RWB Sleeve

A friend has made a Red, White and Blue kite and it is time to make a sleeve for the kite. These are the plans for making a Red, White and Blue Fold-Over Kite Sleeve.

The kite is 33" inches long. The Fold-Over top is 3". 33 plus 3 = 36". 36" divided by 3 colors is 12" per color. But wait, there is more.

Assuming that Blue is the bottom color and Red is the top color, the Blue and the White panels are all the same. The panels are already cut to be 4-1/2" wide. We will add 2 half-inch seam allowances to our 12" dimension.

Cut 2 Blue panels, each 13" long. Cut 2 White panels, each 13" long.

The Red panels are different. Each panel needs a Hem on one end. We do 3/8" hems. One Red panel need to be 3" longer than the other.

Cut ONE Red panel 12-5/8" long. Cut ONE Red panel 15-5/8" long.

Sleeve Assembly:  Find a Blue panel and a White panel. Align them so that all their edges match up, and sew across one end, using the magnet and the width of the Presser Foot for an allownace. HINT: 3 small pieces of Seamstick will work just like it has been Hot Tacked. In the pic below, one end of the 13" x 4-1/2" panel has 3 pieces of seamstick. Peel them and place the White panel on top of the Blue.

In the pic below, the white backing has been peeled off of the Seamstick, and the White panel placed on top of the Blue panel. Look closely and you can see the dark rectangles of the Blue showing through the Seamstick.

To keep things simple, get all the seams ready to sew, and then sew all 4 seams before removing the magnet..

Don't worry about felling (folding) and top sewing the seams yet. Keep the magnet in place and keep sewing seams.

BEFORE YOU REMOVE THE MAGNET to finish the seams, Mark the end of each Red panel for a 3/8" hem. Notice in the pic below that the chalk line for folding the hem is on the GOOD side of the bag.

Crease and sew the hem(s). The pic below is trying to show that the bad side, the inside, of the hem, is on the same side as the insides of the seams.

The next step is to finish the seams. Fold them towards the bottom of the bag. All seams fold towards the Blue panels. The pic below shows the seams are folded towards the Blue and sewn. I use a straight stitch, but Zig-Zag covers a multitude of sins ...

When all 4 seams have been top-stitched, it is time to sew the bag together. In a perfect world, the bag panels would be Hot Tacked all the way around the edges, and the bag would be sewn together in one pass. But not everyone has a Hot Tacker.

Put the magnet back on the machine and set up for Straight Stitch. The easiest way to get the Fold-Lok Top aligned correctly is to start sewing at the Blue and sew up one side of the bag to the Red.

 Okay - we have 2 panel strips, and one is 3" longer than the other. Take the LONGER strip and lay it out GOOD side up. Put a small piece of Seamstick on the bottom right corner of the GOOD side of the Blue panel.

 Then take the SHORTER strip and align on the longer strip, with the BAD side up. Said another way, we want GOOD sides together. Line up the corners, peel the white backing from the Seamstick, and stick the panels together, as below.

Before sewing the edge of the bag, put a mark on the Red, 6 inches in from the end of the bag.

The pic above is to show the mark that is 6 inches from the end of the bag. Please do not look at the far left hem, because it is upside down. It is bad side up and it should be GOOD side up.

When you are sure that GOOD sides are together, shorter strip is on top, and Red is marked 6" in from the end, sew up one side of the bag.

Above shows sewing up one side of the bag and how easy it is to line up the edges using a sewing magnet.

Sew until the mark on the Red is on the throat of the machine.

Put a small piece of Seamstick on the right side of the closest end of the Red.

Peel off the backing and fold up the longer Red to fit underneath the shorter Red. The FOLD of the bottom Red should be a little bit towards the sewer from the hem of the shorter Red Panel.

Sew all the way to the end and backtack.

Remove your work, trim the thread, and go back to that corner on the Blue where you started sewing the edge. Start sewing in that same corner and sew up the remaining 2 sides of the bag.

The Red will automagically be where it needs to be when you get there.

Sew all the way to the end and backtack.

Now just turn the bag inside out, and you are done!

Above the bag has been turned inside out and the kite is laid next to it.

The pic above is to show that the finished bag is 3" longer than the kite.