Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I took this picture soon after I gave the Hackneys to my mom. She is really great when I give her gifts. She puts them to use right away, which is very gratifying. On our trip to Portland, she had at least 3 of the Paint Tube bags with her.
This is the small Hackney. I am not sure what she was using for her pens and pencils before I gave her this Hackney. She liked being able to see them all. I am continually amazed to see how much these Hackneys hold.
Hooray! The Fish Hackney is done. I am going to get a gift card and store it in my box of gifts. I can cross off one holiday gift requirement.
It looks pretty good. I am happy with it and hope my Dad will like it as well.
I think next time I will try a smaller vertical zipper for the mesh pocket. I think it might be useful and there is something about the zipper in the center of the pocket that bugs me a little bit. I’ll have to adjust the size of the zipper binding (called Mesh binding in the pattern) to accommodate a different sized zipper.
I was able to fix the label. I connected the bottom of the label to the mesh by sewing it carefully to bits of the mesh. I should have used yellow thread, but I didn’t.
I’ll have to think about where to put non-artquiltmaker labels in the future. Middle bottom of the top? It would mean they were upside down, but might be an option.
The handle looks good. I think I need to position them a little higher up in the future.
I know I will make at least one more of these bags, maybe two.
This one is done and I am super pleased.
As mentioned a few weeks ago, I gave my Mom two Hackneys for her birthday. She is already using them.
Obviously, they go with all the other bags I have made her. She was excited to receive some smaller bags she could put in one of the larger bags.
I am finally nearing completion of the Fish Hackney! Hooray!
It isn’t that it is difficult. It is that I have been working on other projects and, also, as usual, haven’t had time. Good thing I started early.
I am pretty happy with the fussy cutting. I lined up some of the fish in the center of the top and bottom, which looks good. I made one mistake and put the back panel in upside down. Oh well. My dad loves fish so I think he will like it regardless.
I remembered to put on all the labels, but the label I put in the top inside is in a terrible location. It flaps up and gets caught in the zipper and I am going to have to do something about it. What was I thinking?
As you can see, I only have to close up the gaps. I’ll take a break from La Pass and get it done.
I know I showed these separately the other day, but I had to show you how they fit together. Aren’t they cute together?
As mentioned, I think the small one came out the wrong size, but I still think it is cute. I think it could be useful, too. It would fit very well into not a very large purse for … small items – makeup, sweets, toothbrush and toothpaste, etc.
The small one also fits inside the large one. I am not sure why a person would use it that way. It is an observation, however.
I finished this bag back in June. I couldn’t show it until today, because I intended it to be a birthday gift for Mom. She sometimes reads my blog, so I had to keep it a secret.
This was problematic as back in June, I was struggling to keep up with posting. Work was really busy and I was struggling to sew, which meant I didn’t have a lot to post. I should have finished another bag for someone who doesn’t read the blog, but wanted to try finishing one of the bags I cut out with the Cricut.
Regardless, I finished this bag. I was concerned at first, because it was the small sized version of this bag and I thought it would be harder to sew. It was a little tight in places, but I was able to easily finish it.
I had to recalculate the handle size and position. I was a little off, but it will work.
I think the back panel is a great opportunity for fussy cutting, so I took some of the Laurel Burch fabric I bought for mom and cut out some of the cats. I think it looks cute.
I also made a tool holder in the top instead of the mesh pocket. I didn’t want to fuss with that tiny space and I think the tool holder / elastic bands will be more useful for Mom.
I have made a number of these Hackney bags, but this one is special as it is for my mom for her birthday, which is today!
This one also really came out well. I am super pleased with it.
I used some zipper tape I have had for awhile. I bought it from Sew Sweetness in January in both black and white. I am pleased with how the rainbow metallic of the zipper teeth enhance the look of the paint tube fabric. I did forget to add a second zipper head, but the bag will still be able to be closed with a zipper, so no problem.
I used a more Decovil** and DecorBond** than in other Hackneys. Note, I didn’t add an excessive amount, just a bit more. I have to remind myself that I like structured bags and I should add more appropriate interfacing when I need to.
I thought I had a ton of red fabric, but I didn’t have quite enough for the front panel of this bag. I still think it looks nice. It looks very cheerful on the inside.
Yes, I made the mesh pocket again. As I said before, I think they are useful; I just don’t like making them, but practice makes perfect. I think I would like to try making it a different way. I don’t want to fold the edge of the zipper tape as much as the pattern says. The edge of the zipper tape gets ensconced in the seam allowance, so there really isn’t a reason not to leave it raw. It is easier and tidier not to go through all of those layers of folded zipper tape anyway.
I will say that the fabric I found matches the zipper and the foldover elastic very well.
I think I still need more practice making the inside.
The outside looks very good, though.
I oriented the directional fabric a little differently this time. I oriented the top exterior piece so the paint tubes are right side up when the bag is being carried. The bottom paint tube are oriented at a 90 degree angle from the top.
The handle is also in the right place, which makes me really happy.
One thing I haven’t figured out is where to put the handle in terms of the distance between exterior top and exterior bottom. I hope I remembered to measure where this handle is placed before I gave it away. 😉
I am doing a better job of remembering to sew my labels in. I wrote myself a note on the pattern, so sewing in a label has become another step in the process. You can see the labels in the photo on the right. I try to include one of my Wunderlabels as well as a label from my 2022 Advent Calendar.
So, another Hackney under my belt. I feel like writing another post showing them all. Maybe I should make myself one.
**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 have been slowly working on the Fish Hackney. I don’t have that many steps left, but the Metro Twist has been consuming my attention. I want to get the Metro Twist finished.
You can see where I am on the Fish Hackney. I probably have an hour left to work on it.
I have been looking at various fabrics from the Martha Negley Go Fish line and trying to decide if I would make more items for my Dad out of the fabric. I haven’t decided so I haven’t bought anything.
TO MY PARENTS: STOP READING NOW. Everyone else, scroll down.
Back to regular programming.
I did all the prep for some new Hackneys after working on the Bristol pouch and the La Pass Border last weekend. These will be gifts for my parents. It just happened that I am working on them at the same time. It is kind of strange since they have been divorced for so many years. Don’t worry, I don’t have illusions of them getting back together.
As usual, I had some leftovers of the fish fabric I used for the Trout pillowcases. It is really good fabric so I cut up the leftovers to make a Hackney for my Dad for Christmas.
The difference with this one is that I used the same fabric for the lining as for the exterior. I am not sure how that is going to work, but I’ll make a stab. This one will also have a mesh pocket.
Another Hackney is in the books. The Coneflower Hackney #2 is finished and the recipient should have received it by now.
Remember how I talked about DecorBond in my last post about this bag? You can see how great the top looks in the photo – flat and smooth. I love it! I am so pleased that it looks that good.
It really surprises me how different a bag can look with different interfacing.
In this version, I sewed the top stitching, to close the turning gap on the inside, from the top. I wanted the top stitching to look good from the outside as well as close the gap. This is something I have trouble with repeatedly, so I did it slowly and with care. I think it looks good this time. Still not perfect, but I am getting there.
I think I have finally gotten the handle placement down. I think these bags are just way more useful with a handle. I wonder what inspired Sara to make this bag without a handle? I suppose it could be used in the bottom of a suitcase to corral all of those random items one needs on trips that aren’t clothes. Maybe the Minikins Season 3 video says something about that. I don’t really remember.
I have seen Gerre carrying hers by the handle to Sew Day, so I know the handle isn’t superfluous.
I had a little trouble with the back panel on this one, but the inside still looks good. I really like that bright white fabric.
I also remembered to put labels into the lining front panel this time.
I have made a number of these Hackneys and haven’t gotten one perfect yet. I really worry that I will never be able to make a perfect bag the first time through.
I am not finished with this pattern yet. I just cut one out for my Dad using the leftovers from his birthday pillowcases.
Happy Birthday, Angela! 😉
The Coneflower #2 Hackney is going very well. I think this one is coming out the best of all of them. I think the DecorBond** I added really helped a lot.
I only just added the DecorBond after making so many Hackneys, because I was confused by the directions. I read them as Decovil 526** OR DecorBond. I tend not to watch the entire videos that come with the Sew Sweetness patterns, but I probably should! They are super helpful and would probably answer the Decovil 526** OR DecorBond question.
Then I thought maybe the DecorBond would be a good addition, so I tried it. Fortunately, I had a small amount in my bag of interfacing. It was a great addition that made the top really flat and not wobbly. It wasnt’ bad to sew through either. It didn’t add a lot of bulk to the seam allowances.
As you can see from the photo, I have a bit of finishing to do before I can send this bag off to its new owner.
**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 started another Hackney last weekend (??) Not sure. I didn’t take a photo, so this one is the only one I have of the piece in process.
As you can see, I am back to the mesh pocket. In the photo, the zipper looks a little wonky. Let’s hope it is the photo. Taking Sue G’s comment about the usefulness of the pocket into account, I decided to add one again. It went in fine, except that I cut it a bit short, so added some fabric to the side. I am glad I know enough to make adjustments as needed.
I can’t tell you who will receive this Hackney as a gift, because the person is a reader of this blog. Check your mailboxes soon. 😉
I finished Lil Sissy’s birthday gift over the weekend and was able to get it off in the mail in time for her birthday, which was yesterday.
She writes a daily journal entry on a manual typewriter. While I plan to go back to Paris fabric for her soon, I saw this typewriter fabric and thought it might tickle her.
This Hackney is another large version and went together pretty well. I do better if I don’t have to break the process at the end, but needs must.
I am pleased with how well this looks. I struggled a bit with the top stitching on the top, but eventually got it right.
I used one of the Marcia Derse fabrics for the inside. I thought it was entertaining and would appeal to Lil Sissy.
The inside, again, has some elastic to keep pens and tools in place. I saw another one I made and was reminder that I put three or four strips of elastic on earlier versions to improve stability. I may have to do that again. Or go back to the top mesh pocket as per the pattern.
I machine sewed the opening closed and I hope my sister won’t notice. I think it will be fine once she puts some stuff in it.
Hooray! Another finished project.
Maybe I should make myself one of these? 😉
Right after finishing the Brown Stitch Hackney, I started this Typewriter Hackney. I am pretty pleased with this gusset. I fussy cut it to highlight the typewriters and it is coming out pretty well.
I also added a handle, which is lined up almost perfectly through no effort on my part. The handle motifs line up with gusset if it is flattened against the gusset. I am probably making too much out of it!
