Tag: handmade

Diagonal Zipper Pouches

December 27, 2025
Two diagonal zipper pouches made using the Hemingway 2 for 1 method from MayMay Made It

At the JK Quilts retreat in April, I received two different sizes of these trendy diagonal zipper pouches in the gift exchange. This style of pouch is often referred to as a Hemingway Pouch – based on the pattern from Center Street Quilts. I purchased the pattern and set it aside because I knew my ‘tweens would be all over making them. I was right.

A couple of the trendier sewing shops in the far reaches of the ATL offered a class on how to get two diagonal zipper pouches from 3 fat quarters. This caught my attention because you normally only get one pouch from the same fabric requirements when following the pattern. Class fees and commuting times made me pause. Instead, I searched online and found several tutorials that essentially covered the same topic.

Video #1 explains how to draft a diagonal zipper pouch template.

Video #2 takes you through the entire sewing process.

Video #3 is a great tutorial, comments are a goldmine of tips.

My hints:

  1. Annie’s Soft & Stable, Pellon Flex Foam or Bosal In-R Foam are easy to work with and offer the most padding if your pouch will be used to house electronics.
  2. Spray baste your layers prior to quilting.
  3. Use a walking foot to assemble as much of the pouch as you can. Remember, you’ll need a different foot to install your zipper and perhaps do the topstitching on your zipper contrast fabric.
  4. For smaller pouches, consider serging the inside seams or cutting thinner binding strips to reduce bulk. If you are a garment sewist, could you treat the 1/4″ seam allowance as one unit and adapt a bias bound or Hong Kong seam finish using a 1″ wide single layer bias strip?

What kind of sewing machine should I buy?

December 21, 2025

That’s a loaded question! There are many variables that play into your decision. I’ll approach the following discussion from someone with experience looking to upgrade from their “beginner” machine and someone looking to buy a second/travel machine.

Here’s a good place to start for honest reviews. It’s arranged by price point. I agree with most of his recommendations, except the Baby Lock Jubilant/Brother NS80E when it comes to using it primarily for quilting. For me, it’s too finicky when it comes to sewing over thick seams.

If I could only have one machine, I’d look at a Janome Skyline S3 or the Baby Lock Brilliant. They both offer 8″ wide throat space, adjustable foot pressure, straight stitch needle plate capability and a scissors function. Cost new would be $1000-$1200. These machines are candidates to take to a retreat or class; however they are wider and heavier than a typical travel machine. Compared to my Elnita EC30, these two machines are 10 pounds heavier and 5-7 inches wider. If table space is tight (say 3 feet), you’ll definitely want to consider taking a standard size sewing machine (about 16″ wide).

If adding a “travel” machine, how do you plan to use the machine? Do you need a smaller version of your primary machine – complete with all the bells and whistles? Do you need something that will fit underneath the airplane seat in front of you, yet still offer essential creature comforts? Your budget and machine feature wish list will definitely impact your choices.

Most of the time, I see variations of the Janome 3160, Brother CS6000i, Brother Pacesetter 300 and Singer Patchwork 7285 at classes and retreats. There’s usually a sprinkling of Featherweights and a handful of smaller Berninas (325/335/475) represented, as well. Occasionally, you’ll see a 3/4 size Janome Jem 720/760 or it’s cousin – the ElnaSTAR edition.

I’ll admit, I’m a Janome girl. My current primary machine is a Janome 8900 QCP. The airline friendly version for me is an Elnita EC30, which I already use in CraftLAB. If I get a wild hair to get rid of the Jubilant that is also used in CraftLAB, I’ll replace it with the Janome 780DC (has every feature I use on my 8900 and nothing more).

Elnita EC30 packed for the airplane in my Travelpro underseat rolling tote.

An unexpected return to garment sewing

October 23, 2025

Although I’ve been quilting for several years, I learned to sew by making garments. A serger, French curve ruler and stash of specialty garment sewing notions are evidence of my past. My friend, Ruby, has inspired me to tiptoe back into garment making. We’ve chosen a simple top pattern and plan a shopping excursion to Gail K Fabrics soon.

Meanwhile, I’ve taught sewing lessons for ‘tweens and teens over many years. Our foray into garment sewing is usually limited to items such as pajama pants, elastic waist skirts and adding bling to RTW items. Back in 2017, I mentored a high school student through her senior project portfolio and later with designing/making her own prom dress. Almost a decade later, I’m mentoring another senior with the three sewn garments required as part of her portfolio application to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

With Joann now closed, sewists no longer have the ability to go flip through all the pattern books looking for inspiration. To select her portfolio projects, my mentee perused my limited selection of printed garment patterns and garment sewing books, print issues of Burda Style, websites of indie pattern designers and any newer garment sewing books we could find at the public libraries around us. She also spent time on social media gathering project ideas and portfolio prep advice.

Today, she took home her first completed garment for the portfolio – a ponte knit skirt. The skirt pattern – modified to add a front slit detail – came from the book Stretch by Tilly and the Buttons, which title is part of my personal sewing book collection. I have to say I’m impressed with the pattern, instructions and overall finished result. So much nicer than my experiences with the Big 4 pattern companies.

Our local library had a copy of Sustainable Style, sponsored by the Great British Sewing Bee. Published in 2020, the book is still available for sale in print and electronic formats, in case your library doesn’t offer it. In the book, my mentee found blouse and trouser patterns she wanted to make for her portfolio. The patterns that go along with the book can be found here. Technically, the patterns are free, but you have to print and tape the pages together or send the A0 pattern images out to a specialty printer who can print them at the correct size. My local printshop said it could print blueprint size pages; however, staff could not scale the image to print at the correct size, despite repeated attempts to do so.

Solution? I sent the master pattern image files to PDFPlotting in North Carolina. Keith returned the printed pattern sheets within two days. The patterns were printed correctly to scale, with crisp images and delivered wrinkle free. Two complete patterns for less than $25.00. Very reasonable in terms of cost and time saved not having to print and tape 60+ letter size sheets together!

Will I continue to quilt? Of course! Mentoring my student with her portfolio prep has merely whetted my appetite to try new things – a top and skirt, knit pjs, rope bowls, jelly roll rugs and sashiko stitching to name a few.

Here’s to learning new things and happy stitching!