call me ishmael...

well, my entry for the audition round of So You Think You’re Crafty was…

(drumroll please)

 
lovin the "vanna" hand, aren't you?

my diaper bag!!

so, it was supposed to be anonymous. and i did, really, try my hardest. do you know how precisely i had to place that bag to cover my big pregnant belly? i will admit that my freckled arms gave me away to my cousin (and some other features which we won’t talk about because this is a FAMILY blog people.)

anyway, i placed a respectable fourth which gives me entry into this “season” of SYTYC. nerves!! did you see that reading light???

we weren’t required to have a tutorial for our entry project. i tried taking photos of the whole process…but anyone who’s ever tried that knows how much TIME it adds to the endeavor when you’re attempting to document the whole thing.

fancy way of saying: i gave up.

so consider this a director’s cut if you will. like a little “behind the scenes making of”.
welcome to the Inner Workings of Googiemomma’s Mind.

fair warning: it’s gonna be long. it was a complicated project (and, face it, i'm a wordy gal). i don’t blame you for cutting out early. but i’ll try hard to keep it interesting. enjoy the ride.

we start with an idea. i’m diggin the diaper bags that don’t LOOK like diaper bags. no need for disney characters or pink bows to advertise “this bad boy is full of STINKY DIAPERS--not cash!”.
i had a bunch bookmarked on my computer as inspiration. they all had price tags with 3 digits--$xxx. NO WAY that was happening.

i found this tutorial where she explains how to make a bag with an interior divider. it was the ONLY tute of it’s kind that i found. (warning: if you’re not a sewer, it makes for extremely dry reading)

then i did a practice run to work out the kinks:




the leather & fabric were scraps from work, the hardware i ripped off an old bag i had. all free. it’s not perfect, but i like it.

and it gave me the confidence to tackle my big project. this is something i’ve had lurking in the back of mind virtually since i found out i was pregnant with five. but it was nerve-wracking. it’s a lot of leather and fabric to waste if it didn’t look good enough to use. and as any sewer knows—we’re our own worst critics. i have experimented with bag making before (see here and here), but never anything to this scale.i decided to take the plunge. that's why i named it my "white whale".




my supplies:

dark chocolate leather, some embossed basketweave leather, my two fabrics and iron-on vinyl (both from joannes), and a hardware kit purchased here (i didn’t have an exact plan in mind when i bought it, but it was a good price and seemed to have everything i could need)

then i worked out my “plan”:



i’m so precise, right? but patterns fall under the same heading as rulers.

about 2 hours of figuring and cutting later i had this:


dats alotta pieces. deep breath.

start your (sewing machine) motors folks, here we go.

first i cut and ironed on the vinyl to my lining pieces.


this stuff is so cool. i have wanted to work with it for a while, and this was the perfect application. i used a coupon so the 2 yard package cost $5.

next i sewed on all my interior pockets:


i was super excited at this point. the elastic pocket at the bottom there? oh yeah. like i said, we're our own worst critics. so when i manage to cobble together something that--to me--doesn't look completely shoddy and homemade (in a bad way) i tend to get a bit over-excited.

then comes assembly. i put the center pocket with zipper together first, and attached everything from there out.



the key to the center pocket, or any interior divider in a bag, is that your boxing (the long outside piece) is not one piece. it's separate pieces that all attach. like a big sandwich. simple, but duhhhh...(or maybe i'm the last one to figure that out. please just let me be happy in my ignorance if so.)

you also have to leave a big opening in one side of the lining to turn the whole thing later. it’s kind of hard to see on this fabric so i have created this handy photo, labeled so you can better understand the last two instructions:
 

clear as mud, no? 

next comes exterior construction…
one side with large pocket…

 

and the other with two smaller pockets…



and attached the two with the exterior boxing (which got a cell phone pocket before being sewn on)

 



i reinforced the bottom to stiffen it and made sure to put in all my snaps and closures as i went.

i was so excited. and then…



oops.
i got a little too cocky i suppose.
it was a big boo-boo. fixable, but it took quite a while.

(it was also at this point that i decided to add the other hooks on the side for an optional longer strap. so you can see them in the following photos. but i didn't make the long strap yet.)

final steps: attach the handles

 

and sew the insides and outside together.



that sentence really doesn't do the process justice: sew the inside and outsides together. it much a much more nervewracking and momentous occasion than the feeling that that simple sentence imparts.

i may have played "chariots of fire" on my ipod whilst i completed this epic act of stitchery.
sometimes i'm dramatic like that.

i guess the real final step was to fill it with junk important baby related items and photograph for the contest…


there i go...hiding that ginormous belly again. but leaving my freckled pale arms out for your viewing pleasure. i have FAT ELBOWS. srsly...11 more weeks. i am carrying this baby everywhere. even, apparently, in my ELBOWS.
i’m so happy with how it turned out. i can’t wait to start using it when five makes her debut!

before then i would like to get some more of the lining fabric and vinyl and make a matching diaper changing pad. and i may use that fabric to make a faux chenille blanket to match.

that is, if we ever pick a name for this child…

so there you have it. thanks for reading! and if you voted for my project—thanks for that too!! (if you didn’t, well, then, pthhhbbtthh to you)

linkying here:

toddler panties: free tutorial and pattern

EDITED TO ADD: I accidentally deleted photos from a bunch of old blog posts. I have replaced what I could find (there's over 7000 pics on my computer and I'm not always the best at naming/filing/putting in folders.) Sorry!

S E W I N G  N O T E S your only supplies are:

+ a pile of knits. somewhere in there try to have a thicker white cotton. i had a rib knit white tank, and this was perfect as a liner for the crotch. (i just said crotch. on the internet)
+ elastic. legs: (2) 12 1/2” pieces, waist (1) 18 1/2” piece. i used both F.O.E. (fold over elastic) and regular 1/2” elastic that i have on a big spool. the F.O.E. does look nice and professional, but i found the regular stuff much easier to work with.
+ scissors, thread, machine, pins. what you don’t need is a serger. it’s nice if you have one, but you can do these perfectly well without one.
+ this pattern, if you want.

(right click and save. print full size with no scaling)

+this tutorial!
dig through your knits and find some you want to use. the beauty of this is that you can use whatever you have. newsflash: striped panties are waaaay cuter than character ones. trust me.
old t-shirts, yoga pants—anything knit works. yardage varies. i played with my pattern pieces to get as many as possible from each item of clothing i used.

print out your pattern and cut out pieces. each pair needs a front, a back, a crotch from the outer fabric and a crotch from a decent plain white cotton. i just cut random pieces from coordinating knits for a mix-n-match look.

everything is sewn with approximately a 1/4” seam allowance. you don’t want big giant seams riding all up in their stuff, you know?
if using a regular SEWING MACHINE: when sewing elastic to fabric, use a small stretch stitch on your machine. when sewing fabric to fabric use an overlock stitch (see step 1)
now we sew.
sew the crotch
if you are using a SEWING MACHINE: wrong sides together, sew both crotch pieces at front and back with a fake overlock stitch. it’s the one that looks like this: /__/__/__/__

if you are using a SERGER: wrong sides together, sew at front and back.
don’t worry about the side seams, they’ll be enclosed by elastic.

sew the pieces together
SEWING MACHINE: match up the front panel to the crotch front and sew right sides together. repeat with back.
SERGER: same as for a sewing machine, or alternately you can do the first step (sew the crotch) and this step all together. if you gots mad serger skillllzzzz (which i do not.)

this pair i did with my serger. but i’ll be honest—i found it easier to use the regular sewing machine for these.

sew the leg elastic
(2) 12 1/2” pieces of elastic
fold in half and mark the center with a pin. match up the pin with the notch on the crotch of your panties. i pin it there, then at both ends and stretch to fit as i sew.

if using REGULAR ELASTIC: sew the elastic to the wrong side first, with the elastic overhanging the fabric by a little less than 1/4”. then fold the elastic over to the right side of the fabric (enclosing the raw edge) and topstitch close to the edge of the elastic.

if using F.O.E.: 2 ways. first, if you’re a sewing baller you can enclose your raw edge in the F.O.E. and zigzag away. one step and done.
i am not.
i do it in 2 steps—sew the fabric to the back side of the F.O.E., then fold it over and topstitch. if you can master the One Hit Wonder of F.O.E. Sewing…well, can i have your autograph? and also it’s a really professional and quick way of finishing these. so it’s probably worth the effort required to become Grand Master status. you probably also have those mad serger skilllzzzz. so WHY ARE YOU WASTING TIME ON THIS?

(NOTE: the above photos are of the waistband, but that’s just because i’m using them to illustrate the F.O.E. technique. you haven’t missed the “sew the waistband” part. carry on…)
E M B E L L I S H
at this point you can add any cute little octopi you’ve snagged off stained t-shirts in your upcycle pile, too. or not, because your kid will probably stain these with poo and you’ll chuck them in the garbage. whatever. YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME.

sew the waistband
(1) 18 1/2” piece of elastic
now we have lots of options.
first: regular elastic or F.O.E.? either way is fine, i used F.O.E. on these just to show both types of elastic in my sample pair. sew it the same way you did the leg openings.second: you can choose to sew one leg opening shut and finish the waist, then complete the 2nd leg opening; or sew both leg openings and then finish the waistband.
i find the 2nd option slightly less fiddly. so until you get the hang of it you may want to start there, even though it doesn’t give quite as nice of a finish.
to sew BOTH LEG OPENINGS AT ONCE: match up sides, and sew right sides together with slight stretch stitch. if you’re not using a serger, you’ll want to finish the edge with a zigzag, or sew with the faux overlock stitch.

METHOD 1

sew your elastic ends together.

center the seam and mark both sides of the elastic with pins. match the pins up to the side seams and add additional pins as necessary, stretching the elastic to fit. sew.

boom. crazy cute panties.



METHOD 2

to sew ONE LEG OPENING AT A TIME: match up ONE side, and sew right sides together with slight stretch stitch. if you’re not using a serger, you’ll want to finish the edge with a zigzag, or sew with the faux overlock stitch.

open out the waistband of the panties and pin the elastic at each end. add additional pins as necessary to keep it even. sew.

match up second side seam, sew right sides together.
boom. crazy cute panties in multiples.

with cute little bums.

ruffled tank, part deux

can i just say how much i loved that ruffled tank i did last week? and i guess others did too--it got featured on...


and at childmade!

thanks so much guys!

so you know i headed back up to old navy and bought myself some more tanks.
no real tutorial on this one, but pretty basic stuff--
i just cut strips (vertically this time--not on the bias) i ruffled them up, then played around until i got a design i liked and stitched it all down!

but in case you're curious, here's a bit more detail...

once i laid (layed?) out a basic shape i liked, i started sewing from either end of the neckline and stopped at  the point where i made the bunch of ruffles.

then i took all the remaining ruffle and arranged it how i liked it.

clearly a more patient more precise more caring better sewer i would have then pinned and sewn down the entire thing from one end to the other. however, since i'm the world's laziest crafter, i just started sewing across the whole thing willy-nilly. yup, willy-nilly.

(imagine those thick black lines as stitch lines)

this is what it looks like from the inside:

(kind of like a scar, i think)

but you know what? it worked, i like it, and it only took me about 15 minutes--tops.

another $2 tank--woo-hoo!! (mom is soooo jealous...haha mom!)

linking up at some of these fine parties!