Bionic Gear Bag s. By RipStitcher

Transcription

1 Bionic Gear Bag s Notions Fabric Dish Accessory Including variation for popular microwave bowl potholders. By RipStitcher All rights reserved Sally Thompson Valley Drive, Castle Rock, CO

2 Intro Thanks for picking up these instructions! This is a useful little gizmo, and these instructions are primarily written for the Fabric Pin Dish as it is included in the Bionic Gear Bag Notions Tote (BGB) setup. Before the BGB came into existence, I had made several of these little fabric dishes for use in my sewing area at home - at the cutting table, ironing area, and machine-side. These are great to hold little things you don t want to escape from your work area - like Clover brand Wonder Clips, sewing machine feet, bobbins. you-name-it. So when I drew up the pattern for the BGB, it was obvious it wouldn t be as useful without one of these! These little bowls can be used for lots of purposes. Consider using them on top of an entry table to throw keys into - no banging up your furniture! Or.. even on the arm of your sewing machine to hold things so your machine doesn t get nicked and scratched. Alongside my machine at home, I use two clothesline-wrapped fabric bowls nestled into each other to hold all of my tools and notions. This works well for me. I love soft feel of my tools (and my hands) not banging into a hard surface like it would be if I used some sort of canisters for my nice scissors, etc. In the picture below, see how well this little fabric dish works for Clover brand Wonder Clips alongside a magnetic pin dish: 2

3 Sounds silly, but these are nice because when you are constantly reaching into the little bowl to get clips, for instance, you re not banging up your hands. Helps keep your cuticles from looking all haggardly As far as use with the Bionic Gear Bag is concerned, there is a video on the What it Does page on to demonstrate why this little gizmo, with the snaps, is so handy to have working for you machine-side - especially when attending classes, retreats, etc. Special notes: There are videos in the Tutorial section on BionicGearBag.com for this these instructions. I have an 8 year old granddaughter that *is* striking out on her own to find videos to teach her how to do certain crafts. So the videos were done with someone like her in mind - she is comfortable with her sewing machine, but she just needs a lot of visual step-by-step help at this point. So truly, I understand that the videos are overkill for most sewers - but please be kind and keep in mind that they are meant for beginners and kids just starting out. These written instructions are free.. Lol. So keep in mind you get what you pay for. :) If the written instructions are not enough, the videos will clarify all of everything in here. Happy sewing! Thanks again, Sally Aka: RipStitcher 3

4 Materials Needed: From Cotton: Two 6 Squares From Cotton Batting: One 6 Square. Interfacing: Two 1 ½ squares optional - only needed to help stabilize the magnetic snaps Notions: Thread Two magnetic purse style snaps - optional - if being used for the Bionic Gear Bag Equipment: Rotary Cutter, Mat Sewing Machine Universal or Microtex Needle - size 75/11 or 80/12 Pins Measurements Given are for the Notions Fabric Dish to fit properly in the Bionic Gear Bag Assembly: Note: If you re using two different colored fabrics, and if it matters, determine what fabric you want to be on the inside - and which one on the outside of your fabric dish. The outside will be the piece that will have snaps attached if you re using your finished fabric dish inside your Bionic Gear Bag. The inside will be the one you attach to the batting. 1. Stabilize the batting Place wrong side of inside piece to the batting, Using a 3mm long stitch, make an X from corner to corner 2. Darts - done for both pieces. 4

5 Use 2mm stitch length. Take one of the pieces, fold the piece in half - right sides together. Using a pin as a marker, mark the spot on the raw edge ¾ away from the fold. This is the width of the dart. On the fold, using another pin, mark the spot that is 1 ½ from the raw edge. This pin marks the point of the dart, and this is the length of the dart. Sew dart from points marked with pins. Reinforce with a few reverse stitches at both ends of the stitching line. Make one dart on each straight edge of each square. (Total of 8) 3. Attach Magnets (if using this for the Bionic Gear Bag) In two consecutive corners of the outside piece, mark a dot that is 1 ½ from the raw edge on each side that makes the corner. This is the placement mark for the center of the magnetic snap Use small pieces of interfacing to help stabilize and strengthen the fabric for the snap. Follow directions to install sides of snaps. Personally, I use the heavier side of the snap on the bag, and the lighter one on the fabric pin dish. 4. Attach inside to outside Right sides together, make a ¼ seam around the outside edge, leaving a space to turn the work. Tip: Make sure you stitch around the corners - don t leave a corner as part of the opening to turn. 5. Clip corners. 6. Turn, make nice points on the corners, Press 7. Topstitch Use 3mm stitch length, about ⅛ from edge. 5

6 DONE! Thanks again for downloading these instructions The next few pages are an added goodie for you to be able to use this process to make the Microwave Bowl Potholders Microwave Bowl Potholder The fabric notions dish is just a miniaturized microwave bowl potholder. You just need to tweak the measurements of the square to make these in any size. Use in microwave: Put your bowl in this *before* putting it in the microwave. After heating your food, you re able to grab the corners of this bowl holder and remove the bowl safely without having to touch hot surfaces! This is a *great*, inexpensive project for a beginner. The process used here is identical to how microwave bowl potholders are created - those are just created bigger! See the section for how to adapt it to a bowl. These make super gifts- people love to receive such a useful item! I ve got a list started for Christmas this year. I m going to have co-conspirators (hubbies, kids) steal a bowl from the recipient so I know what kind of dishes and what size and color to make them. Imagine getting a wrapped gift (that includes one of your own stolen bowls back) in one of these in a color that works for your dishes. Should be fun. 6

7 And if you have a young sewer in your midst, this is a great project for them to make as gifts and feel the pride of giving away something they made themselves. Makes colorful accents to your dinnerware when entertaining! A cereal bowl suddenly becomes serving ware. :) If you re going to make these for use with bowls, fat quarters are a great way to get a fun selection of fabrics to choose from. Most typical cereal size bowls use 10 squares or less. Before you buy fabric & thread.. If you re going to replicate this process to make microwave bowl potholders, be sure to use only 100% cotton materials - cotton thread, cotton batting, cotton fabric. The use of synthetic blends may cause you to run the risk of the material melting or even igniting when in the microwave! Just start by measuring your bowl. Use this measurement to cut your squares. A 10 bowl? Cut a 10 square. Easy, eh? Personally, I think if the bowl has vertical sides and is relatively tall, I subtract ½. Before sewing the darts, just make a good guess as to how wide and long the darts should be. Pin into place and audition the bowl in it s new little jacket to see if it fits. There is more instructional information for this one on BionicGearBag.com. 7