Selvedge Studio Blog

  • June 22, 2013

    Farm Share Bag

     

    Here's how it happened: Thursday is farm share pick-up day. And the veggies don't come in grocery bags from the farm. 

     

     

    I found inspiration hiding under this table in a West Elm Catalog. 

     

     

    (And I've being trying to think a(nother) great use for this beautiful 18" wide linen.)

     

     

    Step 1 ::  Decide what size you want your bag.  I made mine HUGE and cut my pieces accordingly.  The finished bag is about 17" x 17" with an 8" bottom panel.
     
    I cut::  3 pieces 20" long (for the sides) and one 9" piece (for the bottom panel).

     My fabric came 18" wide, but you could certainly trim down a wider fabric.

     

     

      Step 2 :: Cut one of your 20" pieces in half, parallel to the selvage, to create the band for the skinnier sides of your bag.  They should be about 20" by 9"

     

     

    Step 3 :: (Optional:  I serged all my raw ends to keep them from unraveling.)  Next, sew the 2 skinny side pieces you created in step 2 to either side of the bottom piece to create a long band, with the bottom panel in the middle.  Press your seams flat.

     

     

    Step 4 :: Lay one of your larger (20") side panel pieces, right sides together, centered over the bottom panel of the bag, and pin if you wish.  Sew the side panel to the bottom panel of your bag, your project will look like a "T".   

     

     

    Step 5 :: When you reach the seam on the band between your bottom and skinny side panels, pivot and sink your needle, lift the foot of your machine and shift the fabric so that the long side of large panel matches up with the long side of of your shorter panel.  Put your foot down and stitch.  Do the same thing to attach the other end of your side panels together.  Once you've sewn the first side panel to your side and bottom band - repeat step 3 and 4 for the other large side panel of the bag.   

     

     

    Step 6 :: Press all your seams flat and press a nice big hem into the top of the bag - mine is about 3".  Top stitch your hem close to the raw edge so it lays flat. 

     

     

    Step 7 :: I couldn't find a ribbon I liked that was large enough to fit the scale of this giant bag, so I zig-zag stitched 2 lengths of ribbon together.  Each strap ended up being about 30" so that I could fit the bag comfortably over my shoulder.  Press a hem into the raw ends of the strap to give a finished look and add to the stability at the spot where you stitch it to the bag. 

     

     

    Step 8 :: Stitch your strap to your bag in a box shape for so it is nice and secure. 

     

     

    Fill it with veg, or whatever. 

     

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    Posted in farm share Tutorials
  • June 14, 2013

    Quick Tablecloth Tutorial


    You will need :: 2 yards of designer cotton fabric for the body & 1/2 yard contrast fabric (small pattern preferred: like polka dots) to make the bias tape.

    Step 1 :: Make bias tape by cutting your fabric on the bias (a 45% angle from the selvage) in 2" strips, sew your strips end to end, use a handy bias tape tool (found at Selvedge Studio) to fold your strips , iron and wa-la!

    Step 2 :: Sew the continuous length of bias tape around all 4 edges of your main piece of fabric and you've got a cute little tablecloth for your celebration - and you can use it again and again!

    Way more fun (and green) than paper -or worse, plastic! - store bought tablecloths!
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  • April 07, 2013

    Miss Wong the Process

     

    A sweet and comfy reading nook, all created from one amazing painting as inspiration!
    Here is our process:

     

    "Miss Wong" was painted by Vladimir Tretchikoff in the 1950s.  We lucked out and found this print in a thrift store in Minnesota for $15.  We were instantly attracted to it, so we used it as a jumping off point for colors and textures. 

     

     

    A mood board helped organize our vision

     

     

    When it was time to go shopping - we found things we loved, but couldn't keep them all.  Here are some of the ones we passed up (for lots of reasons like: price, scale, color, and mood).

    Once we had collected all the perfect pieces from things we already had around, and things we bought (including goodies from booth 57 at The Montana Antique Mall, and fabric from Selvedge Studio) it was time to do some sewing.

     

     

    An easy sewing project for a beginning seamstress, that makes a big impact, is a simple envelope pillow (check out our tutorial for step by step instructions).

     

     

    For an intermediate seamstress, recovering the cushions on a vintage chair can be rewarding and save you a bundle (check out our tutorial if you want to see how we did it).

     

     

    We had the curtains sewn by a local seamstress (thanks Lori), but curtains are also an easy DIY project for a quick fix. And ta-da!!

     

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    Posted in Tutorials
  • April 01, 2013

    Envelope Pillow Tutorial

    20 minutes and 1/2 yard of fabric, I swear

     

     

    Step 1 ::  get 1/2 yard of 45" fabric at your local fabric shop, picking the fabric will be the hardest part of this project

     

     

    Step 2 ::  press a 1" hem into the short (18") sides of your fabric

     

     

    Step 3 ::  stitch your hem

     

     

    Step 4 ::  next, fold in the hemmed edges (right sides together), overlap your fabric to create an 18" length (you'll have an 18" square) and press.

     

     

    Step 5 ::  finally, stitch the 2 open edges closed.  pull your fabric right side out through the "envelope" opening and fill it with a pillow form.

     

     

    ta da!  easy to sew, easy to clean and easy to change

     

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