Over the past few months I’ve tried sewing some clothes from patterns. I’ve done this a few times before with okay results but I want to get better and do this more regularly. These particular patterns aren’t very difficult but I’ve found that it helps to read through all the instructions before beginning and to measure well. Continue reading →
Time for a new bag, I decided to try out Morning by Morning’s Sling Bag Tutorial.
It was an afternoon project and I found the instructions easy to follow. A few tips from my attempt:
Three pockets instead of four – I decided to only have one pocket on the outside (or what I expect to be the outside most often because the bag is reversible).
Casing for the elastic – The first pocket I made up was one for the inside just in case it didn’t work out very well, and, to be honest, I wasn’t happy with the approach of stitching the hem to the elastic because the white elastic was a little visible. If the pocket hung open then the elastic might be seen. I decided to create a casing for the elastic on the other pockets and I think they look better.
Length of the elastic – My pockets look more slack than the ones in the tutorial. Perhaps my elastic was not strong enough or I didn’t attach the pockets correctly. If I try this tutorial again, I’ll use shorter elastics and try to position the top corners of the pocket better so it creates more a secure, puckered pouch.
No handle tube – I only folded one of the strap ends inside itself to create a kind of hem, then slid the other one inside and sewed a few stripes on top as decoration.
Top-stitch after the joining the handle – Because I didn’t have the handle tube, I top-stitched around both sides of the handle after the handle was joined.
I wish I’d used a magnet clasp – It’s a sizable bag and if it’s full then it will need to swing behind me to rest against my back. I might add a decorative closure of some sort to keep the bag from gaping open.
I found a free bag tutorial from Free Time Frolics for a Tag Along Tote. I’m quite happy with the end result but a few things I learned along the way:
Paper pattern size – when I printed the pattern, I had some doubts about whether my printer had changed the size of it because it may have been created in letter size rather than A4 size paper. I decided not to worry about altering it and went ahead anyway. Continue reading →
I had a slightly failed attempt at sewing a mobile phone pouch. I took a little inspiration from Quiltish’s Phone Case Design Process and Katie’s Quilting Corner’s Easy Lined Pouch Tutorial. A few things I learned:
Measuring is important. My pouch is too large. I was being overly generous with my seam allowances and didn’t check it enough as I went along to reduce it to a reasonable size.
Think about how it will be used. The flap isn’t functioning well – it has a tendency to pop out from underneath the elastic that’s intended to hold it in place. A tighter fitting pouch or a longer flap might have solved this problem. Continue reading →
It’s time to start preparing some upcoming birthday gifts for children whose birthdays all cluster together. The first gift was inspired by this flickr photo of crochet pencil cases.
My pencil case was intended to look like a monkey but the more I stare at it, the more it looks like a koala! Or a creature with a smiley badge attached to its nose. Continue reading →
Adventures while trying to make random things for fun by Niina (aka Give Me A Crown).
