penelope tote

Check out this cutesie bag! The pattern is care of Melissa Esplin.

It whipped up with ease, although I realize now that I may have

turned the bottom pleat differently than the pattern calls for.

I love the decorative trim between the top and the base of the bag.

I also really like how it looks in upholstery fabric. Yum!!

I decided to add a magnetic snap closure and a zip pocket...

 

as well as a hidden turquoise treat.

 

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further pattern development

 

I spent a good bit of time last year developing a diaper clutch pattern

that would work well for cloth diapers. In the current stage of

development, I finalized my paper patterns and did another run

as a gift for a friend who recently had a baby. As you can see, I also

figured out how to rivet leather for the handle. How fun is that?

The interior of this bag has a zip pocket for keys and the like,

not a built-in wet bag. Turns out if the wet bag is internal,

the whole clutch has to be washed on a regular basis.

Instead, I included a couple of separate wet bags which can

be easily laundered and also clip onto the bag handle if desired.

I guess now it's time to sew one up for the ol' etsy shop!

 

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the multi-tasking tote is done!

Here it is! I just finished up the tote/

diaper bag I've been working on --

the Multi-tasking Tote from Lisa Lam's

Bag Making Bible. Isn't it cute?

I used smoke gray and yellow duck (Artee), accented

with Joel Dewberry's Aviary 2: Bloom in Granite.

Both interior and exterior have lots of pockets.

And the base is internally reinforced and has feet!!

 

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mini wet bags

The other fun thing about coordinating fabrics is...

coordinating bags!

another cutesie handbag

 

Here's another bag sewn up from

Keyka Lou's Small Satchel pattern.

I love how this bold print and

the bright colors accentuate its shape.

 

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new clutch design

As I've now given several Grab 'n' Go diaper clutches to friends,

we've discovered that they work great with disposable diapers

and not well with cloth diapers. So I spent some time in May

designing a new diaper clutch pattern -- one that would have a front

flap closure which allows for fabric matching, plenty of internal

space for two cloth diapers + wipes and changing pad, and a

zipped wet bag pocket for bringing dirty diapers back home.

The challenge was adding all these features and maintaining a sleek shape!

My first attempt, above, came out too saggy with the zip pocket

in the front wall of the bag. The sides of the bag also needed shaping.

For the second attempt, I angled the sides to curve in

slightly toward the top. I also mirrored this shape in the flap.

Finally, I changed the zipped pocket to an inset zipper

and added a waterproof inner lining (polyurethane laminate)

which can be untucked for easy washing.

 

The final (third) round ended up getting an inch taller and

two inches longer. I don't have photos of it with me in Oregon,

so I'll have to post it when we get home next week!

new pattern try-out

 

This bag is sewn up from Keyka Lou's Small Satchel pattern.

I like the way it turned out, but I prefer how the flap covers

more of the opening in her Half-Moon Handbag.

It's possible to match the print on either bag (see how the flap fabric

blends with the pattern on the body of the bag?), which is tasty!

I'm currently on vacation with my family in beautiful Corvallis, Oregon.

We're having a great time!

 

the most rustic bag

 

Just before leaving on our family vacation to Oregon, I wrapped up

a few sewing projects I had been working on. This particular bag was

a new version of one I had made before, but this time I experimented with

a new technique for attaching the lining. Unfortunately, speed and

experimentation don't at all go hand in hand, and I found myself at the

one week deadline with a fully lined and pocketed strip of fabric which was,

in fact, not a bag at all. I resigned myself to finish it by folding the thing

in half and sewing the seams on the outside (yes, an audible gasp from

the audience is fully appropriate here), which also entailed breaking

every one of my last remaining sewing machine needles (fully lined and

interfaced burlap is pretty darn hardy) and reverting to upholstery thread.

I delivered the bag with the disclaimer that if my friend would like

to throw it away and await my return from vacation,

I would happily whip up another while sustaining no offense.

However, this particular friend is not shy about sporting "shabby chic"

accessories. She has embraced said bag fully without complaint.

So there you go.

This is truly the most rustic bag I've ever made.

But there can even be beauty in that.

 

half-moon handbag

 I just made this lovely little bag from Keyka Lou's 

Half-Moon Handbag pattern. I adjusted it by removing the

button closure and adding magnetic snaps.

 The lining is the same suiting fabric in a lighter shade of gray.

 I opted for a happy mustard print for the lining, though!

 Once it was done, I was pretty happy with the way it came out.

However, this rose pin makes all the difference for me. 

Now I love it!

I'm excited to have a cute little bag that will work well in more 

formal settings, which I occasionally (albeit rarely) encounter. 

Now I can leave my backpack behind!!

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!

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.