Everything Deserves a Pouch

Oh hey there friend.  I know you haven't heard from me in a while.  I apologize; getting married and doing medical school interviews is a little overwhelming.  To make up for it, please take this adorable picture of my husband and I:

Now on to real business.  I've been thinking a lot about how to learn to sew.  As someone who works in higher education, how to learn is always a topic of conversation.  Sewing is one of those things where there is information about it everywhere.  Blogs, books, even our own clothing gives us information about sewing.  Sometimes, it's unclear where it is even reasonable to start.  Not only that, starting anything is the biggest barrier to productivity (science agrees).  So, here is a place to start: make a pouch.

Pouches are personally something that make me feel whole.  It's something I can contain objects in and keep my life a little less crazy.  It's something I can look at every day and actually use.  It's something I see all the time and think "Yeah!  I made that.  Go me."

Also, it doesn't get much easier than sewing cotton rectangles.  There's very little stretch.  No weird curves.  And you don't even need to cut out a pattern.

Okay, so let's get started.  Find something in your dwelling that is just cattywampus.  This could be an electronic device that lacks a cover, make-up, a large number of spiders, or a small child.  For me it was a straightener.  Look at this straightener:

Just craziness.

See that?  Wires everywhere.  Cattywampus.  Now, if you've ever broken your straightener and been yelled at by a beauty supply store employee, you would know that you aren't supposed to wrap the wires around the straightener.  It creates [insert technical phrase about breaking straighteners here].  Therefore, the only way you can really keep your straightener... straight, is by getting some sort of tie to keep the wire all together.  Well, frankly, I'm 23 and I'm not going to undo a tie on my straightener every morning, or ever for that matter.  So what do I need?  A case for my straightener.  You're catching on.

Next, use this fantastic pattern for a pouch on Purl Soho.  I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to start sewing or even has sewn several things.  This pattern is easy, but makes a difficult-looking product.  Given you choose the right fabrics, it's one of those things that people might mistake for a store-bought item.  There's no better way to win in sewing than to have your friends say "Hey, that's cute.  Where did you get that?"

When you're using this pattern, be nice to yourself.  Choose easy fabrics.  Choose a normal zipper.  Put down the silk and the sequins and stop being such an overachiever.

Now, tell yourself you can do it.  First of all, because you can.  Second of all, because you can.  The zipper might insight some fear, as they usually do.  Just follow the directions.  They are really good about telling you where the zipper should be at what point, and it helps to treat a zipper like you would any other fabric.  It just has weird teeth on it.

Finally, cut those strings off and... you have a pouch!  Look at that!  Life is so much better!  You started something and it looks awesome.  Go you!

So organized :D

I haven't experimented much with this pattern, but I have added fusible fleece to make a pouch for my kindle.  I just cut the fleece about 1/2" short on the zipper side and fused it before I did any sewing.  This gives it padding and structure.  Pics or it didn't happen:

Now that you are a pouch master, you can continue making pouches for the rest of your small children, or you could really go anywhere.  Here's another pouch I made from a different pattern:

Alvin wanted an iPhone case.  I obliged.

In case you are thinking, "hey Alissa, you didn't teach me anything.  You just linked another website with all the information I needed," you've missed the point, young one.  The pouch is a great starting place for sewing with large rewards.  It gives you a sense of accomplishment to know you've made things a little less hectic, and it's a great entry into the wonderful world of sewing.  So, go out there and make that pouch.  I better see some small children running around in pouches.


Alissa

5 Hints for Sewing Like You Care

Last weekend I made 14 hour pants.  Like, I spent 14 hours sewing.  Everyone I told this to was like "Oh that's so great!"  No, it's not.  My back now hurts from sitting on my fake wood floor cutting and pinning, and now I never want to sew again.

The pants in action with one of my dedicated readers

In hour 10, I started to get philosophical (or so I thought) about sewing, so I've made some general guidelines for sewing like you care.  I admit it.  Until recently I was a lazy sewer.  I breezed through directions, rarely touched the seam ripper, barely used my iron.  But those days are over!


Now that we are in the days of Buzzfeed, I've accumulated my philosophical thoughts into a list.  This recent change in the way the youngsters present information doesn't bother me; I've always been a lister.  One of my friends noted that this is usually how I express all of my stress, and with the opening of the med school application coming up, I'm sure my listing is about to increase.

5 Hints for Sewing Like You Care

1. Press open seams.  I put this as #1 because it's the #1 thing I hate doing.  First of all, I have a $10 Walmart iron.  Never buy a $10 Walmart iron.  It's going to function about as good as a $10 Walmart iron, if not worse.  Half the time it acts like it's possessed and spurts water everywhere.  Anyway, pressing open your seams gives whatever you are making a professional look.  Not only that, it generally makes your garment easier to sew with.  You might think "Ugh, I'll just press this later."  Get up lazy.  Press it now.  Later you might make another seam, making it much harder, if not impossible, to press that seam.  Together, we will fight laziness.

That black piece of fabric isn't decorative.  I accidentally ironed interfacing onto my ironing board.

2. Seam rip that crappy seam you just made.  Yes.  That jagged seam on the front of your skirt will make a difference, and you will later hate yourself for not fixing it.  You know what is cool about sewing?  People not knowing you made your own clothes because you didn't have an eye-sore of a seam in the middle of your garment.

3. Basting is actually a good idea.  For all those who don't know what basting is, it is when you set your machine to make a really wide stitch and make a seam you plan on later taking out.  It might function to hold two things together temporarily when pins won't do, or you might be trying to find out the best location for a seam.  It's not hard to take out a basting seam, but it's just another step.  I've been avoiding basting until a couple of months ago (all those who didn't need the explanation of basting can now gasp), and it has really changed my sewing.

4. Wash your fabric before using it.  I learned this the hard way, so none of you have to.  I bought the fabric for my 14 hour pants a while ago and figured I had washed it when I got it.  That was not so.  I wore them to work and found out in the middle of the day my legs were now stained black.  What a fun challenge that was trying to get that out in the shower.  If you're totally game for turning yourself fun colors accidentally, also keep in mind your fabric might shrink after you wash it.  Then that awesome pencil skirt you made yourself might turn into a gross 90's tube top.  I warned you.

Black dye on my sewing machine from my 14 hour pants >:(

5. Read the pattern.  No really.  Take it out.  Look at words.  Read.  Possibly have a dictionary handy if it's been a while.  Pre-MCAT Alissa was the first person to blow through the directions on the pattern and subsequently sew a sleeve to a skirt, but now with all my MCAT-verbal-reasoning knowledge, I now understand the merits of reading.  Listen, it's not my fault.  I grew up with the internet, where if there is anything blinking, you shouldn't look at it.  If there are long paragraphs that start with "Terms and Conditions", ignore them.  If your English teacher assigns you a book to read, go find SparkNotes and half read that.  (To be honest, I read every English book assigned to me ever.  I'm sure I'm the first person in the Texas Public School System to ever have done that, and I can't say it gave me any edge whatsoever.  I only blame myself.  Reading comprehension was never my thing.)  But really, if you are dedicated to making something that you will be proud of, you will take at least a half an hour to pre-read the pattern directions and follow along as you sew.

Taken from Google Images.  I know you all watched this.  Make Geordi La Forge proud.

Sorry if anyone is offended by the extra sass today.  I recently read Bossy Pants, so Tina Fey is my new spirit animal.  And also Olivia Munn.  Such sass.

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Happy New Year!

...in China.  So I'm a little late for posting this, but I've been a little busy.  But hey, Chinese New Year was just a couple of days ago, so I can't be too late.

So I did it!  Yay.  As I've mentioned before, the whole not buying clothes thing wasn't very hard, especially since I started with a wealth of clothing.  Some good things came out of it though.  I learned to do more sewing things, I saved some money (kinda), and I now no longer have an everlasting need for clothing.  It has really been a problem for most of my life, and it is honestly very freeing to be unattached to that need.  The part that made it the easiest was not even going to clothing stores.  I was actually in a Marshall's the other day, and it was almost painful not to stop in the clothing section after being in a clothing famine for so long.  I plan on keeping up with the no clothing thing as long as I can; now that I'm making my own money, saving on clothing seems much more pragmatic.