Tutorial - Fabric Tray, Great for Travel

We like to do a lot of traveling. We do two-week road trips and extra-long weekends. Some of our travels are to visit family while some, like road trips, we stay in hotels. I wanted a little tray that I could put on the dresser in a hotel or guest room that would hold my small items, so they don't get lost. When I travel alone to visit my daughter, I like to take nothing more than a backpack that fits under my airplane seat. I needed a tray that would take up no extra room. This is perfect because it packs flat. It would also be a great gift idea. Even dad would like it if you used fabrics with his favorite sports team or hobby!

Let's get started on this super speedy project!

You'll need the following: 

10 1/2 inch square of outer fabric

10 1/2 inch square of inner fabric

10 1/2 inch square of med weight fusible interfacing

10 1/2 inch square of fusible fleece interfacing 

*In place of the fusible fleece interfacing, you can use 100% cotton batting and either spray it to one of the fabric pieces with basting spray, or machine baste in place along the edges. 

4 sets of KamSnaps (or you can use sew-in snaps or velcro)

Thread and general sewing supplies

Instructions:

Fuse the fusible fleece interfacing to the back of one of the fabric pieces, and the medium weight fusible interfacing to the back of the other fabric piece. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions for the interfacings you will be using.

On the backside of the fabric with the medium weight interfacing, draw a line 1/4 inch away from the edge on each side. Then take something rounded (I used a large thread spool) to round the corners. Since this is on the interfacing it will not show so you can use a pen or pencil for marking if you want. The red circles show where I rounded the corners.

Place fabric with right sides together and pin to secure. Stitch all the way around your edges, rounding the corners. Stitch on the lines and the curved corners you just drew. Leave a 2-inch opening in the center of one of the edges for turning. Trim at corners to relieve bulk. Turn right side out, gently pushing out the corners, and iron. Fold the excess fabric (at the opening) toward the inside even with the edges and iron. This opening will be closed with the next stitching.

Decide which side you want to be your inside. I'm choosing the travel themed fabric for mine. With this side facing up, stitch all the way around 1/8 away from the edges. This will also seal that opening closed that you used for turning right side out.

Take a ruler and measure 1 3/4 inches away from each edge. Mark with a disappearing marker or a chalk pencil like I am using since the markings can be brushed away. Stitch on that line, all the way from one edge to the other. Do this on each side.

TIP: I like to take a piece of painter’s tape and place it on the bed of my machine and keep the edge of the fabric even with the tape. Perfect stitching every time!

Take a ruler and draw a line from each intersection (where the seams cross each other) to the end of the rounded corner. This will be a 45-degree angle. Use your disappearing marker or chalk for this. Stitch on each of these lines.

You'll need four sets of snaps or some velcro for the final part. Apply them at each corner. The connecting side of the snaps or velcro should be against the inside of the basket. KamSnaps makes this so easy. You'll want your snaps close to the side seams and the outer edges. You'll use one set of snaps at each corner.

That's it! Snap the corners together and you have a little tray. Taking it traveling, just unsnap and it will stow flat in your travel bag.

 

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There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week. 

April Mug Rug of the Month Free Pattern

 

You can find April design right HERE.

Be sure to download the pdf document to your computer for printing. It's been my experience that the internet pdf viewers are horrible for printing. They also tend to leave out images such as pattern pieces.

You can find all the monthly designs HERE.

Don't miss the next Mug Rug of the Month pattern! 

Sign up for Sher's Creative News

There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week. 

March Mug Rug of the Month Free Pattern

You can find March design right HERE.

Be sure to download the pdf document to your computer for printing. It's been my experience that the internet pdf viewers are horrible for printing. They also tend to leave out images such as pattern pieces.

You can find all the monthly designs HERE.

Don't miss the next Mug Rug of the Month pattern! 

Sign up for Sher's Creative News

There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week. 

NEW Forever Free Design!

A new forever free embroidery design is on the website. This mini zipper bag embroidery file is four inch hoop friendly too. You can find it HERE.

Don't miss any new freebies or articles! 

Sign up for Sher's Creative News

There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week. 

February - Mug Rug of the Month Free Pattern

Your free mug rug of the month pattern for February is here!

CLICK HERE for the February pattern.

Be sure to download the pdf document to your computer for printing. It's been my experience that the internet pdf viewers are horrible for printing. They also tend to leave out images such as pattern pieces.

You can find all the monthly designs HERE.

Don't miss the next Mug Rug of the Month pattern! 

Sign up for Sher's Creative News

There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week. 

Applique Tips for the Regular Sewing Machine

There are two ways to think about machine applique. There is the applique that you do on an embroidery machine where the machine does all the stitching, and there is applique that you do on a regular sewing machine where you do the stitching. You can also choose different types of stitching around your appliques.

Since I'm hosting the monthly mug rug freebie here on the blog, I thought it would be a great time to reintroduce my two-part series of my favorite applique tips. These tips are for the applique that you do with the regular sewing machine. You can also do them by hand if you choose. Sometimes I prefer to applique by hand because I can kick back and watch a show or two while I stitch.

If you plan on doing a lot these mug rugs or applique in general, I can not stress enough what a difference your machine foot makes! I highly recommend using an "open toe foot" for your sewing machine (not embroidery machine). It gives you a clear view of every stitch you are making. I just checked on Amazon and you can still get them for under $10. So worth the price!

Below are the two articles that I wrote with favorite and most helpful tips for the applique process. 

Applique Tips - Part 1

Applique Tips - Part 2

If you want to join in on the fun by making the free mug rug of the month, you can click HERE.

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Forever Free - A New Area on My Website!

Did you kow that I just added a new page to the website? I now have a page called "Forever Freebies." That is where you'll find free embroidery designs, free patterns, and I even have some Samsung templates (printables) up there that I created for my own use but am sharing with you. This is not to take the place of the "Weekend Freebies," but to add to it. Stop by and see if you see any projects you'd like to start! Links below:

Forever Freebies

Weekend Freebies

Sign up for Sher's Creative News

There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week. 

Cozy Up My Space

I spend a lot of time in my studio and I decided to cozy it up a little. I do keep it neat unless I'm in the middle of projects. Some of you have already seen my studio and if you haven't I have a tour on the blog that you can view HERE.

Although my job consists of patterns, embroidery designs, and constant testing of them, I also spend a lot of time at my desk doing the graphic work for the designs, keeping my books, creating ads, and other desk work.

One of the things I have in the studio is LED overhead lighting. And when the lights are on, they are bright, I might even say super bright. In fact, the electrician that came by to install them asked me if I was sure I wanted them in a bedroom. I told him that I work in here so it's perfect. When I'm just doing desk work, it is still so bright so I now have a lamp stand that is near my desk so I have perfect lighting for working on the computer or sketching up some designs. 

Now that the lighting at my desk is softer, I decided to add some coziness. I spend so much time here that I figured why not. I found these flameless candles on Amazon that look so real. They came in a set of three but I split them up so I could have one or two in my studio. And how do you like the little owls? Another Amazon find that looks so cute on my window cell. In the right of the image you'll see a cute little wooden sign that my husband made for me on his scroll saw and I just love it!

I just thought I'd share my little space for working on all the designs I've been creating!

Do you like free embroidery designs and tutorials?

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January - Mug Rug of the Month Free Pattern!

Several years ago I did a collaboration on another website for a mug rug of the month design. The project was a huge success with only one problem. All the files were stored at Craftsy and they closed down and removed all the designer's shops. It's been a while and I'm still getting contacted by people looking for the pattern so I decided to bring it back. This time though I'm sharing the pattern from my google drive that you can download right here on the blog. It will be published the first week of the month.

CLICK HERE for the January pattern.

Be sure to download the pdf document to your computer for printing. It's been my experience that the internet pdf viewers are horrible for printing. They also tend to leave out images such as pattern pieces.

Don't miss the next Mug Rug of the Month pattern! 

Sign up for Sher's Creative News

There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week. 

How Do You Organize Your Time?

After trying so many different ways and things to organize my time and my life, I've finally figured out what works for me. If you search for tools or information for time organization, you'll find hundreds of apps, spreadsheets, digital planners, paper planners, list makers and more. It can be overwhelming! And I think I've probably tried them all at one point or another in the past several years.

When looking for a time management or notes tool, at least for me, it had to fit the following criteria:

Must be fast

Must be easy

Must sync seamlessly between my tablet, computer, and phone

Must be capable of handling a lot of information but yet be simple

I'm going to share with you what I have finally found that works for me. Believe me when I say that I have tried almost everything out there. My system may not work for you, but if you are still on the lookout for a great way to organize your time, give these a try. And the best part.....they are FREE!

First, Google Calendar with Keep Notes. If you have an Android device, you probably already have the Google calendar and Keep Notes. If not, you can download it from your apps store. These work well together in fact, you can open your Google Keep Notes right there in your calendar app while on the computer. There are so many ways to keep your calendar organized with events and tasks. You can also share your calendar with your work group or family, or you can just share a part of it. Seriously, it does so much! I like to keep my Keep Notes up with my calendar because that is where I keep my weekly checklist, grocery list, and a couple other items that I use on a daily basis. It's all right there and ready for me when I need them. And of course, I can access them from all my devices. I also have my Google Assistant (awesome app) set up so that when I ask it to take a note, it stores it in my Google Keep so I will see it right away when I get back to my tablet or computer. I also like that I can view my calendar in different modes such as monthly, weekly, daily, and agenda. On my phone and tablet, I like to use agenda (or schedule), and on my computer I like to look at the whole month.

For other notes such as long lists, project planning, recipes, etc, I use Samsung Notes. It's only available for Samsung tablets, computers, and phones but it's a powerful little app. I love that I can import PDF documents and annotate. This is especially handy when I'm proofreading my patterns. It allows you to organize in folders and even folders in folders. I call it my second brain. You can't use it in your computer, but if you download the "Link Phone to Windows" app, you can use it by connecting through your phone with Windows 10 or 11.

Now you see how I organize my life; how do you organize yours?

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