A Week Of Learning

Made another Boxy bag using the same tutorial as before from kelbysews.

It's gorgeous...made with a FQ of Riley Blake fabric. This time I used nylon for the lining to make it a bit water resistant. Now this was interesting as I had never sewn nylon before. Very flimsy and very thin. For the interfacing I used Vilene H640...good choice normally, but together with the thin nylon this came out a bit floppy for my liking.
Afterwards I explored the net about interfacings, and came across this very useful post at You Sew Girl comparing Vilene to Pellon interfacings. This would have been useful before I actually started...also saw that she combines interfacings for making bags which I probably should have done for this one to give it more stability.
Guess I will have to make another one to get the structure right.

Also, when I took my sewing machine in the other day to have the tech look at my backwards stitching, I got talking to the owner about zippers. Incidentally there was nothing wrong with my machine...seems I am going through a period of being at war with my machine. This does happen from time to time.
Anyway, the owner introduced me to invisible zippers and send me on my way with a folder of instructions to try out at home. Good thing the folder had actual step-by-step samples which was brilliant as the written instructions were hard to follow (I am not a sewer so sometimes do not understand the words that are used).

So invisible, you can't even see it

Looking good from the back

Invisible Zipper foot

Impressed with my efforts...took a while to get the hang of it. I think I ripped this zipper out about three times as it kept sliding away from me. The invisible zipper foot has these little grooves on the underside where the teeth of the zipper neatly fit in (that is, if you align everything properly). Very cool actually and works a treat. So my next pillow will have an invisible zipper (here is hoping).
Again, after I had done all this I came across a free Craftsy class 'Mastering Zipper techniques'. Will have to watch this and hopefully pick up a few tips in areas where I struggle, i.e. sewing a straight line next to the zipper teeth.

Karin