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Since my earlier post on fabric markers and my general disappointment with them, I have been pointed in the direction of wax-free tracing paper. This comes in a limited variety of colors and does indeed wash out completely. The problem is of course working with tracing paper as opposed to just a marker of some type. In addition, the marks are faint. I stand by my earlier conclusion that there is no one really good solution to the fabric marking problem. dks, 11 Nov 2025

Which fabric markers do you use? Following is a run-down on those I have tried but am dissatisfied with. Chalk markers Beautiful clear lines easy to see when stitching. They appear to be permanent as I have laundered repeatedly and not been able to get rid of the chalk. My conclusion: use only on the wrong side of the project. Heat erasable pens Nice clear lines. Ink disappears when touched with a hot iron. However, the ink is still there and will become visible again when it

Have been having a creative lull recently. Made some chili but haven't sewn all that much. I had planned to post the following at a later date when everything was (more) complete. But here goes. First, my second pin cushion made like a boxy zipper pouch but with no zipper and no lining. The hardest part was closing the opening used for turning right side out and for filling with crushed walnut shells. It's finished but not much to look at. Then there's the unfinished dish mat

After Pyramid Pouch 1.0, I decided to attempt a new and improved pyramid. The first had a too blunt apex due to the zipper which was in upside down. In addition, the zipper stitching needed improvement both in the application of the zipper and in the top stitching. So, I decided to make 2 additional pyramids: one a zipper pouch the other a pin cushion. First, the pin cushion. Because of the arrangement of my workspace, I find myself walking around the primary work area quite

Dish Mat version 2.1 is another Crazy Dish Mat in the same colors as Dish Mat version 1.0. The two primary differences are that 1.0 was quilted in parallel lines while 2.1 is crazy quilted and 1.0 has edge binding while 2.1 will have a serger edge. Getting better at that straight seam; learning not to watch the needle. Getting faster; not counting quite as many stitches. Getting better at consistent seam allowances even though that isn't as important in the Dish Mat Projects.

Today I needed a quick and easy project because I just wasn't feeling very creative. I have watched several YouTube videos on making pyramid pouches also known as triangle pouches, so I decided to try my hand at a small (Mistake 1) one. The only real requirements are 2 pieces of fabric which are twice as long as they are wide, 1 zipper slightly longer than the width of the fabric, some kind of interfacing to give the bag structure, and your usual sewing tools. Most of the vid

My second Boxy Zipper Pouch is larger and I think technically better than the first (Zipper Pouch 3.0). It uses the same method with the interior seams bound rather than hidden behind the lining. This time I got all 6 of the interior seams bound. (Last time I forgot 2 of the seams until it was too late to do anything about them without disassembling the bag.) I also remembered that lighter colors were better for bag interiors. (3.0 had a black and white interior.) In addition

Today I hope to wrap up work on my first Boxy Zipper Pouch. This zipper pouch has 8 boxed corners and is fully lined. In this particular version, the inside seams responsible for the boxed corners are bound to finish them off rather than being hidden behind the lining. This is an easier version of the bag and where I chose to start. Learning goals for the project: continue practicing that elusive straight seam. zipper installation in this application. Using zipper by the yard

Finished my second dish drying mat makeover project by binding the edges of the Crazy Dish Mat. I think it went OK. Still need to work on binding; but this one is better than the prior 2 attempts. What I did differently: took a bit more time in pressing and preparing the binding. when doing the final stitching, used a zig zag rather than a straight stitch. This hides a lot of little errors! sat more in line with the needle. This was suggested by a YouTube video. We have a ten

Dish Drying Mat 2.0 begins with an inexpensive and cheap roll of 2.5-inch fabric strips from Amazon and a dish drying mat from the dollar store, also inexpensive and cheap. The fabric strips are only 20 inches long and are of very poor-quality fabric. The dish mat is OK except for the shape which is neither a rectangle (no 90-degree angles) nor a parallelogram; it will be "squared up" eventually. Learning goals here: edge binding improvement crazy quilt as you go experiment W

Today I began and completed Zipper Pouch 2.1. I don't know exactly how long I worked on it but less than the afternoon. The fabric is 2 fat quarters from Michael's. The purple zipper, the last I had, is from WalMart. The fusible fleece interfacing for the exterior is from Amazon. I used the same fabric for the lining as for the exterior. In this one, the zipper actually works. There are some other structural flaws that result in a bit of a wonky pouch but all in all I am happ

Thought I'd post a little update on Zipper Pouch 2.0. I tried everything I could think of to unstick the zipper. No joy. I finally applied the scissors and cut the bag open. Found that somehow I had messed up the top stitching on one side of the zipper and the lining was not pulled down where it belonged. The lining was, therefore, getting caught in the zipper when the slider moved. Don't know how I missed this as I really think I checked it after stitching. But.... Meanwhile

Today's adventure began yesterday with the start of Zipper Pouch 2.0. Continued to a new chocolate cream cheese pie. Ended with a stuck zipper and a pie that is too chocolate for me. Zipper Pouch 2.0 is a different style of zipper pouch from Zipper Pouch 1.0 as it has a sew in lining and boxed corners. It went pretty well for a while. The zipper went in OK and I checked to ensure that it would move freely. I top stitched the zipper BUT on one side didn't catch both the exteri

Here it is. Zipper Pouch 1.0. Finally finished. Far from perfect. I wanted to practice straight seams more and did that. I think I am getting better. The aid of a chalk line in the quilting part was great! Also, the aid of a quarter-inch foot was wonderful! I wanted to practice zippers in this type of application. Zipper foot to the rescue. That went pretty well although my inability to sew a straight line resulted in having to pull about 6 inches of stitches and redo them. A

Hmmm Will not be finishing this project today as I had hoped. Once again, edge binding has (temporarily) defeated me. The short story is that I cut the binding strips too narrow -- only 2 inches. The thickness of the pouch borders kept the binding from wrapping around the edges properly. Could not sew. The good news is that I received my quarter-inch presser foot, and I love it. This allows me to sew a more consistent quarter-inch seam allowance. Useful when sewing the edge b

Have been working on a very simple zipper pouch for the past couple of days. This is supposed to be the easiest of the various zipper pouches you can make. No drop in liner. No boxed corners. Just straight seams, an easy zipper installation, and edge binding. Quilting the exterior went OK. I did not piece the exterior; just quilted. Installing the zipper went OK except the part where I stitched too close to the zipper teeth and had to take about 6 inches of stitches out and r

In an earlier post, I spoke briefly about a fabric basket with foam interfacing that was an awful failure. Yesterday, I rescued the fabric from that basket and made another basket without any type of interfacing. As expected, the basket was droopy. But the corners were perfectly boxed for both the exterior and the lining. Success! Then today I tried an experiment with 2 dollar-store dish drying mats. Same process as the fabric basket. My sewing machine does NOT like sewing th

Well, I cut the old binding from my first dish drying mat and made a second attempt. It is thousands of times better than the first. (You'll have to take my word for it because I didn't photograph the first attempt.) Still a bit wonky and still several places where I ran off the edge and still several puckers. Still imperfect mitered corners. But, all in all, I think a worthy effort. Now, it can go into my kitchen and I can try my hand at another project! dks, 1 Oct 2025

I've watched several (more than 1 and less than 10) YouTube videos on transforming dollar store / Hobby Lobby microfiber dish drying mats using the quilt-as-you-go method and then rebinding the edges. Today I decided to try my hand with mixed results. Materials: 1 inexpensive dish drying mat I got mine at Hobby Lobby when they were on sale for less than $5. Sufficient strips of fabric to cover the mat when placed side by side I used a JellyRoll of 2.5 inch wide strips from Am

I've not sewn anything in at least 10 years unless you count some free-form embroidery that I used to make covers for my handmade books. So I planned 2 projects to practice with. First was a bathroom curtain. This was to replace and make use of the two towels I had hanging over a curtain rod in that window. Cutting the towels down went OK. Using my new-to-me second hand serger did not go so well. The machine just couldn't handle the thickness of the terry cloth -- 2 layers.