This is another roundup post, because I wanted to see all the Hackneys I have made together.
I really like this pouch, as I have said. Those for whom I have made one seem to like it as well.
Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
This is another roundup post, because I wanted to see all the Hackneys I have made together.
I really like this pouch, as I have said. Those for whom I have made one seem to like it as well.
Yes! Another Hackney. I still think I will get sick of this pattern, but I am not sick of it yet and I still want to try to make the finished product better.
This is another version of the large size. I still haven’t tried the small or medium yet, though now that I have cut out a small bag, it is time.
She loves animals, but I didn’t have any animal fabric that I thought would suit, so I used the coneflowers. I wasn’t sure about the yellow zipper, but it makes the bag look really cheerful. The zipper is more of a sunshine, or orangey-yellow than a neon yellow and that helps a lot.
The zipper came out a little better this time. I used the washaway doublestick tape** for putting in the zipper on this one. I think I just have to use that tape each time.
On a note about tape, Sew Sweetness has the new ByAnnie washaway double stick tape. I bought some to try out, so stay tuned for a comment (maybe a review??) about that brand.
I had to add a handle. I think that is de rigeur now. It makes the bag more useful.
I made the inside cover a little different this time and I think I will like that option best. I used doublefold elastic to make tool or pen holders. I talked a little about how I sewed the tool holders to maximize the space available for storage in a previous post.
All in all, I am pleased with this one and hope Amanda likes it, too.
**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 tend to make Carrie and Sue the same pouches with slight differences. They are good friends and I think that they were great students.
So, as I made a Hackney for Carrie, so I made a Hackney for Sue. In this case, the exterior fabric is the same, but cut a little different and the interior fabric, zippers and other detail parts are different. I made the interiors different, but still relating to being creative. I am excited about the interior. I also fussy cut it and am pleased with the fussy cutting. It is super fun.
This one also has a handle. As I said before, they are useful.
I wasn’t sure if I liked the way the handle and front panel interacted – the way the fabric motifs overlapped and interfered with each other, but I think fussy cutting the top draws the viewer’s attention to that space and you don’t see the mashup of motifs where the handle is attached.
The front of the front panel (which is a gusset) looks really good, I think. That little piece of color wheel is appealing.
As I said with Carrie’s Hackney, Sue’s also goes with her Boxy Clear Pouch. You know I love to make sets of bags.
I finished my most recent class with my fabulous students, Sue and Carrie. I had planned to make them each a Hackney for Christmas with this great Carrie Bloomston fabric, but moved the gifts up to be ready for our end of class lunch last Sunday.
One of the reasons I chose this fabric is that it matches another pouch, the Boxy Clear Pouch, I made for them. the fabric is fun and cheerful despite the dark background. Because I can’t stop teaching, I also wanted a reminder to them to use their color wheel. 😉 Finally, this is great fabric. Doesn’t it look like an explosion of color?
This Hackney is like all the others. I have added a handle to this one and think that is a standard addition I will make to all the others I make. Having a handle is useful. I am not sure why Sara didn’t include one in the original directions. Perhaps the pattern is intended to go into a suitcase or something? Regardless, I think a handle is useful.
I am particularly pleased with the fussy cutting I did on the inside bottom. Don’t those pencils look great? I measured very carefully to get the whole pencil on the bottom and am thrilled with how successful I was.
I am still not 100% happy with the mesh pocket. I think it is useful, that is not in dispute, but the construction doesn’t appeal. The zipper tabs end up being too thick. I made a vinyl pocket on the Sugar Skull Hackney. I think it came out ok, but I wasn’t concerned about the final topstitching. My next test will be making pencil loops on the top. I’ll see how those come out.
I have put a few things in the bag including some Adagio tea.
As soon as I finished the two Color Wheel Hackneys, I started another. I have decided to make a number of these as gifts. I have to say that this one went a lot quicker than the others. It is a clear indication that practice does make perfect.
I am pretty pleased with how the coneflowers look. I picked the zipper color to go with the yellow coneflower, but also because I wasn’t sure when I would use a yellow handbag zipper otherwise. I think it looks good so far.
I talked about the Hackney lining hack a bit ago. It is for this one. The lining is a little saggy so far, which I have to figure out. Otherwise, I think the piece is looking good.
Yes, I am making another Hackney pouch. I like the shape of this pouch/bag. It is fun and a bit unusual. The process of assembly is also providing me with a challenge even after making several of them.
Yes, it is another gift. I might make one for myself. We’ll see.
This time I am working on perfecting a version that is most useful and that I like. As I might have mentioned, I don’t like the mesh pocket, because I don’t like the way it comes out. Mostly, I don’t like the zipper tabs and how thick they are. They are hard to sew and thus the seams look wobbly.
I tried a vinyl pocket, which was ok. I haven’t heard how useful it is, but will ask next time I see the recipient.
This time I used doublefold elastic to make a tool holder.
I cut the doublefold elastic the same width as the lining, then basted it to the top lining piece.
I marked the places where I wanted the recipient to be able to slide tools in. I used a half inch size for each pencil or pen or whatever. I put an inch between each set of marks. These had to be mirrored on the second strip of elastic. I also made the marks on the second set of elastic off from the first set so the tools (or pens or whatever) wouldn’t interfere with each other.
Yes, I am definitely on a Hackney kick.
This one is an International Women’s Day gift for Gerre.
This is the fourth one I have made and I plan to make a few more. I have made them all in the large size. I could make the smaller sizes; I just haven’t yet. For some reason I like making these as gifts.
I used the same lining fabric as I used for the Skeleton Hackney. It is a good lining fabric. I haven’t used it as a background as it is pretty dynamic and doesn’t fade into the background like other fabrics.
I did the pocket a little differently, too. I made a vinyl pocket using the Glitter vinyl from Sew Hungry Hippie. There was a little bit of a problem sewing the turning opening closed, but not much. Some of that could have been from forgetting to use a 3/8 inch seam allowance on the top.
I also added a handle to this one and remembered not to sew through the lining! It was much easier to put the whole thing together.
I put a few small gifts and a card inside. I hope she likes it.
I try to make sets of things using the same fabric, but I have very little of the Sugar Skull fabric left. I thought the dots coordinated well.
I am making another Hackney with some of the Carrie Bloomston fabric. While I was in the North Coast, I saw a ByAnnie zipper in the color called Twilight**. It’s a dark greeny blue, but more blue than green (maybe).
I thought it would go well with the Carrie Bloomston fabric, but when I got it home, I wasn’t so sure. The background of the fabric is less blue than charcoal, though the zipper doesn’t not go. I liked the contrasting zipper for the Hand Bone Hackney. This one isn’t exactly contrasting, though, and I might just look like I made a bad choice.
What do you think?
**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 made another Hackney. It is a gift for a friend. As you can, no doubt, see this one also uses the Timeless Treasures fabric that I used for the Skeleton Hackney.
I talked about this one in another post. I am really liking the pink zipper, of which you just get a slight glimpse. It is a fun addition to the somber skeleton fabric.
Every time I make one of these, I feel like getting a Switch and seeing if it would really fit in here. Stupid waste of money since I probably wouldn’t play with a Switch. Still, I am curious.
I used an older Joel Dewberry fabric for the inside and it is cheerful. I am making another one as a gift and I am going to change the mesh pocket for something different. Maybe a vinyl pocket?
I think the mesh pocket looks ok and I did a good job. There is something about having the zipper where it is that bugs me.
I added a handle, because I think it makes the bag more useful. I haven’t quite figured out the placement and I think this one is a little too tight. It was a little hard to get my hand around it. I also sewed through the lining as well and that caused some challenges for later steps in the process. Since the handle isn’t part of the pattern and I have to add it before the whole thing is put together, I think I am doing ok. I’ll do better next time.
I showed a friend the Skeleton Hackney I made before Christmas. She really liked it so I offered to make her one. I am in the process of making about 6-8 Hackneys and one more will be easy.
The inside is a pink from a line that has been hanging around my workroom for a long time. It is one of those fabrics I love and am reluctant to use because a better project might come along for which I need it. I am trying to get over that feeling and use the good fabrics. There is always more fabric, right?
I have the lid on, but not the bottom, which you can see above.
I decided to center the hand bones rather than the skull this time. That means I ended up with two skulls on the top.
I have the handle on, but I am not sure I have that step in the right place. Remember the pattern does not include a handle, so I had to hack it.
My friend saw it in process and was thrilled. I just need to find some time to finish it. I don’t have much more to go, so it shouldn’t take very long.
I finished the second Hackney in record time. Now, as I mentioned, have plans to make a few more. The second one always goes a lot faster than the first and I am enamored with the shape.
Cutting wasn’t even terrible for this pouch. Something must be getting into me, though it’s probably the templates. I have a set of acrylic templates for this pouch and cutting with templates is a million times easier than when I have to use a paper pattern. It might be even easier if I used a rotating mat.
The one problem with this pattern, as written, is the lack of a handle. I am not sure of the original intention of the bag, but having a handle I think is important. I asked a few questions of the designer and her team about when to add the handle. I got enough information and ended up adding after step 13. I think it worked out pretty well.
I love the pouch even more set upright like the picture (right). I think it looks so cool. It makes me want one, though I have no idea how I would use it. Some people sew elastic bands on the bottom in such a way that pens and such can be anchored to the bottom. It’s an idea I will have to consider. I have also seen this made as mini first aid kit. Lots of good ideas.
The same fabric that I used for the handle was also used for the lining. I am really pleased with how the stripes came out. Also, I think the inside zipper matches, without matching, very well.
The inside pocket is mesh and I think the center zipper looks a little weird, so I think I will try moving the zipper up a little, though I know that might interfere with the operation of the zipper. I might be able to move it up to where the curve starts with no ill effects. The other idea I have is to put a vinyl pocket on top and no zipper. Stay tuned for further iterations.
Sew Sweetness has a hashtag for the Hackney on her FB group (you have to be a member) and I scrolled through a lot of versions of them to get ideas. It was great.
As briefly mentioned when I posted about the Minikins Season Three patterns from Sew Sweetness, I made a Hackney pouch as gift for the YM’s girlfriend/partner. She works as part of a forensics team and loves skeletons. This Timeless Treasures fabric is perfect for gifts for her and I still have quite a bit.
I made her a Sidewinder pouch a couple of years ago, but that had no skeleton fabric. I used a bit of skeleton fabric for the pincushion in the Leaf Sew Together Bag I made for her last year.
This turned out to be all skeletons all the time, though not the lining. I can’t get away from light colored linings.
I think the center looks super cheerful and people using it can see their stuff.
This was my first try at the Hackney pattern, but I like it as a bag. These are quite large (I made the large size), so not really a pouch, but a small bag. I really want to know if it fits a Switch**. I’d like to see a photo of the large Hackney with a Switch inside it.
I plan to make a few more for more gifts, but also one for myself. I need to think of what to put inside before I make one and have it hanging around.
**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 liked the first Hackney so much that I started another one. I wasn’t 100% satisfied with the first one and wanted to try again.
This is another large size.
I also plan to put a handle on the end, like someone did in the Sew Sweetness group. Right now I am trying to figure out WHEN to put it on. I have asked the question in a couple of different ways, but think I need to get all the pieces out and try out what they said. Theoretically I am not understanding.
The second one has been going faster than the first one. That is one of the reasons I made the second one right away.
The zipper on this one looks brown, but it is kind of a browny-olive. Not a very attractive color, but I didn’t have a better one.
I think the outside and lining fabrics look good.
It is so strange to think of these bags as pouches. I really think of pouches as the one zip things like the Cotton Candy Pouch pattern. Still, Sara at Sew Sweetness calls these pouches. She is way more experienced than me.
This is another one of the Minikins Season 3 patterns from Sew Sweetness, like the Percheron and the Piebald Pouch. People tell me it will fit a Switch gaming device, which is why I chose the large size. Also, for my first go round, it is easier to make.
I struggled with not having a free arm on my machine., as I did with the Moto Pouches. I need to think about that and whether it is time to upgrade my machine. I am ready for a fancy machine again, but I am not sure I want to spend the money.
I am planning to make another one of these pouches for a Christmas gift. First, I need a gift and the recipient will appreciate the complexity. Second, I want to try again.
I still need to sew up the lining and fix one problem, but I’ll be able to finish today.