Making the Yarn Minder Bag by SewSweetness
/And then there were three…..
It’s bag fest time. Last weekend was my annual foray into bag making and I get so much pleasure out of plotting and planning what it will be, researching the options and gathering the supplies. In general, it takes me about two months from when I get the inklings of what I should make to when I get started. This year, because I have been really enjoying some fairisle knitting, I was keen to make a yarn bag that I can pop in the car and take with me on a weekend away or a holiday. I turned in the first instance, as usual, to the ‘Sew Sweetness’ website for inspiration and there it was - the very thing. Sara Lawson’s ‘Yarn Minder Bag’ was especially appealing to me because not only was it a really good size, but inside were divided sections for the different balls of yarn which is so perfect for fairisle knitting. I bought the pattern and the video and watched it start to finish. Having made two of her bags now, I probably have enough knowledge about how it works to have made this from just the pattern, but I find the video very user friendly and somehow it just adds that level of reassurance to the project.
I began gathering supplies. I decided that if I could I would like to make it co-ordinate with my ‘ansel camera bag’ and my ‘triple threat briefcase’ and was so lucky to actually be able to source a little more of the gorgeous ‘Gustav Klimt’ fabric (although I think that will really be the last of it now).
I have a bolt of the same spotty lining fabric that I used before so that was fine and I also had some mesh fabric left from the camera bag and over the next few weeks, I ordered some more of the black denim, that I had previously used, for the bag accents and strap. With all the various interfacings and decent bag hardware, as always it was not a cheap project but well….it is only once a year…and so far, the bags I have made are much used and treasured makes and it is rather cool to have a matching set of luggage. I was ready to go. For some peculiar reason, I always need to leave everything stacked up on my cutting table and ready to go for a week or two to get my mind in gear and then once I start to make it, I can’t stop. I should add here that I recommend having a good bottle of wine in the fridge for those tricky moments that inevitably need a little nerve calming balm.
I have to say that having a feature fabric like this is a real joy, but also requires careful thought when you are cutting out. This bag is cylindrical so it showcases a landscape print like this really well, but also I was a little concerned by the black mesh that will cover quite a bit of the lower half of the bag.
As with the previous projects I have worked on, I would really recommend, cutting out and prepping all the pieces needed. All the fabrics need interfacing of one kind or another, so it is good to have everything ready and labelled before you begin the video. This way, everything is to hand as you go along. It went really quite quickly once I got going.
As usual, the small size wonder clips were indispensable. The beautiful green zipper that I used was bought by the yard and it was so easy to work with. It is wider than a normal dressmaking zipper and generally more chunky for use in bags. The zip and all the hardware I used for this project was by Emmaline bags from Sew Hot and I will pop a link at the bottom of the post for this.
As usual, the pattern was well thought out and the divider section for the interior was fun to make and really very cleverly devised.
There were some challenging bits, but with a bit of bag making experience under my belt, it was not to difficult at all.
I always love to add in some touches to make it personal to me and I popped in one of my woven labels and added some leather tabs with rivets for a professional finish.
I was about ready to assemble the bag now and this is always the nerve-racking bit. Sara Lawson makes it look so easy on her video and generally it is with her designs and this bag did go together beautifully.
It really is a such a good feeling to make a project like this. It is a useful and practical thing to add to my collection and with three matching bags now, it really is a lovely set.
