Kayakin' Tote Will be finished

Kayakin' Tote

 

FABRIC is KAYAKIN' on  Little Seneca Lake- (500 Acre), in Black Hill Regional Park, BOYDS-CLARKSBURG, MD

FABRIC is  KAYAKIN' AT SUNSET at OCRACOKE ISLAND, NC

Found this beautiful batik in my quilting stash...

Colors look great to go with everything

Here is the bag before handles are attached and top is finished

Now there is one thing... The fabric is shorter in width than my kayakin' fabric for the outside.   I don't want to loose any of my fabulous pictures on my fabric, so I have to piece the sides... but that will be fine.  It might even add extra body on the ends of the tote because it will seam where it is folded.

Doesn't the colors in the batik look good with the outside of the tote.

And then..... I found while I was diggin' around some old piece of hard leather that I was reluctant to throw away from some old leather deteriorated thing of someones... I think it is the right size for the bottom insert.

It seems to be the perfect size... We will see when I attach everything together.

In this picture you now see another piece of skin, I found so, I am thinking maybe it would work for bindings on the tote... We will see if that will work..

As you can see on the floor my beading bag is laying there...

I am so tempted to start something else...

I am determined I will finish this first... then maybe make little miniature sewing machines in cross-stitch to place on covered buttons to make earrings...

ANNND... I found this snazzy fabric... so finish one thing and then do what I am going to wear tomorrow... and then do the Doggie Billow....

Pieces are laid out for the other items...

 No, I didn't do anything else yet..

I was so excited about the beautiful batik lining... I forgot to sew the plastic liner to the lining before I put the leather bottom in.... sooo I will improvise as usual

I did beautiful flat felted seams on the end pieces of the batik and made a tube for the inside of the tote

 Now it is one big tube to go inside

So I did the flat felt seams to insert the bottom for the inside, but I forgot the clear plastic to be sewn directly on the lining pieces after I made the tube and then sew the bottom on-do as I say and not as I do...

I am going to make a clear plastic liner to put inside before I sew it all together.

Sew Now... The Stabilizer piece for stiffness and body needs to be sewn in a tube piece to go between the outside and the liner and then a Plastic Liner made the same way to insert into the inside of the liner.

Liner is sewn flipped-Stabilizer sewn flipped-lining in the Stabilizer and then edge folded over and see how much stiffness is obtained.

 

For all -Tote, Liner, Stabilizer and final Plastic lining- Fold the corner and stitch a triangle on the corher the same size

Trim so the ends of the Tote are squared off

When turned inside out after trimming bottom of tote has this shape on both sides of bottom

In this one I felt it did not have enough stiffness even with the Leather bottom
so, I will cut  a piece of thick cardboard the same size as the leather and put in the bottom

Then I have to decide on trim and handle placement-which looks better the batik or the leather trim

I think the batik trim looks pretty and then with the handles

After that when all pieces are the same size tube the top edge can be covered by either a bias leather strip, or a plastic strip, or a bias batik strip covered by plastic before sewing it on the edge...

 

 

 

I vote for the black leather trim.... and the batik will be inside so that will still be beautiful

Now just make the clear plastic liner and then sew all layers together at the top edge... make the leather trim top stitch that around and then 

Stitch the handles on both sides and away I go....

This is plastic on outside and sewn in lining.

I love it already.... next black leather over seaming on sides for inside plastic lining and then black leather trim on top where it is batik...

 I should end up with something like this color scheme when finished...

IT TOOK A LOT LONGER THAN I EXPECTED.... but I am LOVIN' IT!!!

Then the handles through it all...

This is a closeup of the Skin/soft glove leather that I had in the drawer

This is what I am using to edge the inside of the clear plastic lining on each side.  Then it will be a seamless lining at the bottom of the inside of the bag and just a covered seam on each side going down to the bottom.

 

This is just wrapped on and then top stitched like a piece of packaged bias tape.

You Can see it is top stitched... and next I turn it inside out and place it in the bag and Put the Black Binding around the top of the bag.....

OOOPS... the plastic inside turned out to be smaller, so I had to improvise...

There was more pink snakeskin soooo,   I improvised... I had some more of the snakeskin, so I made a water bottle/thermos holder inside pocket.

 

The skin just happened to have a square sticking out so I made a tube, overcast stitched it and folded the square under and stitched around to create the Thermos/waterbottle holder-turned it inside out and stitched it on with tabs of the soft leather

Here is the finished Thermos/Waterbottle holder that will be tabbed inside the Tote Bag......

 

 

 

  Here is the side showing my kayakin' in the sunset at Ocracoke Island,  North Carolina

  Here is the side of the Tote showing a sailboat in the afternoon when I was kayakin' at Black Hill Regional Park, in Clarksburg, Maryland

I absolutely love every fabric used.   The difficulty was the plastic sticking to itself or the sewing area until it was finished to something....

ALSO  very thick in areas of handles and skins layered... used a number 16-18 when doing these items.  I had to take my matchmaker or IDT off because the tickness was too thick.

 DONE!!!!

 

Daisy Dress-Spring is Here

In My Closet anyway....

So, I know ... I was searching for Stabilizer to put in between the tote and Whoopee!... I found this Daisy fabric... begging to be sewn...

So, I made earrings... with a daisy centered on each covered button earring...
That was to motivate me...

Then I cut out the dress and almost finished it before work Saturday, but one of my daughters started texting me... and well,   I hemmed it and did the circle scarf tonight when I got home from work...

Soooo, Sunday... I will wear Daisies to work...

The lapel pin is butterflies... and if I am lucky I will either.. cross stitch a tiny daisy or butterfly for the other side, or Fuse some glass of black white and yellow ......

 I love this pin...

So I pulled the shanks from some covered buttons and inserted earring shanks and covered them with the daisies before I started to motivate me to finish the dress.....

AND here is the pin I cross- stitched a butterfly for the other lapel....

Okay.... I AM going to focus on the TOTE BAG!!!

This is the same combo pattern as the red and black dress....

Fun for work clothes... here I come... Yes Yess.... I will get back on Tote task and billow, quillows when I get home from work...

Todays Challenge-Tote Bag-Draping Dress -Doggie Billow- 2 fleece and Minky Quilts

I posted a tote bag on my last blog that I was covering on the outside and inside with Clear Plastic.

Everything else on that blog was finished and posted... Nuno felted scarves, and my wonderful blanket type Kwik Sew Minky Coat that really hit the spot this past cold week.   Now I have to get ready for the summer.   I am either going to buy something on the water where I can slide my kayak in or do my ususal 4 weeks near Assateague in cottages on the water.  I haven't decided if I am up to the challenge of purchasing... but I have to decide soon or my cottages on the water will be gone.

This is the same gauge plastic as you can use to make a picture pocket on the outside of a grannie tote to put her grandchildrens pictures in.  I am just totally covering the fabric so I can put wet kayaking clothes in the tote when I am through kayaking.  I ususally layer with a cover up T and shorts and then take them off of the top of my bathing suits and then put on a long lycra dress and go out to dinner when local kayaking or at the beach when I am going to the boardwalk.

So first I will go back to the tote.  It is about 1:00.  Finish it and move on to the Billow etc.

So the outside is covered with the plastic...

The handle is a skin from GStreetFabrics.com that I will shape into a tote handle.

The clear plastic is from GStreetFabrics.com and is sewn in a one piece half yard piece over my very own fabric-with my photos printed on it.

This was made with the regular eco canvas fabric.

The other side is my solo kayaking fabric-Kayakin at sunset

 The inside with be a cotton batik from GStreetFabrics.com... There are many to choose from

Many Batiks to choose from at GStreetFabrics in Rockville, MD   see Google Maps for location to visit...

So you Sew your outside of your Tote....  and then sew it to the clear plastic.... so you have as few holes as possible in the clear plastic... this is the same gauge as the plastic used for photo pockets on Grannie Totes...  Also purchased from GStreetFabrics..... as I work there... most of my fabrics are purchased there, GstreetFabrics site- order on line

unless as in this tote the fabric is something I printed.

Tote outside is made by flat felting a seam between front and back and then sewing the plastic on around the selvage.. the least sewing through the plastic is the best as they are hole punctures that may let water in.

The seam is only in the fabric at one side.... the clear plastic is 54 inches wide so you only have to seam on one side.... so my intent is to seam one side on the outside and oneside on the inside layer and then sew the two sides together...and flip so the batik covered by plastic is on the inside.

The tote handle has many decisions.... if you are putting hard stabilizer interfacing inside the two layers it will practically stand alone with a rectangular side and bottom.... so you can use a long handle or two smaller handles and carry like a purse handle...  I don't use shoulder straps, so I will not be putting that on... but here is how your layouts for the straps look:

This is shorter handles all of these in this color are cut from one small skin sold at GStreetFabrics

There is enough skin to do a long tote handle from one side to the other if you are making Rectangular totes... this will be rectangular... and with stabilizer inbetween

The ends of the tote will look like this when folded rectangular after sewing

If you are doing a shoulder strap you will attach at the top of the side ends

You can also do it in two pieces and use a D-ring so it can be adjusted.

I will be using the shorter handles and it will give me enough left over to do another tote another day, with two small handles....  In the picture you can see how long the leftover half is to be able to go from one side to the other of the tote.

Both Tote handles finished

Now finish the dress.... Change thread and finish Tote....!!!!  7:30 

 Dress is done!.... Now hmmmm... Jacket?... Tote?... Jewelry?...  see my dilemma???.... okay... finish tote... then jewelry and jacket and wear tomorrow.... and do billow and get those quilts off the tables...

 

For my totes I will be placing the handles here.

I use this pattern for my lycra blouses but have it adjusted to fit me the way I like... Long loose sleeves and I added a bit to the center drape so it drapes more.... I just folded the pattern and put it at a bigger angle in the upper center front... hey, it works for me.....  

so  for this dress... I put the top with the bottom of the simple dress pattern

So again... all those who love my suits, or at least say they do, my suits are different patterns with just a straight skirt with simple kick pleat and an elastic waist.... very comfortable... I keep trying different jacket patterns... and the scarf that matches the blouse that is under the lapels is just a leftover strip of lycra whatever is left...

Bottom-McCalls 4176 and Top Butterick 3131 my old standby

If time, maybe a drapie black Jacket out of some matte jersey I have sitting here.

This dress will be the bottom of the dress above and the top is the usual drape blouse pattern I love and I just overlapped them and cut around.

I couldn't fit the front, so I cut it totally biased so I could fit the front piece.  This is good as it will drape better, but that was the only way I could fit it... There won't be any darts, and no facing, but the back neck facing.. so I will be able to so it up quick now that it is cut out...  I will hang it and take a pic when I totally finish it... I will make covered button earrings and a marble double bracelet out of the scrapes... and I am planning a fused glass pin, if I can find some red and black glass chips in my box of chips and frits.

NOW another cup of coffee and a brownie.....!  Days off are fun...

I have an excuse... I have to do everything that is black thread before I move onto the Doggie Billow, because that is white thread...So  Tote Handle, Dress, then Tote body and Doggie Billow... and thennnnnnnnnn  Quilts... Whew...

OMG! 5:45PM...... Finish Something Kitty!!!!!!:-)) 

Finished one handle and then use for pattern for the second...

The handle ends will be folded under and top stitched in a square and then the square below the rounded handle will be topstitched at each end in the center of the bag as centered here.

The handle itself is turned under and rounded for gripping above the square

Before you start it is faster to not blog, have all your supplies lined up and all your projects lined up and already have eaten your lunch.... :-)) 

Don't forget I am taking pictures as I go tooo!!!

Be Back as I finish the next Two items with pics....OMG! it's 3:15.... time for more COFFEE in my cup...!!!!

Okay... I am all over the place... you know I only have off today and then I have to go back to work tomorrow... so ..

I cut out the sleeves and the back, but I couldn't get the whole back to fit.

As usual the fabric came from the "Treasure Hunt Room" at work at just 2.97 a yard.  That meant I had to take the size piece it was and make it work.   I love the colors and the fabric weight.... soooooo

I had a few pieces cut out to a dress... my typical draping front as my blouses I wear with my suits to work..

I combined 

 

Dress is done... Fabric from "The Treasure Hunt Room" GStreetFabrics in Rockville -Black Jacket will also be from Treasure Hunting at G

Now.. Jewelry?Jacket?Totes... okay Totes... then jewelry and jacket and wear tomorrow... change thread for totes and back for jacket , then do billow... and then start on quilts and get them off the tables once and for all... 

hopefully all done and mailed by weekend... GOAL... because I want to go do something on FRIDAY.... look at dream house goal... but I can't if I can't finish these things!