Valerie Wallet

I had the opportunity to test for Porcupine Pattern's Valerie Wallet and made 3 at one go! 

From left to right: Denim (non-stretch) main /cotton lining, Cork main/cotton lining, cotton main/cotton lining

Here are some thoughts:

It is very important to trim the seam allowance when the instruction says so. The bulk is really thick especially if you are trying to sew with an ordinary sewing machine. Top-stitching through bulky layers would be better done with a 90 or 100 needle and preferably with a longer stitch length of about 3.5.

When it comes to the cork wallet, I found out that it really isn't a good idea to iron cork. So the only way is to simply hand press it as well as you can. Also, cork is not the best material to try to birth so I strongly DO NOT recommend anyone try to sew this with cork fabric. 

In fact, of the 3 wallets I made, I felt that the best materials for the wallet are quilting cottons for both main and lining. It is a lot less bulky and much easier to birth. The overall look is also prettier and you can add the foam lining to give it a lovely professional finish. 

At first I tried to 'label' the wallet with my tag. But i realised I didn't like that look so the rest of the wallets were done with the tag on the inside of the coin purse. 

Another thing that I realised was I preferred that the main fabric wraps around the card slots so that the fabric for the card slots can't be seen on the outside even at the edge. Hence, for my second and third wallet, I made sure to only use the lining fabric for the card slots and the coin purse lining. 

For the buttons, I used metal buttons that needed to be hammered in. Some testers used plastic snaps which looked good too. I didn't have the metal magnetic snaps that was in the tutorial and I wish I had slim magnetic snaps, but I had to work with what I had. Tip: Make sure you have materials before beginning the project! Chinatown is a good place to find notions! 

Sewing the Teloujay Bag

My first bag sew of the year is a new-to-me bag pattern from Country Cow Designs called the Teloujay Bag. It was free to their FB grp members but unfortunately the group has been archived. Thankfully, you can still buy the pattern (and it is worth buying!) from her site and it's just £2.00!

This version I made is the smaller one. If you watch her video tutorial, you will know she preferred the tall version, but I kind of liked the aesthetics of the smaller version. Good thing there's options! I really enjoyed the video tutorial, it helped to watch and do together with the video!

The exterior pocket has magnetic clasp and rivets on both sides. I definitely need more practice with my rivet installation cos i spoil about 50% of what i use 🤣

The interior is closed with a magnetic clasp as well. The inner zipper compartment has card slots too. All lovely details that add to the beauty and function of this bag 💗

I used my domestic sewing machine Brother FS101 for this and it was tough going through all the layers especially the last part when i have to edge stitch the top. I think there was skipped stitches even though i went very slow and used a bigger needle. Tip: try to use a longer stitch length (i used 3.5) and a bigger sized needle e.g. 100 or 110. I had to go really slow and even then, my machine still could not take the bulk. Perhaps I shld try to trim the foam a lot more in the future!

I do want a better machine now though. Something that can take thicker layers hahaha. Maybe a birthday present for myself this year hehe. 

Sewing a messenger bag!

 If you google Messenger bag sewing pattern online, you can probably find a lot of patterns and they are mostly free. I have made messenger bags in the past and they were self drafted and I didn't save the dimensions that i used cos i mostly winged it on the spot.

I had a pokemon fabric that I wanted to make into a messenger bag for my brother to go pokemon hunting with my mum. I already made my mum hers - it's a tote bag pattern from Winter Wear Designs.  But for my brother, I didn't think a tote bag would be good - hence messenger bag. (p.s. you can read more about that tote bag pattern here. It's a free pattern!)

Here's my mum's bag btw. Cute right! 

Anyway, so I found this blog post with a cute messenger bag pattern. What I liked about the pattern is that it is a Jpeg with GRIDS so i can download it and use my projector to project the pattern and rotary cut the pieces. 

I had to hack it a bit in order to use my directional fabric. But it wasn't too difficult! 

Here's the bag i made!

Isn't it cute? I checked with him already, he doesn't mind the kiddy print! yay! 

I hope he likes it! Hehe. The pattern is good and I really liked the overall size. It can definitely be used for A4 sized papers too so u can make it for school/work! (Reinforced first of course)

The pocket on the flap is very useful and i made it with an extra big pocket bag.

I think u can stuff loads of snacks in it if u want to hehe.

On the inside, I opted for a water resistant material with a nice textured look. I used a scrap piece of the main to create a pocket just the right size for an ezlink transport card (this is a card we use for public transport)

The pocket behind that is perfectly sized for handphones while the other pocket can fit a wallet with room to spare.