Well the move has happened but I am buried in minutiae! Can’t find things I need, tripping over things, and nothing has a home yet. BUT I had to stop and make my first project for the Little Gifts SAL (sew along) sponsored by Underground Crafter. (Shhhh, I am a little late – sorry if you were waiting!)
I present to you the Mesh Shower/Beach Bag!
The bag is about 12″ wide x 13 1/2″ tall, is made of plastic mesh so it’s perfect for toting around toiletries for the shower or a swimsuit and sunscreen for the beach. The reversible pocket on the front looks great, and will hold a phone (unless you have a giant one!) or a room key. It makes a great gift for the dorm-dweller or traveler in your life!
Materials:
Plastic Mesh – I bought some that was prepackaged but 1/2 will do if you are purchasing yardage
2 matching precut strips
3 charm squares – I used 2 semi-solids and one that matched the strips
2 yds drawstring cord
Thread to match precuts
Black thread to sew mesh
Note: 1/2″ seam allowances are used throughout
Prep:
Cut a piece of mesh 13″ wide x 26″ tall
Cut the print charm square in half, making sure to orient the print so it matches the strips
Cut the strips so you have 4 pieces 13″ wide
Pocket:
With RSs facing and, pin one print 1/2 charm square to each solid charm square, sew with coordinating thread. Press seam allowances open.
With RSs facing pin both assembled charm squares pieces together. Sew around, leaving a 2.5″ opening at the bottom. Clip corners, turn RS out. Press, pressing seam allowances under at the opening.
Top stitch across the top edge of the pocket only.
Pin the pocket to the center front of the folded mesh, making sure to pin only through one layer. I wanted mine a little lower than center so whatever was in there wouldn’t pop out when the drawstring was pulled closed.
Topstitch around 3 sides of pocket, leaving the top edge open.
Top Binding:
With RSs together, sew each pair of strips together along top edge. Press seam allowances to one side.
Press 1/2″ in on each short side, topstitch 3/8″ in from the fold, leaving about 3/4″ unstitched at beginning and end.
Pin RS of binding fabric to WS of mesh top and bottom edge. Sew.
Change to black thread, fold mesh in half with fold at the bottom and RSs facing, sew side edges together using a zigzag stitch.
Turn Right Side Out.
Fold each binding piece to right side, turning under the bottom seam allowance, and pressing the top fold but do NOT get the iron too close to the plastic mesh!
From the RS, topstitch the binding pieces into place at the bottom fold, making sure to catch the WS of the binding piece as well.
Drawstring:
Cut 2 one yard pieces. Thread each through top casings, starting each on opposite sides. Knot.
Trim all threads and you are all finished!
Don’t forget to check out all the other terrific projects in the SAL and enter for some fabulous (really! 🙂 prizes!
How the Little Gifts Sew Along Works
Every other Tuesday from January 1 through December 3, 2019, we’ll share a free sewing project for a little gift! These gifts are small enough to be “stocking stuffers” if you’d like to get a head start on holiday crafting, or you can gift them for birthdays and other events throughout the year. Each little gift will be made from 1-4 fat quarters of cotton fabric (or a yard or less of fabric, if you don’t have precut fabric on hand).
And, because sew alongs are more fun with prizes, we’ve reached out to some of our favorite companies to get some amazing end-of-SAL prizes. You can find out more about the prizes and enter for your chance to win here on Underground Crafter!
How To Join the Little Gifts SAL
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You can join in by sewing the projects as you have time.
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Share your progress and post pictures of your finished projects. Tag your projects and posts #sewlittlegifts and #stockingstuffersal on all social media.
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If you’d like to chat with other sewists, join the Underground Crafters Facebook group.
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By the end of the SAL, you’ll have up to 25 handmade gifts.
Visit Underground Crafter to learn more about the prizes, enter the end-of-SAL giveaway, and to get links to each Little Gifts Sew Along project as it is released.
I’m not using precut materials. Is there anyway I can get the dimensions of the strips and charm squares?
Yes! The strips are 2 1/2” wide (x 13” after I cut them) and the charm squares are 5 1/4” square (and I cut one in half in the prep)
Thank you so much.