Union Jack Pincushions

If you have been following my blog recently you will have noticed that I have been sewing up a storm making bags!  Well all this time, I have had pins all over the place because I didn’t have a pincushion, it was becoming dangerous in our house.  So I decided it was about time I either bought a pincushion or made one.  I chose to make some.  I think the union jack flag is a pretty cool flag and decided this would be the theme for my pincushion/s, I went a little crazy and instead of just making one I ended up make quite a few of them.  Two of them I have decided to gift for some sewing friends locally and keep the remaining one for myself. 


However they are such fun to make and come together very quickly that I decided it was about time I did a giveaway on my blog.  So if your in need of a pincushion or would like a Union Jack Pincushion made by a real Britt then enter my giveaway.
To enter this giveaway you need to become a follower of my blog and also leave a comment on this post, and don’t forget to let your blog buddies know about it.
If you would like me to make you a pincushion in  a different colourway than the traditional union jack flag then let me know your favourite colour too and I will see what I can do!!!
Now for the fine print:
*This giveaway will be open until Valentines day 14 Feb.  You may ask why that date, well its my youngest sons birthday and a date that I won’t forget!  I will close comments and pick a winner on February 14th at 10:00 pm central (or I might be a little late. It won't be earlier than then).
*You must leave me a way to contact you! If you are not sure if your email address comes through with your comments (I get them emailed to me),  If I draw a name that has no contact information, I will pick another winner. 
*I will contact the winner no later than Feb 15th  and also post the winner here.

Bag - Simplicity 2396

From this pattern I made View B (Bottom right)

This bag is a great bag, much smaller than what I thought it would be from the picture on the pattern envelope, but saying that I really like the size of this bag. This bag is quite an easy bag to sew and most of my time was spent cutting out the pattern, interlining, fleece and fabric. It came together quite quickly and would be ideal for a beginner sewer to sew.
Whilst making it, I forgot to cut out the pocket pattern piece so just winged it and made a pocket to suit the size I wanted it to be. The only thing that was a little confusing was which way the pleats lie and this did not make much sense, it would have been helpful if the instructions actually said which way the pleats lie i.e. facing inwards or outwards, instead it just shows you on the pattern but I was confused by this.
The pattern did not explain what type of interlining to use for the bag, so I would normally use a fusible fleece interfacing but did not have any on hand so just used some fleece fabric instead, which I basted to the fabric. The lining in this bag is the same pattern for the main part of the bag, which also required pleating, I felt that the lining was too big for the inside and could be made slightly smaller.
I hope you found this review helpful, thanks for looking.

UPDATE

If you would like to see a different fabric version of this bag then hop on over and see what Veronica from SewVery  made , it is absolutely gorgeous, you can find it on her blog SewVery (seriously check it out, her version is in beautiful Joel Dewbery fabric and is to die for),

Bag - Simplicity 2617

Hi, hope your all having a great weekend.  So what do you do when, its cold outside? make bags of course!  I mentioned in the Amy Butler Birdie Sling Pattern Review   about the amount of fabric I had left over from making the bag,  so I had a look through all my patterns and decided to make the bag from this pattern:

Simplicity 2617 view B.

I had more than enough fabric to make this bag, even enough for the lining, I added in a contrast fabric from my stash for the patchwork, as I wanted this to be slightly different in colour form the Amy Butler bag I made.

I didn’t follow the pattern exactly as it had an inside pocket with a zip and I am a beginner! so zips at the moment scare me!  I can sew them in but they don’t always work out like I want them to, it is a little bit hit and miss!  So I left the pocket out all together. 

This bag also included a magnetic snap closure and I didn’t have one on hand, so I had a look at another pattern and found this neat little loop closure with a button, just the perfect thing to try out the covered button gadget I bought the other week.  I can see myself putting buttons on everything!

Apart from the above changes I found this bag a lot of fun to make, it came together really easy and I enjoyed adding a little stitched pattern along the seams of the patchwork, something I haven’t done before. I really like the handle on this bag, as it seems extremely solid. I love the way this bag turned out.  This bag is certainly easy enough for a beginner to make. So enough of me going on here is the bag I made ………….

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If you look close enough you might be able to see the decorative stitch I used, the same one they used in the pattern

Loving that covered button.

Like I mentioned its cold here in Wisconsin this weekend so I also made a start on another bag, which I hope to share with you some time next week.  Here is a little teaser of the fabric I am using, check bag next week to see the finished bag.

Amy Butler Birdie Sling Bag–Pattern Review

 

Today I want to share a bag that I made at the weekend!  This is the first bag I have ever made, and apart from starting a basic quilt and never finishing it! my sewing experience is very limited.

The pattern I used is the Amie Butler Birdie Sling Bag, which you can see online here

Pattern Description “This honey of a sling holds everything and it's easy to make! (Great for beginners.) Modern styling and dynamic proportions will make this one of your favorite carry-all bags!”

I purchased my pattern from my LQS and if I remember correctly it was approx. $13.99.  The fabric I used to make my bag was by Joel dewberry from the Heirloom Collection and was about $9.00 a yard, so including all the interfacing and fleece interfacing this turned out to be quite an expensive bag to make because of the designer fabric I used. This bag cost about $50 to make, mainly because the LQS is much more expensive than your local Hobby Lobby or Joannes! (but I am OK with that as the “big” stores do not carry all the designer fabrics) and this is a LARGE bag.  If I were to make this bag again, I would maybe just use designer fabric for the outside and use cheaper fabric for the lining, or even just use cheaper fabric for all of it. 

Having never made a bag before, I was extremely pleased with the result.  The pattern was extremely easy to follow and even though I have never sewn pleats or gussets, with the help of the instructions I managed to!  So if I can make this bag anyone can. The only thing I disliked about the pattern was the amount of material that it says you need to make the bag.  I had a lot of material left over,enough to make another bag! (which I will share with you soon) and probably a third if I had not originally cut the fabric out as suggested in the pattern.  Overall though it is a great bag, and it is a BIG bag, which will be great for days out on the beach or messing about on the river!

If you got this far reading my review then wow, now I will shut up and let you see some pics.

Look at those gorgeous pleats!

Inside of the bag is lined with Joel Dewberry – Tile Flourish, it has 2 quite large pockets (the ones you can see in the pic) and one larger pocket on the opposite side.  Like I said this is one large bag, great for holding all your essentials on the beach………………

FABRIC USED - JOEL DEWBERRY
TILE FLOURISH IN AMBER (Lining)
RIBBON LATICE IN AMBER (strap, band)
ORNATE FLORAL IN AMBER (main part of bag)