Zig-a-Zig-Ahhhhhh. the Zig-Zag pouches are here.....

When ever I think about the new Pattern by Moments Designs  I'm tempted to burst into song a'la

Spice Girls........I know that ages me.........and where I to join them I would probably be called 'Old Spice'.........which I believe has already been taken by a mens aftershave ........so perhaps its a good job I only sing behind closed doors....

As usual I digress......I'm here to talk about the newest design by the lovely Liz at Moments, The Zig-Zag pouches.........a set of three little pouches that have so many different options to customise to suit your needs. Fab small storage solutions, great kids birthday gifts, fill with sweeties, fill with clips, hair bobbles or anything else that's small and needs a place to live.........perfect for craft fairs as they really come together quickly.

lets start with my first one....... my glasses case......made with some custom fabric I got from Spoonflower, the outside is me, my mum, my oldest son and my grandson, so enough to scare even the hardiest of thieves away from my glasses.....inside are photos of my sister. great fun eh?

Next we have two little pouches to store sewing bits and bobs........having recently 'reorganised' my sewing room I'm not really keen for everything to have its place and to stay tidy........I'm not tidy by nature so finding storage solutions for things is the only way I can hope to stay even remotely tidy. These little pouches came just at the right time...one for my embroidery scissors, yes, I know I have a lot of them.......that's because I keep loosing them so buy more, then find the lost ones. Before you know what's going on you have dozens of pairs.

The next pouch I decided to try and make a mini sewing kit, when we go away for the day or on holiday or even in the car its always useful to have a needle and thread, a few pins, some clips..........for those emergency sewing jobs..........you know the ones I mean.....when your bra strap decides to come away from your bra so your walking slightly lopsided at a family wedding.......or other equally embarrassing fashion faux pas......So my little sewing kit is now kept in my handbag....its got everything I need but is small enough it doesn't take up my entire bag.

The Pattern contains all three options, and is really quick to sew, you will need continuous zipper, or a very long standard zipper.........but other then that I think they could be considered a scrap busting dream. the pattern is well written with loads of pictures, if your a visual person like me this works really well. don't be alarmed by the thought of adding a zipper pull to continuous zipper, the pattern shows you how to do it, and once you've don't it once or twice its a breeze.

There is also a separate pattern, the Tessa Bag...........made using the same unusual technique and the two patterns can be brought together as a bundle or as separate designs...........for the bundle your getting four different patterns.........that's a bargain in any currency. If you want to see more of Liz's designs then join her facebook group Moments Designs where you can see lots of samples of the

zig-zag and Tessa........

The pattern can be found on craftsy and is on sale for 48 hours............go get yours now and enjoy a little selfish creativity this weekend, happy zig-a-zig ahhh!

Sewalong mayhem

Why oh why don't I think before I do things???

Full of bag sewing enthusiasm after Bag Camp , I decided that it was my civic duty to keep the new bag makers from camp sewing........as if they need me egging them on. I think most will continue the baggers journey with or without my encouragement.......

So what do I do??? without much of an idea I decided to do a sew along..........Sounds easy? well that's what I thought too. I have to say I have a new respect for the art of creating the instructions on sewing patterns now...

So........a sew along........ whats it all about? .........photos of every stage of the making process, lots of encouragement and ideas, tips and generally helpful comments. To add to the experience I wanted to make it a learning forum too, so added a double welt zipper pocket to the pattern.

So what bag are we doing........my faithful friend the hobo by sewing patterns by Mrs H
pattern available here......https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/246657812/the-reversible-hobo-bag-pdf-sewing?ref=shop_home_active_19

Just in case I fall flat on my face and my supreme confidence lets me down I keep it small.........just the ladies who came to camp.......I'm using them as guinea pigs..........they don't mind they say.

I offer some options to customise the pattern a bit and the ladies seem keen so I go for it....

two bags, two lots of fabric, pockets galore, overlays......all sorts of things.

I HAD NO IDEA IT WOULD TAKE THAT LONG!

I can make a hobo from start to finish in about 3 hours....its a bag quick sew, but when your taking photos every step of the way, having to keep charging your phone, it takes hours.

I realised my ironing board cover wasn't overly photogenic, so nipped to Sainsbury's where all they have is a lurid Barbie pink effort with tropical flower on.......it will have to do. I cant share my torn grubby looking ironing board with the world....

Its amazing how many processes there are in sewing a bag. so many things you don't really think about but you need to explain. I'm rarely lost for words, but finding the right words to describe some of these things is almost impossible. In theory, the people participating should be able to create the bag using the pattern, all I'm doing is giving a few more ideas and explaining in my words what I'm doing. So if I need help with the words I can crib from the pattern. Not so with the pocket. I do my welt pockets the way I feel comfortable doing them and just try to break it down into manageable portions........It's really hard to describe something you can do with your eyes shut in words that everyone will understand........

''you take the thingy and tuck it into the whatsit wrong sides together, then pull the oojemyflip over the doodah...........''

You get the picture? finding the right words is really hard to do.

Photos..........hundreds of them..........loaded onto the computer and sorted into order.......the ones of my feet or the wall deleted, a couple of short videos of the bits I just couldn't describe......

my three hour hobo is no more, in all seven hours to make the first one, stop start stop start.........redo take more photos...........open wine...........drink wine.......

no less than 200 photos later..........lol

40 posts........2 videos...........

and my lovely ladies have created hobo bags to be proud of......yes just 6..........but I couldn't have been more delighted that my instructions worked and the bags speak for themselves......

Encouraged by the success of this event I decided to go bigger......this time I asked the lovely Liz at Moments ( http://liz-moments.blogspot.co.uk/) if I could do her beautiful Fine and Dandy pattern......pattern available here...https://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sewing/accessory/fine--dandy-pouch/193508?rceId=1464378130754~pufq8ddb...... ...and we decided to do my hacked version of the pattern so people could make something 'off piste' from the original pattern.......when its a small group of ladies you know, its fine if you make a mess of it, when its open to anyone its a whole new ball game. I don't want to look a fool, not do I want to let Liz down. you might think once burned twice shy, but oh no........straight back in there and off we go again. this time it was so much easier, although for a small pouch there are an awful lot of processes to get through to get a finished pouch.

My ladies didn't let me down, at the end of the week we had no less than 13 beautiful fine and dandy sewing pouches.

When it was all done, I felt almost as though I'd given birth......exhausted.....relieved it had all gone well.........in need of a stiff drink...........and very very proud of what had been produced.

When one of the ladies from the Fine and Dandy sew along posted her pouch on Facebook, she commented that it had been like having her own personal tutor...............those words alone made me decide that this wouldn't be the last time I do this, it was fun..........and a huge learning experience.......

Watch this space for details of the next one ..........lol

The Fine and Dandy pouch........The Ultimate pouch to own and make

I can't tell you how exciting it is to be a pattern tester..........I know a lot of ladies that test for several designers.........I have just one...........

So here I am with my second test pattern for Liz at Moments.....

The Fine and Dandy pouch can be found on Craftsy http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sewing/accessory/fine--dandy-pouch/193508?_ct=fhezusj-tujqyb-fqjjuhd-ydifyhqjyed&_ctp=193508

 

So lets talk Pouches.......lots of different patterns out there, so many to pick from, I've never been a massive fan of any of them if I'm honest but the Fine and Dandy is different. First you have two sizes, second you have detailed instructions for both faux

leather and fabric, third there are pockets.......and I mean pockets.........lots of pockets

 

 

The pattern doesn't have loads of pattern pieces to cut out, but it does give detailed measurements for each part you will need, and diagrams which I found really helpful.

there aren't too many pieces to cut so it doesn't feel like a chore not having pattern pieces.

 

I decided to make my first pouch from Faux leather as I like a bit of a challenge, but I've also made a fabric one and it was just as satisfying to create.

 

So many new skills to learn in this pouch, when you look at the photos you will see what looks like piping, but its faux piping........try googling it.....you wont find a single thing about it, I know I tried, get the pattern and learn how its done.......lol

 

 

Unlike a lot of bags the main outside of the pouch isn't the main attraction when it come to sewing, the lining is the star, that's where we find slip pockets and pleated pockets galore. I cant say I'm a massive fan of pleated pockets, I like the way they look but oh the time they take to do....lol...

These are worth the effort as they give a lovely deep pocket that's actually useful, you can fit several lipsticks in one pocket, or two spools of thread......

all the measurement's for folding and sewing the pockets are given in the pattern, stick with the pattern and its worth it.

Then we come to the putting together phase.......and this doesn't go together the way I was expecting, liz has a clever way of sewing the boxed corners that keeps the lining taught and ensures it fits really well and stays put...

 

As with all bags there is an epic battle to turn the bag once you have it all together, if you haven't ever made a bag, you may not understand, but a lot of people refer to it as birthing........and its not far wrong. The Fine and Dandy was a birth that needed patience and strong wrists........but slowly slowly and it does come right.

I made the larger pouch, and its a great size......ideal for make up, toiletries, sewing notions, small toys anything you want that you need stored safely and in an organised fashion.

 



Another great pattern from Liz at Moments, well worth a try. I would suggest if your unfamiliar with faux leather or don't feel confident, then make a fabric one first to get a feel for how it comes together, but do try it in Faux leather, its a great fun sew.

 

So........after all my waffle...........the pattern is well written, with Liz's usual touch of humour thrown in, lots of helpful tips and hints for embroidery placement and working with faux leather. Clear instructions and great diagrams ( I used these more than the written measurements as that's easier for me) lots of photos to help you through the instructions.

 

 You wont be disappointed with this one!

 

For more information about sewing with Faux leather pop over to the Moments blog at http://liz-moments.blogspot.co.uk/