Monday, February 22, 2010

Really quick plastic bag holder tutorial

After Ashleigh left a comment on my last post about making a plastic bag holder I just had to get stuck in and make one, couldn't resist you know! This is my version of one with a bit of a water/beachy theme. I cut out 6 rectangles of fabric, the top and bottom ones are 5" by 16" and the four middle ones are 4 1/2" by 16" (I made the top and bottom ones slightly bigger as they have the drawstring and elastic in them) This was just measured roughly against a tea towel to get an approximate size. Sew all the strips together along the 16" sides to make a big rectangle like the one above. I topstitched each seam and overlocked around the edges to keep it neat.
Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise and pin along the edge matching up the seams. Measure down 1 1/2" from the top and put a pin in then measure down another inch and put another pin in. Sew all the way down the side leaving the space between the pins unstitched (this is for the drawstring) make sure to anchor your stitches either side of the space so they don't unravel later.
You should now have a tube that is starting to look like a bag holder. Finger press the side seam open at the top and fold the top edge down to just above the space. Stitch the hem of the casing all the way around the tube just under the space. Your drawstring casing is now done.
Sew a hem on the bottom edge of the tube to form the elastic casing, leaving a little gap to thread your elastic through ( about 8" of thin elastic). I tied mine in a knot instead of sewing it but that's up to you. Thread some nice looking trim (rope, ribbon, cord etc) into the drawstring casing and cut off a whatever length you want and knot the two ends together so it can be hung up on a hook. That's it, now you have a nice plastic bag holder to replace the old yucky one that you keep meaning to get rid of but never do!
There you go Ashleigh, my plastic bag holder! Hope you like it :)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Kitchen Makeover part 1 is complete!

we had a pretty busy weekend in the kitchen putting everything together in part 1 of our kitchen pretty up. I started a while ago by repainting the cupboard doors and putting a new set of drawers together ready for use. We put it in place and put the new bench top on along with a new 1 1/2 basin sink (they rock!) it was a bit tricky but everything worked out by the end of the day. Next morning the tiles went on and a bit of a clean up was done, then the grout was put on the next day and the wall repainted! I think Mr fish has had enough for now but i've only just begun!
This is why not much sewing has been done lately though i am keen to make some placemats and a table runner and a new plastic bag holder to go in my nice shiny kitchen!

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

My little fish started kindy!

Oldest fish started kindy this year! I can't believe how fast the time has gone, it seems like she was only a little baby fish yesterday. She was really excited to go and settled in really fast on the first day, she even told me I could go as she was fine! (she might have been but I'm still in shock)
So well done Stace, you handled it better than your parents. Hope school goes as smoothly!