My frustration started in the cutting phase. There is no layout for cutting pieces so you really have to be careful that you get your fabric going in the right direction!
I added a long strap to the bag because I know that with a baby and a toddler I will not have a free hand to actually hold a bag! I probably shouldn't have even put the small handles on there, but I had already cut them before I thought of the long strap so I added them.
The interior is a laminate for easy cleanup. I was drawn to this bag because of all the elastic pockets inside. They should be really helpful. The laminate was pretty easy to work with. I used my walking foot for most of it which really helped ease the fabric through the machine.
So why do I say I *think* it's finished? Take a closer look.
GROAN...
I think that is the worst stitching I've ever done on anything!! The problem? That divider. If I were to do it again, I would make the divider shorter. The divider has Peltex in it so it is nice and firm. But for some reason mine seems to be taller than the bag! I'm not sure if you can tell in these photos.
When you put the lining into the exterior you are supposed to edge stitch around the top of the bag and over the divider. Since the divider was taller than the bag, this wasn't possible. And I was stitching from the inside of the bag (since that was the only way I could get it to fit in my machine) I couldn't see how wonky my stitching was.
Then you are to stitch an inch from that to secure it. Because of that giant solid divider, it's really hard to navigate this thing in the machine. I went as slow and carefully as I could and I still got this crappy wobbly stitching. argh!
Here's the other side which is just as bad.
So I haven't decided yet what to do with this. I might pull it and hand stitch it? Though I worry about that being strong enough. I may just decide to live with it. I'm open to any suggestions you might have!
And since I just recently finished the Weekender Bag, a couple people were asking how this one compared. I'm going to say this was right up there with it. This was labeled difficulty of 4, I would probably rank Weekender as 4.5! All the dividers and pockets made it a bit of a challenge.
I'm linking this to Sew Modern Monday.
22 comments:
Wonky stitching aside, it looks pretty great! (Maybe there's some kind of embellishment you could add to the sides to disguise it, so that you don't feel the need to unpick/try to handsew?)
I agree! It looks great! I have made a few bags with top stitching that made me cringe looking at it, but once I started using the bag, I never noticed them. I love the fabric! Great job!
I am about to attempt the Weekender bag. Wish me luck!
I think maybe adding some kind of decorative stitch might help your bag, but I think it really looks fab! I love your fabric choices for your bag, and I think you'll absolutely forget about the wonky stitching after using your bag a few times :)
Congratulations on undertaking ANOTHER Amy Butler bag! You are one tough cookie and it is beautiful. If your stitching bothers you, maybe, as others have said, add something around the edge. Maybe some rick rack or ribbon. I like the longer handles too-smart idea.
Done is better than perfect - and I like the idea of some kind of embellishing to hide the stitching! I love the way the bag looks though and hope I get to see it in person!!
Oh man! This is the kind of thing that always seems to happen to me when I attempt a bag! But you know, I doubt it will be noticeable from more than a few inches away, and other than that I think it looks amazing. That print was just made for bags! So I don't have any good suggestions, but I love it anyway. : )
AB patterns are very proessional looking, and look awesome, and are the biggest PITA to make lol My mum has the Blossom bag that I made (and where I also had some wobbles on the top stitching at the top edge with the dividers in there) and when I handed it over I swore I wouldn't make another one like it because it was so freaking awkward to make! Apparently my granny really liked the look of it when mum went to visit, but she told her that this was a very definite one of a kind lol
Still, the average person will not be getting anywhere near close enough to see those stitches, and those that do had better appreciate all the hard work that went into it, and understand that sometimes these things happen!
This is why I can't sew for other people, other than gifts, because the tolerance of error and feeling like it has to be perfect if I am making an item on commission. I agree with the other comments that you will probably never notice it once you start using it :) its super cute.
What a beautiful bag! I would probably take out the topstitching and try again. Did you topstitch with your walking foot? I find that helps. And I don't have an open arm on my machine, so I usually flip the bag inside out and that way I'm still topstitching on the rightside. It's a great bag, and I love all the extra pockets and divider in it.
I think that would be hidden quite easily with some ribbon. Grosgrain in a nice dark red would look awesome. Well done on the bag otherwise, I am quite impressed with the elastic pockets.
oh amy butler strikes again! i think it looks great, very professional. i totally understand reading and reading and re-reading. i feel your pain. but seriously becky, it looks great, and no one is going to look that closely at it. one idea i just had though, if you used a darker color of thread i bet you wouldn't see it at all.
I usually don't care for handmade bags, but this one is really cool! I love the divider and all the pockets. I also think that using a laminated fabric for the inside is kind of genius.
Meh, I say roll with it. :) It is such a fab bag, I really wouldn't worry about redoing the stitching. a finish is a finish, right? In all seriousness, it's wonderful. That LouLouThi print is great! Thanks for linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday and have a great week!
I've never really made a bag before and I do like Amy's patterns but I've been a bit petrified to try them. Have you tried any of her other ones that might be a bit...easier? =)
I had the EXACT same problem with the divider and my finishing stitches around the darn thing too! I ripped them out so many times. My solution: I hand stitched instead of machine stitched (which was difficult too). But I think it looks great and you can totally live with those wonky stitches!
It looks fab. I honestly wouldn't change a thing. Life's too short and it's going to be covered in bunny cracker crumbs soon enough....:)
The bag looks great!!! I love the print you used and the size looks perfect!!
If you're really bothered by the top stitch, maybe you can try to fuse some ribbon or ric-rac or different accent fabric over it.
it's a beautiful bag! and that's exactly why i've refused to ever do an amy butler pattern!
i'm super anal, so i know that it would bug me, but if you can ignore it, leave it! it really won't be noticable. i do think a deep red trim of some sort would be pretty though.
What a beautiful bag Becky! Congrats on finishing it! My suggestion/opinion...leave the stitching the way it is, and maybe add two fabulous buttons on the side as decoration and hand sew on the buttons right on the bottom of the handle, so it won't be too thick to sew, but will cover that little bit of wonky stitching! I think that would just make the bag! But that is my opinion!
Despite how I feel about AB bag patterns I think you did a great job. And now I know never to tackle that pattern!!!
I know exactly how you feel about AB patterns! I think that because the divider is tall enough to interfere with your stitches you probably won't be able to get a clean machine-sewn finish, so if you did take it apart :( hand sewing may be the way to go. If you made this bag again, you wouldn't even have an issue because you would be able to shorten the pattern piece for the divider and thus fix the topstitch issue (kind of frustrating, huh?). I really like the idea of adding some kind of embellishment (like Marci's buttons!) to cover any wonkiness if it really gets to you, but regardless it's a beautiful finish and you now have a really lovely bag!
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