Market Tote

I have begun the market tote batch. It is a little bit of a work in progress being that it is a new material to me. It is made from a utility fabric, aka "bag fabric". You know, that mesh like fabric so many of the tote bags in the stores are made from? Jo-Ann started carrying the fabric last year and I picked some up.

The seams are something I may play with a little more. This tote has the seams pinched or "sewn in" with a topstitch. It does help the bag stand up. But I may make another with the seams edges folded under. Not sure.

I am keeping them unlined. It will keep the price down and speed up the making. But then I am left with these stitch lines inside...

The handles are nylon webbing that wrap entirely around the bag, lending some extra support.

Here you can see what can fit inside. Not that this is all, but it shows the height and width better. And this is the smaller of the two sizes.

I have one more this size and then two more larger. I hope to have them all done by the end of Wednesday. Wish me luck :)

Oh - and as a buyer - do the exposed stitching lines left from being unlined bother you? Not that there is a way around it if they remain unlined, but I am curious. Personally, since I'd use them for the grocery store, I wouldn't care. But that's just me.

Big Thanks

Big thanks to my Carried Away Team for posting up my yellow painted tote as the Bag of the Week. Tee hee!! *cartwheel* Made my day! And makes me feel better about making more - only smaller, unless custom - this spring.

This pink one of mine was the first of this "line"...it has changed up a bit with time.

New Twist on My Twist Tote

I made this bag last week, waited for a good day for taking pics, but found none. So I just took them by the sewing machine with all the lights on. I made a few of these tote before & I just love their size & the way they sit across my body. The straps come off the "fronts", not the sides, so it lays pretty flat on my hip. My mom has one that she brought on vacation last year & just loved it. It held their towels, sun block, water bottles & books with ease. And I make them with home deco canvas or outdoor canvas so they hold up well to tough use.

The only tweak I wanted to try was a closure. Neither my mom or I have had anything fall out of the bag yet, even when leaning forward & it hangs away from our body. But I wanted to give it a shot. So this bag has a long strip of fabric that goes through a tab on the opposite side. I added some stitching so it did not look so plain.


I initially tried it where it goes through & then folds back over itself, it worked well. And the strip is long enough that even overstuffed, it can still hold. It does remind me of a men's tie though. But when inside out (yes, it can be reversible...except for the tag part) it doesn't stand out so much.

I'll make sure that the next one I try this way is made with the print fabric, not the solid since that is technically the exterior.

Giraffe Shoulder Bag

I think the bag may be a bit big for a 4 year old...but he seems to like it :) Well, enough to bear wearing it for photos.

I finished the giraffe bag I showed you the other day & managed to snap some pics to show it off. It is made from a thick textured cotton fabric, kind of like barkcloth, but thicker...less so than burlap. It has a nice heft to it.

The underside of the straps are a solid brown canvas cotton. I thought it would be nice to have a smooth surface contacting your shirt fabric. Wouldn't want the textured fabric to snag at shirts.

The inside of this rather voluminous bag is a cotton floral print. I thought it would be fun. Is it?

The bottom is a faux leather. This way, no worries about the bottom getting trashed every time you set it down. I don't usually carry a bag quite so large, but it seems like it could be a problem. I used a pattern for this bag, McCalls 5719, which is not my norm. I had a sketch of a bag I wanted to make & when I was at JoAnns browsing through the pattern catalogs looking for a dress, I ran across this pattern which was like 90% my sketch. I figured it'd be easiest to just get the pattern & adjust it to my sketch. Heck, that's how I learned to make bags in the 1st place :)

To Market

I think I wrote a post a while back that included some WIPs of market tote bags. I have been using the first one for weeks and I love it. I have about 10 cut up & ready to sew. This is the first one, after mine, that I completed. I used my fiberfill bag to "stuff" the tote so it was not just a flat piece of material lying down on my sewing table.

I decided to go with bias tape around the edges instead of hemming. I hemmed mine and they look a tad mooshed. I know, not the best universal descriptive word out there. But saying worn makes it sound like it's falling apart, which it is not. And wrinkled sounds like it can just be ironed out. But mooshed...to me that fits best.

I suppose a tote you use for the market should be expected to get mooshed. I know I carry all mine folded up (or squished) into one tote. Using the bias tape should keep it looking "fresher". I also plan to make reuseable produce bags to go with them. You know the type - netting with a ribbon drawstring. I use one when I shop and I love it. They are so light that they do not add any weight and no plastic produce bags to just dump back onto our Earth. It's a win win.

Recycled To Market

I have a couple slipcovers that were given to me sometime back - never used. The fabrics are really fun...but not so much for my couch. Maybe if I were in college.
Anyway - I decided to make some bags for the market. I use my own totes when I shop - for more than just the grocery store. Some of my totes are too small for some things and I really like the basic Target bag size...so...I used one as a template.
I have only used one of the slipcovers so far, but I was able to get 9 bags from it. The first one I kept for me because, well, it had some flubs.
I hope to have them all sewn up by the end of this week & I'll show them to you - hopefully as a tutorial if I remember to take pictures.

Craft Show Season is On!

Show #1: check! But since Mother Nature forgot it was Spring & sent us freezing cold weather...it didn't have such a hot turn out. And strangely enough, the majority of the patrons were male...not too many of them in the market for handbags :)

No matter...there will be more. If nothing else, it's a day away from home and therefore no cleaning or whiny...I mean beautiful loving...children to attend to nonstop...I mean with a full heart and love :) Actually...I miss them when I'm gone. Yes, I am one of those moms. But I do appreciate time off.

I also managed to get my feltie goth bear fixed. Started an embroidery project. Sketched out my next 5 feltie/stuffie/softies. And spent 7 straight hours with my oldest. I took him with me :)

I didn't take any pics of my table, but I do have some pics of some newer creations. The tote has an odd zipper. It can "stand up" or get "tucked in". Was this on purpose? Not exactly, but I do like the options it gives for a little extra room for storage. After all, how many times have you gone to put stuff in your tote & needed that extra inch to close it up? Or is it just me?





The backpack was fun. It started out as something entirely different...which didn't work. In truth, this one has a boo-boo too. The strap attachments at the bottom don't go in the same direction. One side goes into the back bottom crease while the other goes into the side bottom crease. Does it really change anything? No. There is a slight twist in the one strap from the side...more of a curve really, Makes no difference when it's worn.




Question is, do I take it apart to fix the one strap end? or sell as a "one off" at a lower price?

Do you think it makes a big difference?

My First Custom Order

I have only done one custom order online before the bridal party from my last post.

The bag for that one turned out beautiful, but there are some things I would do differently. I now know to ask more questions and send out pictures as I go through the process. There was one thing she wanted that was miscommunicated. I made the inset she wanted and sent it out to her as quick as I could. I wanted to make sure she was totally happy with everything, and I believe she was. This is the bag and insert I made for her. She will be using the bag as both a purse and diaper bag, so the insert is for the diapers and wipes. Originally she was thinking of a zippered pocket attached inside to act as a divider. But in the end, a removeable pouch seemed the way to go.

The smaller zip pouch in the picture was made for my etsy shop -
I just put it in the picture with the larger bag
and keyring to maybe use for marketing.

I think I will make this extra large zip pouch more often. I tried one out for me and loved it. It was large enough to hold my travel art or embroidery stuff inside my large tote. Made for a quick and easy find when I was waiting in the doctor's office - no riffling through the tote needed. I am about to make one with a thin strap or loop for my son's Legos - with a felt applique of a Lego creation on the outside. That should be fun.