Long Arm Quilting

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Welcome Blog Hop folks!



Hey there blog hoppers! So great to meet you if this is your first time here. I made a little pouch for quilt market last year and Quilters Newsletter so kindly decided to put it in their magazine. Pretty exciting that the magazine was called Best Modern Quilts. That can give a girl a big head I tell you. This evening the fine people over at Quilters Newsletter will choose a  winner from the comments section below…so go make a comment. Make sure there is an email for them to contact you if you are a shadow.


Here is the little bag I made. It is a super quick project. I made it in no time with my regular sewing machine. In the past I have made bunches (Christmas presents and end of the year teacher gifts) by quilting a large piece with my long arm and cutting it into smaller pieces to making into individual bags.

So for this blog hop I wanted to show you how I put my zippers in. I love this technique. The size of the zipper determines the size of the bag.


put your zipper right sides together with the quilted body of the bag. I guess my sewing machine could use a cleaning, huh?


Clip off most of the seam allowance. Don't cut the zipper. It will make you sad. You will probably have to start over.


Top stitch the zipper. This makes it pretty, strong and binds off the inside of the bag so batting and thread won't get stuck in the zipper teeth.


Sew down the other side of the zipper and clip off most of the seam allowance on this side too.


I hand stitch this side because I don't like fighting the bag through the sewing machine. It is much faster for me to hand stitch it and it looks fancy.


And Viola! Stitch up the sides of you bag, box off the corners and your little pouch is ready to fill with treasures.

Thanks again for coming to my blog! I hope to see you again in the future. I am a long arm quilter…so if you need one, shoot me and email and we can chat.

Cheers!
Tia Curtis

51 comments:

  1. Love your pouch, you made the zipper install look easy. I need to try this.

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  2. Thanks for the zipper tip. Little pouches are so much fun!

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  3. Good way to use orphan quilts and practice blocks. Thanks

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  4. I love little bags and big bags! There is never enough bags!

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  5. Cute pouchy bag and the zipper instructions are a bonus. Thank you!

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  6. My computer hiccupped when I tried to post my comment, so in case the comment is not lost in cyberspace, I'll repeat it:
    Cute bag!

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  7. Adorable bag. Alisa

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  8. Cute pouch! I think I'll pull out my "vintage" metal zippers and start making pouches!

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  9. Hi! I have been enjoying your blog today - thanks for the above zipper tutorial to boot! I love your sense of humour, too. :) Thanks for the inspiration. I am a "shadow" and will stay that way. I don't feel comfortable posting my email address on a blog. Thanks! Jessica T

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  10. Tia, how cool is that?!!! I haven't been to this blog before, I don't think... this must be new(er?).

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  11. Thanks for sharing your blog. I just bought a zipper to use in a project for the first time. Thank you for sharing your zipper method. I believe I will try it.

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  12. Love this! Tia, you are, as always, a genius!!
    I'm going to find my stash of zippers right now!

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  13. Nice little bag. And darling children!

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  14. Looks perfect! Zippers give me conniptions.

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  15. Love your work!!

    Geni Pickens
    gpickens@wildblue.net

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  16. Such a pretty little bag. I love the decorative stitching/quilting.

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  17. Great to see you blogging again! Love the pouch and congrats on its publicity in Best Modern Quilts!

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  18. Cool bag . It would be a great bag to hold my scissors or my pencils and markers. Thanks for the chance to win.
    Marlo
    mamr51@aol.com

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  19. LOL at your cleaning comment! Nice post!

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  20. Cute bag. I love your quilting on the red and white quilt.

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  21. So glad Quiltmaker sent me in your direction! I love this little bag. I love making bags and often give them for gifts. All my daughters have Mom-made bags for shopping and all around use. Can never have too many. I think a longer, slimmer version of this would be great for bringing home long baguettes from the gorcer!

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  22. Very sweet bag! You make it look very easy to put zippers in, something I'm terrified of!

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  23. Just want you to know you deserve to 'have a big head' over your bag! It's adorable! LOVE LOVE LOVE it! :)

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  24. Cute Bag!! Thanks for the clear tutorial!!

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  25. Love the bright colors and the easy to follow clean insertion of the zipper. Thanks.

    Kathy (happytogether03@yahoo.com)

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  26. It's so much fun to "blog hop" I learn so much..your bag is really cool and thanks for the zipper tut. I have never done a zipper they frighten me! ;-(
    .

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  27. Very fun idea for a quick project. You can use up scraps.

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  28. I love your bag, such happy bright colours and so practical with a zip. Thank you for sharing

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  29. just experimenting with zippers Tia, thanks for the tute!

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  30. I can see why you were picked for the tour. The White and red quilt is simply stunning. Cute bag too, the curvy quilting lines is what caught my attention (cute cute cute) Would also like to thank for and Quilter's Newsletter for doing the giveaway, always fun and never hurts to hope you win. dngrog@aol.com

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  31. Really cute pouch and great tutorial! Thanks
    (You need a way to allow us to provide hidden email addresses if we don't have "profiles" so we can enter the drawing!! I will not post my email so it can be seen by everyone on a public blog.)

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  32. I love the banner picture on your blog! Your quilting on the red and white quilt is gorgeous! And the pouch is cute. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  33. Super cute pouch. I love the decorative stitching to keep the second side of the zipper in place. I enjoued your blog and your work.

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  34. Great looking pouch! I put my zippers in my bags almost the same way. So simple and easy :) Love your blog and the great picture of quilts!

    Shelley Peterson
    (shefox@gmail.com)

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  35. Thanks for the hint. Purses and bags are fun, and zippers are so easy.

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  36. What a cute zippered pouch! I've been making some for gifts, so love all the inspiration from yours! And it's fantastic that it got published! yoyopattycakes@hotmail.com

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  37. You made putting a zipper in look like a simple task. Thank you! You bag is a fun one and with 3 girls, there can never be too many bags.

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  38. Lovely pouch and thanks for the great pictures showing how you sewed it together.

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  39. Such creativity in your bag - I love it! Thank you for sharing, you can never have too many bags!!

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  40. Thank you for sharing. I love all bags

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  41. Thanks for showing us how to put in a zipper!!!

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  42. I need a new pouch....and you made that zipper look pretty easy! Love the scrappiness of your pouch.... guess I'll have to give this a whirl! Thanks for sharing!

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  43. Very cute and easy to sew too! Thanks so much for the giveaway.
    wlinda_ca@yahoo.com

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  44. Thanks for the tutorial. I can't wait to see the book.

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  45. Love this project. Thanks for the tutorial

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  46. I never though of hand sewing the other side. No wonder I struggle to get them in the machine. thanks for the tips

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  47. Thank you for this tutorial - I am definitely making some. I use zippered pouches in my purse, and they really come in handy!

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  49. THANKS FOR A GREAT TUTORIAL!

    msstitcher1948@yahoo.com

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Thanks for commenting! I read each one. I will either respond via email or here in the comments. xo - Tia