In The Hoop Embroidery

If you're like me an buy zippers by the dozen, you are left wondering what to make with all those zippers. (If you don't know where to buy zippers by the dozen, I highly recommend checking out ZipIt Zippers on Etsy. Great selection and excellent service.)

I've been fascinated with in-the-hoop (ITH) embroidery projects since I bought my embroidery machine. I found myself over at the Embroidery Library looking at these darling little coin purses.

This is the Slice of Life Zipper Pouch Watermelon. They also have a Lemon and an Apple. The design was relatively quick and an overall easy project. The only thing I don't like about it is that the inside has raw edges instead of a clean finish. I know I can figure out how to overcome this, but I wanted to see how it was done before trying to figure it out on my own.

I also have a couple zipper pouches from Disorderly Threads. 

This is the High Top Shoe Zipper Bag (5" x 7"). These have a fully finished lining. This was my first of these and I learned so much. Mostly I learned that you should have two projects going on at a time if you want to make stuff like this. The stitching out isn't that much fun.

I've also recently discovered Designs by Little Bee. I can't wait to try out some of their fun designs.

Do you know of some great independent designers I should check out? Share your ideas in the comments.