A quick sewing win you'll use every day

A packed breakfast for your commute, a picnic or just a quick sewing win: this little eco friendly cutlery roll-up covers all of them. It keeps a fork, knife and spoon together in your bag, and it's a lovely way to cut down on disposable cutlery.

The whole wrap starts from one square of fabric. You fold it in half on the diagonal, sew it into a triangle, and turn it right side out. Then you fold in the two points to form a pocket that fits your cutlery. A small loop and a tie strap, both made from one fabric strip, keep everything rolled up and closed.

You size the pocket by laying your own spoon on the wrap, so it fits the cutlery you actually use. If you use a pencil to fold the points closer to the centre and leave off the loop, it becomes a pencil wrap instead.

What you'll need

check the video for the sizes

Materials and tools

• (Quilting) cotton for the square and the strap
• Thread
• Pins
• An iron + ironing board, for pressing
• A fabric marker, to mark the the corners
• Fabric scissors, for trimming corners and thread tails
• Something pointy, to push out the corners
• A sewing machine
• Optional: a seam ripper, if you use the basting method for the turning gap
• Your own cutlery to adjust the size

Watch the video

The full walkthrough is in my video Sew Quick & Practical: Cutlery Roll Up Pouch Tutorial. I show how to fold and stitch the strap, both ways to handle the turning gap, and how to attach the loop and tie so they sit neatly on the centre crease.

Make one for your own lunch bag, or sew a few from matching scraps as a gift for an eco conscience friend.

A little hexagon that does a lot

What if one simple hexagon could become four different coasters? That's the idea behind this project, and it's such a cute way to use up your scraps.

Each coaster starts with a single hexagon as the backing. The top is built from more hexagons that are folded in half, pressed, and stacked on the backing. Change how you fold them, or how many you use, and you get a different look. Together they mix and match beautifully.

The straight edge versions are especially forgiving. There are no points to line up, so if something shifts a little while you sew, you won't see it in the finished coaster. That makes them a great first try if you're new to sewing.

The sewing itself is one seam around the outside, then you trim the corners, turn the coaster right side out through the centre and give it a final press. No binding, no fiddly finishing. Each coaster really does come together in about five minutes.

Watch the video

The full step-by-step is in my video 5-Minute Folded Coasters: Use Up Your Scraps. I show how to fold and stack all four variations, how to pivot neatly at the corners, and how to turn and press the coasters for a clean finish.

Make a set in one colourway for a housewarming gift, or mix every scrap in your basket for a playful set of your own. 

What you'll need

This project needs smaller pieces of fabric, but because you layer the pieces you still use up a good amount of fabric making it perfect to do some scrap busting. Every coaster uses one hexagon for the backing. How many you need for the top depends on the variation.

The free hexagon template is linked in the video description, so you can cut every piece to the same size.

Materials and tools

• Fabric scraps, preferably cotton or a similar woven that presses well
• The free hexagon template ( in the video description)
• Thread to match or contrast, it won't be visible :)
• Pins
• An iron + ironing board, for pressing the folds and the finished coaster
• Scissors, for cutting the hexagons and trimming the corners
• A sewing machine 
• Optional: a fabric marker to mark the seam line, which helps at the corners
• A point turner, or something pointy, to push out the corners for crisp looking corners. For a simple project this is what makes the difference.

Looking for a quick and practical sewing project? These folded square fabric coasters are perfect for beginners and experienced sewers alike. In just a short time, you can create a beautiful set of coasters that protect your surfaces in style.

This unlined drawstringbag bag is very fast to sew, it takes me about 10 minutes to make. No serger needed ass the seams are finished with a French seam.

Use a fun quilting cotton, and you have the perfect reusable gift bag. Check out the tutorial on Youtube.

In this beginner-friendly sewing tutorial, I'll guide you through the steps to create a cute mini tote bag that's both fun to sew and functional. I plan to use them as gift bags for books or notebooks. This one fits 2 size a5 notebooks. 

Getting Started

Before diving into the sewing process, it's essential to choose the right fabric. Opt for something like quilting cotton, which is easy to work with and comes in a variety of colors and prints. Additionally, ensure your fabric is on grain when you cut the pattern, though for a small bag like this, perfection isn't crucial. 

Sewing Techniques

We'll be using French seams for this project, which may sound fancy but are actually quite simple and provide a clean, professional finish. Don't worry if you're not familiar with them; we'll walk you through each step. This project is the perfect opportunity to give them a try and practice.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll have a charming mini tote bag that's perfect for carrying small essentials, to use as a party favor bag or as a thoughtful gift(bag) for a friend.

let's create a charming self-closing drawstring gift pouch with just one strip of fabric! In the video tutorial I'll guide you through all the steps. This project is beginner-friendly. 

As you sew, press, and turn the fabric you'll see it, almost magically, come together from just one piece of fabric. Use the bag as a little gift bag or to store some knick-knacks.

 View on Youtube

I made this small boxy pouch to add a little bit of padding to my charger and cord that go into my knitting bag. It could also double as a small make up bag for a chap stick and blush. Or turn it into a little gift. 

You can make this tiny box pouch two ways – flat or turned into a cube by boxing the corners. 

I'll show you the step-by-step proces. We'll quilt the fabric, insert the zipper, use binding to finish the raw edges and box the corners. If you don't have batting, you could easily omit the quilting. If you want to give is some more structure without the quilting, use a fusible interfacing or a heavierweight fabric.

Is every new sewer afraid of zippers? I certainly was! However once you get the hang of them they really aren't that bad and scary to sew.

The trick with sewing zipper is to start simple and zippered pouches are simple, don't need a lot of material and if you succeed you'll have a cute little pouch to use.

So In this step-by-step video tutorial, I'll walk you through the entire process, making it easy for even beginners to master.

For this project, I chose materials that strike a balance between weight and easy to work with. A cotton fabric between 150 and 250 gsm should be easy to work with and have enough body to it.

My outer fabric is a 235 gsm cotton from Ikea. As for the lining, I repurposed an old toile made from unbleached cotton. I can 't remember the weight but it's around 140 gsm. 

I let the length of my zipper determine the width pf the pouch. Zipper length (from slider to stop) is 15 cm [6 inches]. The zipper tape total is about 19.5cm [7.7 inch] I used this as the width of the fabric I cut, this way there is plenty of seam allowance next to the zipper ends once I sew the pouch. 

If your zipper tape is shorter, take the zipper length (from slider to stop) and add 4.5cm [1 3/4 inch]. This should give you about 1.5cm [ a scant 5/8 inch] seam allowance next to the end of the zipper.

Finished size of the bag 

• 17 x 16 cm
• 6.7" x 6.3" 

Fabric requirement (seam allowance included):

• Outer 2x : width 19.5 cm x height 17 cm 
• Lining 2x : width 19.5 cm x height 17 cm 

• Outer 2x : width 6.7" x height 7.7"
• Lining 2x : width 6.7" x height 7.7"
  
  

• Gather Your Materials

  Before we begin, make sure you have all the necessary materials on hand:

  • Cotton fabric, look for quilting cotton in fun prints or a light weight canvas. Somewhere between 150 and 250gsm.
  • Lining fabric. Pick a complementary color or pattern. I always have scraps of calico / unbleached cotton on hand so that's what I used. The weight should be light than the outer fabric
  • Nylon or metal zipper with a stop at one end. 15cm [6 inch] 
  • Matching thread
  • Scissors ( or rotary cutter + cutting mat) 
  • Pins 
  • Ruler or measuring tape
  • Sewing machine 
  • An iron preferably with steam. Steam makes the proces of pressing so much easier. Even a cheap one will make a big difference and will work well on cotton.

Are you a beginner looking for a fun challenge to enhance your sewing skills? In this video tutorial, I'll guide you through the process of sewing a lined drawstring bag with a boxed bottom.

This adorable bag, made with cotton fabric, is an ideal opportunity to make the most of  fabric scraps.

The pouch is not only perfect as a gift bag but also ideal for small knitting projects or carrying snacks. Trust me, once you make it, you'll find endless uses for this cute bag!

Have you ever wondered how to turn yarn scraps into full balls without wasting any material? Well, I love using the Russian join that allows you to join yarn without creating a knot. Not only does this technique create a strong and smooth join when you are working on a project, but it also allows you to use up all your yarn scraps and gauge swatches.

The Russian join is perfect for plied yarn that isn't very sticky. If the yarn is sticky a wet splice is probably a better and faster option.

The Russian Join 

To do the Russian join, you thread the yarn through itself, creating a small loop through which you can thread the end of the yarn you want to join it to. I usually use a blunt needle for this, but sometimes it can be a bit fiddly to thread through the yarn. I like to scrunch up the yarn on the needle and then pull the end through the yarn. To ensure a strong join, I thread it through the yarn at least five centimeters. If you have a loop that's too big, you can pull on the tail before smoothing out the yarn completely.

For yarn that isn't very sticky, I like to thread it through at least five centimeters so that I can taper the ends by thinning out the plies. The extra length gives me some wiggle room and reassurance that it will be a strong join. If you think it looks too bulky, you can thin out some of the plies before smoothing out the crunched up yarn.

Revive Frogged Yarn 

One of the swatches I had was made up of a lot of smaller pieces, and I joined them as I frogged. As you can see in the video, there were a lot of kinks in the yarn, but I was able to do the Russian join without much extra fuss.

After joining each piece, I wound them into a ball by hand, but I wasn't quite ready because of all the kinks in the yarn. So, I decided to use a swift to unwind everything and tie it together so that I could use a steam iron to relax the yarn. It looks so rewarding!

I did have to move up the ties because the seam didn't quite penetrate the wool underneath it. If you don't have a steam iron, I'm wondering if you could do the same over a pot of boiling and steamy water. Washing is another option, but I don't want to wait for it to dry.

I'm using a fancy Knit Pro swift and ball winder, but you can just as easily wind it by hand and use the back of a chair to unwind the yarn. It does take more time, but with a nice movie or podcast in the background, it can be an enjoyable process.

My cake is now ready for a scrappy blanket that I'm planning to knit in the future. I'm so happy with the result!