Better slow than not at all, right? I finally finished my latest sewing project, amongst all the busy-ness of summer. So to not prolong the waiting any further.....
Jess was graciously given the Sandra Saddle Bag pattern by Alicia of Swoon Sewing Patterns to showcase her coming new fabric line, Typography, for Cloud9 Fabrics, which will be released soon. The prints, which are organic quilting cottons, used on this bag are Helvetica on the outside, and Lorem Ipsum for the lining, combined with the delicious chocolate vinyl you've seen me use on other projects. Here's Sandra!
She closes with a magnetic snap that fastens the tab to the flap.
Under the flap is a pocket (which we chose to omit the pleats from), and the pattern also includes instructions for a zippered pocket on the inside.
I added a cell phone slip pocket on the opposite side, just because I thought it would be handy.
The pattern is a pretty easy sew, especially if you've had any experience with bag-making. What took me longer is that I changed some things up a bit with the pleather. I made a "no raw edges" crossbody strap following an awesome tutorial found here that I have used before. I love the look it produces!
I also opted to not leave raw edges on the tab like the pattern suggests, and took a chance and sewed the tab right sides together (with even a bit of woven interfacing on it to firm it up some) and turned it right side out. I figured it wasn't a very big piece of pleather to waste if it didn't work, but it went very well! And since I couldn't press it flat, WonderClips helped Wonder-fully to hold it while I sewed!
See how nicely it came out?
In fact, WonderClips proved invaluable in working with the pleather, since you can't pin it because pins will leave holes. I used a lot of them!
So there you have it - the Sandra. I've been very tempted to keep the bag myself, because I really love it and it matches my winter coat so well, but I guess since it's Jess's fabric, I'll let her have it (she's the Boss, y'know!) and I may make another one for myself someday. Not that I need another bag.
I hired Grandpa to take a picture of me with the iPad, to give you some idea of the size of the bag.
So there you have it... FINALLY... and now on to the next Typography project! (Sorry, Blog... you're having to take a back seat these days.)
18 comments:
So amazing, Mum! I love it!
Thank you! My pleasure!
Lovely. Amazing. Unbelievable. Fantastic. That said; I'll now say - what bag? Musta gotten lost in the mail on its way to Jessica's!! You outdid yourself, Grandma G! WOW
Many thanks, Annie Dee! :) Careful there, you'll give me a big head! Haha! Hmm... lost mail..... ;)
I heard that.
That's beautiful.
Question regarding size: Is it big enough to hold an iPad (not the Mini)? That seems to be my defining standard for bags these days...can I carry my toy with me? :)
Thanks for sharing your tips and projects and pix...I came over here from Jessica's blog and have loved seeing all your projects.
I love it! There is some amazing handiwork involved in this bag.
Also, I have to repeat myself, I love that pleather. It is a fantastic choice to highlight the Typography fabric.
Hats off to you for this fabulous bag! :)
Thank you, ladies! :)
RevAnne, I just tried my iPad with its slim case, and it fits very nicely. Yes, the toys must go with! :) Glad to have you on board, even though I haven't had much time for blogging lately.
Jess, I wouldn't worry. The mail has never failed us yet between here and there. Yet.
I love it! Especially the vinyl work, which I'm learning from my own bagmaking, is iffy and can so easily go wonky. So kudos for getting all those perfect stitches! And Jess's fabric is gorgeous as always. I've pinned some to buy even though they aren't canvas or medium-weights because it's so swoony. In some ways, quilting cotton is nicer to work with than canvas or home-dec - easier to get smooth topstitching because of the tighter weave and finer fibers. I can't believe I just said that. But if there ever was a quilting cotton to entice me to cross over from heavyweights, Jess's would be it.
Thanks, LiEr! Yeah, I always hold my breath while sewing on the pleather, for fear of making a mistake I can't correct. But it's so worth it in the end, because pleather just adds so much to a bag, as you know. I hear ya on the home dec/quilting cotton thing! Jess will be glad, I'm sure, to hear you plan to buy some of hers, despite it not being home dec weight. :)
That bag is beautiful! I personally prefer my own bags sans leather/pleather, but that is a very striking combo. Now let's see something in that teal version so I can swoon over it. I also must say that I too love those wonder clips! They have a ton of uses, and are also great for when my son and I sew together. He can manage installing those a bit better than pins right now. And they are easier to remove while sewing.
Jenny
Thank you, Jenny! Yes, whoever invented the WonderClips did a Wonder-ful job! The teal - it's up next! I'm loving it!
Congrats on being featured on Sew Can She with this bag. It is gorgeous. Your daughter's fabric is stunning and I love what you did with the pleather.
Thank you, Marilyn! I don't know if you've made this pattern or not (forgive me if you've blogged it and I forgot), but if not, you should give it a try - it's a good one! :)
Just beautiful! Where did you get the vinyl? I've seen some beautiful ones at Joann's, but I'm hesitant to try them without a review from someone else.
Thank you, Cathi! I didn't buy the vinyl, Jess did, but if I remember correctly, it came from a Hancock's store. It was a real bargain from their remnant table, and it's so lovely, both to look at and work with.
I'm more than a little late on commenting, but work got in the way of reading blogs for a while. This is such a beautiful bag! Grandma G, you are quite the seamstress. Good job!
Thank you, Blue! Always great to hear nice comments! :)
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