Well, all went well...I followed the pattern (taken from Fresh Fabric Treats with your favourite Moda Bakeshop designers) one section at a time and thought I was making very good progress. I did use fusible batting rather than the Warm and Natural batting that was used in the book but thought that this would not make too much of a difference.
My machine struggled with the thickness a bit, so if I was to do this again I probably stick to the Warm and Natural batting, but otherwise all good, until I got to the Assembly section. WHAT!!...inset seams??...how did I not see that before? I could not believe it. In my eagerness I obviously did not pay too much attention to the assembly side of things otherwise I might have backed out of this one. Well, I have pieced inset seams before...so, how hard could this be. With that I set out to assemble the bag...what a struggle! With the double layer of panels and batting this was like taming the beast...my first attempt was less than satisfactory with the corners not meeting properly at all and the seam itself somewhat crooked.
So, I undid all the stitching (yes, this took ages and was very frustrating) and started again, working deliberately slow and concentrated a bit better, with the occasional swear words accompanying the process. The corners came out better, not sure whether all the seams are totally straight, but this is brilliant compared to the first attempt. Then I discovered I had ripped into two of my quilting lines...(don't you love it)...so had to do some repair work.
So, tada...here it the body of the bag done
So far, so good. I am pleased with this...the panels which are pockets are all around and will be secured with a pocket closure and a button in the middle...(to be continued).
I did the lining yesterday and must say that after the struggle with the bulk of the bag the inset seams of the lining were an absolute breeze. Now my measurements were all more or less exact but when I put the lining in, it seemed to be too big. I measured everything again because I thought that I might have to re-do this as well, but my measurements were correct on both lining and bag...not quite sure what to do because even if I wanted to make it smaller, I have absolutely no idea how much smaller it should be, as it should fit as it is. Then why does this look miles too big? Maybe I should iron the bag gently to make everything a bit flatter?
Any bag-makers out there who could comment on linings and what that should look like? My lining is literally throwing folds in there, but when I pin it around the top of the bag it definitely fits as it should.
Anyway, that's been my challenge for the week and no matter what, this will actually be finished and at least from the outside, it will look great.
Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced guest hosted by Natalie from Greenleaf Goods
Karin
My lining tends to be a bit loose in the bag but I try to get it so that there are no folds at the bottom.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen this site - http://www.sewsweetness.com/
Sara has loads of good advice about making bags, although I am not sure about linings. Is the lining attached just at the top of the bag, if so, I usually pin the lining at the top then push it inside and pin it around the base to see how it fits. If there are lots of folds and it doesn't seem to be how you want, you could pin it and then sew these "pleats" so that the bag lining fits better.
The outside of the bag looks really good.
PS - if your seams are really bulky you can use a hammer to flatten them before sewing - just sandwich between an old cotton sheet and bang to flatten the fabrics a bit.
The bag looks great, you'll just love it finished! Good advice from Mhairi. I put my lining in, and secure it with a stitch in the corners. If the bottom seems too big you can kind of chip away at the extra with a little tuck here and there along the seams.
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