Bling That Zipper Binder!

As the school year approached, I was informed that Bailey needed a new zipper binder because the one she used last year was broken.  Tight on cash for school supplies, I cringed at the thought of needing to spend yet another 20 bucks... but decided that since the other two monkeys were getting new backpacks, in the grand scheme of things, it would be a fair deal.

Fast forward a couple months to a room cleaning/overhaul... I find her old binder shoved into the top of the trash can.  Well, being the resourceful trash-digging type, I snatch it out just to make sure nothing valuable was still inside.  What do I find?  A handful of never-been-used lined paper, a perfectly good 3-ring zipper pouch for pencils and such, and what appears to be a fully functional (but not beautiful) binder.

"Um, I thought you said your binder was broken," I say in confusion... turns out the only thing broken about it was the zipper on the outside pocket which really doesn't have much use at all since you can barely squeeze your fingers inside.  Also, there were complaints that a "friend' had drawn doodles on the binder which made it an unsightly embarrassment.

I decided to try to cover the flaws... and create a "back-up binder" in the event that sometime in the near future her currently used binder became broken or doodle vandalized.

First, I used a black Sharpie to cover most of the evidence of doodle marks.  This worked quite well, except for the problem which became apparent after handling the binder for a while... my finger tips began to show signs of staining.  Ooops.  I applied a coat of Mod Podge over the Sharpie.  For now, that seems to be working.  Here is a picture of the binder after Sharpie application:

Next step, I thought it might be fun to add a little ruffle along under the zipper, leaving a little exposed zipper detail which is kind of still in style, right?  I'm sure there are lots of great ruffle tutorials out there... I basically just took a long strip of scrap fabric I had, and ironed over a little edge for a hem.  No measuring or pinning or anything like that... if a sewing project takes that much precision, then I probably don't have the skills or patience to  complete it.  As a rule, I only sew crafts and costumes... neither of which involve durability or much accuracy.

 

Next step, sew along the folded edge to make a hem.  I'm just going to make a little confession here... as I am typing the word hem, I am questioning whether that is actually even the correct term.  Obviously I am no seamstress, and obviously I have an ugly ironing borad.

 

Next, thanks to my friend Trish who taught me how to make a ruffle a while back... on the opposite side of the fabric strip I sewed two long parallel stitches down the edge being careful not to cross them... and not back stitching them on either start or finish:

Next is the fun part, you carefully pull on the threads and scrunch up the fabric into a ruffle.

Next was the tricky part, (only tricky because there wasn't much room to get the pins stuck in) find the middle of the ruffle and the middle of the binder, start there and begin pinning outward, the ruffle into the zipper pocket, and then hand stitch it on.

Once the ruffle is sewn on, all that's left is to cover up the weird red insignia with a flower.  Fold a long strip of fabric in half and sew edges together to create a long thin strip with one finished edge, cut a circle out of felt, and sew the long strip into a messy spiral... starting on the outside and working inward.  cut off any extra fabric in the middle, and adhere a gem or button or whatever center you choose.  E600 glue works well to glue on the bling, and affix the flower to the binder.

I think Berkley likes it more than Bailey does, but a zipper binder isn't very conducive to elementary school.  Recycling is fun and free.  I love free.