From Sketch to Pattern: Phase three, lining construction

I like to start with the lining when I'm making a purse because it lets me see where the pattern needs tweaking.   And this one needs a little bit of tweaking.   I'll get to that in a minute.

To start, I cut out my lining.  That's the two large pieces, the bottom oval, a side pocket, and two pieces for a center zipper pocket.   As you can see I underestimated my lining amount so the zipper pocket is in a contrasting fabric.  I'm glad this happened actually because that gorgeous brocade would get all snaggy inside the pocket anyway.

First thing I do is sew on the side pocket.  Finish the top edge and lay it across one side piece of the lining.  I sewed one seam down the center, 1/4 of the way to one side, and divided that last quarter into three 1" pencil pockets. 

For the zipper pocket, install the zipper and then sew the bottom seam with right sides together.  Flip back right side out.

Place one side of the lining right side up. Then put down the zipper pocket so the bottom seam is 1/2" from the bottom edge.  Then put the second side of the lining down right side down.  Sew up the side seams leaving a turning gap along one side. 

This is where I had my first tweak.  The base pattern I made was too big for the purse.  It didn't give me that lightly gathered look I wanted, so I cut 1 1/8" off each end.    Then I lightly gathered the bottom edge of the lining and sewed the bottom in.

Here's the finished lining.  I'm having issues with the height of the bag.  I've never made one this deep before so it's bugging me.  I'm going to live with it for a couple of days and see if it grows on me.  If not, 3" is coming off the top. 

Now for the last bit of tweaking so far.  I've been very unhappy with the spring clasp selection I've been able to find online.  Everybody sells the same three clasps and they are all boring.  blah.  I have some gorgeous fabric here that does not deserve boring. 

I did run across a woman who sells buckles she got off thrift store belts.   I decided that I can go to thrift stores.  I've got some time.   I'm glad I did because I found this:

Isn't it gorgeous?  I adore it and it would be perfect on my bag.   The only draw back is my oldest daughter loves the belt and wants to use it as a belt.    The stinker. 

If I do let the girl have the belt I do have two other buckles as options:

I like the warmth of the antique brass but it's cheaply made.  The silver tone one is better quality and it looks nice but I'm not loving it as much. 

So what do you think?  Be nice to my daughter and use a second choice buckle or go with the buckle I love best?  I have to decide before I cut the straps. 

Just Checking In

Busy day today.  I just didn't get a chance to sit down to post earlier.  I've got a sneak peek at a project I'll be showing you how to make at the end of March.

That's Peter Rabbit and his sisters on the front of that adorable peasant skirt.  I only used three fat quarters to make it.   My little girl just adores it.  I let her try it on and now she won't take it off.

It's supposed to go down to the local fabric store though.  I'll be teaching a class on sewing this fat quarter skirt on the third Saturday of March.  If you love the ruffle bag and the fat quarter ruffle bag, I'll be teaching a class on those in February.    If you live near me and want to take a class, drop me a note and I'll give you a phone number for the store.

The Easiest Bag You've Ever Made

This bag takes three pattern pieces and about 30 minutes of your time.  That's it.   It's easy enough a beginner can make it.   It may look a bit boring, but it's perfect as a library book bag or a grocery tote.   It's self lining so it's heavy duty and super easy.  Next week I'm going to show you how to add some details to this pattern.   It's going to get some interior pockets (of course) and some fun on the outside of the bag as well.  

 Start with one large square of fabric.  Mine measures 31"x31".  That's my bag.  The handles are 3.5"x26".   Feel free to make your handles longer.   This pattern works with any size bag, so go ahead and make yours smaller or larger if you wish. 

 Fold the fabric square in half and sew the three sides.  Leave a 4" gap on the long side to turn the bag.  Keep that gap near one end or the other, not in the middle.

 Now we're going to box the corners.   Fold your corners so the seams meet in the middle.   Measure 4" across and draw a line with a pencil. 

 Sew over your pencil line.

 Turn your bag right side out.   Now you have a big ol' rectangle with funny corners. 

 Take it and stuff one half down into the other half.  Make sure to match the base in the seam and corners. 

 See the inside of the bag?  You'll notice that my opening I used to turn the bag is on the inside.   It just makes it nicer if my hand sewing is a bit imperfect. 

Sew that gap closed by hand.  Press the bag.  You want a good crisp edge at the top.  You can press the sides and create a nice crisp line from base to top as well. 

For the handles, fold them in half lengthwise and sew the side seam.  Turn the handles and press flat.   Turn in the raw edges on the ends of the handles by about 1/4".   Position at the top and sew down.  Mine are spaced two inches in from the corners or about 4" from the side seam. 

That's it.  30 minutes to a basic bag.  It's ready for the grocery store or the library.

Never Throw Out Leftover Whipped Cream

It's a crime.  It's such lovely, perfect little clouds of goodness it doesn't deserve to slide quietly into that goodnight of your kitchen sink or sink away without protest in the trash can. 

You're correct that it doesn't keep.   However, you can turn it into some very lovely butter.  Just add a little salt and whip it with the wire whip on your stand mixer until the liquid separates from the solids and the solids turn a pale yellow.   Spoon the butter out of the bowl onto a paper towel and squeeze.   Place in a zippered baggie or other airtight container and refrigerate.   You can use your sweetened butter anytime you would normally use honey butter.   Yes, it does have sugar in it but that little bit of sweetness really is perfect on bagels, muffins, corn bread, etc.

In other news, my husband bought me a real ironing board last night so no more ugly beach towels under my sewing projects.  I've been using a towel on the counter for two years now because we were always going to finish the laundry room "in just a few months."  My hang on the wall ironing board would get hung back up in there and I wouldn't need a clunky traditional board.  Why buy an ironing board when I have one already?  Just because I can't exactly use it doesn't mean it's not there.  Yeah, I'm a cheapskate.   Anyway, my sweetie got tired of me complaining and just bought me one anyway.   Aren't you glad you'll never have to see that ugly purple/blue towel again?   I'm sure my family wishes they could say the same.  Too bad their mother is a cheapskate and won't throw out a towel until it has holes in it.

Dress up your cheesecake

With Valentine's Day coming up, you're probably thinking about romantic food.   What?  That's just me?

Oh.  Well, anyway, I'm here to confess that I'm not particularly fond of cake.   It's not bad and I'll eat it sometimes when it's offered.   I would always prefer cookies, pie, or cheesecake instead.   There is nothing that can compare to a well made New York style cheesecake.   So creamy.  So rich.   So perfectly balanced in flavor and texture.  I have a favorite recipe that costs an arm and a leg to make but it's so worth it.   It's the cheesecake in my favorite cookbook, of course.  (Last page of the "cake" section.)  It's great, but sometimes it's nice to dress it up a little bit.


Method one:    Make your favorite cheese cake recipe and just before you put it in the oven drop fruit jam by the tablespoon randomly on the batter.  Swirl it in with a knife.  For Valentines day you can use a red jam like raspberry and drop the jam in a circle around the pan.  Run the knife in a circle around the pan passing through the center of each jam drop.   You should get a pretty circle of hearts running around your cheesecake.   Or you can just swirl the knife lots and really get that jam swirled into the cheesecake.   My favorite jam to use is huckleberry.   It really makes the cheesecake special.

Method two:   ATK recommends using ganache to make a chocolate swirl.  That works beautifully.   What is even better is adding chocolate ganache and caramel swirls.  Choose a thick caramel sauce that can stand up to the long baking.  You can also add a thin layer of caramel on top of the crust before you add the cheesecake batter.  Sprinkle some pecans on top after baking and use finely chopped ones in your crust and you've got a Turtle Cheesecake.   Sprinkle roasted peanuts on top with a chopped up candy bar and you've got a Candy Bar Cheesecake.

Method Three:   Stir in 3/4c of miniature chocolate chips, a few drops of green food coloring, and a little bit of mint extract.  Use a chocolate cookie crust.   Grasshopper Cheesecake.

Method four:  Stir in a little lemon extract and lemon zest in the batter and bake as usual.   Spread with 1 1/2 cups lemon curd.  Either make it from scratch or warm it up before spreading it on the cheesecake.  Chill until the lemon curd sets.   You get an amazing Lemon Cheesecake.    You could do the same thing with orange extract, zest, and curd as well.

Method five:  stir 1.5 oz melted, unsweetened chocolate and 3/4 c cocoa powder  into the cheesecake batter.   Use a chocolate cookie crust and sprinkle chopped high quality semi-sweet chocolate over the crust, then pour in the batter.    Swirl in a white chocolate ganache.   Decorate with chocolate curls just before serving.   A chocolate cheesecake that will make you a legend.

Sure a New York cheesecake with a strawberry sauce topping is a classic, but isn't it nice to have a little fun with your food?

From Pattern To Purse: Phase Two, Creating the Pattern

(Not the bag I'm describing here, but I thought it would be nice to have something pretty to start the post.)

Here's the bag I'm making a pattern for:

 Before you start it would be helpful to pull out your sketch and graph paper drafts of your purse design.  Keep them with you to refer back to often as you create the pattern.

Last week we left off with a list of all the pattern pieces I would need to make my slouch bag.  As a refresher, I'm going to be making these pieces:

For the slouch bag we need:
2 large rectangles for the outside
1 oval base
2 straps for the sides (measuring longer so we can attach the D rings)
1 center strap finished measurement about 7 1/2"
1 center strap that will wrap from the bottom back of the bag all the way around to the front
1 handle, 20-24"  (gotta ask the girl what she wants)
3 D rings
1 clip or metal closure of some kind

For the lining:
2 large rectangles
2 zipper pouch pieces
1 pocket piece
1 12" zipper

You need to evaluate your graph paper sketches the same way.To figure dimensions we'll add 1/2" to each side for seam allowance.  Most clothing patterns have 5/8" seam allowances but I like 1/2" on the bag patterns I make because I like lazy math.   With a seam allowance all the way around the rectangle of my bag will be 1" longer and 1" wider than the finished measurement, or 16"x13".   I can draw out a rectangle on my pattern fabric for that.   Then I mark how many of what fabrics I need to cut with that piece.   Usually you need a front and back out of your outside fabric, 2 lining pieces, and 2 interfacing pieces.   Write all that down on the new pattern piece itself just like a commercial pattern has those things listed on the pattern.  When you write it down, you don't forget what needs to be done so you don't have to redo your work.

The accent straps up the side are easy to figure because they go the full height of the bag, or 15".   I'll need 1/2" at the bottom for seam allowance and I want an 1" at the top to sew the D ring in.   All together that means the strap will be 2 1/2"x16 1/2".   Does your bag have accent pieces like this?  Stop and figure out how much fabric you need for them.  If you are sewing in D rings, you can always have the piece be a little longer than you think you need, just in case.   If you are sewing patch pockets on the front, you will probably only want a 1/4" seam allowance around three sides and 1/2" to an 1" at the top edge.   Pockets sewn into the seams will need the same seam allowance you've added everywhere else.   If you've sewn a bag that's similar to the one you're making now, look at that pattern for pattern ideas.   How did that pattern work?  What pieces did it use and did it work for you?

For the strips that go around the middle of the bag, I'll need to slightly more complicated math.  Just slightly, though.   The strip on the front will have 1/2" seam at the bottom and add another 1" to sew in the swivel clip assembly.  Since I want it to reach half way up the front of the bag, that means the finished measurement is 7.5".  So the pattern piece is 2 1/2"x 9".  (finished measurement+bottom seam allowance+top seam allowance.)

For the wrap around strip, I want it to have it start at the bottom of the back side.  It will reach all the way up the back (15") and then wrap around the front to attach to the clip (7.5").  I'll need 1.5" for the seam allowance. The clip is 3" (including D ring).  I want the strap about 3" shorter than it would need to be to reach around.  So the math is 15+7.5+1.5-3-3=18.   Now, the strap will be seen from both sides, so I'll want two pieces sewn together for this one.

Here's those four pieces all drafted out.  Notice I've got my quilt cutting mat underneath my pattern fabric.  The grid shows through quite well and keeps my corners square and my lines straight.  I do use my quilt ruler to draw the lines so I can measure as a mark and be sure I'm getting perfectly straight lines.  

For my bottom piece, I want an oval.  I like the softness the round shape will give to the bag and it will be easy to sew on this bag that has no separate side pieces.  To start I'm going to draw a guide for the oval shape.  It will mark the widest and longest points of the oval.  For this bag I want a finished measurement of 4"x11".  This will make the bottom actually smaller than the width of the bag.  This will soften the lines of the bottom of the bag.   It will also make drawing the oval easier because I'm gathering fabric into it.  I don't have to worry about making the bottom the same circumference as the bottom of the bag.   The guide will measure 5"x12" to allow for seams.

Next, I will sketch in the curve on one quarter of the guide.  I just lightly work with my pencil until I get a curve that satisfies me.  I'll need to be careful to get the ends nicely rounded so the oval doesn't resemble a football.  When I'm happy with it, I darken the line I like best so it stands out from the rest.

Next I mountain fold my pattern fabric.  (origami term.  Fold the wrong sides together here so the pencil marks are on the outside not the inside of the fold.)  Then I trace the line.

Mountain fold the fabric in half the other way and trace the half oval.

Open it up and I should have a full oval on the front of my pattern fabric.

Now mark on your bottom piece what fabric needs to be cut with this pattern piece.  For the bottom we need one from the lining, one from the fabric, and one interfacing.

There's a lot of calculation in pattern making.  You need to know how much fabric it takes to do what you want.  Use your rulers and tape measures to get a feel for size and shape.  Work with the numbers and if you need to, cut a sample piece out of cheap fabric to see if it will do what you want it to do.  Adjust your pattern as needed to make everything work.  It's always best to start with something simple, like a rectangular bag, so you can get a handle on the basics before you jump into the more complicated stuff, like curves and gathering.

For the lining I already know I'm going to have two pieces the same size as the outside of the bag and that is marked on the pattern piece.  Now I need to calculate and cut my pocket pieces.   I want pockets on one side of the lining and I want it to reach halfway up the bag so the finished measurement is 12"x7.5".   Add in the seam allowance and that makes the piece 13"x8.5.    For the center pocket I want it to be the same width as the bag and reach about halfway up, so I'm going to cut it the same size as my side pockets, 13x8.5.

I've decided on a 24" handle that will be 1.5" wide (for now.  I can change my mind on this at any time.  The handle will be sewn last.)  I like two piece handles rather than one piece that's folded in half.  I also use 1/4" seams on my handles because I'm too lazy to trim seam allowances. That means I'll want two long rectangles measuring 25"x2".

Just so you know, most of the time when I'm making a purse pattern I do not make all the pattern pieces.  I make the ones that curve or are more complicated, but the basic rectangles just get listed in my directions for the bag so I know what to cut.  Since I use my quilt cutting tools, I really don't need the pattern pieces.   You can do this as well, but be sure to fully document exactly what pieces you need and what size they should be.  You can mark this in a set of directions that you keep with the other pattern pieces.  I'm drawing out most of my rectangles partly because there are so many of them and partly to demonstrate the process of creating the pattern. 

I've shown you how I go about creating a pattern.  Some patterns will have lots of pieces, some will have very few.  It's all in the design of the bag.  Don't be afraid to look at other patterns to get a feel for how the pieces are shaped and how the bag is constructed.   If you've got an old bag you don't mind destroying, cut it apart so you can see what the pieces look like flat.  Look for construction details that tell you how the bag was put together and why the pieces are shaped the way they are.   Next time you are out shopping, take a detour into the bag section.  Inspect the bags.  Flatten them out.  Count the pieces that were used to make it.  See if you can figure out how they added a particular detail you like.  Look for accents and shapes that appeal to you that you can put into your bags. 

Have fun with this.   Don't stress over the pattern because next week we will get to tweak and perfect as we make the mock up bag.   Have a good week and see you next Friday for part three.   (Or you can show back up all week to read my other posts.  It's ok.  I love visitors.)

Think Bigger: Handmade Especially For You

I don't know about you, but for me a scarf can be just like a security blanket.  I've got a thing for blankets anyway.  Scarfs are soft and comfy and warm.  At a time when you need some extra love a scarf can do that for you.  Especially if the scarf was a gift who just wanted you to know that others were thinking of you and felt that you were worthwhile. 

That's why I love today's charity:  Handmade Especially For You, a charity that gives handmade scarves to abused women in shelters.  These women have taken the first courageous step they have taken in a long time.  They managed to face their fear and decide that they do deserve to live and to be loved.  They have walked away from a bad situation and they just need a little extra care, a little extra love.   A scarf can be their security blanket reminding them that someone out there does think they are worthwhile and beautiful.   You can be that someone.

Donation particulars are on their website along with scarf patterns.  They do say they have yarn and just need crafters to knit or crochet it into scarves.  If you have time but not extra materials, this may be the perfect charity for you to get involved with.