Sew Together Bag

Here it is. My first Sew Together Bag, by Sew Demented. I am going to assume you all have seen this cool bag already. Its been on the blogging scene for a while. Give it a Google or search Pinterest and you will have a ton of hits for pictures and tips. 

My thoughts on making this bag:

~  The best help is a quilt along by The Quilt Barn. I would have ended up seriously frustrated without her pictures and explanations. Bookmark it! You will not be sorry!

~ I did quilt as you go with scraps I already had. Next time, I would leave making the outside shell for last. My inside lining ended up being bigger so I had to trim that down. I would have much rather have made the outside shell bigger.

~ Use a longer zipper than the 18" one recommend. You can always trim it smaller if you want. The only zipper I had laying around long enough for the outside was a 20" white one, which I ended up not trimming.  Next time, I will buy zippers for this project with a larger zipper pull and wider tape on the outside. For pure aesthetics I should have used different binding fabric. I don't like the contrast of the binding with the bright white zipper. No, I am not going to redo it. *see below*

~ The part I struggled with the most was the binding. I did lots of ripping and starting over and it still looks sloppy. I had to walk away from it a couple of times. Lots of deep breathing and convincing myself I could get it done. A zipper with wider tape would have helped. I cannot stress enough to use  thread that matches your fabric in your bobbin and top thread. It helps hide the less than perfect sewing. 

I love the inside of the bag! This is really a very clever pattern and it isn't very hard. Fiddily, yes, to be sure, but not hard. 

Will I make this bag again? Yes!!  Now that I understand how it all works, I am hoping it will go much smoother and easier. 

How many of you have made a Sew Together Bag? Do you have any tips you would like to share? 

Don't forget to sign up for my Pay It Forward day 2 giveaway!=D

Here it is. My first Sew Together Bag, by Sew Demented. I am going to assume you all have seen this cool bag already. Its been on the blogging scene for a while. Give it a Google or search Pinterest and you will have a ton of hits for pictures and tips. 

My thoughts on making this bag:

~  The best help is a quilt along by The Quilt Barn. I would have ended up seriously frustrated without her pictures and explanations. Bookmark it! You will not be sorry!

~ I did quilt as you go with scraps I already had. Next time, I would leave making the outside shell for last. My inside lining ended up being bigger so I had to trim that down. I would have much rather have made the outside shell bigger.

~ Use a longer zipper than the 18" one recommend. You can always trim it smaller if you want. The only zipper I had laying around long enough for the outside was a 20" white one, which I ended up not trimming.  Next time, I will buy zippers for this project with a larger zipper pull and wider tape on the outside. For pure aesthetics I should have used different binding fabric. I don't like the contrast of the binding with the bright white zipper. No, I am not going to redo it. *see below*

~ The part I struggled with the most was the binding. I did lots of ripping and starting over and it still looks sloppy. I had to walk away from it a couple of times. Lots of deep breathing and convincing myself I could get it done. A zipper with wider tape would have helped. I cannot stress enough to use  thread that matches your fabric in your bobbin and top thread. It helps hide the less than perfect sewing. 

I love the inside of the bag! This is really a very clever pattern and it isn't very hard. Fiddily, yes, to be sure, but not hard. 

Will I make this bag again? Yes!!  Now that I understand how it all works, I am hoping it will go much smoother and easier. 

How many of you have made a Sew Together Bag? Do you have any tips you would like to share? 

Don't forget to sign up for my Pay It Forward day 2 giveaway!=D