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Sunday 26 January 2014

It's in the bag

Following my etsy v folksy post, whilst I was going to stick with folksy, after your comments, I won’t discount etsy. Thanks.

I hope you liked Monday’s last minute filler post . If you do get round to making the cake I’d love to know how it turned out.

What I wanted to show you last week was the bag I’m busy making. However things didn’t quite go to plan though. Not to worry, I’m back on track now.

It all started with a bag I bought in Mahon. Directly opposite our cruise ship were a couple of stalls selling scarves and leather goods. I was looking for a present for my mam (she was so hard to buy for), and as she liked scarves, thought I might find something suitable (unbelievably I did....).

Whilst I was looking for a scarf I came across a lovely shoulder bag. It wasn’t very big but had lots of pockets, which I just love in a bag. As it was only 8 Euros it was too good a bargain to miss.  As the bag got lots of use it became quite torn and battered, to the point that no amount of sewing could repair it any more.

I liked the style of the bag so after a couple of quick measurements and a rough diagram I set to work making one of my own. At first I was going to make it out of scrap fabric but then decided on leatherette. I have a love/hate relationship with leatherette so some things didn’t quite go to plan !!!!

I started with the flap, which turned out to be a bad move as that was the most complicated part of the bag.  If you’ve ever used leatherette you’ll know how stiff it is to work with so stitching the binding on wasn’t easy. I would have preferred not to have had the small pocket lining on show but as you can’t press leatherette (it melts – speaks the voice of experience !!!) I had to make do with a finger presser (a little device which lets you press fabric seams open without having to use an iron).


I next made the front and back pockets then had to hand stitched them together as it was too bulky to machine stitch – the joys of using leatherette...

After attaching the flap to the back pocket I hand stitched six small D rings to the sides and back so the bag can be used either as a hand bag or a back pack.


All that’s left to do is make the handles and attach the pocket linings. Hopefully I’ll have that done for next week. Famous last words.....

Have a great week.

Love,

Gertie xx

PS why not pop over to Handmade Monday to see what other fellow craft bloggers have been up to.

17 comments:

  1. I am so impressed with your bag! Well done you for persevering with a tricky material.

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  2. Great bag - I am too wary to attempt sewing with leather or leather lookee likey - so am impressed with your result! Very useful in this weather too as fabric bags get very soggy :)

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    1. Don't let my rantings put you off trying them. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to sewing so will think nothing of unpicking a seam just because it's a bit wonky. You can't do that with leather/leatherette.

      Why not try oilcloth. It's similar to leather/leatherette but not as stiff and bulky. I made a tote bag out of oilcloth and had no bother with it xx

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    2. That's my worry - not being able to unpick and fix things then and wasting the materials, but yes- I do really fancy trying oilcloth xx

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  3. Wow, your bag looks so professional. Very impressed.

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  4. Wow you've done a fantastic job with the bag and no sign of the trouble you had with leatherette! :)

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  5. Ohhh it's looking fab so far! I don't like the idea of trying to manipulate the stiffer fabrics like leatherette so I've never tried, but I DO like your bag... So I might have a go one day ;-) Simmi xx

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  6. Well done - I am so impressed, not something I would feel confident in tackling. Hope you have a good week.

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  7. Impressed! I had a bag years ago which i loved. Have not seen the style since. You almost give me courage to try make my own. Can one buy oil cloth? Is it a bit like waxed jacket material? Or does one make one's own?

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  8. I can't believe you made this bag Gertie! It's absolutely looks professionally made. I was thinking about making a cloth bag but I just don't have the talent. Your bag turned out beautiful!

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  9. Wow, I take my hat off to you, that is so impressive. Well done :)

    Jan x

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  10. Wow - this is amazing! You are very clever to make a bag like this! Jo x

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  11. I thought the picture was of a bag you bought, it looks totally amazing and very professional, well done.

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  12. Well done on perservering. It looks so professional I thought it was bought. (hasten to say that's not to say your work doesnt look professional.....Oh you know what I mean!haha) It's great that you can recreate a much loved bag.

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