Travel Sewing Kit Pattern & Tutorial ~ DIY Tutorial Ideas!

I have really loved making these!! They are so fun and a really useful little kit to have in your purse or car so that you can always work on a project no matter where you are. :)

***update: if you want to make the patchwork version, here is the tutorial for that version***

I will warn you that this tutorial is VERY long!!! Please do not be discouraged by it's length!! This kit is not difficult to make but has lots of parts and steps and I wanted to be as thorough as possible so that you could all create one too! :)

Ok! So as for materials, the majority of the kit can be made with scraps but you will need three strips that are WOF (width of fabric) for the binding and the closure strap and thread strap.

materials needed:

    fabric scraps for the exterior, interior panels, and pockets (2 fat quarters would be plenty and you would have lots left over)
    cotton batting measuring 16" x 7"
    4 to 4 1/2" x WOF for the binding (I will explain below why the measurement can vary)
    1 1/2" x WOF for the closure strap and thread strap
    small scrap of velcro measuring 1/2" x 3/8"
    small piece of wool or wool blend felt for needle book
    scissor case pattern (please measure your scissors to make sure they will fit)
    thread
    rotary cutter and mat
    iron
    pins

*** a note about binding*** Since this is a long tutorial already, I am not giving instructions on binding but here is a great tutorial on how to bind if you have never done it or need a refresher! :)
I prefer a narrow binding on small items and I also prefer it to be tight up against the edge of the piece, that is why I have cut my binding at 2". Having said that, if you are a new sewer or have not attempted anything with a bound edge or if you plan on machine sewing your binding on I would highly recommend that you cut your binding at 2 1/4", it will be a lot easier to sew down on the inside. I hope this makes sense! :)

cut your pieces as follows:

    exterior - 15" x 6"
    cotton batting - cut to 16" x 7"
    inside panel pieces - cut two (2) at 5 1/4" x 6" and one (1) at 5 1/2" x 6"
    pockets - cut one (1) at 4" x 5 1/4" and one (1) at 3 1/2" x 6"
    binding - cut two (2) strips measuring 2" x WOF *please see above note on binding*
    closure strap and thread strap - cut one (1) strip measuring 1 1/2" x WOF
    needle book - cut your wool felt piece to 4 1/2" x 2 3/4"

you should now have these pieces

Now you are going to need to quilt your exterior piece. I quilted all of mine with somewhat random straight lines running the height of the piece. I varied the lines between 1/4" and 1/2" apart. I did this so that later on when you join your exterior and interior pieces those stitches will be somewhat hidden along with your quilting lines. But feel free to quilt yours however you like!

I marked my exterior with a disappearing pen about every 1 1/2" just to keep my quilting lines somewhat straight.

Then quilt away!

If you haven't already, join your two binding strips and press them in half along the length wrong sides together. Now take your two pocket pieces and we are going to bind the top edges. On the left hand pocket you are going to want to bind one of the edges that measures 5 1/4". On the right pocket we are going to bind the edge that measures 6".

Sew on the binding with the raw edges aligned and right sides together, use a 1/4" seam allowance. You will then have this.

Fold the binding up and press so that you have a nice edge and can see clearly where the pocket and binding are joined.

Fold the binding toward the back of the pocket, make sure that you fold the edge past the stitching line that you made when you sewed on the binding. Pin well from the front placing your pins right in the seam line.

Now sew right up against the seam trying not to catch the binding on the front but making sure you do catch it on the back. Repeat this process with the second pocket.

Place your bound pockets on the two side panel pieces lining up the bottom edges. Make sure that you have the two panels that measure 5 1/4" x 6" (the middle panel is slightly larger, make sure you don't sew a pocket on to this panel). Pin and baste the pockets onto the panels.

Now we will join the three panels together. Sew them right sides together using a 1/4" seam allowance and then press your seams open. You will now have this!

Now we will divide the right pocket into two sections by marking a line down the middle and sewing right along that line from just below the binding to the raw edge.

To make the scissor case, take the piece that you cut using my pattern piece and iron the wide edge over 1/4".

Then do the same to each side and then the bottom. Finally, fold the top edge over 1/4" again.

Topstitch the top edge, I stitched two lines at about 1/8" and 1/4".

Then fold your piece of wool felt in half to create the needle book. Give it a quick press with your iron to make a nice crease so that you have a stitch line. I would NOT recommend that you use your water soluble marker, I find it takes forever for it to come out of felt.

Now you are going to pin both the needle book and the scissor case onto the center panel. the scissor case needs to be 1/2" from the top and 1/8" from the left seam. Place the folded edge of the needle book 1/4" from the left seam and 1/2" from the bottom edge. See the below picture !

Sew down the fold line of the needle book and very close to the edge of the three sides of the scissor case to attach both.

Take your strap piece and iron it in half along the length with the wrong sides together. Open it back up and press each edge in to meet the center crease.

Press each end in 1/4" and then refold the whole strip back up. It should now measure approx. 43" x 3/8". Do NOT sew it yet. You need to cut 6 1/4" off this strip to make the thread strap. Only one short end needs to be folded in on the short strap but you will need to fold in both short edges of the long piece so that all of the edges will be encased. Now sew down each of the long sides and the ends to close up the straps.

Pull apart your tiny piece of velcro and place one side on the finished end of the short strap and pin in place. Sew on the velcro.

Take the other half of the velcro and place it along the left seam of the interior piece. You want it to be 3/8" from the bottom edge. Pin in place and sew!

Put the two pieces of velcro together to hold the strap in place and pin the other side in place. The raw edge of the strap is going to hang over the edge. You will need to make the strap somewhat slack so that there is enough room for your thread spools to slide on and still be secured with the velcro. It may help to put two spools on so that you can judge how slack to make the strap. Then sew down the strap very close to the top edge and cut off the excess.

Now we want to attach the exterior and the interior along the seam lines on the interior. Place your exterior face down on your table making sure that it is oriented the way you want it and then place your interior piece face up aligning the edges so that your corners and edges are all matched. Pin enough to keep it all aligned.

Sew down the two seam lines in the ditch to attach the exterior and interior. You will have to move the strap out of the way on the left seam.

Almost done!!! Now you need to bind your sewing kit with the rest of the 2" binding that you made in the beginning. Sew your binding on the outside of the piece and then hand stitch the binding onto the inside. Don't forget that I linked to a great binding tutorial at the top of this post too!!

You now have something that hopefully looks like this! :)

All we have left is to sew on the tie! Take your tie piece and mark 12" from one end. Then take your sewing kit and place it face up on your table. You are going to need to find the stitch line on the exterior of the piece that corresponds to the left side seam line on the inside. I know this sounds confusing! Simply, you are going to stitch your tie to the exterior but you want the stitches to be disguised by the seam on the inside.

Find that seam on the exterior and mark the middle. It will be 3" from the top and bottom and approx. 5" from the right edge when the piece is laying exterior side up on your mat. Match the two marks, the one on your tie and the one on your strap. Pin in place and sew on your strap from the inside so that you can make sure your stitches are masked by the seam.