In my eyes, she is a “Sewlebrity,” and here’s why I’ve got a “Crush” on her!
I think Sabra has such a sweet sewing blog. You can tell she has learned so much in her journey of sewing– I just want to spend a few hours looking through her Sewing Lesson tutorials. She has some really great, fun tutorials for boys. I am so excited that she is here today to share her sewing smarts with us!
Today, she is showing us how to make this really cool Doodle Bag.
But first, here are a few reasons why I have “fallen in love” with her blog.
Boy’s Quiver
Sabra, thanks for being my Sewlebrity Crush. You rock!
{To see the amazing line up of my other crushes, go here}.
Now here she is, with her fabulous tutorial!
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Hi, Family Ever After fans! I’m Sabra and I blog at Sew a Straight Line.
I love to sew anything and everything, but lately I’ve been sewing mostly for myself. My youngest son informed me that I hadn’t made anything for him in a long time and he needed me to do something about that. He’s three, loves to color, and is my errand-running buddy so I made him an easy to carry bag he can take anywhere.
With a pocket to hold all kinds of coloring pages.
A zippered pouch in the back to hold markers, a few toys and a snack or two.
A zippered pouch in the back to hold markers, a few toys and a snack or two.
And the best part: a vinyl window. His coloring pages slip behind the window and he can color to his heart’s content without running out of paper. 
Any picture becomes a coloring page; he can practice his letters and numbers.
Even doodle on his brothers’ faces!
A piece of extra-thick fun foam in the pocket gives a firm surface for coloring.
Even doodle on his brothers’ faces!
A piece of extra-thick fun foam in the pocket gives a firm surface for coloring.
Using dry erase markers, his artwork wipes clean off the vinyl, ready to be used again and again, anywhere he goes.
Let me show you how I made it.
MATERIALS: 3 pieces of cotton fabric 11”x14” (front, middle, back)
1 piece of clear vinyl 11”x14”
7” zipper
24” length of strap webbing
1 sheet fun foam – double thickness
dry erase markers
coloring sheets, pictures, etc
Right sides together, sew one side of the zipper to the top of the back fabric.
Lay the back fabric on the middle fabric, right sides together with the right side of the unsewn zipper side lined up with the center top of the middle fabric.
Sew zipper side to the top of the middle fabric.
Flip the back and middle fabric so that wrong sides are together. Fold the ends of the top inside following the seam allowance of the zipper. Slide one end of the webbing between the folds.
Sew a reinforced square-cross through the middle, back, and webbing, securing the webbing in place.
Repeat with the other side of the webbing at the other end of the middle/back/zipper, creating a strap/handle.
Cut a 10”x7” rectangle out of the center of the front fabric.
Cut into the corners of the rectangle about 1/4 inch.
Fold the sides of the rectangle towards the back of the fabric, press, and sew all around.
Fold the sides of the rectangle towards the back of the fabric, press, and sew all around.
Lay your front fabric on the vinyl, matching outer edges.
**The vinyl should come with a tissue paper-like backing to it. DO NOT REMOVE this backing! You’ll need it to allow the vinyl to move smoothly across your foot and feed dogs. If for some reason your vinyl does not have backing, layer tissue paper on the side of the vinyl that will be touching the machine. In this case, it’s the bottom of the vinyl.**
So you should have a stack like this:
front fabric w/cut out
vinyl
tissue paper backing
vinyl
tissue paper backing
Sew the vinyl to the front fabric all around the outer edge of the cutout.
Tear the tissue paper/backing off of the vinyl across the top edge only.
Fold the top edge over to the back 1/4 inch and topstitch.
Lay the front fabric/vinyl piece on the other two pieces. The top, folded over edge of the front fabric needs to be lined up with the zipper edge of the other edge. Right sides of the front fabric facing right side of the back fabric. Sew around the sides and bottom. 
Tear off the rest of the tissue paper/backing.
Cut corners and trim seam allowances.
Turn bag right side out through open top.
Slide fun foam into the open pocket/window area.
Store coloring books, pictures, coloring pages, etc. in pocket under fun foam.
Place dry erase markers, treats and whatever else in the zippered pouch in the back.
And your child is ready to doodle all day!
Thank you for having me, Rach and readers!
**When you need to launder the bag, just remove the fun foam, wash on cold, and air dry**
Sewlebrity Crush is sponsored by the wonderful Fat Quarter Shop.
Stay tuned for a big giveaway on August 1!
