First Bag.
I consider myself pretty candid about things I make. However, for my first major sewing project in years I think I'd rather pretend that my first time came out totally awesome and hide all the ways I felt challenged or may have screwed up, which, for the purposes of this entry, are all theoretical. I think that when it comes to first times, it's perfectly okay to not try to be perfect, but that's the only time it's okay. Expect more indiscretion the next time I make this bag, which will probably be once a week until I work my way up to Amy Butler's Weekender Bag, which has been in my future since I saw it on craftoholic.
I haven't been able to do a single thing until I made this bag. I go back to school Monday and owe a boy with size 13 feet a pair of socks and I only have one toe. I did this bag all in one night (as in, all night) and there are some definite "lol"s about it. I used all recovered materials which made it easy to not be precious, but then there were some aesthetic compromises I would not ordinarily have made. Canvas was the "interfacing" and clean parts of soiled pajamas made up the lining on the inside. I paint, therefore I soil clothes and happen to have well over 100 square feet of canvas ready. The outer lining was made up of fabric scraps from some fabric I had bought from reprodepot once. I intended to make a mixed-media project from it but I guess it never materialized. :) I bought the zipper months ago in Boston and I have no idea why. My mom's house is still kind of new to me and I can't find anything (also, she hides things) so I used the straightening iron I use for my hair to iron out the fabric. That part was awesome.
I used my late Great Aunt Dorothy's sewing machine. IT IS ACTUALLY VINTAGE. IT IS FROM THE 1960S. IT REMEMBERS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF BRING OUR TROOPS HOME. I don't know anything else about this mystery machine. My mom supplied me with a Singer manual from 1968 but the machine doesn't say Singer on it anywhere and the model number taxonomy doesn't match the Singer convention. I thought it might be a Pfaff because of the way the knobs are styled, plus the old Pfaffs went crazy with the knobs and this has three. I hate that I'm a total genius and yet even with magic Google I cannot identify this machine. It sucked when trying to figure out the freakin Rube Goldberg device that is threading the needle and I'm still not sure why sometimes I get a zig-zag stitch when all I want is not that. There were a lot of knick knacks that my mom gave me along with the sewing machine and so to get near the zipper I used some foot that was just slimmer than the default but I don't know if it was a zipper foot per se. There's so much I need to learn about this machine it's amazing(ly ill-timed with the start of a new semester).
I had to handstitch a lot at the end because the fabric was too thick and I didn't know to handle it, plus I was cranky. I think handstitching is invaluable anyway, and would not mind improving my hand at stitching. I want to make these bags for everybody and put goodies in them and give them as gifts. Actually, when I was done sewing this one, I thought about putting my sewing notions in it but that reminded me of this joke that either belongs to George Carlin or Rusty Ward about buying a garbage can and carrying it home in a bag, then putting the garbage bag inside the can.
References
Parikha
She was the original and she helped me track down some links after they got moved when she changed her blog!
Drago Knit Fly
The tutorial I actually followed.
Japanese Translation
This is one of the links Parikha used to make her bag...I found it among bookmarks! So prudent!!
24 January 2008