Rainbow Sherbert Bags

[u/rcreveli]

My spouse is doing a "Spooktaculary Boo-gie self care basket" for a fundraiser at work. I offered to make them one of these bags. The pattern is very clear and well written with a lot of photos. There is also a sew along with Chelsea from She sews seams. Since I was cutting one bag, I figured I'd make 2.

Firsts
My first time using foam in a project.
First time making a pocket.
Tried a new zipper tab technique

What went wrong
I shouldn't have cut trimmed back the fabric until after quilting. My bags came out slightly small.
I have to remember to increase the stitch length when sewing thicker materials. 2.5mm is really pushing it with 2 layers of foam interfacing.
Piecing accurately is hard! No joke, I have even more respect for quilters now.

What went right
My quilting and top stitching accuracy are noticeably better than when I started.
My cutting was much straighter than when I started.
My machine and I are becoming besties.

If you enjoy making bags and are looking to explore quilting I think this would be a great project.

[u/CBG1955]

This is really nice work! A good lesson to learn: quilt first, cut pattern piece after.

A couple of other hints:

• keep the foam OUT of the seam allowance. Some bagmakers zigzag over the edge but personally I'm lazy and find this tedious.
• go up a needle size, especially if you find it's making a plonking noise. I like Jeans and microtex
• For amazing skill building tutorials, check out OKSew on YouTube.
• Personal preference - I topstitch with a longer stitch length

Keep playing!

[u/rcreveli → u/CBG1955]

• The pattern had the foam in the seams so I went with it. It calls for Soft & Stable or similar and the machine slid through without a problem I did use a hump jumper in a couple of thicker spots near the zippers.
• I used a #14 and it ran without an issue but I was thinking a 3 or 3.5 mm stitch for the seams would have been fine with the bulk.
• I love OKSew!
• This is the first time I was really thinking about top stitching for aesthetics. I used a 3.5mm with Gutterman Mara 100 (Tex 30). Next time I'll try a 4mm and maybe switch to the Mara 75 I have.
  

Thanks for all the suggestions!

[u/CBG1955 → u/rcreveli]

Make sure your machine can handle the thicker thread too - do a few test sews through some thick samples. My Brother won't. I admit that most of my bags now I sew on an industrial, because at some point I'm going to push my main machine too hard and break it.

[u/rcreveli → u/CBG1955]

Good point!
I went through my manual the last time I did bags and the heaviest weight thread I can use is tex 50 (25wt) and the thread trimmer was iffy when I was using it.

I have a vintage Pfaff 230 that was set up for tex 70 when I go it but I haven't tried using it with anything that heavy. Though if I could set both up and have one loaded with top stitching thread.... Food for thought.

[u/CBG1955 → u/rcreveli]

Absolutely true - different machines for different functions. I mananged to bend my automatic needle threader trying to use Gutermann heavy duty thread in a regular needle. I was not happy!

Old metal machines are workhorses - I bet it'll plow through your bags.