Tag: Sewfisticated

Finally! I finished the second Pandora Charisma. It was mostly done after Friday night’s stitching session, but I made the strap after the meeting on Saturday.

I am much happier with the way the zipper opens after stitching down the excess binding fabric. I have to review the pattern to see where I misread about binding. I think I may have mentioned I will try foldover elastic next time.

I also think this bag looks pretty professional. It isn’t perfect, but it is very good. 

After taking some photos, I realized I needed some zipper pulls! I had a couple of Ruby Star color wheels so I added those, though not to the front pocket. I want that pocket to stay hidden.

I put the strap on the side and tried it out as a cross body bag, but thought I might try out the sling function as well. I plan to take this on a trip and the sling style might be a better way to wear it on a trip. I suppose it depends on whether I am wearing a backpack.

The good thing is I can change the strap at any moment. The same strap works for wearing it as a sling and as a crossbody bag.

The webbing I chose was very thick, thus comfortable when the bag is on the heavy side. The thickness made the sewing difficult, however, even with the Harry Potter foot.

The pattern includes three different methods for making the strap. I combined a couple of the options for no good reason other than I felt like it. I think I will still rivet the strap in a couple of places. I am not sure I 100% like this strap and may make another.

I also used a different template for the Strap Connector tabs. I used a different decorative version from Sew Sweetness. I used the Diamond vinyl to make the strap connector tab and am a little uncomfortable with the fact that edges are raw. Still, there will be no fraying, so I don’t what I am worried about. 

The mesh pocket looks good and I hope it is useful.

In the photo, you can see the Ruby Star zipper pulls I mentioned. The metal is gold, not rainbow, but I think it is ok. I probably mentioned that I used various labels on this bag. Why not? 

I notice that there are some places where items could fall out from the bottom. I guess that is why there are pockets. 

On the opposite side from the mesh pocket is the vinyl pocket. One of the things about vinyl pockets is I can see the beautiful peonies in the Philip Jacobs Brocade Peony fabric I used.

In thinking about using this bag, I think the vinyl pocket is where my pens will be housed. I didn’t think about pens before. I may make a specific pen holder/pocket and attach it to the gusset, if I make this bag again. 

The key leash is built in, so I won’t have to worry about switching a leash from bag to bag in order to keep my keys clipped to my handbag.

I made the bag pocket using the fatter gussets as someone else in the Sewfisticated group did, so that it opens wider.

I added another vinyl pocket to the back section. It covers an interior zipper pocket.  This vinyl pocket is shorter than the one described above. It might be a better candidate for pens. We’ll see.

Finally, I am really happy that the tablet/computer sleeve, because it fits my tablet. I didn’t think it would. The sleeve looks really small in the bag and my tablet just fits. It is almost like the bag was made for my tablet, which it wasn’t. The only thing I would do differently is put the tablet sleeve against the main part of the bag next time. The pattern has its placement against the outside of the bag /  the back panel. I think the fabric would be less likely to rip with a heavy tablet housed there if it were swapped with the second vinyl pocket.

I am looking forward to using this bag. Yes, I plan to use it soon. I am contemplating not using it until after next year’s Fair, but I think that might be too long to let it just sit around.

It hasn’t been very long since I worked on the newest Pandora Charisma, but it feels like an eternity. It was before the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, which makes it feel like an eternity.

I really wanted a nice tidy finish before I left, but I wasn’t able to finish. I want it to be a bag that I will use so I didn’t want to do a rush job.

 

I worked hard on the binding, which is probably the most difficult part of the bag, aside from the thickness of the layers. The thickness of the layers is not a problem for me now because of the Elna’s HP2 foot. I almost finished. I have to fix the binding and have finishing bits to add like making the adjustable strap, so I put it aside and went to Wisconsin.

The biggest problem was when I tested the zippers that the binding was getting caught in the zippers. I thought about it while I was gone. I was disappointed and didn’t really want to take the binding off. For this pattern, the binding has been an issue for me. I thinking my quiltmaking binding background is the issue. I think I am making my binding too wide. Next time I make a Sewfisticated pattern, I plan to use foldover elastic.  Alternatively, I will check the size of the binding the pattern requires more carefully.

I got back to it on Thursday night after a few days of being home. You can see the excess binding fabric in the photo, right. I decided to handstitch the excess binding to itself. That will cover any suboptimal stitching and make the excess fabric more contained. Not an ideal solution, but the excess won’t get caught in the zipper.

I hope to finish soon. I’d like to try using it and see how it works for me.

I haven’t worked on the Pandora Charisma for a few days, but I did make some progress.

I finished the mesh pocket, as you can see. I picked the foldover elastic and zipper especially to match the background fabric. 

I can’t believe how much easier this bag is to make the second time around! 

I haven’t made the gusset yet, but that is coming up. So far I have some of the pockets made as well as the front and back panels. I have a fair bit to go, but am making progress intermittently between other projects.

 

After finishing the back panel, I started on the gussets. Before starting them, I looked through versions of this bag on the Sewfisticated FB group. I noticed one maker had made the back panel open wider by using the same instructions.

It is super helpful to see the different fabrics and modifications other bagmakers think up. I forget that I can do things differently. Although I have made a lot of bags and pouches, every new bag project feels unfamiliar.

One of the changes I am making on this one is a clear slip pocket instead of a fabric slip pocket. I thought about the utility of it and whether the vinyl would be a problem. I couldn’t think of one and I wanted to show off the lining fabric. In future I will use a plain fabric for the lining and a featured or printed fabric for the slip pocket.

Part of this step is the key leash. That is done as well. I love the way the flowers show through the glitter vinyl.

I am still having fun with this and the steps are going faster than I expected. Next is to make the mesh pocket. I have cut everything. I just haven’t sewed the zipper in.

Amazingly I have recently continued to work on the Pandora Charisma #2. I didn’t have a Pandora Charisma #2, really, but decided I would make another one with the front panel I sewed when testing the Elna.

It wasn’t a done deal that I would make another one as all I could remember was the struggles I had with the binding on #1. The win really made me excited about the project. Another reason I want to work on this project again (despite the hair ripping during the first one) is I want to see how the Elna does. I also think winning Best in Show made me want to try another one. 

On Sunday, when I was done beavering away on other non-sewing chores, I really thought about the project I wanted to work on. Since I am sort of in between quilts, I am working on tidying up little tasks. I made a binding for the Warm Four Patch Fun, I processed a bunch of scraps and did a few other fabric related tasks. I wasn’t ready to start a new quilt or revisit a WIP yet, so the Pandora Charisma settled into my mind. I did really want to work on it. So I did. 

I made the back panel. I didn’t scream through it like I did on the front panel, but I did make it. I found it didn’t take long at all. 

So far so good. This piece uses the Diamond Quilted Vinyl that looks like pleather. I always refer to it as pleather as I think of vinyl as clear. Anyway, this stuff acts like vinyl, so I after 1 stitch put on the Teflon foot and needle plate. What a dream! Those two are a powerhouse combo! No issues with pulling or sticking. 

This time I used regular (#3??) zippers for the hidden zippers in the front and back panels. So far so good, though it was a challenge to get the zipper surround to lay flat. 

The next step is to make the gussets for the inside. It was a good stopping point. Stay tuned!

As you know I completed the Pandora Charisma. It was a learning experience mostly because, if I categorize my thoughts, it was a pattern by a new designer.

One of the things I explored was new substrates. I used the Diamond Quilted vinyl, which feels like leather, as mentioned, for the first time. I had some challenges sewing it, but not as many as I expected. I did buy and start using a Teflon** AKA Ultra Glide foot. It wasn’t as magical as I hoped, but it worked better than the tissue paper I normally use with vinyl. The tissue paper went straight into the holes made by the needle and wouldn’t come out. 🙁

There were lots of eighth inch measurements. I thought it might be because the designer is from Singapore and uses metric measurements to start, but in one place there was an eighth measurement and the metric was x.1, so I think it is just the way the pattern turned out.

I thought the pattern was well written and pretty easy to follow. One of the good things about using a pattern from a new/different designer is that I learn new ways to complete general bagmaking steps, such as sewing the hidden zipper pocket. For an internal/hidden zipper pocket, Jessie (owner of Sewfisticated) only sews along the two long edges rather than all the way around the box. This prevents puckers in the corners, which is something that has always bugged me. The picture of my Sweetbay project shows the box drawn and ready for sewing, so you can see the box. One of the reasons this works is that later in the process the maker top stitches the whole zipper pocket when finishing the zipper pocket. 

I was also confused about the internal/hidden zipper pocket directions, mostly how far down from the top the zipper pocket needed to be on one of the steps. I don’t know if I missed or didn’t understand the directions, but I didn’t have quite enough seam allowance at the top. I made it work, but will do the step differently next time.

I loved that the pattern listed the exact pieces I needed for each section. I was able to cut the pieces I needed for just that section as I worked through the pattern. This helped me keep organized and not have a whole bunch of pieces sitting around for a month. I also liked not cutting everything at once, which I find to be the worst part of bagmaking. In general, it broke the pattern down into manageable bites, which helped my brain, but also my hands.

Center points are often marked on a pattern piece when you have to assemble a gusset to a side of a bag. In the video I watched, the maker snipped the center marking then could leave the pattern piece in place (pinned or clipped), lift up one side of the pattern and mark the center line. Genius!!!

I learned about stick-on interfacing. I had never heard of this before I found this pattern as part of the Bag of the Month program in which I participated at the beginning of 2025. When I saw the pattern I knew I had to make it and went looking for the supplies, which led me to the Sewfisticated website.  The supplies have been sitting in my workroom and I was pleased to have them on hand so I could use them. I didn’t have all the thicknesses, but I made it work and the stick-on interfacing is awesome. I can’t wait to use up my Decovil** and replace it with this product. It is a lot easier to use than Decovil and works with substrates that cannot be ironed. Genius!

I like the labels for each, which were included with the pattern, piece as well. This is a good feature and I would love to see it as a standard for all bag patterns.

Jessie also tells you where to put the label, which I really appreciate, if for no other reason than I don’t forget to add one.

There were a couple of places I found confusing, but managed. I didn’t understand the use of some language, including the divider pocket. I couldn’t understand what they were trying to achieve, but then I watched one of the videos available and it all became clearer. They were calling the pocket a divider pocket whereas I am used to calling it a divided pocket.

There were somethings I didn’t like. The pattern has a whole section on interfacing, which I found to be really confusing. This is where cutting and interfacing all the pieces upfront works better. I didn’t know whether to interface a piece or not and the pattern didn’t always say. I plan to make this again and have been making notes about where/when I want interfacing. 

They pattern suggested making zipper tabs in a way I don’t like because it doesn’t come out well. I have to find my preferred method and make sure I know how to do it without thinking. There are so many methods for everything. The way that works is the best for the bag maker.

The bag requires a lot of hardware, particularly zipper pulls. It makes me think that I need to find a small bag or container to use for all the hardware I need for one bag. All of my hardware goes into the Quilts Illustrated Tool Tote I made years ago. I have it mostly sorted in that bag. I am talking about a smaller bag where I can sort just the hardware and zippers(?) I need for one project. I’ll have to think about the right bag. Maybe a smaller version Sara’s Nuthatch? It’s part of Minikins Season 4.

All in all, this pattern provided me with a huge learning experience. I enjoyed the learning and I am pleased with the way the bag came out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I worked really hard on Wednesday to get this project to this state. The process went a lot better than I expected. I have to finish it today to make the UFO Challenge deadline. Fingers crossed, but I am patting myself on the back for getting this far.

The photo shows two sections and two zipper gussets sewn together. There is still quite a bit of assembly required, but I was excited when I saw how the bag looked. 

It is always hard for me to imagine the size, shape and elements of a bag when I only see it on paper. Seeing it put together is awesome. 

There is one small (thin) section (photo, right). This is good for a tablet plus pens and other things. The pocket on the right is a really good idea. There is an internal zipper pocket with the divided slip pocket on top. 

As I saw the finished parts, I started to mark pockets that could be made from vinyl in future versions. Vinyl would make the bag thicker, but would also conserve focus fabric, if necessary.

I will add another section that folds down diagonally on the left. That section is larger (fatter) than the one described above, so the user can put things that are more 3D (wallet, water bottle, etc) inside. It’s not huge, but large enough to use as a handbag.

I really had to watch the video in order to get to this point. Making sure the sections/pieces are oriented in the correct direction is super important and the pattern alone wasn’t doing the job. It really makes me appreciate the way Sara and Danny of Sew Sweetness mark their videos to coincide with the steps in the pattern.

The same section can be viewed from the top so you can see how big it is.

That pocket with the lamps and the poodles could definitely be vinyl. It would have to bind the top with doublefold elastic and then I could see the fabric behind it as well as what was in the pocket. Alternatively, I would use a solid or tone-on-tone for the back panel piece and a focus fabric for the pocket. There is a lot going on in that section, which could be toned down a bit. 😉

 

I made good progress over the weekend on my ongoing project. I finished all the ‘panels’. After all the work, they are combined into the 3 panels: front, middle  and back, which are 2-sided.

With the panels done, I can now start assembling the bag. The first thing was to make the zipper gussets. I started over the weekend, but then, almost immediately, had to rivet the D-rings. I haven’t done much with rivets in the past, but I think that this bag will get harder usage and my machine is struggling, so off I went to MaryC’s again for more rivets. 

The zipper gusset is one of the largest I have made. Fortunately I had enough of zipper by the yard (from my various purchases at Sewlarium) to use for all of the small and long zippers. 

I am excited I am nearing the end.