Wool Felt Projects - Page 2
by Barbara Strembicki May 2010
There are multiple parts of this tutorial: book pages, clutch purses and
minis, a pen/pencil rollup case, and a needle case. The book pages and
purses are on this page. Links to the others can be found at the bottom of
each page.
UPDATE: July 3, 2010 - Pigma Pen/Pencils Rollup and Needlecase
Because I've been drawing a lot of Zentangles, which utilize Pigma pens,
pencils, blending stumps, and the like, I decided that a holder for all of those
bits would be really nice. I'm forever trying to find pens that are
scattered about or making multiple trips to carry my stuff from one place to
another This rollup case holds all of my Pigma pens, the pencils I use to
shade and sketch, the blending stumps, eraser, and more. I deliberately
sectioned it off to allow for storage of items other than pens or items shaped
like them. I wanted something that would keep my supplies portable and
organized. This rollup case fits the bill for me and I love it.
The finished size is 8 1/2" x 23" and the case can easily store 20 or more
pens and/or pencils, plus other items. I used wheatfields wool felt and
one of the Mill House Inn prints as the lining. Follow along for
instructions to make your own version... then look a bit further down the page
for the details of how to make a fun needlecase.
You'll need a piece of wool felt and a lining fabric, both cut to 13 1/2" x
23". I layer and cut them at the same time. Be sure to place the
lining with the right side facing up so that once they're cut you don't have to
separate them to turn the lining. You'll need to do something to secure
the lining fabric to the felt. In all of these projects I've used a seed
stitch, randomly placed over the entire piece. You could free motion
stitch them (which is my plan should I have the time to make another), but if
you do cut the pieces larger, free motion stitch, then cut your 13 1/2" x 23"
piece. The stitching tends to draw the fabric up into itself and if you
machine stitch the piece you cut to size you're likely to see a smaller one than you began with.
Once you've completed stitching the layers together the next step is to make
the pocket. Lay the piece so that ithe 23" length is oriented
horizontally. To make the pocket that all of the items tuck into, fold up
5" from the bottom and pin in place. I pinned this in several places to
make sure that nothing slipped - so the pocket measures 5" no matter where a
ruler was placed. On the right you'll see some of our Corde Twist cording.
It's what I used so that once rolled, the case can be tied shut. You need
to decide what you're going to use now, before going on to the next step.
Braided cord or ribbon would work as well as the Corde Twist. It was what
I had handy so I went with it. Cut the closure about 28", fold it in half, peel
back the top of the pocket so you can see between the two layers and place the
folded end between them, at about the half-way point which is about 4", as shown
here...
I used some Ultimate Glue to hold the end in place. Notice that I
applied the glue and the end of the cording about 1/2" in from the edge?
That's to make sure none of it's in the way when I blanket stitch the edge of
the piece. Once you've got the end glued in place allow the flap you
folded back to lay on top of the cord and glue, press it firmly to make sure
it's adhered to both layers, cover it with something heavy, and walk away for an
hour or so till the glue sets.
I tied overhand knots in the end of my cord and fray checked them to help
avoid any raveling. You can see the knots there, above on the right.
The next step it so blanket stitch around the piece where there are raw edges.
I started on one short side, near the fold, and worked my way around the entire
piece. As with the purses, I used size 8 Finca Perle cotton. It's
inexpensive and a ball goes a long way. Though you can't really see them in the
photo above, I decided to bead the long, top edge. I used the same
technique to add beads to the blanket stitch as mentioned way above, on the flap
of the pocket of the buttercreram purse. Scroll up, it's there! Once
you're done stitching all of the edges it's time to decide how you want to
divide the pocket...
I knew that I needed a place for erasers and other bulky stuff along with the
long, straight items so ended up with what you see here. Beginning on the
left, there are 4 narrow sections, a wide one, 2 narrow ones, a smaller wide
one, and then 3 narrow. The narrow pockets measure 1 1/2" wide, the wide
one on the left is 5" and the other wide one on the right is 4". When you
begin measuring be sure to allow about 1/4" from the edge of the fabric,
otherwise your end pockets will be smaller by about that because of the space
the blanket stitches take up.
I used a disappearing pen to mark the lines that divide the pockets.
Bearing in mind that high humidity will cause the marks to disappear more
quickly, plan to mark all at once and then stitch the sections. Once I
marked mine it took a bit more than an hour to actually stitch. It wasn't
humid here and I'd have had ample time if it had taken longer. Plan
according to your weather! I dislike repeating things and so wanted to be
sure that I didn't have to go back and mark the lines a second time. Each
of the lines was stitched with a straight stitch. Because all of the
layers make this pretty thick I employed the "stab up and down" version of
making a running stitch. By the next morning the marks had disappears
entirely and I was happy to have this...
All of my stuff fits in this one with lots of room to spare. I'm
betting it won't take long till it's full however!
Even with something bulky like a package of ATC cards, it rolls and ties
quite neatly. I love it and know there's another in my future since these
make great gifts. Not only can you store pens and pencils, they can hold
markers, paint brushes and... if you make it taller, you could store knitting
needles in one too.
Making a wool felt needlecase is next, because, like pencils and pens, being
everywhere I have hand sewing needles all over the place...
And I decided it was high time to make a place to store them! This
needlecase goes together in the exact same way as all of the other projects...
Layer the wool felt and lining fabric, with the lining fabric facing upward.
For the needlecase cut the two pieces 8" x 3 1/2".
Seed stitch the two layers together using size 8 perle cotton.
And blanket stitch around all 4 sides. I beaded the two short edges
because... I'm addicted to beads and love them on everything. They're
optional on yours!
Your piece will look like this once you've finished blanket stitching around
all 4 sides. Next grab a coordinating color of wool felt and cut a piece
from it that measures 7 1/2" x 3". If you're going to use pinking shears
to pink the edges cut yours a tiny bit larger, then pink down to the correct
size.
Mine is pinked because I liked the look...
Using a air soluble marker, make a vertical line in the center of the page,
where it will fold once it's inside of the book. Center it on the
cover and stitch the page in place. I used a fairly long running stitch
since all of the layers make this kind of thick.
Give the maker some time to disappear and all that's left is to place the
needles on a page. Voila! The next time you're looking for a needle
you know where to find it. You could add another page if you wanted, but
with two sides to each page as well as the inside of each cover I think that's
enough. Or make more than one to keep needles separated by type.
I used a cotton lace doily (cut apart) on the front and tacked it into place
with tiny little stitches. One of our Czech glass buttons was glued over
the top of a couple of Prima paper leaves to complete that grouping. I
used a Pigma pen to write the work "needles" on a scrap of muslin and tacked it
in place using #8 perle cotton along with a few beads. One of the nicest
things about all of these projects is that they go together in minimal time
which leaves plenty for the fun part - embellishing them! Each is like a
blank canvas, just waiting for you to decide how to make them unique and
special.
UPDATE July 11, 2010
Here is another needlecase, made as a gift for a swap hostess...
Click here to go
back to page 1.
Click
here to download the patterns for all of the purses. Supplies to make all of these projects include:
Wool felt! **
Mill House
Inn fabrics ** Or, see all of the fabric we stock by clicking
here
**
Finca Perle Cotton - size 8
Beads **
Czech
glass buttons **
Mother
of Pearl buttons **
Prima
velvet leaves **
Corde
Twist **
Cotton
doilies
