BOB-A-LONG LINK PARTY AND REVEAL

As someone who loves to hand stitch and stitch-on-the-go I can never get enough of cute and functional storage cases and so I jumped at the opportunity to make my very own Bob. I’m also a big believer in the more the merrier and so it’s been great to see and share the wonderful Bob’s being made by some very talented makers and bloggers.

Today is the final day in our Bob-a-Long and it means that you can now link up your Bob for a chance to win a great prize from Aurifil or Fat Quarter Shop. But before we get on to those exciting details how about I share my version of Bob with you all.

Finding 1″ twill ribbon for this was more difficult than I thought it would be and so I went with the twill ribbon I found at Spotlight which was this funky measuring tape print (just like the one on the Bob Pattern).  When I make my next Bob I’ll totally be using the great tutorial by Peta (of She Quilts Alot) which shows how you can make your own fabric ribbon to use instead of the twill.

Sewing with the twill was great, it’s fabulous not to have to worry about a hem. I decided to line the print up against the zipper, which makes it look like my Bob has teeth.

Because of the pattern on the twill I decided to go with a sewing theme with my fabrics which was fun. I picked up these funky little spools at Spotlight. I lined my Bob with Jenean Morrison’s True Colours Buttons in Yellow and Shop Local Notions in Bright Pink for the insides. I like the pop of colour that the bright pink provides when the box is opened.

The Bob requires a lot of hand stitching to complete and hand stitching isn’t my strength. I also trimmed the corners diagonally before folding the fabric over (you’ll know what I mean when you read the pattern) which isn’t in the instructions and I now know why. The corners will fray when you assemble and stitch the internal box together, so do yourself a favour and follow the instructions!

I also whip stitched because I wrapped my fabric too tightly around the cardboard and interfacing and so I had no where to slide my needle to do the ladder stitch (rookie mistake!). It wouldn’t be such a big deal if I’d picked fabrics that were similar in colour (or even used the same fabric for the internal and external lining), but alas I didn’t think it through and so you can see my stitches. Not a big deal, but it sets off my OCD.

Stitching the twill down to the lid is also another option for your stitching to show. I wish I’d have thought of it before I’d stitched the first side down but I think you could totally do a blanket stitch around the edges and it would look neat.

I read through the pattern before I started and I did the construction out of order, which I think helped me maximise my time but even with that it still took my 3 hours to make.

I made the internal and external box panels first and let the glue set while I worked on the other components.  I also used spray basting glue to attach the fabric to my cardboard (which was just the front of a notebook) which worked a treat.

I then made the lid and zipper. Once those were done my panels were set and so I just took all the components and went and sat on the couch and stitched while I watched Survivor (which might explain why I took so long stitching…).

I opted not to add the bolts for bobbins because I wasn’t sure how this Bob would be used and so I wanted to leave the options open.

All-in-all I’m pretty chuffed with how it turned out and I’m pretty sure I’ll be making a few more as they’re a great little size and would work well as a gift for swaps and as a form of wrapping when giving gifts to sewing addicted friends. (I also thought they’d be great to give to kids as well as they’re the perfect size for little hands and they’d happily hold a few treasures for safe keeping. Plus can you imagine the fun you could have with novelty fabrics!)

A big thank you to the fabulous blogger who participated in the Bob-a-Long Blog Hop Jane @ Quilt Jane, Peta @ She Quilts A lot, Anita @ Daydreams of Quilts, Peta @ Peta Quilts, Jess @ Elven Garden, Melissa @ Ms Midge, Cat @ Cat + Vee and Gemma @ Pretty Bobbins. If you haven’t seen their Bob’s be sure to pop on over and check them out!

Time to Link Up!

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