Easy sewing kits for the office
It’s not just kids who are getting ready for back-to-school! Summer can be the perfect time to make accessories to take to the office.
Here are a few sewing ideas that will brighten up your September and make you want to get back to work!
An insulated lunch bag
If you’re in the habit of taking your lunch to the office, why not sew an isothermal bag to help keep your lunch cool on the way?
The Miss Cactus lunch bag pattern, with its wide bottom and shoulder strap, makes it easy to carry your lunch (box, sandwich, dessert, water bottle…).
Sewing your own lunch bag is also an opportunity to personalize it as you wish, with a fabric and pattern that you like and that will make you want to use it every day.
For the outside of the bag, coated cotton or oilcloth are preferred, as they are easy to clean. Waxed canvas will be thicker and a little more difficult to work with than thinner coated cotton, and you need to take your time when assembling it to avoid the crowbar catching on the fabric. The use ofa roller presser foot will greatly help.
You’ll also need isothermal fabric to keep food warm or cool and protect it from outside temperatures. This type of fabric is easy to find online or in specialized stores.
The bag’s assembly also requires bias stitching for a beautiful finish: don’t hesitate to choose a contrasting color.
Office storage kits
The pencil case isn’t just for kids! It can be very useful at the office to store pens, paper clips, thumbtacks… Or to bring your make-up, your toothbrush…
You can make them in several sizes, using matching fabrics to decorate your desk.
The Miss Cactus pattern allows you to sew three sizes of kit, from 15 to 28 centimetres.
These are great projects for using up your fabric scraps, since you can easily use several colors on the same kit, or vary the colors for the exterior and lining.
Don’t hesitate to bring out your cotton pieces, coated cotton, upholstery fabric, heavy canvas, coated linen… And match them as you like!
A bag for storing or transporting your portage computer
If you use a laptop at work, you can sew yourself a pretty sleeve in a pattern you like (flowers, polka dots, animal motifs…) to store it or take it home in the evening.
The Patronnes pattern lets you sew this bag to suit your needs. You can add a handle, an inside pocket for papers, a clip for pens, an outside pocket… And use quilted fabric to protect your computer, or quilt your own fabric.
All you have to do is choose a cotton fabric – plain or printed – and join it with a wadding fabric, drawing straight lines five centimetres apart, then quilting.
For an original touch, use a metallic thread in gold or silver, or in a contrasting color to stand out against the fabric.
The back of the quilted fabric will be hidden by the lining.
Small baskets to tidy up your desk
If you tend to leave a lot of things lying around on your desk, why not sew some custom-made baskets to store the small notebooks, pens, cables and chargers that clutter up your workspace?
You can sew both sizes of Miss Cactus baskets and arrange them side by side, leaving them open or closed.
If you want them to decorate your desk, choose matching cottons. For example, you can use the lining of one basket as the main fabric of another. This will have the effect of recalling patterns and colors.
You’ll also need to choose a fairly thick fabric, such as an upholstery fabric. Or use strong fusible webbing to stiffen the whole thing and keep the baskets open.
Do you have any hand-sewn accessories at your desk? What projects would you like to sew for back-to-school?
