Saturday 8 January 2011

best bag in the world!

I have just made the best ... bag ... EVER!  I love it.  It did cause me some anguish en route but I got there and love the finishewd article.  It's an activity tote from Sew Hip issue 24.  They describe it as "perfect for on-the-go mums ... with everything you need to keep nlittle ones occupied, wherever you are!"

well, I have no little ones, but I am a volunteer trainer with Girlguiding UK and when I'm traipsing around the south of England to deliver training sessions I need all manner of pens, paper, cards, scissors, notepads, magazines, string and .... well, whatever other random items I might need, so I thought this bag looked ideal for me.

I found some beautiful half-price Liberty fabric at John Lewis and just had to have it. My poor hubby looked so bored as I wandered around the haberdashery department in awe, looking for matching threads and zips!


It was, on the whole, a relatively easy make.  My only real issue was the zips.  The instructions asked for a 40cm zip for the pocket, but the width of the panel is 30cm ... Now maybe I'm still too much of a novice to understand the complexity of how to use a zip that is longer than your fabric, but I ended up just trimming it ...  I also kept knobbing up my sewing with wonky lines and as the sewing is visible I think I had to rip that pu[ppy off about 3 times before I was vaguely happy.  It's still not entirely right but it's a wrongness I can live with.

Then the external zip, a 70 cm open-ended zip.  Again, I feel it is a little long, but didn't dare trim this one, so the bag does have a little bit of a tail ...  Anyway, I got it all pinned on, sewed round it - it was perfect!  Except it was inside out ...  I hadn't properly thought through my zip and the pull ended up on the inside of the bag and with the bottom corner there was no way it was going to close.  So out came my trusty seam ripper and I got it on there the correct way round.

I am delighted with the finished product. I'm tempted to make more ... And I wouldn't be surprised if I were to get some bag envy and requests to make some.

Right, must get my sister's curtains done next ...

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