Today they are visiting friends, having borrowed my car and my wet weather gear, so I'm able to sit quietly, catching up with blogland, and of course I can now share the creativity that I had to be so secret about before Christmas.
My youngest son's girlfriend wanted a knitting bag - bright modern colours were requested, and at my son's request, it had to be BIG, because he said "She has so much knitting stuff! and it's all over the house!" "What's wrong with that? I thought, but prudently said nothing!
I knew just the fabric I was going to use. It is from the
Dan Bennett Wild Garden Collection by Westminster Fabrics . I bought quite a few fabrics from this collection for a quilt a couple of years ago, never got round to making it and then decided that it was too busy for the quilt I originally had it mind, so it has been sitting at the back of a storage unit for quite a while.
I chose the Cosmo bag pattern from Amy Butler's Style Stitches
I hadn't made this particular bag before , but it looked very suitable as a knitting bag, and was certainly big enough, so for a few days I totally ignored the dismal weather outside and immersed myself in bright Wild Garden colour.
Day1: Fabric cut out and fusible lining ironed onto all the pieces (this always takes far longer than I expect)
Day2: Pleats sewn on outside pieces
Solid red bands attached
Handles sewn on
Sides sewn to front and back
It's beginning to look like a bag! A big bag!!
Day 3: Repeat all yesterday's process, but on the lining
I adapted the lining a little. In Amy's pattern there are inside pockets, front and back. Both are the full width of the bag, but are sewn down the centre to create two separate pockets. The front pocket I made as directed in the book. The second pocket I wanted Laura to be able to use to store patterns, and these might be computer print outs or magazines, so the pocket needed to be slightly bigger.
I left it as one single pocket, but I added a metal stud fastener so that it wouldn't gape open each time she put her knitting away. It will be interesting to see if this adaptation works well for her or not.
Day 4: Put the lining and the outer together. Attach a covered button. Stand back and admire!
I was very pleased with the bag. If I was making it again I might make it a tiny bit smaller. I would also think about giving the second pocket a zip closure rather than stud fastener.....perhaps,,,,. I'm not really sure on this one.
This was the first pattern I used from the Style Stitches book. All went well, and in general the instructions were clear and easy to follow. However, I have made bags before and was familiar with the procedures. This pattern was categorised as "easy", which it was if you've made bags before. There are a few diagrams, but the instructions would be so, so much easier for a novice to follow if there were more diagrams, or even better, photos. A picture tells a thousand words, so the adage goes, and it would certainly be true in this case. Most people, I'm sure, would pay a little more for a book, for the extra clarity that the diagrams or photos would give.
