I found so many tutorials online. I seemed to take on my own method and combine tutorials I found on youtube & various blogs. Some I found were a little too advanced for me, and we all know I'm horrible at following specific directions (something I must work on if I am going to eventually follow patterns etc.)
This actually didn't turn out half bad! The only issue is sewing in straight lines. Seems SO simple, but its not. Well, maybe it's just me, but I'm hoping other novice sewists out there have had the same issue.
I think the most difficult task was measuring and cutting the fabric. This in part was because I was stubborn, and thought I didn't need the rotary cutter & mat or a quilters ruler. Ummmm I was definitely wrong. With not being able to sew in perfect straight lines, on top of being helpless when it became to cutting accurately, I got an oddly ascending edge on my roll. It elevated as it ran right to left, which ended up having a weird lip in the fold as it rolled up. It wasn't too obvious, so I'm actually still happy with the end result, given my abilities thus far. :)
Confession: I actually made a tiny practice brush roll, and I highly reccomend any noobies out there give this method a try. It gave me a chance to experiement with some different placements and measurements, as well as a chance to mess some things up and learn from my mistakes!
On the inside of my roll, when I layed down the stitching for the brush slots, I again didn't follow directions well and kind of winged it, which left me with some slots that didn't fit my brushes so well. So word of the "wise." if you have your own specific set of brushes, make sure and measure them. If you're making it as a gift, take a look at what grip sizes brushes normally are, and try to follow that as best as you can.
As you see in this picture, I stitched the ribbon towards the back center of my first roll, which I ended up not being happy with. It looked unfinished to me, and just not right for some reason.
On to my second brush...
This time around was much better, despite the uneven edge at the top, and a few other small hiccups.
To make this I chose a solid & print fabric, and cut my fabric to the measurements of my brushes. I made sure to measure my tallest brush, and give it a few inches extra so I would be able to fold the fabric over. I also cut another print fabric piece to where the brushes would easily slide into them, and not fall out during traveling. I then ironed my fabrics, and pinned the small contrasting strip to the solid fabric, and took down my measurements of all of my brushes. I also decided to leave a gap pocket in case I want to stitch in extra brush slots later.
After I pinned/marked down my brush slot measurements, I stitched away! The reason I initially sew the slots into the solid fabric is so the stitching won't be seen on the outside of the roll in the end.
Following this step, I then sewed the two large pieces of fabric "inside to inside" so that I could leave a 3" gap, and turn it right side out after stitching. I then stitched up that gap, which was my next mistake. I'm limited on thread colors currently, and I also stitched wayyyyy to far down, which ended up not looking as pretty as I had hoped.
Then, I ironed, and sewed on my ribbon! As I said earlier, I tried a different ribbon placement, and this one was folded in half (not quite half, I left the side that would wrap around the roll larger so the end result would look even) and stitched it on the inside of the roll, about half way down.
Reflecting back on my first weekly attempt, I learned to watch my stitching & cutting, and to really take my time with every step. I tend to rush through things sometimes, which then causes some not so wonderful results. I'm thrilled that sewing has been teaching me patience and precision, because those are two attributes I lack personally.
Voila! My attempt!
See that top edge? Oh boy...
The extra pocket
And, the top edge when I roll...
Off to purchase a rotary cutter & mat,
-Sierra
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