Cute Little Zip Case- hand sewing project

 

This little zipper case may seem a little complicated, but it's really, really not. Best part of it is that it's made from scraps and recycled materials, and it's good hand sewing practice. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos while making it because I made it a few months ago after getting proofs of some of my Spoonflower fabrics. I didn't really plan to post the project, but TG asked "Why not? It's cute!" This case is inspired by Japanese macaron purses, but instead of using a domed plastic shape for the sides, it uses milk jug plastic with felt to soften the top.

So you will need:

• fabric- 4 pieces, they can be different patterns, but at least 6x6 inches if you are using a 7 inch zipper. 
• zipper- this can be recycled if you pick out the stitches from the tape carefully and the tape is intact
• clean empty plastic milk jug- I love milk jug plastic
• ribbon- a 1/4- 3/8th inch satin ribbon is a good choice, just a few inches
• needle
• thread to match the zipper
• a 6 inch piece of craft felt (if you are using a 7 inch zipper)
• glue- tacky glue works well.
• scissors- one pair for plastic, one pair to cut fabric. Please don't use your fabric scissors on plastic.

To start, overlap the ends of the closed zipper, and stitch them together. Stitch across the top bar of the zipper where it separates to close it securely at the top. Knot off thread on the right side of the zipper. It's going to get covered with ribbon so the knot doesn't show.

Make a small loop with part of the ribbon and sew it on so it goes the same direction as the zipper pull.

Now take another piece of ribbon and wrap the overlap with and sew it into place keeping the zipper flat. Don't let it gather or bunch up!

See how it's sewn? Also the open photo will hopefully help make the following instructions clearer.

So now that you've got your zipper loop, cut out 2 pieces of plastic in a circle that's about 1/2 inch smaller than the zipper loop. Which would be about a 1/4 inch all the way around.

Set the plastic pieces aside for a minute. Now it's time to gather up the zipper. Close to the edge, make basting stitches on one side and leave ends to pull. Repeat on the other side. Then pull to gather.

Now you'll make the inside. For that, cut 2 circles of fabric that are twice as big as the plastic. Stitch a running basting stitch all the way around, put the plastic in the middle on the wrong side of the fabric. Pull stitches tight around the plastic and knot off.

So now the insides are ready to be stitched to the inside of the case. Since the whole thing is going to be covered, you do want your stitches to be strong, but don't worry about how the knots look. Open the zipper, which should have a clamshell look with the gathering. Set one fabric covered plastic piece inside one side of the "clam shell" with the gathered sides together. Stitch it into place. Repeat on the other side.

Now it's time to make the top. For this side, you want it just the same size as the zipper loop. Cut 2 circles from the milk jug plastic the same size as the zipper loop, then 2 pieces of felt that are 1/4 inch bigger all the way around. Glue the felt to the plastic pieces. 

Cut 2 pieces of fabric in circles twice the diameter of the plastic circle. Do a basting stitch all the way around, then set the plastic circles on the wrong side of the fabric with the felt sandwiched between the fabric and plastic. Pull to gather the stitches. Knot securely.

Now all you have to do is stitch the outsides to the rest of the case, and it's done! 

These are so easy to make, and are super cute. Because the inside is very flat, it won't hold a lot of change, but it will hold a couple small treasures or keepsakes. 

Book Review- Sweet Macarons

Sweet Macarons- Delectable French Confections for Every Day by Mercotte starts with the author explaining her goal in the book, which is to demystify the making of these wonderful treats.

The author does a wonderful job. If you've never made macarons before, or have no experience with piping, meringues or the basic fillings, she walks you through the steps in a conversational and reassuring way. Starting by explaining the ingredients and giving you tips and tricks for making the cookies including handy things like the best way to fill the pastry bag and how to space them on a cookie sheet.

Then she gets into more detail. Rather than having you go straight into working with meringue whipped egg whites and almond meal, she walks you through 3 cookies that help you learn how to pipe correctly, how to bake meringues and then finally, working with almond meal. After that, she explains how to make the batter for macarons. She gives 2 methods, the more involved Italian meringue recipe, or the simpler, easier French recipe for meringues, and how to turn that into macaron batter.

The next part focus on fillings, and the basic filling recipes given can be flavored many ways. Her basic filling recipes include buttercream, a couple thick creamy fillings, some ganache fillings, jam and praline filling.  Using just this section of the cookbook, and varying flavors and colors on the fillings, you could make a lot of types of macarons.

Then the recipes, which are fancy enough to impress anyone. Starting with salted butter caramel, then getting into lots of other flavors. I'm not a fan of licorice flavor, but even skipping the anise/fennel and the licorice flavored cookies, there are still a lot of great options. Some are fruity, some are spicy, some have tea or floral flavors. These are recipes that can be paired easily to echo the flavors of tea, coffee or wine for entertaining. The creme brulee ones are amazing.

If you like traditional cookbook formats, this one may not be your cup of tea. The tone is conversational, and the recipes aren't laid out traditionally. Instead of line by line ingredient lists, the ingredients are listed in a single paragraph separated by commas. The instructions are very well written with good detail. The recipes are also followed with tips for modifying that recipe to suit your own tastes. There are also ideas for things to do with failed macarons and tips on fillings for really quick macarons for when you have cookies in the freezer and just want a fast fix.

My 17 year old daughter is very excited by macarons, and the instructions are perfect for the way she learns. So I'm just thrilled with the layout and the detail. The only thing that would make this book better for my daughter's and my macaron adventures is a spiral binding so it would lay flat. The photographs are gorgeous, the recipes are good, and the step by step breakdown of the process of making macarons is well written.

Published by The Taunton Press.
I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, my reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.