Scissor tidy

Several years ago I found this orange scissor-tidy in a charity shop for (I think) £1. It has been very useful, because it holds three pairs of scissors: big dress-making ones, a pair for cutting paper and a small embroidery pair.

When looking to continue with my hussif earlier in the week, I found another part-made pocket in a mucky green and thought I’d make it in to a free (loose) zipped page. While looking for a zip the right size, I decided it would be about the right size to make a smaller version of the scissor-tidy that would fit in my sewing kit. When I measured the orange one (22cm by 18 cm), I realised it was almost the perfect size. I tried folding it and somehow it didn’t quite work in the same way. I didn’t want it to go to a point, and thought I could cut the bottom off to attach it where it would eventually get caught in the binding.

I machine stitched the two remaining raw edges (two sides) and bagged it out, and pressed it and top-stitched all round the edge. I gave the slightly rectangular piece to Colin to “play” with and he suggested folding the bottom point up rather than cut it off. It isn’t as bulky as the orange one as there’s no wadding in it, so it could work. Then I realised that it could just make a tiny pocket that would hold a quick unpick perfectly.

Where to put it in the hussif? The most logical place seems to be where the felt is……

…… but it would be easier to put a zip in first. The elasticated pocket is not quite big enough for the cutting mat once the “page” was attached to the main piece. So I needed another zip, which would mean that I would be able to access the inside on the large piece and the elasticated pocket side of the “page”, possibly to keep fat quarters or other fabric and calico. The side of the elasticated pocket was fixed in place as the zip went in.

I’ve taken off the bottom piece of felt, and machine stitched down the scissor-tidy. The whole thing seems to have taken on a life of its own, and what started off as a project to finish before starting anything new this year has grown. It is making progress, albeit more slowly than I’d anticipated, but it should mean that everything is all together when going out stitching, the theory being that the kit and a plastic wallet should be all I need! It still needs a solution for pins and needles, and I don’t want to assemble it until all the bits are attached inside.

Hussif / houswife sewing kit 2

I’ve made some progress on my hussif / housewife sewing kit this week, although it’s really much too big to be classed as a hussif. I’ve done some more hand stitching on the outside / cover to make it slightly less bulky: parallel running stich, feather stitch and herringbone so far.

I decided a zipped pocket would be a good idea, big enough to hold a small hoop and threads. The fabric is quite firm, but two layers would mean that it would be sturdier, and that there would be no loose ends or fraying seams inside. I wanted the zip to open from the top downwards, and thought it would be easier to put things in and out if the zip was well to one side and, being right handed, it would be better if it was on the right. The zip (from my stash) was a perfect colour, but not long enough to make the pocket full length, to hide the raw edges, hence the stripey binding at the top. It was a new way for me of sandwiching the zip between two layers of fabric (RS together), then folding back and top-stitching. It was certainly easier and there was no problem of it being visible in this. I also found more stripey fabric to make another “page”.

Talking through my ideas with a few friends confirmed some of my thoughts. The extra page would be better with some pelmet vilene sandwiched in the middle. Was it going to be rolled or flat?

Definitely flat. I’d thought another pocket would be useful, to put in a small cutting mat or a sketchbook (or both), also some flaps at the top to stop things falling out, which was something Alex had found annoying on one that she’d had.

Which pockets to go on which side?

Also how to fasten the pockets? Velcro on the larger pocket in the middle on the right hand side, the small pale green one is fairly tight, probably for fabric markers, pen and pencil; the little leafy one is a bit looser. The big pocket has elastic at the top to hold the cutting mat / sketchbook firmly.

To the outer edge above the zipped pocket, I’ve attached double some very old round cord elastic from Woolworth’s (49p). I want to fill some metal bobbins that are not the right size for my sewing machine with a variety of colours (white, grey, black, navy, cream, beige, green, brown and red), and stitch on a button to loop the elastic round.

I’ve also covered a piece of wider elastic to hold things in place: ruler, rotary cutter, tape measure, etc.

To stop things falling out I’ve made flaps, double sided and top stitched round the edge to go along the top of each page. I was going to “bag it out”, but have decided it will be better to bind the raw edges, less bulky, and that will also make it slightly larger.

It’s nearly there on the inside, just a scissor holder, pin cushion and needle holder.

It’s certainly made a change to use the sewing machine more.