of the black fabric. This will be pinned, then stitched to the zipper. This is bottom of the bug.

Now if you have red fleece, there is no need to fold under the straight edge, but if you have plain cotton fabric, you should iron down the edge to the 'wrong' side of the fabric about 1/4 "

With the red fabric, open slightly at an angle to look like ladybug wings and lay on the black circle. Right sides are both facing up. Now you will pin down and stitch along the straight edge of the red fabric.  This is the top of the bug.

With the felt, you will cut out 6 small circles (about  1/2" wide) and one larger oval (about 2" long and  1" wide) for the head.  Cut about a 1 1/2" length of narrow ribbon also.

With right sides together, you will "sandwich" the head inside the two body parts, with the bulk of the oval INSIDE. Make sure it is at the top, where the red fabric comes to a point. At the opposite end, fold the ribbon in half, and lay it INSIDE with the two ends peeking out.

At the illustration here.......^
I used a red zipper and ladybug fabric for the bottom. The black on black was too hard to see.
Plus, I trimmed the oval head, yours should be peeking out a bit more.

IMPORTANT: un-zip the the zipper so it is halfway open, before you sew around the perimeter!  That way you can turn it right side out. Also, if you have a super long zipper, you can trim it now, with old scissors, if the teeth are metal. Never use your good fabric scissors to do this.

Stitch around the lady bug "sandwich", trim excess fabric outside of your stitch lines. Turn it right side out. Put a popsicle stick, or dull pencil, or chopstick inside the bug, and drag around the inside edge to ease the fabric out to it's fullest.

Now last touch is to glue the black felt circles onto the wings. If you want to wash this pouch in the future, you must use fabric glue that is washable. If you don't think you will be washing it, Tacky glue will work fine.  I added a split ring onto the ribbon 'tail', but that's optional.

Now it's ready for anything you want to put into it. I use it for my cell phone recharging plug. My daughter uses hers for her earbud earphones. My other daughter uses it for her small sewing notions. Like replacable needles (see tip below)
I think you'll find lots of uses for the cute little guy.

tip of the day:
My friend Sheila, gave me a great tip for you sewing ladies. Different size needles have TINY numbers on them, sometimes very hard to read, so she puts different colors of nail polish on the ends, for the different sizes. You can brush a small dot on the side of your sewing machine and use a Sharpie Marker to write the needle size next to it.  Or paint this on a piece of white cardboard and keep it with your needles. Happy sewing!

That's all for now...
:D

turtle pouch

I love to be organized.
I love to have all my papers, cords, cards, lists, coins, coupons, etc. in their own little places.

I have some great little organizers on my Etsy site: ArtToWearByDee.etsy.com

Check it out, there are small shopping bag/store card holders that are perfect for today.
So many places now are discouraging or charging for bags, so now you can have your own bags, in the same place as your store cards. Whip out the card, whip out the bag.

Also I have a bag for your purse that unfolds into a larger bag for those unexpected shopping purchases. I use mine all the time. It's really funny, how many places I go to and buy a little something, but don't want one more plastic sack.

And now I have these adorable little turtle pouches perfect for your smaller goodies. Cell phone earbuds, or recharging cords. Or even change, charge cards, etc. They are so cute, you will want one to have just to look at.

Today's project:

TURTLE POUCHES

You will need:
cotton fabric, scraps or recycled
zipper (can be taken from an old piece)
felt
2" ribbon

This will require some sewing knowledge. But once you get it down, you will be making these cute creatures by the dozen...

Get some fabric that is  at least a foot across
fold in half and cut a circle out that is approx. 6" across. I used a small bowl to measure.

You will take one of these circles and cut it in half. To these halves you will be sewing a zipper into them. Fold raw edge down and pin to zipper and then sew. If the zipper is longer, don't worry, we will cut off the excess later.

Now you are going to cut felt pieces to look like legs and a head.
Now you will assemble the two body parts. Take the head and feet and place inside, the two big circles are facing each other with right sides in.

 Don't forget the little ribbon piece that you will fold in half and place at the opposite end of the head. Folded end on the INSIDE of the circle.

You will be facing the feet inside, so when you turn this guy inside out, they will be sticking out. Also remember to open the zipper 1/2 way, or you will not be able to turn this turtle right side out. After you sew, cut off any ends of an extra too long zipper, using an old pair of scissors.

 Then trim the raw edges and turn right side out.

It should look like this:

I added a key ring to the 'tail' in case I wanted to add it to my purse, or key chain, or belt loop.

Tip of the day:
If your pencil's eraser gets all shiny and doesn't erase anymore, try to give it a bit of a filing with an emery board. This will shave off that shiny surface, and then you can erase that ONE little mistake you made (because you don't make a lot of them, right?  :)

That's all for this week...
:D