OUT Chapter 3: Cheri of I Am Momma Hear Me Roar

I've got a treat for you today.  Cheri of I Am Momma Hear Me Roar is here for Once Upon a Thread (OUT).  I know.  I got lucky.  Cheri is a Jill of all trades, and master of them, too.  She's painting one day, sewing the next, cardboard creating the day after that.  Oh, and then she's off recording songs the week after that.  What a woman.  Need more?  She's also got a kind heart that is always looking for ways to do good and help others with her Wake-up Wednesday posts.  I was thrilled that she was able to squeeze Once Upon a Thread in her busy schedule.  Please welcome Cheri!

Katie Dudley Photography

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Hi!  I am Cheri from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar and I'm excited to be a part of this creative series.  One of my favorites children's books is Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watts.  I love the adorable illustrations and seriously funny writing, but I also love it for one more reason.  

You see, I happen to have a scaredy squirrel at my house.  If you don't know Baden, this is the face he'll give you.  (He might even give you that face if he does know you.)  He is a cautious, shy boy.

So, Scaredy Squirrel likes to stay where things are comfortable.

He can see the advantages of leaving his tree, but he prefers his comfort zone.

There are a few books about Scaredy Squirrel and he always has an emergency kit.

Eventually he sees a bee, loses his balance.....

...and falls out of the tree.  He is forced to discover the unknown and realizes he is a flying squirrel.  I'll let you read the rest on your own sometime.  

So, I decided to make Baden his own "emergency kit."

This kit is designed to give him courage to face the world.

I sewed the bag and then filled it with a couple of things I thought might help him overcome his fears.  SO, what's inside?

First, Baden is almost afraid of having his fingers dirty.  He hates having something on his hands, so I put a travel size pack of wipes in there for him.

Second, anti-bee spray.  (Don't worry.  It's just water.)  Baden woke up the other night crying because he thought there were bees in his room.  Obviously, there aren't any, but I thought this spray might give him some extra confidence.

Lastly, I put his sunglasses in.  Why?  He's pretty shy in public and he seems to feel more comfortable when he wears them.  Maybe he thinks people can't see him.

So, let's talk about the bag now.  I cut two pieces of each fabric.  Mine were about 9"x9".  I sewed a vinyl "X" on the front of the brown exterior piece.  Vinyl can shift as you sew so it's helpful to use a little spray adhesive to hold it in place.  You don't want to use pins because the holes will show in the vinyl.  

With right side together I sew around the three edges.

I boxed the corners.  (That means I aligned the seams and sewed across them as shown.)

See how it makes a box shape for the bag?  Just trim off the corner after you sew it.

I created a flap for the top by cutting two round pieces and then sewing them right sides together as well.  I sewed on the velcro to one side before sewing them together so that the stitches wouldn't show on the outside of the flap.  I inverted them and topstitched.  I basted the flap onto the top of the bag to help make the final part easier.

I inserted the lining.

Then I folded down all the edges about a 3/8 inch and pinned it all.  

I stitched around it and the basic bag part was finished.  I also added the matching part of the velcro on the front of the bag.  I like to wait till the bag is done to make sure the velcro lines up right.  And no one really sees the stitches of the velcro on the interior of the bag.

For the strap I decided to try something different.  I took a belt I purchased at a thrift shop and sewed it onto the bag.  My machine is pretty heavy duty, so I sews through thick layers well.  If yours doesn't you could hand sew it.  I sewed through the belt portion and tacked the buckle in place with some hand stitches.

The length was perfect on the belt so I stitched the other side down as well.

And now he's ready to take on the world.

 Thanks for having me, Katy.
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What a fun idea. Also love the genius old belt usage.  I think I need 6 of these, although my kids didn't inherit my shyness, they certainly seem to forget essential supplies!  Thanks for sharing, Cheri.