Failure

The Burning Iron...

I have this one particular fabric that I absolutely love. It has a beautiful colour, shine and feel to it. It can be classy, it can be elegant, but it cannot withstand high heat from an iron. I know this, of course I know this, but when I finish a particular project I get really excited. The kind of excited that little kids get when they know they're going to McDonald's, you know the happy dance? That's the kind of excited I get.

So, I'm making a custom designed purse for a friend to take when she goes on walks with her dog. There are two front pockets that are easily accessible for doggie poop bags, treats, and on the inside I am putting several pockets for a cell phone, water bottle holder, and whatever else she decides to bring with her.

Again, being excited about the fabric that I love, I use it, which is the wrong fabric for this purse. So I decide this will be a sample purse and my friend can decide if she likes it or not, and I could just sell it to whomever loved it. So, everything is coming together perfectly and the pattern I designed was flawless. It was almost TOO easy. Then I got to the straps... and then I was stuck on the straps. I wasn't sure if I liked them, so I folded them in half for added strength and support, and I was happy. I sewed the interior in and was getting ready to iron it flat so I could make a stitch around the outside.

And that's where the deadly burn occurred, and the story ends!

Not Really A Pocket, Pocket!

I recently started making wallets, as I have an itch to make everything in sight, and I just had to try out a tri-fold wallet. I have my own wallet that I studied, I researched online how they're made, and I decided I would wing it. The first wallet I made was beautiful and relatively easy. Since I've quilted a little before, the binding on the edges weren't too difficult and I reused a magnetic snap to keep the wallet closed.

My second wallet is a WHOLE different story. The fabric I used is from the huge batch of designer fabric I was given, and it was one of my favourites. I saw it and immediately knew I wanted to make a wallet out of it. I held off for a bit, waited until I did a trail and error test on the first wallet, and was confident going into the creation of the second. The construction of the wallet was easy, I love making the credit-card pockets. Though, when I was making the change pocket portion, I started to run into trouble.

First of all, the reused zipper I had chosen was a pain in the butt! It took me twenty minutes to get it out of the previous purse it was embedded in. Obviously, this zipper did not want to part with its original creation. Once I pried it from the purse, I started to sew it to some muslin that I put interfacing on. I figured hell, it'll be easier to fold the pieces in when I put the zipper on, WRONG! The zipper moved, it was fussy, and basically was giving me sign number two that it did not want to be put in my lovely wallet!

Now, I'm not sure if you've already figured out that I shouldn't be able to put my hand THROUGH the zipper like that, but you're not!

There is supposed to be a backing that would hold the change in and where my pretty pale fingers are sticking out, which is where you would put your hard earned dollar bills. I hadn't even realized I did this and had put the wallet in a pile to be photographed with the small stack of iPod cases I had just finished. It was when my boyfriend's mom, Maggie, picked up the case and started examining my work. The two of us had been brainstorming ways to make the binding less bulky, which I've since figured out how to do... duh, add a quarter inch all around so you're not trying to squeeze 1' of fabric in less than 1' of space!

She held up the wallet, with her hand through the zipper like mine in the photo and said, "Isn't there supposed to be a pocket, in the pocket?" I started cracking up and was thankful that I hadn't put it up on Etsy to sell! How embarrassing that would have been!!

But alas, I've learned trial and error only makes you a better designer and sewer. I've since taken apart my purse and put in a new strap. (Burn Free!) And unfortunately, I've been staring at my wallet, with my favourite fabric holding it together, already regretting the time it took to make it, to have to take it apart and fix it! But I will.

"If You don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree."

Love,

Katie.