Monday, February 8, 2010

trinket keepers tutorial

If your boys have as many collections as mine do, then you will want to mak at least a dozen of these. I find their little trinkets in the washer, dryer, their pockets, and all over the house. When they were really young they loved to carry their Thomas trains around with them everywhere we went. Then they moved on to dinosaurs, Hot Wheels, Pokemon cards, Bakugan, and Tech Decks. And, now my oldest son needs something to carry his iPod and DSi in. These are SUPER simple. The hardest part which is also the most fun is deciding what cool image, stencil, or applique you want to put on the front of each one. Here is the tutorial for the trinket keepers-

Here's what you need:(2)Outside fabric pieces (see below for the size you will need)

(2)Lining fabric pieces the same size as the outside fabric
3/8" Grommet kit - 2 grommet sets per pouch
carabeener - the spring loaded clip used to attach to belt loop or backpack

Sizes: For each of the little trinkets in our house, I have figured up the sizes of fabric that work best to hold them. You can always adjust according to what trinkets you have!
- 4"wide X 6"high = iPod, Pokemon cards, baseball cards, Hot Wheels, and Tech Decks
- 4"wide X 5"high = Bakugan, marbles, plastic bugs, plastic dinosaurs
- 5"wide X 6"high = Thomas the Tank Engine trains
- 6"wide X 8"high = Show and Tell and DSi

1. First, the fun part...Let's make the label on the front of the pouch. There are so many ways to do this. What I chose to do is print directly on the fabric, freezer paper stencil and applique. If you are printing directly on the fabric, you can buy fabric sheets designed for your printer or just back a piece of 8 1/2" 11" piece of muslin fabric with a piece of freezer paper the same size to give it the stability it needs to run through the printer. I got this idea from a friend and it works great. I am not sure if it is color safe, but we have no plans to wash these. You can go here for a tutorial on freezer paper stencils and applique is easy too. So, add your label and/or image in the center of the front piece of outside fabric. *Update - I have recieved a few ideas and suggestions that will help with making your printed images (from the ink jet printer) color safe and water resistant. Check here for directions and thanks for the help.

2. Now cut out your 4 pieces of fabric - (2) for the outside and (2) for the lining. I am using 4"X5" pieces in this tutorial which is perfect for the boys' little marbles and Bakugan toys.

3. Put your two pieces of outside fabric right sides together and sew around the three sides leaving the opening at the top using a 3/8"seam. Cut the corner edges off at and angle and turn right side in.

4. Take your two pieces of lining fabric and put them together with right sides facing each other. Sew all around the three sides leaving the top open and a small 2" opening at the bottom. Clip the corner edges and leave inside out.

5. Take your outside fabric and place it inside the lining. Right sides should be facing each other.

6. Sew all the way around the top with a 3/8"seam.

7. Pull the outside fabric through the hole of the lining. It will look like this photo.

8. Now tuck the 2"hole of the lining in and sew to close.

9. Stuff the lining back in to the outside fabric and top stitch with a 1/4" seam all the way around.
10. Mark the center from the side edges 1/2" down. This is where the grommet will go. Do that on both sides of the outside fabric since you will need a grommet set per side. Set grommets according to directions on package. Mine are General brand that I bought at Home Depot because I wanted ones that were big enough to hold the carabeener hook. The carabeeners are available at Home Depot, Lowes, Wal Mart and almost anywhere and come in so many fun colors.

11. Fill it up with trinkets and hook the carabeener hook through the grommets. It's ready to clip on to anything!


78 comments:

Aunt LoLo said...

Ooooh...so cool!!

Unknown said...

Oh I just love these!! The show and tell ones is adorable (well they all are). What a great idea!

Lindsay

Ruthie said...

What an absolutely fabby idea - came over from Rae's (only just found her site) and am so pleased - I have a 9yr old who always fills up his pockets with "stuff" - that "stuff" can include pencil sharpenings, small stones, lids off other kids drinks, seeds - oh just about anything and everything....am thinking one of these attached to his inner zip tag on his jacket....soooo much easier and all his "treasures" contained nice and neat!

thanks so much!

Rx

chris said...

Another amazing idea. Thanks for sharing, Traci. Hooray for boys!

Kigwit said...

What a great idea! My sons would love these.

Amber said...

what a cute idea!! thanks for sharing! and thanks for the freezer paper/printer idea-- i'm totally trying that!

Heather said...

so cute Traci! fun v-day gift for my boys maybe?

Unknown said...

These are AWESOME!! Perfect for Valentine's Day, stuffed with a few chocolate kisses perhaps? Can you tell me where you got the train image? Is it a transfer?

-Jenny
jenniferyarbrough@hotmail.com

Helen190390 said...

i think these are so cute! im off to make some now :)

www.hollie-in-bloom.blogspot.com

marnae said...

These are so great. I think I will be making these for my son and daughter. But just a tip: I have made fabric sheets before with freezer paper as a stabilizer, and they are NOT colorsafe unless you treat the fabric first with a product like Bubble Jet Set 2000 solution and optional rinse. If they get wet at all they bleed..trust me, I know from experience :( For more info, See Amy Karol's book Bend The Rules with Fabric. Thanks for the great tutorial :)

Rebekah B. said...

What a great idea! Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to whip up a dozen of these.

the mama monster said...

thanks for the awesome idea! i have three boys too, they really are always toting things around constantly!

Anna said...

those are SUPER cute!!!! I love love love them, and the grommets are super cool. Will be making these for my girls! :)

Skooks said...

This is so awesome! My little guy is only 6 months old, but I know that someday the collections will come. Filing this one away for a later time. :) Thanks so much for sharing!

Melissa {polkadot chair} said...

This all turned out so great!! The photos are fabulous and I LOVE your mosaic on made by rae!!

Andrew NEEDS some of these... gotta have to get crackin!

Micah said...

Genius! I had thought of making something similar but the grommets and carabiniere are ideal. Thank you, thank you for thinking it through for me. They are perfect!

Just Rhonda said...

awesome!!!! I'm gonna make some!

Sharon-The OKI StampQueen said...

NOT just for KIDS!!! I want about a dozen for ME!!! These would make great girlfriend gifts with chapstick, nail polish and file...hmmm! ; ) Thanks for sharing! Blessings, Sharon

Laura said...

Those are awesome!! We have a few road trips planned for this summer and those will be GREAT for the car organization! Thanks!!
New to your blog and LOVE it!!

Sherri said...

These are awesome!

Susan said...

These are amazing! I can't wait to make a bunch! I've made little pouches for my kids before, but the idea of putting in a gromit for a carbiner is fabulous! My kids love carbiners. My 9 year old has a bday party coming up - these would make perfect party favors.

Christy said...

Very fun! I love the images and fabrics you used. There's a recipe on craftster for homemade bubble jet set that you can use to pretreat your fabric so the ink won't wash out. http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=129537.0Thank

MuseBootsi said...

I was looking for a present to make for my sons friend. This is perfect. And I'll be making some for my boys as well! Brilliant!

erica said...

What a great idea... I am totally going to do this!

Susie said...

Just finished my first one - there will be many more to come I think. thank you so much.

dana said...

Oh my gosh! So cool!
Great idea Traci. Thanks for showing us how!

Brittany said...

Little boys do like to collect and carry around stuff, don't they? This is perfect for my son's little toy mouse that he takes EVERYWHERE. Thank you! I can't wait to try it!

Kari Sweeten said...

Sooo impressed with this idea!! You are so creative! I'll definitely be featuring.

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Rhonda said...

How cute is that!? Perfect for lil' boys.

Grace said...

This is really cute. I can't wait to make them for my boys to store their Bakugan cards. Where did you buy your gorgeous fabrics from?

Grace said...

Whoops, I just re-read your blog and saw that the images are pre-printed! Thanks.

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

Those are so cute and super useful, I love them! Thanks so much for the how-to, I'll be linking.

Lai Foong said...

I love them! Could you please let me know where you find the images, especially the train and the one that you labelled "stuff" with? Much appreciated, thank you for the tutorial.

Susan said...

I just stopped by Home Depot to pick up some grommets. Unfortunately, the General brand grommets carried at our local store contain lead Not so good for kid projects! Anyone have a good online source?

traci said...

I wasn't aware of the lead in the General Brand. I do know that Dritz has a line of grommets that you can buy in the sewing notions section at the fabric store. Since these won't be carrying anything heavy duty, I am sure that they will work. Just make sure the hole is big enough for the clasp to fit in!

Somer said...

I love these. They might even save my washing machine, since I forget to check my little man's pockets. Where did you get the cute images?

Wendy said...

These are absolutely inspired. I must make a batch for my kidlets...as soon as it's warm enough to spend more than 12 seconds in my craft room....

KB and Friends said...

Wow! These trinket keepers are adorable! Thank you for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I don't stop by for a few days and I miss these! What a great idea! My son could use some of these. We use little drawstring bags I made for car trips and such, but I think he would dig the clip on aspect of these.

cally said...

these are so great!

Unknown said...

These are such a cute idea! I can NOT WAIT to make up a few (a bunch!) for my little guy--maybe it will save me from a washing machine full of nickels and pennies and rocks and paper clips and fuzz and whatever else fills his pockets!!!
Thanks so much!

Yume Design said...

Love this idea. My boys will too!

Amy Liz said...

These are great for learning the alphabet and placing toys in the pocket for each letter. I love this idea thanks!

Angie - treasuresfortots@gmail.com said...

OMGosh I LOVE it! Come link your cute tute at my party: Thursday's Treasures!!
http://treasuresfortots.blogspot.com/2010/02/thursdays-treasures-week-9.html

Kim said...

These are great. I had some boyish valentine fabric, so I just did a couple to fill with some candy treats, and Bakugans. thanks for the idea!

Unknown said...

I love these! I just made one each for my son and daughter to fill with Valentine's goodies. I modified it a little... I didn't have grommets so I made buttonholes instead. It works great! Thanks so much for the tutorial, Traci.

Brooke said...

Just love these a modern Version of a marble bag of the past.
Posted a link on my site and blog today. Very cute Idea
http://thetincats.blogspot.com/
http://tincatchat.proboards.com/
Brooke

tscd said...

Hi Traci, thank you so much for this tutorial - I tried it out with a few alterations and it worked SO great and now my son has a trinket keeper that he takes everywhere with him!

I linked your tutorial on my journal entry, hope you don't mind: http://looktotherainbow.blogspot.com/2010/03/little-treasures.html

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Sandra :) said...

Hi, Traci - I made my first Trinket Keeper today - it is CUTE cute cute! I posted a link to your tute on my blog - thank you for such a great project - I'm headed back to the machine to make more of these little sweeties, lol!

Sandra :) said...

Boy the spammers sure aren't taking a holiday, eh? I wish they'd stop posting their crap everywhere!

I made 3 more Trinket Keepers today - I bought 2 more packages of grommets and will get more carabiners when I can get to the store - these little guys are addictive and FUN!!!

Ocean Peg said...

Cute idea. I think I's like one for my cell phone. Can have it hang off of my purse. I use those clips for hanging my keys off of my purse. Can do same with a cell phone, to get to it quickly when it rings. Not just for kids things...

Amanda Medlin said...

This is such a great tutorial! My 2 1/2 year old son has already started his "collections" and has a carabeener addiction. Thanks for the idea!

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evamarie said...

I loved your tutorial. I made my son one today and its right beside him on his pillow right now! Thank you for sharing.

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Kathy said...

http://eskimomomma.blogspot.com/2011/01/gifts-i-made-this-year-part-iii-trinket.html

Thanks for the great tutorial. The kids LOVED these!!

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Crystal said...

Hi tracie! would you consider selling these to a girl who loves crafts but is not a crafter? hahah I have two boys ans thought these would be great to take on vacation in march! let me know cartersmommy@live.com

Crystal- Ohio

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Born again Bumpkin said...

These are fab, my little 3 year boy has "treasures" everywhere, so I will try to make some of these for him. Just inherited an old singer machine hand turning so want to try some things out. I love your blog, very inspiring as I am just staring to get into making things, thanks :)

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Jaimee @ Havenwood House of Boys said...

I can't even tell you how rad these are! I have 3 boys, and saw these Trinket Keepers posted on another blog, then squeezed them in as a last-minute Christmas gift project. LOVE them! I ended up making more for some family friends for a birthday right after Christmas. You can make these in so many sizes and so many styles - crazy fun! Thanks a mil for sharing the how-to! You can see the ones I made at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ByCraftInterrupted