My first project and advice on my complaints

[sammyphoenix]

I finally get some fabric and patterns to try out on my new sewing machine.

This is my finished product:




I'm happy and not happy with it. I'm glad it's as cute as I was hoping, but the simplicity of the pattern gave it some characteristics I don't like. First there are the visible seams inside. Yuck, just yuck. I need to find a place that tells me how to put in a liner before I do the next one, maybe how to add pockets.




Then there are the straps. They aren't very thick, basically folded in thirds and stitched together, I tried to keep as centered as I could. But this leaves an exposed fabric that is already starting to fray a bit. I wonder if I could have just folded the straps in half and then did stitching close to the edge and turned that tube in half some how.... Again straps are something I need to look into apparently. And since I did the stitching on the straps, when I had to place the straps on the bag, I had a third stitch line visible, I don't really like that.







My final complaint is how much a pain sewing the zipper was. Yikes! some of it is most likely from my inexperience, but I didn't really understand what the instructions wanted me to do. The edges of my bag are kind of bunched up with all the fabric that got layered in those area. The zipper itself sits about 2" inside the bag. I don't really like that and I don't know if that is what the pattern meant for it to do. Again, I need to look more into the proper ways of doing this.



So any advice on how to improve my work? I hope to get another bag or two done before I head home for the holidays. I really enjoyed sewing and I hope to be brave enough to try some other projects.

Also, sorry for the crappy photos, hopefully someone can see what I'm talking about or understand what I mean to give some advice.

Comments

[musha168]

Nice bag! :3

xP Yeah, most patterns don't show how to hide those ugly seams on the inside of a bag ...... I'm lousy at explaining how to do that without photos to show what I'm talking about. I made a bag not too long ago and modified the heck out of it to include extra pockets and an internal lining that hides all the seams. It's kinda done like making a double bag that's connected at the main zipper, but the inner bag has a hole with which to flip the entire thing and then the fabric around the hole is folded and sewn shut with either the ladder stitch or putting a machine stitch very close to the edge of the fold.... (that made absolutely no sense).

Uh.... basically, the lining & the bag are built around the zipper.... *brb.... taking a couple pics*


(Yes, seriously just took these photos).

Basically, put the face of the pouch to the zipper and the face of the lining on the other side of the zipper -- the "wrong" sides facing outward to sew it together. Repeat for other half of zipper. Then took the flaps of the pouch and sewed the sides & bottom of pouch. Sewed the flaps of the lining (the sides only on the lining and left the bottom open on the lining).

Flipped entire pouch so it would look like image..... except that the bottom would be open still if it were unfinished.

And then folded bottom edge of lining inwards and...


Sewed a very close stitch all the way across the bottom of the lining........ And then pushed lining into pouch.


I have no idea if that made any lick of sense or if a step-by-step photo construction process would help better? O_o; I'm terrible at explaining....




As for installing the zipper, gonna assume you used a zipper foot? Yes?
The only part I find tricky is getting around the zipper pull itself -- I usually sew the zipper half way, then unzip the zipper to move the pull out of my way so I can sew the rest of it on.

I'm making no sense....



Interfacing in the strap will help stiffen it -- find a fairly stiff fusible interfacing. They come in all kinds of thicknesses and stiffness. And yes, fold the edge of the fabric inwards on itself for the strap. ^^

[sammyphoenix]

Thanks for taking the photos, you made a lot more sense than you think, at least I understood what you meant.

Thanks for the help on the lining, I had a feeling it would work like making a double bag, but I didn't have enough sense to figure out how I would get it turned right way out after stitching it together. Leaving the bottom open solves that issue I was having, lol.

I'm glad I'm on the right thought processes for how to construct these things, I just need some help and time to fiddle with them to make sure they come out correctly.

I did use a zipper foot and I had the same issue you did, and did the exact same thing you do to get around it. (Yeah! I have a sewers mind!)

[musha168]

^^ Yay!! Glad it made some sense.

Oh, and if/when you get to doing a lining for a bag, you'll want to keep the zipper at least half-way open (or more) when you flip the entire thing right-side out. xD; I've made the mistake of forgetting to open the zipper and then having to feel for the pull through the fabric (and swear) to open it. I'm not extremely bright.... lol

:P Yeah, I don't know how else one gets around the pull on a zipper.... ^_^b