On The Trail Creations
  • Home
  • Shop Online
    • Art For Sale
    • Store - Wall Hangings/Table Runners >
      • Sandhill Sunset Wall Hanging
      • Moonshadows Wall Hanging
      • Serenity Wall Hanging
      • Summer Dragonfly Wall Hanging
      • Summer Dragonfly Table Runner
      • Moonlight Moose Wall Hanging
      • Moonlight Moose Table Runner
      • Autumn Leaves Wall Hanging
      • Autumn Leaves Table Runner
      • Night Owl Wall Hanging Quilt
    • Store - Quilted Greeting Cards >
      • Out On a Limb Card Kit
      • Wonder Lake Card Kit
      • Moonshadows Card
      • Raven Moon Card
      • Chickadee With Berries Card
      • Whale Tale Card
      • Moose and Willows Card Kit
      • Raven Card Kit
      • Wild Iris Card
      • Northwoods Nisse Card
      • Boreal Botanicals Card
      • Winter Trees Card
      • For the Birds Card Pattern
      • Wild Flower I Card Pattern
      • Wild Flower II Card Pattern
      • Wild Flower III Card Pattern
      • Wonky Heart Card Pattern
      • Whimsical Heart Card Pattern
      • Black-Capped Chickadee Card
      • Three Leaves Card Pattern
      • Let it Snow Card Pattern
      • Happy Birthday Card Pattern
      • Tundra Swan Card Pattern
      • Milepost Card Pattern
    • Store - Coffee Kuspuks/Quilt Panels >
      • Season of Hope Velvet Panel
      • Screen Prints
      • Coffee Kuspuk
      • Moonlight Moose Potholder Kit
      • Chickadee Menu Planner
      • Spring Flowers Coaster Pattern
      • Trish Stuart Collection
      • Teresa Ascone Panels
      • Scrappy Baby Bib
    • Molly Molecule Book
  • Online Classes
  • Tutorials
    • Grace quilt tutorial
    • Sewing Machine Needle Organizer Pincushion
    • Organza silk screen tutorial
    • Polymer Clay button tutorial
    • Birch Tree card tutorial
    • Coffee Shop greeting card
    • Free Motion Stitching Tutorials >
      • Free Motion Tutorial
      • 10 minute project tutorial
      • Valentine Coasters
      • Grape hyacinth postcard
      • Advanced free motion projects >
        • Sparkly 3D dragonfly wings
        • Inktense Frog quilt
        • Dream Big flower panel
    • Journal Cover - Book Tutorials >
      • Quilted Book Cover Tutorial
      • 1000 Gifts Journal Cover Tutorial
      • Quiet Book Tutorial
    • Tutorials for Our Kits >
      • Moonshadows Video Tutorials
      • Summer Dragonfly Video Tutorials
      • Serenity Video Tutorials
    • Video Tutorials - Screenprinting, Inktense, Quilted Card Binding
  • Beret's Blog
  • Art Quilt Gallery
  • Quilted Cards Gallery
  • Classes
  • Our Story
  • Our Mission
  • Quilt Shops
  • Contact Us
  • Return Policy - FAQs

Free motion class, and free pattern!

2/20/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
Free motion class:
     So many people ask me about classes, but I am terrible about posting reminders, trying to get better! My next free motion quilting class is Saturday, Feb. 29, from 1-4 pm. To make it reeeeally easy for you to come, you don't have to bring anything at all! You can bring your machine if you'd like, but you are also welcome to use one of mine. I will provide materials. We will cover the basics of free motion quilting, and have lots of time to practice different stitch patterns. Usually in this class I only do a bunch of practice stitches, but this time I thought I'd add a quick wall hanging project for anyone who is interested, it will be optional. I do my best to take the fear out of free motion stitching for you! Sign up here: free motion class 

Picture
Free pattern!
​     The other big thing happening here lately is a group bib making project for some care packages our church is making for a local pregnancy center. They were really fun, I hope this becomes an annual project! We used mostly Kaffe Fasset fabrics (from my quilt angel!) so they are pretty colorful! They are also really easy, and I got the pattern put up for anyone who wants to try it:  free scrappy baby bib pattern.

      And now, it's 25 degrees outside for possibly the first time in maaany weeks, so I'm going skiing! Happy sewing, Beret

Picture
1 Comment

More on improv piecing

2/5/2020

1 Comment

 
Teresa Ascone Fireweed panel
     I thought I would follow up my last post with a little more of a tutorial just on improv piecing. This is a very low risk way to try it! The secret is fabrics that are similar in both value and color, but not toooo much alike. (I may do yet another post on using a wider range of fabrics, but I have to learn more about that first 🤣😅)
     I have been wanting to play with the borders on this fireweed panel from Teresa Ascone since I got it, but haven't had a chance! I made a couple of quicker versions for bazaars, but I really wanted to make one similar to the tall iris one, they go well together. 
     The first step is to grab a pile of fabrics that I think might work. Then I put them by the panel, and quickly saw a few that I wanted to remove. Too 'grayish' or too red, or too light. That's partly just my preference, it's quicker and easier with less variation. What is left is fairly homogeneous, but there is still some variety. All medium ish purples. I did end up putting one of the pinks back in, you will see how that ended up!

Fireweed panel border
Fireweed panel border color selection
     If none of your scraps are in strips, you may want to cut a few to start. I had several already in my pile, so I started with sewing some of those together. The width doesn't matter too much, but keep in mind the scale of the project you are doing. Then I cut those into random sized chunks. In the second pic below, you can see that I cut a few chunks off, then trimmed a whole strip so I could add another to that set and have it not be too wide. 
Improv piecing tutorial
Improv piecing trimmed
Improv piecing stitched together
     Then I start stitching those pieces to each other, or to another strip. You will be amazed at how quickly it comes together! I just keep making each little chunk bigger, then when I have a good pile, I can put them by the panel to see how it's coming. At this point, I will decide approximately how wide I want my borders to be. I decided to have them 4 inches on two sides, and 6 inches on the other two. (cut size, but it's improv, so it doesn't really matter!) So then if a chunk was already four or a little over, I knew to only add to the ends, not the sides. I squared things up after each batch of stitching a new piece on, but that's optional too, it can be wonky if you want! 
Improv piecing quilt border
Improv piecing quilt border
     I thought I had enough at this point, (below) and I even remembered to allow extra at the top and bottom to make room for inner borders. But for some reason it didn't connect that the sides would need that too. 🤦‍♀️ (Lyme brain😭) But that was ok, because I was also not really happy with that one bright pink fabric... I tried flipping the whole border over so it would be on the inside, and I still didn't like it, so I chopped the whole thing in half and sewed it back on another way. After adding some more to the length, the pink ended up in completely different spots, but I like it better. The trouble with a wider variety of fabrics is that totally random doesn't always end up looking great. But that just means it requires at least a little more planning. 
Improv piecing quilt border 1
Improv piecing quilt border 2
Improv piecing quilt border 3
     It still needs quilting, but that has to wait a bit! I'll put the iris one in here again too. As long as there isn't a huge range of colors and values, these can be pretty random and still look great! I'm still not 100% sure of those little pink squares.... maybe I'll paint them 🤣  And, as I said in my last post, this project can also be done as a 'beginners and enders' project. I hope you will try it! Now I need another beginners and enders project myself, hmm.... Oh, and I almost forgot! These plus more panels, kits, and patterns available here, just click 'shop online' above.
      Happy sewing! Beret
Fireweed panel quilt
Ascone fireweed panel quilt
Upcoming classes: Barn wood quilt block painting, Mon, Feb. 17, Free Motion quilting Saturday, Feb. 22. Click 'classes' above for more info or to register! 
Click the photo below to see all of our kits and patterns!
Picture
1 Comment

Best. Tip. Ever.

1/30/2020

0 Comments

 
fireweed panel quilt
     It seems like I would have posted about this before, but if I did I'm doing a better job this time 🤣  Most quilters will be familiar with the first couple of parts of this tip, but of course I add my own twist! 
     Here we go: most quilters know about chain piecing, where after each seam, you immediately butt the next piece up to that one and stitch. This saves tons of time and thread, and maybe more importantly, bobbin winding! 😅 It also eliminates the need to hold down your threads at the beginning of every seam to prevent the needle from coming unthreaded...

quilting tutorial
     You may even be familiar with well known quilter Bonnie Hunter's 'beginners and enders' technique. It's the same as chain piecing, except when you get to the end of your batch, stitch onto a folded piece of fabric, so it's ready to go for next time. 
        She then takes it a step further, and says why not keep a pile of squares or pieces from another quilt project by your machine, and stitch two of those together instead of just onto a piece of fabric. Brilliant! I made an entire quilt top this way, which was in progress for years, because I kept forgetting about it, but it's done! Except for cutting the squares before hand, the hand applique, and adding the borders at the end, I never spent any dedicated time on this quilt, the whole thing was done as 'beginners and enders' during maaany other projects. Definitely the way to do the tedious tiny squares border!
lap quilt
     But here's where I add my twist to this idea. While my above lap quilt used up some dark batik scraps, the majority of this is the background fabric. I have waaaaaaaaay too many scraps to use them that slowly 🤣😅 So, I decided to pull out a bunch of coordinating scraps, usually one color family even, and use this concept to do some improv piecing. This has a couple of extra benefits. One, it uses lots more scraps! And two, and probably more importantly for me, is that there is far less prep work to be done. I just dig through a tub for colors I like, then maaaybe iron them, but that's it. And these can be used for lots of things! They make really great borders for panel quilts, or any quilt, and in that case, you just choose a size you are aiming for, and just keep it a little bigger than that, like 4-5 inches wide, and trim it to size later. But they also make great potholders, journal covers, or even a whole quilt background.
​     To improv piece, just start stitching fabrics together! They don't even have to be cut straight, as long as you sew straight. You can trim after. No accuracy in seam allowance required. Just don't sew two pieces of the same fabric together. After stitching a few, you can recut, like a chunk off of a strip set, and stitch that to another piece. 
improv quilting technique tutorial
    I started this batch to use on my 2020 exclusive Teresa Ascone panel, Shadow Patterns. I decided I was not happy with the chunk on the right, pieces were too big, and too similar, so I cut it up and I will stitch it back together a different way. 
shadow patterns quilting tutorial
piecing strips on quilt tutorial
     Here are a couple of other improv pieced quilts I have made. On the iris one, I decided the hot pink fabric was contrasting enough that I did choose more carefully where it landed, but otherwise it's pretty random! On the fireweed blossom quilt, even the dark green border and binding are pieced if you look closely!
         I hope you will try the beginners and enders trick, you will be hooked! In addition to saving so much thread, time, aggravation, and bobbin winding, could end up with a project done in barely noticeable nooks and crannies of time! Maybe I'll do another post with more details on improv piecing, of course I have tricks for that too.
     Happy sewing! Beret

And remember, these panels and soooo much more are available here on our website 😊
​And also remember, every comment, share, pin, and like helps us a ton! 
Fireweed art quilt
Ascone fireweed panel quilt
Click here to see all of our kits, patterns, and panels 😊
Picture
0 Comments

New kit! And upcoming classes

1/16/2020

0 Comments

 
Moonshadows Quilted Card Kit
​ Greetings from a freezing cold Fairbanks! We had three days off from our cold snap, but it's back... The Moonshadows card kit was mostly ready last spring, but I decided to wait until winter since it wasn't very 'springy'. And then almost forgot! It's a good one to try if you like the wall hanging but aren't sure about doing it! Or include it if you made the wall hanging as a gift. 😊
Here is the link:
 https://www.onthetrailcreations.com/moonshadows-card.html


For local people, I also have several classes scheduled. I will put them here with a link to the classes page. The barn wood painting one is really fun, you can invite your non quilting friends too! And any of these can be done with a private group if you'd like, I can do groups of 3-6 for sewing, up to 10 for painting! Just call or email me to set up a time.
                      907-687-7603  beret@onthetrailcreations.com
     These are all one session classes, if it has more than one date, that is a separate class. If you are interested in these, sign up now, or print this off for a reminder! I will send reminders also. (only the next upcoming session will be live for registration... future ones will go up after the previous one is full or happened.)
https://www.onthetrailcreations.com/classes.html

Quilt Block painting   Monday, Jan 20, 6-8pm $36
                                  Monday, Feb. 17, 6-8 pm
                                  Thurs., March 12, 6-8 pm
                                  Monday, April 6, 6-8 pm
                                  Tuesday, May 12, 6-8 pm
Quilted Greeting card class  Saturday, Jan 25, 1-4 pm, $25 plus kit of your choice
                                             Saturday, April 18, 1-4
Wall hanging class   Saturday, March 21, 10-4, $35 plus wall hanging kit of your choice
Free motion quilting basics   Saturday, Feb. 22, 1-4 pm, $25
                                               Saturday, May 16

I love to pass on my enthusiasm for what I do, I hope to see you in one or more of these! Beret

To see all of our kits and patterns, click the photo below:
Wall Hanging Quilts
0 Comments

Hindsight is 2020

12/28/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Like many people, I often spend some time during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day looking toward the next year and thinking about possible goals or changes in different areas. This year especially, since last year kind of ran me into the ground, and I’d prefer to not repeat that. But this year, I had a bit of a revelation... I figured out long ago (although I rarely do it) that I’m better off making daily ‘what I did’ lists than ‘to do’ lists. It works better for me to see a growing list of accomplishments than a list of things hanging over me, especially if I don’t get to lots of them. This is great if you tend to have interruptions or changes of plans frequently, because you still get to write something down:-). It also encourages writing down more relational things like reading to your kid, or a phone call with a friend, that might not normally even make it on to your ‘to do’ list, at least if you are a ‘measurable results’ oriented person like I am... It’s still good to keep a list of things you’d like to do, or things you have to do, but more general and ongoing rather than daily. But I’ve never done that on a yearly basis, or really even written down what I DID do. I tend to just see all of the things I HAVEN’T done. And of course you can do both, you don’t have to choose. I was extremely busy last year, but much of it was not what I planned. (Obviously no one plans ‘seven weeks of hospice care for Mom’ into their schedule :-( ) But I think writing down what I actually do at least in addition to what I plan to do will make me more mentally accepting of doing what God sends me and letting go of MY plans, and also more willing to spend time on relational things (or routine things like housework or exercise that don’t end with a finished product and have to be done again... and again...) rather than just projects. I’m probably on the extreme end of ‘results oriented’, hopefully YOU are better at going with the flow already. But 2020 seems like a good year to start practicing ‘hindsight’ along with my planning. :-)    Beret

Picture
To see all of our kits and patterns, click the photo!

0 Comments

Sale!

11/29/2019

0 Comments

 
It's been ages since we did a sale! So, to cover Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, this will go through Monday, Dec 2nd. Here it is:
All wall hanging and table runner kits, 30% off, code SNOW since we have plenty of it here! I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving! 
​Beret

​
Picture
0 Comments

Does this sound familiar?

11/11/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
​    Imagine yourself at 11:00 pm on Christmas Eve, you finally got the kids to sleep, the lights are twinkling on the tree…you would love to relax on the couch with a cup of tea, but now you are faced with a pile of gifts to wrap…Those gifts you have been meaning to wrap for days and never got to.  And then you remember! You made a bunch of fabric bags just for this! It only takes a second to stuff gifts in and tie  them shut! They work on odd shaped gifts like the duck decoy you got for Uncle Harold, and things that are still in their Amazon box. You get everything wrapped and get to sleep long before you normally do. Then, on Christmas morning, there is no mound of paper to get rid of, and you put some empty boxes back in their bags and back under the tree, so it still looks nice even after the gifts have been opened! You sit back with your tea and enjoy the morning.
    Or maybe you are one of those people who DO get things wrapped early, but you still love to save time. These are great for you too! They’ve been a life saver for me, so here is a quick tutorial.
    They are super easy to make. Choose the size you want your bag to be. Make lots of sizes! But then you just need to cut your fabric twice as large as you want them. You can add a bit for seam allowance if you want, but the sizes are pretty random anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. I start with some the whole width of the fabric, some half, and some a third. I usually fold the fabric in half and sew one side and the bottom. But you could fold it vertically (as long as it is not directional) and stitch both sides instead, to get some other sizes and still have no waste. I like to use velvety fabrics for the bags, and sparkly fabrics for the bands. 
    Cut the band fabric the same width as your bag, and twice as tall as you want it, as you will fold it over before stitching on. You can add it before stitching the side seam, but I prefer to add it after, so the seam doesn’t show at the top. But, no rules!
Just stitch the side and bottom of the bag, and the side of the band. Then fold the band in half so the seam is on the inside, put it inside the bag (which is still inside out) lining up all raw edges, and stitch around the top. If you have a serger, this is a great time to use it…even faster! All that is left is to add a cord, which I do by using a zig zag stitch in the middle of the cord, attached at the side seam where the bag and band meet. 
   We also use chalkboard tags, which are quick and also re-usable. I hope you try this gift to yourself that keeps on giving! They are also great to give away. 

Picture
Picture
There are lots more tutorials on our website, and of course, kits and patterns too! 
Picture
0 Comments

So many new things!!

10/15/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Once again, it's been awhile, but lots going on! At least four new things to tell you about, wow...
Classes:
​We have several months worth up on the website now! We will add a kids' class for after Christmas eventually too. The newest class will be monthly, and I'm very excited about it! Friends of ours in Michigan, The Reclaimed Nation, have barn wood blocks with quilt designs on them for painting. Everything will be provided for you to make a large (10-12") and small (5") block. Additional blocks will be available to purchase if you wish. Several designs to pick from. But there are sewing classes up too! Click here to sign up for a class 

Eversewn machines: 
​I'm so excited to now be able to offer Eversewn machines for sale! I have never found a brand of machines in this price range that I felt comfortable recommending until these. There are four levels of basic machines, ranging from $200 to $475, then a quilting machine and embroidery machine; those I'm not super familiar with yet though. I've been using the Sparrow 25's in my kid classes for almost a year, and I've been happy with them! I'm not totally organized yet with demos of each model, but if you are interested, I'd be happy to talk to you. I do have a couple of models in stock. 
Picture
New kits:
Thanks to the artwork of former Fairbanks resident Trish Stuart, we have two new card kits. These are both very quick projects, I think I actually managed to not have any free motion stitching on them! The fabrics are so nice you can't go wrong :-) The panels are printed on velvet! The background colors vary a bit, but the moose will be blue/purple, and the raven will be yellow/red.  Click here to order :-)
Picture
Picture
New Teresa Ascone panel:
I love this new Fireweed Solitaire panel! I can't wait to play with it, but boy have I not had time yet... It is the same size and shape as the tall iris one, so I plan to make mine using similar borders to my iris one.  Click here to order :-)
Picture
Picture
Whew, that's a lot of stuff! And more in the works :-) I'm also in the mad rush for bazaar season, my first one is the UAF Women's bazaar, Pioneer Park, Nov. 2-3 (both days this year!), 10-4. 
I hope you are all enjoying fall, it's pretty much done here. I took sooooo many pictures this year, lots of colors even here where we don't have a huge variety of trees... We might not have much for maples, but the tamaracks have been amazing this year. Thanks for making it to the end of this post!  
​Happy Sewing, Beret
Picture
0 Comments

Simple ways to start art quilting

7/13/2019

2 Comments

 
PictureSeagull Sunset
​Have you ever wanted to try art quilting but don’t know where to start? I have a few easy ways to help get you over the hurdle of getting going! I have lots of tricks for making projects that look great but are really pretty simple when you break them down. These are all landscape style quilts.
Let’s start with the background. There are several ways to give yourself a head start. Use a watercolorish fabric, which looks like a landscape all by itself. (Seagull Sunset quilt) Or, use a panel that doesn’t have too much going on in the foreground, they are out there! (see two chickadee quilts) If you are a bit braver, you can make a simple striped background. (two single crane quilts) I like to have a bit of gradation in mine, but that’s not always necessary. If you are even braver, do a curvy stripe background. Just three carefully chosen fabrics cut with curved edges begins  to look like a world! Basically, the top one needs to look skyish! (quilt with three crane silhouettes) From there, it’s not too hard to add mountains….then trees… It’s kind of addicting once you get started :-)



Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
based on a photo by Mark Sparky Stensaas
​Once you have a background, there are some simple ways to add a foreground. The simplest of all is to do a silhouette. Several of these quilts were done that way. (more below) The Seagull Sunset quilt is done with only two fabrics other than borders! I also added a bit of thread sketching for some details, but only two fabrics. For the background, I cut it in half and flipped one half vertically so the sky and water are mirror images. So not only two fabrics, but only two pieces of each one! A step up from silhouette appliques is more detailed appliques. Those can be as detailed as you’d like. As you get more confident, you can add thread painting or other embellishments.
​

Another little trick is to use lots of borders. The teal tree quilt has only a small area that has the actual scene on it, the rest of the stripes are basically borders. The crane potholder is another example of that, and the iris and the swan. And I often do not make my borders the same all the way around, that is another way to make quilts artsy. I add details to borders with bead, buttons, quilting, decorative stitching or other art quilty techniques.
Once you break quilts into parts, you can see that you can do a lot of fun projects without doing anything super complicated. I hope you will give them a try, and send me a picture! Either like my On the Trail Creations Facebook page and send a message, or join my On the Trail Creations VIP facebook group.
And of course, our kits and patterns are another way to give you a head start on your art quilting journey!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
2 Comments

Tote/laptop bag tutorial

6/11/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
I'm really trying to put more of my tutorials here instead of other forms of social media... I think they will be more accessible! I recently made a really fun bag for my Microsoft Surface Book, but it would be a great bag for many uses, and easily customized. I also was able to incorporate both cork fabric and a UFO art quilt that had been sitting around for awhile! I may do it as a class, or even two classes since the quilted part is optional. Let me know if that sounds interesting, local people! 

This won't be a complete tutorial, but I will include a few things that can be applied to many different bag projects, like my favorite tote bag zipper method! 
First of all, the gold strip under the buttons wasn't strictly decorative. The quilted part and the cork fabric are both fairly substantial, so to avoid a bulky seam there, I added the strip between them. If the strip is cut 4 times the seam allowance, the two thick layers will butt up together on the inside, which was my goal. Mine was 3/8" seam allowance, 1 1/2" strip, final size 3/4". Here is a photo (second photo below) of the inside at that spot. No overlap of the thick layers, but also no gap.
Picture
Original UFO quilt... I was aiming for an agate, but guesses included bacon, dragon, river, snakeskin, lava, rocks, geode... :-) It's better as a bag!
Picture
I made the outside with a section of quilt, then cork, then quilt, attached with the gold strips for both seams. I didn't photograph that, but here is a diagram. Mine was 16" wide and 24" long, but that can be varied to any size you want. I also made 3/4" box corners, which makes the "bottom" 1 1/2" wide. I also added the handles at this point, which I made by folding a strip of cork in half and topstitching both edges. I attached them, then covered the ends with a rounded triangle cut out of cork. Then this gets folded in half right sides together, and sides and box corners stitched. (see lining for at least partial photos of those steps.) Also any decorations such as buttons get added now. 
Picture
I made the lining the same size, then I cut out a piece of Peltex stiff interfacing the same size, minus the seam allowances and the corners, and fused that to the wrong side of the lining. Then I added a larger pocket for the cord and mouse, and a smaller one on that pocket for thumb drives. Then stitched the side seams and box corners. It would have been easier to do the seams and corners first, but then adding the Peltex would have been harder, so I went with this option! Since I used binding to attach the inside and outside, the lining just tucks right in, no wrestling it through a hole, or turning it right side out, it stays just like this. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
After I tucked the lining into the bag, the thickness of it caused the lining to stick up a bit, so I just trimmed it off :-) 
Picture
And now for the dreaded zipper! But with this method, it really isn't bad at all. The secret is adding the zipper to strips of fabric, and then attaching those with the binding. You never have to deal with the zipper and the bag at the same time! Use a zipper that is longer than you need also, so you can open it up all the way when attaching the strips to the bag. 
First, cut four strips that are one inch narrower than your bag, and about 1 1/2 inches wide, bigger if the bag is wider. Then press under 1/2" at both ends of each strip as shown. Now you are going to sandwich your zipper between these strips, two on each side, but it's easier to do one at a time. In the last photo below, the zipper is face down on the right side of the fabric. The open end is at the end of the strip, with the excess zipper tape folded over. Stitch it down fairly close to the teeth using a zipper foot. The zipper will be extra long at the other end, that's what you want. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Now add another strip directly on top of the one you just did, right sides together, with the zipper in between. Do the same to the other side of the zipper. Then, topstitch on either side of the zipper to flatten it out...hard to press with a zipper! There, that wasn't too bad, right? Much easier than putting a zipper in a bag! At this point, it's easy to add to the bag, I promise! 
Picture
Picture
 Center the zipper on the inside edge of the bag. Both ends should be an inch away from the corners, which keeps them from getting in the way of the binding. See how it helps to unzip the zipper past the opening? Tuck the extra zipper in the bag through the hole in the corner, mine is sticking out so you can see it... Stitch the strips to the bag, through the outside and the lining, using a narrow seam allowance that will be covered by the binding. You could even use a zig zag to reduce bulk, but I didn't think of that until now, ha! It's a good idea to zip before stitching to make sure the sides are lined up. Then unzip all the way before binding, and you won't even know it's there!
Picture
Picture
You can use your favorite binding method to finish at this point, but I thought it would be cool to try cork fabric. I knew the normal method would be too bulky, but then I thought it would be hard to catch the back side if I just used a strip folded over the edge. I ended up cutting it extra wide, and trimming it after it was stitched. I put the extra on the inside, and stitched from the outside. I cut it about 1 1/2" wide. There's a bit of waste, but I think well worth it! I had to use two pieces as my cork fabric was too narrow to use just one. I overlapped the ends just a bit. The first photo shows after stitching but before trimming the extra on the inside. I just trimmed close to the stitching, maybe 1/8". The second photo shows how you can shorten the zipper if it is WAY too long. There you have it, send me a photo if you try it, or any part of it! Send to beret@onthetrailcreations.com or post in our On the Trail Creations VIP facebook group. Happy Sewing! I'll put one more of the final bag at the end also. Ok, two... front and back. I've been using this bag and I love it! 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Front
Picture
Back
Click here to see all of our patterns and kits! (There isn't one for this bag, let me know if that would be better than this sketchy tutorial, ha!)
Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Beret Nelson's On The Trail Creations Blog Page

    Picture

    Beret Nelson

    I am a homeschooling mom of three fun kids, who are now old enough that I have a little time to pursue my passion for sewing! After several years of making quilted cards and art quilts, I'm now designing kits and patterns.  Some of them have even been in Keepsake Quilting! I  teach classes at local quilt shops, and am starting to do more traveling and teaching. I also have many tutorials, including some on YouTube. I am blessed to live in Alaska where I am surrounded by the inspiration provided by the beauty of God's creation!
    To see all of my patterns, click here.
    To follow my blog, sign up below to receive e-mails, and/or "like" my facebook page, button below!

    I am also an independent distributor for Plexus supplements, since I credit them with enabling me to be healthy enough to do all these fun things! They target blood sugar and gut health, which are at the root of so many modern health issues. E-mail me for more info, or check out my website! I am as passionate about getting people healthy as I am about getting people creating :-)

    beret@onthetrailcreations.com
    or
    www.shopmyplexus.com/beretnelson


    Sign up for blog updates and get a free pattern!
    * indicates required
    Picture

    "Like" my facebook page!

    Instagram

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012

    RSS Feed

Picture
  • Home
  • Shop Online
    • Art For Sale
    • Store - Wall Hangings/Table Runners >
      • Sandhill Sunset Wall Hanging
      • Moonshadows Wall Hanging
      • Serenity Wall Hanging
      • Summer Dragonfly Wall Hanging
      • Summer Dragonfly Table Runner
      • Moonlight Moose Wall Hanging
      • Moonlight Moose Table Runner
      • Autumn Leaves Wall Hanging
      • Autumn Leaves Table Runner
      • Night Owl Wall Hanging Quilt
    • Store - Quilted Greeting Cards >
      • Out On a Limb Card Kit
      • Wonder Lake Card Kit
      • Moonshadows Card
      • Raven Moon Card
      • Chickadee With Berries Card
      • Whale Tale Card
      • Moose and Willows Card Kit
      • Raven Card Kit
      • Wild Iris Card
      • Northwoods Nisse Card
      • Boreal Botanicals Card
      • Winter Trees Card
      • For the Birds Card Pattern
      • Wild Flower I Card Pattern
      • Wild Flower II Card Pattern
      • Wild Flower III Card Pattern
      • Wonky Heart Card Pattern
      • Whimsical Heart Card Pattern
      • Black-Capped Chickadee Card
      • Three Leaves Card Pattern
      • Let it Snow Card Pattern
      • Happy Birthday Card Pattern
      • Tundra Swan Card Pattern
      • Milepost Card Pattern
    • Store - Coffee Kuspuks/Quilt Panels >
      • Season of Hope Velvet Panel
      • Screen Prints
      • Coffee Kuspuk
      • Moonlight Moose Potholder Kit
      • Chickadee Menu Planner
      • Spring Flowers Coaster Pattern
      • Trish Stuart Collection
      • Teresa Ascone Panels
      • Scrappy Baby Bib
    • Molly Molecule Book
  • Online Classes
  • Tutorials
    • Grace quilt tutorial
    • Sewing Machine Needle Organizer Pincushion
    • Organza silk screen tutorial
    • Polymer Clay button tutorial
    • Birch Tree card tutorial
    • Coffee Shop greeting card
    • Free Motion Stitching Tutorials >
      • Free Motion Tutorial
      • 10 minute project tutorial
      • Valentine Coasters
      • Grape hyacinth postcard
      • Advanced free motion projects >
        • Sparkly 3D dragonfly wings
        • Inktense Frog quilt
        • Dream Big flower panel
    • Journal Cover - Book Tutorials >
      • Quilted Book Cover Tutorial
      • 1000 Gifts Journal Cover Tutorial
      • Quiet Book Tutorial
    • Tutorials for Our Kits >
      • Moonshadows Video Tutorials
      • Summer Dragonfly Video Tutorials
      • Serenity Video Tutorials
    • Video Tutorials - Screenprinting, Inktense, Quilted Card Binding
  • Beret's Blog
  • Art Quilt Gallery
  • Quilted Cards Gallery
  • Classes
  • Our Story
  • Our Mission
  • Quilt Shops
  • Contact Us
  • Return Policy - FAQs