13 March 2011

It's a Finish!

And my Reversible Bucket Bag is done!

Hanging pretty!

Close up of the outer fabric - Little Eiffel Towers!

And a view of the inside...

To be honest, making this bag wasn't as difficult as I had thought it would be. Sure, some of the time I made up my own instructions : when I couldn't really understand (or read - I printed out the font so tiny!) the pattern.

Now, don't be misled by my earlier post on fusible fleece. That event occurred solely within my imagination. As it turned out my fave quilt shop (aka Cottage Patch, Ampang) doesn't carry fusible fleece, so Yummy Hubby actually came back with 1. fusible web, 2. batting (the type for bags and totes) and 3. stiff interfacing.

So I improvised with this bag, using the batting with the outer fabric, and the interfacing for the inner fabric. Which was fine, until I started sewing everything together. If you've never worked with stiff interfacing before, here's a warning : It's as stiff as a board, and sewing it is like trying to sew 2 planks of plywood together. Not too bad if we're only talking straight lines. But a nightmare when sewing curves (in this case the bottom of the bag). All I can say is thank goodness the bottom fabric and inner fabric are RED, as it hides all the drops of blood I shed, heheheeh. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but really, it was quite a struggle.

But, notwithstanding my little adventure with stiff interfacing, I won't be put off making another one of these pretty bags. Overall it was pretty easy and enjoyable, although I certainly won't be using too many layers of 'plywood' next time.

A HUUUUGE thanks to Sue for organizing this Sew Along. Sue, I do hope you're not too affected by that massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Until the next post, have a good and grateful week ahead!

14 comments:

Anic said...

Congratulations!
Pretty bag.
Like the fabric choices and the fabric button with the little blue button looks great!

Is the stiff interfacing those used for men's collar?

Diah Rothman said...

Zara, congratulations! Wow Stunning colours...red lagi, my fav.

SewLove said...

congratz siap dah..nurul pun xtau mana nak beli fusible fleece tue?
so nurul just guna batting je, interfacing pun x guna sebab kain cukup tebal dah..sib baik okay hehe

MyBotanG said...

Well done Zara!! love both fabric and the binding is so yumm!!!
Do add your pics on our flickr group yea..
my printed pattern's font was soo tiny as well.. not sure why..*sigh*

My fleece wasn't fused as well.. I used batting i normally use for my card holders and it turned out well..

as for the plywood planks a.k.a stiff interfacing, the secret it to cut them a size smaller than your pattern, so it doesn't get under the needle when you sew..

Thank you for your concern, we are fine, alhamdulillah, but worried sick about others in the badly affected areas.. :(

Mila@Rimbun said...

I like the eiffel towers fabric and the bag really gorgeous.. like it.

Thanks for sharing ur experience with the stiff interfacing

Marie said...

pretty bag! love the eiffel towers fabric...very nice!

SewLove said...

owh lupa pula K.sue kat jepun nie..sane ok ke?dgr ada 2 reaktor nuklear ada kemungkinan nak bocor.. takut dengar

MamaDaniel said...

Zara.. part jari berdarah-darah tu memang sangat betol... haha.. asyik accident dengan jarum jer... haha..
saya tengok elok jer beg tu.. xde stiff pun.. x mcm plywood pun.. nampak kemas jer.. :D

sweet la beg awak.. suka warna biru campur pink/red.. very bright tapi masih ada manisnya... auwwww!

nizacraft said...

nice..... cantik esp Little Eiffel Towers!....

Azaidris said...

Gorgeous bag! And super gorgeous fabric..especially the one with Eiffle Tower on it :)

Zara said...

Thank you all for your wonderful comments!
I hope everyone had as much fun as I did with this project. Anic, am not really sure what interfacing is used for mens collars, it could be the same thing. Sue, glad to hear you are well over there. And thanks for the tip on the interfacing - it makes perfect sense. Will give that a shot next time. And I'll def try to load a photo onto flicker. As soon as I find out how to navigate around it... ehehe.

mamikelate said...

love it.....!

NYKOLETT said...

wow,the eiffel tower looks magnificent and the bag is uniquely stunning without any florals..Syabas Nurul on completing this bag..

a.n.i.Q.u.e said...

Zara I love you bag too !!! i love the Eiffel Tower bag.. the colors are gorgeous ... ! sukaaa