Sew Handy!

Okay... excuse the bad pun in the title. However, remember when I got my new sewing machine two months ago and was so excited? And notice how none of my posts have been about sewing? Well, I can finally post my first sewing endeavor because I made something as gifts for my mom and Mother-In-Law, and I wanted it to be a surprise. Now that Christmas is over, I can show my first feeble attempt at sewing. No, I didn't make a great masterpiece, the next new Couture dress for the Runway, or something spectacular for the home. But I did manage to bust out two coffee cozies. You know, the little sleeve that goes over a coffee cup to protect your hand. Well... ta da! Now my mothers can be eco-friendly when going to Starbucks!

 Cut out pieces from your fabrics and fusible fleece. I traced a Starbucks sleeve as a template to create a pattern for these. I also wanted to inside to be a different fabric so had two choices.

 Iron the fleece to the wrong side of one piece of fabric. Sew wrong sides together with a 1/2" seam allowance, leave a small opening so it can be flipped. Clip corners and flip right side out.

 Iron the seams so they lay flat, then sew a top stitch all the way around the 

edge, including closing the small part left open.

 Almost finished!

 Once I got the hang of it, I was able to make my second one with a more decorative top stitch. 

Next, sew a hair band onto one end, making a small loop that will fit over a button. 

Sew the button on in place, and slip the hair band over to close the cozy.

 Voila! Not really hard, but it was a good first project to try with my machine.

The finished projects! Next time, I'm going to make them reversible.