Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I made this Cotton Candy pouch for a friend’s birthday.
It ended up being a ‘slimline’ version as I sewed the side panels to the wrong end of the main panel and had to trim extensively. It worked out and she liked it so no harm.
However, I need to get this right. I have made so many of these pouches that I am shocked and amazed that I made such a big mistake. I am going to make some others to cement the process in my head.
As I was organizing all the fabric to wash, I made notes and took pictures of projects I had in mind for the fabric. I need to do that because I am excited about sewing. I am excited about making gifts and some donation projects. I have a lot going on and I don’t want to forget what I was thinking.
First up is the Holland Pouch. I saw this pattern at Stitch in Ferndale and decided to get it. I love the Hemingway pattern by the same company and it was convenient to purchase the print version while I was there. I found the fabric above and I know the perfect person for it.
I bought the black cat fabric in the second photo for the same person. I bought it first and if I had seen the cat fabric above, I wouldn’t have bought the second fabric. Still, I might make this person two bags. I’ll use the same lining for both.
I think I mostly like saying “Petunia Pouch”. Here is the finished version. It is not a hard pouch, but what a pain this one was!
I had to recut the exterior to get the print going in the right direction. The zipper is a bit off and I had to rip a lot. I don’t know why. Perhaps I was just tired.
More Tula on the inside – this time the tiny stripes in pink.
This is done and gifted and I am pleased.
This pouch is for Lindsay’s daughter, A. A has a new brother and I didn’t want to bring him a gift without one for her. Mama loves Tula, so she got some Tula fabric in her bag.
This is a cute little pouch that is good for a little girl, though I don’t think it is good for much else. At least I can’t think what I would use it for. How would you use it? The first one I made went into the Pink Project Bag.
After I posted about the Encore Purse Insert the other day, I went looking at my patterns to see what other purse inserts I had. I wanted to compare them by size and shape.
As you saw, I have the Encore Purse Insert, thanks to Sherri D.
This is a large insert at 11.5 x 5.5 x 6 inches. I am guessing it is either 5.5. or 6 inches tall. This is definitely for a larger handbag or tote bag. Since I haven’t made it yet, I can only say that I think it would be super useful in a tote bag.
I am also wondering if it could be used for quilt travel for supplies. One downside is that it is open, so the larger bag would have to be closed. That is also on the plus side, because an open bag means easier access.
I also have the Mustang Purse Organizers. These are part of Minikins Season 3. As you know this is a 12 pattern and video bundle, so you get more than just the Mustang pattern for the price. I made both sizes for my mom in 2021.
The smaller size is 8 inches long x 5.5 inches tall x 3 inches deep. The larger size is 11.5 inches long x 6.75 inches tall x 3.5 inches deep. The sizes are similar to the Encore, which gives me an idea of the size of Encore.* I know my mom transfers her stuff from one purse to the other using the smaller organizer.
I also have a pattern from Sotak Handmade called Purse Organizer. I have made two of these, one for Mom and one for Gerre. I haven’t had any complaints, but they are very different from the handbag organizers above.
One of the advantages of the organizers above is that they are open, so you can slip your hand into your handbag and pull out what you need. This is flatter and closed. There are external pockets as well, which means you could take it out of a larger handbag and carry with you or transfer it quickly to your work bag.
I also have the Multi Pocket Organizer from Sotak Handmade. I have not made this pattern yet. Now that I see it again, I am eager to make it. It is a combination, it seems of the Mustang and the Sotak Purse organizer. It might be the right size to use in my new handbag. I like her patterns and this one holds quite a bit in an organized manner. It is (wide on bottom x tall x deep): 10” x 6 1/2” x 4”, so in between the large and small sizes of the Mustang.
I also have a pattern called Handy Purse Organizer by Caroline Fairbanks-Critchfield. I couldn’t find the finished size on the blog post. There are 13 pockets – 6 mesh, 6 fabric, and one interior zipper pocket, which is useful info.
There are a lot of free patterns on the Sew Can She site. I haven’t made this one, but it is another option for purse organizers.
Am I going to have 35 purse organizers? LOL!
* I know what 11 inches is, but the numbers don’t get into my brain and I need to see a bag to actually understand the size.
My friend, Sherri D, sent me this pattern out of the blue. I had a really good mail week that week and this pattern was one of the items I received.
I really like the photo and I am kind of amazed at how much stuff is in the bag. This could be a handbag in itself. As soon as I looked at the pattern, I thought of what would happen if I put a strap on it and made it into a handbag itself. I just can’t help myself. 😉
It is from Studio Kat Designs. I went to the website to see what it said about and couldn’t find it there, so I think it is one they don’t sell any more. Still, I plan to make it to see how it works.
Thanks, Sherri, and go take a look at her blog. She does beautiful work!
This was an easy pouch which would make a quick gift for a little girl as a small purse. I am not sure what else it could be used for.
This is a pouch for the Pink Project. As I said before, this is a Sotak Handmade pattern. I thought it went together well.
Some of the binding was a bit fiddly, but not annoyingly so.
One of the good things about this pouch is the size zipper it needs. It needs either a 6 or 8 inch zipper, which I don’t use that often, though I have several waiting for projects. I am sad that the only zipper I had of the right size and closest to the color of the fabric was orchid. I suppose I could have cut down a longer zipper. Maybe I’ll do that next time.
I have to say that looking through all of my pinks and using them is really fun. I had forgotten about this Monaluna print (is that designer still around?). I like the sunbursts a lot and the pink is kind of a petal pink.
I am not sure the handle would stand up to carrying around heavy things. I sewed over the handles a couple of times to try and reinforce them.
This was the last bag for this year’s Pink Project. I’ll see about making some more pouches for next year. I need to make a large tote as I don’t have one of the organization’s bags to put all the pouches in. I have many tote patterns and it will be fun to look through them and choose one.
I also forgot to post this one to the blog.
This one might look the same as the Pink Zipper I Spy I posted the other day, but you can see that the zipper is different.
Yes, this one has the same problem as that one: clashing flowers. Still, live and learn.
I finally started the Petunia Pouch and it is a fairly easy project so far.
I don’t have a lot of experience with Sotak Handmade patterns. I have made 2-3 projects from her patterns. I watch her reels on IG and am so impressed with how easy the projects look.
I found this one to be easy, so far as well AND the zipper looks good.
One thing is putting binding on everything. It is a pain, but it makes all the edges look good.
I forgot to post this I Spy back in March. As I have said before, I love making these I Spy pouches. I like both the fabrics I used, but together they are a bit much. ;-).
It is still useful and is now keeping acrylic pattern templates together.
A few weeks ago I bought a couple of new patterns when Sotak Handmade was having a sale. I am sure you saw the Little Pyramid pouches I made. I have also made a Purse Organizer from one of her patterns.
I cut out the Petunia Pouch over the weekend. This is a different kind of pouch. It has a zipper up the middle of the front. From the pattern, I can’t exactly tell how it all goes together.
I do like Sotak Handmade patterns, so I am hopeful that this is a good pattern.
I finally took some time on Mother’s Day to finish this pouch. It has been laying around for a few weeks. It was the perfect project for Mother’s Day. I got to sew AND I finished something.
This is the second one of this pattern I have made. It is a fairly easy project, though the turns on the curved end are tight. Again, I did some fussy cutting, which I think looks nice.
I know this isn’t exactly pink; it’s more peachy, but it does show the range of pinks. I am definitely in the “give me bright pink” like the Bluestem Pouch camp. Still, this is a nice soft look
I was also pleased that the gluing together part worked for me this time. I had a better idea of how to do it and I am sure that helped.
The other thing I did was to sew down the quarter marking areas. I did a few steps over the quarter marking to tack the various pieces in place, then I went around the whole pieces. That worked pretty well, though those curves are tight for my machine.
The inside looks like an inside.
I used a leftover zipper and one of the zipper pulls from Sew Hungry Hippie. I also forgot to put a label inside. Oh well.
I finished the Little Pyramid Pouches in the middle of last week.
I am pretty pleased with how they came out. The zipper instructions are exceptional and I am REALLY pleased with the zippers. Mary C did give me a little info, which helped me shorten the zipper
They are a little on the large side. I think I might try the small version even though Mary C said that size was hard to turn.
This project was a good opportunity to use some of my shorter zippers.I don’t use 6 or 8″ very often, but I have a fair number.
I think I would choose a solid or a tone-on-tone for the accent strip (currently ladybugs) in the future. I think it would highlight the main/exterior fabric.
Still, all the Tula fabric do coordinate so they don’t look awful or anything.
I pulled out some older fat quarters of dot fabrics for the interior of all of these pouches. I was glad to use some of them that have been hanging around for awhile.
The lining is a little baggy. There were no directions for using a larger seam allowance (though I could have missed them). I’ll have to check to see and then adjust for future versions.
This pattern also uses ribbon or sewn tabs and those came out really well also.
You can see the bit of ribbon at the top. I used the leftovers from another project.
This was a fun project. I am going to try the Petunia Pouch next.
I took advantage of the Sotak Handmade 30% off sale last weekend to buy two patterns I thought were interesting, the Petunia Pouch and the Little Pyramid Pouch. I want to make some small gifts for people at the Retreat, so I cut some fabric for the Little Pyramid Pouch out at Sew Day. I would have bought more, but she has a lot of tote bags and I already have a lot of tote bag patterns.
I have a few of her patterns already. One is the Purse Organizer. I made one for Mom and one for Gerre. It is more of a tablet carrier than a purse organizer. I like the pattern, however. Her free pattern (tutorial?) for scissor cozies is a perennial favorite. I also have the Multi-Pocket Organizer, but I haven’t made that one yet. It is very similar to the Mustang Purse Organizer
It doesn’t look like much in the image above, but I have all of the pieces cut out to make the pouch. I didn’t bring my sewing machine or I would have gotten started.
I started another Palomino Pouch as part of the Pink Project. I wanted to try and succeed at the gluing step that closes up the sides.
I have everything cut out, but have to find a zipper that matches. The fabric is definitely pink, but more of a peachy pink than the Pink Dot Bluestem or the Pink Piebald and I am not sure I have one that will match. I might have to use white or some other contrasting color. I do like it when the zippers look like they belong on the pouch.