I made these Zip It Ups for the guild board. They are working so hard and I wanted to thank them. I know it wasn’t necessary, but I did it anyway. I consulted with MaryM when I visited her. As mentioned, I told her my plan and after some discussion, I ended up making this pattern instead of my original idea.
Bonnie’s Zip It Up – open
Sue’s Zip It Up – open
Deb’s Zip It Up – open
This pattern has been updated to v.2, but I used Mary’s copy of the original. The v.1 ByAnnie patterns are not as detailed, but I was able to make them with no problem.
I thought they could use these portfolios for their guild work, but they are welcome to use them however they like, obviously.
Deb’s Zip It Up -detail
Bonnie’s Zip It Up -detail
Sue’s Zip It Up -detail
I used ribbon to cover the zipper tape. I decided I was wasting the beautiful Renaissance Ribbon I have purchased by not using it, so I chose some very lush patterns to cover the zipper tape and vinyl edge. I need to use these ribbons more. They are wonderful.
We had our Board meeting at a restaurant in July and I handed them out. It was really fun and we got our work done as well. I am really pleased.
**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.
As mentioned, I decided to make this bag instead of the Aneela Hooey bag when visiting Mary.
Zip It Up #1
I got quite a lot done, but I had enough fabric to sew this one and one other. I had gathered enough of the selected fabrics to make three Book and Tool Folios. I had enough of some, but not all to make the second Zip It Up. I want the recipients to enjoy the fabrics. I found that I needed two full half yards to make the case body. Though I had enough fabric to start the third one, I decided I would make one and, assuming all went well, make the second two in assembly line fashion.
I looked at Mary’s version and chose to make this bag with two vinyl pockets instead of a mesh pocket and a vinyl pocket. I thought they were more useful for non-sewing activities than one mesh pocket and one vinyl pocket.
I cut the first vinyl pieces out wrong, so those will become the new windows for future I Spy pouches. I am glad I brought a brand new roll of glitter vinyl. Mary has a lifetime supply of clear vinyl, which was a good backup in case I ran out.
I made good progress despite the need to quilt the fabric. 🙁 As I progressed on the project, I decided I wanted to cover the top of the vinyl pockets below the zipper with ribbon, so I brought the pieces home. Since I was ready to assemble the bag, I needed to stop, add the ribbon and then proceed. Another project to finish at home. Sigh.
I am slowly gearing up to make the Courtside Bag, a ByAnnie pattern. I do not play a racquet sport, but really like the look of the bag, especially the vertical zipper.
The first step was to quilt some fabric. I had Colleen quilt fabric on foam for me. That step is ready to go.
I think the next step is cutting out the pieces. I am not quite there yet. I need to decide if I will add the backpack straps or make this into a crossbody bag only. I don’t have a use for this bag at the moment, but I will think of something.
I finished the Project Bag that has been on my list for a long time. Or what feels like a long time. The last time I posted about project bags was a year ago and I was thinking about making this project bag.
I wanted to make sure that the zipper tape was covered. The ByAnnie patterns don’t always take care about that and it is a particular annoyance of mine. I know it doesn’t really matter, but I like the zipper tapes completely covered, even on the inside.
My extra large project bag-back
MaryC uses a technique where she folds a piece of zipper tab fabric in half and slips the zipper tape in then sews and folds the excess back. I tried that this time and found it worked well. My only problem was that I made the piece too small in width. I had to add an an extra piece on top to close the gap. Still I liked the technique. I just need to figure out a better size for the zipper tabs. I think I might have read the pattern wrong and reading it correctly might help. We’ll see if I make this bag again. I think I have enough project bags for the moment. I don’t want too many as it will encourage UFOs.
This is #9 on the guild UFO challenge. I’ll bring it to Sew Day to show off.
Project bags are great for keeping all the pieces, parts and supplies for projects together. I have another jumbo project bag on the list of things I want to make for myself.
In the course of thinking about this bag I realized I have made a lot of project bags. I was initially thinking of the ByAnnie project bags**. I have made quite a few of them despite the need to quilt them. I noticed, as I looked through my photos, how many different types of project bags I have made. I decided to put them all in one post so I could see them in one place. It also gives you an idea of the different types of project bags there are. Keep in mind that this is a small number of the various patterns out there.
Tim’s Project Bag
Hildegarde in the Project Bag
My Jumbo Project Bag
Gerre’s Project Bag #2
Gerre’s project bag #1
Purple Dot Project Bag
Gerre’s Project Bag
Mom’s Project Bag
Julie’s Project Bag
Two project bags for Mom
Ultimate Project Bag in use
Ka-Bloom Amethyst Project Bag
The photos above are mostly the ByAnnie project bags**. I added in the Ultimate Project Bag from Crafty Gemini, because it is more like the ByAnnie project bag than not. Also, I have a project in it, so it is a different kind of project bag.
Ka-Bloom Amethyst Project Bag
I have also made the Amethyst project bag from Sew Sweetness and the Sunset Project Bag from Crafty Gemini. These are quite different from the ByAnnie bags.
The Amethyst Bag is not flat. It is a box, essentially and is large enough to store blocks. I gave this away soon after I made it so I haven’t used it, but I can see it being a good bag for a large project. The ByAnnie bags are flat, so have limited space.
I like the project bags that have some vinyl so I can see what I have in the bags.
Sunset Project Bag: front panel
The Sunset Project Bag is more for small yarn projects, like crochet or knitting, in my opinion.
Project bags, regardless of design are useful and I will probably make more.
Drawstring Bag – Project size
The Lined Drawstring Bag pattern also has a project size. A lot of people use this for knitting projects. I like to give these as gifts and use them as gift bags. They are useful for knitting, but I have one that I use when I have a knitting project and probably won’t make others. The bags made from this pattern also hold collections of things. I made one as a carry-all for a juggling balls set.
I also adjust the sizes and use this pattern to make bags for quilts. The design is useful for quilt storage bags that double as gift wrap.
Of course, I use my fair share of zipper bags and other ‘free’ type of bags. I find they tend to slide off shelves, if I stack too many of them. Using a bag with fabric provides some grip when stacking.
Still, making more and more project bags is not my goal. I want to be able to reuse them not just provide a place to store pieces from UFOs.
Do you use project bags? What is your favorite pattern? What patterns have you tried?
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
I am in the thick of the gift giving season. The YM’s birthday was on the 30th. Friend Julie’s birthday was on the 1st and Christmas is right around the corner. Yes, I am holding on to my hat!
Purple Dot Project Bag
I finished the project bag for Julie back in November, but as with a lot of gifts, I couldn’t show it until now. I did put in a 26 Projects post, but didn’t make a big deal out of it.
I made Julie one of these before. This is a little different. It is the Jumbo size, which just looks large to me. It is, however, larger than the large.
The quilted construction of this is the same as the Ultimate project bag, so next time I’ll just quilt a certain size of fabric sandwich and move on. The directions for that part of the project were long and somewhat tedious. I know they have to plan for any type of bag maker and Annie thorough, for sure.
Julie received her package after some drama at the post office, which is a relief. I thought for awhile that she wouldn’t get it. She also wrote about it on her blog and said some very sweet things. I was very pleased hear how she is using the smaller version I made her last year (??).
I was able to finish my Project Bag while I listened to a presentation at work the other day. You might think I was cheating on work, but I find that if I do some handwork, I can pay better attention to the presentation.
I was going to make Mom another one for Christmas, but decided on something else and made this one for myself with some of the fabric Colleen quilted for me. It is already in use for the EPPic bag pieces I cut out at Sew Day some time ago.
I realized, after posting yesterday’s ‘in the wild‘ post, that I had never posted about the project bag I made for Gerre.
I made this one at the same time I made one for myself, Mom and Julie.
Despite my concerns about the size, both Gerre and Julie said they really love these project bags. Using mine for the Metro Twist has been really useful. I said I would try making the larger size and let them know how it turned out.
I have mentioned Gerre using the bags I make her in one or two posts. I always find it nice when people are actually able to use the bags I make. Sew Day was an ‘in the wild’ bonanza!
Sugar Skull bags in the wild
Julie and Gerre , as you have read,were both there and are both regular recipients of some of the bags I make. Gerre had three bags there screaming with Sugar Skulls.
They look really nice all together and the stripes and dots are good compliments tot he Sugar Skulls
Gerre and Julie both said they love the ByAnnie project bag, which you know I was a little annoyed with,but only because of the size. The large didn’t seem very large to me.
I actually found my project bag** useful for the Metro Twist pieces and patterns. There is something good about it. Both Gerre and Julie said that they could use many others. They thought a row of them hanging up in their workrooms would look really nice. Maybe I will make them each another for a gift. We’ll see. I do want to try making the larger size (extra large) as well.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
I don’t know if I will actually make another one of these bags, but Mrs. K has graciously gifted me the full finishing kit for this pattern.
Yes, that is some Tula Pinkerville fabric. Do I sell the fabric and make a bag that matches the Running with Scissors folio I made for Mrs. K or do I make the bag as is?
In September I did a gift inventory as I worked on various projects for the holidays. It takes time to make gifts, so I do periodic inventories so I am not scrambling at the last second. During this excavation, I found that the zipper on Julie’s Take a Stand bag had the same problem as mine! Fortunately, I realized this in September, not November 30, and took care of the problem right away. It really only took me a few minutes, since I had already fixed the issue on my bag.
Take a Stand – Fixed Zipper
I took 15 minutes while DH made dinner and fixed the zipper. I was able to tighten up the size of the zipper tab at the same time, which made me feel better. I don’t like zipper tabs that are big and floppy. I realize that the one on the end was not big and floppy before I fixed it, but it was not the right size either.
Take a Stand opens wide
Now the bag opens wide. Yay!
And I was able to admire the inside again, which came out very well. I am very proud of it.
I really felt irritated with myself. What was the deal with those two zipper heads? If I did it twice, there had to be something in the pattern.
This poor bag’s post has been juggled around for at least two months now.
Julie’s Take a Stand Bag
I finished this bag back in May after I finished my Mom’s Take a Stand and before I finished mine. This was originally scheduled to be a gift for Friend Julie’s birthday. That meant I couldn’t show it to you until at least December 2. This state of affairs was terrible enough for me, but then I decided to give her this gift for Christmas and give her the Ultimate Carry All Bag for her birthday. That meant I had to wait. Then our New Year’s plans to go out with Friend Julie and our DHs were postponed, because of terrible weather. It is hard for me to wait to show you what I am making. It is so fun to read what you think. Also, I get to think about what I made when I am writing about it. Anyway, we made it through.
Finally, I gave her this bag over the weekend. I had filled it with a lot of little gifts.
Usually, I choose purple fabrics. Julie and I were out together and she mentioned this fabric, which gave me the idea to make her a bag from it. It won’t exactly go with her other bags because I usually choose a darker purple. I hope she likes it anyway.
Julie’s Take a Stand interior
I am REALLY pleased with the inside. The fussy cutting came out really well. Also, the construction of the ByAnnie bags means the linings are really taut, which I like.
A happy accident is the lines at the end of the pencil points. The bottom matches up with the sides! The pencil fabric is from Crimson Take and I am really glad it is highlighted.
Julie’s Take a Stand front pocket – interior
I used an old Moda Marbles light purple for the main part of the bag. This is fabric that will mostly be covered. I found that to be true with the APfE v.2 as well, that is that most of the outside is covered by pockets so choosing a tone-on-tone rather than a special fabric makes more sense. This Moda Marbles light purple fabric ties the bag to her other bags.
I used the Tula Pink Scissor ribbon from the Homemade line for the interior of the front and back pockets to cover the zipper join.
Again, I used the Tula Pink webbing for the strap (see above). Mom’s was kind of my test bag so the strap for this one went a lot quicker. I am pleased with how well the webbing color fits with the colors of the bag.
I am still calling this the Without a Trace bag periodically. And I still don’t know why!
Yes, another bag as a gift for Julie. I actually finished this in September, but couldn’t show it until now, after it was presented.
I chuckled to myself as I cut out the bag at Super Sew Day right under Julie’s nose! She may have noticed the fabric, but I just didn’t make a big deal out of it.
I didn’t have a good sense of how large these bags would be. I hope this one isn’t too small. It will work for a bag or accessory project for sure, but probably not for a large quilt project. Julie doesn’t knit or crochet, but she does have embroidery projects and this will work for one of those as well.
It is, as I may have mentioned, a fairly easy project. I think the ByAnnie patterns seem overly complicated sometimes. The directions are very complete and I have grown attached to the binding instructions, but in general I think they seem overly complicated.
I made a bunch of these project bags as Christmas gifts. Here is one I made for Mom.
Of course, I used the paint tube fabric. I still have a lot of it, so there are more bags in Mom’s future. The ByAnnie pattern** includes four sizes. This is the large size, but I don’t think it is very large. It is about half again as wide and tall as a sheet of notebook paper.
Mom’s project bag back
I was kind of surprised at the size, actually, though I do have issues with understanding how big something is in real life when I look at an image online or check dimensions. If I had known the size, I would have made the extra large, which is also included in the pattern.
I am not sure I’ll make this pattern again. While it wasn’t difficult, once the quilting was done, I am not sure it is useful. There is no gusset, so how much stuff could actually fit? I don’t know. I haven’t tried one. Maybe for EPP pieces?
Two project bags for Mom
I hope these are useful despite the size. My Mom always finds good uses for the bags I make her.
**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need at quilt shops, I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
I have been wanting to try this pattern. I was thinking that a project bag might be a good gift for my bag recipients, but I wanted to try it before committing to another ByAnnie pattern. I think, in general, ByAnnie patterns seem overly complicated, but the projects usually turn out well.
I cut out the pieces at Super Sew Day, then finally sewed it together. I used one of the pieces of zipper I got for my birthday. I love it. It is so pretty. I also used more of the Philip Jacobs Chrysanthemum fabric like in the Without a Trace/Take a Stand bag and the APfE v.2.0. I am pleased with the binding, too.
