Happy Zombie

I bought a new travel-iron, so first my order of business was to make a cozy, protective bag for it. Pretty much the iron was an opportunity to make something cute and useful. There are 18 gazillion patterns and tutorials for box bags, but the tutorial (by Stacy Schlyer) I found most helpful is from the PBS show “Sew It All“.   The tutorial is short and to the point, and the illustrations are clear and easy to understand (huge thumbs up to the illustrator!). I read by illustration so this tutorial was perfect for me. I used my own measurements and made a jumbo, super-sized me bag. I measured around the box my iron came in and then tinkered with muslin-ish fabric to yeild a just-the-right-size bag.

I made my outer bag by serendipitously/making-it-up-as-I-went-along into a small quilt top. I then sandwiched it with batting and a muslin backing and machine quilted it. I trimmed it to 16″ x 20″ (and also cut a matching piece of fabric for the liner).

I used a 20″ zipper for the 16″ edge (that I bought at zipit - the best zipper source ever) which gave me lots of room for trimming. Probably overkill, but I always am in need of wiggle room.  Always.  After some sewing (and un-sewing and re-sewing), I finished my bag.  It’s a perfect fit for my travel iron and it’s box.  Of note, I LOVE my Hamilton Beach travel iron.  It was an impulse buy as I was totally glamored by the shiny sole-plate and the low price (under $20 USD). This iron is so good I’ve been using it at home as an everyday iron this week. My Oliso is jealous.

When I finished I thought, dang, this box is as big as a loaf of bread. Sure enough, it’s the exact size of the Costco version of an Oroweat loaf.

And of course I had to check. Curiosity may kill the cat, but I’ll be a rock-star if I’m ever invited to a sandwich pot-luck.

For everyone who’s asked, here’s the resource info for my bag:
Linen:
– Robert Kaufman Essex yarn dyed in black

Solids:
– Moda Bella Solids
– Robert Kaufman Kona Solids

Prints:
– Rashida Coleman-Hale’s Tsuru from Cloud9 Fabrics
– Anna Maria Horner’s Postage Due (Kaleidoscope) from her Dowry collection.

Fabrics purchased at:
– Modern Domestic, Portland
– Fabric Depot, Portland

Zipper:
– zipit

Iron:
– Hamilton Beach

Tutorial:
– Sew It All ep 704

My bag’s measurements:
(edited in - I made my corner cut-outs at 2″ x 2¼” (or 2″ x 2″ at bottom seam/side fold)

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Posted in Quilty n Crafty, Make Something |