Thread Catcher

 I have been working diligently on a hexagon quilt! Has anyone ever done one? It is pretty much 100% hand stitching, but I am loving it cause I stitch at night while watching TV and feel like I am accomplishing something.

I have about one month in, and the one down side is that I have little bits of thread EVERYWHERE! So, I decided that I would make a thread catcher! Basically, this is just a pretty little bag that hangs out with me and I stuff all the dead thread into. :)

After searching around online a bit, I saw a few bags that I liked, but nothing perfect, and nothing that I was actually willing to pay for a pattern of. So, easy peasy, I will make my own! Here's what I did!!

Step One:  Stop and admire another quilt project that is in the works. I have three going at once... I am so focused!

 

Step Two: Step over the pile of cuttings from the quilt project, and decide that they are perfect to make a little colored border around my thread catcher! To make my border, I sewed two scraps wrong side together, pressed them open and then cut a 2" square. 4 squares make up each side of my border, and so I needed a total of 8 squares.

  
Step Three:  Gather other stuff that will look cute together on the bag. Odds, ends, scraps and whatever else didn't get put away after the last project!

Step Four: Make a plan. Like, with actual measurements. ugg. I did actually cut out a piece of paper towel as a pattern and it seemed rather useless. I ended up cutting a long strip of linen that was 3" + double the height of my finished bag. This can be customized of course. My strip was 14" tall x 6" Wide.

Step Five: Stop and have a little face time with princess baby cakes!! You could read more about her if her Mother (aka my daughter) ever blogged like she promised she would! However, she has fewer posts than I do, so what can I say.... apple doesn't fall far from the tree! lol 

Step Six: Sew your decorative border in place on the front of the bag. Once this piece is in place, sew the second strip onto the back. Next, sew your ribbons and trims on. Make sure that when the bag is folded in half everything lines up fairly well. Of course I don't expect perfection and neither should you!

Step Seven:  Fold the bag in half, with right sides together and sew up both sides. Trim your yuck away if you must!

Step Eight: Flatten out the bag so that your seam runs down the center of each side. Like the picture... then measure your corners and draw a guide line for you to stitch. By folding it this way, you will create a nice little box corner. Measuring is sadly important if you want your corners and bag base to be even. Sew both box corners and then turn your bag right side out!

Step Nine: Cut & Sew a liner for your bag. I used the same measurements as for the outer bag, and then added on a 'cuff' so that I could fold over a rolled edge. Make box corners on your liner, same as you did for the outer bag.

Step Ten: Stuff your liner into the bag, wrong sides together and then roll and fold your cuff down. I stitched mine in place by hand.

Step Eleven: Add a little decorative stitch with some embroidery thread and your done!!

Step Twelve:  After using my thread catcher for a few days, I decided to create a little loop to hang my scissors inside the bag! I just made a little tube and hand stitched it in. Now.... back to those three quilts!!

xxoo
Heather