Sunday 30 March 2014

Sew together bag overload

Those of you who follow me over on IG have already Had Enough of hearing about my efforts this weekend to make a @sewdemented Sew Together bag (called so because it is spacious enough to keep all your sewing bits and bobs together).  I purchased the pattern for this when Crazy Mom showed the version she made a while ago on her blog.  That Amanda Jean has a lot to answer for, you know.  Anyway I loved it and Had To Have It.

But the kick up the bum I needed to get this off my to-do list was the cute little 3" square charm pack of Lizzie House fabric that I won from @queenbeefabrics on Instagram.  *awesome*.  So off I went to Spotlight to get some zippers (because I had forgotten about the pile of them I had in my sewing box - durrr).

This was my plan.  It looks simple, but that's because you didn't spend an hour with me messing around with the charm pack before I realised that I liked the look of it if better if I removed the yellow and green tones.


The pattern has faced a bit of flack on-line for being a bit tricky and lacking in graphics.  Luckily for me, there has been a sew-along held recently over at Quilt Barn.  I had a look through the tutorials they put up, and of course, having seen the pictures, thought it was just fine.  I have made plain zipper purses before too, so I know the basics of zipper installation, which helps.  Overall, I would say don't be scared - you can't go too far wrong if you just get started and do one step at a time.

Although I had the outside fabrics, I felt the need to get some linings.  Those two pink spots are Kaffe Fassett - this is the first time I have used his prints - the photos do not do them justice.  The low volume purse linings were from my stash.  The grey and navy dots are Riley Blake.


Here it is all finished - this is the front.


This is the inside.


And this is the side - with a little label - cause I'm posh, you know.


In terms of tips - I found that Bernie handled the fabric thicknesses just fine, even with a quilting needle.  But if you're on a smaller machine, I think that a thicker needle would help with the parts where you sew the inner and outer together.  I extended my stitch length to 3, which helped too.  I quilted the outside, but used medium fusible interfacing for the internal pouches, which gave it just the right amount of body.  I also used 10" zippers, and trimmed them down, because Spotlight doesn't sell 9" ones (as recommended).  They worked just fine!

So that's it.  If you are keen on making one, have a look at #sewtogetherbag on Instagram for some inspiration.  There are heaps of gorgeous examples.  You won't be able to choose!

Now I have to figure out what to use it for - sitting and admiring it on my table is only useful for so long.  Any family members who want one for Christmas better let me know now - it is a pretty time consuming labour of love!

8 comments:

Julie said...

Beautiful bag Liz. Love your multi-coloured linings and pockets. I used 10" zips too, and would probably use medium interfacing rather than lightweight if I make another one.

Susie said...

It looks fantastic. I don't think I could do this.

Linda B said...

I think it came out stunning!

Leonie said...

Uhoh!! I have to have one! It looks awesome Liz! Love the colours and combos and of course, that posh label :)

DeborahGun said...

amazing you are :-)

Cat said...

I know I want one
I know I need one
But really do I have time for another WIP
Yours is incredible
Well done for finishing

Mari said...

Beautiful! I´ve made 4 of these so far. The first one I made without instructions by studying pictures posted in internet. I liked the result but bought the pattern anyway...Making the second bag took me 10 hours; 4h for outside panel (pieced and quilted) and cutting all the pieces and 6h for sewing (time for reading instructions, ripping seams and feeding family counted out). Others were a little faster.
The measurements of the bag can easily be changed to suit longer or shorter zippers, since all you need to change is the width of the pieces.

Sarah said...

Beautiful bag Liz, and definitely one I am not going to tackle! Way too fiddly for me and the sparse amount of time I get to sew. Where do you order your labels from? And do they have your contact details on the other side? I'm interested in getting some made to sew into the binding of my quilts.