Today I read a verse that has meant so much to me over the decades. Psalm 112:7-8a "He will not fear evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is upheld, he will not fear". I memorized that verse years and years ago in the Living paraphrase: He does not fear bad news nor live in dread of what may happen, for he is settled in his mind that Jehovah will take care of him.
We live in such perilous times and I find that my heart can quickly acquire a vague and oppressive sense of fear. On both the large international scene and in the everyday of life I am aware of my own helplessness. Age has a way of bringing my own inadequacies into focus. It was concretely comforting therefore to be reminded that for those who fear the Lord, He is our security and we need not fear. He is our Rock and our Fortress, our unchanging God in whom we trust. As the stage is set for the last days, I need to hold on to these words.
Because he has a cheerful conscience, his heart too is not disconcerted by any evil tidings; it remains erect, straight and firm, without suffering itself to bend or warp; full of confidence, stayed in itself and established. The last two designations are taken from Isa 26:3, where it is the church of the last times that is spoken of. (Keil and Delitzsch, vol 5, p 703, emphasis mine)
I flipped to Isaiah 26 to remind myself of those beautiful words: "The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock."
Certainly words of strength to keep me standing erect, straight and firm, without bending or warping, no matter what the storms.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Tiny tutorial on how to sew a zippered pencil case
I've been making some of these recently and thought it might be useful to record the steps and how simple it is.
Step one: pick out your fabric and decide what size pencil case you want. I decided I wanted it about 11 inches long and just over 4 inches high finished size so I cut out two pieces, 5.5 inches by 12 inches.
Step two: Fold one long edge under on each piece, about 5/8 inch. Press these folds so they stay in.
Step three: Find a zipper that matches or at least works with the fabric. Make sure that it is at least as long as the long edge of the fabric. If it's too long (as mine is in this photo) you can cut the zipper to fit. Hang on, I'll tell you just how to do that.
Step four: Mark how long the zipper should be.
Step five: With a needle and thread, sew around the teeth of the zipper a bunch of times to make a new zipper stop. Doesn't have to be super neat. The point is to keep the zipper-pull from running clear off the end of the zipper because you are going to cut off the original zipper stop. If it runs off the end of the track, you are up a creek without a paddle.
Step six: Cut off the excess zipper. Leave just a tad beyond where you sewed the new stop.
Step seven: Lay the zipper face up and place one piece of fabric right side up with the fold next to the teeth of the zipper. Line 'em up nice at the ends. Place a few pins to hold the fold to the zipper fabric.
Step eight: Saddle up your sewing machine by getting it bobbin-ed and threaded. Put the zipper foot on the machine. This is a nifty little foot that allows you to sew right up next to the zipper without bumping into the teeth.
Step nine: Open the zipper a couple of inches to start with. Drop your needle into the fabric, do a couple reinforcing stitches and then sew a nice straight little seam down almost to the zipper pull.
Step ten: When you are almost down to the zipper pull, lift your presser foot up, leaving your needle DOWN in the fabric to keep things from moving. Tug the zipper pull back to the top so the zipper is now closed. Then put the presser foot down again and sew to the bottom of the seam. Do a couple reverse stitches to reinforce the seam at the bottom.
Step eleven: Take the piece off the machine and admire your handiwork. Nice seam!
Step twelve: Put the second side piece on the other side of the zipper, right side up, the fold by the teeth of the zipper. Move your zipper foot to the other side (you were sewing on the right side of the zipper, now you want to sew on the left side, going from the top to the bottom again.) Don't try to cut corners and sew from the bottom to the top without moving the zipper foot. They won't line up properly if you do that. Trust me. Zipper feet are quite handily adjustable, right or left.
Step thirteen: Open the zipper a couple of inches again and repeat steps 9-11.
Step fourteen: Press the whole shebang. Be careful if you have a nylon zipper - you don't want to melt the teeth of the zipper so don't "hot it up" too much.
Step fifteen: Open the zipper up most of the way. You are now going to sew the side and bottom seams and if you leave the zipper closed at this point, you will have some tricky finger work to get the zipper open when everything is seamed closed. Pin the bottom edges together. Sew with a 5/8 inch seam (or thereabouts).
Step sixteen: Sew the side seams closed (5/8 is lovely).
Step seventeen: Turn your almost-completed pencil case right side out and give 'er a good pressing.
Step eighteen: Cut two pieces of coordinating fabric the same size as the two pieces you started with.
Step nineteen: Fold and press under one long edge on each, 5/8 inch.
Step twenty: Lay the two pieces right sides together. Pin the sides and bottom.
Step twenty-one: Put the regular presser foot back on your machine. Sew the side and bottom seams. Press nice and flat. No, don't turn it right side out.
Step twenty-two: Slip the lining pouch into the zipper pouch, wrong sides together. Amazing how it fits, isn't it?
Step twenty-three: Pin the lining to the zipper pouch around the top. Using a needle and thread, hand stitch them using a blind stitch. Or if you are in a hurry you can machine stitch them (you'd need your zipper foot again) but I personally think an invisible hand stitch is much nicer. Be sure to keep the lining fabric far enough away from the teeth of the zipper so it won't get caught.
Step twenty-four: Give the finished case a good pressing. Now would be the time to put a pretty little dangly thing on the zipper as a pull. You can make one out of yarn or beads or buttons. But that's another story!
Step one: pick out your fabric and decide what size pencil case you want. I decided I wanted it about 11 inches long and just over 4 inches high finished size so I cut out two pieces, 5.5 inches by 12 inches.
Step two: Fold one long edge under on each piece, about 5/8 inch. Press these folds so they stay in.
Step three: Find a zipper that matches or at least works with the fabric. Make sure that it is at least as long as the long edge of the fabric. If it's too long (as mine is in this photo) you can cut the zipper to fit. Hang on, I'll tell you just how to do that.
Step four: Mark how long the zipper should be.
Step five: With a needle and thread, sew around the teeth of the zipper a bunch of times to make a new zipper stop. Doesn't have to be super neat. The point is to keep the zipper-pull from running clear off the end of the zipper because you are going to cut off the original zipper stop. If it runs off the end of the track, you are up a creek without a paddle.
Step six: Cut off the excess zipper. Leave just a tad beyond where you sewed the new stop.
Step seven: Lay the zipper face up and place one piece of fabric right side up with the fold next to the teeth of the zipper. Line 'em up nice at the ends. Place a few pins to hold the fold to the zipper fabric.
Step eight: Saddle up your sewing machine by getting it bobbin-ed and threaded. Put the zipper foot on the machine. This is a nifty little foot that allows you to sew right up next to the zipper without bumping into the teeth.
 |
| Zipper foot on left, regular presser foot on right |
Step nine: Open the zipper a couple of inches to start with. Drop your needle into the fabric, do a couple reinforcing stitches and then sew a nice straight little seam down almost to the zipper pull.
Step ten: When you are almost down to the zipper pull, lift your presser foot up, leaving your needle DOWN in the fabric to keep things from moving. Tug the zipper pull back to the top so the zipper is now closed. Then put the presser foot down again and sew to the bottom of the seam. Do a couple reverse stitches to reinforce the seam at the bottom.
Step eleven: Take the piece off the machine and admire your handiwork. Nice seam!
Step twelve: Put the second side piece on the other side of the zipper, right side up, the fold by the teeth of the zipper. Move your zipper foot to the other side (you were sewing on the right side of the zipper, now you want to sew on the left side, going from the top to the bottom again.) Don't try to cut corners and sew from the bottom to the top without moving the zipper foot. They won't line up properly if you do that. Trust me. Zipper feet are quite handily adjustable, right or left.
 |
| Move the foot to the left side now! |
Step fourteen: Press the whole shebang. Be careful if you have a nylon zipper - you don't want to melt the teeth of the zipper so don't "hot it up" too much.
Step fifteen: Open the zipper up most of the way. You are now going to sew the side and bottom seams and if you leave the zipper closed at this point, you will have some tricky finger work to get the zipper open when everything is seamed closed. Pin the bottom edges together. Sew with a 5/8 inch seam (or thereabouts).
Step sixteen: Sew the side seams closed (5/8 is lovely).
Step seventeen: Turn your almost-completed pencil case right side out and give 'er a good pressing.
Step eighteen: Cut two pieces of coordinating fabric the same size as the two pieces you started with.
Step nineteen: Fold and press under one long edge on each, 5/8 inch.
Step twenty: Lay the two pieces right sides together. Pin the sides and bottom.
Step twenty-one: Put the regular presser foot back on your machine. Sew the side and bottom seams. Press nice and flat. No, don't turn it right side out.
Step twenty-two: Slip the lining pouch into the zipper pouch, wrong sides together. Amazing how it fits, isn't it?
 |
| They don't look like they fit but they do! |
Step twenty-three: Pin the lining to the zipper pouch around the top. Using a needle and thread, hand stitch them using a blind stitch. Or if you are in a hurry you can machine stitch them (you'd need your zipper foot again) but I personally think an invisible hand stitch is much nicer. Be sure to keep the lining fabric far enough away from the teeth of the zipper so it won't get caught.
Step twenty-four: Give the finished case a good pressing. Now would be the time to put a pretty little dangly thing on the zipper as a pull. You can make one out of yarn or beads or buttons. But that's another story!
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