Okay, before we go an inch
further, make sure you have switched out your regular sewing machine needle for
a ball point needle that’s specifically for jersey/knits. Yes, this matters. A
lot. If you don’t, your sewing machine is very likely to gleefully chomp up and
mangle your beautiful jersey swatch like it’s nobody’s business, rendering you
a frustrated frenetic mess and we don’t want that madness. No, no, no, not on
my watch.
With that sorted, let’s
get right to it:
1. First, admire the
glorious swatch you’ve just received. Go on. Stretch it, pet it, you know you
want to. I chose my 1970s Retro Ski print for my cotton spandex jersey swatch
since I get more colds in the winter and figured it was a fun substitute to
look at when you’re to ill to get jazzy on any real bunny slopes.
Next up: thread. It’s the
one thing between you and personal travel tissue glory, so pick happily. I
chose a fabulous zippy neon yellow for mine because contrast stitching is,
hello, downright fun!
2. Trim your handy dandy
swatch down to a rectangle measuring 6”h x 8”w.
3. With wrong side facing
up, fold each of the 6” edges in 1/4” once, and then a second time, to fully
contain the raw edge. Pin if needed and sew in place. I used a double stitch
for kicks.
4. With rectangle laying
flat with wrong side up, fold each of the newly finished 6” sides over onto one
another, overlapping slightly. I overlapped mine 1/2”. Pin in place if needed.
Fun fact: Travel tissue
packs vary slightly in overall size and tissue count depending on country and
manufacturer (who knew!), so you might need to adjust your measurements accordingly.
The good thing is this is spandex jersey and like an ever-reliable bear hug, it
will forgivingly cling and adjust to any slight variations in size. Hello,
score!
5. Keeping right side facing
out, sew each end closed using a 1/4″ allowance. Trim away extra threads. This
is our first step toward French seam bliss, my good friends. Ooh la la, mes
amis!
6. Flip the entire case
inside out. Now sew up those same two ends again, this time using a 1/2″
allowance. KABOOM! You’ve just finished your sweet, sweet
ever-so-cleanly-finished French seams and this bad boy is now ready to fill up
with a sweet stash of travel-sized tissues. Remove your tissues from their
commercial plastic wrap first because you don’t need that excess nonsense.
Ta-da! Ummm, how perfect
is this? Sure, you may not be able to enjoy any actual French Alps skiing since
you’re a hot contagious mess, but you can at least wipe your nose in the ski
lodge with finesse and French seams. Do us proud, you crazy winter cold
nose-blower, you!
Behold your pocket-sized
accomplishment!
You did it, you cleaver
thing, you!
Easy peasy, get ready, get
sneezy!