I am now able to show my one and only handmade gift that I completed for christmas.
First I asked the 12yo recipient if handmade was OK with her.
Then I asked what colors. Neon was the reply.
Then I asked if black was a good setting for neon.
Then I found the best bag pattern at the store and started making the purse.
For the retreat, I had packed some black and “neon fabric” and this pattern – the Fat Quarter Skrappysak and Friends bag.
On the last early morning, I read through all the directions and started ironing and cutting out pattern pieces. Most of the pattern pieces were cut out at the retreat.
I had decided to embellish the pockets a little bit, using my tiniest bias tape maker. I made bias in blue and pink.
I also decided to add a colored circle on the tab. To sew it down I made use of one of my decorative stitches.
Truthfully, it did take a lot of reading and rereading the directions. I AM a slow figurer-outer and have only made the one totebag before. Also this pattern is OLD and there was NO forum/online support. The drawings were OK, but not fantastic.
With perseverance, I was able to make the pattern as described (with only a few changes because of misunderstandings)
I had to take my pocket enclosure pieces and turn them inside out, which resulted in some interesting shaping.
Getting the pockets on the bag was fun, and once I got started working on this project, I spent a good portion of one day on it.
The bottom was a circle, which you had to fold darts into the bag – FIRST time darting! Whoo hoo!
But it wasn’t bad with a LOT of pins.
And then you do it twice, once to the lining and once to the outer bag, so I could remember how to do it now if I wanted to.
The bag sat for a while in this state on my desk.
Little tip, if you want to upsize or downsize your pattern, sometimes you can scan your fabric into an all-in-one printer and hit copy at a larger or smaller size. This is how I made the decorative circle on the tab enclosure. (seen on the left of the photo near the speaker)
At my friend’s house I was trying to figure what they meant by turning in a quarter inch of the bag handle. I misinterpreted this to be the face of the bag, but it really meant the very tips.
Anyway, I figured out a solution. And my friend lent me some neon buttons for embellishments!
While at my friend’s house, I figured out that the tab I put on the front pocket was meant for the top of the bag. So I had to come up with an extra tab and velcro it on.
Even the inside has pockets. (and neon green)
At christmas, the 12yo liked the gift, but the one thing I regret is that my only black velcro at the time I was working on the outside tab was sticky velcro. And with a piece that big it was starting to come off.
I meant to fix it, but putting a needle and thread through sticky back velcro is not advised. Ask me how I know.
There were a lot of happy tears during christmas. This bag wasn’t one of the items to draw any tears of joy. The strangest thing was that a used item from craigslist was the one that everyone was amazed by. And it was a good, thoughtful, and useful gift.
The Jedi master gives his glowing head approval of the television upgrade.
Santa and Mrs. Claus also think it was a very great holiday!
Scientific Quilter 