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I am so pleased to have finished the Molly Handbag pattern from Reba Collins. In my last post about Molly I had just finished the exterior part of the bag. I was therefore determined to finish the interior and assemble the bag this week. The pattern is so easy to follow, so within an hour […]
Where has this week gone?! Handmade Monday has come around again! I have started quite a few projects this week – I bought some fabric earlier in the week, to make a pillowcase dress for the dressing a girl around the world charity. With the left over fabric I have decided to make a sling bag and using some left over fleece interfacing from the Molly handbag, pad it out a little. I also hope to make some bunting from it too, all from 1.5m of fabric!! I love making 
the most out of a piece of material!
I have actually completed one ongoing project this week – 2 sets of bunting which I am hoping will be part of my launch of items to sell on Folksy. They are in shades of baby pink, perfect for a little girls bedroom. I think I have gone bunting crazy – I love making it as it so easy to do! However, other than the bunting I have been quite lax this week and havent had much time to sew. Yet again too many projects on the go! I really hope that this coming week I will be able to finish the molly handbag and hopefully the pillowcase dress. The handbag is almost finished – I was about to put the lining into the bag and I ran out of cotton. Lesson learnt – always have enough thread in the house!! Plus I really must start making my iccle sheeps for join the flock!
So although not a momentous week sewing and finishing projects, I have had a fabulous weekend spent celebrating my hubby’s 30th birthday at West Usk lighthouse! Such a romantic and unusual place!
Check out Wendy’s blog to see what everyone else has been up to for handmade monday!
Sarah x
Pattern Pieces
For Handmade Monday #32 I thought I would tell you how I got on with starting the Molly Handbag pattern by Reba Collins.
I had decided on using a contrast fabric for just the ruffle part of the bag (the spotty fabric), with the bold flower fabric for the main body, top band and strap. I then used the rest of the spotty fabric for the lining. I printed out the pattern pieces and using Reba’s instructions cut out my pattern pieces, saving on time and fabric by double folding the fabric.
I then ironed on the fleece interfacing and the woven interlining, this was a new experience for me as I have never used either of these, but oh how I loved how they change the feel of the fabric! I have already thought of other projects to try which uses them!
Attaching main body to top band
The next step was to make the ruffle and attach to the top band. By machine basting I could then use the threads to pull the fabric into a ruffle. Using lots of pins I then attached the main body to the top band, shaping it to fit the curved shape.
Slowly the bag was coming together and I was really pleased on my fabric choices. The pattern was also so easy to follow – Reba has written it so well, with pictures and notes to supplement and help with the tricky bits.
I now had the exterior completed and just had to trim the corners to give the bag a flat bottom. This posed the greatest challenge so far, trying to match the bottom and side seams was quite tricky!
Completed exterior
However it all seemed to work out, turned it ride sides out and here it is! My next step is to join the lining pieces and add the strap. I hope to get the rest of the bag finished soon so will blog how I get on!
Register for Reba’s weekly recap and get the Molly Handbag Pattern for free. Also check out Handmade Monday and see what everyone else has been up to!
Sarah x
So I have managed to get myself sorted in time for this weeks Handmade Monday 30! This week has been quite momentous for me, firstly as you may have read in my earlier post, I have been given the opportunity to review Reba Collins’s Molly Handbag pattern. I have spent most of the weekend investigating pattern colours and combinations and have finally decided on 2 by Amy Butler – soul blossoms disco flower in chocolate and laurel dots in cherry. I think the disco flower fabric will be the main fabric for the bag.
Reba will be posting her pattern soon, so check out her blog if you too want a bit of Molly!
I feel so fortunate to have found Reba, considering she is thousands of miles away in America! I guess though that really does highlight the magic of Twitter and how important it can be for networking with like minded people. I am also amazed that after only 3 weeks I have already reached 52 followers, thank you to everyone who is following me and reading my blog!
My other project this week has been creating some bunting using some leftover fabric from making a quilt. I think that is what I love most about sewing is being able to create lots of different things out of the same fabric. I followed a great project idea from Seamstar for making the bunting and have just ordered some more goodies for my next round of project making!
The last thing I have been occupying myself with is sewing and pressing fabric to make this fab jelly roll floor cushion. I think its going to take time and patience but know it’s going to look stunning when it’s finished! I am even more pleased as the fabric I am using has been sat on the shelf after being bought but never used!
I have realised several things this week – how important social media is for building relationships, not to sew when I am tired and most importantly to complete projects before starting the next! This is the one thing I have found I do time and time again and have many unfinished projects in a basket crying out to be completed!
Why don’t you check out what everyone else has been doing for Handmade Monday at Wendy’s blog. Until next time….
Sarah x
After joining Twitter 3 weeks ago and hoping to expand into the world of sewing I was delighted to find a tweet from Reba Collins asking for someone to test her Molly Handbag pattern. I eagerly replied and now have the fab job of exploring her pattern! I will blog how I get on along the way and will ultimately give Reba some feedback on how her pattern works.
The first and most enjoyable task is to choose some suitable fabric. I have many designers who I love and I am torn between several different designs. The handbag pattern involves either one colour exterior or a multi colour exterior – I have chosen to do the latter, but finding coordinating fabric will be a challenge! So while I decide please leave me a comment on what your favourite fabric is. I think I will probably go for something by Amy Butler but would love to branch away from the common designers so your input on some more unusual designs would be great!
Off now to continue my fabric search – life can be so hard! 
Sarah x
