Rope Tricks

 No. 4 Rope Bowl

Omg, I made a sailor's hat!    Is this too cute or what?
These bowls are totally reversible.

I sewed this one in shades of turquoise with just white on the outside. Believe it or not, I ran out of every bit of my tiny supply of off-white thread. White works too.

I was aiming for an ombre effect.


Then I used up the last of my 3/8" wide cord.
I had just under 10 feet of the 7/32" left and added it to the top of the bowl.

This ombre bowl measures about 8 inches across by 3 1/2" high - a medium-small size.
All scraps used up!

In the photo below, you can just see that change of color cord in the last two rows at the top.

I added a knot for the join and to finish the bowl off organically and hand-tacked it in place.

This is No.3 -- A Study in Orange.
This sold within a day of listing it in my Etsy shop.

I thought to add some loops to the outside and it worked quite well. This was in the 3/8" wide cording. I had to go back and re-do several spots that didn't quite catch.

 I actually quite like the heavier 7/32 on the top - it acts as a rim to the bowl.

 Rope tips;

1. I liked the 7/32" wide cotton clothesline to begin with. The 3/8 (6/32) was a tad more fiddly. It was a different brand as well.

2. In my little town, I have four stores that sell cotton clothesline. Varying in price, thickness, and strength. Buying for me and a few 'skeins' for friend in Japan has emptied the town. Yes, I could buy online. For cheaper. But I feel clothesline is one of those staples that if we buy online, we help close another brick & mortar store. {opinionated} I made four bowls out of what I bought. I'll wait until someone re-stocks to have another go at it.

3. A wide zigzag of 4.0 to 4.5 is good for catching both cords as you sew the bowl together. Again, the larger 7/32 cording was a great starter.

4. Your white or off-white thread disappears into the clothesline weave. If you wobble off your join line, go back and have another go at it.

5. I have a Pinterest board to help focus my 'organic' rope sewing.

6. While out researching my town, I was tempted by some turquoise para-cord but -- I don't like the feel of the polyester stuff and I can't imagine having a para-cord bowl sitting on my counter unless a grandchild made it and I had to. Neutral, organic, cotton clothesline gave me the feel I was after.

7. Have fun. Use up some thread spools.

I'll leave you with this.

Jewelry Roll For Traveling

 This was my bigger project on Sunday for Bag It (Elm Street Quilts).
It's ginormous.

It folds up nicely though.

I did some patchwork on the front of the linen. This is where I was bogging down earlier. The fabrics I was choosing weren't giving the effect I was after and the trouble was - I didn't know the effect I was after.

I auditioned several fabrics knowing I wanted a background where jewelry didn't get camouflaged. I wanted the outer to look like you'd want to put it in your luggage. I finally settled on linen for the outer with some scrappy patchwork dressing it  down  up  . I wanted each zipper to be a different color for easier organizing.

Sunday - I sewed this up and discovered it has a double layer of batting which makes it even more ginormous than just the size. I don't wear chunky jewelry. I wear small stuff and when I am traveling, I am attempting to carry less.  After finishing it, and writing this blog post, this is going straight to the etsy shop as a sample sale item.

 You can see some of my extensive collection of airplane jewelry swimming in this jewelry roll.

One of my favorite pieces, a bracelet of  airplanes with tow bars pulling them.

 You can use the ties to hang it vertically from a hotel hanger to see at a glance what you remembered to bring with you on your trip.

"I flew with Cap'n Mac" ( A doctor who gives biplane rides in the summer on the West Coast)

 I haven't pressed this, nor do I care. I was done even before I put the binding on.
I used this tutorial and, if, I were to make this again, I would size it down 50%. It's finished measurement is around 21" long x 12" wide. I lost some height by thinking my vinyl was going to be too long and I wanted the symmetry (same distance) from pocket to pocket.  In other words, I had a sewing panic attack.

I like the concept of a jewelry roll but I don't need one this big. If the idea is to separate your pieces to avoid entanglements, then this was a fail. Mostly because I am not a chunky jewelry wearing person. My little pieces are lonely.

I like my fabric choices though; the pins and earrings show up well on this turquoise fabric. The linen shows up as more elegant, the patchwork brings it down to my level.

I wish I had changed threads in my machine or even hand-sewn colored lines on the outer linen. I did four quilting lines in gold and they do not show up. They would look more awesome in heavier thread  - sashiko stitching across in orange and turquoise colors.

I used some pre-made vintage binding because I was already reading the signs on the wall on this project and it's sewn nicely but not neatly.


Although, one could use this to store electronic devices and all their assorted cords....