day fifty four: travel activity packs

travel activity packs ready to go :)

day fifty four and can i first say to all the new people stopping by ... THANKS for taking the TIME it means a lot :)

** update: full tutorial at the end of this post **

today we are continuing on for taking pinterest 365 on the road in a couple of days to singapore!  but first we need to get there and entertain the kids on the way so it will be a pleasant 10 hour flight without whinning ... right kids?  actually they are very good travellers and while they have travelled this amount of time in a car plenty of times, it will be their first long haul flight, so best to be well prepared!

luckily pinned to my home school projects board are lots of travel games and travel kit ideas .. thank goodness for pinterest in moments like these!  i am going to use the lovely stitch craft creations idea of a travel game folder and the ideas from the original cloth one by creating my way to success.  both of these girls have fantastic sites if you love crafting or sewing :)   i am also using the free printables from free puzzles, family fun, and game ideas for kids.

the basics for what you need to make the fabric folder and
some of the free games i printed out in A5

first up i printed all my free (love that) travel printables at A5 size so the travel folder will be about 15" x 10" when laying open and flat ... i thought if it was any larger it wouldn't fit comfortable on the tray table on the plane :)  the kids then chose the fabric and ribbon they wanted and i began cutting all the material contemplating the number of straight sewing lines i would have to undertake for this project. luckily most will be hidden :)

pinning the pockets to the inside panel

once the pockets were sewn down the side of the inside panel, i pinned the two full panels together right sides together and sewed around the outside (make sense?) ... ooohhh and don't forget to add the ribbon that will tie your folder together at this point.  i left a small gap so i could turn it out the right way, which was then hand sewn together.  i then measured and pinned a halfway line, closed my eyes and hopped for a straight sewing line as there was no way of hiding this one and put my foot down on the sewing machine!  luckily the middle seam is straight enough that the kids won't notice any of the small deviations :)

pinning the dreaded straight seam required down the middle!

i waited until the kids were busy and then filled the pockets with the printables, some new books, pencils, and other goodies so when they get them on the plane it will hopefully be a nice surprise for them.

all the goodies for inside the travel folder

outcome: we shall wait and see ... from a making point of view i am completely happy with the outcome and love how easy it was to fit SO much stuff into them without it all rolling around in their cabin bags ... all sorted and all in one easy pull out folder, love that!  whether they work as activity packs, i'll let the kids assess that for you in two days time :)

thanks so much to the wonderful creations from stitch craft creations and creating my way to success, i have made some travel activity packs i am really proud of ... their websites are full of fantastic craft creations which are totally inspiring.  and thanks to some awesome free printables from ree puzzles, family fun, and game ideas for kids these folders were a breeze to fill with fun games :)

updated full instructions:

You need to cut five pieces of fabric and one piece of stiffening:

·         2 pieces of fabric 15” x 10” and one piece of stiffening the same size . 

·         1 piece of fabric 15” x 7” … with this piece iron in half right side out so you have a piece that is 3 ½” x 15”

·         1 piece of fabric 15” x 11” … and do the same with this piece, iron in half right sides out so you end up with a piece 5 ½” x 15”

·         1 piece of fabric 15” x 16” … and do the same with this piece, iron in half right sides out so you end up with a piece 8” x 15”

·         Cut two pieces of ribbon 12” each

Once you have all the pieces cut go to your ironing board or a flat surface as we are going to put the top and pockets together before you start sewing.

·         Start with the piece of 15” x 10” piece right side up

·         Next put the 8” x 15” piece so the bottoms match up, there will be about a 2” gap at the top, pin in place

·         Next the 5 ½” x 15”  piece so the bottoms match up once again, pin in place

·         Next the 3 ½” x 15” piece so the bottoms match up, pin in place

It should look like this:

pinning the pockets to the inside panel

Then sew ¼” seams down the short sides,  this will attach your pockets in place

Next step is to add the back, interfacing, and ribbon

·         If you have iron on interfacing, iron it onto the piece of 15” x 10” yet to be used on the wrong side, obviously!

·         If not using iron on interfacing, using a flat surface again place the interfacing down

·         Then lay the unsewn piece of fabric 15” x 10” on top right side facing up at you

·         At half way along the shorter side put the ribbon on each side so that an inch is out past the width of the fabric … this will sew the ribbon in place

·         Then grab the piece of fabric with the pockets and place it right side down to finish the material sandwich 

·         Pin all pieces together around the outside.  If you pick it up you should have interfacing on one side and the wrong side of the fabric facing you on the other side, with an inch of ribbon hanging out at either short side J

·         Sew around the perimeter of the sandwich but leave a 3” gap so you are able to turn it inside out once sewn.  Sew using a ½” seam.

·         I then zigzagged around the entire perimeter (except the gap) to reduce any fraying.

·         Before turning inside out cut off the corners, being carefully not to cut into your stitching … this step is totally optional but it makes it less bulky in the corners when you turn it right side out J

Once you have sewn around the perimeter, turn right side out and iron.  You may need to poke the corners out with a pencil or closed scissors or something similar.  Hand sew the gap used to turn your creation inside out.

The final step is to pin down the centre of the travel pack and sew the straightest line you can!

Once this is done you are finished!  Good luck and if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to email me  J