Meet Harvey

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Difficulty:

Category: Sewing

Type of item: Accessory

For: Unisex

Style: Cute, Outdoorsy, Classic, Whimsical, Hipster, Casual

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Materials

Harvey the Chipmunk UT4925 Urban Threads machine embroidery design $7, Navy Chevron Corduroy Upholstery Fabric, Zebra Striped Blue and Blue Printed Cotton Interior, Re-cycled Padding from Baby Crib Bumper Pad purchased at Goodwill, 9" Warn Brown Zipper, Metal D Rings for carrying strap tabs, and my own Handmade Polymer Clay Beads for a Zipper Pull.

What was your inspiration?

Graphic Designer Teagen White created the character Harvey, The Chipmunk. Harvey is available as a machine embroidery design at Urban Threads UT4925 for $7. From the moment I saw Harvey The Chipmunk I was smitten and knew he'd look smashing on a Navy Corduroy tote 7.5 by 10 inches.

What are you most proud of?

I like creating my own handmade polymer clay beads to make a stylish, functional zipper pull. The extra long straps, D rings and tabs total 56" and are comfortable to wear hands free cross-body--or knotted over the shoulder. I wear one of these totes cross-body to carry my Kindle while listening to a book and walking.

A removable padded drop pocket fits snugly inside the zebra print cotton lined tote. It is constructed of upcycled baby crib bumper pads covered with same zebra print cotton).

I chose a warm brown contrasting color for the zipper, just like the color of our friend Harvey. And, I re-used the blue on blue zebra print cotton to add a punch of color for trim.

I'm currently constructing a matching laptop tote to go with this little tote--using the same materials and of course Harvey. Harvey takes 107 minutes to machine embroidery the design, and 10 thread changes.

What advice would you give someone starting this project?

Everytime I work on a sewing project . . .
I rip out something along the way and re-do it. And laugh about it later. (I've been sewing 50 years),
I poke myself and draw blood,
I remind myself sewing is a joy, not a marathon race,
I challenge myself to use up-cycled materials in all my projects, not just sewing.
I am happy.