Monday, August 28, 2006

Totes are Done

square bags
The bags were a hit! I gave away all six large totes and some of the smaller zipped bags and people seemed happy to have them. Back tracking a few days -- I also made the two little rectangular bags above, just for fun. I thought because they were dark, some of the men might like one. Some of the men did take a couple of the small bags as I hoped, for small tools and things. One even mentioned allen wrenches, which is what Peter keeps in his.
little bag assembly line
All the little zipped bags are built the same so I just sew one part on all of them at once, like an assembly line. Here, I am sewing a corner at the bottom and I don't bother to cut the threads between the bags until I am finished all of them.
trimming
I cut the bags out with pinking shears so the raw edges wouldn't fray too much. On the small bags, because I cut them out a couple of years ago, I hadn't used pinking shears so I trimmed all the edges after I sewed them. My sewing room is now buried under layers of tiny pills or puffs from the pinking. I am going to have to do a thorough vacuuming before I start my next project.
3 dark bags
Here are the other three large totes that I made, after I changed the thread from white to black in my machine.
all the bags
And here are all the bags at once, ready to be taken down to the family reunion. I had a fun time making them and a fun time giving them away. I also gave the "suede" jacket to my niece and she seemed to like it very much. She even wore it later, when it got a little cool. But I totally forgot to take a picture of her wearing it! I can't believe I did that. Next time.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooh! Those look great! I've had that pattern a while and you've inspired me to crack it open and use up some scraps.

JuliaR said...

You are welcome for the inspiration, Akimbo! And welcome to my blog. This pattern goes together so easily, you will be happy once you get going on some of the bags. And the handles don't have to be cut exactly with the pattern piece. As long as I have the right finished length, I can cut the long strips out of any scrap.

ML said...

Those bags are great! I really like the small rectangular ones. Excellent job!

Linda L said...

You have been busy! Great looking bags. Assembly lines do make things go faster.

Cindi said...

I am glad they liked the bags. I like the small bags myself. Did you use a pattern?

JuliaR said...

Thanks for your comments, ML, Linda, Cindi and Sharon.
Cindi, yes I did use a pattern - I rarely go without one. I used Simplicity 9949 for this batch. I should make more of the square bags - they are so cute! Next project, a wedding present so I can't blog about it because she reads me! More on that soon.

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh you are a genious um but i have an old singer machine and im an idiot can you email me the steps i have done everything right but what do i do whith the string coming from the bottom??? plz plz plz email me at bubblegumpop007@yahoo.com any one else who reads this email me too

JuliaR said...

Hey Anon (bubblegumpop). In my experience, there are as many different ways of threading the bobbin (the bottom thread) as there are kinds of sewing machines. If you don't have a manual that shows you how to thread the bobbin, perhaps you can find instructions on the internet. You might start here: http://www.singerco.com/resources/ Good luck.

JuliaR said...

I just looked around a little more and found this web page:
http://www.singerco.com/accessories/manuals.html

JuliaR said...

Hi Mimi and welcome to my blog! I just checked out your new blog and wow! Your handbags really are something to be pleased with. Mine are just plain utilitarian things, even if people do like them. Good for you!