The Convertible Bag

Today I am going to talk about The Convertible Bag Pattern by Mrs H. Back in February we visited the Stitches trade show in Birmingham and ordered three bag patterns from the lovely ladies on the Mrs H stand. These included The Convertible, The Sassy Saddlebag and The Squiffy Sling Bag. I will be making all the patterns up so I can share my reviews. You can find these sewing patterns and more here on the website.

Here's my version of The Convertible Bag. I used fabric out of my stash, the navy with trees is from Dashwood Studio. Unfortunately I didn't have quite enough fabric to make the bag as I would have liked, it takes 1m for the outside and 1m for the lining. Most of my fabric pieces are fat quarters and a few half metres! I didn't have enough fabric to make the strap, but luckily I had 150cm of navy webbing to use instead.

If you've made bags before then you'll find the pattern and instructions very straight forward. There is a zipped pocket on the back and one inside. There is also the option of putting a slip pocket on the inside. There is also a further pocket on the front, I was going to put a magnetic snap as a closure for the pocket, but had gone too far before I realised I hadn't done it! Next time!

It's a great size and roomy inside. For me personally I would use it as a backpack, which you have the option of doing as there are rings on the reverse and a tunnel to be able to thread the strap through to convert it. I love all the hardware you can show off with this bag too, as I love collecting it!😀

If you have a gorgeous piece of fabric you want to show off then using it for the flap would be stunning!

If you have this pattern, I hope you enjoy making it!

Make a Tote Bag

It's been a while! I haven't been doing much sewing recently, other things have got in the way. I'm hoping in the coming weeks I will have a catch up with projects and get ahead of myself!😀

Today I am sharing my latest make, just finished yesterday. This is the Cactus Stone Tote Bag from Art Gallery Fabrics.

I used the Twist in Smoke from Dashwood Studios, which is a lovely pale grey colour, for the main body of the bag, and for the cactus I chose Kaleidoscope from the Belle Epoque collection also by Dashwood. I had already ironed interfacing on the back of the main piece before stitching the cactus in place. 

I found the pattern a bit lacking in instructions but it is very straight forward to make if you have made bags before. I used Flecks Soul from Art Gallery Fabrics for the accent colour on the back and front, and for the handles.

As well as the interfacing I ironed fusible fleece on the reverse of the body pieces to give it some body. I also decided to put a recessed zipper in my tote bag to keep contents secure inside as I'm going to use mine as a project bag. I cut the zipper casings 14" x 31/2" and the zipper was approx 17" long, I generally use zipping by the metre, but you could use a slightly shorter zip if that's all you have. If you would like to add a recessed zipper to your bag you will find numerous tutorials and videos online.

If you would like to have a go at making this Tote Bag you'll find it on page 36 in Art Gallery Fabric's Lookbook, click on the picture below.

Happy sewing!

Quilt as you go cushion

There comes a time in a child's life when they don't really want anything which is handmade, which I think is quite sad. But luckily or unfortunately, depending on which side you are on, my nieces still occasionally get a present from me which I have made! As I have all these wonderfully bright fabrics in my shop I thought my eldest niece, who is now 13, wouldn't mind a cushion made by her Aunty! Her Mum said 'think tropical' so this is what I found amongst my stock. It needed to have pink and yellow, which I have and I thought the aqua Bumbleberries would be good in the mix too. I know Peacocks are not very tropical but the colours were there, artistic licence?!

I used 2.5" strips to make this quilt as you go cushion cover, using inspiration from the cushion made by Melissa on her blog Polkadot Chair. I love this method, it is really quick as you stitch n' flip and quilt each piece as you go. I chose to stitch straight lines through each piece as Melissa did with her cushion, but I used a dark thread so the stitching was obvious.

My niece won't receive this until I see her at Easter, I hope she likes it!

AGF Earthen Lookbook

The fabrics from the Earthen range by Art Gallery Fabrics are now listed on the website as cut pieces and fabric bundles. Click on the Look Book below to see all the amazing projects you can make. These fabrics were featured in this month's Fabulous sewing subscription boxes and I used the Foxnest Haze to make myself a new handbag, you can read my post here.

Check out the unboxing of February's Little Box of Fabulous. Click below.

Happy sewing and don't forget to share your makes on our Facebook page!

Review of Decovil 1 Light

I love a handmade bag! I've been making bags for myself, family and friends over the past 3-4 years and have also sold them on Etsy. Since I started Sew Fabulous Fabrics there hasn't been much bag making going on! With this month's fabrics for the Fabulous sewing boxes I was totally inspired by the Foxnest Haze from the Earthen range by Art Gallery Fabrics and thought it was time to make myself a new bag!

This is the Luisa Crossbody Bag from Sotak Patterns. I've made this pattern before and it's presently the bag I use every day. The lining is also from the Earthen range, Allium Specks Rose.

I interfaced all the pieces first with a medium weight fusible then ironed Decovil 1 Light on the reverse of all the exterior bag pieces.

My review of Decovil 1 Light:

Decovil 1 Light is made by Vlieseline and is an iron-on interfacing with a leather like feel. I have used many different interfacings and interlinings in my bag making and wanted to try something new which I could possibly keep in stock in the shop. I looked at various different products and watched videos and this came out as the one I needed to try! I followed the instructions of using a damp cloth and pressing each area for about 6 seconds, it adhered to the fabric straight away. Brilliant! If you want a structured bag rather than a floppy bag then the Decovil will be ideal, also I would definitely use it to make purses such as the Necessary Clutch Wallet. So it's decided, it will be available in the shop very soon!

 I love an inside pocket!

Bonn Shirt by Hazel

I recently gifted Hazel some fabric for all the work she has done to help me set up the website, and ongoing help with the business. She decided to make a shirt using a pattern from Itch to Stitch to show how versatile these fabrics are, and it turned out beautifully! 

I read somewhere that sewing and buying fabric are two completely different hobbies, and looking at my collection of fabric, I am definitely more in the second category, even though I claim to be in the first! So when I saw the range of fabrics that Vicky had selected for her first fabric club boxes, I wasn’t planning to acquire any for myself. But then I started to think about what I could make if I did just happen to get some, had a look at my Pinterest board and before I knew it I had chosen a pattern, and Vicky had offered to give me the fabric I needed. I chose the Art Gallery Meadow Bold, which is from their Legendary collection, which has a bold dark teal background with bright flowers printed on it. Yay! I was ready to go!

The first thing I did was pre-wash the fabric. I have learnt to always do this, after an incident many years ago I like to call linen-gate, so I machine washed it at 40° Usually I try to iron cotton fabrics when still damp, but I forgot this time. It was fine! The fabric didn’t seem to shrink, and the creases ironed out easily.  The printing was straight too, so I just folded the fabric in half and cut out my pattern without having to fuss.

I had chosen to make the Bonn shirt, a PDF download from Itch to Stitch patterns, and I decided to make the version with the short sleeves. I firstly made a toile (muslin) as I had to make a few minor adjustments to the shoulder area and to account for my prominent bum, but overall the fit was really good as the pattern comes in different cup sizes. The pattern is really straightforward, with minimal seams, which I thought would really let the fabric shine. I found the fabric really stable, so only had to stay-stitch around the neck. The sleeves went together particularly well. I just pinned them in without doing any gathering stitches around the sleeve head first, and they both worked first time. No stitch ripper needed!

Vicky had also given me a reel of her Scanfil thread to try, which I was a tiny bit worried about as I am a lifelong Gutterman user. I am converted! My machine seemed to like it, and the slight sheen on the thread meant that the top-stitching looked particularly nice. I have since ordered all of the colours Vicky has, and will happily use it instead of the Gutterman.

Overall, I was really happy with my finished shirt. Although the fabric can be used for quilting projects, it has a high thread count, so has a really nice draping quality. It reminds me a lot of Liberty Tana Lawn, just a little bit heavier, but still with that smooth, silky feel. It didn’t slide around when I went to cut it out, but it is soft enough when worn to hang around my curvy bits!

In terms of cost, I used 2 metres of the Meadow Bold, plus a small amount of a contrast fabric (Oval Elements) for the inner collar. I had some left over, since I didn’t have to worry about pattern matching. Vicky has the fabric available at £15 per metre, so the fabric cost was £30.00. For contrast, if I had used Liberty Tana Lawn, I would have needed 1.4 metres, at £27.50/m so would have spent £38.50. I love the amazing designs available from Art Gallery Fabrics, so I will be keeping an eye on the Sew Fabulous Fabrics website to see what Vicky orders next! I promise I will make it up instead of adding it to my stash. After all, I want to be someone who sews fabric, instead of hoarding it!

Art Nouveau Table Runner

How was the past weekend for you? Here in the south Saturday was glorious with lots of sunshine and Sunday was dreadful with rain and gales! So Sunday was a sewing day and I thought I should make something with last month's fabrics which were in my Fabulous sewing boxes.

And here it is! I scoured through Pinterest and found a pattern for a table runner by Phoebe Moon on her blog Scrapdash, you can find the instructions here.

I used one of my new Fabulous Fabric Rolls which are now on my website, these comprise of 20 strips of assorted fabrics which measure 2.5" wide x approx 42" long. The one I used for this project is the Nouveau Fabulous Fabric Roll which consists of 5 different fabrics from Dashwood Studio. All the work has been done for you so you have more time for sewing! 

I would love to see what you have on your sewing table, tag me on Instagram #sewfabulousfabrics or post to my Facebook page.