The Sewing Place

Merchant & Mills factotum bag

dolcevita

Merchant & Mills factotum bag
« on: December 23, 2020, 08:59:25 AM »
These are Christmas presents for sisters and brother in law. They all need bags that are compact but spacious and won't look bad for a bit of rough treatment.
I used waxed cotton from a company in Birmingham (can't remember the name but they are in Sherlock Street), and bought it as seconds. Some of this is due to being over-waxed so once I cut my pieces, I sandwiched them between kitchen towel and applied a hot iron. This removed the excess wax and the end result was good.
The bags are fully lined; the flap over the capacious front pockets is a nice feature.
I've put some essential supplies into the bags, too.
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jintie

Re: Merchant & Mills factotum bag
« Reply #1 on: December 23, 2020, 10:05:41 AM »
I like them.
I was going through their site yesterday- the clothing looks pretty timeless.
Rottweiler with scissors

Lachica

Re: Merchant & Mills factotum bag
« Reply #2 on: December 23, 2020, 18:10:23 PM »
They're great. Must have a look at their patterns.
Mary
2020 stash: not gonna count, not gonna feel guilty.

RJR_38

Re: Merchant & Mills factotum bag
« Reply #3 on: December 24, 2020, 16:23:39 PM »
Looks great! I haven't tried sewing with waxed cotton yet but it is on my list. Is there anything particular you do when sewing with it?

dolcevita

Re: Merchant & Mills factotum bag
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2020, 11:43:53 AM »
Looks great! I haven't tried sewing with waxed cotton yet but it is on my list. Is there anything particular you do when sewing with it?

No special treatment required, it sewed well on both a vintage Singer and modern Pfaff, although I would recommend a good clean of the feed dogs once you're done as they get a bit clogged up with the wax.
One thing that's easier than conventional cloth is transferring markings. Rather than tailor tacks/chalk, etc I used the pointy end of a seam ripper to scratch markings into the wax. It worked well as they were easy to see and done in a flash.

RJR_38

Re: Merchant & Mills factotum bag
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2020, 22:14:40 PM »
@dolcevita when making bags I usually use Frixon pens for marking as it is nearly always in the seam allowance or under a line of stitching and irons out anyway. Not so easy on PU or leather of course!