Sewing for Travel

I just got back from a whirlwind vacation that was fabulous, but, unfortunately I WAY over packed for. So it got me thinking about sewing for travel and finding resources to create travel items that will make your journey much easier, or at the very least, more stylish.

Sewing a Travel Wardrobe by Kate Matthews has some good ideas but unless you are adept at knocking off patterns and are an avid sewer, this book may not enough instruction for you.

Made for Travel: 50 Easy-Sew Gifts and Accessories for Everyday Trips and Special Journeys By Mary Mulari, is a great basic book for sewing travel items. Although the fabrics she uses are not very stylish or modern, her techniques are flawless and easy to understand.

She also teaches a super fun zipper treatment that I adore. Itâ€™s worth checking out! Iâ€™ve used this book as a resource so much, I even made a video based on some of her travel projects.

Next Pattern:

I am just smitten with this felt gingerbread house bag. This would make such a sweet special Christmas accessory for a kid. It’s a free pattern at Benzie Design, designed by Gracie from Hello Gracie Makes. It’s packed with adorable gingerbread house details, like swirls and stripes and scallops adoring the doors and windows.

And while all those details might seem like this would be a complicated pattern, it’s actually not. The bag itself is made from felt, which makes finishes edges unnecessary. (All of those scalloped edges are just cut from felt, no edge finishing required.) The strap is super simple, made from rope with knotted ends. And all those details are made with some basic hand embroidery stitches. Sparkle felt makes it extra cute.

The striped scallop roof is actually the top flap of the bag. A magnetic snap makes it a secure closure. The rope straps are attached through felt loops at the side of the bag.

They rate this project as an intermediate level, and it should take about 6 hours to make start to finish. That’s doable for a Saturday project or a couple of evenings. Full color photos step you through the entire process.

The project includes a shopping list for all of your supplies. They’ve got a shop so you can order all of them from Benzie if you like and get exactly the supplies used in the project. I noticed it includes a pair of scallop shears, which makes cutting all the scalloped edges for the roof and around the door a breeze.

Finished dimensions of the little felt gingerbread bag are approximately 6 ½” wide x 7 ½” tall. That’s the perfect size to hold a small book, a small toy, or a notepad and some cute pens.

Go to Benzie Design to get the tutorial and free pattern for the felt gingerbread house bag.

Next Pattern:

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