Yes, I am making 4 more Sew Together Bags. Yes, I started cutting at Sew Day in July. Yes, I am writing about these now, because I was finally able to make a tiny amount of progress on a non-La Pass project. No, I didn’t sew, but I cut the rest of the fabric for the 4 bags and am now ready to quilt the exteriors.
Jaye’s Sew Together Bag – closed
TFQ Sew Together Bag – closed
Purple Chair Sew Together Bag – closed
Mom’s Watercolor Box Sew Together Bag
Embroidery Sew Together Bag Closed
SIL #2’s Sew Together Bag – outside
Beth’s Sew Together Bag
Carrie’s Sew Together Bag – outside
Sue’s Sew Together Bag
Tim’s Sew Together Bag
Since I discovered this pattern, I have made 10 different versions of this pattern. Two are mine and the rest were gifts. As I have said, this isn’t the greatest pattern, but people love it. Recipients are also pretty impressed by the intricacy. I feel like I really got the whole process the way I like it on the last batch. I am excited to get finished with the prep and start sewing these together, if I can ever sew again.
During the tutorial session on Saturday during Sew Day for the Ultimate Carry All Bag, Lynette showed how to complete the front panel. I had tried and messed it up. Don’t worry, though, I will write a tutorial for this step now that I know how to make it to post here later.
UCAB front and back panels
Lynette went further than I had planned. I had planned on just doing the front zipper pocket, which I talked about the other day. She showed us how to complete that pocket, plus apply the pocket to the front, add handles and make the back panel with handles. I am really glad as it makes the tutorials move along faster and I have to create fewer. I am not afraid; the work just takes time.
One thing that came out is one piece was missing from the list on the pattern of pieces we needed for this step. On part 2, pg.16, you need to add L6, an 8×8 lining piece, to the list of pieces you’ll need. This pattern would improve significantly if the designer went through and numbered all the pieces. I know you know that we did that at the beginning, but you can’t number pieces in the pattern that aren’t listed.
One thing I did was use the handles I made for the All Rolled Up Tote, which I ended up not using for that project. I decided that those handles would work for this bag even though they are a little wider than called for in the pattern. One side, which you can see in the other blog post, is pleather and the side you can see above is the accent piece I sewed from Philip Jacobs Brocade Peony fabric to cover the pleather seam.
I had to unsew and redo the back luggage sleeve because I forgot to put SF101 on the back. I thought it would be ok, but decided it was too flimsy. I am much happier now that I redid it, though unsewing takes awhile.
Finally, this project is starting to look like something. With the back and front panels finished, I can see the end of the road in the distance. In some part of my brain, I feel like I am wasting time when I am working on this project. I feel like I could be working on better projects. In another part of my brain, I tell myself that I am making progress, this bag will use up some fabric in my palette, etc. It is so weird. I just think this project has been hanging around for longer than I like and I want to be done with it.
I have to remind myself that one of the reasons we started this was to encourage people to make bags and show them they could do it. Perhaps we didn’t choose wisely with this weird and difficult bag. Fortunately, it will be a useful bag. I don’t know if people will be encouraged to make other bags or be daunted.
We had another tutorial session on Saturday during Sew Day for the Ultimate Carry All Bag. This time Lynette was the teacher. I was relieved not to have to do the tutorial, because I was confused about how to complete the front zipper pocket. I had tried and messed it up. I hadn’t quite given up, but had put it off for awhile.
The directions seemed to be more complicated than necessary, but once Lynette discussed the steps, I was able to follow. The key is that L7 is sewn to the rest of the zipper panel by top stitching the top part of the zipper. you sew around the outside of the whole panel eventually, but this top stitching is such a weird instruction. I have never seen that type of instruction before.
The Mustang Purse Organizer is another project from Minikins Season 3. I decided to try out the pattern to give as a gift. I am making both sizes so the recipient can choose which works best in her handbag.
I started cutting them out at Craft Night earlier this week. I had other things to do, so didn’t get to spend the whole time on this pattern. I was able to cut out and interface the main exterior panels. I also cut out grab handles for both sizes.
There are so many great patterns in Season 3 (no affiliation!). There are really interesting shapes. It is also interesting to see how the different sizes of each pattern sew up.
The other day I talked about the Jane Market Tote I made for the guild’s monthly door prize. it occurred to me that I had made a lot of Jane Market Totes, but I had never seen them together.
Voila! Here they are!
2011 Jane Market Totes
Barb’s Jane Market Tote
St. Paddy’s Jane Market Tote
Silvia’s Jane Market Tote
Maureen’s Jane Market Tote
Mom’s Jane Market Tote in Paintbox fabric
Donation Jane Market Tote
Jane Market Tote
Jane Market Tote
Orange Jane Market Tote
Jane Market Totes
Skull Jane Market Tote – detail
Grama Jane Market Tote
Black Jane Market Tote
Jane Market Tote in Monaluna fabric
Jane Market Tote
I am surprised to say I can’t remember making most of these. I guess they are kind of ephemeral since they go together so quickly. I am sure I will make more. I am definitely getting my money’s worth out of this pattern.
First I am excited with how well the bag came out.
Next I am excited at how well the fussy cutting looks.
Third, I am thrilled with how the Linework print and my strips fit together.
Superbloom top closed
Fourth, I am ridiculously happy about the top zipper placket. I don’t know why this bit of a bag makes me so giddy. I don’t think I have ever done one before, so that may be part of it. I’ll probably come down off my cloud tomorrow.
Superbloom open
Finally, I just love those turquoise zippers. Could they be any better? They add such a spark of color.
The lining is a little baggy even though I followed the directions and used different seam allowances. Not sure what that is about, but I will do better next time.
I was surprised at the size of the bag. I thought it was much larger. It isn’t a stupid size or anything. It is a reasonable size, just smaller than I thought. I really like the angled shape, though I don’t know if you can tell that from the top photo. I forgot to put a D-ring in it, though I know where I will put one next time. I plan to make another of these, especially since I bought the templates. So many bag patterns…so little time.
Last weekend I made a bag for the door prize at today’s meeting. I used the Jane Market Tote for the pattern again. This is a practical pattern that isn’t too big and goes together relatively quickly. I spent about 3 hours from finding the pattern to clipping the last thread.
It is scrappy green. I chose green for St. Patrick’s Day. I thought it would be fun to have green/St. Patrick’s Day as a theme.
I chose to make it scrappy so I could use up some smaller pieces of green.
My first attempt at putting the exterior of the Superbloom Tote together was unsuccessful. I was disappointed and distraught. I left the bag for much too long and considered not finishing it.
Briefly, I thought about quitting.
This was a terrible idea, because I have other fabric that I want to use to make another one. AND the fussy cutting I did with the Linework fabric is fantastic. The fussy cutting on those side pockets was fantastic. Finally, after mulling a lot, I realized that I had been working on the bag without the benefit of the video. Many of Sara Lawson’s pattern packs come with the pattern and a video. The video is very helpful. She has improved the videos by tagging them to steps in the pattern. I was able to navigate right to putting the exterior together easily.
Superbloom Exterior
Watching the video really helped and I was able to get over the hump of adding the side pockets and the straps to the exterior. There was one step I did a little wrong, so I had some ripping to do, but it came out really well.
I made another Retreat Pouch the other day. I cut up the fabric when I went to visit Tim, then decided to sew the pouch on Saturday.
I am ridiculously pleased at how this Retreat Pouch came together. I think it looks great!
It is also a great project. Once the pieces are cut the bag goes together in a couple of hours. I think I talked about this before.
Retreat Pouch Fussy Cutting
First, I love the fabric. This fabric is one of Anna Maria’s Hindsight prints. I received it in one of the Modern Handmade subscription boxes I received last year. Can you believe how lucky I got on the cutting? It looks like I intended to match the flower on either side of the zipper.
I really wanted to make the larger size, but one fat quarter is not enough to make one pouch, so I resorted to this size again. I bought two frames in each size, so I can choose some different fabrics that I have in larger quantities to make the larger version.
Retreat Pouch Beautiful Zipper
Second, the sewing went very well and the pouch looks professionally sewn. I am pleased with how the zipper ended up looking based on the instructions. I went an extra step by pinning the zipper down rather than holding it while I sewed and I think that helped. I knew where to pin it because I measured. I think this is another version of ‘veering’ the zipper that I have talked about with the Cotton Candy Pouches and the UCAB 45 degree angle technique.
Retreat Pouch Interior Pocket
Third, turning the pouch using the interior zipper pocket was a smooth process. Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness has a tutorial. I don’t know why I don’t add these pockets for turning all the time.
This is not part of the pattern, but it is easy to add to any pouch or bag. I had to think carefully about the size because of the boxed corner. Despite my care, I still think the bottom of the pocket goes below the curve on the bottom of the pouch. I don’t think it really matters. For the moment I don’t know what I will put in that interior pocket.
I say this is an easy pocket to put in, but I always need to refer to general directions. I also have Sara Lawson’s Acrylic Zipper Pocket Template (no affiliation) and that makes the marking super speedy. I also saw one by Piera (no affiliation), which includes purse feet measurements as well.
I did watch the video before I sewed the first Retreat Pouch. I vowed to watch it again before making this one, but I didn’t. I don’t know why because it is a good resource.
I put my new Snap Setter and all of my Snap Setter Supplies in this pouch.
I spent some time on Sunday sewing the Superbloom tote. I am particularly happy with the Side Pockets.
First of all, I always forget how easy those internal zipper pockets are. They really go together smoothly. I always wonder why I don’t just add them to every bag. I should.
Second, I am super happy with fussy cutting. I basically lined up the motifs with the template pieces. My one issue is that the swans heads got cut off when I added the zipper. I plan to add some markers on the template where the zipper is so I know where the zipper for the next time I make one of these.
I started putting the bag together and am excited to see how it will look.
My YM’s girlfriend (YMG??) has a birthday at the beginning of January. I thought I might be a week late in getting her a gift, but here it is a month later and I have not made progress on the tote.
Linework Superbloom Tote pieces cut out
I decided to make her a Superbloom tote. I wanted to try this pattern and her birthday seemed like a good opportunity.
I used some of Tula Pink’s Linework fabric for the outside. YMG likes dark green, which is not a color of which I own a lot (shocking, I know), so black and white it is.
This is a Sew Sweetness pattern (one of the new ones) so I have every confidence that it will go well.
As you can see, I haven’t gotten very far. I still need to get beyond the cutting and hope to work on it this weekend.
I finally finished the Sew Together Bags and they are now in the hands of their new owners.
Sue’s Sew Together Bag
Sue’s Sew Together Bag inside back
The outsides used different fabrics and embellishments, as I mentioned, but the insides were similar. I used most of the same fabrics for the insides. While the white insides make tools and supplies easy to find, I think they are a bit boring and might use one or two pieces of colored fabric to break up the white next time (yes, I am sure there will be a next time. 😉 )
Carrie’s Sew Together Bag – outside
Carrie’s Sew Together Bag – inside
Carrie’s Sew Together Bag – bottom
As I mentioned in one post, the placement of the hexagon embellishment feature was off. I tried a few different things and considered some others. In the end, I left the original embellishment where it was and added a couple of extra hexagons. I think it looks nice and the original embellishment provides a surprise for the bottom if anyone looks there.
The recipients all claimed to enjoy their new bags. Tim doesn’t do much handwork, so I hope he finds a use for this bag.
I have made various sizes of the drawstring bags from the Jeni Baker pattern a number of times. I had an idea to use them as gift bags and, more recently, I made one to house some juggling balls. At the last minute, I grabbed some Marcia Derse fabric that has been nagging me lately to make some more of these bags.
Last week I cut out two – the Artist size and the smaller Project size. They go together very quickly once cut and are really great for wrapping gifts.
I do like that Marcia Derse squares fabric. I think it is a little hard to use, though, except for, maybe, on the back of a quilt. I think this is a good use for it.
I bought some twill tape awhile ago. I used that for the handles, but am not 100% happy with the look. I may go back and make handles that match.
Now that these are made, I am not sure how I will use them.
Sometime ago I bought the frames for the Retreat pouch. The Retreat pouch is a free pattern from Emmaline Bags. The pattern, as I said, is free, but the frames are not.
Retreat Pouch closed
Over the New Year holiday, I decided I was going to make some bags, the supplies for which had been hanging around. The Retreat pouch was one of the bags I sewed.
I started out with the small size, which is about 8 inches x 4 inches. I didn’t think the small size was tiny. Once cut out, this is not a difficult bag to put together. I was able to finish it in a couple of hours while I catted with a friend.
Retreat Pouch open
I thought the installation of the frame was a little weird because the pattern says to remove stitches you have already sewed in order to install the frame. The pattern didn’t say whether to sew up the hole that I made, so I did.
I just used a frame for the Sheffield Tool Bag. That pattern uses a casing to house the frame. Since I haven’t used a lot of frames in bags, I don’t know what is normal. I prefer the casing.
I plan to use this pouch for my bag making tools. I might need to make the larger version for the tools as I have a lot of them, but I plan to make the larger one anyway.
I found a video that shows how to add handles and make some other changes to the bag while showing how to make the pouch. I have watched it, but I didn’t watch while making this pouch. I may add handles to my next one.
N.B. on Frames: I still don’t have a good handle on frames. I know how to install them in a bag or pouch in a couple of ways, but I don’t know if different frames can be interchanged in different bags. I haven’t made enough bags with frames to understand them very well.
After thinking about the two tool totes, I decided to compare them. I already talked a little about them in the Gift Post, but I think showing photos would help you decide which you want to make. I made the Quilts Illustrated pattern in 2018. I use it for my bag making supplies. It is handy to keep them all in one place.
Sheffield Tool Bag v. Quilts Illustrated Tool Tote
As you can see from the photo above, the overall shape of both bags is substantially similar. The Sheffield Tote is larger than the QI Tool Tote. The Sheffield also has some 3D pockets in addition to the slip pockets on the outside. These additional pockets provide extra storage, though I wonder if the items in those pockets would fall out in transit?
The other thing I notice is that the handles are different. They are different widths and made from different techniques. I picked up the QI Tool Tote the other day and found it heavy. With all of my bagmaking hardware and supplies, it would be. That made me worried about the handles breaking. I think if I made the QI version again, I would make the handles wider.
That being said, I have not filled the Sheffield Tool Bag so I don’t know how it will feel with items inside. I do like the padded version of the handles (see tutorial – you can add these to any bag) for a bag like this and will add them next time I made the Sheffield.
Sheffield Tool Tote – inside
Tool Tote: big mouth opening
The other thing I like about these bags is the frame. I haven’t made a lot of bags with frames, but the wide mouth aspect, enabled by the frame, on both bags is awesome. The maker can see into the entirety of both bags.
Again, the pockets are different. The Sheffield has more 3D pockets on the inside while the QI Tool Tote has slip pockets, including some on the ends. In a way I like the slip pockets better. I can see making a smaller slip pocket for the second pocket on the outside of the Sheffield instead of the 3D pockets. I might also make slip pockets for the inside of the Sheffield.
There is a lot of scope for imagination, as Anne Shirley would say, in this style of bag. I encourage you to try it out.
