Sewers Club May 2024 Project Review

[@marianacary425]

Love the idea of the band

[@susanowen1709]

That turned out great! And you managed to save so much of the fabric; it looks like there's enough to make another, slightly smaller bag from it. The double-zipper pulls? Definitely a plus. It's one of those details that doesn't seem like a big deal, yet it really elevates the look of the finished project. It's unusual to see a boxed bag where the zipper doesn't come part way down the ends, that's a nice bit of originality there. I think you are correct that the notches aren't right on Piece A; it certainly looks like they should be bigger to match the other piece in order to keep the bag straight & even. The day you reviewed this box, I was so enamored of the project that I searched KZbin for one that was similar. I ended up using one that had an unusual way of putting it all together. The gap for turning is made when you attach the zipper, and the corners of the lining and outer fabric are sewn together which makes the lining fit snugly inside the bag when it's turned right side out (plus it makes the seams a bit sturdier without having to fiddle with a binding). No handstitching, either - the gap gets closed at the very last step by topstitching the second half of the zipper. It was awkward as heck doing the corners, but I love the results. And now I want to make another boxed bag instead of working on the dog blanket...

[@fredmakesthings]

Thank you 😊I think there may be enough for a bigger bag too, if I get a little creative with how I piece the lining. I agree about the zipper pulls, such a simple detail makes the bag feel more polished. I'd be interested in a hidden lining opening, I like the idea of a cleaner interior, if you have a chance, can you send me a link to the pattern you found? It might be cool to do a battle of the boxy bag patterns. I hope you made progress on your dog blanket, or pouch or whatever 😁It's stupid hot here so I ended up taking a long nap today.

[@lizwarnke4689]

I just finished mine. The only thing I had problems with were the zippers. When I attached the pulls, one zipper's teeth were further up than the other side. It happened on both ends. I decided to go with the flow after trying multiple times to get the teeth lined up. Once it was time to trim the ends of the zippers and apply fray check, I did that. AND, apparently, it didn't matter anyway because the bag closes great and all the measurements lined up perfectly. I just measured my bag and compared to the 'Completed Pouch Size on the pattern and mine matches with all of the sizes on the pattern. I never attached my own zipper pull so this was a learning experience and I'm glad I stretched my skills. I traced my pattern pieces onto parchment paper and ensured that my pieces all matched in size. I also followed along with the Sewer's Club tutorial, which was very helpful as I was a bit confused by the written instructions until I watched the video. I used the thread they provided and it worked wonderfully in my machine. I've never used Glide Thread before. My Bernina tends to be finicky when it comes to thread and I was over the moon happy to see that it worked great in my machine. I'm so glad I called Sewer's Club and was able to have my subscription started a month early so I could get this project.

[@fredmakesthings]

I'm so happy it worked out so well for you! This gives me hope that the issues were mine alone 😁 Zippers can be tricky, but I think they just take a bit of practice and it's great that this pattern was so forgiving. That thread was awesome too, it didn't fit my regular spool holder, but years ago, Sewers Club sent me a large cone holder and I used that and it worked perfectly.

[@SewersClub]

Hi Fred! Your pouch turned out awesome:) We apologize for any difficulty with the pattern/project and are sorry to hear that you’ve been in a bit of a sewing slump. We have those times too, when things just don’t seem to work right! We wanted to hop on here and provide some clarification on the templates for if you try the pouch again. The corners at the top of the pouch are intentionally smaller for this style of pouch. On Piece A and D, the top corners where the zipper will be installed are that size (about 7/8”) as you lose 1/4” in seam allowance when sewing the zipper, but gain 3/8” from each half of the tape (about 3/4” total from the whole tape). This addition of the tape should make the top corners about 2” before sewing them closed in the final steps. We hope this helps out, and if you have any questions you can reply here or reach out as we’re always happy to chat! The Sewers Club Team

[@fredmakesthings]

thank you for the clarification 😊 I knew it was probably something I wasn't quite understanding.

[@twistedcreekstitches0773]

Haven't done this one yet but will in the coming month. By the way,I found a trick to avoid the binding inside - looks more finished

[@fredmakesthings]

It’s a pretty cool little project and also doesn’t have any binding. I hope you enjoy making it!

[@redskyebc]

Yours turned out so cute. Mine was on the right track until the zippers. I absolutely could not get the zippers put together correctly and everything ended in the trash. I used to sew clothes and put zippers in everything, but these zippers were my downfall.😢

[@fredmakesthings]

Oh no! I'm so sorry this one gave you trouble. I hate when that happens, especially when it's something you can do with your eyes closed and for some reason refuses to work and it just makes you want to quit. Big hugs and I hope your next project goes more smoothly. ❤️

[@redskyebc]

@@fredmakesthings thank you. I used to sew most of my own clothes and could put zippers in anything. My problem was getting the zipper tabs on to the zippers once I sewed them…I didn’t use Fray Stop which might have been a big mistake. I did save the cute charms so hopefully I can add zippers back to my repertoire soon.

[@lizwarnke4689]

I haven't made this yet but I'll let you know how it goes when I get to it.

[@fredmakesthings]

I'd be really curious to hear about your experience.