Tilkunviilaaja®

I’ve made more than 360 zipper bags during my 16+ blogging years. Over the years, I’ve learned so many things – not only about sewing zipper bags, but how to use scraps, colour, and contrast, where to place the focus pieces on the surface, and the best ways to quilt them to effect. Some of the learnings came because my methods and techniques developed. Others I learned through mistakes, or by reflecting on why I liked or did not like one creation or another. For example, I’ve realised that scrappy zipper bags can benefit from having visual order, that value contrast matters more than matching fabrics, and that the density of quilting will change how a bag looks and feels. I’ve also been surprised to learn how different people’s preferences are when it comes to size, shape, or colour. It’s liberating to know that a standard shape and size is not the only way to go! In this post, I will share my learnings – including one thing that can make your zipper bag look classily handmade in...

If you’ve been following my work for a while, you’ll know that I like to share my own quilted makes in Tilkunviilaaja’s Instagram. It’s a pleasure to share more details of their stories here as well. The most recent finish is a zipper bag which I named Quiddity (or Olemus in Finnish). It is also the first zipper pouch that I’ve sewn this year. A milestone! I put together the surfaces quickly, to have a project for an upcoming quilting day with friends whom I first got to know in social media – through their blogs or Instagram accounts. And because I wanted a quick make, I just took whatever fabrics that I found on or at arm’s length from my sewing table and made “scrap-in-a-box” squares. The squares end up being of different sizes, but I trim them so that several of them are of the same width or length. Then they can be sewn together as columns (or as rows), to make a surface that is of suitable size for a zipper bag. I’ll have to share an image of another project to show you...

When you finish a patchwork surface, it may feel overwhelming to come up with a suitable quilting pattern. How to quilt it so that it does credit to the patchwork? This post is for confident beginners and intermediate quilters who enjoy making small projects like quilted bags, zipper bags, or mini quilts, and who want practical ideas for quilting them. This post includes:  3 interesting tips before you start quilting 9 ways to quilt using only a straight stitch 6 patterns with spirals, arcs and curves 6 easy free-motion quilting patterns  Over the years, I’ve tried many different quilting patterns on bag and pouch surfaces. My go-to patterns are very easy and do not require free-motion quilting.  In this post, I’m sharing 21 easy and proven ways to quilt a patchwork surface, ranging from very simple straight-line quilting to more decorative free-motion patterns. These ideas work especially well for small projects. I’ll share photos of my actual works, so you can se...