I should probably lie and tell you that this is my first ever sewing project. You will tell me I did a great job looks really nice. But this is not my first project. And after hearing that, you might be surprised to hear me say that this is an improvement.

This project was still a first in a lot of ways. It is the first time I used an actual pattern. If you to make the dice bag, you should follow that link. It’s a great tutorial and the instructions are very easy to follow. And because I used someone else’s pattern, I won’t be discussing the step-by-step process of making this bag. What I want to write about today are the ways I put a bit more care and foresight into my work and saw massive improvements.

To start, I planned way more than I usually do. I thought about how I wanted to sew each layer together, and where I wanted stitches just show on the outside. Before my embroidery needle had even pierced the fabric for the first time, I wrote a step-by-step guide to sewing these pieces together. I also planned out which threads I would use for the top thread and bobbin at each step and wound my bobbins accordingly.

In another shocking break from tradition, this time I practiced the stitches that I was going to use on the sewing machine, I adjusted my tension, stitch length, and needle placement and practiced sewing along a curve all on scrap fabric before I even put any of my pieces on the machine. I measured constantly, always pinning my circle center to center before opened any of the edges. I thought long and hard about the seam allowance. Normally I just pick up line and stick with it with varying degrees of success. I measured based on my embroidery, not wanting to stitch over it if possible. After sewing, I ironed my final pieces topstitched the seams.

I also changed my design at one point. At first I thought maybe I would sew the innermost circle all the way through the outer fabric. But when I did\, I was not able to follow the circle that had been already been sewn to the lining fabric very well and the result was extremely messy. I use my seam ripper to pick a part every single tiny stitch I could slip it under. In the end, I did not get them all out, but I still think it looks better. I did decide to zigzag stitch the pockets to the outer fabric so that the lining would not be completely loose inside the outer fabric of the bag. The zigzag stitches were larger and more visible than I would have preferred them to be, but still would rather have them there than not.

I made my own bias tape for the drawstring, which I must say turned out very well. It was my first time using a bias tape maker and honestly my first time actually sewing in a straight line. The holes for the drawstring were a little bit difficult. I still might go back and redo them at some point. I did not quite get the hang of sewing buttonholes with the machine and at this point I was too lazy to go back and look it up. So I just cut some slits in the denim and used some very messy handsewn buttonhole stitches to try to secure them. Those are probably the messiest part of this project and I will pay for it eventually by having to hand sew new buttonholes when these ones be going to begin to fray too much.

I am extremely pleased with the results. I’ve been working on this project for just about three months. And not counting embroidery it took me 6.5 hours (that includes cutting, planning, and sewing). All told, the only cost to me personally was the embroidery thread (about $2.00) and the bias tape maker (about $6.00). I originally bought that for another project, but this is the first time I used it. I had the old jeans and the old sheets, the sewing machine, and the sewing thread but, for those of you who might have to purchase any of these materials yourself I have listed out how much I paid for each of the items required to make the dice bag. If you don’t have fabric scraps handy, I recommend purchasing quilting quarters. They’re cheap, easy to work with, and come in a lot of fun colors and prints.

I would do something like this again in a heartbeat. It was so much fun and I’m so proud of how it turned out. I haven’t even played DND in a few weeks, but sometimes I just take the bag out to hold it and look at it because it makes me so happy.

-Erica

Embroidery is wonderful in that a simple repertoire of stitches can produce endless designs but they can also make it make selecting a new design overwhelming. With an infinite number of wonderful beautiful patterns available at your fingertips, how are you supposed to choose just one for your next project? Some of you may be organized enough to have a queue of artists whose patterns you want to produce for yourself. I am not that disciplined. With every new project comes the terrible task of winnowing down the possibilities until I select my new design. I have learned to make this process easier on myself by looking for ways to make each new embroidery project very personal to me. Here are three embroidery motifs that are extremely easy to personalize:

1. Stars: This is first because it is the subject of my current project. Also space and stars are just awesome and great for embroidering on dark fabric. For this particular project I wanted a star map, but not just any star map. I found a website that shows the night sky at any time and place you enter. I input a significant date time and place in my life, printed it out and transferred it onto my fabric. You also search for a favorite constellation or astrological arrangement of planets.
2. Flowers: Flowers are great on their own, or with the myriad symbolic meanings attached to them. You can do some research into Victorian flower language to send secret messages with your designs. You can use flowers associated with your birth month or the place where you are from or currently living. Or, you can simply choose flowers that are special to you. Choose your flowers that grow at your favorite time of year or flowers that grow in your favorite place. One other benefit of choosing flowers is that it is easy to find patterns of nearly every type of flower in nearly every style from highly stylized to extremely realistic.
3. Quotations: Embroidering quotations is a way of keeping those words that speak to you so deeply, but that you still do not want tattooed on your body, close by. There is still a lot of poking involved, but when you decide that maybe that the words that spoke to you so deeply five or 10 years ago do not really hold any bearing on who you are now, you can simply take them off the wall. No need to explain how much they meant to you at the time for the rest of your life. Embroidering text is also a great way to experiment with new stitches and fonts. For those looking to create and sell patterns, the public domain is full of wonderful quotations to use.

-Erica