{michellepatterns.com}

Faux Fold Envelope Clutches

A few people have emailed asking if there will be a pattern for these envelope clutches with the fake fold, and yes, there will be one soon.  When "soon" might be is the real question.  Since my deadlines are mostly self-imposed, I don't stick to them very well. :0]  My guess is soon = a few weeks.  

But I am working on the pattern and besides the larger ones from last week, I've made two smaller sizes.  One is for cards and the other for phones. 

The smaller ones are super cute!  From the comments here and on flickr, I think the small ones will end up being the most popular and useful.  Both of them make nice small wallets, are really quick to make, use very little supplies, etc. 

The small ones have the hidden pocket under the fake fold.  I almost skipped making it a pocket, but I'm glad I tried it out.  I have a thing for secret pockets.  If you ever meet me in person and see my wallet, you might say how much you like it (it was a gift and it is lovely--thank you, giver of the nice gift!), and then I'd show you the secret pocket hidden on the bottom.  Based on how this conversation always goes here is what I'd probably say: "Thanks. It has a secret pocket!!!!  Look..."  A few people have seen the pocket multiple times, which makes not a secret at all.  But I still love it and get a lot of delight out of showing that silly pocket to people. 

Anyway, the pocket on these is small, but good for coins, folded cash, a single key, or other really small things. 

Pink Envelope Clutch

Just a few minor modifications to the original envelope clutch body and this is looking better already! 

I'm going to try making it bigger now.  This one is 7.5" wide x 5" high.

Since the flap is tapered and only has one snap holding it in place, I'm not sure how wide I can go and still have the flap lay down fairly flat.  The corners will definitely start to want to curl up at some point, so I'll have to see what happens.

Pink Envelope Clutch

Just a few minor modifications to the original envelope clutch body and this is looking better already! 

I'm going to try making it bigger now.  This one is 7.5" wide x 5" high.  I'd like to make a version that is wider, but not that much taller, and also just a much bigger one.  

Since the flap is tapered and only has one snap holding it in place, I'm not sure how wide I can go and still have the flap lay down fairly flat.  The corners will definitely start to want to curl up at some point, so I'll have to see what happens.

The Week in Sewing

Here's a quick recap of what happened last week in my little sewing world:

1. Bonus pattern pieces for a heart shaped Ditty Bag were finished and can be found about half way down this blog post. 

2. Yesterday was the first day of a dress making class I'm taking at Donna and Toots. 

I never seem to get around to sewing clothes, even though I WANT to, and actually need some new ones.  Taking a class seemed like what I needed to get myself going.

I'm really excited to make a dress.  The last dress I made was in high school.  When I went off to college I left the dress behind and my mom adopted it.  Every once in a while I see her wearing it, and it's always surprising to see it again!

3. I made a faux envelope clutch out of this wild pink batik.  Read more about it here on flickr.

4. One more block done for the QAYG quilt...only 70 more to go!  Haha--I have 16 blocks sewn, but not quilted.  Time to pick up the pace!

Another Quilt As You Go Quilt

I've started working on my second QAYG quilt.  The scrap one I made is still awesome, but it is a tad small for my bed and I have a whole bed plan going on right now. 

Right after Christmas there was a night where I was awake the ENTIRE night.  It was ridiculous and so loooong, but I did get a lot of work done!  I don't generally have trouble sleeping, so I get burned out quickly if my sleeping schedule gets off.  The no sleeping was a combination of being really busy and not getting enough exercise to counteract the over-stimulation. 

So I'm working on the quilt blocks whenever I get the chance, or start getting bogged down with too many "what to work on next" type thoughts.  It is very centering to just sew the blocks and ignore everything else for a while. 

The bed plan consists of getting a new bed this spring and having a new quilt to go on top!  I need a few months to find the right bed and put aside the cash.  In the meantime, I bought latex pillows with some birthday/Christmas money.  They are SO AMAZING.  They are very rubbery feeling, but in a fantastic and super comfortable way. 

Besides the quilt, there are lots of things happening around here.  Something brand new is coming this Friday!  It is VERY practical, and to make it fun, we are going to make it beautiful too. :0]

Come back Friday to see what I'm talking about...

iPhone Pouch

I've been experimenting trying to make the perfect pouch for my phone and finally just went back to this simple style.  I made one with a box bottom and tried one with darts on the front only, but in the end the extra depth just wasn't necessary and made the sewing far more time consuming and challenging. 

This is easy, super fast to make and can be made with scraps of fabric.  I'm making another one right now with some scraps from a Japanese fabric from about 6 years ago.  It makes me miss some of the amazing fabrics I had back when I started on etsy!

The pouch has a light fleece padding.  My phone is already in a rubbery protective thing, so it doesn't need much additional protection, and the fleece just helps the pouch keep its shape.