SO... I have figured out how God intends to pay for the courses at the academy. I called yesterday to enroll and the woman I spoke to - for the third time - told me that they do not have a 2010 Word course, they only have a 2007 course. Hello! I wonder why she didn't mention that sooner like during my first call... or even my second. ANYWAY... I can't see the point of paying $500 for the "old" version so I'm back to working through the Teach Yourself Visually manual on my own.
In this picture, there doesn't appear to be anything in the bag which is why it - most likely - has such smooth and elegant lines. I like the simplicity. With stuff inside, it'll be a little more rounded and a little less flat but still wonderful I'm sure. This is so a Susan shape. I also think it will appeal to my daughter although she doesn't like all the colors and textures of the handbags I'm making now. She'd want something more streamlined like this image. Right Jessica?
The pattern is from Unique Clothes Anyway You Like, the book that I ordered a few weeks ago from pomadour24 on Ebay. It's in Japanese. I don't speak Japanese however... luckily... I do speak...
... Pattern and I'm able to interpret the general idea from the illustrations. In the one above, you can see the front portion of the bag to the right and the inside portion to the left. I'm not doing it anything at all like that because I want two right sides, each with a hand facing outward. That has meant thinking through the whole process to make sure that I add the pieces in the right order and can stitch elements in place without accidentally stitching the bag closed. For such a simple bag, it's been surprisingly complicated. It's also been good for my brain.
When you look at the pattern pieces above, the short edges toward the middle of the diagram are the center front or center back of the purse and the long edges toward the outside of the diagram are the outside edges of the shoulder strap. The short edges are shaped with built in darts to curve the bag. The long edges are sewn together at the back of the neck and the curved part that goes down toward center front forms the top of the bag under the arm. I want to insert a zipper into that curve. That's today's project.
The fabric I'm using is the brown/black denim that I made some jeans from a few months ago - the ones that didn't fit me and fit my co-worker at Fabricland just perfectly. These are the remnants. They have that same linen bohemian feel as the photograph from the book. The light brown to the left above is one side and the dark brown next to it is the other side of the denim. It's very lightweight. The white is a layer of Thinsulite and the print is the same lining I used on Sandi's athletic bag. I chose Thinsulite over batting because it's thinner and will drape the body easier. I chose the print for the lining because it was lightweight and went well with the other elements. I'm constructing the bag in such a way that the lining is inclusive instead of added later. That was another complication for my brain to figure out but it means the last stitch on the outer bag is also the last stitch. Nice.
Both hands had blue in them so I used a denim blue thread to stitch the feature fabric, the Thinsulite, and the lining together every half inch. The variegated color makes the lines look more wobbly than they are. On one section of the front/back, the lines go vertically and on the other, they go horizontally. That eliminated any potential for matching - YES YES - although I ended up stitching an extra section because I forgot to flip the pattern one time and cut three right sides and only one left. I have a lot of bits and pieces left so this background fabric may show up again in another purse. It may suit Ruth whose bag will be next. We'll see.
On Saturday after shopping, Sharon came over to sew. She's working on sheets and receiving blankets for her first grandchild who is due soon. I was working on the purse using the walking foot to stitch the three layers together without puckering. Sharon hadn't seen a walking foot before. Once I showed her how it worked, we talked about the tools and techniques that are constantly being developed to make sewing easier. Although I'm thankful for those, I'm most thankful for how sewing has been a life time opportunity for creativity and growth. Having evolved from a product to a process person and from one who needs instructions to one who rarely looks at them, sewing is increasingly more and more delightful. It occupies my mind. I'm glad we've stuck together all these years.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - the ability to problem solve and to see in three dimensions
Try lynda.com for Office 2010 tutorials. I have a whole bunch of Japanese pattern books and I find the sophistication very refreshing. They don't dumb anything down, at least, I don't think so, I don't speak Japanese either.
ReplyDeleteI love Japanese pattern books, even though I haven't made anything from them yet. I've knit from Japanese patterns though, so there is hope for me yet.
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