Modern Sewing / Project Bag

Our Modern Sewing Meet Ups have been a little inconsistent since being displaced when Satin Moon changed hands (and location). Since then we've been bouncing around without a permanent home until now. Sunday was our first meeting in our new space and it was so great to be able to sit and sew with good friends for the better part of the day.

My goal for the day was to make a small drawstring project bag for my Purse Knitting. I've been using a plastic Ziploc which doesn't stand a chance against pointy needles and is already riddled with punctures which my needles of course fall out of... it's a scenerio that needed to be remedied.

I based my bag loosely on these two tutorials: Photo Tutorial by Yarnmonster & Video Tutorial by Knitting Blooms. I didn't bring any notes with me and couldn't remember what size to make the bag but figured that I could probably figure that out on my own. Well... my bag ended up being way too big, it was about the size of the Knitting Blooms bag which was not my intention. I wanted a small and skinny bag that would fit in one corner of my purse. I went home a little frustrated that I had nothing to show for my sewing day.

But I wasn't ready to admit defeat and when I got home, instead of putting my machine away I set it up and started making a template (like she does in the video) for a smaller bag. This was beyond easy to do and made the whole process so much easier. I went with a 5 x 5 inch square for the base and decided to make my bag about 11 inches high (when finished). The second it was finished I transferred my Georgia Socks to my new project bag and was so pleased that it was the perfect dimensions and fit in my Sugar + Candy bag perfectly.

Feeling pretty proud of myself I decided to drag out my project from our last meet up. I attempted to make this dress but failed miserably on my first attempt (are you seeing a pattern here?) and stayed up into the wee hours that night to make the dress again. At least dress #2 fit me this time but things went horribly wrong with the finishing because I didn't have my mentor beside me. I balled it up and shoved it in my fabric stash and didn't pull it out until yesterday after my successful project bag was complete. I ripped out my hideous finishing touches from last time and tried to copy a few things I had seen Shannon do. Well? It's finished. It's not perfect but it's totally wearable so I'm satisfied :) 2 wins in one day!