Sewmania Phase II

Yes! Sewmania is back with a vengeance :-). From stitching clothes to more ambitious bag making projects... I must say I have come a long way (if I may say so myself ;-)). As with a lot of people in the initial phase of sewing, I wasn't too sure if I could handle projects which involved zip in it. So for all the clothes I made for my daughter I generally skipped the zip and went to snap closures or button, hooks etc. I wasn't "afraid" of using zips, in fact I had already purchase a few zips to try out, just that I wasn't ready to give it a shot.

Finally I did a pyjama set for my girl and I decided to put a zip at the back. That wasn't the neatest project I had done, but it got it 'initiated' I must say :-). Once I was done attaching the zip, random ideas started popping up in my head as to how I could've handled it better (the zip installation that is).
And so, I decided to take the plunge, to indulge the desire which made me want to buy a sewing machine in the first place - make a bag for my kids. I had the perfect fabric with me - a baby blue heavy cotton (which looks like a denim). I got that fabric to make either a pant or skirt for my daughter but every time I tried to sew things didn't work out so I kept the fabric aside.


The next phase was deciding what would the front panel of the bag look like. I made enough doodles and decided I wanted to do applique of a cupcake in felt. Applique was another thing I hadn't tried till now. And my son would have a car on his bag. Decided. Now time to execute the plan.
Got all the pieces cut according to what appeared good to me so there were no specific inches & cms that I calculated. It took me a good long day to finish up one bag. I was happy once the bag was done. It wasn't perfect, but now I know how to tackle it better the next time.

  

        

The next item on my to do list - drawstring bag and a Tote and a lunch bag too. I absolutely had to make a drawstring bag for my kids. It didn't take me long. After all it involves just 4 rectangles to be sewn together and the string to be threaded through... Done! I also added an inside Zip pouch for the drawstring bag. I love zips inside bags :-)

  

Two tone tote or a reversible one was what was on my mind at first. Then I thought, why not throw in a regressed zip as well? after all I never carry a bag that is open! The tote took some 6 hours for me since it was my first attempt and I had to split the work between two nights. I was making the tote after I've come back from work. So I would work at the sewing machine after dinner and till my husband gets home.I also put in a zip on the inside. We all know we need a zip inside. It could be to keep the coins or mirror or chapstick or whatever else one needs to find quickly :-).