Is it just me or did Christmas seem to come and go a heck of a lot faster this year than it normally does? Honestly, this holiday season felt extra hectic and busy, so I'm happy that the chaos of it all is over, but I'm also sad that I now have to wait another year for it to return.
While Christmas-related projects tend to be my favourite, I'm excited to head into 2019 with a variety of DIYs and home improvement ideas in mind. I'm also excited to give video tutorials a try!
The following post contains my very first attempt at a video tutorial — it may not sound like a scary thing to do, but for someone who's never enjoyed being in front of the camera, it's absolutely terrifying, lol.
The project I picked for this new venture of mine is a great place to start for anyone wanting to give working with a sewing machine a try. I'm definitely still a beginner when it comes to using mine, but I found this DIY fairly straightforward and almost impossible to mess up.
P.S. I'm sorry if I sound like a boring robot in the video! Not only was it my first time filming, I'd also never done a voiceover before — needless to say, I was kind of uncomfortable, lol.
Materials
Three pieces of fabric - two of one colour or pattern, and one of another
Fusible fleece
Ribbon
Iron + ironing board
Sewing machine + thread
Pins
Scissors
Start by cutting the fabric and fusible fleece to your desired size. I worked with 16"x14" sheets, but you can get away with 10"x14" pieces if your makeup brushes aren't very long. The two pieces of fabric of the same colour or pattern are going to become the front and back of your storage roll, and the third sheet will be used to create the pockets for your brushes.
Place the fusible fleece (adhesive side up) on your ironing board and lay one of the two matching pieces of fabric on top of it — make sure the pretty side is facing up. Follow the directions for the fleece and use your iron to activate the adhesive. Once they've cooled, both pieces should be fused together. Set them aside.
Grab the sheet of fabric you're using for your roll's pockets and fold it in half horizontally. Use the iron to press the fold, and then pin the top all the way across.
With your sewing machine, stitch across the top of the folded fabric approximately one-quarter-of-an-inch down. To ensure everything stays in place, start and end with a backstitch.
Bring the stitched piece back to your ironing board, open up each end, and then flatten everything so the stitched seam is sitting across the middle. Use the iron to press down the seam, as well as the top and bottom folds.
Place the pressed pocket piece on top of the sheet of fabric that isn't fused to the fleece. Leave approximately half-an-inch of the unfused fabric exposed at the bottom, and make sure the stitched seam of the folded piece is facing down. Pin the two pieces of fabric together and stitch down one side, across the bottom, and then up the other side. Leave the top section unstitched so you can slip your brushes into it later.
Lay out the sheet of fabric that's fused to the fleece (pretty side up) and place the pocket sheet on top of it (pretty side down). Pull up the left side of the top piece, find the middle of the bottom sheet, and pin two strips of layered ribbon to the edge. To keep the ribbon out of the way while you stitch, roll it up and use a safety pin to keep it together. Put the left side of the top piece of fabric back down.
Pin around each edge of both sheets and make a mental note to not stitch all the way across the top section. You're going to be flipping the fabric right-side out and you'll need a small opening to make that happen.
With a quarter-of-an-inch seam allowance, stitch across the far right side of the top edge, continue down the right, move all the way along the bottom, back up the left, and then across the far left side of the top edge. Remember, the middle section of the top edge needs to be left unstitched.
Grab a pair of scissors and cut off the four corners of your stitched rectangle. This will make it easier to achieve crisp, clean corners during the next step.
Stick your hand through the unstitched opening and turn your piece right-side out. If you want, you can run the iron over it to get rid of any unwanted creases or wrinkles.
When you're happy with the way everything looks, pin the opening shut and stitch a final border around your entire piece.
Lay your makeup brushes across the front pocket and use pins to mark each section. Bring the piece over to your sewing machine and create a seam for each mark, starting and ending with a backstitch. Now your pocket has individual sections perfectly sized for each brush!
Trim any excess threads, put the brushes in the appropriate places, and roll them up before tying a bow with the two strips of ribbon.
Remember, this is a great beginner's project. If it doesn't end up looking perfect, don't worry! I made two of these rolls before I was confident enough to film myself. And feel free to start off using scrap fabric you don't really care about. As you practice, you can work your way up to the colours and patterns you love.
If this project inspires you to get crafty, let me know by sharing your creations with me! Leave a comment or use #katiesaracreates on social media. And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on future posts!
Happy crafting!
