It hasn’t been very long since I worked on the newest Pandora Charisma, but it feels like an eternity. It was before the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, which makes it feel like an eternity.
I really wanted a nice tidy finish before I left, but I wasn’t able to finish. I want it to be a bag that I will use so I didn’t want to do a rush job.
I worked hard on the binding, which is probably the most difficult part of the bag, aside from the thickness of the layers. The thickness of the layers is not a problem for me now because of the Elna’s HP2 foot. I almost finished. I have to fix the binding and have finishing bits to add like making the adjustable strap, so I put it aside and went to Wisconsin.
The biggest problem was when I tested the zippers that the binding was getting caught in the zippers. I thought about it while I was gone. I was disappointed and didn’t really want to take the binding off. For this pattern, the binding has been an issue for me. I thinking my quiltmaking binding background is the issue. I think I am making my binding too wide. Next time I make a Sewfisticated pattern, I plan to use foldover elastic. Alternatively, I will check the size of the binding the pattern requires more carefully.
I got back to it on Thursday night after a few days of being home. You can see the excess binding fabric in the photo, right. I decided to handstitch the excess binding to itself. That will cover any suboptimal stitching and make the excess fabric more contained. Not an ideal solution, but the excess won’t get caught in the zipper.
I hope to finish soon. I’d like to try using it and see how it works for me.
