Bag Making Era

Hello!👋

Hope you have been keeping well!

My pile of scrap fabric has gone down a little this week! 🥳

This week I have been concentrating on bag and pouch making.

Back when I first started sewing, I made a few pouches and it blew my mind then how it came together. 😂

Of course as time passed and I gained more knowledge, they are the easiest and, most of the time, quickest projects to make and get excited over.

I have been trying different shapes and measurements because I want to use it for a workshop I am running on the 3rd of November.

I have been experimenting, not only with bag shapes, but also with quilting! 😀

For the longest time now, I have been wanting to have a go at quilting.

I love the way it looks, especially on pouches and jackets!

Last week, I showed you a couple of panels I quilted for a pouch where the scraps of fabric were randomly sewn in place.

That pouch is now finished and Miss C has claimed the pouch for herself whenever I am ready to release it to her. 😂

I made another pouch and this time I cut strips of fabric 1.25 inch wide and sewed them together using the sew and flip method.

I think I cut the strips too small! 😂

I had them all laid out covering the whole panel and as I started sewing them together, they started disappearing! So much so, that I was going to need to cut at least another 5 more strips. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Instead, I just added a solid colour to the rest of the panel and called it done!

It is not the nicest thing I have put together, but as I am experimenting with shapes, it’s a learning curve.

Not sure if you can actually tell, but I was trying to pick and sew the colours together in the order of the rainbow. 

As for the pouch itself, I do love how much I can see into it when it is open!

I also started another project…

I had a go at quilting just one panel of fabric, instead of lots of scraps and I really LOOOOVE the look of this one I made.

Something exciting is hopefully going to be born from this one, but I don’t want to reveal anything just yet as there is still a LOT of work to do on it! 🤫

One last pouch I made this week, a toiletry bag.

This is probably going to be one of the projects for the upcoming workshop I am running in June. I am aiming the workshop at beginner sewists or those who are a little new to the bag making process.

I am still going to play around with the dimensions a little more and add a few more features to it.

I didn’t feel I would have a lot to say about my sewing this week, but quite a lot went on in my sewing room.

It is my youngest 3rd birthday just around the corner, and also my partner’s birthday the day after her and I haven’t decided on what to make for any of them.

It has become a little tradition of mine to make my kids a new dress for every birthday, but this has actually only happened for my eldest daughter. The younger one has yet to have anything mommy made specifically for her day.

I am feeling a little guilty about it, but I may just use one of the dresses I previously made for my eldest and just go with it. 👗

Actually, earlier this week, my youngest, Miss Z, wore a princess dress I made for Miss C’s 3rd birthday. She wore it to go and pick up her big sister at school. 😂

I am sure she will love wearing this dress again and I will probably, or hopefully, make us all something matching for Christmas this year.

My birthday is also coming up in November and I have been saying for years that I am making myself a birthday dress… and it is yet to happen.

Two years ago I even bought fabric specifically for it. 🙃

I will pull the fabric from somewhere in my stash this week and pop it in next week's newsletter.

Let’s see later on if this is the year I make myself a birthday outfit.

This weekend also saw our monthly Sew&Bond event take place and it was, as always, very lovely to spend the afternoon with everybody.

Projects that were being worked on were dresses, Halloween outfits and a large quilt that has been in the making for about a year already!

If you would like to join our next sewing social, please check below for future dates and details by clicking on the links. 🙂

And we seem to be on the home stretch on the Jasmine Sweater by Rita Made This! 🥳

I am busy knitting sleeve number 2 and I just have the ribbing left to do!

Then I will move onto the neck ribbing and she will be done! 😀

Of course, there will also be some loose ends to weave in, which is a little more boring to do, but I feel like you may see me wearing it next week.

😎Confidence Corner:

“What you have to give, the world needs.” - Aditi Shah

This is a reminder that we all have something unique to offer others.

No matter how small or unimportant your skills or talents might feel, they can make a difference to someone else.

In a world where it's easy to compare ourselves to others, this quote inspires us to recognise our own strengths and share them with others!

Whether it’s your kindness, creativity, skills or knowledge, you might just have exactly what someone else is looking for!

By sharing your experiences, what you know or creating something new, you are helping and inspiring others.

Trust in what you have to offer, because there are people out there waiting for you to share it.

🧵Today's Sewing Tip:

Why and How to Find the Grainline on Printed Fabric

The grainline on fabric plays a significant part in constructing your projects, especially in garments.

It influences the fabric’s behaviour, fit, and drape. Making sure your patterns align with the grain will minimise distortion and make sure you have consistent stretch.

If your fabric is cut off-grain, it can lead to twisted or misshapen garments.

Observing grainlines is also important if you are working with directional fabric, so fabric that has a print such as stripes, flowers and people.

The straight grain, which is what I am showing you today, can be found lengthways on your fabric. So think of pulling fabric off a roll towards you, that is the direction of the straight grain.

This week, I cut out a bodice from floral fabric and I want to show you how I used the print repetition to align my pattern onto the grainline.

Depending on the size of the print, it can sometimes be difficult to see where the repetition is, but the print I was working with was easy to spot.

How to Find the Grainline on Printed Fabric

First, find where the grainline is specified on your pattern piece.

It is normally indicated by an arrow on every pattern piece.

Second, I like to fold my paper pattern piece right where the arrow is.

Lastly, I find where the repetition lies and align my folded edge to it.

Once that is aligned, I open up the pattern piece and lay some weights on top to hold the paper pattern in place while I cut it out with my rotary cutter.

⭐My Favourite Things This Week:

• Experimenting with bag making and more quilting.
• Good progress on my Jasmine Sweater - nearly being finished with it!
• My Sew&Bond sewing social - we welcomed a couple of new faces this week! 😀

🗓️Upcoming Plans

• Continue working on the Jasmine Sweater knit.
• Possibly continue with the red and cream Bi-Colour Snuggle Sweater started a couple of weeks ago - depends on progress made with the Jasmine Sweater.
• Continue experimenting with pouches and quilting.
• My partner’s jacket - we have finally decided on a new pattern, so this will start sometime soon. 🤞

🎉Upcoming Events

26th of October 2024 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester, 10:15h - 15:45h
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND010
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond010/

3rd of November - New Workshop ALERT! Stay tuned for more 💖
UPDATE TIME - 10:45h - 16:15h

23rd of November 2024 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester, 11:45h - 17:15h
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND011
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond011/

14th of December 2024 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester, 11:45h - 17:15h
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND012
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond012/

Question of the Week:

Have you ever sewn a bag before? How did it go?

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Thank you so much for reading it! And if you enjoyed it, please tell a friend about it to allow me to reach more people. 🥰

Bye for now,
B! xx