There are endless options to use for the starting point of a new bag. The only time I've had an issue was with an old sweater I covered in free motion stitching as the first step. With use, the knitted stitches began to fray and run and the surface deteriorated badly. Luckily - not for her but for me - I'd given it to my daughter rather than sold it so I knew this was a no go before disappointing a customer. I made my daughter another purse.
With the original textile piece, there was one large section that I cut in two to form the back and front of the bag. They were slightly too short and too narrow for the design and although I tried working with them, I was making too many compromises and eventually took it all apart and started over knowing...
... that I would need a way to add width and length. I cut each of the front and back pieces into three sections with a narrower middle and then...
... cut narrow strips for another part of the original textile piece to add the extra width. I shuffled the pieces around until I had two combinations of five pieces that I thought were the best of my options. To join the sections, they were butted against each other and zigzagged together. Before stitching, I added fused interfacing strips on the back for additional strength.
To add the extra length, I quilted a remnant of denim that was big enough but needed to be reconfigured. After quilting, it too was cut into sections that were butted and zigzagged together before the seams were covered with additional strips of denim fused in place and the raw edges zigzagged to hold and to prevent fraying. These choices eliminated as much bulk as possible.
The bottom looked quite plain so I unpicked some of the circles from the remaining bits of the original textile piece and re-appliqued them to the bottom. In the end, all of the sections were butted and zigzagged together to get the one large shape of the entire bag. Broadcloth was added to the back before covering the seams with fused fabric strips that were appliqued in place with a narrow zigzag stitch through all layers. This, again, added strength to the piece.
I find a project like this tends to create a mess and occasionally I need to stop and clean things up before moving on so I'm not overwhelmed. In the image above, all of the parts are complete and ready to be assembled. The lining...
... was made from remnants left over from a pair of pants I made a few months ago as well as some fuchsia quilting fabric from long, long ago that was used as pocket linings. There is something very satisfying about using scraps of previous projects in a completely new one. It's like a free project!
I mentioned in the last post that there is one slip and one zip pocket in the lining and that the zipper is black only because that's the best choice from what I had in stash. I would have loved a fuchsia one however, I wasn't going shopping. This was an easy, yes or no, decision however, something that happens often is that I will debate how to proceed with a project and finally conclude that I need a specific something to finish it. I think I've thoroughly weighed all the options and there is no other choice so I'll go buy the item only to come home, not use it, and use something from stash. The new item does go into stash to be used at some point down the line but I'd really rather eliminate that stage and work from stash without the shopping trip. I can't figure out if this "dance" has become just one of the steps or if there is some way to break the trend. It happened again this weekend with another project I'll tell you about in a future post.
To make the straps, I used more denim scraps pieced to the needed length, interfaced the entire width and added another heavier interfacing to half the width. The edges were pressed toward center and top stitched and then a strip of the black and white lining fabric was fused down the middle and...
... appliqued in place with a zigzag stitch. With this method, there is no bulky seam and the back of the strap is as neat as the front. Below, you can see how they line up on the bag.
This weekend, I worked on the pieces for the exhibit in April. The theme is Pollinators and I am making some mixed media jewelry pieces in my bold, sculptural style. I've been experimenting with ideas over the last few months and now they are coming together. One piece is complete, another is well on its way, and the main section of a third is ready to move forward.
When I applied for the show, we didn't discuss how many pieces I'd make and since it's not a solo show, I have no idea how much space is allotted for me BUT... so many fun ideas are dancing in my head and I don't want to abandon any of them so I'll make the ones that tickle the most over the next few weeks and let the curator decide. The piece I finished this weekend feels pivotal, like feel something shifted significantly. I want to show it to you but need to check with the curator if I'm able to post those images now or must wait until the show opens. I'm talking to her today so I'll ask and we'll see. Hopefully.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - a very progressive weekend
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