Princess Fairies Tote

I must say the Sew Along organized by Sue of MyBotang has left me a bit more adventurous than usual about making bags. So I'm riding the wave, and this weekend came up with another tote:

I made another attempt at using the 'plywood' interfacing, this time taking Sue's advice about trimming the interfacing to just inside the seam line, so that I don't actually sew on it. It worked much better (thanks again Sue!), but I'm still not getting the feel of this type of interfacing. Which is a shame, as I'm sort of liking the 'body' it gives to the bags.

I even tried my first ever attempt at magnetic snaps (told you I'm feeling adventurous). I've had a few of these in my sewing box for a while, but have always been too nervous about using them. Turns out they're easy as - snap!

I just love these pretty princesses. Now all I have to do is decide which one of the many little princesses I know will get this cute tote.

Have a good week ahead all!

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!

Reversible Bucket Bag - Sew Along

Ok, I've been putting this off for long enough.

I signed up for My Botang's Reversible Bucket Bag Sew Along last month, but am ashamed to say that I've yet to get started... I have an aversion to making bags and totes, because I tend to struggle with them. For me, they're a challenge, and I take my hat off to all those lovely ladies who seem to effortlessly produce beautiful bags and purses.

But now I've decided, enough procrastinating. It's time to tackle this baby.

I know I'm a bit late. Okay, who am I kidding? I'm a lot late, eheheh. So I'm setting myself a deadline. I'm going to concentrate on this project this week. My blinkers are on, and I'm not going to be distracted *fingers crossed*. No, really.

I've got my fabric and supplies (well, sort of). Sorry no photo's this time. It's a sleepy Sunday and I'm too lazy.

But there will be in my next post.

Wish me luck!

Tote & tote

Last weekend I managed to whip up a couple of really easy totes. I found some upholstery material at the bottom of my stash, and decided to use those up. Really simple. No linings. No zippers. Just honest to goodness totes, with pockets at the front. Good enough to carry supplies to class, or your groceries at the supermarket. Another good thing about upholstery fabric is that it's easy to wash and really quick to dry. Very practical.




And here's some I made earlier using charm packs:




I'm not really into making totes and such. I find that I have to concentrate a bit more than I'd like. "Where should the lining go?" "Careful, else the zipper wont fit!" "Have I measured the handles just so?". Much prefer baby quilts.

Which reminds me. That project I was working on the weekend before? Well, I've finished it yippee! It's another bb quilt. I think it looks like it's a boy this time. Haven't had the chance to take a photo yet. But that's coming soon.

Also, another work in progress: