In the Sewing Room

Beginner Zipper Pouch

For this month's Pinterest Challenge, I used a tutorial from Shinny Happy World to conquer my fear of zippers. I ended up with a great beginner zipper pouch.

It’s the third Tuesday of July, which means it’s time for the Pinterest Challenge. The purpose of the Pinterest Challenge, hosted by Erlene of My Pinterventures is to encourage everyone to actually try out one of the many pins they’ve saved on all those Pinterest Boards.

I took the “challenge” part this month pretty seriously. I’ve been sewing off and on since I was in my early twenties, which means that I’ve also been afraid of trying to sew a zipper since my earlier twenties.

I realize that sewing a zipper into clothing is going to be way above my skill level. But a beginner level zipper pouch looked like a great starting point.

To give myself a chance at getting this to be successful I’ve gone with a few steps that have proven helpful in the past.

I read a gazillion blog posts and watched their video tutorials.

I pinned several beginner zipper pouch projects that seemed to really be at the beginner level. So many Pinterest Pins are full of beautiful but really tricky projects and I wanted to start small.

I sourced materials that were zero cost to me so I’d only be out my time.

CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW THE ZIPPER POUCH COMES TOGETHER

T-Shirt Tote Bag

My love for old T-shirts really knows no bounds. I’ve made pajama shorts and yarn from them, so when I saw this pin

I knew I had a project for this month’s Pinterest Challenge. The Pinterest Challenge is hosted by Erlene of My Pinterventures, and the goal is to inspire everyone to actual make some of those pins you’ve saved, instead of just pinning them.

Mr. SuzerSpace used to travel a lot for work, and he just about always brought home a T-shirt or two for me. When deciding on the best one for this t-shirt tote bag project, I went with this old and super wrinkly one, mainly because it had a pocket. We shop at Aldi, and you need a quarter for the shopping cart, so the pocket would come in handy.

Turn a t-shirt into a tote bag perfect for groceries in this month's Pinterest Challenge | SuzerSpace

Following the tutorial in the t-shirt tote bag pin, I cut off the arms, and because I’m short, I took a little off the length as well. A lot of bags scrape the ground when I walk, so since I was making a custom grocery t-shirt tote bag, I figured I’d customize the height as well.

CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING!

Add A Pocket To Sweatpants

It's easy to add a pocket to sweatpants. This Real World sewing tutorial shows you all the steps to take well loved loungewear up a notch in practicality. | SuzerSpace.com

If I ever get around to updating the categories on this blog, this one is going under “Real World Sewing” because my project to add a pocket to sweatpants isn’t really pretty, but man is it practical.

I have a pair of well worn and well loved sweatpants. What I love about them is they fit, which is a miracle for a short person. They have one major flaw – they don’t have pockets. 

My well loved workout wear has a flaw.  My decision to add a pocket to sweatpants will fix that.

I do need to  stop here and point out my utter disbelief that people are still wearing tights or yoga pants out in public all the time. There have been a lot of fashion fads that I have not understood, but what really surprises me is how long this one has carried on. And the funny part (to me) is how all these women think they are special for wearing this look, when in reality it’s become commonplace. Sometimes I wonder if I’m going to be ejected from Trader Joe’s for being the only woman not wearing form fitting leg wear as pants.

I actually wear these sweatpants for their two intended purposes – exercising and lounging around the house. Where I desperately need a pocket is on our morning walks – to hold my phone. 

As it turns out, adding a pocket really wasn’t that difficult. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Ann Wood’s Very Nice Mice

For the April 2019 Pinterest Challenge, I brought Ann Wood's Very Nice Mice Pattern to life at SuzerSpace.com

Ever since I stumbled across Sew A Softie Month and made up a super cute reindeer, and then followed that up with a very sweet bear, I’ve been hoarding pins for my next project. I’ve detailed my lack of sewing experience before, but I have found if a project calls for inexpensive materials I’m pretty willing to give it a go since if it doesn’t work out I don’t feel too guilty about trying something new.

So this pin

ended up being my selection for the Pinterest Challenge for April. I could not resist the idea of making my very own “very nice mice”.

The Pinterest Challenge is a blog hop hosted by Erlene at My Pinterventures, and the goal is to help crafters actually MAKE some of the pins they’ve put on their various Pinterest Boards. Of course, if you NEED more ideas, feel free to follow mine!

CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW I MADE VERY NICE MICE!

T-Shirt Yarn

Create soft, sturdy T-Shirt Yarn from old T-shirts. The craft possibilities are then endless | suzerspace.com

I’ve been pretty vocal about my love for upcycling , and I really do have a thing for cardboard, but some time ago I saw a craft that involved cutting t-shirts into yarn and I haven’t really been the same since. 

The t-shirt yarn is super heavy duty, and since it comes from old t-shirts it is washable and generally is a color palette you already like (since they were shirts you or a loved one were wearing previously).

The process to make t-shirt yarn  is easy, although a little tedious. First you need the right kind of t-shirt, and I’m not sure why, but Mr. SuzerSpace’s donate pile always has the “good” ones, and my pile rarely does.

CLICK HERE TO KEEP CRAFTING!