Tote Bags – Artquiltmaker Blog

Ultimate Carry All Bag Review

I decided that I needed to get busy on the Ultimate Carry All Bag. The BAM Virtual Retreat is this weekend and that would be a good time to finish- or at least make progress- the bag.

Ultimate Carry All large Pocket #2 back- examples

Ultimate Carry All Bag: Short Front Pocket

The last thing I worked on was the front pocket. I did it wrong and it is still in that state. That is the first thing I need to work on once I get going again. I also want to make one of these for myself, to replace my current Quilt To Go bag, and I am thinking of making the front pocket for that bag at the same time I finish this one. I know I would be skipping a bunch of steps, but at least one piece would be done.

Lynette said that she is working on a different way to add the binding. Since I am scared of that binding based on Cyndi’s and Mary’s experience, I am waiting for her to try it.

Mary's Ultimate Carry All Bag — Mary’s Ultimate Carry All Bag

Mary's Ultimate Carry All Bag-binding detail — Mary’s Ultimate Carry All Bag-binding detail

Mary’s bag looks really good and she went around the binding by doing part of it by hand with some exceptional detailing. Her example is one I am considering. I have done a number of bag bindings by hand when the bag was too unwieldy for me to do it by machine. I also get better results by hand on awkward shapes. I am not scared to sew the binding by hand.

Writing about this project makes me want to work on it. Of course, I have to keep up with the Journey2Nebula as well.

First Catch All Caddy

This post should have really been the first one I wrote about the Catch All Caddy class. I should have posted it before the Baseball Catch All Caddy post. I realized that my mom, to whom I planned to gift it, reads my blog and I wanted it to be a surprise.

As mentioned in the Baseball Catch All Caddy, this was the project from my first Zoom class and I really liked the pattern. Lynette taught the class and she did a great job. I was impressed with her overhead camera set up (she used her iPad on a tripod). I need to figure out that kind of setup for when I teach. Things take time.

I used the color scheme of the original, because I really like that slate grey. I used a Cotton Couture solid from Michael Miller. It was easy to work with, though I didn’t like the fact that the holes where the basting stitches had been showed even after I took them out.

Instead of making a scrappy border for the pocket, I used one piece of fabric. It is the paint tube fabric that goes with the set of bags and holders I am making for my mom. I was actually glad to add this one to the group, because I am running out of useful bags to make for her. She really liked t he bag and thought she might use it to carry a project between her recliner and her sewing room

The bag went together pretty easily, which was why I could make two in one day, though I did cut the fabric for this one the day before the class.

I kind of like the simplicity of the bag and the opportunity to highlight favorite fabrics or scraps on the pocket border. I was thinking that I could use ribbon as well. I have some of that Renaissance Ribbon and this project would be a good way to highlight some of it.

I had some trouble with the lining, but was able to fix it when I closed the turning hole. I don’t think Mom will mind.

Mini Maker Case SAL Progress

Mini Maker Case - Friday Progress — Mini Maker Case – Friday Progress

I spent some time over the weekend working on the Mini Maker Case Sew-a-Long with Lillyella. She sent out more instructions on Thursday and some corrections to the pattern. I was behind. I had work to do, and did some, but also wanted to think about some things, so I spent time on Friday catching up.

I normally don’t use a zipper foot, but decided to try it this time as Nicole, of Lillyella, had some good reasons for suggesting it. After breaking a needle and having the zipper foot go disastrously crooked, I ripped out the zipper and put it in again using my quarter inch foot** and a stiletto**. After sewing in the zipper and top stitching it down, I was super pleased with how it looks. It may be the best zipper I have put in EVER. Maybe.

Mini Maker Case - handle detail — Mini Maker Case – handle detail

The handle was really interesting. I definitely like the look of it, but there were no instructions on holding it in place so it could be sewn. I tried one of the newer super strong Sew Tites**. That worked a little bit, but I had to hold on to it and check the placement until I could get it anchored in place.

Mini Maker Case - Saturday Progress — Mini Maker Case – Saturday Progress

On Saturday morning I went to work, having all the flat parts done. The assembly of the body was pretty confusing for me. You know how I am with pattern directions. Again, some ripping went on, but I eventually got the body together.

My next step is to assemble the entire thing. I know I should wait for the SAL, but I may want to keep the momentum going.

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Catch All Caddy

BAM had its first Zoom workshop the other day and I took it despite some challenges. First, we had to do some prep work, which I did, but I think I went a little beyond, because I had a presentation and wouldn’t be able to join until late.

The Catch All Caddy was a bag that was given away at the 2013 retreat. I think it was one of the best bags given out when bags were still being made for retreats. Since then people who attended that retreat bring them to Sew Day and workshops, using them to organize tools and carrying their other stuff. Everyone else is envious, thus Lynette decided to teach the rest of us how to make the bag.

I felt good about my progress Friday night when I finished for the evening.

Door Prize Bag

As mentioned, the BAM meeting was on Saturday. I am in charge of the door prizes and we are still choosing a winner despite having the meetings via video chat. Ii have a great team and couldn’t put together such great bags without them.

We first made items to fill the bag, then partway through the year I asked for volunteers to also make tote bags. To date I had been using random shopping bags, which isn’t as nice. Carrie, who is actually a glass artist, made the woven tote I filled on Saturday.

It is different than a quilted/sewn tote bag. The texture is fabulous and I love the detail on the handle straps and the beaded bit hanging down.

Tim’s Bag

Tim's Declassified Bag — Tim’s Declassified Bag

Tim has done great work again. He was inspired by Cyndi, another guildmate, so they are making Range Backpacks in tandem. Tim has made three so far and I am very impressed with his work.

The Range Backpack is a Noodlehead pattern. Tim likes it very much and says it is concisely and clearly written. He made some changes after making the first one such as using only SF101 as the interfacing and using a lobster clip instead of a buckle for the closure.

This is the pattern that spurred our discussion of the Hump Jumper.

Starting another Cell Phone Wallet

I have a favorite dress that was made for DH’s Grand President events. It is the one dress for which I forgot to make a matching cell phone wallet. I have used others, thinking they looked ok, but I like the matching ones.

I still wear these dresses when I go to certain types of events, so this project was sort of on my list. One problem was that I didn’t have anymore of the fabric and it was so old I couldn’t get anymore. At the January CQFA Mini-Retreat, I saw Marie with some of the fabric and asked her if she had more. She found a little more than a FQ and gave it to me. The fabric has been languishing since then. I was on the phone for an extended call and decided that was a good time to start cutting out the piece.

I didn’t have enough of the fabric for the whole thing so I used an AGF solid pink I really like. The outside will match the dress.

More Running with Scissors

I am working on another Running with Scissors Tote and am heading towards finishing. It is another gift, so I can’t show the whole thing right now.

Running with Scissor Tote -Mesh Tape Trick

I did want to show my tape trick, though. The directions say to mark where to sew – to divide the mesh pocket in half. It is difficult to mark mesh, so I had a brainwave and used blue tape.

I did not sew through it, but sewed next it, where I would have marked a line on regular quilting fabric.

I am kind of proud of myself for this little idea. I hope you can use it, too.

Officer Poolside Tote – that Wasn’t

My organizational system for officer bags is a mess and part of that is not posting about this bag. The last time I mentioned it was when I was having a zipper challenge.

I finished it quickly, which I think was a direct result of making it right after Mom’s tote. There are some quirks to this pattern, which hit me even after making a couple of these. One of them is the handle details on the front and back. Makers have to make sure they cover the raw edges of the front and side panels.

Officer Poolside Tote - inside — Officer Poolside Tote – inside

I am pretty pleased with the fabric selection. I would like to figure out how to put a slip pocket on the inside. I don’t think it would be terribly difficult. I think it would just require some deft measurement and having an already made up tote on hand might be the way to figure that out.

Zipper Challenge

I don’t think I really had a good tag for this post, which means I will probably never be able to find it again. 😉 It is all about zippers.

I am faithfully following the pattern for the Poolside Tote. This is the third Poolside Tote I have sewed. I am not sure why, but I always have trouble with different parts.

This time I struggled with the facing. I also wondered about the zipper. On mom’s version and on my knitting bag, I just used slip pockets. On this version, I cut zipper pockets, which I didn’t remember. I guess it forced me to make pockets with zippers.

The directions for the pockets were pretty good. I didn’t have much trouble except for lining up the stitching. One side is hidden, so I leapt that hurdle. The only question I had was about the size of the zipper. The pattern called for a 10 inch zipper and that just seems weird to me. It seems too small. There are holes at the ends and no directions for zipper tabs. Obviously, I can make my own zipper tabs, but I just wonder why the designer asks for such a small zipper. I wonder if a 12 inch zipper would be better?

Are there rules for the size of zippers one includes in patterns??

This is not the end of the world. The zipper works fine and nobody will put something so small in the pocket that it will fall out if the bag falls over. This is just a puzzle about which I am curious. I might try the bag again with a 12 inch zipper.

Mondo Bag Finished

I have worked on this project a little bit over the past several months, but decided I needed it out of my workspace. I finished it on Sunday.

It is big!

I thought of using it as an officer bag, but I really like the fabrics I used. I think I will keep it and use it to carry my hand quilting project around.

Again, the method of construction foiled my attempts at organizing the fabrics. I still think it looks good and I really like the lining and handle fabrics.

Retreat Project pt.2

I originally planned to publish this post on September 19. Somehow, the time got away from me. While I did finish the Running with Scissors tote, this post has mostly to do with working with vinyl. I thought it might still be of interest.

One thing that happened while I was working on my project was I had to develop some tips/tricks of my own.

The pattern, in general, is really good. It says, however, in the vinyl pocket part of the pattern to mark the vinyl to make smaller pockets. It didn’t say how to mark the vinyl. I didn’t have access to the video at the time, which may have some tips. I didn’t want to use a Micron pen, though I know that the ink can be washed off of vinyl pretty easily. I also don’t have one of those wash away pens, so I decided tape would work. I used tape to mark the lines I needed to sew along.

I sewed right next to the tape. I didn’t want to go through it, because that would create a mess. This was tricky, because I also needed to sew with the vinyl covered by tissue. As I have talked about many times, you need to take care when working with vinyl. I didn’t have my teflon foot with me (duh, oversight), so I used the wrapper from the vinyl. You don’t need much, but you do need longish strips. The only issue was that there was a little residue left on the vinyl from the tape. I’ll clean it off later.

The zippers from ByAnnie are gorgeous. You can imagine that I was a little annoyed when I had to sew over the zipper ends.

I had to open the zipper – move the slide to the center, so it wouldn’t end up on the wrong side of the sewing line. That left the end of the zipper tape flooping around. I wanted the zipper teeth that would remain in the bag (not cut off) to be as close together as possible. I held it together with some tape.

This project has a lot of steps, but it does go together very well.

More Mondo Bag

After Sew Day, I sewed the panels together. They look really nice! As I said, I am glad I was able to spend so much time arranging them. I sewed some Soft & Stable to the panels, but realized I have to rip it out. The directions were a little difficult to interpret on this point. I need to sew the Soft & Stable (or other lining/batting) to the lining fabric. All of a sudden, I have a lot of projects in play. I need to get at least one finished, so I can think properly.

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