By: Linda Griepentrog
Mixed
Whether you’re making our Sweet Satchel or another fun tote, working with fun food or candy wrappers is a
great way to recycle these colorful normally throw-away pieces. You’re essentially creating your own
“fabric”—albeit from trash.
But can you really sew on paper, foil or cellophane wrappers? You
betcha’. But you need to keep a few tips in mind.
• Plan ahead before you rip open a package willy-nilly. Try to open
the package neatly to maintain as much of the package integrity as possible so you have material to work
with.
• Wrappers and other food packaging need to be rinsed clean before use and allowed to dry
thoroughly.
• Use a small machine needle to help avoid leaving large needle holes in these
substrates.
• Avoid pins and use spring clips to hold things in place. Pins will leave permanent
marks and may tear the base. If you must use pins, keep them within the seam allowance only.
• Do
not press wrappers with an iron. Finger-press only and use a wooden stick or roller to help flatten
seams.
• Although wrappers can be sewn together on their own with a regular seam, it strengthens
your project to layer them onto a fabric base. This also gives you a built-in lining.
• Use a small
sewing machine needle—size 70/10 is ideal.
• When piecing wrappers to a fabric base, attach them
using a narrow, medium-length zigzag stitch (1.5mm width, 2.5mm length). Using a slight zigzag helps
eliminate perforations sometimes occurring with a simple straight stitch seam. Length your stitch to
3.0mm for any straight stitching.
• To strengthen a collage of wrappers used on their own, consider
adding a layer of very lightweight vinyl over the mix to protect the labels. When inserting a zipper
into wrappers, use a turned-under edge for added strength.
• Handle pieces gently when turning,
poking out corners, etc.
Give it a try with our easy zippered pouch below, or the Sweet Satchel
project.
Zip Pouch
Cut two pieces of cotton print the desired finished
length and height, plus ½” (1.27cm) for seams.
Choose a Coats All-purpose Zipper slightly
longer than the pouch finished length.
With a lining rectangle wrong side up, piece the wrappers to
it using a zigzag to join the pieces to the fabric, and overlapping adjacent pieces by at least 1/8”
(.32cm). Cover the entire lining piece and sew around the edges; trim the wrappers to match the lining
size. Repeat for the second half.
Using a wrapper scrap, fold in half and sew at the end of the
zipper, just beyond the stop. Sew the piece in place along the zipper tape edges and trim. This keeps
the bulky zipper stop out of the seam.
Finger-press under ¼” (.64cm) on each pouch opening edge.
Using spring clips to hold it, lap one folded edge over the zipper tape aligning the pouch edge with the
zipper stop. Stitch in place using a zipper foot. With the zipper open, trim the opened end of the
zipper to the proper length to fit the pouch upper edges. Repeat to attach the zipper to the opposite
pouch side.
Fold the pouch right sides together along the zipper center and sew the side and bottom
seams using a ¼” (.64cm) seam. Carefully turn the pouch right side out and gently poke out the corners.
