Cartwheels and Pearls

• 1 Zipper (I recommend one around 13-16 inches)
• 2 pieces of Fabric (the length of your zipper by the length minus 2... i.e. for a 14 inch zipper, the fabric would be 14 x 12 inches)
• 2 pieces of oil cloth of the same size as the fabric

I picked up an 1/8 of a yard of oil cloth at Jo Ann's for under $2, found an old 13 inch zipper, and then had some left over fabric that I had found at a garage sale.

Anyway, since my zipper was 13 inches, I cut my fabric and oil cloth into 2 13 x 11 inch of each.

So, start off with your zipper foot. You'll want to switch back later though.

I had to piece together my oil cloth since an 1/8 of a yard is only 9 inches wide and not 11. You can't even tell. So don't worry if you have to do this.


Lay your fabric face up. Lay your zipper face down with the zipper head on the left.

Lay your oil cloth face down on top.
 Make sure the far side of the zipper is lined up with the edges of the oil cloth and fabric.
Sew it up and flip it so that the zipper is exposed and the oil cloth is face down and the fabric is face up. Sorry I didn't take a picture of this next step.
Lay your other piece of fabric right side up. Lay the zippered piece face down with  the zipper on the right. Lay the final piece of oil cloth face down with the edges all lined up and then sew.
 Lay the pieces out with the zipper up. Lightly iron it if it is poofing up. Be careful of the oil cloth. I ironed mine a bit and it didn't seem to damage anything.

Flip it over and again iron if necessary.

Fold it in half like below with the oil cloth side outside and sew the bottom.

Cut off any extra fabric. Not all layers will end up the same length so be aware and make sure to sew through all of them.

Move the bottom seam until it lines up with the zipper like below.

Unzip it at least half way. Sew a seam down both sides like how my hand is pointing. Go over the zipper ends a few times to reinforce it.

The other side should look similar to this:

The top should look like this:
Poof it up. Mine was kind of heavy so it wouldn't stay up too well.

Pinch the edges in a vertical way. Choose a height for your bag. I picked 3 inches. Sew a seam that is that long.

Repeat on all four corners. It should look like this:

Clip off the corners.


Flip it inside out... and wallah!

My bottom seam was a bit off center from the zipper but it still looks pretty good.

Perfect for holding a bunch of random junk!

I wish I had cut the inside seam on the bottom a bit short but oh well.

The bottom looks nice though. I was worried about the oil cloth pattern showing through since the top fabric was really thin and see through but it didn't turn out too bad.

I still have no idea what to do with this! I don't know if I want to give it to a friend or keep it. We'll see.

linking up here

I admit it. I'm a planner. I don't always plan... but I do like to about 80% of the time. Blogging is no exception. On Friday I had about 5 different posts scheduled. I like to not have to worry about things. And guess what? I still do.
Now how about a commence with an unplanned post? I do like to be spontaneous sometimes. I said sometimes. 

For lack of better topic, how about I share some of my recently bookmarked "to-do" projects?
Well you don't get a say. So I will!

• Gathered Clutch Tutorial from Noodlehead   

• Hoop Handled Handbag from Delia Creates

• Bunting Cosmetic Bag Tutorial  from Just Another Hang Up

Hmmmm. And on a final note? I've got two (well actually three) things I'm excited about!
1. a. I won a necklace from Bling is My Thing.
    b. I won a bunch of gluten free Betty Crocker mixes.
2. My new highschool's cheer team is letting freshmen on Varsity for the first time and my friend's who have already tried out have gotten on. We've got the same exact skills so I'm really hoping I can get on!

 Add another inch on for the bottom so it's really 16" by 6 1/4"

 Sewing the bottom is VERY awkward!





 I did make a few mistakes along the way. Sewing through many layers is hard and slowwww.
       It's obviously not perfect but I am proud of myself. If you have any feed sacks left over from anything, GO MAKE ONE! There's nothing better than being able to go show off your stuff at the grocery store. They often give you savings for using your own bags. Less trash, more cash! It's a win-win! I think I might have to make some as gifts!