The 3 bag project - my first foray to the dark side :)

[Iminei]

Beautiful! Bellisimo!! Bravo!!!

[LeilaMay]

Next bag in the series coming up - same shape but different colourway. Different sewing machine as well - I tried with my vintage Bernina but the 'creep' was quite bad. Walking foot for the Bernina is out of my price range right now, and I don't want to mess with the presser foot so I've moved onto one of the featherweights- Singer 221K - the clean one LOL

[Kenora]

That's looking beautiful in those colours, so subtle. 

[Iminei]

Looking good Leila!

[Snowgoose]

I love your fabric choices for both bags, they look oriental to me - the silver one makes me think of cherry trees covered in frost and snow  Both are gorgeous 

[LeilaMay]

Here is the second bag finished. I bought some grey fabric that I loved, and was determined to use here. It was too much in the actual panels, but I used it for the bias, the zip edging (the zip is very grey/blue) and the lining. I think the grey 'frames' the blue panels really nicely and creates a nice contrast.
Nothing I can do about the zip metal being yellow coloured - they are all like that

So, I made different mistakes on thsi one, but I hope I'm getting better slowly - still a faff to handstitch all round that bias edge though!

[Iminei]

There's that gorgeous pictorial fabric we saw inside ...

Its all looking exceptionally good Leila, Pat yourself on the back from me!!!

[LeilaMay]

There's that gorgeous pictorial fabric we saw inside ...

Its all looking exceptionally good Leila, Pat yourself on the back from me!!!

Trying to work out how to piece the fish fabric one now - with a fish fancy cut in the centre and then some other stuff going on around, you remember? How do folks work these things out without cutting up strips of fabric to try? Do you photocopy fabric and print it out on paper for cutting up? It's hard to work out exactly what you'll get

[Ploshkin]

I love the lining fabric too, it's always nice to have a bit of a surprise inside.  I'm looking forward to seeing no 3.

[Iminei]

Do you photocopy fabric and print it out on paper for cutting up?

That's a really good idea .... but basically you centre your featured design with the measurement of your ruler adding 1/4" (if you are using a 1/4" seam) all round.
If you are using a normal seam allowance, whatever that might be, centre the design and add that measurement to all sides.

I hope I have explained well enough, if not there's always the t'internet!

[LeilaMay]

I get that bit, thank you
But for the rest of the panel - which is not a square, how do you decide which fabrics and how wide each strip and so forth? How do you physically 'play around' with the choices to see which is going to work best? Or can you do it 'in your mind's eye'? Or do folks draw it out and colour bits in, or rip up coloured paper strips?

If all the pieces are going to be the same size and shape I see how you could cut them and move them around without loss of fabric. But if the shapes are strange, surely you can't afford to cut fabric until you are sure of what you're doing?

I guess manipulation on photoshop would work if you have those relevant computer skills/ (but I don't lol )

[LeilaMay]

I love the lining fabric too, it's always nice to have a bit of a surprise inside.  I'm looking forward to seeing no 3.

Thank you
I just so loved the fabric, and was determined to show it somehow. I hope the recipient likes it - none of the folks who are getting these are into stitching themselves.

Oh, there may be four - I bought 4 zips and I can't waste one now can I LOL

 

[Vegegrow]

I must have a 100 zip stash .... loving the bags Leila May

[LeilaMay]

Bag number three, front and rear panels.
The look of the finished bag is quite altered by the choice of bias - like putting a border on a quilt I would think - so the bag will end more blue than it might appear from this shot. But here is my first fancy cut attempt.

[fajita]

Nice!