Firefly Tote Finished!

Oh this was a really fun one! As I shared during Week 1 of the Firefly Tote sewalong, the pattern is by Anna Graham/Noodlehead, and I made the Project Size of the tote. Picking up from Week 2, where we made the bag's exterior and drawstring closure, this week we 'put it all together' so to speak, which just went so smoothly. 

The 8mm nickel rivets add stability to the handles plus an added touch I love. I got mine from
MinkusMargo, and I'm finally pretty comfortable installing them. For the ties, I used 3/4" black twill tape I'd ordered from Anna's shop, though I cut mine longer (2 - 30") than the pattern suggested and am glad I did. Finally, for the zipper pull, I used black Waxed Cotton Cord, also from Anna's shop. Love all those little details!

As I mentioned a while back, this bag is destined for my daughter, Rachel/

@snippetsofsweetness, and I really hope she loves it as much as I do. I'm so glad I tried the dry oilskin for the exterior - I'll definitely be looking for ways to use it again. And the tote just has some great features, with that front zippered pocket, and the opportunity to use some special focus fabrics in both that pocket and the drawstring closure. 

Anyway, the sewalong ends this week. Check out the #fireflytote and #fireflytotesewalong hashtags on Instagram to see lots more of these delightful totes.

Linking up with Meadow Mist Designs' Favorite Finish Monthly Linkup!

Firefly Tote Sew-Along Week 2

It may not look like much, but I completed week two's assignment in the Firefly Sew-Along, and the end is in sight! Where week one had us selecting and cutting our fabrics and sewing together the front pocket; in week two, we made the bag's exterior and drawstring closure. Look at those cool leather handles! Now to just finish it up....

The dry oilskin exterior fabric has been a pleasure to work with. I'm still not sure if it's ok to use pins with it, so I've been sticking with wonder clips, which has worked just fine. If you aren't familiar with dry oilskin, here's a brief blurb about the Merchant & Mills product on a verb for keeping warm.

If you still want to sign up for the sew-along, click here to enter your name and email. Each week’s email includes links for the previous sew-along emails, so you can catch up on everything!

Firefly Tote Sew-Along Week 1

I actually purchased Anna Graham/Noodlehead's Firefly Tote pattern right off when she posted about it, as I was beginning a summer hand-sewing project. But then I realized I already had a project bag I could use, and set the pattern aside. That is until I saw Anna was hosting a sewalong. So why not, right? And I started rummaging through my stash to see what I could use to make it just to give the pattern a go.

Anna suggested using waxed canvas or dry oilskin for the tote's exterior, and miraculously I discovered the perfect amount of  Dry Oilskin in Midnight (1/2 yard), which I'd randomly ordered from OakFabricsChicago a while back just to see what it was like. Note that it has a texture and weight very similar to waxed canvas. This particular piece is Waxed Cotton Duck, 7.2 oz., and 59" wide.

So I had in mind to make the Project Size of the Firefly Tote, which is a drawstring tote pattern that comes in two sizes. The Project Size is the smaller of the two, and measures 8" wide (measured at base), 5" deep, 10" tall. Though it doesn't require that much fabric overall, I don't have many pieces over half a yard in my stash these days. What I did find was a one-yard cut of a favorite quilting cotton from Lizzy House's Andover Catnap Collection - which was perfect for the accent fabric. Thing is, I knew that it just might be something that my daughter, Rachel, would want, Lizzy being one of her favorite fabric designers ever. So I texted her with a pic, offering the fabric to her OR then again, I could go ahead and make the tote, then gift it to her! She liked that idea, which was perfect.

From there 'we' chose an appropriate lining - Essex yarn-dyed in Indigo, and though I had a nice black metal zip on hand, I ordered up a few other supplies from Anna's shop:

• 1"-wide Leather Handles in Black (the 18" pair)
• 3/4" Twill Tape in both Black and Denim, so I can see which works best
• Waxed Cotton Cord in Black, as a possible zipper pull

I also ordered some 8mm nickel rivets from MinkusMargo and still need to find some black drawstring cord.

So the sewalong began on June 23, and the first week's assignment, besides choosing fabrics, was cutting all the pieces and front pocket assembly. So I got that done and now will wait for next week's assignment and the rest of my supplies to arrive. So far, so good!