Jar Cozies?

I decided not to use the last of this fabric on snack bags.  Since I'll be making more snack bags later, with different fasteners, I decided to put off making more.  So I took the last scrap of this fabric to experiment on this.



All I can think of to call them is Jar Cozies.  And fortunately, before I got them made I remembered the correct reason why I wanted them insulated.  I wanted them insulated so that I could remove the jars from the microwave when they were hot without burning fingers!  So I didn't need to use mylar bubble insulation.  Instead I used double layers of cotton quilting.

Nice and neat with no visible raw edges these were somewhat of a pain to make because of how I cut the fabric.  But since I'm making a total of six, I will fix the cutting error with the next batch.  The no raw edges thing is something that my Grandmother strongly impressed on me when she was teaching me to sew.  And it has stuck.  And no visible raw edges means no temptation for my son.

These should help protect the jars due to the quilt padding.  And I can put them in the microwave since they are pure cotton with no metal.  That should let me remove the jars from the microwave without burning my fingers.

And since these seem to work well for this job, I will probably make some larger ones to put around the quart jars that I use for making sweet ice tea concentrate - for the same reason.

If there's interest, I'll do a picture tutorial.  Just let me know.

This is just one of the projects I've been working on.  Life is a little busy right now.  And I think my sewing machine is enjoying the workout.

And A Sewing We Go....

I will get to the new cushion covers but now that my sewing machine is easily accessible I'm working on a back log of smaller projects first.  It's mainly things that we can use right away.  The one I was working on yesterday was snack bags.

These were made from old cloth napkins and scrap fabric.  I looked online for directions and was frustrated.  Every pattern I found seemed to be a pain.  And all of them used Velcro.  Sorry, but I learned a long time ago that Velcro and washing machines are not a good mix.  Velcro has many wonderful uses but this isn't one of them.  So it was a toss up between buttons, snaps, and ribbon ties.  Since my son needs to work on his fine motor control in his fingers, I'm starting with buttons.  I have more snack bags to make and I will use even smaller buttons on those.  When he is using the buttons smoothly and easily, I'll add some bags with snaps or ties.

These weren't hard to make at all.  I had cut the napkins in half a while back in preparation for this project.  I turned each half into a square bottomed pouch.  Then I turned one right side out and slid it into the other.  I folded the sides neatly in so that the raw edges were gone.  I didn't have to fold the top of the bag or the cover because they were the neatly seamed edges from the napkin.  Then I top-stitched around the opening twice.  After that I put on buttons and did button holes.

The smaller bags I did in an easier way.  I folded the fabric good side to good side.  Then I stitched one end and the side.  After that I turned it right side out and ironed everything well.  Next I fold up the bottom section leaving it two inches from the top edge.  Oh, and I tucked in the unsewn side neatly.  Then I did another double row of top-stitching all the way around.  The pocket was made and the open end was closed.  Then buttons and button holes were added.  I did not do a square bottom on these.

The seams are all hidden so crumbs and other stuff can't get caught in them.

I've got three more small ones to make and then at least two large ones.  The large ones are for things like popcorn.  And I may do a batch of them lined in plastic for snacks that tend to stain.  These are, to me, better than having to continually buy snack bags.  In addition they won't break like glass.

The next project is cozies for the canning jars that I use for lunches.  It seems silly on the surface but small insulated cozies will help keep the food hot/cold and protect the jars from breakage.  I'm not so worried about the hot/cold thing because I use insulated lunch boxes, and I don't want to risk someone forgetting to remove the cozy and blowing a breaker on a microwave.  But the jars I use have been getting harder to find.  Last year I had to special order some.  So jar breakage is something I worry about.

Anyways, off to pattern those now.