So, being as I’m getting back into sewing at the moment, I thought, well you know what, what don’t I try making one? I likely have all the materials I need around the house, as well as the skills to be able to pull this off. And after a quick scour of YouTube, there were plenty of tutorials to show me how to do it, so I thought ‘yeah, go on then, why not’. I used a combination of three videos to create my bag: here, here and here.
Like I said at the top of this post, it wasn’t easy. I wouldn’t say I’m the most experienced sewer, so perhaps to try and pull this off was one of those biting off more than I can chew moments. But I bit it, and I chewed it and it chewed back at me, but it was finally done!
And I am extremely proud of it, for a couple of reasons: firstly, for pushing through such a difficult task, and secondly, for the finished piece. I can’t lie, I do think it looks really good and has a quite professional finish- at least from the outside!
And everything was sourced from existing items I had round the house, besides some fusible interfacing, which I got from The Range for less than £1 and the strap, which I took from a charity shop find, for £2. To buy nylon bag strap webbing new would have cost the same, if not more, plus would have also meant I was bringing something new into existence which wasn’t necessary, being as I found exactly what I needed in a charity shop. So I’m really proud of how sustainable making this bag was. And the only worker that got exploited was myself(!), but that’s ok, because it was my choice.
The breakdown of the materials used: the main zip, plus key holder were from another bag which was in to bad of a shape to give to charity, the inside lining was created from various fat quarters I already had, the trim inside was created from hospital gown(!) from my previous film project, the main material was made from curtain fabric from a spare single curtain we had and the hardware (D-rings, tabs and clips) were salvaged from other bags around the house.
Like I said a couple of times already, making this was NOT easy and I did go wrong a few times during the making of it. My first attempt at the front was awful and I’m so pleased I decided to start again. The zip wasn’t straight and the whole thing just looked bad:
This was using an old pair of trousers, though the fabric will now likely become another project in the future (perhaps used for trouser patches or test material). I was extremely frustrated that I had ‘wasted’ some material here, but like I said, I’ll try and use it for something else.
The next time I went wrong was when I attempted to make the welt pocket for the inside:
I followed this tutorial. The tutorial was great, but my effort unfortunately wasn’t. Again frustrated because of the wastage of material used, but luckily it’s not too much and I have kept it, so I can try and use it for future projects. The main issue here was the fact that the fabric had puckered at the edges and it didn’t make for a very clean finish, therefore I decided I didn’t want it in my bag. Perhaps I should have practised on some scrap fabric first, because it’s a hard technique to get neat- or that’s how I felt anyway. But, you learn as you go. I eventually settled for just a basic inner pocket, with no zip or owt, just to simplify things. I was very stubborn and wasn’t going to discard my need for an inner pocket! I just love pockets!
And then there were various times where I unpicked the sewing because I wasn’t happy with it, but I won’t bore you with outlining all of those times. I also went from using pins, to using clips and seriously, for bulky stuff with lots of layers of fabric such as this, these are an absolute find. Pins definitely have their uses too, but clips are the way forward for this kind of project.
I wouldn’t say I’m the most confident person using the sewing machine (I find hand sewing much easier to control), but I’m really pleased with some of the top stitching, though unfortunately you can’t see it that well, because the thread matches the colour of everything too well. It’s sort of where I wished I had used contrast stitching, especially on the front and alongside the top zip. Plus it would have given the finish a bit more detail, especially if I went for something like a yellow or a pink. That would have looked really cool. Next time eh…
Also, if anyone still calls me a perfectionist after seeing the inside of the bag, then they are very, very wrong! Sewing the trim was one of those ‘just need to get it done I’m not unpicking this’ moments! It doesn’t look too bad now it’s inside, but there’s some shocking sewing going on in there. But it’s on and there are no raw edges in sight, so that’s what matters. Next time though, I would prefer to use bias binding and sew it on at the end. I think it might have been easier to sew and provided for a nicer finish.
Ok, I think that’s everything. Well, maybe I’ll quickly add the dimensions of the finished piece for those that are interested: 23x15x5.5cm. Right, I’m done! On to the next project, whatever it may be xo
Bonus image above: the state of my desk for a week or so while I was making the thing...
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