Ashley Clutch Wallets

My latest sewing project was another pattern test for Linds Handmade Designs. When she asked, in her Facebook testers group, who would be able to test this round, she didn’t even show us what we would be making! I was a bit hesitant to agree to test sight unseen, but I was assured it would be quick and easy. So of course I had to take the challenge.

It was indeed a quick sew (although for me that meant not quite as slow as my usual😜). It was fun to sew! Until I got to the gussets. I have to say they were a bit of a challenge, especially since I’d chosen to make my first one using faux leather. Those seams were thick and in small areas. They required lots of Wonder Clips.

 

But my faithful 52-year-old Kenmore and I made it through, with some patience, hand cranking, and a big (#16) topstitching needle. I loved the final result! Here is my Ashley Clutch Wallet:

It’s a small bag, as you can tell by my hand. It is secured with a bar clasp, and it has a chain shoulder strap.

The inside has three card slots and a zipper pocket on each side.

It’s just big enough to carry your cell phone and a few essentials on that fancy night out.

I made those card slots from waterproof canvas. The other fabric is one of Jess’s barkcloth designs, with quilting cotton in the pockets.

After I finished that one, I decided to try another using cotton fabric to see if the gussets would be a lot easier to sew. They were indeed less challenging… but I still wouldn’t call them “easy”. 

Here’s my second Ashley Clutch Wallet:

The fabric is left over from a dress I’d made for Jess around 30 years ago. I’ve always loved it and was glad to find a good use for more of it. I again used WPC for the card slots. It makes such a great lining for bags, and it also adds some sturdiness.

I didn’t put a strap on this one, so it’s just a clutch. It’s for me. Do you think I’ll ever have a fancy date to take it on??? Okay… I won’t wait that long to use it. 😄

I got my chain and bar clasp from Amazon. I wanted something less expensive for experimenting. The chain is very nice. The clasp is just okay.

You can find the Ashley Clutch Wallet pattern here. It includes SVG files for those who have cutting machines, and as with all of Linds’ patterns, there’s a video tutorial that goes with the pattern. ALSO, now a number of Linds’ patterns are available in print form, including this one, for those who don’t have printers or just don’t like printing and assembling patterns.

Geranium Top #3

A few weeks ago I finished a project that I couldn’t show you until it had been received, because it was a gift for a very special recipient. It had to go all the way to eastern Canada, so that took nearly two weeks. Since then I’ve just been procrastinating on writing this post. Sound like me? Yup.

The gift was something I’ve sewn a couple of before: the top version of the Geranium Dress, from the pattern by Rae Hoekstra of Made By Rae. The fabric is Jess’s babywale corduroy that she designed for Cloud9 Fabrics a few years ago. Here is the Geranium Top!

I happened to have some KAMsnaps that were perfect for the back closure. Here’s a closer look:

Just for fun, I took a photo of it on my American Girl doll… so you have something for size reference. I used the 6-12 months size of the pattern. Yeah, it’s a little big on her. :)

But guess what?! You get to see it on the real baby, who is about 4-1/2 months old in these pics. It fits her pretty well now, as a dress, over a onesie. So she should be able to get use out of it for quite a while. 

What a cutie, huh? Speaking of the onesie, did you notice how perfectly it goes with the top, with the little white flowers on it? I did not plan that. It was totally coincidental that her grandma had gotten it for her shortly before my gift had even arrived. Amazing! I love it!

CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!

If you want to see the other two tops I made from the same pattern, you can find them here. They are also made from Jess’s corduroy, just different prints from that line.

SnackPack

 I made a backpack!

Okay, it’s actually a mini-mini backpack. 

It’s not really even a backpack, but instead a SnackPack! The straps are just for cuteness… or to use as grab handles. It’s insulated and has a mesh pocket that can hold an ice pack to keep your snacks/water cold, or just hold the snacks themselves.

It can hold quite a lot, actually. Here it is holding a few things I had handy, but it could hold plenty more.

It wouldn’t even have to be insulated, and it could have a multitude of uses. I know of someone using hers to hold her taller cosmetics.

This was actually a pattern test for Dog Under My Desk, and the SnackPack pattern can be purchased here. Now would be a great time to buy it as well as other patterns, because everything in the shop is discounted 20% through Halloween!

The fabrics I used are from Jess’s Typography collection of quilting cotton that she designed for Cloud9 Fabrics a few years ago. The hardest part of making the bag was choosing the fabric/zipper/zipper pull/elastic combo from supplies I had on hand. That always takes me almost longer than making the bag itself!

I’ve had my bag done for a while, but just as Erin was about to launch the pattern, she and her whole family got covid. Ugh… covid! But thanks to being vaccinated, no one got overly sick. Hurray… vaccinations!

Courtney’s Two Zip Hipster

You’ve maybe been holding your breath waiting to see Courtney’s 4-H project that I mentioned in my last post (well, maybe one of you, anyway - ha!). I’m sorry it’s taken so long, but I only got the final photos I wanted yesterday. But here we go…

She decided to sew a bag instead of a garment this year, which I was happy about, because a bag doesn’t have to ‘fit’, right? 😉 From experience, I knew that Dog Under My Desk patterns would be very doable for her because they’re explained so well and have actual photos instead of diagrams to show the process. She chose the Two Zip Hipster. I gave her a little guidance along the way, but she did all the work herself, from the cutting out, to the fusing interfacing…

… and of course all the sewing. Below she’s working on her very first zipper installation.

Now she believes me when I say that zippers are easy to sew in bags. Look at what a beautiful job she did!

Here she is modeling her finished Hipster:

Below is a closer look at some of the details. I love the fabrics and zippers she chose! And just look at that great stitching!

I’m not the only one who thought she did a fabulous job. She got the grand prize in that category at our local county fair, which qualified her to take it to the MN State Fair. She did so and won a blue ribbon there, which is awesome, considering how many entries there were!

Do you think I’m a proud grandma? Haha… you bet I am! I look forward to seeing her make another bag(s) in the future, which she says will definitely happen! Hurray! 💕💕

Monarch Mini Crossbody Bag

I mentioned in my last post that we’d been to visit our daughter and hubby in the Cincinnati area. While we were there, their neighbors/friends got a new puppy, and we got to meet him before we left. He’s an aussiedoodle (a cross between an Australian shepherd and a poodle), and isn’t he just super cute?! He’s only 9 weeks old here, so he’s going to be a BIG dog!

Fast forward to our being back home again, and I got a new pattern to test from Dog Under My Desk. This was designed to be a dog-walking bag, but could also be useful for other things. I was just going to make it for myself and leave off the doggie parts, but then I remembered the puppy and thought it’d be fun to make it for his owners. I consulted with Jess about it, and she thought it was a great idea. The pup’s name is “Cowboy”, and she said they’re going all out with the western theme. She said it’d be fun to make it with some kind of western-type fabric, but then said “but why would you have any of that?”

Ha! I occasionally buy grab bags of fabric, and I remembered that I did indeed have a western print… of all things, cowboys! Perfect, right? So then I decided waxed canvas would be just right for a western-type bag. Here it is:

The front has a zipper pocket as well as a slip pocket behind that.The back has another slip pocket, plus triangle rings so that you can remove the strap from the crossbody position, shorten it, and clip it on to the rings to change the bag into a waist pack. 

There’s a mesh pocket on one side that holds a small water bottle (in case the dog gets thirsty), and on the other side is a pocket to hold poop pickup bags that come on a roll and can be fed out through the hole to be very handily accessible.

The inside of the bag opens wide with a recessed zipper and is big enough to hold treats and maybe a toy or two. I used as much of the cowboy fabric in there as I could, to get it used up, because I doubt I’ll ever have another appropriate project to use it for.

I did have just enough fabric left to make a bandana for Cowboy. I had my favorite model, Miss C, model the whole ensemble for me before I shipped it off to Jess to give to their friends.

(How did she ever grow up so fast?!)

So there you have it… the whole long-story-not-shortened. The bag was very happily received a couple of days ago. Jess said a photo would hopefully be coming of Cowboy modeling his own bandana… once they can get him to hold still long enough… and not try to eat it. LOL He is a puppy, after all. I hope they enjoy their walks in the future.

Now I’m considering making a bag for myself from the same pattern, minus the side pockets. The hardest part is always choosing fabrics. Meanwhile, if you’re interested in making one for yourself, it’s called the Monarch Mini Crossbody bag, and you can find it here. This new pattern and all the others in the shop are at a 20% discount through August 3rd!

In my last post, I also mentioned that I was helping Courtney with a 4-H sewing project. She finished that about a week ago, and it only took three very focused afternoons of sewing. She did a beautiful job, and I sure wish I could show it to you right away… but it’ll have to wait. Judging is August 6th, if I remember right, so not terribly long to wait. The fair starts on August 17th. Anyway, you can be sure I’ll show you and brag on how great her project turned out! ;)

Fumeterre Skirts

What would you do if you received yards and yards of two different fabrics in the mail?

Just look at those tigers! What would YOU make out of fabric like that?

Well, if you had a daughter like mine, you'd make her a couple of skirts... at her request, of course. She wanted something besides shorts and capris to wear for summer... something cool and comfortable. This fabric fit the bill - it's very light and floaty cotton (the gray is chambray and the tigers one is lawn). It came from Oak Fabrics (again at Jess's request), along with a Fumeterre Skirt pattern by Deer and Doe, plus all the needed notions. (Thanks, Rachel!) 

There are two versions of the skirt, one with a button front, the other with a fly front and pockets. I made the button one first. There are eight panels in the skirt, and I did french seams! That's a lot of miles of stitching, but it gives a nice professional touch, especially for such light fabrics.

Here's a closer look at the fabric and waistband-in-progress.

I got it finished except for the hem and sewing on the ELEVEN buttons. Then I cut out the other version out of the tiger fabric. The next day I packed, and the following day we headed to Jess's in Newport, KY! Here's the yellow bridge that means we're almost there.

Voilà, the completed skirt!

Jess did most of the work on the second skirt, including the french seams. Here's proof!

The buttonholer on her machine wasn't very cooperative, though. We wasted half a day trying to get it to make a nice buttonhole, but it didn't like the seam allowances underneath, so we gave up and I made one just using zigzag stitching. It turned out acceptable. But thank goodness I'd done those ELEVEN buttonholes on my machine at home!

After all was said and done, we had some fun doing a photo shoot between their house and the neighbors'.

We spent nearly a week there and had a lovely time! After we left, Jess and Alex headed south for a vacation of their own. They stayed in a very cool, artsy hotel where Alex took some "glamour shots" of Jess in the tigers (which she loves and seems to be her favorite of the two).

Below I think she's showing how the two front panels just happened to end up with matching tigers side by side. Not preferable, but who's gonna notice (or care)?

They also visited a beautiful vineyard. Jess's red accessory may look familiar. If not, just back up a blog post. :)

I really enjoyed working on those skirts. The pattern was easy to sew, and I'd gladly make another one. 

However, I've already finished another pattern test, the results of which I'll show you once the pattern is released. AND... Miss Courtney started working on another 4-H project here yesterday, and I'm helping her with that. You'll have to wait till county fair time in August before I can show you, though. Clue: It's something sewn, but it's not a garment! :)

All Well Full Moon Bag

A few weeks ago, I was in between pattern tests and wanting to sew 'something'. I mentioned this to Jess, and she said she'd been thinking that a little round, red bag would be fun to wear with some of her black-and-white outfits. I figured I could manage that, so we searched around for a pattern and ended up with the tutorial from All Well for the Full Moon Bag, which you can get free by signing up for their newsletter. (I did that, and the newletter is not bothersome... I've maybe gotten two so far.) The instructions are easy to follow, even for a beginner. 

I happened to have a solid red canvas on hand, as well as a matching zipper and everything else needed, so over a few weeks, and when I was in the mood to sew, I worked on it. It was just nice not to have the pressure of 'having' to get something done by a deadline! Here's my little Full Moon!

The tutorial includes pattern pieces for two different sizes, 9" and 6.5". Jess wanted one somewhere in between, so I did some calculating and ended up printing the pattern at 85%, which made it a little over 7.25". The tutorial did not include interfacing or a lining, but of course I had to have both. I used some Decovil Light and woven fusible interfacing, which gave it just the feel I wanted. I thought quite a while on the best way to do it so as to not have to bind those inner seams (because I hate doing binding)...

... but binding turned out to be the simplest way, so bind it, I did. I didn't happen to have any store-bought seam binding on hand that would even come close to matching, so I made my own out of the lining fabric (which was gifted to me by Jess a couple years ago). There are lots of tutorials for making bias binding, and although I'd done it other ways before, I'd bought the tools for making it in different sizes a year or so ago, so this gave me a chance to finally try one out. They're pretty simple to use once you get the hang of it.

My binding job was not neat in any way, but at least it's hidden inside where nobody will see it, anyway. 

There's also a pocket inside the bag...

... as well as the one on the outside. Neither is quite big enough for a cell phone, but the inner one could hold your keys or anything that might scratch your phone in the main compartment.

I attached the straps a bit differently than instructed and fastened with a couple of rivets for interest.

The zipper went in very neatly, and it goes across the entire top of the bag.

It's a small bag! Here's Josie, my assistant, trying to be helpful (or snoopy) in giving you some size comparison.

If that chair fabric looks familiar, it's barkcloth that Jess designed a few years ago, and she did the re-covering job on the chair for us. I thought it was a good background for the bag.

I took a selfie, too, for more size reference.

But here are the cute pics of Jess with the bag. (Doesn't it go just perfectly with her Marimekko pants?) I am happy to say she is very pleased with it.