Thursday after work was my first opportunity to set foot in the sewing room! I got straight to work on this months Big City bags SAL bag. All my pieces were cut out and the interfacing fused before the sewing machine was turned off for the night.
Yesterday after work I set to sewing all the pieces together. This was my first ever time making bias binding/piping! Let me just say,that making bias binding is a little confusing not to mention time consuming.
At the end of the evening my wonderland bag was finished! My handles were purchased from Joann's and are shorter by a few inches than the suggested size of 28 inches. They also do not have pre-punched tabs,so I made my own from the same fabric used for the lining.
Over all I love this bag that being said,I do not like the pocket design at all. I divided my pockets into three sections instead of two(but I don't think that made much difference).
The reason I dislike the pocket placement is this,when you put items in them,cell phone,small wallet,glasses(what I put in my pockets on one side) the little amount of weight pulled the lining in to the center of the bag. Which in turn makes the exterior of the bag dis-formed.(it no longer holds its shape very well). I am not sure exactly how to fix this issue other than somehow attaching the lining to the exterior of the bag in more places than just at the top where the zipper is.
So if I can figure out a way to do this now that the bag is sewn up...(my idea is to do some hand stitching with thread that contrasts the exterior fabric,and coordinates with the interior )
Linking up my finish over at :
Sewing With Squeak
In other sewing news,this is what my Alpine Triangles quilt looks like at the moment. I am hoping to have it finished by tomorrow evening...
...This is about a third of my baking Frenzy!
14 loaves of Cheddar Green onion English Muffin bread
6 loaves Cinnamon Basil Sun dried Tomato Bread
20 loaves Cinnamon Monkey bread
21 loaves Lemon Monkey Bread
So far we have raised around 1,700 our goal this year is 2,000
I think the bag looks AMAZING! The piping looks so perfect, and the color combo is just gorgeous!!! Bummer about the pocket woes but I think your solution sounds good. You get so much sewing done in addition to working and baking a ton!!!!
ReplyDeleteLove the fussy cutting! You managed to line everything up perfectly :)
ReplyDeleteYou're piping looks perfect and I love the fabric! You're triangle quilt is amazing too, I think it's my favorite from the QAL.
ReplyDeleteWhat a bright new bag. It looks great.
ReplyDeleteAnd you a mad-baking-woman. My goodness. You've got some lucky bake-sale customers there in Salida...
You bag looks beautiful, sorry that it loses shape when you use it. :-( The Lemon Monkey bread sounds sooo good. I'm going to try that one!
ReplyDeleteI think the piping looks great and I love the fabrics you used. Sorry you are having pocket problems. I've made a few of these bags now and I've played around with the pattern to make the bag longer and not as tall. I wanted to put my piping all the way round the ends so I rounded the corners of the end pieces. I sewed the base to the sides and topstitched over the base seams. I then sewed the end pieces all the way round. I actually like the pockets once I modified the pattern, I don't find they pull away from the bag. If you want to make another one, feel free to contact me if the above makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tracey,I think I understand your tips! I will give them a try and see how it goes!
DeleteI love your bag and its shape, too.
ReplyDeleteFor the next bag, just try sewing the inner pockets much lower, nearly touching the bottom or really touching the bottom with their lower seam. That's what I do when I presume the lining to pull the bag out of form, and usually this works well. For the actual bag you have sewn yet, your solution sounds fine. Susanne
Thanks for the tips Susanne! I will give that a try next time. You are a No Reply blogger,so I could not reply to your comment other than here on my blog.
DeleteThat bag is perfect!!! I love the fabric. Your quilt looks great too and I hope you got in all of the baking you wanted. :)
ReplyDeleteI have yet to make piping! Good job on your bag. It's nice and springy!!
ReplyDeleteLove your fabric. Your bag turned out very nice!
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