Favorite fabrics, new idea for Butler bag

Ooh my goodness, it has been so busy after the bazaar. I got several comissions for things, mostly knit items, that took me a week to do. I made some really cute winter messenger hats and a scarf, and made another Amy Butler bag. I came up with a new way to sew the zipper on it, so I thought I would share to all those who are working on one.

After cutting everything out, adhering interfacing and ironing, the zipper is one of the first things I sew. With this technique the bag ended up being a little skinnier than the previos ones, so if you want it to be wider, make the top part of the outer fabric wider.

- sew the outer fabric down the middle like you are supposed to according to the pattern, I sewed a larger seam than the pattern asks for. (see picture, on left)

-sew the lining to the underside flaps of the outer fabric. Press the seams flat. You can see on the right side that the lining ends up being really wide this way, I just cut it so both layers are same width.

-next place zipper on the back side of the flap facing down, pin in place and sew all the way around. Voila!

-now to attach the two short pieces at either end, I made kind of an X-seam, so that both the front and lining fabrics can be attached. Sew all the 4 edges separately, and then the small distance in the middle, I sew that flat through all the layers. (See pictures, the middle has not been sewed yet, there is still a hole)

-after this, I attach the handles and pockets to the side panels.

-I sew the side panels on first and then get to the outside side panels. Now this might be obvious, but when you sew the panels together, I find it easier to sew it with the panel side up, rather than sewing on the zipper flap side. (see picture, on the side that is pinned)

-also something else that worked out, was attaching the lining and outer layer together before I turned it inside out. I just sewed the two layers together at the top. (see picture)

There are also two portfolios that I will be in so I finished two prints for those. One of them was a little ant print, that I got the inspiration for from Proverbs 6:6

Go to the ant you sluggard,

consider it's ways and be wise.

It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,

yet it stores its provisions at summer

and gathers its food at harvest.

I had a good time carving, since I have not made a linocut in a while. The other linocut I made for the other portfolio was a little mousy. I should get a photo of that as well...

I've been browsign fabrics as well and wanted to post some of my favorite picks. They are from various sites, but I put the names down so you can look them up if you want.

Weekender Travel Bag

This week I finished my first try at the Weekender bag by Amy Butler. It seems that I have been in an Amy Butler mania last couple of months. I think I got it out of my system now. ;)

The weekender bag was a fun project. I decided to make it without the cording around the edges due to the fact that I sewed the zipper to the top and lining at the same time and sewing everything toggether was pretty bulky. I used a wool twill fabric remnant for the outside, with a little leaf motif from the leftover Butler fabric from the last tunic. It gave the boring fabric a spark!

Some other modifications I did was make the handles a little longer, about 55" and sew around them two times to secure them to the bag. (In the picture the handle has three rows of stitches since I first sewed just the handle by itself.) Instead of just sewing back and forth at the top, I made an "x", also in the picture.

Another modification was a pocket for a water bottle on one of the sides instead of a flat pocket. I figure on trips that will come in handy as well. The bag is really nice and roomy, and has the same pockets all around on the inside as well. I am looking forward to seeing how it travels. TIP: I think if I make the bag again, I would make the inside pockets 3" taller, so that they would come up closer to the top. I imagine the bag being filled with bulky items, and it would seem that the less tal pockets would get all jumbled up.

For the interlining I just used the thickest lining I got from Walmart, so it is not as stiff as maybe with Timtex like used in the pattern. The lining is a brown cotton fabric, the same as for the handles. I used some of the plastic craft mesh used for needlepoint for the bottom and it worked out fine. I stitched it together 2 ply before inserting. I also sewed in between the outside and lining so that you can't see it. The bag is not as neat as in some other pictures I've seen, but it works for me. I can't wait to use it!