making favorites

I had one of those moments, where it felt like I had been sewing for so long without a pattern, that I completely forgot how to sew from a pattern! This is my first make from Flora (Making Magazine), a sweet little Petal Pouch  ..that curved zip kicked my buns (TWICE!) note my wonky top stitches. I made the large clutch size, but considering blowing it up even bigger to hold my knitting, so in love with this check! 

If you’re curious how I make my labels, it’s totally a recycle reuse hack, I take old  Tyvek envelopes and cut them into little rectangles (or whatever size/shape I need) then stamp or draw on them with waterproof ink (I like using Micron pens for drawing and StazOn for stamping) and then you can just stitch them in the seams or right on the front of your project! Sometimes I use images, sometimes just words, there are also loads of places to get custom logo stamps made, so you can have them be very professional too. They have the feel of commercial clothing, mattress or pillow tags, but unlike those, these little tags are so industrial strong, you can’t rip them off without seam ripping first (that’s a plus and a minus, because they are slippery little buggers, so watch they don’t shift during sewing!) They also have a minimal simplicity that I love. The one above was a white envelope that I colored with fabric markers to a perfect shade of pink. Oh, they also don’t like the iron, never iron them!

After the humbling curved zipper incident, I decided to make a little zip pouch out of a candy wrapper, just to remind myself that I really can do anything. Sometimes there doesn’t have to be rules and you don’t have to use things as intended. Oh, and I also designed another stitch marker strap.

I prefer to make my firsts out of unbleached organic cotton, which is weird because I have a HUGE calico and print fabric stash, I think it’s because I can see and understand the little details without being distracted or romanced by a beautiful print and I can honestly tell if I love or hate something with out being all “awwww I love that print .. gush gush” (talkin to you petal pouch!)

Ok, now I’m gonna gush ..THIS FRICKIN BAG..  I think I’m in love you can totally tell the Stowe Bag pattern was a collaborative effort between Fringe Supply Co. & Grainline Studio, it has a lot the details I love about my Fringe Field bag (roomy interior, pockets and more pockets!) but this one has handles and I can make it myself!! It is unlined, so I chose to work french seams on the sides and bottom (I flat felled the side ones), they are a little bulky, but they do help with the internal structure of the bag (it’s built like a flat folding grocery shopper with side gussets, so those thick seams help it standup when opened), you could easily zigzag, serge or bias tape them as well. I think the next one will be mid-weight canvas, I’ve come to terms with the bulky guts and now kind of love them.

.. more unbleached organic cotton and some candy colored socks ..

.. more minimal simplicity and not using things as intended, the best thing about this Row Counter  by cocoknits is that it has a metal back and if you have a nice big magnet you can literally stick it anywhere! ..

♥