Handbags, Totes & Purses

I wanted to post some pictures of my latest handbag projects.  Most of my bags are from self drafted patterns and generally more of a tote bag style with several zippered pockets and all are basically the same size and shape. I enjoy making bags, plus it's nice to have one with all the pockets that I want.  And now that I've learned how to make zippered pockets, I can make one pretty quickly.


This first bag is made from home decor fabric with a light-weight printed denim for the lining.  Both fabrics are left over from other projects.  I made the straps by using a piece of the body fabric for one side & the lining fabric for the other.  I put 1-1-/2" wide webbing inside the straps.  I like using the webbing since it gives extra strength & structure without the bulk that interfacing adds.

Next up is a bag I make from black twill.  I bonded a rooster-chicken panel to both sides of the bag & then applied black bias tape around the edges.  The lining is a piece of home decor fabric left over from another project.  For the straps, I used a 2 inch wide webbing I picked up at Joanne Fabrics.   I normally make my straps 1-1/2" wide, but after making this bag, I realized I like the 2" wide a lot better.  This bag ended a little bigger than most of my bags.  Which can be a bad thing since I tend to keep adding stuff until it's so heavy I can't carry it! :)

This green bag is the most recent one I've made.  It's one that I actually bought the fabric with the intention of using it for a bag.  I love paisley prints & and really into green right now.   I used the green stripe for the top panel of the purse and the lining.  And used the paisley for the bottom panel and the straps.  I inserted the straps in the seam line between the top and bottom panels.  I also put a zippered pocket in the seam.  This one has two zippered pockets on the outside and one pocket on the inside.  I used a magnetic snap instead of a zipper on this bag.  I've never seen a magnetic snap so strong.  It's actually causing the fabric to tear!  I'm going to have to do some repair on it.  The true color of this fabric is like the picture on the right.

Emma Sews

My darling granddaughter, Emma, is becoming quite the sewing girl!   Here she is using my machine and making a sundress.   It makes me happy that she likes to sew.

 

Last year for her birthday, I bought her a Kenmore ultra mini. But she says she likes using mine better!
 

















Here she is modeling her new dress. It's a reversible sundress.  We made it using 2 coordinating cotton prints & didn't use a pattern.  She's familiar with patterns as we've used them to make doll clothes, but not for clothes for herself.  I need to get her some, so she can learn how to use them.

 

 

Joann Fabrics has Simplicity patterns on sale next week-end & I'm going to try to pick up a couple patterns for her.  I really like this one.  It's a cute style, plus I think Emma could sew most of it herself.

 

This one's cute too.

 

  

Funny Cartoon

RTW contest - KS-3338

I entered the RTW (ready to wear) contest at PR.  The object is to make an item using a RTW piece as your inspiration, and to create an item as close to the original as possible.

                                   

          

This top was my inspiration piece.

I found this top on-line at Modcloth.com.  I love their site. They have so much to look at and it's a great place to browse for sewing ideas.  I have a folder at pinterest for "fashion sewing items" and lot of the items come from this site.

My Pattern 
Kwik Sew 3338

This is the pattern I used as the starting base
for my top.  This is a great pattern for a basic tee-shirt.  I've made modifications to it to suit me and use this pattern a lot.  I made a size medium,  but since I wanted this top to fit looser than a tee-shirt, I added a little to the side seams. 









My Version

For the fabric,  I used a black stretch lace with a very pale pink poly-blend knit for the lining.  I'm not sure where I got the black lace, but I really like it. I have about 1-1/2 yd. left for another top. It was very easy to sew - no snagging and holds its shape well.  I got the pale pink fabric either from fabric.com or fabricmart.  It's really too thin for a top, but works great as a lining.  When I got ready to sew, I laid the lace and lining together and treated it as one layer.  For the neckline, I cut a double wide piece of the lace; attached the cut edge it to the wrong side of the fabric; then turned to the outside & edge stitched in place. The sleeves and hem are just double turned in and stitched.

It was a simple project that went together easily and turned out good.  It's really comfortable and feels great to wear.  Plus, it goes in the washer & dryer!

Swimsuit Finished

I recently participated in a swimsuit contest at PR.  I made my suit using this McCall's pattern.

I made a tank style top and thigh length shorts.

I wanted something that's comfortable and
provides decent coverage.  This is my first time making a swimsuit & although I made a couple mistakes, it turned out fairly well.

Here's a picture of it on "Dolly".

Sewing Room Makeover is Complete

It's finally done!  And I really like how it turned out.  Especially love the yellow and blue color combination.  The walls are sponge painted yellow on white.

This is the sewing corner.  I made covers for the serger & one of the machines.

A simple pleated valance with roller shade underneath.  The shade is one I've had for years & was stored in a closet.  It just happened to look good with the curtain fabric.  Don't you love when that happens!

And my favorite part - a magnetic board I made using an oil drip pan (for $10.00) and covered with fabric.  I love it!  I saw this idea on Pinterest.






























 
This is my cutting/pressing table.  I found the yellow baskets at Big Lots & the blue at the Dollar Tree.  The blue ones are the perfect size for patterns.

I covered two cardboard boxes to store craft
supplies.


I have a couple more boxes that I may either paint or cover with fabric.













The sewing room's finished and cleaned up, so it's time to sew something pretty & springy!

Knit Top - Simplicity 2603

Warm weather is here & I need some new tops.  I like wearing knit tops, but not sewing them, especially hemming them.  I would probably like it better if I had a coverstitch machine.  But, haven't decided if I would use it enough to justify the $$$ for a new machine.


Anyway, back to the top.  I decided to use this Simplicity pattern.

Here you can see that the top is sleeveless.  I used the sleeves from the cardi & made them short. 
















Funny thing, I originally bought this pattern to make a cardigan, but never made it.  But I have made the top before in February, 2010,  and wear it all the time.   The first time I made this top, I made a size medium straight out of the package, with the only alteration being to narrow the shoulders a little.  This is something I have to do on all tops I make.   The fit of the top was great.  This time, I decided I wanted more of a tunic type, so I made it a little looser.

Here's the fabric I used. It's a really pretty knit print from my stash; I believe I got it from Fabric.com a couple years ago.   It has a nice hand & is the perfect weight for a spring top.  And is SOOO comfy to wear!  I love this fabric.










Here are some pics of me wearing my new top.

Here's the first top I made from this pattern.

Pants Challenge

Since I wear pants a lot more often than I do skirts, I've decided to really work on developing some basic trouser/pants patterns.  I started a sew-along over on PR, and several women have been participating.  My goal is to come up with some TNT patterns and then make 1 pair of pants per month.  I've found that BWOF pants fit me better than any other patterns I've tried, so that's what I started with.   Since I wanted a pair of trouser jeans, I started with a BWOF that has wide legs, a side zipper and side slant pockets.  I moved the zipper to the front and added back pockets with flaps.  For the first pair I made in January, I used a deep red corduroy.  Those were too big & not quite right.  For February, I used the same pattern (just a little smaller) and used a medium weight denim with just a little stretch.  These fit pretty well, although they are a little big through the legs.  I'm going to wash and dry them again and if they don't shrink, I'm going to take them up a little.


Here's a picture:

 

 

It's hard to see on dark fabric like this, but here's a picture of the pockets.                                     

Here's a couple more pictures:                                                                                                               

 

 For my next project, I think I'd like to make a red pair with straight legs.

Animal Print Purse Finished

I finished my new purse.  I saw a purse similar to this that I liked, but it was too small, so I made my own version,  with a few modifications.   I used a black and tan animal print upholstery fabric and a textured black vinyl.  It's approximately 10-1/2" tall and 11-1/2" wide with a 3" bottom and side.  This is a good size for me & I like this shape.  I used a magnetic snap for the closure.

For the lining, I used a polka dot home decor fabric I found in my sewing closet. I like to add a little pop by using interesting fabric for the lining.   I added a small zippered pocket.

I put a pocket on the front for my cell phone and keys.

And one on the back to hold papers.

I made the strap from the black vinyl.

Side view.

Cost: Animal print fabric $4.00 yd; vinyl $6.00 yd (used 1/2 yd); small piece for lining leftover from another project; zipper $1.00; snap $1.00 & thread.

TOTAL:  approximately $10.00

Sewing Room Makeover Plan

 My sewing room has a roman shade & sewing machine cover, etc. that I made a few years ago from a yellow/green print fabric.   I guess I liked the fabric at the time, but now I can't stand looking at it any longer.


So, I went fabric shopping today!  My sewing room is sponge painted yellow - which I love!!   I decided that blue would be great to go with the yellow walls.  Plus, I don't have blue anywhere else in my house, so, that would be a nice change.  Here's what I picked out.

I can't wait to get started!  But I have some other projects to finish first.

Ashley

Ashley is my wonderful 10 year old granddaughter.  She wanted me to write about her for my new blog.  She has her own sewing machine.  I'm trying to teach her to sew, but she'd rather design and let me do the sewing. I hope she'll grow to love sewing as much as I do.  These are her new fleece pj pants we made today.







 






Some of her Project Runway creations and American Girl doll clothes