Wednesday Sewing - Embroidery Supplies Bundle

I've been traveling a lot lately and seem to be working on more embroidery than crochet.  I usually travel with crochet work, so I have nice bags to keep my works in progress and tools in.  

I'm embarrassed to admit that this is how my embroidery travel bag looks!  Yep - a Ziploc.  And I don't have any surface to work on, so the threads end up piled in a lump or strung all over me.  Hmmm .... not very classy looking.  I looked at a few embroidery organizers that are in the form of books, however that didn't solve the problem of no working surface.  A bundle that could be rolled up seemed likely to work, so I came up with this.

Materials:
*one piece of fabric (mine is 22 x 9 inches) - this shows on the outside
*one piece of felt (same measurement as your outside fabric) - this is your inside lining
*one piece of felt (6.5 x 4.5 inches) - this makes a pocket to keep scissors, invisible pens, etc. in
*1 yard ribbon

My outside fabric is a piece of linen I used to make a dyed bundle with leaves and rusty pieces of hardware.  I've only done this once - after I try out a few more I'll post a tutorial on the technique.

1.  Sew pocket felt to lining felt - be sure to leave the top open.  Put this near one end, about 2 inches in from the edge.

2. Press under 1/2 inch around all edges of your outside fabric.  Lay on top of the lining felt (make sure the pocket is not on the inside) and pin in place.

3.  Fold the ribbon in half and insert between the outside fabric and the lining felt, about 1/2 way down one end.  I did this on the end with my pocket, but if I did it again I think I'd try doing it on the other end.  When my bundle is rolled up, the scissors poke out a little.  Sew around the outside about 1/4 inch in from the edge.

Here's my finished bundle with a work in progress, embroidery threads, needles, scissors, and an invisible pen.

To roll the bundle up, first fold up to the pocket ...

... finish rolling ...

... and tie.  I tied a knot in each end of my ribbon to keep it from fraying.

When I travel, I like to take pictures of unusual places I find fiber art - - did you know Minnie Mouse knits?!  Here's her workbasket at her house in Disneyland.  Little c is trying to be as "helpful" with Minnie's knitting as she is with her mom's!  

Happy Creating!  Deborah