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Tip for Sewing with Vinyl (it sticks!!)…..Making Clear Vinyl Pouches

 

Thanks for the camera tips from yesterday.  Hopefully my camera will be fixed right away.

. . .

But today…….we need to chat about sewing with vinyl.  Do you remember the jewelry holder I made, here?  Well……I mentioned that sometimes it’s hard to sew with the vinyl because it sticks.  And then I was given the best tip……..and had to share. (Thanks so much Carol!)

So I had to try out the new trick…….and sew up my scrap vinyl pieces, into something useful.

And then realized making your own clear pencil/marker/crayon cases for your kids in school would be so fun.

You could really customize them.  And make them for whatever little thing you want to fill them with.

Or you know, fill them with stuff that you want to keep together.  And organized.

Whatever you fill them with, having a clear case is always convenient. 

And now, with a little trick unveiled……sewing with vinyl isn’t so tricky.  Yay.

Do you want to make your own vinyl cases the easy way?

First of all, I have mentioned in other vinyl sewing projects, that placing tissue paper between the presser foot and the fabric keeps the presser foot from sticking to the vinyl.  But it’s hard to see where you’re sewing when you do that.  Then I told you that I use my hands to kind of pull the vinyl along most of the time.  And that helps too.  But, a reader (Carol!) sent me a link to her post here, where she explains a great tip.  And I love her for sharing! :)

And the tip…………is scotch tape.  Yep.  I placed some all along the bottom of the presser foot…..but left a gap where the needle goes through.  (And I’m not sure if it made a difference…..but I had some matte-finish scotch tape.  I figured that made it extra non-sticky.)

And then I realized it helped a bit more……to place a bit more tape along the bottom plate of the sewing machine…..right next to the feed dogs (those pokey lines of metal), but not covering them.  It just helps the vinyl glide on through and not stick to the metal plate either.

If that was all the advice you needed…….stop here.

If you’d like to see how to make some really basic pouches…..read on.

To make the zippered pouch, I cut two pieces of vinyl that were 9 x 5.5 inches.

**I bought the clear vinyl at Joann’s.  It comes on big rolls and you cut it by the yard. 

Ask your fabric store employee if you’ve never seen it before.

  Then I attached a zipper in between the two, just like the zippered pouch tutorial here……just without added the lining pieces.  (Oh, and I added scotch tape to my zipper foot too.)

Then, before sewing the pouch together, I added some ric-rac to the front.  And yep, the vinyl slid right along.

And then I added some buttons to the front.  I attached them using my sewing machine (shown here)……and used the method of keeping the buttons in place with a little scotch tape, that several of you mentioned back at that post.  Thanks…..worked like a charm!

Then I pulled the tape right off.  Loved thatscotch tape trick.

Here’s the front of the pouch….all decorated.

Then I finished off the pouch, like the tutorial mentioned above………and used a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

And then trimmed the 2 bottom corners.

Then turned it right side out, poked out the corners (carefully) and then pressed the seams flat with my fingers.

Then I filled it up.

The smaller little pouches are even easier……and don’t have zippers, in case they scare you.  (Which they really shouldn’t……I’ll show you one of these days.)

Just start with a long rectangle piece (my bigger one is 4.5 x 13 inches and the smaller one is 4 x 11 inches).  Fold it into the size that you want and then add a piece of velcro to each end with your sewing machine……..

……..so that when you secure it shut, the velcro pieces match up.

Then open up that top flap again and sew all along the sides and top.  Use a decorative stitch or a double line.  Or keep it simple with a single line. Get creative.  I also added a letter to one pouch and a name to the other.  But you could always label the pouch with what you’re going to put inside.

And that’s it.  A simple little velcro pouch…..ready to be stuffed full.

Hope the tip helps you too.

Especially if sewing with vinyl has frustrated you in the past.

Thanks again Carol!

 

 

 

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

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Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

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