WIP Wednesday: Tudor Bag in Fantasia fabric
So… I had some leftover fabric after making two pillow covers out of the upcoming Fantasia line from Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness for Art Gallery Fabrics.
The unicorn print is so gorgeous, I thought it would be perfect to feature it prominently in a bag. No kidding, I spent hours perusing patterns before finally settling on the Tudor Bag pattern that I’d already purchased, but hadn’t yet tried. It seemed befitting to use fabric designed by Sara to make one of her bags.
When I complete the project, I will do a full pattern review. I am very pleased with how the bag is coming together so far, and the instructions are easy to follow and understand.
At this point, I’ve cut out all of my fabric, interfacing (Pellon SF 101), and Bosal In-R-Form Sew In Foam Stabilizer – which I substituted for Annie’s Soft & Stable. I also fused all of the interfacing to the corresponding fabrics, basted my exterior fabrics to the foam stabilizer, added the front zipper pocket, and made the handles.
Cutting and fusing, of course, took several hours. This seems to be a running theme with most of the bag patterns I have made. Be prepared to spend a day cutting, pressing, and fusing interfacing.
The Tudor Bag definitely has more cutting instructions than most other patterns. Check out all of mine below – I hope I don’t lose any of these!
In other news, I am nearly out of two whole bolts of interfacing that I use for bag making and home décor items like Noodlehead’s Divided Basket. Through some online searching, I found a great price on Pellon SF101 woven interfacing from Overstock. There’s an ongoing sale on craft items and I ordered two 10 yard bolts for $26.97.
I was about to also order Peltex, when I spotted a recommendation for an alternative product called “Stiffy” from a small business called Long Creek Mills in North Carolina. Kind of an interesting name for a product, but the description says it’s identical to Peltex, is slightly less spongy than TimTex, and can be used to make totes, handbags, and placemats.
Stiffy comes in an 18 inch width, sold either by the yard or 35 yard roll. 35 YARD ROLL???
Needless to say, I ordered the 35 yard roll for $42.50. With shipping, the final cost rounded out to just under $60. That’s still under $2 per yard, which is still a great price. In comparison, Overstock is selling a 10 yard bolt of Peltex #70 Ultra-Firm Sew In for $31.98. Easy decision.
I’m curious to see how humongous this roll of Stiffy is when it arrives at our house. Chances are, this will pretty much be a lifetime supply of ultra-firm stabilizer. I could probably make enough placemats to cover a football field. We shall see…
Today I am participating in Work in Progress Wednesday hosted by Freshly Pieced!
See you next time!
– Jennifer