from a sow's ear
Jul. 5th, 2003 12:13 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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craftgrrlThis is a silk shopper I made last weekend, inspired by Handmade Bags. Great book for inspiration, bad for directions. Don't buy the book--check it out of the library or go look at it in the store. It's only good for pictures.
The body of the bag is quilted. Silk on the outside, batting on the inside, lined with rayon reclaimed from a skirt that no longer fit. I actually used sweatshirt fleece instead of batting, which worked, but the bag is floppier than I would like. When I make this bag again I will use real batting, or an interlining of canvas or buckram.
First I cut out a shape for the bag and bag sides. I just guessed, really, and I imagine a variety of shapes would work well. I cut similar pieces from the fleece and the lining using the originals as a pattern. I sewed the silk to the fleece around the edges so that it would behave while I was quilting. On the back of the fleece I sketched out a quilting pattern in pencil, then used that as a sewing guide. Even though it was a lot of work, quilting is KEY to this bag...it's what provides the strength, as the silk is rather flimsy. If you make it out of heavy fabric like canvas, corduroy, or denim, you don't need to quilt, but if you make it out of muslin-weight cotton or silk, quilting is important.
On the sides of the bag, I just quilted in a linear pattern, but you could do any kind of design. On the side of the bag that doesn't show, I quilted a little monkey, for example. If your sewing machine has some pre-programmed quilting designs, even better!
I sewed the bag together, and then attached the handles. The handles are just a length of 3/8" plastic tubing (something like 17 cents/foot at the hardware store) bent into a circle and secured with duct tape, then covered with a tube of fabric. You could leave it clear/uncovered if you liked the look. I used a strip of fabric as a "hinge" to attach the handle to the bag. Then I folded in the edges of the bag, sewed them down, and hand-sewed in the lining.
Ta da! Was lots of fun to make...I'd love to see the results if someone else tries this style.
The body of the bag is quilted. Silk on the outside, batting on the inside, lined with rayon reclaimed from a skirt that no longer fit. I actually used sweatshirt fleece instead of batting, which worked, but the bag is floppier than I would like. When I make this bag again I will use real batting, or an interlining of canvas or buckram.
First I cut out a shape for the bag and bag sides. I just guessed, really, and I imagine a variety of shapes would work well. I cut similar pieces from the fleece and the lining using the originals as a pattern. I sewed the silk to the fleece around the edges so that it would behave while I was quilting. On the back of the fleece I sketched out a quilting pattern in pencil, then used that as a sewing guide. Even though it was a lot of work, quilting is KEY to this bag...it's what provides the strength, as the silk is rather flimsy. If you make it out of heavy fabric like canvas, corduroy, or denim, you don't need to quilt, but if you make it out of muslin-weight cotton or silk, quilting is important.
On the sides of the bag, I just quilted in a linear pattern, but you could do any kind of design. On the side of the bag that doesn't show, I quilted a little monkey, for example. If your sewing machine has some pre-programmed quilting designs, even better!
I sewed the bag together, and then attached the handles. The handles are just a length of 3/8" plastic tubing (something like 17 cents/foot at the hardware store) bent into a circle and secured with duct tape, then covered with a tube of fabric. You could leave it clear/uncovered if you liked the look. I used a strip of fabric as a "hinge" to attach the handle to the bag. Then I folded in the edges of the bag, sewed them down, and hand-sewed in the lining.
Ta da! Was lots of fun to make...I'd love to see the results if someone else tries this style.
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