Oilcloth Garden Caddy Keep gardening gear close at hand and ready to use with a cute (and durable) oilcloth garden caddy. Waterproof oilcloth keeps this caddy easy-to-clean, while handy pockets hold seed packets, gardening gloves, tools, and more. Project Needs & Notes: - 1/2 yard solid-colored oilcloth (or vinyl) - 1/3 yard print oilcloth (or vinyl) - 1 yard print outdoor canvas - Medium-weight (2.5 ounce) cutaway stabilizer - Temporary spray adhesive (like Gunold KK100) - Air-erase pen for marking - 3 yards (total) double fold extra-wide quilt binding bias tape (I used 2 colors) - 1 yard - 1" wide strapping - Masking tape and pen Designs featured in this tutorial include M3273, Flower Dragonfly. Finished Size (measured at bottom of bag): 13 1/2" wide x 13" high x 6" deep The video tutorial demonstrates how to embroider on oilcloth fabric. Instructions for assembling the garden caddy are below. Special Project Notes: Oilcloth makes a wonderful gardening apron because it's durable and cleans easily. This project was featured in the following: Garden Party Lookbook Begin by cutting a piece of the solid-colored oilcloth to 20" x 17
1/2". A template, or printout of a design, is an excellent tool to help with placement. Print a template of the design from your embroidery software. If you do not have embroidery software, Wilcom's TrueSizer is a free program to use. Center the template on the fabric with about 2" between the top of the design top of the fabric. Since oilcloth is slick and cannot be marked on, add strips of masking tape under the template, and draw on the tape to mark the center point and horizontal and vertical axis lines. Remove the template. Hoop the oilcloth with a piece of cutaway stabilizer, lining up the marks on the oilcloth with the marks on the hoop. Attach the hoop to the machine and move the hoop so the needle is right over the center point. Remove the tape and embroider the design.
After embroidering, trim the excess stabilizer away from the back. Cut one piece of the print oilcloth and one piece of the print outdoor canvas to 25" x 6". Align the pieces together, wrong sides together. Wrap quilt binding bias tape around the top long edge of the fabrics; pin in place. Sew a seam along the inner fold of the bias tape. Sew a 1/8" seam along the side and bottom edges of the fabric.
Using an air-erase pen, mark 8 1/2" in along the top edge of the bias tape starting at each top corner. Then, measure out one inch along each side of each of the marks. Pinch and fold the fabric to make pleats by bringing the outer marks in to meet the center marks as shown. Pin in place. Lay the embroidered oilcloth right side facing up. Align the pocket on top. Position the pocket with the bottom edge 3 1/2" from the bottom edge of the embroidered piece. Wrap bias tape around the bottom edge of the pocket; pin in place. Sew a seam along the inner fold of the tape. Sew a 1/8" seam along the side edges.
Sew a seam at the center marks straight down to the bottom of the pockets. The embroidered oilcloth and pockets are one side of the garden caddy. Create the other just as you did for the first one. Place the two side pieces together, right sides together. Pin in place and sew a 1/2" seam along the side and bottom edges only to create the outer shell. To square off the bottom of the outer shell, start by aligning the side seams and bottom seam together. Pin in place, and sew a seam just under the bottom edge of the bias tape at the bottom of the pockets. Then, trim the corners leaving 1/2" excess. Turn the outer shell right side out.
To prepare the inner lining, cut two pieces of the outdoor fabric to 20" x 17 1/2". Align the two fabric pieces together, right sides together. Pin in place and sew a 1/2" seam along the side and bottom edges only. Square off the bottom by aligning the side and bottom seams together, pin in place, and draw a 6" line perpendicular to the seam. Sew a seam along the line you just drew and trim the corners leaving 1/2" excess. Pin each raw end of the strapping to the center top edge of each side of the outer shell. When pinning, bring the strapping around the underside of the outer shell to keep it out of the way while sewing. Insert the outer shell inside the inner lining, aligning the side seams and top raw edges together. Pin in place and sew a 1/2" seam along the top edge leaving about 7" open in-between one of the straps and a side seam. Turn the caddy right side out and insert the inner lining inside the outer shell. Finger press the top edge seam and turn the fabric of the opening in 1/2". Top-stitch a 1/8" seam along the entire top edge of the caddy.
Fill your caddy with all your gardening must-haves so it's ready to go when you are! Hand tools, garden stakes, seed packets, bulbs, and more will fit fabulously in this oilcloth caddy.