Finished: Huntington Hobo Bag

Here's a recent finish - it's a Huntington Hobo bag pattern from Pink Sand Beach Designs.

The fabrics were purchased at The Cozy Quilt Shoppe earlier this year. Don't these colors make you want to smile? The batik print is beautiful. The brown sections are cotton fabric, a brown Moda Marbles print that looks a little bit like suede. This was my first successful installation of a welt pocket-style zipper.

Here's a peek inside at the pockets - I made them slightly wider than the pattern directions and made 4 sections. The narrow sections can hold pens or lipstick and the side sections should be wide enough to hold a cell phone. I added one of my SewAmazin labels, too.

This is a 'card holder' pocket, something new I'm trying out. The pattern/instructions for this add-on was shared by a member of the Lazy Girl Designs Yahoo group a few weeks ago. It's intended to hold onto frequent buyer/membership cards for easy access, not credit cards or anything important. I was lucky to find ribbon that coordinated with the colors of the bag almost perfectly. Not shown are a pair of ribbon loops near the side seams with a D-ring on one and a split ring on the other loop for securing keys.

This is the first pattern I've made from Pink Sand Beach Designs; most of the bags I've made have been Lazy Girls.

The instructions for the Huntington Hobo were easy to follow, though the photos were a little small. The order of assembly made sense and all the details look 'finished'. I especially liked the method for attaching the shoulder strap - it fit perfectly. I did have a little problem with bulk when I was trying to topstitch along the top zipper because of the fusible batting on the cover, so if I made this bag again, I'd probably trim the top edge of the batting slightly before fusing.

UPDATE: Added a beaded zipper pull to the top zipper:

*****

I've got another Pink Sand Beach bag in progress already - the Manhattan Handbag. It's coming together very nicely and I'm planning a few modifications to the pattern to add an inside pocket and a few other details.

Insulated Water Bottle Carriers

We've been using filtered tap water and various types of refillable bottles instead of bottled water for a couple of years now. Whenever I'm out on errands, on a long drive in the car or taking the Pesties for a walk, I fill up my bottle and take it with me to sip throughout the day. It's worked well for me, but there are a couple of things that bothered me - first, the condensation from the cold bottles left puddles in the car or wet spots in my bag and second, the water would get too warm to drink if I decided to leave it in the car for any amount of time.

The solution? An insulated bottle carrier. My first thought was to buy something to wrap around my bottle to absorb the condensation and keep my water cold; I wasn't thrilled with the commercially available wraps so decided to make my own.

I remembered seeing Embroidery Library's Insulated Water Bottle Carrier project instructions and used them as a jumping off point. A quick search of Flickr photos led me to Pink Chalk Studio's tutorial for a quilted bottle carrier. Finally, Husqvarna Viking's free monthly project for August 2010, Hot Flowers, Cool Water featured instructions for yet another version of a carrier. The common features for all is the use of Insul-Brite batting to keep the contents of the bottle cool and a strap for carrying the bottle.

In July I made my own carrier, loosely following the Embroidery Library instructions. I consider this my 'prototype'; it's not perfect, but it allowed me to work out how to assemble the rest more efficiently and to evaluate the overall size and usefulness of the carrier and the length/positioning of the straps.

Since part of the reason for carrying a reusable bottle is to be frugal, I wanted to use supplies from my stash to construct the carrier. My letter D is from a Curlz alphabet appliqué design from Embroidery Boutique, made with a scrap of Mets fabric (too small to use for anything else) stitched on a remnant piece of denim. The lining is white rip-stop nylon and the straps are black nylon webbing. The swivel clasps and D-rings were in my stash already. The only supplies I had to buy for this first carrier were the drawstring cording and a cord stop.

I was pleasantly surprised when I put the carrier to its first test - my water was cool and drinkable after 3 hours in the car and no more puddles and wet spots!

Around the same time I was wondering what I could give for all the summer birthdays this year while sticking to my limited budget. And then it hit me - stainless steel bottles and personalized insulated carriers!

All of the insulated bottle carriers are lined on the inside with white rip-stop nylon and Insul-brite batting, but the outer cover and hardware options are each slightly different. I've made detachable adjustable straps for each one so the bottle can be carried over the shoulder or around the waist; without the strap, the bottles can be attached to a backpack or other type of bag. And though my hope is that the recipients will use the stainless steel water bottles instead of plastic, the size of the carrier will accommodate purchased water, juice or soda bottles and cans, too.

First in line was Lauren's birthday gift:

The letter L is another Curlz alphabet appliqué design from Embroidery Boutique, embroidered on purple nylon from my remnant collection. I bought the lavender nylon webbing and plastic swivel clasps, strap adjusters and D-rings from JoAnn Fabrics and joann.com. I adjusted the height of the carrier in this version to equal the height of the stainless steel bottle.

Then there was Dad's birthday:

The flag embroidery design is from Embroidery Library; I added the lettering with my 4D software. This carrier is made of blue nylon fabric, another remnant from my collection. I changed the orientation of the straps slightly on this one, so it would hang straight with the shoulder strap attached. One side has a D-ring and the other side has a swivel clip on a slightly longer bit of webbing so it can be looped around a belt or through a belt loop.

Then there was Emily's birthday:

The Psychedelic chic was a freebie design (I don't remember where it came from) and I added the flowers with 4D software. The pink nylon webbing and purple cord were from the stash/collection. In this version and in Richie D's below, I lengthened the attachments for the strap connections and stitched them so that the adjustable shoulder strap could be threaded through and around the bottle for an alternative method of carrying the bottle.

Richie D's birthday:

The Mets baseball is an appliqué design that I've used several times; the baseball was originally purchased from Embroidery.com, I resized it and added the lettering using 4D software. The photo above, right shows the alternate threading of the adjustable strap. I also changed the way this one was put together by joining the top of the outer cover and lining while flat. This allowed me to sew a nice straight topstitch along the top edge before sewing the back seams.

This one is for carrying water to the Bark Park for the Pesties:

The embroidery is a Paisley Scottie design from Embroidery Library; the aqua cording is recycled. The 'scottie' dog is embroidered in a RA thread color called "Penny", just for my own amusement.

Most recently, this one was for Mom's birthday, an appliqué star design (can't remember where I got this one):

Once again, I tweaked the attachment webbing to add an extra D-ring on one side (for attaching keys or whatever) and extended the webbing on the other side as handle to slide a hand through while drinking.

I think I need another carrier for me, since my prototype doesn't have all my latest improvements on the original design.

I realize that using all this nylon fabric isn't entirely eco-friendly; cotton would be a better choice, since it would eventually degrade faster in a landfill when the useful life of these carriers is over. However, I already have most of it in my stash, purchased as remnants over the years, it is washable and will last a long time. And in the interim, hopefully, lots of plastic bottles will be kept out of landfills. That's a trade-off I can live with.

Not too long ago I found a bunch of colorful stainless steel bottles at a clearance price -- Christmas is coming and we'll need inexpensive gifts for the rest of the nieces and nephews, so there will probably be more insulated carriers on the to do list this holiday season ...

You can see more photos in my Insulated Water Bottle Carriers set on Flickr.

McCall's 5857: Shorts

In my Summer Update, I mentioned I was working on a few pairs of shorts back in July. We'd had a hot streak of days in the 90's and I had only one pair of ready-to-wear shorts that fit me well enough to wear in public. In desperation, I went shopping, trying to find something cool to wear, even if I had to make alterations. No luck.

Butterick 5036

Two summers ago I tried Butterick 5036 a couple of times, but couldn't get the fit right and the side seam pockets made my hips look even bigger. That's around the time I decided I needed to take a class to help me figure out how to make pants that fit me. I wasn't even sure I'd identified the problems correctly at this point.

I did manage to install a mock fly zipper somewhat successfully, but the straight waistband gaped at the back and the shorts were baggy in the front and the back which led me to believe I needed to work on the crotch length and depth.

Simplicity 4366

So, in early 2009, I took my first class at PatternReview.com called "Build Better Pants" with instructor Shannon Gifford and used Simplicity 4366 for the class exercises. The class didn't specifically address fitting issues, but it was chock full of great sewing tips and techniques for inserting zippers and sewing pockets and all the other little details that make a garment look professionally made.

Following along in class I made a wearable muslin in khaki twill of the capri-length pants (view E), but since that view didn't include pockets, I also made view C in a brown linen-like blend fabric. They both turned out rather well, though I never did take any photos; I do hope to make this pattern again, so will try to remember to take pictures then.

When the class was over, I was resolved to take the Pants Muslin class the next time it was offered to try to fine tune my fitting issues. Last fall, I took Shannon's Skirt Muslin class (a pre-requisite for the Pants Muslin class), and discovered that a contour waistband was really the best fit for my shape. It was as if a light bulb went on in my head and I realized I could replace a straight waistband with a contoured band from a pattern I knew fit me. (Sadly, Shannon lost her fight with cancer earlier this year, so I won't be able to take her pants muslin class .... but if another instructor offers a class on that subject at PatternReview.com , I'll be signing up.)

Fast-forward to this summer - and I'm desperate for shorts. Since there's less fabric invested with shorts than with pants, I'm willing to try again. This time around, I used the waistband from Simplicity 4366 that I know fits me. I started with the same khaki twill for the first pair - and they were just a bit baggy. Next I made a few adjustments and used white denim that's been aging in my stash since I made my jacket and they're just about perfect! They look good in the photos and feel good walking, but I feel like I need just a tad more ease when I sit down. The third pair (view F) are not pictured here, they were made from a stretch twill and still need some adjusting. Momentum was on my side!

Shorts Fronts:

McCall's 5857 Shorts in Khaki Twill

McCall's 5857 Shorts in white denim

Around that time, I had a little accident while walking the Pesties -- I tripped and landed face first on the sidewalk, so had to take a break from sewing and everything else for a few weeks while my (minor) injuries healed. I finally have gotten back to my shorts marathon and started the 4th pair in a stretch denim. A few new fitting issues have popped up that I'm working on now, so expect an update when I do get them finished. Plus I have plans for at least 2 more in other colors and fabrics.

Here's my review on PatternReview.com:

McCall's 5857

Pattern Description:

Misses' Shorts in four lengths; all views have mock front fly, slanted side seam pockets, back darts, waistband and carriers; views B, D have turned up cuffs; view F has side slits. Upper edge of waistband is at waistline for all views.

Pattern Sizing:

Misses 4-20

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Yes - I made view D, but omitted the cuffs and adjusted the pattern to achieve the same length. Also omitted the belt loop/carriers since I rarely wear a belt.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yes, but I used them as a guideline more than a precise set of instructions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I decided to buy this pattern after reading a number of favorable reviews recommending it as a good fit for 'pear shapes'. They were right! My waist is proportionally smaller than my hips and I always have to make adjustments to patterns and alter RTW.

Likes: They fit and feel comfortable! I like that the waistband is at the natural waist.

Dislike: Can't think of anything.

Fabric Used:

I've made 3 shorts so far and am in the middle of the 4th pair now First pair was a khaki/tan cotton twill, second pair - white denim, third - stretch twill and 4th are stretch denim. I'm not sure if it's the stretch fabric or my skills, but the shorts in regular (non-stretch) fabrics seem to fit and drape better. I bought them all at JoAnn Fabrics, so could just be the fabric content ...

For the pocket lining piece, instead of the heavier twill or denim, I used a lightweight cotton, cut from one of my husband's old dress shirts.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

In addition to leaving off the cuffs and belt loop/carriers, I switched out the straight waistband included in the pattern for a contoured waistband that fits me better.

The first pair (khaki twill) I graded from size 16 at waist to 18 at hips. The fit was nice but the legs felt a little bit roomy, so on the second pair (white denim) I used size 16 throughout, but ended up using 3/8" seams in some places. These were just the tiniest bit snug in the crotch, so I'm still tweaking the fit.

I didn't use hook and eye closures; I made a buttonhole and used buttons from my stash. On the white denim, I used a jeans button.

In 2009, I took the Build Better Pants class by Shannon Gifford - I referred to the class notes while sewing and tried to incorporated some of the techniques from that class into the finishing of my shorts. Added interfacing to the slanted seam on the pockets and to the zipper facing. Also, added a fly guard to the zipper area. Used my serger to overlock all the raw edges of my fabric before sewing to have nice clean finished seams throughout.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Yes, absolutely! I've got at least two more I'd like to try and I'm so close to having the fit feel and look perfect.

Conclusion:

I've tried making shorts patterns in the past with mixed results; they fit but weren't flattering and didn't feel right. My skills have improved since then but I think having a well-proportioned pattern to begin with has helped. And this is a great basic pattern. I'd really like to try experimenting with changing the pockets - the angle of the slant or curved like jeans - and maybe adding some embroidery or embellishment.

One last note - I'm still planning to work on my Bark Park Carry-all for National Sewing Month, but it will probably be later in the month.  Among other things, I'm planning to resume painting my kitchen this month.

Sweet Liberty "Backdoor Quilt"

In my Summer Update post, I failed to mention this mini-quilt, a kit purchased from The Cozy Quilt Shop sometime last year. The pattern for this wall hanging is from Cottage Creek Quilts' "Backdoor Quilt Series"; its the third design from this series that I have worked on. Almost two years ago, I shared my version of the Winter Blessings and Be Thankful designs.

I worked on this just before July 4th and finished it just in time to display for Independence Day.

This was a kit and although I used some of the fabrics included in it, I just had to substitute for the rest of them. First off, I'm not a fan of yellow sunflowers, so mine are purple coneflowers, just like those in my garden. Other than the background white fabric and parts of the American flag, I replaced almost all the fabrics used for the appliques with fabric from my stash. Most of the 'scrappy' sections were kit fabrics.

Similar to other applique projects I've worked on, I used Steam-a-Seam Lite to fuse the shapes to the background fabric, then machine sewed a blanket stitch around the raw edges.

The lettering for Sweet Liberty is machine embroidered - I used 4D Embroidery Design Creator to digitize the lettering using a double running stitch. Missing from this photo is a star-shaped button that I plan to add later to dot the 'i' in Liberty.

When it came time for quilting, I stitched in the ditch along the horizontal seams of the background fabric and scrappy borders, stitching through all the layers. Then I used my machine's dual feed foot and attempted to echo quilt around the various shapes. I didn't plan ahead where I was going, so this ended up being somewhat free-styled and meandered a tiny bit. Last, the stars on the watering can are stitched through all layers to add more quilting and as a design addition. The quilting is a little easier to see in this photo:

There are more photos of this project in my Quilted Banner & Mini's Flickr Set