Back to Sewing!

While I was sacked out on the couch I watched many a sewing video I had saved up with the DVR. Some were boring, didn't apply to my type of sewing and got erased. Others were inspirational. One video that particularly caught my eye was Sue Hausman of "America Sews" of public TV. She had on as a guest Linda McGehee of long time bag fame. I decided a perky little spring bag would be just the ticket to get my ass of the couch and back into the sewing room, albeit bit by bit and between hacking episodes.

McGehee's constuction is what intrigued me. She made a layer of fashion fabric, fleece, and muslin and quilted it on the machine. Next she took the lining fabric and covered it on the wrong side with Steam a Seam. Once the top was quilted the lining was fused to the top. Then all the pieces were serged all around. This all very different from my approach which always has a separate lining, but hey, they are always two ways to skin a cat!

Next she did some really intriguing embellishment. She used a separating zipper. Had one! She installed the zip across the top of the bag in a really unique manner. The extra zipper that was cut off was then used to decorate the pocket edges. I could do that! or so I thought...

Here you see my pieces all fused and serged per her instructions. So far so good! I didn't use a pattern here, just cutting a couple of shapes symmetrically that were pleasing to my eye.
Now we are getting to the fun part. My zipper was a separating zipper. Once under construction I realized it had a pull at each end. Linda didn't use that kind. I could just close up one end with a few stitches.Mistake! But at least now I had the zipper leftovers. Here you can see two stacked pieces of zipper tape. My pocket edge is folded down.

I used my edge stitching foot and ran the blade right down the edge of the fold.  The needle position was moved a few clicks to the left.

Once the pocket was installed on the outside of the bag it was time for the zipper. I will spare you the details but I was basically trying to put a square peg into a round hole. No matter what I tried it just did not work. I ripped the zip out and that's where we are now. This is really sort of a tote-y bag so it will be fine being open at the top. Next is wrap the top with binding and install the handle. She had a cute trick there too. Back to the couch.......Bunny
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THANK YOU, EVERYONE! for all your kind thoughts, prayers, and wishes. They are so appreciated. You are all so special and don't you all forget it!

I would also like to welcome the many new followers. Please feel free to ask questions and comment. I love to share the passion I have for this art......Bunny