cath kidston purse

Just before I went handwork crazy with all those hexagons I got this book for my birthday.

Fun projects and great pictures, but the best part - it comes with PRECUT pieces for making the purse on the cover. PRECUT! Ready to sew. How wonderful is that?

Talk about a quick way to have a sense of accomplishment. I love to sew - I hate to do the prep work (kind of like painting a room). I did add a lining to the bag to give it more structure and included a zippered pocket, but still, the rest was already cut out!

Now if only all the garment projects I have in the wings would magically prep themselves for sewing. I need some elves to come visit me.

mischievous gnome messenger bag

This bag has been two years in the making. I bought the pattern from Montessori by Hand - long enough ago that she now uses a different name for her business. My eye was drawn to it because I had all the fabrics shown in her photo of the completed project. However, when it came time to use them, I couldn't. I think it was a combination of the brown wool with a lighter cotton with a white background. One says fall/winter, the other spring/summer. I'd never feel comfortable carrying it. (Yes, I'm one of those people who has a problem with white shoes after Labor Day) The pile of fabrics sat month after month.

In an effort to clear my sewing table of projects I'd put aside, this one was finally tackled during a warm spell a couple weeks ago. (By warm, I mean close to the freezing mark.) I pulled out the Heather Ross fabric with the white background and pink/orange/brown polka dots. It still didn't seem right and then I spied the orange and red polka dots leftover from another project. Perfect.

It all fell together after that. The button and ribbon practically jumped out at me from my stash.

It's taken me ages to cut into that gnome fabric because I love it so.

The lining is a Heather Ross stripe sold as a companion to the gnomes.

The pattern is very well written and goes together easily. The zippered pocket in the lining is a great detail that can easily be used for other tote projects. I was also leery of there not being a closure under the flap to support all the junk I carry around. Other messenger bags I've made have not held together at the top very well. Because the straps are placed directly on the sides rather than on the back panel, that's not an issue with this pattern. The interfacing called for is just the right amount of support. The front of the bag has two pockets for a cell phone and keys. There's a larger pocket on the back for a quilting magazine. My embroidery pouch fits inside with room to spare.

One more project off the to-do list.

mail's here!

I've been busy with a lot of elfin activity this week.

Trixie made some big leaps the past 6 months with learning to read and she's now very much into writing notes to all of us here at home. You might remember some mailboxes we made last Valentine's Day. They didn't survive terribly long, but were popular with the girls. For Christmas this year, I decided to make something a bit more lasting for Trixie.

Her official letter carrier bag:

The body is navy felted wool, originally sold as a "skirt length". The letters are wool felt with twill tape trim under them. The bag is bound with double fold bias tape and has a cotton webbing handle.

These are the mailboxes she'll deliver to. The grommets will hang on 3M hooks on our bedroom doors. They're all made of wool felt. I used a regular business envelope as a template, but enlarged it by one inch each way to accomodate larger mail. I also added two inches to the height of the flap so it could be folded over to make the portion that supports the grommets. "POST" was satin stiched on the machine and the the bottom portion of the envelope was glued together since I couldn't get it on the machine without sewing through all the layers.

The last part of the set is a cigar box filled with all the stuff we get sent from charities: greeting cards I'll never use, stationary, return address labels and Easter Seals to use as stamps. I even have some preaddressed return business envelopes from credit card companies in there and leftover envelopes from old boxes of valentines.

I think this mail will be far more fun to open than the usual bills.

bag o' badges

Have you seen the American Express commercials with the frowns and smiles?

I picked up this bag on the Target clearance rack this past weekend. (It's from the Converse One Star line.)

Shouldn't it have its own spot in one of those ads?

Now it's happy.

Now it's fit for a grown up who's still a girl scout at heart.

Small bits of hand sewing like this are all I've been up for lately.

I promise not to wear it with the skirt.

date skirt

I think last year was supposed to be the year I made a ton of skirts. That didn't work out so well. I started in on the fabric I'd reserved for all of them last week.

Up first - a red linen bias cut with elastic waist. The pattern was drafted by laying a well fitting skirt I already had on the fabric and cutting a little wider for seam allowances. It worked out pretty well. A little snug at the waist, but otherwise it looks fine. I won't be tucking a shirt into it, so I'm calling it good.

The fabric came embellished with the ribbon. Found in the clearance bin at JoAnn for $1.00/yd.

What's a fancy little date skirt without a fancy little date bag?

The pattern is from Linda Lee. I'm happy with the results, but there were errors in the cutting directions and the zipper instructions were seriously lacking. If you're new to zippers, ask someone for help with this one. I lined it with a toile pattern from my fat quarter stash.

Below is the worst picture I've ever taken of a finished project. It was supposed to show how the strap goes through the loop(that's on the left above) to make the bag small and dainty. There's a fabric rosette where the two come together.

Moving on, just a close up of the cool ribbon detail on the fabric.

Basia's babysitting tonight. I'm wearing the skirt even if our date consists of shopping at Costco.

crocheted handbag

I wish I could take credit for the work on the bag, but my Grandma Bev did all the crochet work. She even lined it. All I'm responible for is the easy yo-yo work on the front.

I was going for an Anthropoligie vibe. Some of the scraps are vintage, some just appealed to me because of color or print. What do you think, blackbird? Does it even come close?

It does seem to match just about everything, so I know it'll get used this summer.

project bag

Just a quck little bag I sewed up using a Valori Wells sewing card. I like the way the casings are applied to the exterior, though I did make mine more narrow and longer than the pattern calls for.

The fabric is several years old, but I love the women on it. It's lined with the same fabric that was used for the casing.

All in all, a nice little tote for a small hand project. As she states in the pattern, once you understand the construction of one, you can alter the dimensions to make larger sizes. Mine's about 9 X 11 with boxed corners that make it about 1 inch deep.

napkin pouches

This idea (and all the supplies for it) were passed along to me by a sewing friend. It had become one of those projects in her sewing room that had fallen off the to do list. I took them and they almost found their way to the bottom of a pile in my sewing room too. I dug them out while cleaning last week and decided to just sit down and sew them all up.

Each little drawstring pouch has a suprisingly roomy little interior area. In addition, the napkins are folded and sewn in such a way that two small pockets are created in the front and back under the flaps you see in the photo.

You only need a single, prepurchased napkin (these were all from April Cornell) and some cord or ribbon for the drawstrings.

They're very simple to sew up once you figure it out. Keep scrolling down for a two part tutorial on how to make your own. They make great little gift bags.

napkin pouch tutorial part 1

You'll need:

hemmed napkin(whatever size you like, but it should be square)

4 feet of cord or ribbon for the drawstrings

coordinating thread

1. Fold the napkin in half to make a triangle as shown. It's okay if the points don't meet exactly. Most of mine weren't perfectly square.

2. Divide the bottom edge into thirds (I did this by folding in the side points and adjusting as needed) and mark sewing lines from the bottom edge up about 5 inches for a lunch sized napkin. (I sewed up about 6.5 inches for a dinner sized napkin.) My lines are marked in pink.

3. Sew from the bottom edge up to the 5 or 6.5 inch mark. Backtack at the ends of your seam.

4. This is the trickier part - fold each side back on itself so that the right side of the napkin is now facing out. In the photo below, the left side has been folded back. This is how you create the pockets in the front and back. Do this to both sides. It doesn't matter which side is on top.

5. Pin the side flaps to one another being very careful not to catch the inside of the pouch. Pin all the way around to the other side.

6. Edgestitch the two flaps together. You'll have to slide the the flaps onto the bed of the machine being careful not to sew through the interior of the pouch. Just keep checking and pulling. You can see in the photo that the fabric gets kind of bunched up. Fortunately, this is a pretty small seam. You'll also need to pivot your seam at the corner that rests at the bottom of the pouch. In the picture I'm nearing the end of the seam. You can see the inside of the pouch pulled forward out of the way of the machine's needle.

Keep scrolling for part 2.

napkin pouch tutorial part 2

7. Once you know that you haven't sewn the interior of the bag to that last seam, turn the whole thing wrong side out.

8. Flatten out the bottom corners and sew a seam about 3/4" in from the end to box the corners. You can skip this step if you want a flatter pouch. I had to redo this step on a few pouches because all the fabric in that corner bunched up and I got a few pleats. Be sure you have all the fabric smoothed flat before sewing.

9. Turn the pouch right side out again and fold down the flaps just enough to create a channel for the drawstrings. Mine were about 3/4" wide. Sew a seam along both sides.

10. Cut your drawstring cord in half. Pull one through both channels so it ties off on the left. Do the opposite with the other so that it ties off to the right.

11. Pull the drawstrings to close up the bag. You're done!

halloween tote

Gearing up for Halloween.

Yes, I need a tote specifically for the month of October. The pattern is Haunted Handbags by Artful Offerings.

I changed a few things from the original pattern. They call for black felt as the lining, but I wanted to use some of the fun Halloween fabric I have stashed. That completely changed how I put the bag together. I changed the pockets a bit too. And while it's not shown in the picture below, I tried my hand at finishing the seams ala Vera Bradley. Because all of her bags are of quilted fabric, the inside seams are finished with bias binding. I did the same and it worked very well. One of these tools came in very handy.

The "31" charm (it's hung on the button by ribbon) was done using my machine's needle punch attachment to applique the wool pieces together with felting. The ovals were put together with a machine blanket stitch. I need to use that stitch more often. It's very easy to make the stitch larger and looks great on applique.

I'll have to plan my entire wardrobe for the month around this bag.

procrastination sewing

There are a lot of things I should have been doing last week. -Finishing up not one, but two quilt blocks for Common Threads(I haven't forgotten you Melissa!), pulling out some half finished projects (there are plenty to choose from), working on Trixie's upcoming birthday presents, or even taking pictures of things I've finished recently so I could get them up here.

Instead, I made a new purse. Like I needed another one. What is it about the urge to do something so unnecessary when the to-do list of important stuff is so long?

The pattern is Latte by Melly & Me.

Linen is becoming a theme around here.

The pattern didn't call for all the topstitching in the handles, but it gave them some extra heft. I really like how they turned out. I also skipped the instructions to sew them as a tube. Instead, they were cut 4" wide, folded in half and then the sides were folded in toward the center again - much like double fold bias tape only bigger. Then I edgestitched and topstitched the whole shebang. Much easier and sturdier than a two layer tube. Plus, no turning it inside out!

The interior pockets are also an addition to the pattern. There are two on the other side for a cell phone and lipstick.

Quick question for anyone who can help - I bought some linen that I thought was softer than it actually is. After the first washing it felt like sandpaper. Not something I'd want to sew into pants - which is what I intended. I googled the problem and all I've come up with is the not so helpful suggestion to use fabric softener. Uh, thanks, I might not have thought of that on my own... I've thrown the yardage through the wash about 4 times now and it's somewhat better. Any other ideas out there to speed the process up?

pam's clutch

Another clutch from Bend the Rules. This one is for a friend. I'm hoping it will take her mind off the fact that I still haven't repaired another purse of hers that I have.

More vintage upholstery fabric used inside and out (the weight of which removes the need for an interlining of flannel). Vintage button. "Macgyvered" elastic (white elastic colored to match with a sharpie marker).

Pam, tell Doug he needs to take you on a date so you can use it.

carolyn bag

One of the things I did this weekend when I should have been doing something on my list.

The pattern: "Carolyn", picked up at Hobby Lobby in the clearance aisle about a week ago
The fabric: upholstery remnant from an estate sale
The handles: on hand from another Hobby Lobby clearance aisle adventure
The lining: thrifted pillowcase
The flower: from Amy Butler's Madison Bag pattern/thrifted button