Welcome. Readers!  Today’s post is about sewing small items which are cute, fun and quick to make.  Importantly, they serve a purpose in one’s well being – sewing wise.

Little Happy Stuff:

1. Relieves boredom with the current sewing project. Some of you may take issue with the words sewing and boredom in the same sentence. You can substitute “boredom” with funk or doldrums. Not that sewing can ever be boring, but a change of sewing projects can work wonders.
2. Is a scrap buster. Show me a sewing enthusiast and I’ll show you a scrap hoarder. Quilters are not the only scrap hoarders around.
3. Sews up quickly, and therein lies the cure to the crafty doldrums.
4. Puts a smile back on your face because Little Happy Stuff is usually cute & pretty; and there is quick gratification.

My first 2014 Little Happy project is this zippered pouch. The happy thing about it is the “fabric”. Eons ago, I attended classes at a sewing club organized by the Bernina dealership where I purchased my then-new sewing machine. One of the classes was about making  a fun“fabric pizza”. I came home and made the “pizza” immediately – just the fabric, not the pouch. Remember that this was a couple of decades ago. This slice of “pizza” has been in my possession for a very long time. Well, everything has it’s time in the sun, as my ancestors always said. I discovered this piece in the “Mirza Sewing Archives” and during a bout of sewing doldrums, made a quick zippered pouch.

Today, you can always use fusible vinyl to create your pizza. I have not experimented with it, but if you decide to give it a go, please comment below; we’d love to know!!

Here’s how I made the pizza long ago, before the invention of digital cameras and blogs; therefore there are no pictures of the process. I’ll do my best to remember. I hope you’ll find these recent pictures useful.

Supplies:

Scraps of fabric cut into smaller scraps.

Small findings like tiny buttons, charms, braids, pearls or other jewelry findings. Don’t go overboard with these. A few things go a long way.

Clear vinyl fabric piece, 10 x 14 or any size you wish, but keep it small.

Backing fabric (yellow cotton in my project) the same size as vinyl. My picture shows the vinyl topping larger than the backing, but it’s not a big issue. The edges can be evened out when sewing the pouch.

Transparent nylon or polyester thread (fill the bobbin with it, too)

A marking tool like tailor’s chalk or a removable pen (optional) if it works on vinyl. Thin removable tape should also work.

A Teflon foot to sew over the vinyl. If you do not have this, use thin tissue paper over the vinyl.

A quilting guide for your machine – usually it comes with the machine.

Method: 

Draw a grid on the vinyl to mark stitching lines. If the marker does not work on vinyl, mark thin tissue paper with a grid to place over it.  Don’t make the grid too small. Some of you may not need to mark at all. One or two straight sewn lines, addition of a quilting guide and you’re on your way.

Place the backing fabric right side up. “Sprinkle” the tiny scraps, snippets and other findings to your liking to within 1” of all edges. These days there is temporary fabric adhesive available which you can use to keep the scraps in place while you complete the project, but I’m wary of anything “glue”. Place the non-fabric findings or “toppings” strategically.

Please clear vinyl on top of everything and pin the sides.  You can also pin inside the edges, on the grid lines. Move the findings around to make sure they are not in the way of gridlines.

Using a long straight stitch, 4 or 5 mm, on the sewing machine (and suitable tension) with clear thread, sew the outside edges first. Then sew on the gridlines.  Add the quilting guide if you did not mark the grid. Complete sewing on the grid, making sure the plastic or metal items inside are not in the way of the machine needle.

Once the grid is sewn, the pizza is done, and you can use it to make Little Happy Stuff such as the zippered pouch. I’m not including instructions for the pouch since they are a zillion pouch making tutorials online.

Here are some other Little Happy Stuff projects I made in 2013.

 

#1, #2, and #3 are eye compresses; #4 are a couple of gift card holders; #5 and #6 are mug rugs. Each item except #6 were given away as gifts.

What happy little things have you made recently, or not so recently? Do you agree with me that sewing fun, small things gets your sewing mojo back? I would love your comments!

Thank you for visiting, and Happy New Year!

Samina