So, this floss roll is working fine so far (despite the ugly visible stitching ;)), but it’s not the “everything I wanted it to be that I had hoped it would be.
I’ve found that it’s great to have my floss organized and at hand, but I also tend to be a migratory embroiderer… a little in bed, in my daughter’s room while she plays or read, on the front porch the 1 warm day we’ve had in the past 4 months, downstairs in our tv room, on my couch in our living room, and in the car. You see where I’m going with this, no? Well, I always need my needs, threader, and scissors too, and that results in needing another container.
So I got to thinking, maybe I could make something that zips with a larger part that folds up and snaps to carry the colors I need for a specific project. With that in mind, I sat down to start doodling ideas–and became frustrated almost instantly. 1) I can’t draw; really, truly, my 5 year old draws better than I do and 2) I’ve never tried to make anything from scratch before where I needed to be precise with my measurements, and 3) I’ve never sewed a zipper, ever.
None of those reasons is a showstopper, but they certainly complicate the project. So I think step one is for me to make a wristlet that seem to be so popular these days. That will teach me how to do a zipper and help me see what kinds of calculations go into determining zipper length and so forth. After I’ve done that I can see about what it would take to add channeled fabric to hold skeins that would fold and snap closed so the whole thing would be the same size as the wristlet. At least that’s what I’ve envisioned.
Happily this all jives with my resolutions for the year because I have a feeling that sewing zippers will require more precision on my part and the end result will go toward creating something new from my own brain and creativity.
February 10, 2009 at 7:30 pm
If I can hand sew zippers and hand sew zippered pouches (with linings and sew in interfacing to!) with wristlets you can totally rock it out with a machine!!!!
I keep all my DMC floss in one of those smallish plastic storage boxy things that DMC makes for floss, all my floss is on cardboard bobbins (not the ones that come in the box, but the stuff you buy in the package) which is good because if I have leftover floss I can just wind it back on.
March 1, 2009 at 1:07 am
I have all my floss on bobbins and in plastic storage boxes, and I keep those boxes in my craft cabinet. When I’m working on a project, I put the project, my notes about which flosses are being used where on the project, and the actual flosses themselves in a large baggie. Whichever project I want to work on, I grab that baggie and take it with me to wherever in the house I want to stitch. Using the baggie helps keep dust and dog hair off stuff too :). Once a project is done, I stash the baggie in my craft cabinet, and then I use it again when I start a new project.
I have a small, lidded magnetic needlekeeper and my needles ALWAYS stay in it (I only have 1 embroidery needle and 1 beading needle, so that’s good incentive to not lose them!!), and I keep my needlekeeper, embroidery scissors, and hoop together — whether they are just laying on the dining room table or whether they are stored in a baggie with a current project, they always stay together.
Altho it would definitely be prettier to have a fabric bag of some sort for ongoing projects, the baggie system works really well for me.
In case you are procrastinating about learning to sew a zipper (which I have not learned yet myself!), I thought I’d pass along my inexpensive, waterproof, portable, and all around handy-dee-dandy project bags ;-).