Goldilocks and The Three Bears...(bags)

I have seen those really cool thread catchers all over the place...I think the first one was from Krista at  Poppyprint.  They even had them for sale at the big quilt show here this fall....but not in any colors that I liked.

So...I decided to try to make myself one! (or two...ended up being three!)
I am sure that there are many tutorials out there, and Krista does give some basic information in her post, but what the heck...how hard can it be???

I started with 2 rectangles of fabric 9"x18"  (Krista's suggested size)...

and sewed each one together at the shorter ends... then sew the bottom shut..

then squared off the bottom with a 2" measure...

Then I tucked the lining into the outer fabric, and rolled down the top making a sleeve.

As Krista suggests, I used the plastic packing tape you find lying around almost any big box store, (free...bonus !)

 and fed it into the sleeve. I have also read somewhere that someone used an old carpenters metal measuring tape.
I learned that it is best to overlap the packing tape quite a bit, which I did not do on my first try and it kind of buckles where the ends meet.

Then add a couple of straps onto the top edge to attach it to the pin cushion pillow.

I tried a few different things with the pin cushion, but found the best was just a simple 4 or 5 inch square of 2 fabrics.. sewed together and stuffed....you can sew the straps into the seam then just leave an opening on the other side to stuff it.
You have to add some weight to this, and I got some lead fishing weights to put inside, the largest size...

They cost about $1 each, and I put 2 into each one. The first one I sewed a little bag to put the weights in...just because it seemed like a good idea...nope..no good reason! So I didn't do that for the other two bags.
Then I stuffed them with stuffing from and old "pink flamingo" costume...I have 4 of these, so lots of stuffing...but that is another story for another time!! :)

I tried various sizes..I thought the first one was a little large, so I made a small one..I thought it was a little small, so I tried an in-between size..and it was just right!!  (just like Goldilocks and the 3 bears  hahaha)

Anyway, I am very happy with my new thread catcher!