Quick Project: A Scrap Catcher

I've got a fun little make to show you today which would make a great gift for any seamstress! I made this 'scrap catcher' a little while ago and it has proved itself indispensable since so I thought I would share.

I'd never have thought to make one of these for myself but for Christmas one of my Mum's friends (who is an amazing quilter and seamstress) gave me a little kit as she knew I was getting my amazing overlocker and in her wisdom knew one of these would come in very handy! Elaine said she had intended to make it for me but when it came to it realised I would probably get more enjoyment out of sewing it up myself. So I received a lovely package containing instructions, fabrics already cut to the right size, some strong plastic tape and a little bag of sand. Skipping the cutting section of the project and being able to jump straight on the machine was such a treat! It was such a great gift!

It was incredibly quick and satisfying to sew up, involving only a minimal amount of hand stitching. The scrap catcher itself is a fairly large pouch with a flat bottom and round opening which is reinforced to stay open for easy 'scrap catching' with a plastic cable threaded through a casing at the top. It hangs from a sand filled pin cushion, the weight of which means you can just sit it on the edge of your sewing table with no need to secure it to anything. I will admit I was a little sceptical about a sand filled pin cushion but it's lined with thick calico and the sand itself is fairly coarse so there have been no leakages so far and that thing has been in constant use. I keep it just to the right of my overlocker so it's easy to just sweep the mess into. It's made for a much tidier and easier to clean up sewing experience...plus a happier boyfriend! Ha!

In other news there has been a helluva lot of sewing going on in these parts but I don't have a huge amount to show for it on here! There's been some secret test sewing which should be making an appearance in the near future and if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you may have noticed that I'd submerged myself in the world of tutu construction for the second time! This time I've been making the pancake tutu and I'm feeling pretty proud of it. It's VERY time consuming but I'm o so nearly finished so will hopefully get some pics to share soon. Other than that I've developed a bit of a nasty habit of starting a not finishing projects for no good reason! Some of the projects I've been working on have been fairly fiddly so I decided to give myself a break by starting something simple, then ended up flitting between them, then getting distracted by pattern testing and now I've basically got 5 projects all in various stages of completion. Plus the Georgia Dress sew-along to catch up with. I'm intending to put in some serious sewing hours this week to rectify the situation! Then it's just finding a time when my photographer and I are both at home at the same time...when it's daylight...and not raining...