HoneyMooners Suitcase

Firstly,I must apologize for the lack of posting lately.  Life has a way of sneaking up on a person when she least expects it to!  I have been doing some sewing,but most of it is Top Secret at the moment.

The one thing that is not secret is was my goal for this month,the HoneyMooners Suitcase.  This has probably been one of the hardest bags I have ever sewn.  Of course part of that is probably because of the fact that instead of going out and purchasing supplies,I used what was in my stash.

The pattern called for Thermolam Plus which I have never used,and do not have in my stash.  So since there was enough Soft and Stable  left  to make this suitcase,that is what I used instead.

The backside of the exterior,quilted to the soft and stable.

The first sewing step is to make the handle for the suitcase.  Fairly easy,that is until you get to the end and have to try and sew the actual handle to the top panel.  Which is the flat bottom piece pictured above.  You have to twist things around and sew at a very difficult angle to attach the handle to the rectangle rings.

My suggestion,or what I will do if ever sewing this suitcase again,is to skip step 3 in the "make the handle" section,go from step 2 to step 4 and at the end(after step 8) go back to step 3.  This will make sewing the handle a breeze,instead of a pain.

Making the piping,was the crazy thing!  You take double wide bias tape,press it,so that you are only leaving the center crease,or it is only pressed in half.    Cut the bias tape down to 5/8",don't ask me how much fun that was Not to do!  Then you place the cording in the center crease and sew it in to make the piping.

Note to self,make your own bias binding next time.

After attaching the piping to the exterior front and back pieces you then sew the lining pieces to the exterior pieces,easy peasy.

One of the reasons I did not finish this sooner,no 48" zipper...at the eleventh hour the light bulb came on!  Why not use two 24" zippers?  Great idea,except...if you decide to do this,do not make the mistake I did.  See how the two zipper tabs are one solid piece?  Do Not Do This!!  Unless of course you do not want to be able to open the suitcase for any reason!  (so i had to cut these apart and use fabric glue on the raw edges)!

What I should have done,make two separate tabs,one for each side of the zipper pull ends of the zippers.

The suitcase with one side sewed on to the side panel.(the part where the zips are attached)  This was a difficult part for me.  Mostly because there were no photos to help me figure out the correct placement,so that the corners lined up and the easing was spread out evenly.  I did okay,but need more practice.

Attaching the second exterior panel was So Not Fun!  I had such a hard time with it.  Here is where I am thinking that at least some of the problem could be because of using the Soft and Stable in place of the Thermolam Plus.  Any thoughts on that anyone?  The pattern called for two layers of it on the exterior panels.  So maybe it would not be quite as thick as the Soft and Stable?

And here is my HoneyMooners Suitcase!!!  Sorry,no close ups,because my piping has lots of issues!  For the same reason I am not showing any photos of the inside.

After you sew the exterior pieces to the side panels,this leaves the inside edges all raw/exposed.  Then you are supposed to sew the rest of the bias tape over these to enclose the raw edges..lets just say,they are quite Ugly,and that is putting it nicely!  Obviously I need a Lot more practice or need to find another way to finish the inside of the bag.

From the tone of this post you might think that I really do not like this bag/suitcase.  Not so!  It is actually a really Sweet little weekender bag!  Only I Need more practice and probably the right supplies would make a difference too!

Linking up with:

Big City SAL October link up

A Lovely Year of Finishes