elizabeth_mn

My bag is finished!!



I really like it!

( Lots more photos! )

I weighed it on my postal scale; it's just over 2 pounds.  Not bad, considering it's made of heavy canvas and tons of interfacings. I was worried it would be really heavy.

The pattern is Amy Butler Weekender Travel Bag.  There are six pages of pattern updates for older printings of the pattern, although if you buy the pattern now, you probably won't need them.  I used Amy Butler fabrics from Treadle Yard Goods, and I found the template plastic at Jo-Ann. My awesome zipper is from Custom Zips.

I ended up trimming my bottom panels to about 18".  The pattern gives 20" for the bottom panel measurement, but when I cut them to 18", they fit. I don't know why.  I cut the Peltex for the bottom panel 16 3/4".  The false bottom now fits pretty snugly, but I think it makes sense that way.  Although if I had made the false bottom last, I might have made it just 1/2" shorter.

I really want to make this again at some point.  I am envisioning it in grey herringbone with bright orange piping.

I found what I think might be a couple errors in the weekender bag pattern.

First, the materials list specifies ONE sheet of 12" x 18" template plastic (which I had to make four stops to find; the two local quilting stores have both closed in the past couple years, and the first two Jo-Anns I visited were closing and everything was sold out, then I tried Blick, and finally just drove to a farther away Jo-Ann) but then direct you to cut TWO 7" x 16.5" pieces. Which doesn't add up!

However, I think this is corrected in the update from the website, because it says to cut just one piece from the template plastic.

I'm glad I bought two sheets though; it was such a pain to get that I figured I might want some in the future and didn't want to have to drive far away again to get it. Instead I jsut cut into both pieces to get two 7" x 16.5". Now my false bottom is almost done (just need to slipstitch the open end).

The second thing is the bottom panel. I was about to attach the top/side/bottom unit to the main panel, but I saw that there was about 1" extra in the bottom piece. It did seem odd to me that the bag bottom was so much bigger than the false bottom insert, but I figured there must be a reason. Now I think maybe the bag bottom is just a little too big. I re-checked my measurements about 6 times in both the original and the updated directions and my panel is the size directed.

I still have to sew it together, but I think I will leave a side/bottom seam open when I attach the main panel so I can trim off any excess if needed. I am glad the bottom panel is just a rectangle.

I got my zipper in the mail yesterday and I feel the need to re-post the link to the zipper company.

I got it from Custom Zips, which is almost the only place I could find a 30" zipper, and certainly the only place I could find so many styles and colors in that length.  Nobody in my area sells them retail, and I couldn't find any on the web, either.

The pattern doesn't specify zipper style, just length. I chose a heavyweight plastic one (this is a seriously durable-looking zipper!), 'luggage' style; it is closed at both ends and has two pulls. I sent them a fabric swatch and ended up with a color that, while not a perfect match, coordinates well.

They don't show the colors on thier website, and they don't accept internet orders. But even sending through the mail, with a check, it arrived pretty quickly. I mailed my order on a Friday afternoon, and the zipper arrived 10 days later, on a Monday. 

I had a "duh" moment.  I finished sewing the bag straps and I was thinking about the interfacing problem, when I realized I could just tear it out, remove the extraneous lightweight layer, and hand-baste the Peltex back in.

Simple and obvious!

Clearly, I do not do enough hand sewing, or this would have jumped into my mind sooner.  I suppose I forget that there are other ways to make modern things besides with the machine.  And I forget also that the machine is not best for every task.

I ripped the interfacings out yesteday, discarded the lightweight one, and began hand-basting.  When that's done, I'll trim away any more excess Peltex from the seam allowances.  I'll leave the basting in until I can topstitch it down permanently - I'll have to check the directions for assembly again, but I imagine maybe after the piping is put in?

Next time I am going back to my old way.  Still, it's nice to try a new technique, even if it doesn't work.

I cut out my Weekender Bag last week. That was kind of a process since there are a few pieces that only have measurements given, so I made paper templates for them to make cutting a little easier. Plus there are just a lot of pieces, for a bag. And two different interfacings. It was hard keeping track, but then again, I did cut it out while sitting and talking with baby.

Anyway, here's about where I'm at now:



The dots are the lining and piping; the little tree/flower things are the outer.

On Friday I was about to order my zipper. It calls for a 30" and the Treadle employees gave me an order form from customzips.com. They only do mail order, though, no internet orders, so I went to Amy Butler's website to see if they had a source listed for a 30" zipper. I didn't find one, but instead I found SIX PAGES of updates for the bag. Eek! I saved the file but didn't print it because F was sleeping.

Yesterday I covered all the piping cord with the bias strips, then I remembered the extra instructions. I printed them out and saw that the update called for a fusible interfacing, which I didn't have. I am generally wary of fusibles.

The point of the fusible is to attach the super-heavy Peltex to the bag fabric without having the bulk of the Peltex in the seams. You cut off the seam allowance from the Peltex entirely, then sandwich it between the bag fabric and a lightweight fusible (cut to full pattern size). That way, you are never sewing through the Peltex, except when you topstitch later. I had to read this a couple times before it made sense, but then I remembered reading a very similar technique in a Kennith King article about tailoring smooth lapels.

The update called for a woven fusible. I was worried about shrinkage. I went back to Treadle and none of my favorite knowledgable employees were there, so I talked with someone else; she wasn't really sure what I needed but was helpful anyway. I ended up with a lightweight non-woven fusible.

Or so I thought. I pre-washed it in a sink of warm water and let it drip dry (Power Sewing's directions). But as it dried, I kept checking it, and I couldn't see any fusible dots anywhere on it. I was so sure I bought fusible, and that lukewarm water could not have washed it all away! But I tested a scrap this morning, and it did not fuse at all. So either I grabbed the wrong bolt or it was mis-labeled.

But I think sew-in will work fine, in fact, I will probably prefer it. I'll just cut off the Peltex seam allowances as directed, then stitch it to the interfacing close to the cut edge, and treat them as a single piece of sew-in interfacing when I attach it to the bag fabric.

I'm excited to actually get sewing on this!