Poppy Tote and a Top Tip

I have been following a great blog by a young seamstress who made a very cute tote bag.  Do pop over and check out her blog - she is hugely talented :)

So, I knew I had to make me one of these totes, so I hot tailed it over to Megan Neilsen's blog (the designer of the tote) for the details.

And here we have it - pretty cute!
 

The fabric is a gorgeous duck canvas and I added a bit of plastic canvas in the bottom to give it some shape.  I wanted to share a Top Tip (argh, I really can't remember where it came from - did I read it somewhere, or was I told it - if it is your top tip, please let me know so that I can give you credit!) that I have been using for years.  It is a foolproof way sewing straight, accurate stitches and all you need is a Post It pad.  I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Yep, pretty simple isn't it?!  Simply take the back off a pad of Post It notes, and stick them on your machine to act as a guide as you sew.  All you do is butt your fabric up against the pad and you will sew a perfectly straight row of stitches.  I find it really helpful when I am sewing two rows of stitches close to each othe (no need for a double needle) and when I need to stitch a distance that is not marked on my machine.  When you are done, remove the pad, and next time you want to use it, take off the bottom 'note' and you have a fresh (non-sticky) sticky strip to stick to your machine.  I find that to get the best results, have the sticky strip on the left of the pad where your fabric run along it.

Well, that is my top tip - what is yours?