Sewalong Day 1

Sew Together Bag Sewalong

Day 1

I’m so excited you are here and ready to get started!  Disclaimer:  For all of you who can’t live without DVR – you know who you are – you may want  to wait until the end of the sewalong and make the whole bag at once, with no “commercials”.   LOL!

You’ve ordered your pattern and zippers, cut out your pieces, and now you are ready to roll.  I will be following the pattern very closely and adding tons of pictures, so next time you can refer to your pattern and you won’t even need this tutorial!

I’m all about the little things that make your project look professional.  Before I start a bag or tote, I wind myself a bobbin of at least 4-5 colors of thread to match my fabric. 

As I sew the project, I use these bobbins to topstitch so my threads match my fabric.  If I’m topstitching a piece with red on top and orange on the bottom, I will use the red bobbin as my thread (on top of my machine) and the orange one in my bobbin.  If this seems like madness to you, just choose a neutral color and stick with it through the whole project.  

I’m using fabric from Moda’s Mixed Bag line.  I purchased a Fat 8^th bundle and was able to make a Mini Swoon Quilt and 3 Sew Together Bags!  So, my sew together bag is rather scrappy.  One thing I love about this pattern is… the more scraps you use, the more adorable it seems to become.

First, you will take out your 4 side panel pieces.  Decide which 2 panels you would like on the outside of your bag and fuse the interfacing to those outside panels. 

Place 1 outside panel (with interfacing) and 1 inside panel with Right Sides Together.  Stitch around 3 sides, leaving the longest side open.  Use seam allowances as written in the pattern.

 

Clip the corners as shown.  Be careful not to clip your stitches!  This will help it lay flat when you turn it right-side out.

 

Turn the panel right-side out and use your finger to “press” the seam and make sure there isn’t any extra fabric hiding in there.  I run my finger along the inside of the panel seams and push the corners out with a point turner or other fairly dull object.  Press with a hot iron.  I don’t use steam because it tends to warp my interfacing.  I like to use the cotton/linen setting with no steam and press each spot for a few seconds, trying not to move my iron across my project.  This helps avoid stretching the fabric.

Now, top stitch around the seams.  I usually topstitch about a fat 1/8” in from the edge and set my stitch length between 2.5 and 3.  Don’t forget to change it back when you’re done!   

Finally, we will skip to step 6A on your pattern.  Follow the directions and put a pin in each fold line as shown.

Ta-Da!  You are done with Day 1 and have completed your side panels!  

Tomorrow is Zipper Day… Can I have a “WOOT!  WOOT!”???

Don't forget to post your progress to our Flickr Group - Thank you to all of you who have shared your fabric choices on IG and Flickr!  #sewtogethersewalong

See you tomorrow!

Heather