I sewed a boat handbag

 I fear I do not have any good photos of when I sewed a boat hat for Seattle Public Theater Youth Program.

Oh wait I do have one

In this tradition, we now have a boat handbag

and it went to Seattle Public Theater to see a how

An hour into its day, it had already lost its front anchors.

Many pieces were reduced to a few. I used the patterns (traced them off) as a jumping off point for my more ship specific idea. Also invented the smoke stacks (that's where cardboard models are super handy). The placement of the pieces on the original tissue was organized by sets for tracing them directly onto bag material. I traced everything a little closer; and I meant to take photos of that, but they were blurry and bad.

And now, loads of process photos

This is my only real tip for handbag construction: it's sculpture. You want to make a model of less precious materials. In this case, I used paperboard (Costco puts this stuff on the top of pallets and it's really useful) and staples.

I also recommend lots of tiny bulldog clips. The dents they put into the vinyl disappeared quickly.

I traced the pattern from the sheet, adapted it for my ship

and traced those pieces onto my vinyl.

Clipmania!

This project went really well, much better than I expected.

Joann's marine grade vinyl sews really easily by hand or machine: 10/10 from me

A small bag of sand is a handy weight that conforms to weird shapes. Will use this again.

Handsewn smoke stack. I added some glue to reinforce the stitches later.

There are just going to be a thousand clips in service on this project

Drafted and sewed a lining

Marked the magnet snap center point with a hole

The magnet is sewn into that poorly shaped triangle at the left on the flap

Decided a rivet was a faster metal thing to magnet to

Sewed the lining to the top of the hull.

The instructions are full of hot glueing stuff together, but sewing this stuff was really easy.

that rectangular hole is how you reach into the bag. Cause it is a bag.

Handsewed the deck/cabin flap to the hull

It got some grommets and a rope handle

A wheel and it's own iceberg

By the time it got to the theater, it had lost its anchors

I am exceedingly pleased with myself in a really annoying manner.

Sewing that doesn't fit into one post or another: some WIPS

 I could just skip blogging June entirely. 

Work has been nuts. I am making myself sit at my computer to write this (all I do all day long is sit at a computer. Oy) 

I have been sewing. Mending.

This mini backpack has needed a handle forever. Wrapped a length of webbing around upholstery welting for a handle, opened up that back horizontal webbing and poked it in place, and stitched it back up. More sewing with plyers while watching Svengoolie.

Still needs a tidy up. Also one of the long straps is missing an end and about ten inches of strap. 

Yoinks.

I had to take the presser foot off to get it under the needle.

Finishing the Felix lobster dress I started last summer; because I CAN.

I changed the neck facing 

(made a coordinating print on Spoonflower and hated it after it was all sewn on)  

and auditioning sleeves.  And yes, I recut the skirt to stop it from poofing out so much.

I dunno. Going to safety pin it and try it on.

and a mask for seeing this

through July 3rd

https://www.seattlerep.org/plays/202122-season/bruce/

the last remnant from the Shark lap quilt
https://erniekdesigns.blogspot.com/2017/05/shark-quilt.html

The Cuties don't fit because cake. 

I need to add some fabric in the side seams.

Mmmmmmm poppin'

 I may have to lose the sleeves to do this. I have more of these dresses, but some might be made of fabric I can't photograph and put on the blog, ya know.

There was cake. And work and family anxiety. And cake.

And I have about ten blogs about projects that aren't quite ready to go.

More will be said about some of these things, but I just can't sit here anymore and type right now.

(not at all) Magic Bag of Tricks part three

 Just imagine every other word is a profanity. Pick whichever ones you like.

I tried to start on one side, and work my way around.

I like a profanity with a bilabial fricative, myself.

Blue tape worked better than clips (which slid) and is easily removed and reapplied.

Endlessly.

Because this keeps not wanting to sit in the frame.

"HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL" is the most family friendly one I used here.

It keeps popping out.

SO MANY BAD WORDS RIGHT HERE

Tacky Glue will dry. It will get tacky in less than a year, and it does dry reasonably clear. I can also trim off the excess, if I give a damn about that by the end of this

(and eventually I will)

It is supposed to fit. The pattern and the frame go together. The toile worked.

This ..... is not working.

The toile was in a woven fabric. You cannot overestimate how much squish/stretch/flex you get with a woven, even an upholstery weight. This one will just NOT.

This is a reverse angle trying to use the camera to see if the corner is sitting in the frame or not.

It's... mostly in there? I don't dare pick it up to turn it over to see (working from the lining inside).

I'm going to put glue on string to fill out the gap between the fabric and the frame, and secure the bond (so the bag doesn't drop off the frame)

I know, the glue should go in, and then the string. And on this part, that's what I did.

Remember, every other word is a bad word.

This was a naughty project.

At this point, glue is everywhere (some of those spots are polka dots, some are NOT) and I have ceased to care. I just want to finish it so it's done and I can stop pretending to finish it.

So much profanity.

So Much Glue

I got glue on all my fingers.

Getting a store bought handle. don't even ask about the one I made for it.

this is just so not my jam....well, I had to add hardware and rivets (which is ME), but still so not my jam.

Should not have trimmed the end (you can see the wadding if you look in). didn't trim the other.

Getting rings to go on rings is easier with a pair of narrow needlenose plyers. They don't have to be great, but they do need small noses.

This is it's senior year book photo. Color adjusted. Vignette. 

And now I am so done with this. I will clean up the glue on the other side some other time. But now I am FREE and I do feel much better about it.

If I only carried a purse, this would be it.