work bag is complete

and I'm very pleased with it. It looks very good and I know it's very sturdy.

Seven zippered pockets and the two patch pockets on the sides.  It's just a fraction larger than the original, but way more durable.

Lots of nooks and crannies, but I've been using the same model of bag for four years. I've kept stuff in all the same places so I don't have to rummage anymore.  That's a face mask poking out of  that back pocket and not a naked tampon in case it made you look twice.

One of the best things about this bag is the bright interior.  The original bag was unlined flakey man made stuff.  You couldn't see what was on the bottom, and when you stuck your hand in to feel, you got little black flakes all over your fingers.  Needless to say, your stuff got coated as well. I have been using zippered cases to hold everything in the main part of the bag for a while. I still will, but now if something does get loose in there it won't be disgusting to pull it out.

I shocked myself with how quickly I finished the project, roughly a week. I know lots of people can put something like this together in a day.  I am a slow sewer and easily diverted and sewing without instructions so I was happy with the time it took.  After completion I headed back to the periwinkles.  I had washed and pressed more yardage for the background, and I finally got to try out the shape cut, a ruler by June Taylor.

This is a ruler that has been out there for a little while, and falls into the "I wish I'd bought one sooner" category.  It looked a little small to get a volume of cutting done fast, and slightly flimsy especially for the price tag- around $24. give or take.  I used a 40% discount coupon at one of those big stores that do that discount thing after watching a youtube video on the ruler.  I prefer buying yardage over precuts most of the time, but cutting is not my favorite thing.

By folding the fabric selvedge to selvedge and then once again, you can fit enough under the ruler to get several strips.  Turn the ruler 90 degrees and then you have very fast units- here's 48 in less than a minute.

The cutting is done through slits inside rather than outside edges, the ruler remains stationary for more work so the cuts are more accurate too. The slits are every half inch, if you wanted something ending in 3/8 or 7/8 you would have to use a different ruler or trim down.  This stack was cut in about 3 minutes and will last me a long time. The ruler seems durable enough now that I've tried it out, and it certainly does make cutting any volume of fabric quicker than the one pass and pick it up method.

Working out kinks on the bag

I was dog-sitting today.  Hiccup sure misses the warmer days with that window open, but he still likes to hang out there and watch for cats, and stray dangerous people.

I've got three of the pockets complete.  I'm lining the largest, simplest in striped mattress ticking, and these two front ones used lining/bias binding in the bumble bee fabric that will line the inside of the bag.  Hard to see, but I did free motion around the embroidery in some metallic thread.  It worked well for the first half of the bag, and then it broke and broke.  I rethreaded, I played with tension.  Could the needle have gotten just a little more dull?  I don't know, I just slogged through it as it's a very subtle effect anyway.

With the zipper in the front flap pocket, I tried it out for size with the cannibalized zipper and found it just toooo big.  I put the original flap on top to compare size and there was quite a difference.  I left a little extra on the pattern for seam allowance, and then allowed more for shrinkage during embroidery/embellishment.  I didn't know how much I'd want to do back while I was cutting, and it's always easy to trim down.

After this step I forgot about the camera and just sewed, so I got quite a bit more done.  I sandwiched this zipper between lining and webbing so I didn't have to fold or finish the edge of the denim when I got there.  I did securely sew it 3 times on the raw edge before doing two lines of stitching through all the layers.  These zippers are NOT pulling out of this bag.  And if I do get a rip or a tear, the fabric is tough enough to take a mend.  My current nylon bag is disintegrating at an alarming rate.  If I don't finish my denim one this week I'll have to carry my stuff in a pillow case!

I am so grateful I've got that 15-91.  It didn't slip through the thickest parts "like butter", but I didn't break a single needle.  I had to slow down, but it went through.  I was trying to hand stitch down some binding tonight and after the third hole in a finger tip I quit and ripped it out.  That's wrangler jean's weight denim, Alice Cooper "they're hard, and feeling mean" jean stuff.  I was considering waxing at least the bottom, but I think it's fine without.

I wish this were my design.  I copied it and then figured out how I could best put it together. I'm enjoying sewing this bag and want to sew some other styles.  I think with a little practice I could start designing my own.  What fun that would be!