Busy Bags

A friend of mine on Instagram (Bonnie - @greenletterday) released her new Tessa Basket Pattern, which is darling and easy!

I've been wanting to make each of my girls a Busy Bag - a bag for those times when little ones need to be able to sit quietly (church or Bible study), and have a few things to do.  Using the Tessa Basket Pattern, I added in a bunch of pockets to organize markers and hold crayons, little pads of paper, snacks, small toys, or whatever!  The bag dimensions are perfect for holding a large coloring book, as well as a water bottle and even a few other things, with the added magnetic snap at the top to keep everything snug.

I wrote up an free add-on pattern for the things I added (pockets & magnetic snap), so you can make some too! I also changed the way you finish the bag, making the lining smooth vs. the seam line in the bottom.

 

Tessa Basket Pattern: (PDF pattern available here).

Busy Bag (add-on) Pattern: (PDF pattern available here)
 

These are such fun bags to make, and they're pretty darn cut, too.

I don't think they're excited to start using them, do you?

And if you make some yourself, be sure to tag Bonnie (@greenletterday) and me (@redrainbootshandmade) on Instagram!

Giveaway Winner and SewTogetherBags for SALE {tonight!}

Thank you to everyone who entered the Gratefulness Giveaway!  Between comments on this blog...and comments/reposts on Instagram, there were over 450 entries.  Using the Random Number Generator... Charity (on IG) won the SewTogetherBag.  (yay Charity!)

Annnnnd... I've got some good news!

For those of you who've had a hankering for a sewtogetherbag,  but don't want to tackle all those zippers, I've got 8 more bags I'll be putting up for sale tonight (Thursday 2/12/15) at 8pm (mountain time), on Instagram.  (you can find me @RedRainbootsHandmade)

 

They will be $55/each, plus Priority Mail shipping ($5)

 

I know you're dying for a peek at the bags, so here you go. =) 

BAG #1 - Amy Butler (1 available)

 

 

BAG #2 - AMH (2 available)

BAG #3 - AMH (2 available)

BAG #4 - Essex Linen/Fruit Stand (1 available)

BAG #5 - Essex Linen/Fruit Stand (1 available)

Bag #6 - Essex Linen/Red Scrappy (1 available)

 

Who knows... maybe you'll end up with one of these, just in time for Valentine's Day?!

Gratefulness Giveaway

Can you believe it?

Its’ been ONE year.  One whole year since many of you and the IG community (along with God!) turned a horrible-awful scam story into a crazy-thrilling story of redemption. 

Read part 1 - The Scam Story

Read part 2 - The Redemption Story

 

One year later, I am still sincerely humbled and grateful to so many of you (friends I have “met” on IG and complete strangers) who were moved to compassion – who showed me love and concern - who generously gave money towards a new sewing machine.

So to celebrate and show a token of my gratitude and thanks to you, I’m holding a  Gratefulness Giveaway (on IG and this blog) - this cute Sew Together Bag!  It's perfect for holding any assortment of things - cosmetics, sewing supplies, craft/teachers supplies...

 

To enter: Leave a comment below (include your email address).  Winner will be chosen on Wednesday (2/11/15) at 12pm Mountain Time.  Good luck - and thank you for turning such a bad story into such a great one!

 

Baby Quilts

This past week I added a few Crib Quilts to my Etsy shop, and gifted one to a friend of mine who just had a baby.  It felt good to finish up a few things.  And looking at all these quilts, it's is impossible for me to choose a favorite out of the bunch. 

This first black PLUS quilt is backed in a large-scale floral, and is the perfect combination of modern meets romantic, making it simple and timeless.

I especially love this next one.  The color of the backing is fabulous.  It's an amazing tangerine color, from the fabric line Wee Wander (called Summer Ride in Melon) and is covered in whimsical dancing horses and little girl riders. 

Gray PLUS quilts have such a soft look to them.  Especially this one, with it's powder blue backing fabric - full of all the things little boys love: trees, puppy dogs, and swings.

  

And for my friend's baby (they named her Penelope Jane - isn't the that sweetest?), I switched things up a little.  Still the classic black and white PLUS front, but with a super delicate powder blue polka-dot on the back, and a bold splash of Miss Kate red scallops for the binding.

So that's what I've been working on lately.  And boy does it feel good to finish things up and get to mark them off my {long} list. How about you?

 



Weekender Bag Making

{A little preface - This is an huge amount of info for one bag, but I wanted to record it for future reference.  And in sharing things that did or did not work well for me, it will hopefully make your Weekending a little easier.}

This past October, I experienced my first ever "Girls Sewing Weekend" with some of my sisters/mom and a few friends.  My friend Morgan and I both made Amy Butler's Weekender Bag, and working on them together was so fun!

You can check out her super-cute Etsy Shop HERE.

Our bag styles were very different - and yet I loved them both!

And now that they are done, I'm excited to share with you a few things we learned and did along the way that helped simplify the process.

{what follows is just my opinions and advice... written a bit skattered... but hopefully helpful if you're just starting out...I've highlighted the main points for easy skimming. 

And If you want the particulars of my bag, but not the process, skip to the bottom of this post.}

If you already know exactly what you want your bag to look like, go for it!  But if you are undecided, here's what I'd suggest:

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Selecting Fabrics

Do you like scrappy and quilted?  Large, bold florals?  Simple, minimalistic geometric? 

Here’s the first thing you should do: Make a folder on Pinterest just for Weekender Bag Ideas and pin the bags that catch your eye.  (Flikr and Instagram have a bunch). 

Go back and re-look at all your pins.  You will begin to notice a common thread between them. 

This advice my friend gave me was exactly what I needed to hear.

"Don't stress about trying to pick a fabric that you think other people will like... or that you think is probably trendy.  Just pick what YOU like.  Don’t worry about anything else." 

 

Advice and Add-Ons

There are a ton of blogs that have helpful ideas, share personal experience or changes they made, or have tutorials for extra add-ons to this bag.  You can learn a lot from them.  So much information can also be confusing. Trust the pattern!  If it's your first time making this bag, make it as written, unless you have previous experience with bag making.

The ONE THING I Would Do Differently

Use a "beefier" zipper for the outside of the bag - with bigger teeth and tab.  I used a standard zipper (one I had on hand), and now it seems a little wimpy.  When I go to unzip my bag, it is a bit hard to grab hold of the small tab.

SUPPLIES and COST

Use coupons and buy during sales.

Even with buying during sales, and using hefty coupons, the overall cost of the bag ran about $100.  Granted, I splurged and bought nice leather handles which added $20 to this total.

 

PREP WORK

Cut out all your fabric and interfacings in one fell swoop - an evening, or a few hours in the afternoon – it takes a chunk of time. 

MAKING YOUR BAG 

1 - If you are adding in any extras, make yourself notes (ahead of time)at those points in the pattern, so you don’t forget to add them, and then have to leave them out (speaking from personal experience here!).

2 - Go Slow.

3 - Don’t stress over broken needles.  If it makes you feel any better, I broke 4.  Three of them were because I kept forgetting to switch my needle position back, when rotating between my zipper foot and regular foot.  The other one was when I tried to sew too fast through really thick layers.

 4 - I opted to sew my bag lining in with my machine (rather by hand).  It looks like top-stitching, isn't going to pull or rip out easily.

MY BAG INFO

(all items purchased at JoAnn Fabrics unless otherwise noted)

- Pattern: Amy Butler's Weekender Bag
- Exterior Fabric: Home Décor fabric

- Lining Fabric: DS quilting cotton

(*note: because it was a thinner fabric than called for, I used Pellon SF101 on all my lining pieces, to give it extra stability)

EXTRAS I ADDED

4 bag feet (or 6, and place 2 in the middle to prevent sagging)

2 magnetic snaps for the large outside pockets

Inside pocket (I used a 9” zipper and extra lining fabric)

Leather handles (from Etsy)

 Stitch Witchery ¼” – for making your cording (using your zipper foot works too.)

Clover Binding Clips (so you don't bend all your pins)

 

TUTORIALS I FOLLOWED

Making your cording - (Jen and Franz)

Adding an Inside Pocket - (U-Handbag)

Attaching Leather Handles - (At Home With Mrs. H)

 

Hope this helps you have a little more fun Weekending!