Pouches and Wallets

On of the reasons that I have not posted very much recently is that I had to get a new laptop.  I somehow managed to bend/break a connection inside where the power cable goes, so charging it up has beed very iffy.  I now have a lovely MacBook Air, and what a nightmare I have had with photos.  I used to use Picasa as it did the two or three things that I want from a photo editing programme - straighten, resize, and make collages.  I then uploaded these photos into my blog and all was good.

Unfortunately the MacBook does not play nice with Picasa - it duplicates photos, and I have no idea how to consistently upload them.  Grrr.  Oh well, I think I have it sorted now, but it is not at all intuitive . . . . . any top tips from other MacBook users would be appreciated! 

Now back to the normal programming . . . . .  Recently I have had quite a blast making pouches, wallets and handbags, so let me share with you!

First up are a couple of wallets and I bought the pattern from Etsy, here.

It is a quick and easy pattern, and very effective. The first one I made is the one on the top, made out of two Amy Butler FQ's. I used co-ordinating plastic snaps (Babyville from Fabricland) and I was slightly off centre with the print . . . . meh.  Can't get excited about that! 

The second one is made out of 2 FQ's by 3 Sisters for Moda and is called Atelier. I LOVE this fabric - and bought it from Hamel's at the recent Creative Stitches show. 

There are three pockets in the wallet - perfect for a few coins and/or cards. They are quite small, about 4.5" x 3.5" x 1.5", and are a quick and fun make. I think that would be perfect 'card holders' for gift cards this Christmas . . . . . just saying!

Next up was a Clobird Fiona folding wallet that currently resides in my handbag!  I got the pattern from Craftsy, and this is also made out of some Amy Butler FQ's.  The design is very clever, and uses some thick stabilizer that is added after stitching - it makes for a much easier sew, and looks very professional - well, I think so!!!

I am making another one for the mother of one of my work colleagues, it will be in black and red . . . . I wish I could use patterned fabric but I really don't want to argue with an elderly Scottish lady!  

And then I made another Swoon pattern - this time it was the Coraline - a fun little clutch, fully lined with a recessed zip:

I've not tried recessed zips before, and this was on a curve as well, so it was good to learn a new technique - I certainly need to practice more though, the zip was a little wavy!

Finally, I also have some dressmaking fabric on the table waiting to be cut out.  I see a Tina Givens 'Patricia' skirt in my near future, I've kind of lost my sewing clothing mojo, so making these cute wallets works out nicely for me!

What have you been sewing?  Is your Autumn sewing coming along well?

Well Helloooooooo Ethel!

Aren't you a lovely little thing?

I have recently taken a slight detour from dressmaking and made some lovely bags, wallets and pouches . . . . and this is the lovely Ethel.  This is a pattern by Swoon, and they have some most delicious ideas, my crystal ball tells me that there will be a number of these bags in my future!  The pattern is free - so if you fancy dipping your toes in the bag making world - you can't go too far wrong here!

The fabric is from Ikea is a decor weight, and I used the recommended 20” wide fusible woven interfacing (Pellon Shapeflex SF101) where required and fusible batting instead of foam as I'm not too sure where I can get the foam, here in Canada.

The interfacing provides a surprising amount of stability but it is not rigid at all.  The fusible batting is, of course, lovely.  There are two large pockets on the front - somewhat hidden in the photo above due to some nifty pattern matching, but you can see a bit here:

There are also two pockets inside as well - just perfect!  The straps are a great length for throwing the bag over my shoulder - my preferred mode of carrying!

I love this bag, and am planning the next version - hmm, what fabric to use next?

Have you made any bags?  What is your favourite shape?