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!