What do you do in the summer that
makes life easier? I’m always trying to
find things that make summer activities easier, more fun, and most of all COOLER. I live in an area where it is not uncommon
to have 100 plus degree weather for days on end. Ok…I know there are way worse places but for
a mountain girl who never dealt with extreme heat this is HOT – HOT – HOT.
To get away from the heat we
sometimes hop in the car and head to the Calaveras Big Trees
Or to Dillon Beach
This is usually not preplanned
and I am rushing around at the last minute grabbing coolers, food, drinks, and
other necessities. So I’ve had some
ideas in my head for a while about making summertime excursions easier and less
stressful. The first thing I wanted to
have ready to go this year is a Grab N’ Go Picnic Tote.
You will need:
- 1 Cotton cloth dish towel (measures approximately 20 X 28 inches)
- 18 inches of 1 inch wide
Grosgrain ribbon cut into a 15” piece and a 3” piece
- Small pieces of Velcro
- Matching thread
Step 1 - Pockets
Working with the short side, press the end up 4 inches toward the
center of the towel then fold that pocket down so that you have approximately 1
inch above the top of the first edge –
press. Fold the towel again so that
you form a pocket that measures a total of 6 inches - press. You should have two
layered pockets one that is shorter on top.
See the photos for clarification.
Step 2 – Sewing the Pockets
Working just the 4 inch folded
pocket, measure and mark the lines
for the plastic-ware starting 1.5 inches from the side across the right side of
the towel until you have marked 6 pockets.
Repeat starting at the left side of the towel. Note you will have an extra center slot that
is slightly wider than the others. That
is good.
Stitch the sides together along the 4 inch edge making sure to only
catch the first pocket layers. Stitch the slots for the
plastic-ware. I always backstitch at the
beginning and end of each line. Topstitch along the folded edge which
is approximately 1 inch above the open edge of the slots.
Fold the 4 inch pocket on top of
the six inch pocket and secure with a pin.
Starting about 2.5 inches from the bottom edge of the 4 inch pocket you
want to stitch that pocket down. Stop
stitching about 2.5 inches from the other edge.
Be sure to back stitch at the beginning and end of this seam.
Fold the entire pocket assembly
toward the center of the towel and stitch a seam up the center through all
layers. Almost done!
Optional: Attach ½ in pieces of Velcro to the center of the two large pocket tops and the inside edge of the fold down flap. I use sew in Velcro because it stays put but you can use the stitch free type if you prefer or…you don’t have to do this at all. I just like to have things tucked in and secure.
Now you need to stitch the 6 inch
pocket to the back piece. To do this you
need to fold back the end of the 4 inch pocket to keep it out of the way while
you stitch the side seam. Also insert
the grosgrain ribbon holders by folding each piece in half and placing it
between the layers of the seam at the top of the inner pocket. Make sure they line up. Secure by backstitching several times then
stitch down the seam and secure the end of the seam with backstitching.
Optional Embellishments: You
can add buttons, flowers, decals or whatever embellishments you want to the
outside of the tote. I want my tote to
fit easily into my trunk and not take up a lot of space so I haven’t added
anything extra - well not yet anyway.
I have some other ideas floating around
in my head that I plan to put into cloth and on paper so come back in a few
days to see what other summer fun things we will have going. Please leave us a comment and tell us what
you do to make your summer activities easy, fun, and COOL!
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