Sarah's Drawstring Bag

What do you do when you ordered a gift for your niece, who is about to go to college, you suddenly realize you're out of wrapping paper and the closest store is about 35 miles away? Make one!  :)  (Uhm, did I mention that she lives about 6 hours away and that my in-laws were leaving the next day to see her?) 

Yes, that's where I was when I thought of using my stash to make a little something for her to use, and Crafty's Bag-Making Basics: Drawstring Bag & Bucket Bag, with Kristin Link came to the rescue!  

The class calls for two fat quarters, but I made Sarah's with one fat quarter (the printed fabric) and yardage - I knew she would like these colors! You really can use any cut or yardage, or a combination of either; it is really easy to follow the instructions and the class materials.

I really won't share much about measurements or the process itself, so this will be a post with lots of pictures and not many words.  I guess some may actually go like: "Phew, about time."  lol

These are the outer panels, before and after sewing the cuts together.

Getting ready for the lining and marking what will become the opening for the drawstring... loving my tailors chalk!

After pressing,...

... following Kristin's instructions all the time.

Tada!

Well, not just yet... But the lining was ready, and I really like how the topstitching makes a cute addition to the design, making sure everything is in place.

The same goes for the channels where the drawstring will be.

Here is the bag with just one drawstring; Mr. Fuzzy's help was crucial in making this little fellow behave and go all around the bad, as it was supposed to... :)

Yay! The finished product looks even better than what I could have imagined!

And of course, a pretty picture outside could not be missed!

I think this is one of the cutest gift bags... Not really because I made it but because it had Sarah in mind since the beginning. Sarah wrote a sweet thank-you note; she mentioned that the gift was going to be very useful, but that she really loved the hand-made baggie that she can use and take to college with her. I don't really know what she'll think when she pulls the drawstrings to open or close the bag, but I know that every once in a while, she'll remember that we've got her back and that she is loved!

Why don't you try making one of these for your next gift? If I can make it, you can! :)  Don't forget, it's ! Crafty's FREE Bag-Making Basics: Drawstring Bag & Bucket Bag, with Kristin Link :)

Stay blessed!

Yiya


BTW... If you click on the links in this post, I get a commission, because I am a Craftsy affiliate. Don't let this stop you from getting the most out of Craftsy classes - that's where this adventure started for me, and I'm enjoying it more and more every day! Who knows? Maybe you'll be next Crafty's affiliate! :)  

More leather, one zipper, another pouch and a lesson in frustration...

Some days ago, I posted about making my first pouch, with a zipper!!!  I am pretty satisfied with it because it's functional, different and really cute.  However, one new pouch was not enough to hold everything that fit in my old pouch, so I had to make another one.

Even though I absolute love the first pouch I made, I wanted to try something different and decided to visit Sew Mama Sew's page; they have bunches and bunches of tutorials, and I found the instructions to make this cosmetic case under their "Bags" tab. If you visit this original post, you can also obtain a free PDF file with the instructions.

Anyway, back to the Hill...  I prepared the fabric and followed the instructions to the T:

And this is something I made different. You can actually use a regular glue stick to hold your zipper and fabric in place before you sew.  It is washable, won't stain the fabric and is a whole lot easier to use.  It makes the process way easier and faster.

 

Everything was going well, until I was like... UH?  How am I supposed to do that? It was the moment where I was supposed to sew around the four pieces of fabric to form the inner and outer pouches, forming a sort of trapezoid... This was supposed to make the pouch a little wider; I wanted this extra width so that I could fit more stuff in it. Everything else seemed to be OK, but I just couldn't get my head around the next part of the instructions...

This was pretty much the point where I got kind of lost...Now, remember that I'd never tried a pouch like this before this one, so I can take the fact that my cluelessness could (but just could... lol) be due to my amateurishness in these matters.  I just didn't get it...  :(

I decided I was not about to let my frustration get the best of me, and I turned to YouTube and ended up watching Melanie's video.

Woohoo!  That was the charm!  I did notice that Melanie said that she's not an expert, and that this technique was so easy...  Trying not to fume about myself and my inability to get this zippered pouch stuff, I just kept on trying and was able to deal with that confusing step!  YAY!

I went on to box the corners...

... turning everything the right side...

... and here it is!  My second leather zippered pouch, ready to hold a bunch of those little things that generally get lost in the Bermuda Triangle hidden inside my purse, lol!

Oh my! I was so thankful for having finished it and having made something that works. I've learned that my creative plateaus are actually a major learning opportunity that will allow me not only to feed my crafty bone, but also teach me about dealing with situations and getting things done!  From frustrating to rewarding... Now I have another reason to like my new leatherette pouch!  

How about you?  Have you ever made a pouch?  How do you keep things from getting lost in your purse?

Drop me a note and I hope you have fun making something today!  :)

A day full of firsts... zippers, pouches and leather!

Mr. Fuzz says that my handbag is like the Bermuda triangle... lots of stuff goes in, who knows what comes out!

I guess that my frayed, good old cosmetic, meds and whatever else pouch that I have faithfully carried around for YEARS finally gave up and decided to burst out of joy one day...  Well, well, I may have put in it one too many things  (really? does that EVER happen in a woman's bag?  lol)

Anyway, as you can see in previous posts, my crafty bone is restless and I decided to make a pouch - yes my own pouch, lined, zippered, and will a bunch of firsts for me: making a pouch itself, attaching a zipper and sewing leather!! 

And there goes another Yiya! I mean, why make first times easy if you can get a combo of super exciting who-knows-how-it-will-turn-outs...  Yep, that's me! The one that dares to choose weird things and try them for the first time; why be conventional when you can get yourself into trouble right in the middle of a project?

After looking around for a pattern I'd like, I ended up at Ayumi's blog, Pink Penguin. Ayumi is a super talented Japanese designer, and her pouches and totes are just beautiful.  You can definitely see the influence of Japanese culture in her desings, very zakka, practical and with a hint of simplicity that is a common feature in her unique execution.

So, I followed Ayumi's instructions; click on the following link to go to her tutorial: How to make a stylish Pen Case.  That said, hats off to Ayumi!!

And here is what I ended up with:

I tried to get a good angle, but I when I look at the picture, I can think of all my misses, but it's not too shabby...  Actually, I think it's kind of cute!  The best part is when I took it out at work to reach for something, and the lady that was with me just picked it up and started turning it around and admiring it...  She even asked if I would sell them... Oh well!!  When we live in a world when we don't have to work and money (for fabric and crafty stuff, of course) grow on trees, it would be a whole other ball!


Let's get the pics rolling!!  Getting things ready in pic 1...  Side note: I generally don't get a "mise-en-place;" I kindly send my thanks to Mr. Fuzz who was peacefully sleeping in the next room while Yiya woke up at 6:00 am on a Saturday...  Guess my body has to learn that it can sleep in on Saturdays!

Something that I had to do is make sure I understood Ayumi's instructions by making my own notes on the materials and the way in which all the parts came together.  Actually, this was my first step; after all, this was my very first purse and my very first zipper!! (And taking notes is quieter than my sewing machine, hehe.)

The following step is a bit different from Ayumi's instructions.  I really wanted to use some of the scraps I had, so I pieced the center part, with an extra 1/2", so that the piecing matched the original; I had to use some of the lining fabric in order to get the size I needed.  After that, I just sewed the faux leather to the sides.  (And yes, Mr. Fuzz was awake when I started sewing, lol.)

I cut the batting a bit larger because I wanted to QAYG (quilt-as-you-go) - I really liked how the extra stitching added interest and structure to the panel.  The larger size was needed because fabric often shifts with this technique, and I was not sure how the faux leather would "behave."  I'm glad I had the extra material because it DOES shift A LOT.  I actually ended up flipping the panel so that I could sew in both directions and keep the leather from skewing too much.  After this, I sewed the front panel to the lining.

In the next photo you can see how the fabric "folds" inside the seam, it all gets bulky, and it won't let flat. A little trick that I learned is to top-stitch. This means that you need to sew VERY close to the edge of the seam to set everything straight and in order!

After top-stitching, everything is straight, flat and ready for the next step!  By this point, I was just elated to work with the leather, and the next project had already started to take shape in my head...  

The next step was making the sides, that I ended up thinking of as flaps, and attaching them to the sides of the main panel.

And here I am, checking the progress with the picture that Ayumi posted on her blog. Not that bad for a first time, huh?

The next step was attaching the binder to the edge of the zipper...

 and sewing the sides around the "flaps."

The pouch was taking shape and the only step missing was attaching the zipper to the other side of the pouch.  According to Ayumi's instructions, the only step missing after that one was sewing two little ends to the tips of the zipper.

 

And here it is!  A zippered pouch, fully lined!  Woohoo!!  Soooo happy that my little black pouch decided to fray and push me into making one myself... Oh! Did I mention it has a zipper?  :)

See you next time!