Tutorial: Expandable travel tote bag

You’re headed out the door for a day trip. Do you grab the small tote bag that’s easy to carry or the large tote bag that has room for anything you might need to carry with you. It’s a hard decision! Alicia from Sew What Alicia shows how you can sew an expandable tote bag so you can have the best of both worlds. It unzips around the middle to reveal a fabric extension that expands the bag. When you want the bag small again, just zip it back up. So smart!! Go to her blog to see how to make one.

Click the link below for her tutorial:

Expandable Bag Pattern and Tutorial, by Sew What Alicia

[photo from Sew What Alicia]

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It doesn’t matter whether you sew by hand or by machine, you need a pincushion. You need a spot to parks pins and needles and keep them within easy reach for when you need them again. There are a lot of styles of pincushion to choose from. Some magnetic, some fabric. Some cute, some purely functional. This “little bit extra” pincushion has a spot to store all the different types of pins and needles you might need while sewing. Polka Dot Chair has a free sewing pattern you can use to make one for yourself.

This handy little pincushion has a circular shape and is divided into sections to store different types of pins. The bottom section is for your regular straight pins. Just poke them in and they’re ready for when you need them. The top has one section with a felt flap perfect for holding your sewing needles. I don’t know about you but I don’t like mixing my hand sewing needles in with my pins on a pincushion. It makes it hard to find the needle when I want it. So having a separate section for the needles is a great idea.

This “little bit extra” pincushion also has a spot to hold a few fabric clips. Fabric clips have become popular alternatives to a traditional straight pin. They hold fabric pieces together without piercing the fabric, which is important when sewing leather, vinyl, or other materials that will show permanent holes from pins.

You can sew the “little bit extra” pincushion from large fabric scraps or small fabric cuts (fat eighth). You probably already have all the supplies you need to sew one in your sewing supplies already.

Get the free pattern for this “little bit extra” pincushion over at Polka Dot Chair.

[photo credit: Polka Dot Chair]

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