CAN I SEW ON PLASTIC? GREAT SUMMER SEWING PROJECTS: BEACH BAGS AND MORE

This JELLY BAG is made by trapping bits of tissue paper & yarn scraps between 2 sheets of clear table cloth vinyl. Then pressing it WITH Teflon pressing sheet (IMPORTANT or the plastic will melt & stick to your iron!). Then the little bag was constructed from this vinyl sandwich using the JANOME ULTRA GLIDE FOOT to make an envelope style baggie with popper as the closure. Great for all sorts of bits & pieces from sewing notions, to pencils to cosmetics to meds to whatever!

YES you can! provided you have the right tools, of course. If you perhaps tried to sew on/with plastic like table cloth vinyl, pleather, rubberized fabrics, rainwear fabrics like Gortex, etc you probably found that the results were a bit iffy as the metal presser foot “sticks” to the plastic and your stitches distort or pile up & make a jam up. Happen to you?? You are not alone. BUT the problem can be fixed if you purchase the correct tool which just happens to be called the JANOME ULTRA GLIDE FOOT. This foot is a Teflon foot which literally glides over the plastic with no problems at all.

This foot is available for 7mm and 9mm machines as well as together with the NEW ultra glide needle plate for Easy set bobbin machine models.  Part #’s are as follows:

1. For 7mm machines with top loading bobbin: Part # 200329004   2. For Front loading bobbin machines: Part # 200141000

3. For 9mm machines: Part #202091000

4. Ultra glide needle plate & foot set for ALL 9mm machines: Part# 202201005 – please refer to the recent blog post on 9th May on this particular NEW foot & accessory

5. There is also an Ultra glide foot for the JANOME 1600P straight stitch machine. Part#:767404028  I have used these feet on a number of occasions to make a variety of projects where I used plastic of one sort or another: beach tote bags, pencil cases for kids, vinyl place mats, luggage tags with a clear vinyl window for the address label, etc.

Here are some more pics:

A slightly bigger version of the little envelope baggie above – this one has handles as well as a popper and the layers of plastic were stitched together with a few random lines of straight stitch

And a larger shopping tote bag or beach bag – same technique

 

More or less the same technique where fussy cut fish from a quilting cotton were sandwiched & pressed between 2 layers of table cloth plastic. And a mesh base was added to the bag for collecting sandy sea shells or holding a wet beach towel.

BAGS? PLACEMATS? WHAT ELSE CAN YOU THINK OF? ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FUN WITH YOUR ULTRA GLIDE ACCESSORIES??? WHAT ABOUT CREATING A ONE-OF-A-KIND BEACH TOTE BAG FOR THE LAZY, HOT SUMMER DAYS AT THE BEACH OR LAKE??? ANYONE FANCY A DIP IN THE LAKE OR SOAKING UP THE SUN WITH A TALL COOL DRINK IN HAND? …….WELL GET BUSY AS YOU’LL NEED A TOTE BAG LIKE OURS PICTURED HERE TO GET ALL YOUR SUMMER GOODIES TO THE PERFECT SPOT ON THE BEACH OR LAKESHORE…………………WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Yet another bag using the same technique but this time chopped up pieces of gold lame fabric and yellow organza was sandwiched between the 2 layers to make a “flashy” tote bag. Straps were strips of gold lame fabric reinforced with cutaway stabilizer.