More adventures in Sewingland

On a previous episode, you've seen me going into more complicated toy sewing projects. Today I'll show you I can sew some useful things too. Yep. Things that can actually serve a purpose and that don't end up on Ant's desk (although he takes them himself. That kid...).
Anyway, it all started with two instigating factors: the fact that I'm broke, and Whip Up's roundup of some cool bags' tutorials. How does A connect with B? It's simple.
It sucks being broke and unemployed (temporarily, I know, no worries) and most of all - in desperate need to craft (any creation of stuff is better than none at all). Especially - to sew. What does a poor crafter do? Looking at stuff she can potentially cannibalize. Like an old and falling apart pair of American Eagle jeans. Remember that piece of c*** I was trying to patch up a billion times? Well, it's a goner. It was unfixable for a very long time, and I never had the hear to toss it (because the dryer in our laundry room doesn't really dry, and who knows what might happen), until I got really desperate and took my sewing scissors to its seams. And what can you make with small patches of uber light denim (I had to cut a lot around the holes)? Pouches!
May I recommend this tutorial? It's excellent! The hedgehog is this little guy. It didn't transfer very clearly (I tried stamping it on with white ink), and I ran out of the embroidery thread by the end (you know, I think I might have inherited it from my mom sometime in my early teens), but it came out nice. I like it a lot.
The back side has a red felt heart on it (see? I learned blanket stitch! Yeepee!), just because. You may recognize the lining fabric from this drool inducing store. The zipper used to be designated to a scrap knitting project. Use what you have, right?
To fix next time? Mark the finished size and shape on the fabric before I begin sewing. Make the size of the lining slightly smaller than the outside. Sew the lining in a few places to the outside so the lining won't be floppy (I tried using interfacing, but it didn't work as well as expected).
Bottom line - fun! I'm contemplating goccoing some fun print on some more denim and making some pouches to sell or swap. What do you think?

And then...


I really broke down fabric-wise. I recently discovered another fabric store in the 'hood, so I went there to get some half yards of some solid colors. But when I got there, I was overly tempted by the huge piles of discount fabric ($2-3/yard, I mean - hello!) and finally got some materials for some bags, and potentially some skirts too. The denim with red lining will be the knot-top triangular bag and the stripy one (love it!) with white lining will be assigned to one of two other patterns. Or maybe both. I'm also going to make a denim A-skirt and potentially (ssh! Don't jinx it!) my favorite skirt from the stripy one too. We shall see. The white/gray fabric and the fruity one are chippies for lining and toy sewing. Honestly, I spent more than I planned to, or can afford, for that matter. But I got enormous yardage, more than I would have if I got the Amy Butlers or Denyse Schmidts I was craving. And yes, I'm super psyched. Can't you tell from the excessive use of (parenthesis)?