On-the-Go Project Bag

After seeing my friend ooh and aah over my On-the-Go Project Bag, I knew exactly what to make her once her birthday rolled around. The pattern is in Svetlana Sotak's That Handmade Touch, and having made it a number of times, I was happy to make it again.

Knowing the exterior fabric was one of the things my friend liked about my bag, I hunted down the same graphic Essex print for the bag's main fabric. THAT's from the Balboa line by Erin Dollar @cottonandflax, and I absolutely adore it for this use. The bottom fabric is also an Essex - from Carolyn Friedlander's euclid. For the lining, I found a beautiful Jewel Tones Floral in Yellow by Makower UK. I'm not generally a floral person, but this I really love.

As I discovered in prior makes, Pellon 911FF Fusible Featherweight works great with this pattern. The bag has plenty of structure and stands on its own when empty.

For the leather handles, I purchased a 3/4" wide, 15" long strap set from Anna Graham's @noodlehead531 shop. For drawstrings, I used 5/32" cotton braided cording, which I already had on hand. They're sturdy, and I think, fit the weight and look of this bag.

The finished bag size measures 10" wide x 12" tall x 4" deep, and I really don't have any doubt that my friend will love it. I've been using mine for several years now, and I find it a handy size for not just the occasional project, but impromptu outings. Pretty sure I'll find a reason to revisit this pattern again.

WIP Pouch

Gotta say, I was pretty pleased when Svetlana of SOTAK Handmade asked me to participate in the IG book hop for her book, That Handmade Touch. Published by Lucky Spool, it's a wonderful mix of projects - for you, your home, your craft space - and your pet!

The project I chose to make for the hop was the WIP Pouch, a 10" x 11" quilted, vinyl-fronted pouch perfect for storing works-in-progress or a score of other things of course.

I dug deep into my stash for a focal print I really love, and for the zipper facing and binding, a fun little stripe. The construction of the pouch was straight-forward and relatively quick, which made it especially enjoyable. Really, the only tips necessary about sewing with that vinyl are don't touch it with your iron, and use wonder clips instead of pins Otherwise, it's smooth sewing.

Though I normally bind by hand, I did choose to machine-bind the pouch, just thinking it might be easier with the vinyl component, and I'd do that again.



And yes, the finished pouch could easily be used for a work-in-progress, but instead, I'm using mine to gather up all my zipper pulls for future zips. They'd been in a messy pile in a drawer before, and this makes them so much easier to access and fun to peruse.

So the WIP Pouch isn't my first project from Svetlana's book! I've also made the Pleated Pouch twice (here and here), and same for the On-the-Go Project Bag (here and here). Time to decide what's next!

That Handmade Touch Book Hop runs September 2 - 13. Here's a list of the participants, and I'm linking to their projects as they go live. Enjoy!

9/2 - Heidi Staples/@fabricmutt ~ On-the-Go Project Bag

9/3 - Jeni Baker/@jenib320 ~ QAYG Zipper Pouch

9/4 - Jo Avery/@mybearpaw ~ Pleated Pouch

9/5 - Sharon Holland/@sharonhollanddesigns ~ Soft Storage Bucket

9/6 - me!/@aquilterstable ~ WIP Pouch

9/9 - Rachel Hauser/@stitchedincolor ~ Wall Pocket

9/11 - Karen Lewis/@karenlewistextiles ~ Big Stitch Throw Pillow

9/12 - Minki Kim/@zeriano ~ Catnip Toy

9/13 - Svetlana Sotak/@sotakhandmade

On-the-Go Project Bag

OK, I have a new favorite bag! After making the Pleated Pouch from Svetlana Sotak's That Handmade Touch, I thumbed through looking for what would be next, and the Project Bag won. One thing is, its leather handles called to me, which took a little planning ahead, since I don't keep those on hand. Luckily, Anna/noodlehead does, so I ordered them pronto.

Fabric choices came entirely from stash, though I knew from the very beginning that the lining would be the Rifle Paper Co. floral I bought when the guild was recently retreating at Quilting Mayhem (Wildwood Garden Party for Cotton + Steel). I'm not really a floral fabric person, but this I love. I finally broke down and bought some to stash, and I'm sure glad I did. I love its sweetness paired with the more graphic Esssex print I chose as the bag's main fabric. THAT's from the Balboa line by Erin Dollar, and I absolutely adore it for this use. And the bottom fabric is also an Essex - from Carolyn Friedlander's euclid.



So just a few notes about my making of this bag:

• Take careful note of the orientation of the fabric. The pattern clearly states to measure width by height, yet when it came time to sew on the interior pocket, I mistakenly had my fabric orientated wrong and I sewed the pocket on facing sideways. Oops! Totally my error, and easily fixed, but just pay attention.
• Sometimes I have issues with medium to heavy weight fusible interfacing, so I chose to use Pellon 911FF Fusible Featherweight, and I'm happy with my choice. The bag still has plenty of structure and stands on its own when empty.
• I love the leather straps, and they were one reason I really wanted to make this bag. I purchased a 3/4" wide 56" length from Anna Graham's shop. It's high quality, easy to cut with a rotary cutter, and my 12/80 needle passed through it easily. Plus, I have plenty for another bag or other project.
• Lastly, about those leather ties. I used my favorite leather lacing that I usually use for zipper pulls, but it's a little stretchy for this use. So I'm thinking of switching those out. Love the look though!

Finished bag size: 10" wide x 12" tall x 4" deep

So no surprise here.... this one is one I'll make again for sure. When I'm deep in working on larger projects, I sometimes like to take a break to make a smaller project and actually finish something. This bag totally fit the bill.

The Pleated Pouch

When my copy of Svetlana Sotak's That Handmade Touch arrived, I browsed through it again and again, trying to decide what to make first. Then I realized the Pleated Pouch might just be the perfect vehicle for a gift certificate for daughter dear's birthday, so that's where I started.

What a fun little pouch! It has a unique construction method that I found really clever, an easy zipper installation, and leather accents. Do note though, that there's a slight misprint in the book: the dimensions of the lining should be 12" x 9". Unfortunately I saw Svetlana's post about that after I was midway into the project, but thankfully was able to continue on with a minor little tweak which didn't affect the look of the pouch or its use.

I think that accent fabric next to the zipper is my favorite detail. Or maybe it's how the 'pleat' just falls into place when the pouch is turned right-side out. Either way, I like it alot. Making it with Carolyn Friendlander prints made me happy - isn't that new blue Harriot 'Screen' print wonderful? You'll be seeing that Screen print in upcoming projects as I treated myself to several colorways. Anyway, the pleated pouch is one I'll definitely be making again.