latest diaper clutches

 Here are the latest diaper clutches I've made -- 

gifts for friends with brand new (adorable!) baby boys.

I know the fabric's not boyish, but who's carrying 

the clutch anyway?

 This is the first I've made out of upholstery.

I don't know if I'll do that again. It was difficult to

get through all the layers at some points, and 

the fact of having to cut the curves makes the 

rounded edges more prone to fraying.

This one is made of cotton quilter's batik. 

for pleat's sake

 I recently stitched up this bag from Lisa Lam's free

tutorial (over here!). I love how the pleats turned out...

 and that the pleats are stitched both outside and in.

It came together quickly and easily. However, when (not if) I make it

again, I'll draw up a pattern on paper first so I can get all the pleats

to match up more precisely. I'll also preshrink my lining, which I didn't

do this time. I figured it would always be dry-cleaned, so why remove

the sizing? Unfortunately, the ironing required for pleat and interfacing

installation created a great deal of unwieldy shrinkage. Nothing a little

edge trimming wouldn't fix, since the measurements are flexible. 

Live and learn!

zippered lunch bags

These are the new lunch bags I sewed up for

my kiddos today. I used a modification of

this tutorial

as my guide and learned a few things along

the way (like how difficult it is to sew a zipper

into extra firm fusible interfacing), so maybe

I'll try my hand at it again someday soon.

In the meantime, my kids are pleased as punch

to be taking lunch to school in something 

other than a plastic grocery bag. Woot!

bright diaper clutch

 This diaper clutch was ordered up by a friend as a 

gift for someone whose baby room is decorated in

red, orange, and black. Fun, festive colors -- but 

hard to find together in a single fabric! This was 

the only piece I could find, but it sewed up beautifully

into a diaper clutch. My favorite element, however,

is the sparkly black button at the middle of the flower.

 Here's the inside front, with a peek of the lining fabric.

 And the front flap all lined up to match. Fun!!

bunny bag

I followed this tutorial on the Zakka Inspired blog

to make this adorable bunny bag as a gift for a 

little girl whose party Elliott attended this weekend.
It came together quick and easy and included just the right
amount of hand embroidery. I would like to have added
a ribbon flower at the top, but time ran out.
Instead, we filled it with a few girlie trinkets, and off we went!

diaper clutch for laura

I've enjoyed sewing up these diaper clutches as gifts lately --

this one is for my husband's sister-in-law, whose baby is due

soon. Congratulations, Laura and Wes!!

It's so fun to see the effect that different fabrics have.

My favorite bit on this rendition is how the fabric pattern 

on the flap lines up with the body of the bag underneath.

And here's a peak at the liner fabric. Isn't that just yummy?!

batman hood

 This is a batman hood made from McCall's Pattern

number 5952. It will eventually have a mask and cape

to match. I made it for a friend's son who is not 

quite so skinny as this particular model, so hopefully

he will fill out the hood a bit more! I would normally

line it in black, but I figured that in this color, with a pair 

of goggles, it could reverse into a vintage pilot's hood. 

Anyway, this pattern sews up easily and is extremely

versatile for super-hero costumes/dress-up!

some more sewing

This little bag was commissioned by a friend.

It's made of pinstriped suiting fabric, so it has a nice drape to it.

This d-ring is for holding her carabiner key ring.

It's my favorite part of this particular bag.

I turned the bag inside out to get pics of the interior pockets.

That pocket you see on the left is to hold a water bottle upright.

And the center pocket is for business cards. 

the bag making bible

I received The Bag Making Bible by Lisa Lam as something of a late
Christmas gift, and let me tell you: I love it! The book contains a mix of
specific techniques and complete tutorials (including patterns in the back)
for a range of bags with suggestions for customized modifications.
It's chock full of photos and hints. The way the concepts and projects
are interspersed makes it very fun to flip through and gradually absorb.

It's a treasure trove of beauty and function! Also fabulous is the
copyright, which allows for small-scale sale of hand-sewn items made
from the patterns and ideas in the book, a generous and rare feature.

diaper clutch

I just made my first Grab'n'Go Diaper Clutch, and I love 

how it turned out! It sewed up easier than I expected and

has lots of fun details. Also, isn't this fabric fabulous?! Yum!

cleaning a soleplate

Since I have been ironing gobs of interfacing to various fabrics 

and recently tried out the ol' freezer paper template idea (more on 

that later) with no barrier between my iron and the wax that

melted out around the edges, I found myself in need of soleplate

cleaning. I was nervous about this, because my iron was more

expensive than any I've ever used before (it won't be replaced
any time soon), so I did some research. I found a product that gets pretty
good reviews, but my motto of late has been "work with what you have."
So in the end, I just whipped up a thick paste of baking powder

and water, rubbed it on with a damp paper towel, and then moved

on to the scrubby side of my kitchen sponge to finish. 

This cleared up most of the sticky spots and just left me 

with a little powder residue in the steam holes. I cleaned them out 

with a toothpick, and she looks about as good as new!

fun fabric pairings

I recently bought some new fabric for upcoming bag projects. 

It's all washed up and ready to sew. 

I just love to see these things come together!