Weekender Bag Chat: Part Two: Patchwork Version

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Hey! Welcome to Part Two of Weekender Chat! Part One can be found HERE.

Let me start this post by saying two things:

  • This is my current WIP and it's not finished yet, so I can only provide thoughts on the project thus far.
  • This is NOT my original idea. I was inspired by Elizabeth Hartman's patchwork weekender bag and then my two friends, Amber & Laura. Watching their bags progress on instagram was RAD.

Here is what I'm doing:

  • Scraps xten. I filled a laundry basket with all my neutrals, blues and pinks. Lots of fabrics I swapped for & presents from pals. Best!
  • Two lining fabrics: Tula Pink Nightshade left over from some sleep pants and then Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley.
  • I'm unsure on which fabric to choose for straps, I have two. A glitter tweed wool (uhhh $5 a yard at JoAnns on red tag clearance, it's hard to show the glitter but I promise, it's there!) and then a navy blue star print.
  • My "theme" is Frosty Woodland. Why a theme? IDK but I seem to like sewing projects better when I give them a theme and story!
  • I'm using the method Elizabeth explains, patchwork over a layer of thin batting with a piece of cotton duck but I'm not doing quilt as you go:

So in this photo I have a FINISHED POCKET laid over the MAIN BODY PANEL. I pulled the layers of the POCKET apart to show you how it looks, top layer is PATCHWORK, middle layer is COTTON DUCK and the bottom layer is the POCKET LINING. You can't see the batting because its cut 1/2 inch smaller than the patchwork and duck. The blue trees aren't attached, as that's my main body panel and it hasn't been piped yet.

Thoughts so far:

  • I can't seem to get a good grasp on Quilt As You Go! It's just not my thing I guess. What I've been doing is just patchwork, cutting it down to the shape of the canvas and quilting it all together. Don't forget to cut the batting a 1/2 inch smaller than the patchwork and canvas, it's essentially pretending to the Peltex piece in the original version.
  • I'm not sure I like how it feels! I might add interfacing to the lining. I'm not quilting it a whole bunch which might be why it isn't as stiff. But I also love the feeling of a super sturdy bag so this might just be me! I'll report back on this when I finish the bag!
  • My bag will not look even remotely as posh as the bags I've linked too. I'm very much not precise, instead using up strange odds and ends. It's not professional looking as theirs and as of right now, I'm ok with it. Although part of me wishes I was as nice and neat of a sew-er as those girls! (ok, a very big part! But I'm trying to accept who I am ;))
  • I love tiny patchwork and I added in a little star at 2.5 inches and some ribbon 1.5 inch hsts. It's hard not to fussy cut everything to death and I've noticed a real lack of blenders in my stash in blues!

 

 

I bought feet and metal magnetic snaps for this bag, I'm planning on using the snaps in the body pocket. As I used my other Weekender, I noticed the pocket would gap. Plus, I just like these! I got these at JoAnn's too!

 

 

Here are my strap choices so far! I wish my camera would pick up the glitter in the tweed! SO fun! One thing I'm going to do differently in this bag is make longer straps and most likely wider. I may add either cotton duck or Peltex to them so they are very sturdy, I tend to over pack on trips!

 

 

My biggest tip this far: mark where the pocket will sit on your main panel! How sad would it be to put your favorite scrap at the bottom where it would be covered up by a pocket?! I'd cry. I have that blue line as a reminder that nothing fancy should be pieced below there, unless I want it to be a secret hidden surprise. So far I've used larger scraps in that bottom half.

Ok! Those are my thoughts on both bags so far, once I finish the patchwork version I'll report back if anyone is curious!

 

:):):)