Easy Sewing Projects to Make In a Day | DIY GIFT IDEAS

This video is kindly brought to you by Squarespace, the all-in-one platform to create a beautiful online presence. Hi, my name's Janelle, and welcome back to Rosary Apparel. Today, I'm back with another sewing projects video. These sewing projects are all very quick and easy to whip up literally in just one day or in a cozy craft afternoon. They would all also make really great gift ideas for the upcoming holiday season. So yeah, without further ado, let's get into it, and let me show you some quick and easy sewing project ideas. First up, let me show you how to make a flower bouquet bag. I love objects that have a super specific purpose, and as someone who loves buying a bouquet of flowers from time to time, be wanting to make a bag specifically for flower bouquets. For this project, you'll need to cut out four rectangles of fabric that measure 34 by 40 centimeters or 13 and a half by 15 and three quarter inches. With all four rectangles on top of one another, mark out the center point along one of the shorter edges. Then using this center point as a guide, mark out 10 centimeters or four inches, having five centimeters or two inches on either side of the center point. Cut the rectangles at an angle from the 10 centimeter or four inch markings to the opposite corner like this. So you should now have two pairs of this trapezoid shape. These will make up the main body of the bag. Next, you'll need to also cut a rectangle of fabric that measures 10 by 45 centimeters or four by 17 and three quarter inches, and two long thin rectangles that measure five by 110 centimeters or two and 43 and a quarter inches. So all up, you should have the following pieces. With right sides together, place the two pairs of trapezoids on top of one another and stitch them along the sides like this. Once stitched, turn one of these trapezoids right side out and then press the raw edges along the openings towards the wrong side of the fabric by about one centimeter or half an inch. Next, take the larger rectangle we cut out earlier, and if you're using a lightweight fabric like I am, I do recommend fusing some lightweight interfacing onto the wrong side of the fabric just to give it a little bit more structure, and then fold and press along the raw edges by about one centimeter or half an inch. Then fold and press the rectangle in half once more so that all of the raw edges, apart from the really short sides, are enclosed onto the inside of this rectangle. Stitch the folded edges in place like this. This is going to be the handle rectangle. Next, place the bag piece that is wrong side out inside the bag piece that is right side out, making sure to match up the folded edges and seams together like this. Then take the handle rectangle and place the shorter raw edges into the top of the bag, sandwiching them between the layers at the side seams like this. Stitch these folded edges together, making sure to stitch the handle in place at the same time. Lastly, take the two remaining rectangles and fold and press the shorter ends in by about one centimeter or half an inch, and then fold the longer edges in by the same amount. And then once that's done, fold the rectangles in half once more so that all of the raw edges are enclosed onto the inside. Then stitch the folded edges in place. Fold these thin rectangles in half and pin them onto one of the side seams of the bag, approximately 15 centimeters or six inches apart. Then stitch these rectangles in place along the side seam. And your gorgeous flower bouquet bag is complete. Simply place your flowers into the bag and the side ties can be tied up to keep them nice and secure. Next, let me show you how to make this adorable laptop sleeve. For this project, you'll need a main fabric and a contrasting fabric, as well as a padding type material, such as felt or wadding. From your main fabric, cut two rectangles that will comfortably cover your laptop like this. For a standard 13-inch MacBook, I used the following measurement. Then also use these same measurements to cut out a matching rectangle from your wadding or padding material. With wrong sides together, place the two main fabric rectangles on top of one another, placing the wadding rectangle in between. And then just quickly double check to make sure your laptop will fit inside. There should be at least two centimeters or a little less than an inch of extra fabric at the sides. Next, using a water erasable pen and a ruler, mark out diagonal lines directly onto the top fabric piece like this. Then pin the layers together using as many pins as you like to keep all of the layers in place as you stitch. Stitch along the marked out lines to quilt the layers of fabric together. Next, we need to use some 18-millimeter wide contrasting bias binding, which you can either purchase already made or you can make your own using the contrasting fabric. I have shared a full step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own bias binding, which I'll have linked below if you'd like to go and check that out. And once your bias binding is made, cut a strip that is the same size as one of the shorter rectangle edges. Next, unfold the bias binding and pin and stitch along the crease that is closest to the raw edge of the rectangle. Once stitched, fold the bias binding onto the other side of the rectangle and then again, stitch it in place. Next, you'll need to download this laptop sleeve template that I've made just for this project and place the template along the opposite rectangle edge. Trace the template directly out onto the fabric rectangle and cut it out to give the rectangle a cute little scallop shape. Next, fold the bias binding edge up by about 24 centimeters or 9 3⁄4 inches. And as you can see already, the laptop sleeve is starting to take shape. Now we're going to need some wider bias binding. This time we'll need 25-millimeter wide bias binding and start by pressing this slightly wider binding in half like this. Then fold the raw edges of the bias binding in as well so that it will become fully enclosed once it's all stitched in place. You may need to snip the corners slightly to do this and then pin, or in this case, I actually found it easier to clip the bias binding along the raw edge of the laptop sleeve. Pin it all the way around the scallop shape and along the folded edge of the laptop sleeve. Then carefully stitch this bias binding in place, being sure to catch the other side of the folded bias binding as you sew so it will be secured properly. And because this bias binding has a bit of stretch thanks to being cut on the bias of the fabric, it should stretch around the curved scalloped edge nicely. And your adorable scalloped laptop sleeve is complete. Before we get on to the next project, let's just take a quick break to talk about the sponsor of this video. This video has been very kindly sponsored by Squarespace, the all-in-one platform to create a beautiful online presence and launch your passion project. As someone who's been using Squarespace to run an online store and website for almost a decade, I cannot begin to explain just how validating it is to have a little corner of the internet that is completely my own. On my website, customers are easily able to shop my products and learn about all things rosary apparel without being distracted by ads or having an algorithm determine what they are going to see. Not only that though, Squarespace make creating a website so stress-free and easy. 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So if you'd like to create a website of your own, then I totally recommend you go and check out Squarespace using the link in the description below this video and take advantage of their free trial so you can test out just how easy it is to use for yourself. And then when you're ready to launch your beautiful new website, head to squarespace.com slash Rosary Apparel for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Thank you so much Squarespace for sponsoring this video and let's get back into the sewing projects. Now let me show you how to make this cozy cushion cover. For this project, you'll need a cushion insert, a main fabric and a contrasting fabric, a zip that is the same width as your cushion insert, as well as the word you would like to have on your cushion cover printed out backwards. I have made a free template with a reversed alphabet for you to use to make any words you like and I'll have it linked in the description below. You will also need some fusible material. The one I'm using is called Vlizofix, which I'll also have a link to in the description below. Start by cutting out three rectangles to be able to cover your cushion cover. If you're making a square cushion cover, you can simply follow this tutorial here where I share all the details, but for the cushion insert I'm using, which is 50 by 30 centimeters, I use the following measurements. Start by taking the two smaller rectangles and overlock or zigzag stitch along one of the longer raw edges. Then fold and press the overlocked edge up towards the back of the fabric by about one centimeter or half an inch. Next, take your zip and place one of the folded edges along one side of the zip and then stitch it in place. Repeat this for the other rectangle and the other side of the zip. These two rectangles plus the zip should now be the same size as the larger rectangle we cut out earlier. Optionally, you can add a ruffle to your cushion, which I will show you how to do now, but you don't have to do this if you don't want to, but I have to say, the ruffle really does add a little something to this cushion cover. To make the ruffle, start by cutting one large rectangle that measures three to four meters or three to four yards by 10 centimeters or four inches. You will probably need to stitch multiple lengths of fabric together in order to get a length this long. Once you have your three to four meter long rectangle, stitch the two ends together to create a loop and then fold and press the fabric rectangle loop in half with the wrong sides of the fabric together. Once pressed in half, sew two rows of gathering stitches along the raw edge of the fabric loop. Again, I have shared a full tutorial on how to gather fabric like this, which I'll have linked in the description of this video if you would like more detail on how to go about doing this. Once you have sewn the gathering stitches, then gather up the loop so it is the same size as the outside edge of the cushion cover rectangles. Next, take the Flysufix material and trace out the letters for whichever word you would like to put onto your cushion cover. Remember that the letters will need to be backwards or reversed. Also, make sure you're tracing onto the paper side of the Flysufix and not the glue side. Then with the glue side facing down, fuse the Flysufix to the wrong side of your fabric. Then cut the letters out along the traced out lines. Once the letters are facing right side of the fabric up, they will no longer be backwards. If you are using a more lightweight fabric like me, I do recommend adding some interfacing to the wrong side of your fabric just to give this side of the cushion a little bit of structure and stability for when we stitch the letters onto the front of the cushion. Then peel away the paper layer from the back of the letters. And as you do, the glue will now be fused onto the back like this. Then place the letters onto the front of the cushion cover rectangle, playing around with the spacing until you're happy with the position of the word. Then use your iron to fuse the letters in place. Now that the letters are fused, we need to stitch them down so that over time, they don't start peeling off the cushion. To do this, set your sewing machine to a zigzag stitch and set the stitch length to 0.5. Then carefully stitch the zigzag stitch around the outside edge of each letter. This doesn't need to be too perfect. It will still look good, but just try to make sure that the raw edges have been stitched over. So yeah, there's no chance of fraying or anything over time. Next, take the ruffle we made earlier and pin and stitch it along the outside edge of the main cushion rectangle. Then take the zipper rectangle and open the zip up to about halfway. Then place the zip rectangle onto the main rectangle with the right sides of the fabric facing and pin and stitch the layers of the cushion together like this. Once stitched, overlock or zigzag stitch the raw edges to prevent them from fraying. Next, use the open zip to turn the cushion cover right side out. And lastly, remove any exposed gathering stitches from the ruffle. And your gorgeous, appliqued, word cushion cover is complete. And lastly, let me show you how to make an easy pocket tote bag. From your fabric, cut two rectangles with the following measurements. The larger rectangle is the main bag rectangle and the smaller rectangle is for the pocket. Take the pocket rectangle and using a similar method to how I showed with the laptop sleeve, pin and stitch some 18 millimeter bias binding to the raw shorter edges. Then stitch them in place along the crease and then fold the bias binding to the other side of the rectangle and stitch it in place to enclose the raw edges. Next, place the pocket rectangle to the center of the main fabric rectangle with the right sides of the fabric of both rectangles facing upwards and then pin the pocket rectangle in place. Next, take some contrasting fabric and cut out a rectangle that measures approximately two and a half meters or two and a half yards by 12 centimeters or four and a half inches. This rectangle will be the handles of the bag. Again, you may need to sew multiple lengths of fabric together to get the two and a half meter length. Once you have the entire length of rectangle, stitch the two shorter ends together to create a loop. Then fold and press the raw edges of the loop in towards the back of the fabric by about one centimeter or half an inch and then fold the entire loop of fabric in half once more to enclose all of the raw edges onto the inside. Place this folded loop of fabric onto the bag along the pocket edges, placing it so that the raw edges of the pocket will be hidden beneath the fabric loop. Place some pins onto the fabric loop approximately three centimeters or one and a quarter inches away from the top of the pocket edge and also place two pins at the halfway point of the loop like this. Then stitch the folded edges of the loop just at the top of the handles to the position of the pin. Use the halfway pins to position the loop back onto the tote bag and then pin the handle loop in place. Stitch the handle onto the bag, skipping the handle tops that we have already stitched like this. Next, flip the bag onto itself with the right sides of the fabric together and then stitch the sides of the bag together like this. Once stitched, overlock or zigzag stitch the raw edges to prevent them from fraying. Then turn the bag right side out and overlock or zigzag stitch the top edge of the bag. Fold and press this overlocked edge in towards the inside of the bag by about one centimeter or half an inch and then stitch the folded edge in place. And your super cute and handy pocket tote bag is complete. So I hope you enjoyed this video and that you're now inspired to have a go at making some of these projects for yourself. If you do have a go at any of the projects I've shared in this video or any of my other tutorial videos, I of course would love to see what you're making. So be sure to tag me at Rosary Apparel when you share your makes over on your socials. And I have actually made quite a few of these types of videos in the past. I have a whole playlist with lots of different sewing project ideas. So I'll leave a link to the entire playlist down in the description below if you would like even more sewing project ideas to try. And yeah, thank you so much for watching this video until the very end and I'll see you in the next one.