Friday, July 15, 2011

Have I gone crazy?!

Ummm...probably! :)

I certainly know what I'll be working on this weekend, that's for sure. I'll be turning this pretty little stack:

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into at least 16 (and maybe more!) of these beauties:

Amy Butler Origami Bags

Aren't you jealous?!

I am sticking with the extra small size, the same size I made for the Sew Along (speaking of which, I still haven't been able to find the very first one I made!), so I'm not being too ambitious. Oh, but did I mention I'm making them for my shower? Next weekend?! Yeah, that's where the crazy part comes in.

The best part about this pattern is that there really aren't any pattern pieces to cut out, so it took me almost no time to cut all the rectangles for the exteriors. Then I was able to chain piece the exterior pieces together, which saved a ton of time. Probably the most time-consuming part was ironing on all the interfacing. I know I could have ironed it on before I cut out the pieces, but just like I did when I made them the first time, I wanted to do the interfacing after I got the two pieces sewn together. This saves on interfacing (yes, it's only an inch or so per piece, but over 32 pieces...well...you get the idea!), and makes the seam stronger.

I'm using some of the Denise Schmidt collection from J0-Ann. I picked up a few half-yard cuts I just couldn't resist when it first came out without any real plans for it, and now it's perfect for a little baby boy shower! I do have two more prints as well that I didn't cut in to since I've got plans for them to make a bag for myself.

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Of the eight different combinations, these two are definitely my favorite:

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I used a twin needle to do the top stitching along the seam so I could sew on both sides at once, which saved a ton of time. Luckily I had a jean twin needle, which is just a bit wider than the universal twin needle I have. The stitching is still just a bit closer to the seam than I would prefer, but it still looks nice.

I think I'm going to line them in some sort of grey & use a variety of blue & green zippers.

I got the exterior pieces for all 16 put together last night, so hopefully the rest of the process goes as quickly & smoothly. Since it's supposed to be oppressively hot this weekend, I certainly won't mind being stuck inside the A/C working on these!

Until next time...

5 comments:

  1. Wow--I love ambitious projects! Good luck with those! Can't wait to see them all lined up :)

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  2. Wow, you're so ambitious! But I know you can do it! What a wonderful shower gift!!

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  3. I do it the same way too. If I were to do patching, I would interface after.

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  4. Yes you are crazy!! :-) but what a fab idea, they will be gorgeous, can't wait to see them all done.

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  5. Good luck on your project Bree! That does seem like a lot of work, but once you get going, they will fly together, I'm sure!

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Thank you for your comments, I appreciate each & every one I get. I do try to respond to most (if not all) comments, but that's hard to do if you don't have an e-mail in your profile! :)