Showing posts with label bags. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bags. Show all posts

Thursday, 20 May 2021

Wasn't sure...

 There is something very methodical about bag making, I am not sure if I like it but I needed a new rucksack style handbag. My Eden Coat is made out of this waterproof fabric so my current handbag keeps sliding off my shoulder which in turn is making my shoulder ache as I assume a 'hunchback-of-Notre-Dame' position to hold it on. 

The fabric was expensive so I was keen to use up the leftovers, no surprises there. The pattern is called the Riley Rucksack which was a free pattern with a sewing magazine that someone passed on to me. I plundered all of the notions from my stash apart from the two zips which I bought. 


When it was finished I was a bit, meh! thinking I had spent a lot of time making a floppy rucksack. Once it had my usual items in it however, it was much more weighed down.


It is a fab size for all my gubbins including space for a bottle of water.


There are internal pockets for my phone and my notebook. The inside seams are not the neatest because I was losing confidence towards the end that I wouldn't like it so I overlocked the inside with white thread because I couldn't be bothered to change it to green - wish I had now!


The instructions for the straps were confusing, I think I missed putting it all together in the right order somewhere along the line because I made it with a big break between starting it and finishing it. I fell back therefore on my bra making knowledge and made the straps like bra straps! Worked a treat. I don't know where the buckles came from but I hacked the pins off them with a pair of pliers to re-purpose as two sliders.


Ta dah! wasn't sure about it half way through but I sure as hell was not going to have a half made bag in my fabric cupboard. 
Glad I finished it because now I love it. 

Got anything that needs finishing off?
Jo xxxx

Wednesday, 27 November 2019

All Done #26 - Drops Nepal

This is a long lingering sort of All done post. A love hate relationship developed around this yarn. A cosy blend of wool and alpaca; I absolutely love it to knit with, wear, wash and buy economically but the pattern made me start to hate it.



I fell in love with the Beatnik sweater pattern on Ravelry but was unable to concentrate on the intricate cable pattern with so many family interruptions. "Mum can we have a snack?, Mum can we just... Mum can you help me with .... Mum can you sign this.... Mum can you play that...Mum what is a double treble..." It was an endless round of 3 rows forward, 6 rows back. I started it in March 2018. I started it 5 times. Then I passed it on to my dear mother to try and have a go for me. We decided to make the front cabled and then simply chose to knit the rest in stocking stitch. I didn't want to burden my mum in the same way it had been so problematic for me.


Anyway many months passed and Mum arrived with my sweater a few weeks ago on 30th October 2019 and I have not had it off my back since.



It has those celebratory features of being just right in the hip length and perfect in the sleeve length. Thank you so much mum xxxxx




The wool that was left over made a hat...




A knitting bag, incorporating Drops Karisma...



And over this last week I used the last 4 and half balls to make a cosy jumper for a friend's little boy. It was a free new pattern for me but a delight to whip up. It is made from the bottom up in the round. I added a bit of detail along the bottom. I watched a video for a very stretchy neck bind off which was brilliant - highly recommended this for a child's neck hole. 




This wool has all gone but do you know what? I love it so much I have bought a few more balls to make some Christmas hats. That is what using up all of your stash is great for; having some guilt free yarn shopping time.

Thanks for dropping in as ever. Jo xxxx

Sunday, 3 November 2019

Diverse Diversions

None of my most recent projects have been planned in any way, they have just morphed out of the yarn basket in the shadow of not being capable of making a sweater that I really want to make for myself. They have all been very pleasant diversions while the sweater is not working out.



This project is just something I have fancied for ages, not a priority and I could live my life without it but I really love it. It is a knitted bag from Interweave Favorites Accessories with a touch of embroidery.



The pattern is for 4ply but I had some Drops Nepal and Drops Karisma left over from two of my own lovely sweaters and you may already know that I like to use up yarn I already own. With this alteration, I have made myself more of a carpet bag than a cutesie handbag! Full length knitting needles fit easily along the bottom length.



Doing colour work stops me becoming too much of a knitting bodger which I can sometimes get lured into, hence the problems with the sweater I think. The colour of the stitches immediately tells me to stop and go back to sort out the problem if it turns out to be the wrong colour stitch or of course the revealing pattern shows that something has gone wrong too. I like this.



The bag is worked in the round. Because it is lined, I just knotted off the colour ends and left them well alone. 





The bag is washed on a hot machine cycle to gain a light felted texture before it is lined. However, I have learnt something useful here. I washed this bag on 40 degrees with a 1200 spin and it didn't felt at all. This means I can now wash both of my jumpers in the machine which I have not been brave enough to do. 



I didn't bother with the gazillion french knots - I didn't think two nights of sewing french knots would enhance my life or my knitting bag experience. I am happy with it as it is.



I wonder how many more crafting diversions I can make. A colorful scarf, two bras, and a carpet bag are all very diverse diversions.



Thanks for dropping by. Jo xxx

Friday, 24 August 2018

Make a School Satchel

This is an epic make; a project of crafting proportions which I really enjoyed. I wanted to make a bag for my Big Girl who is going to Secondary School in September. 


 The pattern is called the Barcelona Bag from SusieDDesigns on Etsy but you could download any satchel style bag from the internet. The cutting out alone took a whole afternoon. It was advised to label all the pieces so I DID!


The fabric is grey denim with a combination of cotton fabric from the Camelot Fabrics Drops Coraline Quilting Fabric collection. I used one metre of denim and two fat quarters of each patterned fabric. I had a lot of denim left over, more on that later. Other specific haberdashery was required: thread, belt rings, interfacing, needlework plastic canvas and fusible fleece. I already had a nice recycled satchel strap.



I took my time with this make. It has been made in little stages since June. The pattern is in small steps which I crossed off as I went along ensuring that it was made properly.



Bag making is good for my instruction following skills. A successful bag is made in the right order, no going off piste or making it up as you go along. 



There were lots of little details: pockets inside and out, top stitching on the strap, strap ring and fusible fleece padding. The plastic in the base really gave it strength.



A new school bag satchel for my big girl, starting big school. 



I thought it would be too small but A4 books fit into it easily.



The denim gives it strength and the strap is comfortable.



The fusible fleece really adds to the professional finish on the pocket front and adds strength to the whole bag.

Internal pockets have little hiding places to stop things getting lost. She really likes it and her house colours are navy and light blue - I didn't even know that when I picked out the fabric. To top it off Bloke said, "did you make that bag or buy it?" Perfect!

Thanks Minerva for some top quality supplies.

Jo xxx

Friday, 27 May 2016

The Weekender Crochet Bag

This month my Minerva make is a a spot of crochet with all the trimmings using a King Cole Merino Blend Aran. It is a stunner.



I have selected Merino Blend Aran in three colours, a new hook 4.5 (I didn't have 4.5??) and a handbag strap. I bought the book, Boho Crochet a while ago and coveted the weekender bag in it on several levels. It was useful, it was big, it was stylish but not twee and it was crochet colour work which I had never done before. I LUUUURVE learning new things.



First things first, I made the bottom from grey rather than cream - who wants the bottom of a bag to be cream, I wondered?. 



I chained 67 and then dc along 66 sts until the ball of wool ran out for about 20 rows. That was the base. Next I dc all the way around for 168 sts. 66 + 66 + 18 + 18. This is the bit of the pattern I made up myself because I changed the depth of the bag.



Obviously I am not going to reproduce the pattern here (it is not mine and the book is fantastic) but basically you can keep going until you have a bag. Use stripes, patterns, use up any aran weight stash - whatever you want.



I chose cream, grey and pistachio but I think cream and grey would go with any other colour. The yarn comes in 25 shades. It is sturdy and perfect for bag making and homewares. My friend has used it for garments too and says it is good because it is super wash.

1767 Clerical 776 Aran 1769 Rust     1767 Clerical 776 Aran 855 Mustard   
1767 Clerical 776 Aran 769 Navy     1767 Clerical 776 Aran 768 Lawn Green   
1767 Clerical 776 Aran 777 Claret     1767 Clerical 776 Aran 1539 Pale Blue

Now, I made a bit of a shopping error here and didn't read properly that the yarn was in 50g balls so I asked for half the amount I needed for this project by accident. I bought the rest and it would have worked out to be quite an expensive bag 9 x £2.99 but you could also use Hayfield Aran 100g balls 4 x £2.79 as an affordable substitute because after all, a bag does not need to be a Merino wool blend even though it is lovely.



You need 200g cream, 100g Pistashio and 100g of grey. 

The inside of mine is lined because I wanted pockets for tickets, phone and purse etc. This is from Minerva too and is a perfect match at a great price and comes in other colourways too.



Anywayyyy, enough stats. I just really, really like it. I will definitely make another one, maybe smaller, in random stripes when my yarn stash starts to build up again. This pattern was a bit of a stitch counter. I had to make lots of corrections because the diamonds are not diamonds which the graph pattern suggests, they are tilted rectangles which kind of confused me a bit. But hey, I really like the end result.




It is going straight to good use on a little trip to the coast next week. Thanks Minerva for some fine yarn to make a mighty fine holiday bag.

Enjoy your weekend what ever you are up to. Jo xxx