Up For A Challenge

I worked on a bit of a sewing challenge yesterday...something my husband asked me to do last week. Yep, wouldn't you know it, I am knee deep in BRD models and making holiday gifts and my husband comes to me with a sewing project he needed done (of course) by this weekend. Our conversation started by him bringing me the following hunting item:

Now, for those of you who aren't sure what this is, it is a blaze orange handwarmer muff - it has a strap that you use to hold it around your waist (like a fanny pack for warm hands). He says it is his favorite and it is the best for keeping his hands warm. So what is the problem, you ask? Well, he wants it to be camouflage for when he is sitting in the timber bow hunting...but also wants to have to option to have it blaze orange for gun hunting. Okay, I am up for a challenge...so last week, while out with my friend Merry, I picked up a yard of Realtree camouflage fabric (I took a photo of his camouflage clothes with my phone, so I could match the print in the store). Last night, I finally got around to measuring the muff and getting my plan together - at first, I planned to use Velco to hold the camo fabric around the muff, but as I began sewing, I got the idea to use a zipper. I still had to figure out how I was going to accommodate the straps, but I decided I would get the fully lined fabric sleeve prepared first. After the fabric sleeve with zipper was complete and fit perfectly, I decided to use two buttonholes for the straps...the end result was this:

I was happy to use the fancy schmancy sensor one-step buttonhole foot on my sewing machine and it worked perfectly (I did a couple on test buttonholes on scrap fabric first). I had to mark the strap placement, as it was different on each side, but that wasn't a big deal...and I had to make the largest buttonhole my machine allows to accommodate the large buckles on the strap. It actually worked perfectly - even better than I had planned - and here is the end result:

It is easily removable and covers all the blaze orange. My husband was so happy and it was exactly what he wanted - he can now use it for both types of hunting and his hands will stay toasty warm! Several years ago, I never would have dreamed I could tackle this project - but today I feel quite confident in my sewing skills. Yes, challenges can be a good thing....