I am keeping up with the Sew Sweetness Sew-a-long for the Sweetbay (that’s a lot of Ss and Ws!!) crossbody bag. This bag has a lot of prep and it started with week 1 and continued to this week.
Some of this week’s work was adding interfacing to all of the pieces that were not interfaced last week.
I also had to make the credit card sleeve, which didn’t turn out quite as expected. The written directions were a little confusing, but I walked away and came back and was able to figure out what to do.
In order to make the compartments, we were supposed to use a template made from the pattern pieces on the back. I was super pleased that I figured out how to make slots that I could mark through. I know this seems really dumb, but it felt very convenient and like an excellent solution.
This pattern does not have a acrylic templates and I am not sure why. I think the credit card sleeve would have been a good candidate for templates.
I also made good use of the hot ruler from Cyndi for this project. This was a Christmas gift I received and the more I use it the more useful I find it. It makes the folds a little thick, so if I need precise measurements, I need to be very careful. Other than that, I am finding it to be very useful.
I added to the prep work by adding a vertical pocket in the back flap. Vertical pockets look really cool. I also thought that back flap was the perfect location for additional storage, so I created an internal zipper pocket.
I had to remember how to do it, so I looked it up in a couple of books. First was Lisa Lam’s The Bag Making Bible**, which got me started, but left out (or I couldn’t find) some crucial information, so I switched to The Complete Bagmaking Masterclass** and got the info I needed.
One problem I had, which wasn’t critical was that I didn’t leave enough fabric on the short ends of the zipper pocket. See how there is barely half an inch on each small end? It worked, but it isn’t really enough and I had to be super careful to make sure the foam and exterior fabric got caught in the seam when I sewed the zipper in. It worked, but I sweated! Hopefully, I’ll remember next time.
Once I had all that done I was kind of exhausted. I am very pleased that I am making progress and keeping up with the Sew-a-long.
**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.
