Winter Sewing and Knitting Ideas!

It’s almost the Winter Solstice (the first day of winter) in the northern hemisphere, which means that fall is wrapping up and it’s time to think about winter sewing and knitting plans! I’m always thinking about sewing and knitting plans, and since I love to read about what other people are considering making, I thought I would share a snapshot of my ideas with you! There is no way I will ever make all of these ideas, so these are just ideas, not plans. I change my mind about what I want to make quite frequently until I have started on a particular project or batch of projects. So here are my thoughts at the current moment.

Sewing: Garments

I love sewing tops, and I have a few ideas of some that I would like to make. I have been wanting to make a Western-inspired shirt for a long time, so I bought out-of-print McCall’s 6262, which is a unisex Palmer/Pletsch pattern with lots of design options.

Since this pattern doesn’t have the option to make shaped shotgun cuffs, I also purchased Threads magazine, Issue 67 from October/November 1996 from Vintage Pattern Warehouse. It has an article by David Page Coffin, called “Updating the Cowboy Shirt” explaining, among other things, how to make these super cool cuffs. This one is going to take some real thought to figure out exactly how I want to make it up, but first I need to sew a muslin to check out the fit and practice a few techniques. I was hoping I would have enough of these two rayon fabrics in my stash for a muslin, but I don’t think I do, so I’ll have to look through the stash a bit more to see what else I’ve got. I should probably start by tracing my pattern pieces so I can hold them up to the various bits of fabric I have to see if they’ll work.

I don’t wear a lot of turtleneck shirts right now, but this year they are really appealing to me. I have a few Polartec fleece fabrics that might work to try out the free Yoko Square Roll-Neck Top pattern from Jalie. It looks so comfy! (Tessuti has a similar pattern called the Monroe Turtleneck if you want something slightly different.)

I really love a good Henley-style shirt in the winter. I made one previously by combining the Thread Theory Strathcona Henley and the Deer and Doe Plaintain Tee, but I have wanted to try one drafted for women, and Itch to Stitch has just the pattern, the Visby Henley. This is also a fun change because the Strathcona Henley has set-in sleeves and the Visby has raglan sleeves. I would love it if I could make one either from my wool knit scraps

or my Cotton + Steel knit scraps

but the wools are of various weights and amounts. The only one with significant yardage is the green, but it’s pretty thin. Maybe it would work better as a Yoko or Monroe Turtleneck. Hm… The Cotton + Steel knits I don’t love all together, although I like some of them in combination. This may be a project that I eventually buy fabric for and save the wool and cotton knits for something else.

On to sweatshirts! I have had Burda Style 6315, View A (the colorblocked view) on my list for awhile. I think I might have enough leftover Polartec Powerstretch to make it, but like the Western shirt, I really need to trace out my pattern pieces to see. I had originally planned on using light pink with the ivory and purple, but the scraps I have left of that are very small. Luckily, I have a bit more of this dark gray.

I bought some really, really soft Tencel sweatshirt knit from Pintuck & Purl in a sale, and have been looking for the perfect pattern to use it with. It’s light to midweight, and drapey. I think a Hey June Handmade Brunswick Pullover with the hemline shape from the Style Arc Josie Hoodie would be great with leggings this winter.

I love how you can put in a little burst of color in the Brunswick with the pocket on the arm and on the sides by the snaps. I have made both the Brunswick and the Josie and they are two of my favorite sweatshirts.

Leaving tops aside, I’m interested in trying out the Ullvi Slouchy Hat from The Last Stitch. I’ll have to modify things a bit since this is drafted to be a double layer hat, which would be great with a fleece that is brushed on both sides, but won’t be as good with the scraps I have since one side is smooth and the fabric is a bit thicker. I’ll probably cut it to be a single layer and either hem the bottom or bind it with foldover elastic. The double layer instructions would probably work on some of my thicker wool knits, though!

Sewing: Non-Clothing Items

It is one of my sewing goals to do a few projects using leather. I have done some small projects with leather and vinyl in the past, but I want to get in some more practice. My husband bought Leather Bags: 14 Stylish Designs to Sew for Any Occasion by Kasia Ehrhardt for me, and I have some leather scraps that someone gave me, so I would like to maybe start with one or two of the smaller and easier projects to get my feet wet.

I also still have this partial Hudson Bay Point Blanket that I got for free at a yard sale. Parts of it are very worn, but I have thought about making a bag with a leather bottom from the good portions, so I might use this book as a starting point, although if you have any pattern recommendations, please leave them in the comments! I don’t have experience making heavy-duty bags, so I need a pattern that will give me guidance on supplies and techniques.

I posted awhile ago about making some of the Twig + Tale Tropical Leaf Blankets, but I still haven’t made one for myself, and I really want a Monstera blanket, so I may make one for myself and a friend. Maybe I’ll even try one of the doll-size Fan Leaf blankets. While digging through my stash, I found this old wool blanket remnant someone gave me and this leftover twill from a bag I made, and I LOVE them together! I really don’t know if I have enough or how practical these fabrics are for what I want to do with the blanket, but I’m willing to piece them if I have to.

These blankets are so much fun to make, and now there is also a North American Leaf Blanket Collection that I really want to try!

Knitting

Although knitting hasn’t shown up a ton on the blog, I have done a lot of knitting this year. Sewing is definitely my biggest love, but I like having a knitting project going as well because it’s more portable than most of my sewing projects.

Right now, I have the Wool & Honey Sweater from Drea Renee Knits on my needles. I started this as part of a winter sweater make-along through Pintuck & Purl. I am a fairly slower knitter, so having a regular Zoom craft night was a good way to get started. Even though I didn’t finish in the allotted time, it got me going. Now I am partway down the body, and am hoping I have enough yarn for everything.

I really like this pattern, and the yarn, Shetland 2ply Jumper Weight by Jamieson & Smith, is beautiful. I think Shetland yarn is so cool. I have often questioned my sanity in choosing to knit a full sweater out of fingering-weight yarn on tiny, tiny needles, though. After this, I’ll be ready for some thicker yarn or just smaller fingering weight projects…

And that is why my Mom and I plan to have our own little knit-along and cast on the Sparks sock pattern at some point in the near future. This pattern is also by Drea Renee Knits. Knitting the Wool & Honey Sweater made me realize that knitting two socks in fingering weight was not a big deal. They are a lot smaller than a sweater, so I can definitely get them done! I’m hoping to use up some of the odds and ends in my group of sock yarns. I ordered some “Real Black” Cascade Heritage sock yarn from Wool & Co. to tie all the colors together.

And that’s it for now! Well, when I say that’s it, you should imagine a further mental list of projects a million miles long, but these are at the top of that list for now and are the most likely to be made this winter. Since I don’t want this blog post to be a million miles long, I’ll leave it at that. 🙂

However, I would LOVE to hear any creative winter projects you are planning. Do you have any sewing, knitting, or other craft projects you are thinking about? Feel free to share them in the comments. And Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate Christmas! I’ll be taking the next few weeks off, but I hope to see you here in January.

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Open Wide Zippered Pouches in Rifle Paper Co. Rosa

Today I have some cute little zippered pouches to share with you.  If you think you have seen something like this before on the blog, you’re right!  I made these as gifts back in 2017.  🙂

The Open Wide Zippered Pouch is a free tutorial from Anna Graham of the blog noodlehead.  It comes with options for three different sizes.  I chose to make two of the small size bags and reverse which fabrics were on the inside and outside, so I could have the best of all worlds with this pair of bags.  I got my fabric (Rifle Paper Co. Menagerie Rosa in Hunter and Violet Metallic quilting cotton) and zippers from Pintuck & Purl.  I used Fusible Featherweight interfacing from Pellon (because I had it on hand for garment-sewing) that I got from Joann Fabrics.

The small size bags start out as 10″ x 7″ rectangles of fabric, making the finished size slightly smaller.  These are great for holding pens and pencils or as travel bags to hold all your odds and ends.

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The tutorial itself is easy to follow and gives you a nice finished product where all the raw edges (including the zipper’s raw edges) are enclosed.  My stitching on the zipper tab got a little wobbly, but I didn’t feel like ripping it out to do again, so I decided it was good enough.

This is a great, useful scrap buster and is good for gifts, including gifts to yourself.  😉

Grainline Studio Portside Duffle

It’s finally time to post this project.  Here is the big takeaway for me:  I love this bag.  I did not love making this bag.

I made the Portside Duffle from Grainline Studio to take on a weekend retreat, and it was perfect for that.  I finished with time to spare, and it was so much fun to have handmade luggage to take along with me.  I really love how it turned out. (I also learned that both “duffle” and “duffel” are correct ways to spell this word, so I’ll go with “duffle” for this post.)

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I was inspired in my color choices by this excellent bag on the Skirt As Top blog.  Mine is a little different, but the influence is pretty clear.  Her version is great!

The process of making it presented a number of challenges, however.

Materials

The first challenge for me was my inexperience with bag-making.  I decided to only make the duffle, as I was under a deadline, but because I’ve made so few bags, I was really stuck on how to choose things like interfacing and my zipper.  You know how it is when you are just starting out–you really need things spelled out.  I know how to shorten a zipper on a pair of pants or a skirt, but what if you can’t find the exact zipper length for a bag?  And do you need a separating or non-separating zipper?  Does it even matter?

As it turned out, the length specified (21 inches) is very hard to find.  What I did find out is that when you run into this situation, you can buy a longer zipper and shorten it, and a separating zipper is just fine (I’m pretty sure you can use separating or non-separating).  This may seem obvious, but it was something I didn’t know and had to learn.  Luckily I had a longer zipper in my stash, so I was able to use that.

The other area that confused me was the interfacing.  I looked around online for ideas, but it was all so overwhelming!  I had no idea there were so many kinds of interfacing (and stabilizer!) or so many things you could do with the interfacing.  You can even combine interfacings!  Here is what I ended up using:  for the bottom, I bought 2/3 of a yard of 20″ wide Pellon Peltex 71F Single-Sided Fusible Ultra Firm Stabilizer.  (The bottom pattern piece of this bag is 21 5/8″ x 12 3/8″.) For the sides/top of the bag I used Pellon 809 Decor Bond (Firm Iron-on Backing with Extra Crispness).  My bottom fabric (the gold) was heavier than my top fabric (the off-white), so I used one layer of interfacing on both, but also added a layer of quilting-weight fabric to the top portion, like the way you might underline a garment.  I did not interface the striped pocket on the outside or my lining fabric.  I bought all my interfacing and stabilizer at JoAnn Fabrics.

In case you also struggle with the interfacing/stabilizer question, I found some helpful information in this article on sew4home.com:  “Top Interfacing Solutions For Bags and Totes:  Fabric Depot“, as well as this one from Sew Sweetness: “All About Bag Interfacing“.  Sew Sweetness had a lot of good information for bag-makers of all experience levels.

Cost-Saving Strategies

The other area that I struggled with was the overall cost of this project.  I tend to have a pretty limited budget, so cost is always a factor.  When I started to realize how much the pattern, fabric, and hardware could cost, I decided to get creative and see where I could save money.  Here is what I did.

I decided to make my own straps all with a width of 1.5″, rather than some at 1.25″ and some at 1.5″.  This would also allow me to use the 1.5″ D-rings I had in my stash rather than buying 1.25″ D-rings which I didn’t have (and which were harder to find).  There were two books that I found really helpful as I dug into the details of this project.  The first was On-the-Go-Bags by Lindsay Conner and Janelle MacKay, which helped me see that I actually could make my own straps (something I didn’t know as a newbie to bag-making).  The other book, which was the most helpful, was The Better Bag Maker by Nicole Mallalieu, which was filled with all sorts of helpful information.  If you sewed through this book, you would come out the other side with a lot of bag-making knowledge and skills.

I also realized that since I had so many D-rings (I have no idea why I have so many!), I could use those instead of the swivel bolt snaps/hooks the pattern called for, and join them with a carabiner since we had a few little carabiners in the house.  I didn’t end up making the leather zipper pulls.  I was kind of hoping I would find something in the jewelry section of the craft store to go with my lining, but I didn’t find anything I liked, so I skipped it.

The next thing to consider was fabric.  In case you are wondering, Fabric A on the pattern is your lower fabric and Fabric B is your upper fabric.

The off-white and striped fabrics came from my stash, and I ordered the gold bottom fabric from Fabric Mart when it was on sale (love that store!).  I think that 2/3 of a yard of 54″ or 57″ fabric for the bottom (Fabric A) would have been enough, although if you use a print, you may want more so that you can position it just how you want it.  The pattern calls for 1.25 yards of 54″ wide fabric.  This amount of fabric turned out to be helpful in making my straps, so I’m glad I had extra for that (I probably ordered 1.5 yards).

I also used a quilting cotton from my stash (with octopi!) for the lining, which saved me money.  I had been looking for just the right thing to use this fabric on and now I have both octopus pants and a bag with a surprise lining!  (This fabric, by Cotton + Steel, and my pattern came from Pintuck & Purl.)

Construction

I’m going to share some technical details in this section, so feel free to skip it if that isn’t helpful to you.

***One important note:  I think there may be an error on pattern piece #4 (the side, bottom piece).  I would think that where it says “strap placement”, it would line up with the strap on the piece above it, but as printed, it looks like that text is on the bottom of the piece…where no strap is supposed to go.  I decided to ignore the strap placement marking and assumed that was the bottom of the piece (so that the words are right side up as printed).

Also, you can skip the part in the directions about choosing your size.  This duffle only comes in one size.

In Steps 6 and 8, I used Steam-A-Seam 2, 1/4″ (double stick fusible tape) to hold things in place before sewing them down.  This wasn’t perfect because the bond was pretty light, but it was still helpful.

In Step 11, I used a zipper foot to sew the zipper in.

For Step 12, I found this blog post from Handmade By Carolyn very helpful.  She suggests leaving the last half-inch at the bottom of your sides and end panels unsewn to help with attaching the bottoms.  Press your seams toward the end panels after sewing.

In Step 13, sew the long sides first and then the short sides.

Before beginning Step 14, I think you should flip the bag so right sides are out (at least that is what I did).  The tip in the instructions about using your machine’s free arm is helpful here.  Even with that, though, this step is hard if you have heavy interfacing in the bag!  What worked for me was to sew a side, backstitch, cut the threads, and then move on to the next side.

For Step 16, as in Step 12, do not sew the bottom 1/2″ of each seam so it will be easier to attach to the bottom in the next step.

I did not do Step 18 as written.  Instead, I used Steam-A-Seam 2, 1/4″ to baste the lining to the zipper and used Wonder Clips to help hold it because the Steam-A-Seam isn’t very strong (something different would have been better, I think).  Then I basted outer fabric, zipper, and lining togewith my machine, with the lining up.  I just sort of tacked the ends because my machine didn’t love sewing over the zipper.  Then I sewed the long sides with a zipper foot and the bag’s outside facing up (in other words, I topstitched).  I tried to sew over the zipper ends, which was somewhat successful, so I also hand-tacked the lining to the zipper tape by the zipper ends.  Use a thimble for this!

In Step 19, I wasn’t able to fold the raw edges under, since the straps I had made were so thick.  I used Fray Check on both ends and then zigzagged over them before stitching them down as in the directions.  It’s not as professional as I would like, but it should work.

In Step 20, I think it should say “tops of the rings” rather than “top of the top ring” in the second sentence.

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At this point, I used more D-rings rather than swivel clips.  I attached the D-rings to each other with mini carabiners.

After Step 20, I tried to tack the lining to the bag by sewing two parallel lines across the width of the bag on the bottom and by sewing for an inch or two on top of one of my stitching lines on each strap.  The lining doesn’t look smooth inside, but at least it won’t billow out now.

I didn’t do Step 21, even though I think the leather zipper pulls are a nice touch.

Random Issue

One thing that happened that was unrelated to the pattern was that when I used my yellow Chaco Liner on the off-white part of my bag, it didn’t wash off afterward (I ran it through the washer and dryer).  I saw this once before when I was at a jeans workshop and someone used yellow Chaco Liner on white denim, and it also didn’t brush off.  Normally I don’t have any problems with the yellow, and it doesn’t bother me too much in this case, but it’s something to be aware of.  (You can faintly see it in the picture below.  It’s faint, but it’s there.)

So, there you go!  I hope this is helpful to someone out there.  I know I spent a lot of time hunting down blog posts about this pattern and searching the web for information and materials.  Hopefully this will save someone some time should you decide to go for it and make this bag.

Recommendations

This week’s recommendations are all bag-related!

• These colored vinyl zipper pouches are so cute!  In this tutorial, Sew Hungry Hippie shows you “How to Sew a Vinyl Keep Case.”
• Also by Sew Hungry Hippie, but on a different blog, you can learn to make a glitter lips zipper case!
• I love Heather’s Portside Duffle in Pendelton wool.  Great pattern placement, especially by the zipper!
• Some other cool bag patterns:  the Make Your Getaway Duffle by Gingercake, as sewn by LBG Studio and the Aurora Big Boston Bag by ithinksew.

Do you have any favorite bag patterns?  I still enjoy sewing clothing the most, but I’m opening up to the idea of sewing a bag here and there.

Flying Geese Patchwork Bag: Winter Wool Version

I have something a little bit different from what I normally sew for you today—a bag!  This is the Flying Geese Patchwork Bag designed by Giuseppe Ribaudo for the Bernina blog.

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I made a summer version of this bag that I love and used daily…until recently.  I had already been thinking about making a winter version of this bag in wool, since I had both black and gray wool sitting in my stash, but when Maggie at Pintuck & Purl asked if she could put my bag on display in her new shop window in North Hampton, NH along with a number of other staff and customer projects, I knew it was time.  Actually, when she asked, my initial reaction was, “No way!  I use that bag every day!”  Luckily, that part stayed in my head, rather than coming out of my mouth.  My husband pointed out that it was an honor I would be sad to pass up, and after considering his wise words, I agreed.  It was also the push I needed to make my winter version…before the end of winter.

So here we are!  I did it, and I LOVE it!

If you have some sewing experience, I think you can make this bag with the information provided.  I’m not a quilter or a bag maker, so I had to read the directions carefully to make sure I got everything right.  I actually printed them out and made myself a little instruction packet I could mark up.  There are a few things that, as a non-quilter, I found a little bit confusing or unclear.  This meant I had to call my emergency quilting hotline (my Mom) for help.  So this is for anyone who isn’t already a quilter or just wants some extra tips.

A good thing for non-quilters need to know is that this bag is sewn with quarter-inch seams throughout, except where noted.  Grainline doesn’t seem to be a consideration here.  I think as long as you cut your strips on the straight grain or on the cross-grain, you’ll be good.  It’s also important to note that quilters don’t always backstitch at the beginning and end of each seam.  I couldn’t bring myself to do this.  I kept thinking that this bag had to be durable and able to take weight, so I backstitched everything.  I also wasn’t sure how to press my seams—open?  to the side?  In the end, I pressed them to the side.  I could really tell on the flying geese (the white triangles) when I had pressed in the best direction (up, toward the top of the triangles worked best for me) because they looked crisp.  Probably, though, it didn’t matter so much anywhere else.  I also added a little bit of interfacing to the bottom tabs of the bag where the grommets will go, just for a little more strength.  In addition, I stitched twice around the bottom of my bag (outer layer and lining) both with a quarter-inch seam allowance and a 3/8″ seam allowance.  Maybe it’s not necessary, but it makes me feel better.  There were a few more minor spots where I was confused, but I figured them out.  If you make this and find yourself confused, feel free to leave a comment and I can tell you what I did, if that would be helpful.

Above is a picture of the bag empty, so you can see the design.  Below is how it looks with things inside.  The design is more obscured, but still cool.

The template provided was great as was the link to the tutorial on foundation paper piecing by Jennifer Mathis.  I watched it a few times to make sure I was getting everything right.  I also appreciated the detailed instructions on where to place the grommets.  The photography in the bag tutorial is gorgeous, which got me really excited to sew this, and the end product—the bag—is beautiful AND functional—win-win.

Here is where I found my supplies for anyone thinking of making this:

• The black wool and gray wool were from my stash, but the white wool came from Pintuck & Purl.  Also, unlike many people, I prewash my wool in hot or warm water and dry it in a hot dryer whenever I think I can get away with it so that I can wash it without fear of shrinkage going forward.
• The flannel was a Mammoth Flannel from Robert Kaufman Fabrics, bought at Pintuck & Purl.
• Grommets, rope, and interfacing came from JoAnn Fabrics.  I couldn’t find the rope, which is Simplicity brand, in every JoAnn’s.  I had to got to one of the larger stores for it.  I found it in the trim section.

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This bag was totally worth the time away from garment sewing.  I use it every day and really love it.  That being said, I’m ready to get back to sewing clothes. Have any of you tried making this?  Do you plan to?  If you’ve made it, let us know in the comments!

Open Wide Zippered Pouch from Noodlehead

And now for something a little bit different…

I don’t always sew Christmas presents.  It can be hard to know what people will like, and I don’t want to invest time into something that isn’t a sure thing.  That’s why, this year, I decided to make a few zippered pouches.  These are not clothing or decor, and they are very, very functional, and can be used to store whatever the recipient wants.

I haven’t made many bags, so I’m not as tuned in to that area of the sewing world, but I knew from what knowledge I did have, that if I wanted to find a tutorial for a bag with great instructions, I should look at Anna Graham’s blog, called Noodlehead.  So, off I went, and found exactly what I was looking for:  the Open Wide Zippered Pouch.

After the initial tutorial post, Anna went back and updated it with two more size options so you can make small, medium, or large pouches and, as the name indicates, these pouches open wide when you unzip them.  They also stand up, thanks to interfacing and boxed corners, and stay open so you can see what’s inside.  I had never considered these options before, since the zipper pouches I use are store-bought and of the flat variety.

I made both pouches in the small size.  They were easy to make and didn’t take long at all.  I got all my fabric and zippers at Pintuck & Purl–just quarter yards of each fabric I wanted to use.  The printed fabrics are Cotton & Steel quilting cottons and the light blue solid is a lightweight denim from Art Gallery Fabrics.

I sew a lot of clothes but I have found that there are always new areas to explore in the sewing world.  So even if bags are fairly new to you, as they are to me, you can handle this.  I would definitely make these again, and I’m already planning to try out another of Anna’s pouch tutorials this year.

These pouches were well-received and are already in use, which makes me happy.  I recommend Anna’s tutorial to you if you are looking for something like this.  Here’s my question for you:  do you have any favorite bag patterns?  I’m not planning on switching away from garments, but I might try a few bags this year.

Recommendations

• I’m reading The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair, and it’s so interesting.  This is a great book for someone who only has little chunks of time to read.  She talks about a myriad of colors, and each entry is only about two or three pages, so you can learn a lot of fascinating color history, even if you only have 5 minutes here and there to read.
• I tried Cremont cheese from Vermont Creamery earlier this month, and it is SO GOOD!  I highly recommend this one if you are a cheese lover.
• I just started listening to the Awesome Etiquette podcast from the Emily Post Institute after hearing about it on the Love to Sew podcast.  It’s definitely not about picking apart the behavior of others, but focuses more on how we can care for others with our actions.  It’s nice to hear and think about positive, uplifting things.