This is a great sewing project for anybody. It's easy for beginners. It's great for experts who want to carry around their new favorite fabric. It's a great warm up project to other sewing because it doesn't take much time but gets your mind in the mood for precision and care required to sew good items. Anyway here goes my tutorial.
First cut a piece of your favorite fabric! I use a piece that is about 17 inches across and 4 inches wide. Give consideration to the fact that your finished key chain will only be about one inch wide. Fabrics with small sized prints are easiest to work with. Also you need one inch of fusible interfacing, available at fabric stores or craft stores. I love the one called craft-fuse because it's heavier. Any batting would work probably. The idea is to give your cotton fabric a less wrinkly wear. Fusing the interfacing makes the fabric more sturdy. I cut mine shorter than my fabric so there is no bulk at the ends to sew. You could use a longer piece if you wish. (You'll also need a key ring or key clasp, also at craft stores).
Next thing to do is simply fold the fabric in half, long ways. Ironing is important or your key chain will be loose and wrinkled and difficult to sew.
Fold one of the short ends over about a half inch. Press with iron again. Only fold over one of the short ends. The other end will fold into this end later.
Now open the long ways fold you made, so that you have a perfect center line to work with. Fold each long end to that center fold line. Both long ends now fold inward to meet at the center line. Don't let your fabrics overlay here or you'll create a bulky key chain. I let them meet up perfectly or else leave a tiny bit of space there. Ironing here again.
Once your folds are all going well, slip in the fusible interfacing into one of the fold tracks. It doesn't matter too much which way it's facing, with the adhesive side up or down, because you'll be ironing all over the place. But I usually put it adhesive down so it will get a hot press, as opposed to being layered over by the other folds first. I leave space at each short end because later they will layer each other and make their own bulk.
At this point you have a perfectly folded item almost ready to sew. This is a good check point to make sure the fabric is showing part of the pattern you want to see.
Find the end that did not get folded over. This end will be the insert end. To make it easier to insert this end into the other, trim a bit, about an inch long, off the side edges.
Now we get to sew it. It seems to work best if you sew the folded, long side first. I'm starting with the short edge that has a clean folded end. You can see I aim a straight stitch going about an eighth of an inch in from the edge. Try for very straight sewing. Very important--- Start at least one inch in from the folded over short edge! You'll need that unsewn to insert the other end later.
Now I'm coming to the trimmed edge. It will insert into the other side, so it's ok to sew it up.
Sew the other long edge with an eighth inch seam allowance also, same as the first side.
Next thing to do is simply fold the fabric in half, long ways. Ironing is important or your key chain will be loose and wrinkled and difficult to sew.
Fold one of the short ends over about a half inch. Press with iron again. Only fold over one of the short ends. The other end will fold into this end later.
Now open the long ways fold you made, so that you have a perfect center line to work with. Fold each long end to that center fold line. Both long ends now fold inward to meet at the center line. Don't let your fabrics overlay here or you'll create a bulky key chain. I let them meet up perfectly or else leave a tiny bit of space there. Ironing here again.
Once your folds are all going well, slip in the fusible interfacing into one of the fold tracks. It doesn't matter too much which way it's facing, with the adhesive side up or down, because you'll be ironing all over the place. But I usually put it adhesive down so it will get a hot press, as opposed to being layered over by the other folds first. I leave space at each short end because later they will layer each other and make their own bulk.
At this point you have a perfectly folded item almost ready to sew. This is a good check point to make sure the fabric is showing part of the pattern you want to see.
Find the end that did not get folded over. This end will be the insert end. To make it easier to insert this end into the other, trim a bit, about an inch long, off the side edges.
Now we get to sew it. It seems to work best if you sew the folded, long side first. I'm starting with the short edge that has a clean folded end. You can see I aim a straight stitch going about an eighth of an inch in from the edge. Try for very straight sewing. Very important--- Start at least one inch in from the folded over short edge! You'll need that unsewn to insert the other end later.
Now I'm coming to the trimmed edge. It will insert into the other side, so it's ok to sew it up.
Sew the other long edge with an eighth inch seam allowance also, same as the first side. Before connecting the ends, slip your key ring onto the fabric strip. Take a look to see that the resulting loop will show your favorite side of the fabric.
Next insert the trimmed end into the folded end. Tuck it as far as it will fit. I use the tip of very sharp scissors to tuck the fabric into perfect alignment. Try to make it appear as one strip, no edges sticking out anywhere.
Sew along the same stitch lines for a clean look. Take up sewing where you left off in the earlier steps, now sewing completely over the tucked end and folded end, meeting up perfectly with the other side of stitching.
For a very sturdy connection, sew across as well. You could use a zig zag stitch. Some people don't like the look of it. You can sew back and forth a few times with a straight stitch.
Now you have a loop of fabric and your key clasp. It's time to sew across again, to fix the key clasp to one side, so it isn't always sliding around the loop. Line up the connection point near the key ring, because it's less visible that way at the end.
You could use a zipper foot if you want the stitching to be close to the key clasp. I don't see how that makes a world of difference so I just keep the regular sewing foot on and sew across where it is comfortable.
You could embellish this simple project in endless ways once you get the feel for how the original cut of fabric becomes this key fob shape at the end. You could personalize it, sew other fabrics together, make your own print on fabric, put somebody's name on it, who knows!
Sew along the same stitch lines for a clean look. Take up sewing where you left off in the earlier steps, now sewing completely over the tucked end and folded end, meeting up perfectly with the other side of stitching.
For a very sturdy connection, sew across as well. You could use a zig zag stitch. Some people don't like the look of it. You can sew back and forth a few times with a straight stitch.
Now you have a loop of fabric and your key clasp. It's time to sew across again, to fix the key clasp to one side, so it isn't always sliding around the loop. Line up the connection point near the key ring, because it's less visible that way at the end.
You could use a zipper foot if you want the stitching to be close to the key clasp. I don't see how that makes a world of difference so I just keep the regular sewing foot on and sew across where it is comfortable.
That's it!
You could embellish this simple project in endless ways once you get the feel for how the original cut of fabric becomes this key fob shape at the end. You could personalize it, sew other fabrics together, make your own print on fabric, put somebody's name on it, who knows! 
2 comments:
Your tutorials are very exactly - so they give me a real drive to sew more!
great directions and super pictures!!!! looking forward to seeing more ideas! thanks!!
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