I'm here in late April early May with my March & April Wrap Up. It's like that sometimes. 😅
March seemed like it had 92 days in it. Ooooof. Despite all of that time (hah), I managed to sew a grand total of one item. Please clap.
The end of April was a whole mess. Things are a bit better, but still stressful. On with the sewing stuff...
After the buttonhole debacle of the Simplicity jacket, I needed a break from sewing garments and chose to make another Boronia Bowler by Blue Calla Patterns. I made it for a friend and colleague who has been very kind, helpful, and supportive for over a year. She has a sophisticated style of dress so I thought this would be a nice gift.
Having made the pattern before, I was aware of the challenging areas and didn't make the same mistakes this time around. The bag has errors for sure, but I didn't have to take apart and sew the zipper area four times, nor is there a random wonder clip permanently living between the lining and the bottom.
It's not a big deal, but it's annoying to me that the metal label is not placed lower. Don't ask me why I put it there. 🙈 I think I was so focused on getting it centered, I neglected to actually center it on the vinyl overlay. Then there's this:
It's not terrible and hardly anyone will notice. Still, my eye twitches ever so slightly when I look at this. Not sure why this is uneven.
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| interior slip pockets |
I found the quilting cotton on fabric.com - my first purchase from them since they were bought by Amazon. Although ordering the fabric went smoothly, I doubt I will make a habit purchasing from them.
Why owls? On Zoom, my profile picture is an owl with a "this meeting could have been an email" expression on its face. So now my colleague and I have a running joke about owls. They are our spirit animals. 😁
Fabric & Notions:
- approximately 1 yard of medium-weight linen (exterior body, gussets)
- unknown length of vegan leather/vinyl (overlay, handles, and strap connectors)
- 1.5 yards of owl print quilting cotton (interior lining, gussets, pockets)
- 36 " #5 gold metallic nylon coil zipper (exterior closure)
- 2 x #5 gold zipper pulls (exterior closure)
- 8 x 10 mm gold double-capped rivets
- 4 x 1" rectangle rings
- 1 x 9" nylon zipper (interior pocket)
- 4 x gold bucket purse feet
- interfacing: woven, foam, & peltex
- thread: regular, heavyweight
- needles: 90/14, 100/16
- feet: standard, walking, non-stick
- throat plate for thicker fabrics
Construction: I sewed the bag almost completely on my Juki semi-industrial straight-stitch machine. Sections that required zigzag stitches were sewn on my regular machine. I used a walking foot to keep layers from shifting and a non-stick foot to sew the vegan leather.
I am now an industrial sewing machine convert. I like my domestics, but nothing compares to the power of an industrial or semi-industrial. My machine had zero problems sewing through multiple layers of vinyl, foam, fabric, and interfacing. My domestic would have shut off and walked out the moment I sat down to sew. I'm not ready to buy a dedicated walking foot or other straight-stitch machine just yet, but it's definitely on my radar.
I set the double-capped rivets with my KAMsnaps setter and corresponding dies. Given that I like making bags, I invested in the heavy duty tool and am glad I did. It makes opening holes and setting rivets SO much easier. (I just bought some snaps and dies in preparation for making the Closet Core Kelly Anorak.)
More pictures:
The one thing I would change is the placement of the rivet on the strap shown in the second picture above. It's a little too close to the rectangle ring which results in too much of the strap unsecured. There's no risk of it coming apart, it's just not a nice finished look. I bought some strap end caps, but in the wrong size (3/4" instead of 1") and I didn't realize my mistake until I opened the non-returnable package. Again no one will really notice, but this is something I need to consider when I make other bags.
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I'm glad I took a break from garment sewing. I was in a sewing funk and this was a welcomed relief.
In the beginning of April, I felt motivated to start working on two projects: New Look 6560 (one project in my 2022 Make 9) and the Trillium Tote also from Blue Calla Patterns.
New Look 6560 - view C
I bought this Ankara print specifically for this pattern and it turned out exactly how I envisioned. The fabric is a little stiff for this design as it makes the cut-on sleeves stick out. But it's okay; I'll wear it anyway!
I cut a size 16 for everything except the belt where I cut size 20; I like my ties to be a little long. I did not make any pattern adjustments.
There is an instruction to attach ribbon to the left and right fronts as a closure. I didn't do that and will add a snap instead.
The pattern piece for the tie belt of View C is cut four times: twice on a double layer of fabric. I didn't have enough of the Ankara print for this, so I used a scrap piece of coordinating blue cotton for the inside.
I definitely want to make this pattern again (views A and C) in rayon challis.
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The last thing I made was the Trillium Tote. I made this for another wonderful, dear friend who's been instrumental in my life. We also have a bird/owl thing going on and the fabric used for this tote is a nod to that.
It took a while to complete because I didn't have all of the hardware on hand and some things are definitely needed in the beginning (like purse feet and zippers) before proceeding. I sewed up to a point where I needed something and then moved on to a different part of the construction. I wouldn't recommend doing this because it can be easy to get lost in the order of construction and that's how mistakes happen. Trust me!
Fabric & Notions:
- approximately 1 yard of scrap cotton canvas
- unknown length of vinyl
- 1.5 yards of owl print quilting cotton
- 8 x 10 mm gunmetal double-capped rivets
- 1 x 8" nylon zipper
- 6 x gunmetal bucket purse feet
- 1 x gunmetal magnetic snap
- interfacing: woven, peltex, foam
- KAMsnaps setter and dies
- thread: regular, heavyweight
- needles: 90/14, 100/16
- feet: standard, walking, non-stick
- throat plate for thicker fabric
If I were to make this again, I'd consider not using foam interfacing. The bag is quite thick and stiff and made sewing some areas challenging. Turning the bag right side out was no picnic either. Imagine stuffing this whole bag (with all its layers and thicknesses) through an opening roughly nine inches wide. Yeah. I knew I could do it because the Boronia Bowler uses the same technique. But maaaan, let me tell you. I was sweating by the time I was done.
Rather than using foam interfacing, I might consider felt or fleece. I'd interface both to give structure but to also maintain some flexibility.
Pics:
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| side panel with vinyl faux piping |
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| interior slip pockets |
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| interior zipper pocket |
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That's it for the update. My 2022 Make Nine is crawling along very slowly and was almost a Make None. 😬 I still want to make some of the pieces in the plan, but I'm not pressuring myself to do it.
Up next: I want to make a shirt for the dude, another handbag, and start the Kelly Anorak. We'll see how that goes.
L
