weekender

What do you do when everyone in blog land is whipping up awesome bags with Amy Butler's Weekender pattern?

Hop on the bandwagon and make one too!

 Here are the tips and ideas I found most useful, as well as some of my own:

1. Use batting and duck cloth instead of interfacing from Oh Fransson!  I used scraps plus some Robert Kaufman Yarn Dyed Essex in Black, along with some Kokka polka dot.

2. Increase the length of the straps by 9" from Oh Fransson!  I found this to be the perfect length to swing over my shoulder.

3. Zig Zag around all your pieces of duck after quilting to reduce fray from Providence Handmade.  SOOO glad I did this.

4. I added zippers to my side pockets using these pictures from lietuvnikas 

Hopefully you can see it in the pictures above and below.  I felt like the pockets would be more functional with a zipper and I'd be less likely to lose things.

5. As just about everyone recommends I used the Clover wonder clips, and they worked great.  I bought the 50 piece box and honestly could have used about 10 more when piecing the bag.  On the corners I left no open space, just clip after clip after clip.  Seems insane but it made me go slow.

6. Many people recommend making their straps wider for comfort.  I took this advice and made mine 1.5 inches wide.  I'm glad I did.  I did not follow the instructions for making the straps.  I used my favorite method with some interfacing I had on hand.

7. If I could do it over, in addition to the included instructions to tack down the handles, I would also tack them down vertically on either side from the base of the bag up to the 9" mark.  I don't like that I can reach behind them in my side pockets or that there is a gap on the outside of the bag (you can see it in the picture below). Tacking them down just seems a little cleaner? Not a huge deal though.

8. I used a 22 inch separating sport zipper and it fit the opening between the side pockets perfectly - however, remember to make stops, as the pattern suggests!  Trust me.  You don't want to be struggling to reassemble your zipper that separated while the bag is complete and everything is sewed down, worrying about having to take it all apart if you can't get it back together.  Who on earth would do that?    Yeah, me.

9. I sewed my side pockets with just a 1/4 inch seam to make them a little taller.  I think the pattern calls for a 1/2 inch seam.  Small potatoes but still something to consider.

10. I used a quilted panel for the base (no interfacing).  I did buy some masonite for the false bottom insert.  Seems sturdy enough for me, but that's entirely personal preference.

11. When sewing the side panels to the top panel I put my Clover clips all around the bag, but sewed all the straight edges first.  This gave me less to worry about and more places to put my hands when it came time to maneuver the corners.  Maneuver is a good word for it too.  Really.  Brace yourself.

12. I backstitched and went over stitches a lot on the final assembly, especially the corners.  You are sewing through so much, I felt the added security would increase the longevity of the bag.

13.  Like many others I broke a few needles, but only because I was trying to sew too fast.  

The pattern says go slow.  It's no joke.
{in my best Horowitz's mother voice} 

"Listen to yah Muhtha!  Go slow!"

I've made lots of bags, so my experience might bias my opinion, but I thought the pattern was simple and straight forward.  The prep work for this bag was time consuming but well worth the effort.  I love the quilted look and it really is a nice sturdy bag.

The final assembly is cumbersome.  Like threw my back out, been hobbling around for five days cumbersome.  IF you are prone to back injury - and tend to sew with your whole body...take breaks and stretch.  Really.  That's not to say it's not do-able.  It really is.

I don't love that you have to hand sew the lining in, but what are ya gonna do?  The pattern is otherwise pretty awesome and I am lucky enough to have a Mom who does stuff like this for me!  Yay Mom!  I chose the feather print from AMH Field Study.  Can you see it peeking out there?

I'm proud of the bag I made and am already fighting the urge to make another, lucky my back is a constant reminder to appreciate what I already have and not wish for more.

For now.  {wink}