A handbag!

Hello again
I've finally managed to finish the handbag I feel like I've been making for months. It hasn't been months of course as I only got the template about a month ago but it has taken me longer than I would've liked due to 'life' basically, which isn't such a bad thing. It's for a friend of my daughter's 13th birthday on Thursday, so it's a good job I finally finished it yesterday i.e Tuesday September 27th. It's the first time I've made a handbag and used a Clover template. I'm not that impressed with some of the instructions and the basic way Nancy Zieman has designed the bag, especially the handle attachment and top finishing but you usually have to adapt these things to your own style or what equipment you have handy. Obviously Clover want you to buy all their stuff and I did use their magnetic snap closures and their Shape 'n Create (Bag & Tote stabiliser) but I improvised on things like the sewing ruler and the rotary cutter as I don't have those. I am putting them on my Chistmas list though as they would've made a few things alot easier.

I had quite a bit of learning to do about cutting on the bias and making piping but I got there and it's pretty basic stuff, so hopefully I'll be MUCH quicker next time. Visit Peg Baker's youtube page to learn about how to join the bias strips and there are loads of videos out there explaining about cutting on the bias.

There are several good things I do have to say about the Trace 'n Create California bag collection template though, as it does allow you to make 6 different bag styles and I'm sure once I've made maybe one more, I'll be on a roll and able to adjust per my own specifications. It doesn't mention about the 'bag feet' which were mentioned on the Create and Craft show I watched a few weeks back which inspired me to buy a template. With the Carmel petite bag this is though, I don't think you need feet on it as it's more of a 'hang it over a chair' kind of bag rather than a 'plonk it on the floor' type.

I bought the material from online fabrics (click here) and I found their service to be excellent - I made a query about interfacing and was 'called' about it and they just added it to my order without me having to do anything. For them to actually speak to me was unreal in some respects as everything happens online these days but I loved that. The material was presented brilliantly and the delivery was very fast although it should be at £5.95 but I'd definitely recommend them. I got a fair bit so I'm hoping to make more of these bags, perhaps as Christmas presents.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings, here it is:

Take care out there