Getting the hang of it

I love it when a zipper comes together on something that I’ve sewed! It’s a great feeling to see it actually work like it’s supposed to! I’m so happy with zippers these days that I’ve increased my zipper stash with lots of different colours. I might even love zippers some day.

I’ve made another clutch for another friend – the musical one. She saw the first one I made a few weeks ago and wanted one for herself. I hope she likes it. I have so many blues in my stash that it was hard to choose one, but I found this blender that I’ve had sitting in my drawer just waiting for the right moment. And this beautiful brown and tan blender in a similar pattern. Made for each other.

The zipper went in with next to no trouble. What do they say about practice? The double welt pocket inside is my first, and it caused some delays. I’ve done a single welt before, and always with double sided fabrics so I never really had to worry about how to put the pocket and lining together. I made a real mess of the first one and ruined the first lining. It’s in the scrap bin now. Then I spent some time with the pocket and lining turning it different ways to see which way it was supposed to go. Bags with linings are a real puzzle because they go together sort of backwards. Then you flip and pull and mash them around until the lining sits inside the bag. Add a pocket like this and you add another layer of flipping and pulling, etc. Whenever I make something like this, I write down every step so I remember for the next time.

The pocket opening is a bit crooked because the piece of interfacing I used was too big and made it difficult to fold the fabric in the right places. And it’s smaller than I had planned, but that’s okay. It’s big enough to hold a few bills or coins or a card. And there’s a tab with a clip on it to hold a key ring. Pretty good for a little wristlet. And I’m thinking the next one will be even better!

Until next time,