On a Lark » Bags

The beautiful thing about sewing is…

Emily — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:52:02 +0000

Being able to make handmade gifts! Since my sewing machine has been collecting dust for the last month, these may not have been my best efforts. In any case, I think they came out alright.

First on the list was a new bag for my Mom. I made her this one last year, and it seemed like it was time to add a second to the collection. I used the Hobo Bag pattern from J. Caroline Creative with duck canvas and Amy Butler fabric from the interior. I’ve made this pattern in the past but I made a larger size. In hindsight, I think I liked the bigger size better, but Mother’s Day is just around the corner!

The second gift of Christmas has been on the project list since this summer. Last summer, I made a burgee for my Dad’s powerboat. Sadly, it met a watery death on Penobscot Bay. Apparently, the tiny little rod on which is was fastened was NOT fastened to the boat. A man overboard drill was conducted, but metal does not float. So this is burgee number 2, this time I made it to match the boat. I thought about including an extra in the package, but I thought that might be jinxing it.

And now that Christmas is over, I have no excuse to not finish my quilt. That said, I don’t actually know how to complete it. My plan right now is to complete the top and buy the fabric I will use for backing and binding. If someone would like to come over and show me exactly how one binds a quilt, that would be excellent. Said person is also invited to bind my quilt for me. Just kidding…sort of. I’ve been examining the Maine crazy quilt my grandmother made years ago, but I still can’t exactly figure it out. That may be because by “examining the quilt” what I mean is napping underneath it on the couch. Suggestions for online explanations would be greatly appreciated!

New Bag Design!

Emily — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:55:34 +0000

So, I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty excited about this new bag design. I used quite a few different bags I had seen around to create this design and I have a few changes that I’d like to make in the future, but I’m happy with the way this one came out. And it’s a good thing too because I made this bag for a very important guest coming to my brother’s wedding NEXT WEEK!

I used a magnetic closure for this bag, and sadly, no giant button. I think it’s better without it. I love this design because it’s so understated from the outside. It goes with everything, but then there’s just a peak of teal that shows through when you’re carrying it. I put in one large zippered pocket and two patch pockets on the inside. In the future, I think I’d like to put pockets on the sides on the outside. I was planning on adding them to this bag, but after I had I always seem to underestimate the amount of time I spend on new projects. Speaking of which, if any of you photographers out there have suggestions for how to photograph new bags, I would LOVE to hear them. Using my white blanket, wooden floor, and white door isn’t really cutting it.

Just outside the window while I worked on this bag, I saw three little robins hatch out of their little eggs and start cheeping. Spring is the best.

Another day, another…bag

Emily — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:12:28 +0000

Business is booming around here. Well…booming is a relative term. I am keeping busy though and I have a new bag design in the works. While the new design is under construction, I made another bag like this one:

I made this one for my Mom and I think it’s my favorite color combination to date. The lining on the new one is different though. I used this Amy Butler fabric:

This particular fabric was part of my graduation gift from my brother and his soon-to-be wife. I introduced her to the “design wall” feature at Fabric.com. Check it out at your own risk, it’s addictive.
Between sewing, puppy training, and job hunting, I admit I’ve spent a little too much time online imagining things I’m going to make and buy when I move to a new place. This is probably not the best use of my time but it sure is fun And I’m pretty sure I could make stuff like this (both photos from Anthropologie) for less than a couple hundred dollars:

But a lot of things still need to happen before I start Anthropologoie-ing a new apartment. One more step on the road is our street wide yard sale on Saturday. Out with the old and in with the new!

Camera Bag!

Emily — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:21:48 +0000

I’ve been a little behind on posts because I’ve been working on a new project (in between puppy training and job interviews). A high school classmate contacted me recently in need of a new camera bag. Misty is a great photographer, check out her website here and blog here. She needed four pockets inside to hold lens and two on the outside for her cell phone etc. She also needed the bag with a shoulder strap so she can comfortably carry it while shooting. She was very patient with the MANY emails back and forth to figure out exactly what she needed and it was a really nice change to try out a different project.

The biggest issue I ran into was how to make the lens pockets. They had to be large enough to hold a 3″ diameter lens that is 8-9″ long. I made several different mock-ups, I tried all different types of pleats and sizes, but I finally settled on this design:

The interior pockets are 10″ x 10″ square that I padded with two layers of Thermolam fusible fleece and put in large gussets to give it some 3-D shape. The first image is of one side of the interior, the other side is identical. Once I figured out the lens pockets, I got going on the exterior pockets. We went with magnetic closures on the top and both outside pockets so that she can easily open and close the bag. For the two exterior pockets, I added a little bit of pleats, flaps on the top, and lined it with the interior fabric to add a little color:

It’s a big bag, but I bet for a full day of wedding photography, you need all the extra space you can get! I have quite a few new projects on the works, including a Father’s Day Gift. More on that soon. Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!

Putting that old canvas to use

Emily — Fri, 14 May 2010 01:44:55 +0000

Now that Otto the puppy has come into my life, my sewing time is organized around his nap time. Which, luckily, is often. As it turns out, puppies love fabric…and cutting mats, and thread, and pins. So for now, sleeping Otto is the only Otto allowed near my sewing machine.

In the mean time, I made a new bag for a friend’s girlfriend. He and I had a little conference over the phone and came up with the colors. The cream is a sail canvas, and it has a nice texture to it. We went with navy for the body and a beautiful pink for the lining. The pink fabric was a great find, a Robert Kaufman print from my local quilting shop.

So that’s what I’ve been up to while puppy is sleeping, and when he’s not:

Stress sewing

Emily — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:06:00 +0000

I’m back home after a great time catching up with old friends. It’s always nice to know that even after years apart, it sort of seems like no time has passed at all. But this trip wasn’t all fun, it was also a job searching mission. It’s looking hopeful, which is comforting given the current job market. Still, I’ll be moving away, which is always a little tough. Cue “500 Miles” by Peter, Paul, and Mary .
So I needed a little time to clear my head. And as usual, sewing didn’t let me down. I got working on a new bag, which might look a little familiar. This bag is going to be a surprise for a great lady. And I even got to another chance to test out putting in a zippered pocket.

Pinning the pleats

Zippered pocket success!

It's done!

I think I’ve finally gotten this pattern completely worked out and it finally seems to come together without any fussing. I wrote a hubpage on how to put in a gusset using this bag as an example. So, what do you do when you need some time to think?

Zippered pocket fun

Emily — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:07:09 +0000

I will soon have some representation in Boston! I made a bag for my friend Lauren this weekend. Its the blue and white leafy bag that I posted about a few posts back, so I won’t show you all the photos of the completed project. But, this time I decided to put in a zippered pocket as well as the patch pockets. Zippered pockets are great, mostly because I have been known to pick up my bag from the bottom and dump the contents out in places like restaurants and movie theaters. At least the items in the zippered pocket have never graced the floor of a classroom or grocery store. I used this tutorial from J. Caroline Creative. It’s a great step by step article.
Here’s what I came out with:

Measuring the rectangle:

Here is the rectangle all sewed up (pocket fabric and lining right sides together and then the cutting portion:

And here’s the finished product! Sorry about the color on the picture without the zipper, it’s a little bright. I’m happy with the result, and thanks to zipper by the yard from The Fabric Warehouse, the price is right too:

Anyone else have any sewing tutorials or sites I should check out?

Time trial sewing

Emily — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:36:51 +0000

This weekend I tried a new version of the pattern I’ve been working on to see how fast I can make a bag. It ended up taking me a full Saturday morning, including a break for grilled cheese sandwiches. I found a great canvas fabric from J. Caroline Creative and left out the pleats on the exterior. I also had a little “help”:

One grumpy brown dog and one extremely happy yellow dog who loves laying on fabric as soon as you put it on the floor.
I’m still amazed by how terrible a bag can look when you are sewing the final seams, and then you turn it in side out and, as my brother once said, bingo-bango it’s done! I took a series of pictures to show the final (and best) stages of bag construction:

What is this showing? The gusset, which gives the bag some 3-D shape. I’m taking votes on different names for it. Anything would be better than gusset.

And there it is! Ready for a little top stitching and button sewing. I’ve found a few different ways of hiding the seams, like just putting the interior inside the exterior, pinning it carefully on the top and top stitching. This avoids the seam at the bottom of the interior that you have to sew at the end but it’s definitely not as much fun as turning the whole bag in on itself. It’s sort of like magic. So I still haven’t put on the button. Maybe someone will come over and sew it on for me as a surprise. I just set it on top for the final pictures. Close enough for now.

In other news, I got a great suggestion for getting my giant buttons, fimo clay! I picked up some on the way home at the hardware store (who knew?) so that should be an entertaining project for this week. If anyone has an excellent source of abnormally large and amazing buttons, let me know.

Duck canvas = the answer to interfacing woes

Emily — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:21:55 +0000

So, my Mom’s birthday is coming up! For those of you who know her, she is a great lady and has some excellent fashion (some of which she may or may not have liberated from my closet). So, for her birthday present, she picked out some fabrics that she liked and I got to work.
On the other bags I have made, I was never completely happy with the interfacing on the exterior. (Interfacing is an iron-on stiffening layer). When I made the pleats, as soon as I pressed a pleat lightly, the crease was almost impossible to remove. Answer? Duck canvas! I got mine from Joann’s on sale, but it’s available all over, especially at fabric warehouse type places. So, for Mom’s bag, I drafted about a 2/3 size from the pattern I used from my charcoal and teal bag. I’m still perfecting my pattern making skills. At the moment, this mostly involves brown wrapping paper, a ruler, and scissors. There must be a better way. Here are all the pieces ready to go:

Anyhow, I used a dark red canvas for the exterior. The handle has two layers of fusible fleece and is made from home decorator weight fabric that I got at The Fabric Warehouse in Auburn, ME. If you’re in the area, they are amazing. Great prices and very helpful staff. The interior is the same design fabric but light blue. I made two pockets, one divided to hold cell phones etc., and one with a pen holder. And of course, a giant button. I wish I could find bigger buttons. Any suggestions are welcome. Because they are great.
Here’s the finished product! I’m going to make one for myself this weekend, so stay tuned.

Using myself as a guinea pig

Emily — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:07:50 +0000

After one successful attempt at handbag sewing, I decided to make one for myself to figure out potential kinks in the patterns. I used quite a bit of the Amy Butler pattern. Charcoal and that teal color is my favorite color combination. Even though my favorite color is red. And my favorite season is spring. More Emily trivia to come haha. Here is it:

And here’s the button. Oh man I love big buttons:

Here’s a picture of the interior:

What I learned from this version:
-I need more padding in the handle: when you have a laptop inside it’s a little thin
-I’m switching to duck canvas without interfacing for the main exterior panels because the interfacing doesn’t seem to hold up as well over time and I think the duck canvas will be better/faster.