Crafty Traveler: All Sewn Up GIVEAWAY

Today I'm joining in the fun of the Crafty Traveler series hosted by Jennifer of Ellison Lane. There are so many great travel handmade projects out there and we are reviewing and giving tips to help y'all pick your next project! When I think travel handmade, I think SEWING! I rarely even leave my house, much less take a trip, without packing a sewing project. And I usually carry my sewing kit made with my All Sewn Up Pattern!Today, I'm going to bring you some of my favorite tips for making the sewing kit! While these all reference the All Sewn Up pattern, you'll be able to apply the tips to lots of projects! One thing I do when I'm working with interfacing is cut the project pieces about 1/2"-1" larger.Then I trim the pieces to the correct size. This means that I have clean edges where the fabric and interfacing are perfectly fused. It takes a little more time, but it's worth it!Cutting vinyl isn't fun. There, I said it. I make it slightly more fun by putting washi tape along the cut lines. I just put tape roughly along where I'm going to cut. If I'm cutting a 4 1/2" piece, then I put the center of the tape roughly 4 1/2" apart.Then I cut through the tape. The tape is SO MUCH easier to see than the edge of the vinyl. Remove the tape once you've cut. The tape also helps the vinyl not slide.The sewing kit has a piece of batting for for putting needles and pins in. I like to cut the edge with a wavy rotary blade. It adds a little fun to the look. Pinking shears would also be a great option. I used fusible fleece instead of batting. This way, you can press it in place instead of pinning. So much easier!! I still top stitched to secure it.When you make the pockets for the kit, I suggest positioning the seam about 1/2" from the bottom. This keeps the seam the thinnest and easiest to sew through when you're attaching it to the interior.And when you sew the pockets together, you can just barely position the top pocket (the smaller pocket) down a smidge from the larger pocket. This prevents the back pocket (the larger pocket) from peeking out. This photo is from the back. I also recommend pulling the threads to the back and knotting them off.

Sometimes when you're top stitching the zipper accent piece, you don't quite catch the full back piece. (Obviously, this has never happened to me, but I hear it happens;) Since this seam is attaching the pieces, it's important to catch both sides fully. Removing top stitching from fabric with interfacing is not fun and usually has mixed results. So, I recommend just sewing an additional seam. It will look great! And involves no unsewing!! Win. Win.

When you're top stitching the pocket, it's easiest to sew off the tuck instead of into it. It's easier to walk down a mountain than up it, so this makes sense. You'll get cleaner stitches too!Clover Wonderclips are your best friend for this project. And really any bag! It's impossible to use pins for this sort of thing. And you'll stab yourself much less with Wonderclips! Invest in the bigger box, you'll use them!A few more of my favorite tools...I like to construct with Mettler 50 wt. It is 3 ply and great for construction of bags! And I top stitch with Sulky 12 wt. I love how it looks and it stitches cleanly. I use a Teflon foot for sewing with vinyl. And jeans needles! They have a large eye so that you can thread thicker top stitching thread and they don't break. They're basically a top stitching needle with a coating that prevents breakage. (If you want to read more about Needles & Threads, read this.)Do you love the ADORABLE fabric I used for this project?! It's called Sewing Box and available here. Thanks to Sew Lux for sending me these fat quarters for this project!! The pattern only requires three fat quarters, but I wanted more variety! I used five different fabrics. I can already tell that I'm going to need more of this fabric!Here's the front! How cute is the zipper print?! And it's printed on the bias! Bonus! I love bias printed fabric for binding.Sew Lux fabric has also put together kits of all the notions needed for this project. They're available here! And if you need the pattern, it's available on Etsy (printed) and Etsy (PDF), as well as on Craftsy (PDF). And here's a coupon code for Etsy: 20OFFBLOG. And I've lowered the price on Craftsy to reflect the discount. Prices good through March 6.And speaking of March 6, you'll want to check back for the link to the link up party for The Crafty Traveler series! There are tons of great prizes!! You can make ANY travel handmade item to enter!Want to win a kit now?! Sew Lux has generously donated a kit to one of my readers! This prize is only open to US residents. But don't worry, if you're international, you can still enter. Just write INTERNATIONAL on each of your entries. I'll giveaway a May Chappell PDF pattern of your choosing to an International winner.As always, there are lots of ways to enter!1. Leave a comment about what you're currently working on!2. Follow my blog with Bloglovin or RSS feed.3. Follow me on Facebook.4. Follow me on twitter.5. Follow me on Instagram.6. Follow me on Pinterest.7. Subscribe to my blog via email.8. Post, tweet or blog about the giveaway for extra entries. (One for each time you do it!)There are lots of ways to get an entry; you can do just one or all of them. Please post a separate comment for each entry! Entries open through 5 pm on February 24. Mack the Chihuahua will select a winner; he tends to use the random number generator.Good luck! Make sure you check out the full Crafty Traveler series! There are so many great projects to see. Here are all the links! Travel handmade!!2/3: Patchwork Posse & Fabric Mutt2/6: Random Thoughts Do or Di2/10: Golden Willow Quilts2/13: Between Quilts & The Sewing Chick2/17: May Chappell & Modern Handcraft2/20: Bryan House Quilts & Love By Hand2/24: Petit Lyons & Sew Many Possibilities2/27: Owen’s Olivia3/3: Old Red Barn Co.  & Go Go Kimxo LC