I'm feeling a bit sharper today, though the cough lingers. I worked on a 2nd padfolio but I'm not ready to reveal it yet. But I can show you what I did with the first one. Above, you see a piece of fabric I leaf printed back in November 2006 (see this post). In April of last year, I fused it to Decor Bond and added some stitching (see this post). I thought I might make an envelop purse out of it, but two things hung me up: 1. What to use for lining (as usual, I didn't seem to have anything proper in the stash) and 2. I don't really think a purse without a gusset is particularly useful. And so it sat while I mulled how I might finish it out as a purse I'd be proud to give as a gift. Yeah, I wasn't getting very far on that. As I contemplated what to use for my trial padfolio, it occurred to me that this fabric might be perfect, and I was sure there was enough for at least two out of it. Time to quit seeing that fabric as precious and cut into it! If you'd like to make your own padfolio, you can download the pattern here.
In my version, I diverged from the pattern instructions a bit. Because the fabric was already backed with a heavy interfacing and stitched, I skipped adding the Timtex stiffener between the outside and lining. I used Wonder Under to fuse the lining and outside together which added a little stiffness, but not as much had I used the Timtex. The pockets are long rectangles folded in half and I found the top piece slid forward a lot as I made the first pass of straight stitching to hold it in place, even though it was pinned. I'd hate to put a walking foot on for just that little bit of stitching, and I thought the pocket itself could use some reinforcing, so I have an idea for the next one. Wouldn't that be a great place for a photo transfer meaningful to the recipient? Velcro closures are recommended - I thought I had some circles of it, but didn't, so just cut squares and glued them in place. I'm really not crazy about Velcro closures on something like this, so again, I have ideas for the next one.
The satin stitching is done with Sulky Ultra Twist in both the top and bobbin. I don't think I've done this before, but the rayon performed just fine through the bobbin and I didn't have to stress as much about whether the tension was perfect. The vertical lines are stitched once, the outside stitched twice like with fabric postcards.
And here you have the finished product, after treating with a scotchgard -ype protectant. The angle cut on the flap stretched a bit during stitching so I ended up putting an additional square of velcro between the first two so that it would lie flat. No doubt, the Timtex would eliminate this problem. It's an elegant little thing, and the soft structure of it seems to be ok. Plus, it's getting a bit of unfinished business off my work table - oh, I like that!
In my version, I diverged from the pattern instructions a bit. Because the fabric was already backed with a heavy interfacing and stitched, I skipped adding the Timtex stiffener between the outside and lining. I used Wonder Under to fuse the lining and outside together which added a little stiffness, but not as much had I used the Timtex. The pockets are long rectangles folded in half and I found the top piece slid forward a lot as I made the first pass of straight stitching to hold it in place, even though it was pinned. I'd hate to put a walking foot on for just that little bit of stitching, and I thought the pocket itself could use some reinforcing, so I have an idea for the next one. Wouldn't that be a great place for a photo transfer meaningful to the recipient? Velcro closures are recommended - I thought I had some circles of it, but didn't, so just cut squares and glued them in place. I'm really not crazy about Velcro closures on something like this, so again, I have ideas for the next one.
The satin stitching is done with Sulky Ultra Twist in both the top and bobbin. I don't think I've done this before, but the rayon performed just fine through the bobbin and I didn't have to stress as much about whether the tension was perfect. The vertical lines are stitched once, the outside stitched twice like with fabric postcards.
And here you have the finished product, after treating with a scotchgard -ype protectant. The angle cut on the flap stretched a bit during stitching so I ended up putting an additional square of velcro between the first two so that it would lie flat. No doubt, the Timtex would eliminate this problem. It's an elegant little thing, and the soft structure of it seems to be ok. Plus, it's getting a bit of unfinished business off my work table - oh, I like that!
2 comments:
Very nice project:) Jenna Louise
Nice!
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