Revenge of the box bag
Meet Floppy, Wonky, and Passable:
Last Friday, I set out to make a box bag for a gift and somehow ended up with three! I really wanted to mail it out on Saturday, and it was a very long, frustrating evening.
The first bag is Floppy, my attempt at constructing the box bag correctly (unlike the previous attempt). The construction was successful, but I didn’t use strong enough interfacing and the bag wound up being extremely flimsy. It does make a perfect beanbag for Igor.
I’m using the bag now - a skein of Malabrigo gives the bag a bit more structure, but I didn’t think it was good enough to gift. I do love the fabric - cute little peas from Superbuzzy. Eat your veggies!
The center bag is Wonky, king of the uneven seams. At the end of the tutorial, you pinch out some triangles for the end seams, and I could not get the seams to be parallel. This bag has pretty heavy sewn-in interfacing, and I blame the interfacing for all of my issues. Bah!
The blue and green bag is Passable, the best of the bunch. I used slightly lighter interfacing, fused to the lining fabric. The seams are still a bit crooked, but it’s the best of the lot. I did add an extra step to the box bag assembly - concealed seams, to contain the raw edges so that strings don’t fly away and embed themselves in your yarn.
Next time I make one of these, I’m going to create pattern pieces that have the triangle parts cut out ahead of time. I think that this will help me line up the handle, too - it’s really difficult to align it without any straight edge as a reference point. There will definitely be more box bags in my future - I went to the Quilt Festival last weekend, and my fabric stash was considerably enhanced!
RSS
I love the bags! The fabric is fabulous. There’s a tiny part of me that would like to sew things like this but that would totally distract from the current knitting excitement. =)
Have you seen http://fabrictales.com/? It’s a fabulous site. I’ve ordered fabric from them so my mom can make me a quilt, though I don’t know if I’ll see a finished product for quite a while–we knitters aren’t the only ones with startitis.
I think your passable bag is far more than that!! What a high end result you created with the concealed edges. Besides…practice makes PERFECT!!
Is that just homemade bias tape on the seams?? I love it! So much cuter than just lining it.
You may have noticed that I bought my pal a box bag. And I think you know why.
With that said, I think a) that Passable is WAY more than passable. It’s lovely! and b) that the bias tape on the seams is a thing of genius.
oh, i quite like the passable bag, especially.
I agree, the Passable bag is more than passable. I love the peas!
I like your triangle idea - I had the same problem with uneven triangles (although you can’t tell with your bags - they are beautiful!)
They all look great from here! I love, love, love that pea fabric!
One woman’s passable is another’s supremely fantastic. Good work!
I like them all! They have such personality–great fabrics. Is there an etsy shop in your future? :)
you are well on your way to project runway. You have more patience than I do with the sewing.
Great job! I think the same applies to sewing and knitting - you keep tweaking a pattern until it is just right!
They look great.
These bags are all adorable and definitely gift-worthy. Don’t be so hyper-critical. Great fabric too!
Wowza!! Passable in my sewing realm would be Achievement of a Lifetime!!!
They are great! Did you see my attempt? Now I think that was a triangle issue I had!
As the recipient of Passable, I can say that it is inaptly named. Try “Perfect” or “Totally Fantastically Cute!”
I love love love it, and just yesterday I was carrying it and received several compliments. So there. :)
Thanks so much for the awesome package! Email will follow!