"Nuttin but knittin" - that says it all, with an occasional deviation into the real world.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Are there any sewing experts out there.......????

Hope you can help me.  What have I done wrong?


My cheap thrifty side recently kicked in, and instead of purchasing any of these little box bags off of Etsy, I decided that I could surely sew some on my own.  So.... off to JoAnne's fabric store I went.  WOW - culture shock.  It's probably been 20 years since I have sewn anything more than a hem or stray button.  Enough said - it was an eye-opening experience!


I had found an online tutorial for the little boxes, and I had some fabric stashed away, so all I needed was interfacing and appropriate zippers.  I was unsure as to the proper interfacing, and the blank stare that I received from the JoAnne's employee when I asked questions....obviously I was speaking a foreign language.  (Amazing!)  A helpful customer came to my rescue, and tried to help me find an appropriate product amongst all those bolts.  This is the best we could come up with.


But....there seems to be some puckering, wrinkly action going on.  It is adhered well to the cotton fabric, so I am wondering.....did I buy the wrong stuff?  My other thought is that I should perhaps attach the stiffener to the lining of the bag, not the outer fabric.  (Although I did it as the tutorial instructed, so I imagine that is not actually the problem.)  Any thoughts?  Suggestions?



I have several more bags planned (not sure why??) and would like to cure the puckering problem before I try another one.  I think I will enlarge it just a bit too, and I definitely want to put little tabs at each end of the zipper for ease of  actually zipping the zipper.  Duh!  Wish I'd thought of that early on.  The lack of those is more irritating than the puckering.   

If anyone is still reading this..... I can also share some knitted FO's.  I think these are all posted on Ravelry though, so perhaps it is redundant of me to do so.

Oh, but before the knitting, let me share some spinning.  I haven't spun anything for quite sometime, so it was with great delight that I spun this skein of  FatCats Variegated BFL fiber, colorway "Shadowed Glenn".  (Approx 250 yards of probably sport weight.)  She may make it a stock colorway - I'm hoping.  This is such a pretty yarn, I think.  It's not very well spun, as I was somewhat out of practice, but I don't think it will take me long to get back into the grove of things.
 


Now, back to the knitting..... first off, the mittens that I knit from the Knitpicks Winter Woodland mitten kit


I was a little unhappy with the dark color of the Palette yarn, but Knitpick's customer service came to the rescue again.  They sent me 4 new skeins that really do look much better in quality.  I think there was just some inferior yarn in my kit.  I hope to start the next pair of the mittens soon.  The kit has the patterns and sufficient yarn to make 6 pairs total.  Don't ask - I have no idea why I would want 6 pairs of similar mittens.  Filler for the charity box, probably.

I also made my DH 2 new hats that match the cowl in the previous post.  He loves them!



Jared Floods "Turn a Square" free hat pattern in Malabrigo.  He wears them all the time - inside and outside the house.  I certainly cannot complain that he is not wearing them.  LOL.  Each winter is harder for him to handle - the cold is really getting to him these days.  Apparently his heart meds are to blame.

Speaking of Jared Flood.  I hope to take a class with him this spring.  He is one of the many fantastic instructors that will be teaching at YarnOver put on by the Minnesota knitter's guild. His class is one of my first choices....and I am hoping to hear there is place reserved for me.  I think we will hear our class assignments at the end of the month.

And, another hat.

This photo, you won't see on Ravelry. :)  I should have held the camera just a little bit higher.  I don't wear hats, but this one....just might be the exception.  I also knit one for my mom (but failed to get a photo before I gave it to her).  She asked for a hat, which surprised me - she too being the non-hat wearing type.  I've worn this one a couple of times and really like it.  So warm!

I just finished another cowl yesterday, but not blocked yet.  I'll share photos soon.

And everyone needs a giggle.  Background - BG is moving from his crib into his "Big boy bed" at home.  He's doing much better now, but there were a few tumultuous nights when the transition began.  This is a photo my daughter sent to me....... She found him like this - and still asleep!

8 comments:

Karen said...

I wish I could help but I do not sew.
I love the photo of BG hanging out of bed. It is so cute:)
Your knits are just fabulous! I think the hat looks great on. You really should wear it.

Monika said...

The last photo make me laugh, he's adorable!
So many lovely things you made.

Dorothy said...

I have photos of the granddaughters in similar positions. Too sweet! I've used Decor Bond successfully in several tote bags, so I'm not quite sure why you're getting the wrinkling. Did you preshrink your cotton fabrics? If you didn't perhaps the steam when you bond is shrinking them slightly. I've always put the interfacing on the outside of the bags because that's the part you want to be stiff. They are cute bags. Could you send me the link to the tutorial? Maybe I'll try one and see how mine turn out.

Lisa said...

Don't give up on the bags! I love making them. I use a medium weight interfacing. However, I don't use anything that requires ironing it to the fabric. (It's not a 'heat and bond' that I use).

I like it to be thin but stiff enough so the bag can stand alone if need be. (nothing like a quilt batting).

I'm hoping this helps. If not, let me know and I can find the exact name/weight of the stuff I use and let you know as I'm typing this from work.

Judy S. said...

Hi Kathy, I was missing your posts! Why don't you email Linda at http://linsueray.blogspot.com/? She makes lots of bags and I bet will be able to help you. Love those mittens and the DH hat. What pattern did you use for yours? It looks great.unthie

17th stitch said...

I have no clue about the bags... however, I can comment on the mittens: some people are making sets of six to go around a large family or friendship group. Others (like me) are making one pair of mittens and turning the rest of the yarn into a Fair Isle vest or sweater. (I might have to buy some more yarn to make that happen, as I'm a big girl!)

Your mittens looks lovely. I can't wait to start knitting mine.

Anonymous said...

Ahhh - Grant looks so cute learning to sleep in his big boy bed.

Your bags look fanastic to me. I agree with the others that the interfacing goes on the outer fabric and not the lining. I also agree that your fabric should be laundered first, especially if it is cotton which shrinks. Your bags still look great IMO.

I love all your knitting and spinning projects and your new yarn looks really nice. So does your hat and you look great wearing it. Nice job!

Shirley said...

I, too, am hoping to catch a spot in one of Jared Flood's classes at Yarnover. I'm hoping to be in his class about cutting steeks. I think that's the morning class. Can't wait for Yarnover.