A bird in the bag?
Emily and Lauren are sisters who have been coming in to learn to sew this past month. Their first projects were cool pajama pants (sorry no pictures). Then they chose Amy Butler’s new pattern, The Birdie Sling for their second project.
They did a great job choosing coordinating fabrics. Amy’s great colors and patterns make it pretty easy anyway! Emily chose Temple Garden and Full Moon Polka Dot from the Lotus collection with Oxford Stripe for the lining. Lauren selected her fabrics from the new Midwest Modern line; Optic Blossom in linen, Martini in mustard and Happy Dots in grey for the lining.
This was my first time making this pattern too. As with any pattern, I’d advise reading through the directions before starting. Amy Butler patterns are very clear and detailed. This one doesn’t have a lot of diagrams and there were one or two steps that may have been clearer with a diagram. Also we had a little trouble getting the top of the bag pieces and the top bands to match up evenly. We managed to fudge around enough that the end result was fine. I haven’t found any references to this problem in other online reviews of this pattern so it may have just been our mistake. I’ll have to make another sometime to see if we weren’t precise enough in our cutting this time around. This turned out to be a two session project. On the first day we got through the first 6 or 7 steps in the pattern and finished up the last 4 or 5 on the second day. The laying out and cutting of the pattern pieces always takes longer than you expect it to and with the last few finishing steps it is always important to take your time and be sure you do a nice neat job.
The finished bag is very roomy and the pattern includes instructions for two interior pockets. One is divided and quite deep, Lauren commented that this one is the perfect size for her eyeglass case. It wouldn’t be difficult at all to add a zippered pocket to the lining or a smaller cell phone sized pocket to the nice wide strap. I’d also suggest adding a magnetic snap. The other feature I like about this pattern is the use of fusible fleece for the lining interfacing. It gives the bag a nice body and protects your belongings a little bit. (One caveat: the fleece interfacing I ordered came in non-fusible so we used a temporary spray adhesive to stick the lining and interfacing together during assembly. This worked just fine, maybe better than using fusible as my luck and experience with some fusible fleeces has been hit or miss.)
Overall I’d give this pattern an A and Lauren and Emily an A+!
Filed under Classes, The Business, Uncategorized, sewing | Comment (0)Beau Brummell*
Saturday I had the pleasure of teaching Addie and Miriam how to make a custom tie for Father’s Day. Addie’s chose Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern Martini in yellow and Miriam chose Large Petals in Raspberry by Tina Givens. “Mr. Rick” is going to be one styling Daddy-O!
In addition to a lot of pinning, cutting, stitching, pressing and hand-sewing we had time for groundhog watching (I didn’t get a picture for some reason!), music appreciation, lunch and chatting. Did you know that groundhogs (or woodchucks, but NOT otters!) can climb trees? Not very well mind you but we did observe some mild tree climbing capabilities in the neighborhood herd. (It seems that I am located in the middle of quite the population of groundhogs. I may have to set up a video camera aimed at the neighbor’s on each sides’ porches and make my own “Groundhog Manor” show for Animal Planet.)
Overall it was a fun day.
Filed under Classes, Uncategorized, sewing | Comment (1)Tie one on.
Minerva is modeling the latest Saturday sewing project - a handmade necktie.
Pattern: FREE! at Burdasyle.com
Fabric: Amy Butler Full Moon Polka Dot from the Lotus Collection
Notes/Modifications: There has been some questions on the BurdaStyle website about what kind of interfacing to use. Store bought ties use a woven wool interfacing that is kind of like a lighter weight buckram. That is nearly impossible to find in a standard fabric store. You definitely want to go with a woven interfacing because it will have more drape and give than a non-woven. I used a light-medium weight *fusible woven interfacing. In order to get a slightly stiffer body however I folded it in half and fused it to itself. You do not want to fuse it to the actual tie fabric! If you can find the right weight in a woven interfacing, get it in non-fusible. If you fuse interfacing to the tie fabric you won’t get a nice smooth tie front. Also, I did not cut my interfacing on the bias because I didn’t have enough to make it fit. I seems to have worked okay, but it would probably hang a little nicer if I had.
If you would like to surprise that special someone with a one of a kind, handmade necktie for Father’s Day, join me to “Tie One On” Saturday, June 14 at 11a.m. ($50) Call, email or stop in the store to sign up and reserve your space. Supply list will be provided at registration.
What Annie Hall would’ve looked like if she had been a brunette circus clown?