Lazy Girl Becca Bags

A couple of weeks ago, I saw that Deepika had posted about the Becca Bag on Pattern Review.  I decided to order the pattern just because I wanted to learn the zipper technique!  I'm glad I did and it was worth the $10 for the pattern.  It was f un to make the bag, so I decided to make them for the ladies in my bible study and a couple of other friends.  I've made quite a few so far and I think I'll be making more.

My first thought when seeing this type of bag is "cosmetics" or travel items.  Well, This little bag stands up all on her own, so that makes it perfect for the sewing room too.  I think I need to make one for my crochet bag to keep scissors, stitch markers, ruler, etc.  I can see lots of uses for these bags.



The outside of this bag on the left is made of linen, and the lining is left over quilting cotton from a dress I made a couple of summers ago.







The instructions were very good and I got the zipper technique right on the first try.  The biggest problem I had with these bags is that I kept forgetting to sew in the tab before sewing the side seams. I think I did that on at least 3 of the bags!  Then I had to rip out the side seam, insert the tab, and re-sew and overcast the seam.  Even with my mistakes, it only took me 3 days to make all of these bags.

The Becca Bag is not a pattern per say.  It is a clearly written set of instructions with pictures for each step.  The instructions are given for 2 different sizes.  The larger bag uses a 22" zipper and the smaller bag uses a 14" zipper.  You only use 1/2 of the zipper plus a small piece of the other half.
This set is for my friend Sylvia who loves all things Americana




This music bag, I made for my voice teacher.  She is in her eighties and definitely the "old Hollywood" type.  She has also been an and agent for some famous peeps.  Anyway, I lined hers with a coat lining and it makes it a little more "luxurious".


As you can see, this pattern is easy to create in different fabrics to fit different personalities



I have made a few other Lazy Girl designs and they're always fun with different techniques.  I definitely see more of these in my future!

Let the Sewing Begin

If you read my last post, you know I am making a wedding dress for my daughter.  I finally got her measurements and decided to start with a size 6.  I know it will be too small, but as it is, it may be too big in the shoulders.  We will have the first fitting this weekend.

I'm so thankful that I took Kenneth King's busier class on Pattern Review and Gertie's craftsy class (sadly, no longer available) on Craftsy.  I know what I need to do even if it is not stated in the pattern.  This pattern does not call for boning, but I may add it anyway.  I will probably use rigeline boning.

The first thing I did was to trace all the pattern pieces onto muslin with tracing paper.  A couple of years ago I purchased several large sheets from Richard the Thread.  I love this stuff.  I cut the pieces apart, leaving extra wide seam allowances.  Of course, the only lines on the pattern are cutting lines, so I drew in the seam lines on the pattern pieces.

The next step is to thread trace the pattern pieces.  Yes, its a little time consuming, but it is relaxing sewing and easy.  It also makes putting the pattern pieces together much easier and much more accurate.  

So I did all of that yesterday.  Today, I assembled the bodice.  First you assemble the center front to side front, side back, and center back pieces.  That's 7 pieces right there!  Then there is the yoke piece that goes from the front to the back.  I don't have a picture of that one yet.  There is also a neck band, but I will not be using that at this stage.  All I want to do right now is get the fit of the shoulders, bust and waist.  I also need to make sure the BW length is right.  We won't have a fitting until Saturday, so I'm really tempted to do some selfish sewing in between.  However, I am also making the flower girl dress, so I guess that will be my next muslin.

All in all, I don't think this dress will be difficult, although the neckband instructions were not making sense to me.  Probably one of those things that when you are doing it, it actually becomes clear!

Wedding Bells - and Dresses!

Now that Christmas is over and things have settled down, it is time to get back on my blog.  I haven't been sewing much lately because a lot has been going on - which I won't get into now.  The good news is that my daughter is getting married!  We are thrilled and love her fiance.  The wedding is in March and we've decided that I am going to make the wedding dress.  I will be logging my progress here as I go along.  I also will be making the flower girl dress as well.

Believe it or not, we were able to find all the fabrics she wanted at JoAnns!  I would have rather used silk, but she liked what we found and that's all that matters.  The even better news is that all of the casa collection fabrics were 40% off, and I also had several 50% off coupons, so even though I still have to buy lace, zippers, and buttons, I think we will be able to do the whole dress for under $200.  (actually, both dresses)  So, I can't complain about that!

I think my daughter is actually a little worried about me making the dress.  She is afraid she will not like it, it won't fit right, I will get too stressed out, she will get too stressed out, I won't get finished in time, etc.!

Here is what we are planning.  We are doing the bodice from Simplicity 8289 and the skirt from McCalls 6893.

I just love the back of this dress.  We are making the bodice out of matte satin with the lace over it.  The lace for the upper back and upper front are lined with silk organza.  The waist band will be satin and the skirt will be a drapey stretch matte satin with a chiffon overlay.

Today I got all of her measurements, so I can start cutting out the muslin tomorrow..

My granddaughters flower girl dress will basically be the same thing using Butterick 6445.

The dress in the picture is short, but hers will be long and use the same fabrics as her mother's.  DD is planning a bohemian style wedding, which is perfect for her own style.