Should you wash the fabric you are going to use to make cloth grocery bags? As always, it seems, the answer is “it depends.” If the fabric is new, unstained, odor-free, and clean, then probably not. Any sizing won’t matter as it will stiffen the finished bags. If you ever wash the finished bags, it […]
Now that we’ve chosen our fabric, let’s turn to the sizing of the totebag panels and gusset. I’ve found that the most effective grocery bags have panels that are taller than they are wide. This allows for a turn down at the top edge of the bag, concealing the raw edge, providing reinforcement, and stiffening. […]
Where do you get the fabric? You start at any fabric store. Joann’s is a national chain, they run good sales, they have a clearance rack, and they provide discount coupons. Sign up for their mailing list, look over their fliers, and you may get lucky. Many fabric stores do the same thing so if […]
What kind of fabric should you use to make cloth grocery bags? The easy answer is the cheap kind, but this is not completely accurate. The weight and sewability of the grocery bag fabric also matter. I look for a woven fabric heavy enough to use for skirts, pants, draperies, or upholstery. If it looks […]
We all use grocery bags. We buy our groceries, get them bagged, take them home and then, well, what do we do with those one-use bags? Paper grocery bags can be easily recycled, whether at home as gift-wrap, book covers, underlayment under patio pavers, lining trashcans, as compost, or tossed into the recycling bin. Plastic […]
I hate being late to my own rodeo, but better late than never. Last week, we released “Suburban Stockade” (now called “Fed, Safe, and Sheltered”) as a Kindle ebook. It’s exclusive to Amazon, so that we could put it into Kindle Unlimited. The trade paperback has been out for a month, and we set up […]
This post is part of a series about sewing NotQuilts. If you’re unfamiliar with this method, The NotQuilt series begins here. I measured correctly. Each binding strip was long enough to go from one edge to the other. Even the top strip! Because this one was sewn on last, it had to enclose the raw […]
This post is part of a series about sewing NotQuilts. If you’re unfamiliar with this method, The NotQuilt series begins here. Dragon Princess has been determined since day one to thwart my will, but this time I had come thisclose (yes, “thisclose”) to dumping the project. By itself, it was a minor problem, but it […]
This post is part of a series about sewing NotQuilts. If you’re unfamiliar with this method, The NotQuilt series begins here. I’ve been filling in the border, that strip of empty real estate a few inches wide that runs all around the edges of Dragon Princess. This border is actually in eight separate sections. Because […]
This post is part of a series about sewing NotQuilts. If you’re unfamiliar with this method, The NotQuilt series begins here. With the roses on white floral, it was time to do more fill-in. I looked at a moderate pink gingham. I have plenty but it just didn’t look right. It read as too dark, […]