Oops! I seem to have ignored the blog again last week. Unfortunately, that's getting easier to do. :( But there just never seems to be enough time for everything. And I was busy... sewing. Here's my latest project:
It's the Glenda Convertible Clutch, by Swoon Patterns.
It's "convertible", because the strap can be removed and the bag used alone as a clutch. Also, the strap is adjustable, so it can be a crossbody bag.
The strap is attached to two D-rings, hidden inside the flap.
Here's the inside. It has a nice little zipper pouch as a divider, which is fastened to each side, drawing it in for that pleated look you saw above.
The zipper pouch turned out so nice that I sort of hated to sew it to the bag. :) I'm thinking it would be cool to somehow have it detachable so that a person could have just the essentials in it for a quick "grab and go" if they didn't want to carry the entire bag. Maybe I'll have to design a way to do that for the next one. ;)
The pouch is padded with Soft and Stable interfacing, so would be nice for a cell phone or something else you might want protected.
The bag closes with a magnetic snap, which I forgot to photograph, but you can get a glimpse of it in the photo just before the pouch one.
Just for fun, here's that lovely strap splice again. :)
It's a nice, smaller-sized bag. It measures about 11" wide by 6" tall. My little helper wasn't here to model it for me, but rumor has it that she doesn't really give a very good size perspective for the bags, anyway, since she's not-so-big herself. :) So here's a rather lousy photo of me modeling it for you in my very green bathroom. The coloring is awful, but you get the size idea, anyway. Now don't say I never did anything for you. LOL
I'm sure some of you are amazed that it's not an Erin Erickson pattern - ha! Trust me, I used a lot of her techniques in this bag, though. This pattern was fairly easy to sew, but it's not one I would recommend if you haven't sewn bags before. It isn't the thorough "teaching lessons" that Erin's patterns are. And though its techniques are 'okay', I wanted this bag to be 'the best', so I referred to a couple of Erin's patterns to make it so. The way the strap and that perfect inner pouch turned out are totally thanks to Erin. Also, Erin puts actual photographs into her patterns, where this one used drawings. I definitely prefer the photos, as they're so much easier to see what's what. Yeah, I'm an Erin fan all the way!
The print fabric is called "Quadrant", and it's from Jessica Jones's Time Warp collection, designed for Cloud9 Fabrics. It is bark cloth, and it has a luscious texture yet is still soft and drapey, and it sews beautifully. I love it!
7 comments:
Impressive! This is a really nice size bag, and the matching of the flap and the strap are very well done.
I really like the hidden d-ring feature--and I would like to know which pattern of Erin's has that. I've never sewn any of hers (I KNOW!! Where have I been, eh?), but I would definitely like to try one. I'm one for photos in patterns, too. I've heard that it's more "professional" to use drawings instead of photos, but I still prefer photos!!!
Thanks for all the good information and the lovely bag; you do a great job modeling. :)
Krista
Love this. And of course the strap splice is most wonderful. That fabric too! Wow. Really nice. Who's getting this bag?
Can't wait to see it before it goes to its final secret destination. I love it!
Thanks, everyone!
Krista... sorry if I mislead you. Everything in the bag was included in the Swoon pattern. I only used Erin's patterns to improve on the 'techniques' for making the strap and inner pouch. Erin doesn't have a bag with hidden D-rings, in fact not even a bag with a flap to hide them under... yet. But D-rings would be easy to put anywhere, if you have a bag pattern you'd like to include them on. Yes, you MUST try one of Erin's patterns, though! Her attention to detail is second to none!
Annie Dee... the recipient must remain a secret until the bag is received. :) I'm sure she doesn't follow my blog, but I wouldn't want the word to get out and spoil the surprise. ;) So now you know it's not for you. Heheh.
You should be seeing it SOON, Jess! Like TODAY soon! :)
Looking at that bag me want to learn to sew for real. Like to do something else than repairs socks. How fabric can transform into such nice things always amaze me.
No time like the present! :) And you'll come away with this great sense of accomplishment when you've completed a bag!
So lovely! I understand about Erin's patterns. Everything finishes up where it should and she teaches you many tricks.
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