2026 Charity Toiletry Bags

I sound like a record on repeat. Each year I make a set of toiletry bags which I include in our yearly charity bags. For the last few years I’ve been crumb quilting the outside of the bags. Crumb quilting is where you join lots of smaller pieces to make or cover a larger piece of fabric. As soon as I finish hand piecing the front of these I immediately go into withdrawal mode as they are a relaxing project to sit and sew. I might go a couple of weeks without working on them but once they are done I immediately start wanting to work on the next year’s lot.

I hand sew and flip my crumbs onto a base fabric. Sometimes I iron on pelon to the back of the base depending on how thick the base is. For the base I normally use offcuts of sturdy fabric or fabrics which might a bit stained or discoloured. This year I couldn’t immediately find any fabrics like that so instead I looked in my stash for fabrics I was very unlikely to use elsewhere due to the colours or print. I have my quilting cottons boxed up by colour. I went to my white box and found 2 fat quarters and a length of fabric which I knew I wouldn’t use for anything other than wildlife rescue pouches (I have plenty of other fabric for) As long as I’m using up fabric from my stash I don’t care what project it is in.

The size and shape of a fabric crumb is purely up to the maker. This year I used some of my tiniest ever with many less than 1″ wide or tall. Once other pieces were attached around the edges some you only just saw a slither of the fabric. I kept all my tiny crumbs aside from the main container of scraps so I could find them easily when I had a small gap to fill. On the other end of the spectrum at times I used larger scraps to fill a small area and the cut the excess fabric off once it was sewn on if I couldn’t find a small scrap to fit. My first option was always looking for the smallest scrap I could find to fill an area but cutting down larger pieces which were still offcuts and scraps themselves gave me another option. Cutting down larger pieces also meant the fabric didn’t dominate an area.

In past years I always tried to avoid using the same fabric multiple times on a piece. This year I didn’t mind repeating fabrics. Sometimes I overlapped the same fabric in different directions other times I used it in different parts. As I was only trying to use smaller pieces using the same fabric just added to the patchwork feel of the pieces. The aim was to use up scraps, it didn’t matter if it was the same print, it was getting used up. As the year progressed and new scraps got added to my crumb quilting box I started using in them a little more as I had more of them to use up. When you cut things out in bulk such as wildlife rescue pouches you end up a bulk amount of offcuts, I tried to spread them out within each piece. This year there are lot of rectangle pieces. A lot of what I make results in rectangular offcuts once I finish cutting them out. Sometimes the offcuts are from when I true up fabric before I cut out a project. This year probably more than any other year I had to slip stitch a lot of the pieces in place once I had pieced them onto the fabric and flipped them over. Normally you would hand stitch a piece of fabric on and once it was flipped over and ironed you would then just add the next piece straight onto that. This year I was sewing them more frequently next to a piece that had already been sewn on so as I was sewing it on along one edge I was having to fold over a seam that once it was stitched on and flipped over I could slip stitch it down onto the fabric at the side and leave no raw edges. On each front (there are 6 in total) I don’t work from the centre out, I work on multiple areas at once which is how you end up with adjacent pieces which need to be worked together so there are no raw edges.

When it came to installing the zippers I had trouble this year. You know how some say “Don’t sew after midnight” well I might have the rule “Don’t sew after midday” My first time at my machine in weeks I started after midday and wasn’t really thinking properly. I had a sewing sandwich of quilted front, zipper and nylon lining. Using my zipper foot I had the nylon piece on top when I should have had the nylon piece on the bottom. The pieces didn’t feed smoothly through my machine, particularly the pieces which had pieced seams along the top of where the zipper was inserted. I missed parts of the zipper and had to redo my stitching lines. When it came to top stitching along the edge of the zipper I wasn’t paying attention fully and didn’t have the nylon lining held taut so it got caught in the top stitching. I had to unpick and redo it just to make the item functional. Once the pieces were complete I did have to dab on a little bit of fabric glue as I had two tiny slivers of raw edges that were missed in my seams. The glue dries clear and is washable.

Part of me thinks next year I won’t do crumb quilting as they do take months and months of work to make the 3 bag fronts. I will still make toiletry bags to include in the bags but maybe just simple ones. I want to get back to my QAYG hexi quilt which is taking a up a big chunk of my craft cave (craft storage room) My quilt gets put aside each year to work on these, I usually only have a few months between finishing these and starting the next lot. These also take up my ironing board as I have my wool mat and small iron out as I iron each seam of these as I flip them over. Part of me is also thinking yes but you could start next year’s ones in the coming weeks and maybe even make more of them to include as extras for other people’s charity bags. These are a great project to work on in hotter weather (unlike blankets) as they aren’t hot and heavy in your lap so I’m undecided yet as to what I will do.

Cassiy

Giant Laundry Bag Repair

Back in 2017 I made myself a giant laundry bag. Originally I made it to wash our mattress and pillow protectors in but it is also great for washing prewashing fabrics and reusable cloth pads. When I made it I just used a dress zipper as that was the longest I could find in the shop when buying supplies for it. I can’t remember why but I chose a white zipper. It turned out to be a good choice as when I prewash fabrics I don’t want any colour to run on them in the hot water. The amount of times this has been used over the years the excess colour wouldn’t run anyway.

I can’t remember how long ago the zipper pull broke on it. The zipper still functioned as you could just pull it along with your fingers. I had been meaning replace the zipper but never got around to it as it was still functional. One morning I used it for one load of washing but when I put the next load and tried to zip it up I couldn’t pull the zipper head along anymore no matter how much I tried so it was time to replace the zipper.

My first thought was to use a length of zipper tape which I had about 5m of in my stash and cut it to the size, easy simple it was ready to go. I then remembered that the zipper tape was black and I liked a white zipper for prewashing fabric. I went online to the place where I purchased the black zipper tape and saw I could get it in white but then had a thought to actually look at the zippers in my stash. From memory I didn’t remember having any dress or regular zippers as I think of them as that length in my stash. I sorted all my zips early this year so had a recent vague idea of what I had. Pulling out my zipper box stash I found a 56cm open end chunky in white. I held it up to the bag and it looked like it would fit so I thought why not try it first. I had enough time that if I found it didn’t fit I could order another one, have it delivered and install it before I needed to use the bag again.

Over a couple of days I unpicked the old zipper during the week ready for Saturday to sew in the zip. When I made the bag originally I didn’t have any of the seams sewn when installing the zipper so I was able to lay the zipper opening flat and place the zipper on to and sew around. I was too lazy to try and unpick the seams so I had to attach it through the open zipper gap. As I was using an open ended the zip in hindsight I think the smartest way would have been to separate it and sew each side down the opening of the bag and then close it up but no that isn’t what I did. Keeping the zip together I placed the end which separates a little further back then the bag opening and hand basted it in place. I then opened up the zipper to the and stitched down either side of the zipper with the zipper facing down onto the bag. Chunky zips have a section at the bottom which is hard, I didn’t want to break a needle so I veered off the side a little to avoid that plastic hard bit. Once the zipper was sewn I then flipped it over and top stitched down each side of the zip from the front side of the bag.

If you get up close the top stitching is a mess, I should have used a long stitch length. Do I care? Not in the slightest. I needed to replace the zipper on an item I use regularly and I did. I was able to use up an item from my stash that I would otherwise unlikely use. Thinking about it now I think it was one the zips my friend gave me when I told her I sorted my zipper stash, she never uses zips so gave me a heap she had. Practical sewing and using a stash item I’m happy with that.

Cassiy

Pet Pillows

This was a project that I hadn’t originally planned on making but I’m pleased that I did.

Polar fleece isn’t a fabric I normally make garments from but I brought some to make 2 jumpers with. After cutting out the jumpers I was left with heap of offcuts and scraps. Originally I was going to put the scraps in my Binny Bolsters and had actually one of the bolsters out placing the scraps in as I cut them. Once I had all the jumper pieces cut I was left with some usable scraps. The fabric was so soft and squishy I decided I would make a medium size pet pillow for my bestie Miss B that her animals could use. I set the offcuts aside to be my sewing project the next day.

The next day I gathered all my offcuts and scraps (removing the ones I placed in the bolster) I realised I had enough for 2 smaller pillows instead of one larger one. I figured 2 pillows would also mean less fighting between animals of who got to sit on it. It would mean less stuffing inside the pillows but the fabrics themselves were thickish so I could get away with it, one fabric was polar fleece and the other fabric was a sherpa fleece. Each pillow is one side polar fleece, one side sherpa fleece. For each side I first pieced together two pieces of fabric and then pinned them together to form a rectangle. Each one of the seams is sewn twice to make it extra sturdy. On the first pillow I flipped around where I seamed the fabrics so both seams wouldn’t be in the same spot when I joined the front and back together. On the second pillow I realised the seams weren’t in the same spot so I kept them the same direction as a result the second pillow is slightly larger than the first pillow. They are similar in size the animals aren’t going to be able to tell who has the larger pillow. After stuffing them I top stitched along where I left the opening gap twice to make sure I secured the opening, normally I hand sew opening gaps shut but the fabric was too thick to be able to see where I was hand sewing and I wanted the seam to be robust.

This was a very quick project to make only taking about an hour of sewing. This was a practical project to use up fabric offcuts and scraps. Yes I could have used the scraps to fill my bolsters but I like making things people or animals can use. I like the idea of a little animal snuggling up to these pillows. As a former dog owner I know this is something a little animal would love to snuggle up on.

Cassiy

Book: Table For Eight

Last year I read my first Tricia Stringer novel Back On Track. I stumbled across Tricia’s work as I was looking for new Australian authors who had multiple books. From picking up a couple of Tricia’s books it didn’t look like they needed to be read in any particular order as they were all standalone novels so I chose Back on Track as it was about bunch of dressmakers embarking on a long distance rail journey so combined two of my interests (I quietly have a thing for trains) to see if I liked Tricia’s writing style. My post on the book showed I really enjoyed the book. Later on when I went to seek out Tricia’s other books I discovered that Back On Track was a sequel to an earlier book Table For Eight.

Ketty Clift (Sydney couture dressmaker) embarks on the last voyage of her beloved cruise ship the Diamond Duchess, a ship she has cruised on many times over the years. Each voyage she travels alone asking her favourite maître d’ Carlos to seat her at dinner with interesting strangers so can meet new people and create new friendships. Once again Carlos did not fail in his duties bringing together a range of people to come dine together to start as strangers and end as friends. Not only are sailing through the pacific in this book but you are also sailing through a series of different relationships and emotions (love, loss, jealousy, heartache) By chance Ketty runs into and old friend who is on the cruise with her brother who happens to be Ketty’s long lost love.

What I really enjoy about Tricia’s writing style is that she can make what is seemingly mundane interesting. Her books don’t feel like fiction they feel like real life. She describes the settings and scenes so accurately that is feels real. In this book she talks about Sydney Harbour. The way she describes is what it is actually like. Even at the end of the book as she describes the cruise ship sailing early morning under the Sydney Harbour Bridge without fuss is exactly how the smaller ships come in and dock at the passenger terminal she mentions. The relationships and conversations her characters in the book have are very relatable. You can imagine having similar conversations or relationships yourself.

If you happen to read the two books out of order like I did Table For Eight just feels like a prequal, you get more of an insight into the history that is referred to in Back On Track however it isn’t essential to follow the plot line of Back On Track. This book was one of Tricia’s longer novels but it is a very light refreshing read that anyone no matter which country they are from would enjoy. It was my work break reading so I think it took me a couple of months to read as I wasn’t dipping into each day but I was able to easily pick up where I had left off from.

Cassiy

Poolside Bag

I’ve mentioned before that apartment complex has a communal pool that residents can use. In 2023 I made a dress to wear down to it which I still wear. I was using the pool occasionally but not as much as I could have. Last year I was thinking about what was stopping me from going for a swim and as embarrassing as it is I realised it was because I couldn’t get my own swimming costume on by myself. The ones I had either clipped up at the back, I had to pull them really tight to do the clip which I couldn’t manage or they had cross over straps at the back which would tangle as I put them on and again I couldn’t untangle them. Womble would have to help me get into my cozzie (costume) each time I wanted to go for a swim. If he was asleep or too unwell I couldn’t go in the pool because he couldn’t help me get dressed. It sounds crazy but it was the honest reason. To overcome the problem I decided to get a different style of cozzie, one that has a solid back section and zips up at the front. Best decision ever! Since last September any morning I can I use the opportunity to do a pool session and get some exercise in. Womble will still be in bed but I will be in that pool for between 45 – 90 minutes walking, swimming laps and doing aquatic exercises. I have osteoporosis and arthritis, aqua exercises are great as there is no stress on my joints and I can do things more freely in the water than I can on land. I love running but nowadays I’m scared to do it on land in case I trip and break something but I can run in the water without a care.

A zip front cozzie is brilliant!

Our pool is outdoor and around it are benches to sit and put your things on. I go in the pool first thing in the morning as it is less busy at that time and often I have it all to myself, if I do have to share it the other person is there swimming laps. You have the space to exercise at the time. If it has rained the night before the benches at that time are still wet. You have nowhere dry to put your towel, clothing and phone (which I always take down) If the weather is cloudy and happens to start raining whilst you’re in the water again your things get wet. If I thought the benches would be wet or the weather cloudy I was taking down a plastic shopping bag to put my things in. The bag still had 2 problems
1 – It was small and would barely fit my smallish towel, dress and phone in
2 – The top of the bag was open so things still got wet if it rained.

Our pool is open year round. Since I am enjoying using the pool I’m planning on continuing to use it in the cooler months. The pool will be heated but I wanted a bigger towel for after my swim and I’m planning on wearing something a little warmer to and from the pool than my terry toweling pool dress. In the cooler months we often get dew on things overnight so even without rain surfaces are wet or damp. I decided I needed a waterproof bag for my things poolside, as I can sew and love bag making I would make the bag I needed.

In terms of patterns I decided to go with a pattern I’d already made before so chose the Takeoff Tote by Dog Under My Desk. We use this bag as Womble’s standby hospital bag so I knew it is a good zippered tote bag. If you make it at the regular 100% size it is a little bit small, it fits all we need for the hospital for an emergency admission but as a regular tote bag it needs to be larger. The pattern includes pockets on both the inside and outside as well as a luggage sleeve so you can slide it over a suitcase handle. I didn’t need anything like that, I just needed a basic bag but larger. I thought I might have to slash the pattern piece I’d already traced out from the PDF to make it larger but luckily at the time I’d printed the pieces out in several sizes so I found one which I’m assuming was printed at 125% as it was slightly bigger.

When gathering fabrics for projects I shop my stash first. I had a piece of nylon which I knew was water resistant as such as I used it on the inside of my insulated lunch bag. The nylon was suitable for the inside of the bag but for the outside I wanted a fabric that was designed to be waterproof so I wanted something like a vinyl. I didn’t have anything suitable in my stash so I splurged out on 3m of pvc from The Remnant Warehouse. I was only going to buy 2m but when I mentioned it to Womble I was thinking of 3m he convinced me to get 3 as it was something I would likely use so I did.

I’d never worked with pvc before. When it arrived the first thing I noticed was it smelt. I unfolded the fabric and had it airing in the study and then outside on our clothes airer for about a week. The smell wasn’t too bad after that. I didn’t know but you can get different weights of pvc and this was a light weight. It did rip slightly as I was airing it which did worry me as I thought oh no it is just going to fall apart as I sew it but the description on the website said it was suitable for bags or even tablecloths so I decided it couldn’t be that bad.

The pattern instructs you to place interfacing behind the layers of the bag to give it stability. I didn’t need a very structured bag however because the pvc had already ripped once I thought it needed something so I decided to cut all my pvc pieces including the handles as a double layer as I had enough fabric (glad I brought the 3m) Using fabric as an interfacing is something I’ve done in the past so I knew the idea worked. For the inside of the bag the nylon was more stable than the pvc so I only cut the base piece as a double layer of fabric. For the zipper I just went to my stash and found a zipper slightly longer than the top of the pattern piece, I didn’t bother shortening it like the pattern instructs. With the shorter zip installing it was a little more tricker as you had less wiggle room when you needed to move the end out of the way in some parts but it wasn’t too difficult.

I was thinking back to all that I have learnt from watching The Great British Sewing Bee. Working with pvc I knew you couldn’t iron it or use pins. I used my seam roller to flatten the handles so I could fold them in and clips to hold the layers in place whilst I constructed them. When it came to attaching the handles to the bag fronts I didn’t know how to hold them in place without pins. I was going to use scotch tape which I have used to hold zippers in place but I thought on pvc it might be too tacky. I decided to use washi tape and I thought it was meant to be less tacky. Just as I was about to take my pieces to the machine to sew I tried to remove the washi to adjust one of the handles. The tape wouldn’t come away easily. It was a struggle to remove it and when I did it left a sticky residue. I hate the feeling of stickiness. With a bit of work I pulled off all the tape without ripping the vinyl but I had sticky fabric. As I had cut everything double I decided to switch the layers so the tacky fabric was on the inside of the bag behind my new outer layer. I went back to my original plan of using scotch tape which was a much better solution. In hindsight I probably should have brought a washaway tape that you don’t need to iron on to the fabric or perhaps painter’s tape. To be honest when planning this bag I hadn’t even thought of the handles. I was expecting pvc to be really bothersome to cut and sew but it was actually good. It went through the machine smoothly. When trimming threads and my zip ends I was careful not to cut holes in it like I did on last year’s charity toiletry bags. I was dreading the top stitching around the outside of the bag as I always seem mess that up on regular woven fabrics and not something trickly like pvc. Normally I use a stitch length of between 3mm – 3.5mm but this time I opted for 5mm and it was perfect. It went smoothly and there were no puckers.

I’m super happy with how this turned out. I’ve purchased larger towels and the bag is big enough to hold them as well as more bulky clothing. I can even fit my kickboard in the bag if I wish to free up hand. I love that I came across a problem and was able to come with a solution for it, bonus if it involves doing something I enjoy such as bag making.

Cassiy

Fabric Confessions: Panic Buy

I talk a lot on here how I want to be more sustainable with my sewing, one area of that is using fabric you already have instead of purchasing more. Normally I am pretty good at using stash fabrics first before going out and buying more. I know some people keep track of the amount of fabric they buy vs the amount they sew up, I would love to be that structured but I’m not. A few years ago I went a little overboard and purchased fabrics without a real project in mind but lately I have been a little more controlled. Saying that yesterday was not of one those days….

Sydney Frocktails is in October. Last year I did a lot of sewing for Frocktails but this year I was going to keep it more simple. I mentioned in April that I had already planned out my outfit using stash fabrics. Roll forward to the end of August where I’m looking ahead of what I need to sew in the coming months, I’m not getting the amount of sewing time this year that I had last year. When it comes to sewing anything for the top half of my body I struggle with the fit around the neckline and upper back area. The dress pattern I was planning on making for Frocktails I was going to try making a toile of the bodice section first before making the actual dress from my chosen fabrics. Yesterday panic set in as I thought about my sewing projects over the coming months, aside from my Frocktails outfit I still need to finish off making the charity bags we are filing in November plus the toiletry bags which we will include in them. I’m not going to have the time to make a toile plus make the dress of a pattern I have never made before.

In Australia we have now only have one major craft chain store which has physical shops left that you can go and purchase from. I often buy stuff online from it but I haven’t actually been inside one of their physical stores since about 2018/2019 maybe? The location of them isn’t the easiest for me to get to (about 40 mins on a bus each way plus a walk down a steep hill) Tomorrow I will have the opportunity to actually visit a store as I’m going to another shop nearby to purchase something so I thought why not drop in and take a look so yesterday I started browsing online….

Shiny Blue Fabric

My brain was in panic mode that I needed to change my planned outfit for Frocktails. I came across shiny blue fabric, I am a bower bird so all things blue and shiny draw me in instantly. Murphy’s Law the colour wasn’t instock at the shop I was planning on visiting so if I wanted that colour I need to order it online. I ordered 5m of the shiny blue fabric (enough for a top pattern I had made before and extra to make pants or something) After purchasing the fabric I read the fabric description in detail more and discovered it probably would be too thick for the top I was planning on making… That’s ok I could still use the fabric to make pants and maybe a pinafore but I would still need to buy fabric tomorrow as I have to make something for Frocktails!

I have the day off work today so I had time to actually look at my fabric stash. Straight away I came across some fabric which I have had in my stash for years. It isn’t blue however it does have hearts on it (another thing I’m drawn to) It has the drape of a rayon but I think it is a polyester. You don’t have to make new items to wear to Frocktails but it should work well with the top pattern I have in mind which I have made before. Whilst the fabric is out on my cutting table I might even get some pants cut out as well from the leftover fabric. I’m not pushing to get the pants made as well but they may get made in time to wear as an matching outfit otherwise the top can be worn with a velvet skirt I made years ago for Frocktails. The fabric has now been washed and is currently drying behind me as I type this.

I’m not angry with myself over my panic fabric buy. The fabric is a colour and composition that I do wear in terms of it is blue and cotton so it will get sewn up and worn at some point. This incident and another in which last weekend I went to a 2nd fabric sale and didn’t buy anything but then 30mins later walked into a fabric shop and brought 3m of fabric just because I was a fan of the fabric designer. It is just a reminder to myself to stop and think before making purchases. Don’t get caught up in the moment, stop and think first do you really need it or are you just buying it because you’re in panic mode or because of the name on the selvage.

Oh and I have decided tomorrow I will not actually visit the craft store as I don’t actually need anything.

Cassiy

An Evening With Mark

In my 2025 books roundup post I mentioned that I read Fahrenheit-182 (a memoir by Mark Hoppus the bass guitarist from Blink 182) and that he was doing a speaking tour in March which I had purchased a ticket for.

I wasn’t sure what format the talk was going to be, whether someone would be interviewing Mark asking questions or if it would just be Mark alone talking. It is just Mark onstage by himself with a screen behind him telling stories and showing some clips. The ticket clearly started that it wasn’t a musical performance but just Mark speaking on stage. The talk was in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. As a people watcher I observed an eclectic mix of people attending the opera house that night. You had your more traditional opera house attendees dressed up in their finest clothing, the people you would expect at the opera house on a Saturday night. Then you had your punks / goths dressed in their finest black outfits with boots or sneakers (there were a lot of sneakers) and finally you had those who looked like they should’ve been at the skate park not the opera house. I have never seen so many people look awkward and out of place in my life. When Mark came on stage he made the comment along the lines of we were in the Concert Hall, a place which has held so many beautiful operas and performances and he was going to stand there and tell dick jokes. Attendees may of felt awkward outside the room but inside together they were with “their people” I was actually surprised by the number of people that attended on their own. I have no issues with going to things solo but I know a lot of people don’t feel that comfortable doing so.

A lot of the stories he told he’d written in the book but he did go into some in a little more depth. Aside from a couple of stories from the bands early days he didn’t really talk about much more than what was in the book. At the end Mark did an acoustic version of Damit with members of the now defunct Australian band Violent Soho. I must admit I had never heard of the band before (I have been a bit distant from the Oz music scene since the mid 2000’s) but to others in the audience it was a big deal. Despite not knowing who was on stage it was still a good way to end the night.

There was merchandise for sale: t-shirts, posters the usual stuff as well as copies of Mark’s book which had a signed photo in it. Music fans love buying stuff and the queue to buy things was really long. I already had the book so didn’t bother to get anything, I think I heard the book was $36 which I thought was reasonable since you got the signed photo as well.

In my books post I mentioned I was hesitant to buy a ticket to the event or not. I’m glad I did as I did enjoy myself. Despite my hesitation the seat I got was actually really good as I could see the entire stage. It is not often you get to hear a musician speak for any length of time, it is always in short interviews. Womble and I made a weekend of it and stayed at our favourite hotel for a couple of nights which is just down from the Opera House. We went out to dinner, the rocks markets and to our favourite shops we like to visit when we are in the city. It was a lovely weekend.

Cassiy

Duckie Bag

Confession the reason for making my Duckie pants at Easter was so that I could use the leftover fabric to make this bag by May.

Scenario: A change in work environment where I would be regularly moving between levels in a building and would be required to carry things

Solution: Make a bag that I could carry things in and free up my hand

For those readers who aren’t aware of my situation I walk with the aid of forearm crutch leaving only one hand free to carry things. I can actually carry a lot with one hand/arm if I have too but my preference is to keep my hand free. I often walk around with things hanging off me so I like things with straps or clips.

I had a shoulder bag which I worked out was over 20 years old. I got it from like a hippie store but it was something that you pick up in Bali or at hippie market (do they still have them?) It was just a simple polycotton bag that had a zip front pocket and zip internal pocket. The internal pocket zip I think broke years ago (before my sewing days) and was replaced with a zip that didn’t match by my mum I think but I can’t remember. The outside zip has been broken for years and I just never got around to fixing it. In the later years I’ve had to watch what I was wearing with the bag as the broken zipper tape would catch on knit items. I kept using the bag because it was so useful. When it came to making a carry bag for work I wanted to replicate it. The outer fabric is the duck print, the lining fabric was a yellow polycotton I found in my stash. I don’t like using polycotton, I only have it from my mum’s stash of fabrics so it was chance to use it up in something.

The bag design I came up with was slightly different to the original bag. I was replicating the size and function of the bag but not the construction. I didn’t need pockets and I wasn’t making the strap as part of the sides of the bag like the original. I drew up a really basic sketch for the bag body in my notebook and for the first time tried to replicate it above using Microsoft Word, this was like my template to cut my pieces by. If you have made bags before it was just a basic square tote pattern with box corners. The strap was a rectangle cut 54″ x 5″. From the lining fabric I was able to cut a piece on the fold which measured 14″ x 14.5″ this allowed me not to have a bottom seam. When it came to cutting out the duck print I didn’t have enough to essentially cut 2 squares 14.5″ x 14.5″. On the fold I was able to cut the fabric 14″ like I did with the lining fabric. I decided to add to width by cutting out 2 additional 2″ strips. Instead of adding the extra width needed at the side which would mean an extra seam within the box corners I decided to slice the fabric in half at the centre and add in the 2″ strip in the middle.

This bag was made over 2 days.
Day 1 – I designed it, cut out the fabrics and started sewing. At the time of making this my sewing machine was playing up (it badly needed a service) but I desperately wanted to get this bag made. I had to piece together the straps and top stich the join to give it extra strength. I opted for the join not to be at the centre of the strap so it is part way down the strap. I also stitched up the sides of the lining bag.
Day 2 – As I adding the centre piece to the middle of the outside bag I realised I only needed a single 2″ strip so set the other aside. As I was piecing the bag I realised the height was going to be shorter than I had planned out. I forgot that when doing box corners you lose the bottom and side sections to the base and gusset of the bag once the corners are stitched into place.To overcome the shortness of the bag I decided to add the remaining cut 2″ strip I had to the top of the bag. As I hadn’t sewn together the sides of the front I just stitched on the strip to each edge. From the lining fabric I cut out an extra 2″ strip but as I had already sewn the sides I had to sew the sides of the strips together to form a loop and then attach it to the main lining matching up the side seams to that I already sewn. It took a little extra time as I was ironing seams as I went but it was worth it in the end.

The strap was formed by just folding the strip in half and then sewing around the open edge leaving a turning gap. It was attached to the outside of the bag once the bag had been completed.

I enjoyed making this bag despite the hiccups on day 2. I used up most of my duck print scraps and some polycotton from my stash. My poor sewing machine badly needed a service but I was desperate to get this bag finished before I sent it away. The machine was having a tension issue most times when you started it. Once I got sewing it was ok but I was getting lots of birds nests before it would kick in and sew without issue. Making this bag I actually tried to always have part of the bag under my sewing needle so I was chain piecing between tasks, if I didn’t have a section of the bag I could sew I had a scrap of fabric I was sewing just keep the momentum going. Probably wasn’t the best thing to do but sometimes sewist do things we shouldn’t.

Side by side comparison to my original bag

The bag holds a notepad, pen, my phone plus any additional paperwork or items I need to carry. Unless I’m going to the bathroom I pretty much put it on each time I leave my desk to go into another room. I can safely use a set of stairs holding onto the handrail as my hand is free and not trying to juggle things. The bag makes people smile and I’ve had a lot of compliments on it. When I’m not wearing it I hang it over the side of my cubical divider. As the bag is soft and scrunches up when I have to sit at another computer for a short time (15 – 30mins) I twist the bag around to the back of me so I still have it on me but I can be comfortable sitting back in the chair.

Will I make another version of this bag to replace my other one? Yes but next time I would have it at least 16.5″ tall not 14.5″. I would also include an internal zipper pocket within the lining bag so that I can store my keys in. I might also reduce the length of the strap slightly too. I have leftover brick fabric from my other pants I made at Easter so it might be a good project to use it up on as it is nice and sturdy fabric.

Cassiy

Binny

Every so often I come across and I become hyper focused about it. I’ll be in two minds if I should buy it or not and I will keep going back to the website its on to look at it or I’ll start looking to see if others have made it. That was the case with the Binny Bolster.

The Binny Bolster is a yoga bolster pattern by Kylie and The Machine. KATM as she is affectionally known is an Australian designer most known for her funky sew in / sew on fabric labels. She also a series of PDF patterns. The Binny Bolster is a pattern she released earlier this year. The bolster is designed in mind to be filled with your fabric scraps. The pattern gets its name from a nickname we have for a native Australian bird called an Ibis which is often referred to as a “Bin Chicken” as it is known to eat out of rubbish bins. Binny eats your fabric scraps. I must admit after I first stumbled across the pattern I went onto Youtube and found a series of free patterns and tutorials but I really liked the Binny. It looked like a robust bolster which had a hand strap and came in two sizes plus bird crazy me liked the origin of the pattern name. I do have a soft spot for Ibises, at our old rental a juvenile who had been kicked out of his flock once spent the night sleeping on our balcony railing and we became an Ibis Hotel (it is the name of a hotel chain in Australia) With advice from WIRES he moved on and didn’t become a fixture at our place. This project is so simple you could easily make one in less than a couple of hours (I would even say 60 mins) but it took me two days….

The fabric suggestions for the bolster were for more hardwearing and robust fabrics (denims, corduroy, twill, velvet) When I purchased the pattern (I had to wait until we weren’t having a No Spend Day) I thought I had plenty of those kind of fabrics in my stash. I had some time to kill before work so I randomly walked into my craft cave and remembered that years ago I had cut out a wrap skirt in a corduroy but had never stitched it up. The paisley corduroy fabric had been sitting cut in my stash since at least 2019. I decided the Binny was the perfect project for the fabric since I clearly never going to make the skirt. As mentioned the pattern came in two sizes, I had enough of the paisley fabric to make either size but I really couldn’t decide what size to make. Throughout the day I kept trying to decide when I had a sudden thought, in my stash I was certain I had some leftover corduroy from when I made my jacket last year. When I got home I went to my stash and discovered yes I did have a large piece of uncut fabric but also a heap of scraps and offcuts from cutting out my jacket pattern pieces. All the scraps started to fall into place. For some reason the last couple of months I have been using the quote “Cinderella you shall go to the ball!” a lot but this really was a “Cinderella you shall make both size bolsters!” moment. Between purchasing the pattern and tracing everything out I did wash and dry the paisley offcuts only because they had been sitting in my stash for so long, the corduroy had been sitting on my clean shelf so I knew it was ok.

Day 1
I traced out the pattern pieces. If I have one small suggestion if you make this pattern is that you don’t need to print all the PDF pattern pages only those which have the circular end pieces as the main body piece is a giant rectangle. The rectangle measurements aren’t in the pattern instructions but are printed within the circular pattern pieces. I didn’t know this until after I had printed out the entire pattern.

I played around with my fabric offcuts and worked out which size I could make from each fabric. All my offcuts where different sizes and shapes. I found two smaller odd shapes which fitted the round pattern pieces. The rest of my offcuts I trimmed off to form rectangle shapes to make piecing together easier. I measured my rectangles taking into consideration seam allowance on pieces each side of the rectangle to see what pieces I needed to piece together to form my giant rectangle. Most of my striped offcuts were narrow but I did have 2 larger rectangles which I decided would be the 2 pieces I would seam together and install the zipper. I used them as a base to piece the other rectangles two. From the paisley fabric I had 2 pieces which were wider enough to go around but not long enough at the sides for the length. On those pieces I opted to attach a side piece to each one but offset them so the piece was on different ends on each side of the bolster. I did two rows of stitching when I pieced together the fabrics to add strength. I often do a double line of stitching on all of my seams when I make bags. As corduroy has a nape I had to take care that each piece I pinned together all went in the same direction. On the striped fabric it was easy as there was an obvious difference in feel but on the paisley it was little harder. I spent a lot of time patting fabric that morning. I had enough paisley fabric to cut out a handle but I didn’t in the stripe fabric so I opted not to have a handle. Once I had my two rectangles and two end pieces for the bolsters ready I then traced out pelon interfacing to the size of each piece. I was about to start fusing the interfacing but then I heard our birds wanting to get up. Our birdcage is on wheels, on nights when I’m home the next day our birds are moved to our bedroom for a “sleepover” so that I can make noise in the lounge area without disturbing them. Days when I go to work I turn minimal lights on and then I leave the house but if I’m home I’m up doing quiet activities and they decide they too want to get up at 5am and make a lot of noise. I don’t like to fuse interfacing to fabrics when the birds are in the room or are about to come into the room as it can give off fumes and I don’t want to make them sick so I like to fuse fabrics early so any fumes can clear from the room before they enter.

Day 2
In the early hours of the morning I fused the interfacing, there were some fumes but not as bad as I was expecting.  Gathering other offcuts of the paisley fabric which I trimmed them down into rectangles and pieced them together to make a handle for the smaller I bolster. I then installed the zippers and finished constructing the bolsters. Normally on a curve such as the round ends I would hand baste the fabric into place instead of just pinning it to make it easier to sew at the machine. On this project I just used pins and even on the smaller bolster it was easy to do. By late morning both bolsters were finished but stuffing would be for another day.

Ok so Day 2 didn’t go as smoothly as that….

The Binny has a lapped zipper. The instructions have you sew the body in one single tube with the only seam being the one you do the lapped zipper in. I knew I would struggle with that (even though there are instructions on how to do it in a tube) I opted for flat open rectangles. Even if I hadn’t pieced my fabrics I would’ve sliced my main piece to do it that way. I’ve done lapped zippers heaps of times before. When I was doing these ones I didn’t sew my seam allowance wide enough. When I ironed the seam open flat for the zipper the seam folded back but not enough. I pinned both zippers in place but luckily I started with the smaller zip first. I stitched it very slowly with the zipper facing down (it was navy thread so I wasn’t worried what the top stitching would look like on the front. I went as close to the teeth that I could but when I flipped it over I noticed I didn’t catch all of the folded back lapped seam allowance. All my seams were sewn twice except for the basting stitches for the zipper placement. I needed to unpick the zipper plus the seams on the smaller bolster plus the seam on the larger one as it too didn’t have a wide enough seam allowance. It added about another hour to the project with all the unpicking, repining and sewing. I was kicking myself for such a rookie error but I didn’t get angry as there was no point the mistake happened I just had to rectify it. I pulled out the unpicker removed the tiny stitches.

Better zipper seam

Normally when I use an unpicker I just use the blade section so I have the safety ball on top and flick out the stitches using the blade. When it came to removing the basting stitches between the zipper opening and I flipped over the unpicker so the safety ball was at the bottom. It glided through the stitches with a breeze.

I very much enjoyed making these as it really was an exercise in sustainable sewing. I used up offcuts and cut out fabrics lingering in my stash just doing nothing. I have made 2 practical items which once fully stuffed I can use. I will post a picture once they are both fully stuffed but it might be a while yet. It is actually refreshing going through my fabric scraps and culling bits I know I won’t use to stuff this with, this was the project I referred to in my Wool Felt post. I guess it is easier to let go of something if you know it is going to be used in something and not just going to landfill.

Cassiy

Lemon Socks

I have a sock knitting addiction at the moment that I really can’t help. The day I finished my grape socks I cast on my next pair.

Up until I sat down to write this post I was calling these socks my Citrus socks. The yarn I’m knitting my socks with is Regia Cotton Color. The ball bands on the yarn don’t have a colourway name on them just a code number, some are fruit based so have an image of fruit on them, others have no indication of the name. The ball band of these had lemons and lime hence why I was calling them my Citrus socks but Goggling the code number the colourway is lemon or code 02424.

Do these socks have a story in the making of them? When I first cast these on they remined me of my old school socks which I wore in my last 3 years of high school, my socks were pale yellow but they didn’t have funky lime stripes. On sock 1 I had finished the rib section and was working on the leg section when I dropped a stitch which I only noticed a few rows on. Instead of trying to pick it up I took them off my needles and re-cast them on. On my previous 2 pairs of socks I noticed joins within the yarn which ended up occurring on every sock. With these I only had a join on sock 2.

Speaking of sock 2. When it came to grafting the toe section I almost made a very big boo boo. Normally grafting occurs when I’m on my own and I have the lounge area to myself with silence and I can concentrate. Our birds are allowed out to roam some of the time but I don’t like to use needles (even darning needles) or scissors around them. When they are out you also have to watch they aren’t going to areas they aren’t allowed (which they do when you aren’t paying attention) The birds had been out as I was finishing the toe and by chance they went into the cage just as I was got to the 20 stitches required for the graft. I quickly locked them away, grabbed my scissors, cut my yarn and then realised I hadn’t knitted around to the side section of the sock where you graft across. Luckily after the incident on my Apple socks where I didn’t really leave a long enough tail to graft now I make sure I cut my tail yarn long, almost the length of the foot. I had enough yarn to knit to the side of the sock and do the graft. I was a little rattled and as I was doing the graft I thought I had created an extra stitch on needle one and that I dropped a stitch. Sometimes instead moving the around the needles as I graft I accidentally go over needle one or slip a stitch off needle one as I move the yarn to needle two. I was stressing myself for no reason, no extra stitch or dropped stitch. It was actually one of the best grafts I’ve done.

The sock addiction hasn’t waned and within minutes of these finished I had randomly selected my next ball of yarn and cast them on. I did let the birds out as I was casting on the next pair, as I wasn’t paying attention Custer got up to mischief. It took a long time to get to 60 stitches as I had to keep putting down my cast on to retrieve him from an area off limits.

Cassiy