Sew for Dad Tutorials: Day 2

We're back with another tutorial for a Father's Day gift idea (although this could easily be repurposed for anyone...girl or guy). We hope you enjoy this tutorial from the Benartex blog design team--so quick you can make it in an evening!--and then don't miss the fabric giveaway at the bottom of this post.

How do you give black and cream a little extra contemporary flair? Add red accents. We used the black colorway of the Venezia collection from Contempo (it comes in blue as well) to make this versatile travel case for dads--perfect for phone and iPad charging cords or even bathroom toiletries! We couldn't resist the red zipper, piping and elastic band to add a little zip to these fantastic monochromatic fabrics. Fun for dad and fun for you!

Materials:

• 1/3 yard small black circles print
• 1 fat quarter black stripe
• 1 fat quarter mottled black
• 2" x 15" red solid strip
• 11" x 17" batting piece
• 7" red zipper (or 9" zipper)
• 12" Wrap 'n Fuse Piping
• 1/2 yard red 1/8" wide elastic
• 1/4 yard black 1/4" wide elastic
• Fabric marking pen or chalk

Cutting:

From the black circles print:

Two 10" x 15-1/2" pieces

From the black stripe:

Two 5" x 12" pieces

From the mottled black:

One 10" square

One 2-1/2" x 10" strip

Two 2" x 4" pieces

From the red solid:

One 1-3/8" x 12" strip

Make the Travel Roll:

1. Following manufacturer's directions, envelop the fusible piping in the 1-3/8" x 12" red strip and press with iron to make piping.

2. Align the red piping along a long edge of one 5" x 12" black stripe piece, matching raw edges. Layer the second 5" x 12" black stripe piece on top, right sides together. Pin to secure and then stitch. Hint: Use your zipper foot to get closer to the piping. 

3. Fold so the wrong sides of the black stripe fabric are facing and the piping is peeking out the top edge. Press.

4. Layer the 11" x 17" batting piece with one 10" x 15-1/2" black circles piece on top, right side up. Measure in 4-3/4" from the right edge and draw a line with chalk or marking pen (shown in blue in the picture below). Square up one short end of the stripe pocket piece and align along the marked line on background. Trim excess from other short end. Measure and mark two lines on the stripe pocket to create multiple pockets. (We measured 2-3/4" and 5-1/4" in from the left edge...shown in blue below.) Stitch along the two marked pocket lines, backstitching at red piping to secure.

5. Fold each 3" x 4" black mottled piece in half wrong sides together so it measures 2" x 3". Position so folded edges are just past the top and bottom of the zipper as shown and stitch in place. Press pieces back to make the zipper end tabs. (Note: if you use a 9" long zipper, you don't need these tabs.)

6. Fold the 2-1/2" x 10" black mottled strip in half wrong sides together so it measures 1-1/4" x 10". Sew the folded edge to the zipper and tabs. Fold the 10" black mottled square in half wrong sides together so it measures 5" x 10" and sew the folded edge to the opposite side of the zipper and tabs. Trim sides of tabs to a 1/4" seam allowance.

7. Trim the zipper pocket width to 5-1/2". Your zipper pocket should look like this:

8. Lay the pocket right side down on the background, matching the long raw edge of the pocket to the marked line (shown in blue below). Stitch 1/4" to the left of the marked line and fold the pocket back. Trim to square up the piece and remove excess batting. Topstitch the long side of the pocket opposite the zipper if you like. 

9. Cut two 3-1/2" lengths of black elastic and fold the ends under 1/4". Measure up 2-1/2" from the red piping and center elastic over wider pocket (center area) and two narrower pockets (left area). Sew elastic ends between 2" and 2-3/4" apart to create space to tuck something into the elastic band. Backstitch ends to secure.

10. Cut a 15" length of red elastic, fold in half, and stitch ends to create a loop. Center along the right edge of the top piece with raw edges matching. Lay the 10" x 15-1/2" black circle print piece on top, right sides together. Stitch around all 4 sides, leaving an opening along the top for turning. Turn right side out, poke out corners, and topstitch around outer edge, securing the opening. You're done!

Fill with cords for electronic devices, toiletries, or whatever else might need to be packed for a trip!

Fold or roll the filled travel up and use the red elastic to secure.

You can win a fat quarter bundle of Venezia! To enter, simply sign up to follow the Benartex blog via a blog reader or follow by email (both options are in the right hand sidebar) and leave a comment telling us you did so. For a second entry, like us on Facebook and let us know you did so. Also, in your comment, tell us your favorite dad memory. This giveaway is open through Saturday, June 14 at 11:59 EST. 

Don't miss our other Sew for Dad tutorials:
Day 1: Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation with a quilt using Who's on First