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Transcript:

Helen: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Helen: Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: And I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew, and it’s basically all we wanna talk about.

Caroline: We each sewed a bag in secret, and in this episode we will reveal them to each other for the first time. We’ll also chat about the patterns and fabrics we chose, what techniques helped us out during the sewing process, and how we plan to style our new bags.

Helen: If you love to sew, this is your show.

Caroline: Hi Helen.

Helen: Hi Caroline.

Caroline: How are you?

Helen: I’m great. I’m buzzing, as always. You know I love these episodes.

Caroline: I know, these episodes are the best. People are gonna get sick of us talking about how much we love these episodes, but I really can’t stress enough how much I enjoy these We Sew episodes.

Helen: I know, and I was thinking about how you could transfer this to the outside world. Like if you have a sewing friend, you could do this. Not on a podcast. You could each decide, you’re gonna make a theme, something, a bag, for example, and make them and then get together and reveal them to each other. It’s just that accountability, that motivation.

Caroline: Yeah, the deadline.

Helen: The deadline. Yeah. It’s so much fun. So try it.

Caroline: And sewing around a theme is so fun. Like, if you’re not on social media, you’re not participating in any of the, like, I don’t know…people on socials do that, where it’s like, “This month we’re doing this.” Or like, here’s this other kind of, what are these called? I’m, I’m blanking.

Helen: Like a club, like a sewing club. Yeah, there’s lots of those out there, too. A lot of fabric stores run those kind of clubs, and those are really fun as well. Quilting bees or quilting guilds are really good for that, too. They do, like, monthly challenges and everybody does the same style of quilt or something. It’s really cool.

Caroline: But if you wanna do it with a friend, you should.

Helen: The reveal is the best part. It’s so, so good.

Caroline: The reveal is absolutely the best part. Okay. Before we get too far into this, we wanna remind you all that the best way to support the show is by joining us on Patreon or Apple Podcasts subscriptions.

Helen: Yes, you get access to bonus content every month. We do bonus episodes and we have a lot of fun catching up with you all on those more casual bonus episodes. Very chit chatty. You can hear all about Caroline getting her face lasered.

Caroline: Wow. That’s the hook this month, hey?

Helen: You won’t believe what happened.

Caroline: You won’t believe what happened, to be honest. Oh my gosh. You can hear all about the chair drama in Cancun.

Helen: The chair drama. Yes. My vacation chair drama.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: But yeah, it means so much to us if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two. You can hop in and hop out. And if that’s not in the cards for you right now, we totally get it. We’re just really happy that you’re here and you’re listening. It means a lot to us.

Caroline: Yeah, and if you wanna support us for free, you can rate us or review us on Apple Podcasts. Please leave us a nice review. We haven’t asked for this in a while, and we’d love to get some more recent reviews up there, so that would be so lovely. But above all, thank you all so much for listening and for cheering us on. I can’t believe we’re at over 300 episodes now. Honestly, over 400 if you include the bonus episodes. We’ve been podcasting for a while, so. You know?

Helen: A hot minute, a hot decade.

Caroline: It’s been a hot minute. Yeah. And you’ve been there through it all, so thank you.

Helen: Thank you, thank you, thank you. We’re gonna start off this episode with a couple of voicemails from listeners, and this first one is from Brianna.

Brianna: Hello, Helen and Caroline! I am Brianna from Utah, USA, and two things: one, in the Sewing Fashion Trends episode, you mentioned that you were worried about the points of your shirt turning up while you moved around, and I had the idea that you could get some lightweight boning and sew on some channels to the lining, it’d probably have to be hand sewed, but It should keep it down. It’s, like, very lightweight, boning, maybe even just zip ties. ‘Cause, you know, boning is not just for holding people in, it’s also for holding clothes in place. And second: I called in a couple years ago about “what did you learn with sewing?” And I mentioned that I learned that finishing seams was not optional, and you mentioned on the podcast that wanted to hear the story. So I was 15 or 16 or something and I said, “You know what, I’m gonna sew my own prom dress.” So I got a pattern for a simple A-line skirt and matching shirt, and some polyester brocade fabric, and sewed it up and did not finish the seams. And they frayed straight up to the seam line, but not past it. Thank goodness. I think it might’ve also helped because I think it was lined. Anyway, so I decided I really liked this pattern, but I don’t like the inside. I might try out this newfangled French seam thing I’ve read about on the internet. And what do you know? The inside looked a lot better. Love the podcast. Thank you. Bye.

Caroline: Hi Brianna. Thank you so much for calling us. So the episode with the top that Brianna mentioned was episode 291, this was We Sew Fashion Trends. Helen, do you wanna talk about this top that you made?

Helen: Yeah, so I sewed a top with a kind of corset shape that comes to two points at the front and Caroline wondered whether the points would kind of flip up when I sat down. And they definitely do. Um, it’s not super egregious or anything, ’cause it is a thicker fabric, but it’s such a great idea to add some lightweight boning to prevent that flipping from happening. And for any fitted bodice, boning helps the garment keep its shape and prevents it from collapsing into the folds of the body. If I were going to go back and do boning on this top, I would have a couple options. I could add some boning channels to the inside of the top, like Brianna mentioned, and I’d sew them on with black thread to match the outer fabric. Easy to do, but lines of black stitching would show on the outside. The second option would be to take the top apart and sew the boning channels into the lining layer only and then reassemble it. That’s obviously a lot more work, but the finish would be similar to what it’s like now. And if I just made the top again, I could add some boning. So we’ll put a couple of articles about inserting boning in the show notes so you can check them out and try it yourself.

Caroline: Yes, these are great ideas. And back to Brianna’s voicemail. First of all, it’s so cool that you sewed your own prom dress. I bet you looked and felt amazing and I’m really glad that the fraying didn’t go past the seam line. It kind of reminds me of those old embarrassing stories section they used to have in teen magazines. Like, “Can you believe my prom dress split and everyone saw my underwear?!”

Helen: I remember those stories. I loved those.

Caroline: Yeah. Oh my gosh. But we all learn this lesson at some point. Finishing seams seems like something you can skip, but if you wanna wear clothes more than once, or even just once, it’s definitely something we’ve all gotta do. So don’t skip it.

Helen: Especially with poly brocade. Like, as soon as she said that, I was like, “Oh no. That is such a fray-y fabric.”

Caroline: It really is.

Helen: I’m glad it didn’t fray past the seam line. She got away with that one.

Caroline: Yeah, definitely. Phew.

Helen: Phew.

Caroline: Alright, our next voicemail comes from Samantha.

Samantha: Hi, my name is Samantha. I’m a flower farmer in the New York Hudson Valley. I love to sew. Last year I took the Seamwork personal style workshop, which was really great. It helped me understand that I feel best when I’m wearing really bright, fun and colourful clothes and also that I spend most of my time not wearing these kinds of clothes because I’m wearing farm clothes, which is workwear like overalls or Carhartt pants. And these are usually not available ready-to-wear in the fun, bright colours that I like. They’re usually dirt brown or other kinds of variations on that boring theme. So I wanna sew my own workwear but I can’t get over this idea that I’m gonna spend a ton of energy doing that and the clothes will immediately get ruined. Clothes that I wear to the farm get really gross. They get dirty, permanent dirt on the knees, like, grass stains everywhere. I want to feel good in the clothes that I wear to work. So how can I get over this mental hurdle that stops me from wanting to sew fun farm clothes for myself? That’s my big question. Thank you so much. I love you both. I love the podcast and thank you for your help. Bye.

Caroline: Okay. Samantha is living my dream life, by the way.

Helen: I know.

Caroline: Flower farmer in the Hudson Valley? I’m sure it’s, like, not as incredibly beautiful and glamorous as I imagine it will be, but oh my goodness. How lovely.

Helen: Hi, Samantha. Oh my gosh, you have such a cool job. Sounds kind of idyllic, honestly. Flower farmer. What? Great job, great hobby. I’m already a big fan of yours and I love this question. Here’s something to think about. Okay, if you get your me-made farm clothes dirty, then are you ruining them or are you helping them to fulfill their destiny?

Caroline: It’s so true. This is what you made them for. Also, prints are better at hiding stains than solids. So what if a bright floral print isn’t as practical as plain brown? Even with some discoloration from mud and grass, there’s still gonna be a lot of brightness there.

Helen: Yeah, the main thing, I think, is to choose hard-wearing fabrics so that you don’t have to repair them so much. And sometimes it can be hard to find hard-wearing bright floral fabrics. So that’ll be a little bit of a challenge. I’m thinking about, like, IKEA canvas.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: ‘Cause they always come in fun colours and that stuff is pretty tough. So maybe that would be something fun to play around with. And you could just make one pair of fun overalls to start off with. Wear them to work, let them get dirty, wash them like you would wash your regular workwear, and then just see how you feel. You don’t have to commit to making all your workwear super fun and playful, but if you wanna experiment with this, I think giving it a try, putting in the effort to make that one piece that’s really stand out and amazing, and then just letting it get wrecked over time, that would be a fun experiment for you, just to give yourself permission to try it.

Caroline: I am thinking about some of the really fun printed cotton twills that we’ve carried in the past at Blackbird, and we have some fun ones coming out this year. I think a pair of overalls in one of those would be really cool. Or just like a bright-coloured canvas or bull denim, like, if you wanted to go solid. Okay. I had another idea. What if Samantha kind of embraced mending, but in a fun way? So if you, let’s say you make a me-made pair of overalls and they get holes and they get dirty and kind of threadbare in certain areas. What if you slap on a bright-coloured contrast patch in, like, a fun shape or something?

Helen: Yeah. Applique flower knees or, yeah. Fun, colourful stitching. Different ways you could embellish.

Caroline: Exactly. And then you’re, like, reinforcing your clothes, but in a fun way that’s gonna probably make you smile and also add more colour. And you’re just kind of, like. leaning into the fact that these clothes are not gonna stay pristine and perfect, and you have a way to sort of, like, build on that. I don’t know. I really do think, like, whether the clothes are brown or bright coloured, they’re gonna get ruined. And wearing something that you made, that fits you, that’s exactly what you had in mind, it’s gonna make you happy. And yeah, I know probably letting go of like your me-mades getting holes in them and getting really dirty is a little bit difficult, but try to reframe it.

Helen: I can understand the struggle. I will also say that one of my favourite things in my wardrobe is my gardening overalls, my Yanta Overalls. They’re, they’re just denim. They’re not that exciting, but I wear them all the time. They’re disgusting.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: They’re covered in dirt. Like, there’s dirt, like, embedded in them now, and there’s paint on them ’cause I wore them when I painted my shed. Like, I’m letting them get ruined. But I’m having the best time ruining them, and they still have lasted a long time. It’s going on, like, five years now, and I’m still wearing these overalls and I plan to continue and add patches and stuff. So it’s kind of the perfect long-term project if you’re willing to put in the effort to do some upkeep on them over time, which it sounds like you are, if you love to sew.

Caroline: Yeah, totally. They tell a story.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. Also, I think you’re gonna get so many compliments. If you’re, like, in a flower garden doing work and you’re wearing flower overalls, people are gonna flip out.

Caroline: Yes, totally. We’re doing some really fun printed twills with like these, like, daisies on them and this, like, kind of drawn-on plaid in the background. It sounds kooky, but they’re really fun and some really bright colours, so I think you might like them. But yeah, I’m sure you can find some other cool stuff online.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah, I still think, like, a bright colour, like a bright green or pink solid overall would be so fun.

Helen: You could pre patch, too, like sew on patches onto the knees in maybe a solid colour on top of a printed canvas, and then when those knees get worn out, just replace them so you’re keeping the underneath knees more pristine.

Caroline: A hundred percent. Yeah. All right, let’s get into the main part of our show. Even though this whole episode is about us sewing bags, it’s not necessarily about sewing bags in general. So if that’s what you’re looking for, we’re going to mention a few episodes off the jump that you can go and check out. So, episode 249: Sewing Bags has the most general info. There are a ton of resources linked in the show notes for that one.

Helen: We also have episode 170: Sewing Accessories. It’s about more than just bags, but we did discuss bags in this episode.

Caroline: And then episode 81: Bag Making with Anna Graham from Noodlehead is an interview with an amazing bag pattern designer. Anna Graham is still making bag patterns and she’s, like, the OG, I feel like.

Helen: I know. Yeah. Her bags are so beautiful. If you’re looking for a bag pattern, definitely check out Noodlehead. And then we have episode 175: Leatherwork with Treasure from Nikki and Mallory. And this covers a different type of sewing, one that goes really well with bag sewing, ’cause we talk all about working with leather with her.

Caroline: Yeah. And then one honorable mention: if you’re a subscriber, mini-episode 75 is called New Bags, and in that one we share some cool bag patterns that came out in the two years since Sewing Bags was released.

Helen: Yeah, there’s a lot of really cool bag patterns kicking around the indie sewing world at the moment. I’ve been seeing so many cool ones, and I’m dying to know which one you chose.

Caroline: Ah. Oh my gosh. Me, too. Okay, before we do a reveal, I wanna know, Helen, what is your purse-onality like?

Helen: I see you did there.

Caroline: Do you need me to do it again? Purse. Onality.

Helen: Your purse-onality.

Caroline: No, but really, what kind of bags do you usually like? Do you take a bag everywhere? Do you just use your pockets sometimes? What features do you love in a bag? What do you carry in your bag? Like, give me all the details.

Helen: I’m definitely a bag person. I pretty much always have a bag if I’m leaving the house, almost always have a bag. For a dog walk I often won’t, but sometimes I will just ’cause it has all my stuff in it. It has my tissues and my lip balm and my mints and my halls and, like. all the things I might want. So if I’m going for a longer dog walk, I usually just bring my purse.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And I do like to stick to a purse for a while. I put all my stuff in it, and then that’s my bag every day and it’s grab and go. And I don’t switch bags a lot. I do have, like ,special bags for special occasions, going out to dinner, something fancy. But on the day-to-day, I always have pretty much the same bag and I’ll switch it, maybe every six months I might move stuff over and try a new bag for a bit. I like a medium size. Our Orbit Bag is a great size. It holds all my stuff really well. And my Bestie Bag is my other go-to favourite. They’re both, like, a really good size, fits all the essentials. I don’t need a ton of pockets. Zipper pockets and stuff. I don’t need that. I just kind of throw it all into the void and hope for the best.

Caroline: I feel the same way. I do love an outer pocket, but for the main compartment, like, I, my intention span is too short. Like I’m not, I, when I’m putting something in my bag, I’m not thinking about what pocket it goes in. I’m just, it’s going in there. No matter what happens, it happens.

Helen: I know. An outer pocket can be really nice, especially if it’s zippered, ’cause then it’s really secure, for certain things. But yeah, I mostly just throw it all in there. And then if I’m going on an outing, or I need to bring something, I’ll just grab, like, a little collapsible tote bag and bring that with me for a jacket or a larger item. How about you? Do you stick to one bag? Are you switching it up?

Caroline: No, I do switch it up. I’m similar to you in that I’ll usually put all my stuff in a bag and I’ll use it for a little bit, but it’s not six months. Like, it’s usually a few weeks and then I’ll swap it out. But I am, like, a certified bag lady. Like, ™. Like I, I always have way too many bags on me. I commute into work. I’m driving most places ’cause our house is a little bit outside of the city. So it’s not a huge problem that I always have bags, but I frequently get, like, laughed at when I walk into the office because I’ll have, like, my Miabag and then I have, like, I have a bit of a Baggu obsession, like, you know, those, like, nylon, like, shopping bags. And Baggu has a bunch of different styles of bags. So I have, like, my Baggu lunch bag and then I have a Baggu shopping bag with, like, my laptop. I have all these things that are stashed in there, my charger. And then I also am, like, carrying my water bottle and my coffee under my arm and I’m, like, always like struggling to, like, hold everything.

Helen: Sounds like you need a cart, like one of those rolling carts.

Caroline: Yeah. And I’m literally just going from my car to my desk. It’s like 50 feet. It’s not that far. But yes, I think the concept of, like, one bag fitting everything that I carry around with me is a bit of a fantasy. But if we’re talking about, like, purse, like the essential bag that if I were to, like, go to dinner, what am I bringing? It is usually like a Mia bag or a Bestie Bag. I’ve been really into Mia now because I do love having the outside pockets to stash my, like, phone and keys and lip gloss so that they’re not in the void.

Helen: And a water bottle could go in there, too.

Caroline: Water bottle. Yeah. And, like, depending on my outfit, I cycle through different Mias, usually. And then if I’m going somewhere where I don’t wanna bring as much stuff, I’ll use my, one of my Bestie Bags. And then when I go on dog walks, I usually just grab my essentials and throw them into, like, a little pouch, kind of fanny pack style bag. I don’t have a me-made one, but those are really handy. I just kind of wear them crossbody, so I have, like, treats at the ready in front of me, you know, and I can just pull those out easily, or like poo bags and stuff.

Helen: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sam and I have one of those little dog walkie bags, too, but he usually wears it.

Caroline: Yeah, but I totally relate. Like, when you’re out and you don’t have your, like, emotional support, like Halls and Kleenex, like…

Helen: I know.

Caroline: It’s, uh, it’s a disaster.

Helen: Especially tissues. I have the runniest nose known to man, and I need tissues at all times. So bags are important. I don’t know how people function without them. Like, Sam doesn’t carry a bag very often and his pockets are always full and he always needs to put stuff in my bag. I’m like, more bags. Everybody needs more bags.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Shea, always, things are always falling out of his pockets. Like, I’ll walk around the house, I’ll be like, “What’s this like Kleenex on the floor?” Oh, it fell outta Shea’s pocket. Like, “Where’s your phone? Oh, it’s in the couch ’cause it fell out of your pocket.” Like it’s just, things are constantly just, like, overflowing out of …

Helen: I know. It’s not good. There’s a reason why bags are so great.

Caroline: But Shea has, like, not to out him, but he has, like, fanny pack trauma from his childhood because he’s a type one diabetic and he used to always have to carry around his, like, insulin and test strips and stuff. And I think, people are cruel in school, so, so he refuses to carry around a little pouch.

Helen: I almost made, I didn’t, this is a bit of a spoiler. Something I didn’t make for this episode was a bag for Sam, because he wants one, and we were looking at bag patterns. I was like, “Oh, maybe that would be a fun project for this episode, to make you a crossbody bag in the style that you want and the size that you want.” ‘Cause he can’t really find one in store that appeals to him. So we didn’t, I didn’t end up doing that. Sorry, Sam, but maybe next time.

Caroline: Yeah. Instead, you made something for yourself, I hope. I don’t know. Maybe you didn’t. We don’t know. Oh my gosh. Okay. Are we gonna do our reveals now?

Helen: Yes. Who wants to go first?

Caroline: Yay. I’ll go first. I’ll go first. May I?

Helen: Yep.

Caroline: Okay. I’m gonna send you a picture and a video.

Helen: Oh, it’s so cute! Oh my gosh. Okay. I’m watching the video. Oh, the colour. This is adorable. I don’t recognize this bag. Tell me everything.

Caroline: Okay, so this is the daughter Judy Ru bag. And it’s soft, it’s slouchy, it’s pretty roomy, it’s fully lined. It’s got a little bit of, like, a bucket-y shape, but there’s some cool, like, V style lines in it and there’s a cool strap that’s sort of like a continuous strap that creates two straps, I guess.

Helen: Yeah, I love the style lines on it. It’s so elegant and fun.

Caroline: Yeah, and it has, like, a really cute little tie closure, and it has a hard bottom. So there’s actually like a piece of cardboard in the bottom, which helps it to really keep its shape. Only one view. I chose this pattern because I’ve honestly been dreaming about making this pattern ever since it came out. And I believe it used to be, like, a subscriber-only pattern, but she recently released it on her website as a pattern you can purchase.

Helen: Oh!

Caroline: So it was like a bit of a no-brainer when I knew we were doing this episode. I was like, I’m finally gonna make the Ru Bag, because obviously I’ve been into our bags, but I love branching out. And um, yeah, this one is, it did not disappoint. I really love it and I love the colour. Okay. I’ve made it out of Water Resistant Nylon Taslan in Blackberry. And I have to admit, I did not used to be a purple girl, and I think I’m a purple girl.

Helen: I feel like I have a memory of you saying that you don’t like purple very much on the show, so this is a shock.

Caroline: I am, I’ve been so into, like, chocolate brown lately, and I feel like purple and brown are really having a moment. I think they look really fun together. And this particular purple, it’s, like, a little bit dusty, but it still has a depth to it. It’s, like, kind of a deep eggplant-y color.

Helen: I love it. I thought this was the washed cotton, sandwashed cotton…

Caroline: Or the lived-in twill, maybe. Oh, sandwashed. Yeah. It does have a bit of a sandwashed look, right, because of the, yeah, the nylon, the texture.

Helen: It’s the texture. I really like that nylon Taslan fabric. I have some of it in my stash. It has a really cool feel. I’m excited to hear about your experience sewing with it. And the lining is so pretty. It’s like a blue, bright blue striped lining, so it really pops when you open the bag.

Caroline: Yes, I know. I love the lining. I went with one of our shirtings from our exclusive collection. It’s the Candy-Coated Stripe in Cobalt and Currant. And this bright blue isn’t a colour I wouldn’t necessarily wear, like, in a top, but I really loved this combo. So when I saw that it worked well as a lining, I was like, “Oh, perfect way I can work that in without, you know, making a shirt with it.”

Helen: This is such an ideal tote. I could see this being so handy. Like you were saying, you’re always carrying a million things. This would hold a lot of stuff. It’s very open, like, it’s not secure, necessarily. Is there an option for a zipper or anything?

Caroline: No. So I was going to talk about that later…

Helen: Okay.

Caroline: When we talk about, like, styling and wearing the bag. ‘Cause I have been wearing it. And I have thoughts.

Helen: It looks like it would be great for certain applications. I totally see this as, like, a poolside or beach bag. I love the little tie closure. Yeah. Great job. It looks really nicely sewn.

Caroline: Thank you. Yeah, I’m pretty proud of all my topstitching. And the v shapes were a little bit tricky. I also have thoughts about that, sewing those up. But it came together fairly quickly, other than the little, like, fiddly bits. Yeah, I’m super happy with it. I know I’m gonna use it. Yeah, I have thoughts about construction. I have thoughts about styling. I have a funny story for you that I can share later. But I feel like we should reveal your bag and then we can, like, get into the more nitty-gritty stuff. Right? Okay.

Helen: Agreed.

Caroline: Because I’m dying. I’m dying to see it.

Helen: Your mind is gonna be literally blown.

Caroline: I know it will. You probably made, like, a insane, like…

Helen: No, it’s not that. It’s not that wild.

Caroline: Million pockets, zipper.

Helen: It’s the fabric that’s gonna blow your mind. It’s so beautiful.

Caroline: So excited. Oh yes. Okay. Wait. I love the colours. This fabric is insane. Wait, Helen. You did the wavy squiggly squiggly guy. What is this one called? What is this pattern called?

Helen: This is the Wavelength Bag by Thalia’s Threads.

Caroline: It’s so cute.

Helen: It’s been on my list for a while.

Caroline: Look at your incredible sewing on this.

Helen: Thank you. It’s such a fun bag. For those who aren’t familiar with it, it’s got, like, this wavy edge all the way around, and you do that on both sides and then you bind it. So it’s, like, a lot of binding waves, but it is worth it.

Caroline: Yeah, wavy binding. Oh my gosh. The butterflies. This fabric is incredible. It’s, like, cream with, like, denim blue and bright red, and you did the bright red binding.

Helen: Yes. Okay, so let me tell you about this fabric. It was a dress that I bought at a thrift store like a decade ago. This dress is in rough shape. The hem is like frayed. The arm holes are frayed. I bought it purely for the fabric ’cause it’s literally incredible. It’s got like jaguars and butterflies and flowers and it’s so colourful and fun, and I just used it to cut out the pieces for the bag. And so there’s a couple, like, sneaky little seams here and there. But other than that, I think it, it turned out really well. I was able to put a butterfly on one side and a jaguar on the other. And then I had the perfect colour of red linen, cotton/linen blend to do the binding. And it matches so perfectly. And then for the lining, I did hot pink, same as I did for my Bestie. I love using this, uh, cotton poplin for my lining.

Caroline: Amazing.

Helen: I love it so much. It was so fun to sew and it’s such a, like, showstopper, like it really stands out. And I had a lot of fun making it.

Caroline: It is insanely striking and impressive and, like, the shape, other than the waves, the shape of the bag is fairly simple. It’s just like a crossbody kind of crescent style bag. Sort of a similar shape to Bestie, even. But then the edges being wavy just takes it to the next level. And I am dying to hear about how that was to sew because, just looking at it, I’m, like, getting stressed about, like, roping and, like, waviness in, in the binding. But I think the colour you picked is incredible. Like, this turned out so, so cool. It’s so awesome. Wow.

Helen: Thank you. It was really fun to make. And I will say that I almost picked this fabric for our We Sew the Good Fabric episode. ‘Cause it’s another piece that I’ve been hoarding for a decade, being scared to use. And so this was kind of like We Sew the Good Fabric part two, for me.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: Yeah. It was worth it, though. It felt like the right project for this application.

Caroline: Oh, it’s so great. Okay, so tell me what your sewing experience was like with the pattern and all of this binding. I’m dying to know.

Helen: Okay. The sewing, the pattern was great. It’s a fairly simple bag shape, crescent shape, but you do have to cut all the waves, which was weird ’cause I’ve never cut anything so wavy. So like, you’re going along with your rotary cutter and you’re like, woo, woo, woo. And like the strap is wavy. Everything is wavy. It feels so weird to cut out something that’s so wobbly and wild. And it was really fun ’cause I’ve never made anything this shape before, so it felt really new and fresh. And then when it comes to the binding, yes, it took time. I personally like binding things. So, caveat there, if binding’s not your favourite, this might not be the pattern for you. I like applying binding to things. I think it’s kind of fun. It is tricky to get those peaks and valleys looking really smooth. But she does give you advice in the pattern about, like, kind of stretching it out a little bit in the, in the valleys so that it doesn’t get too bunchy, and then leaving some slack in the peaks and trying to get, like, the right tension in your binding so that it doesn’t get bunchy or roping or anything like that. It’s definitely not perfect. Like, it looks really good in the video, but if you look up close, there’s lots of spots where I missed the binding and had to go back and resew it, or there’s, like, spots where the, the stitching is showing on the canvas fabric from the other side of the binding. And I didn’t wanna bind it by hand ’cause that would’ve been a whole crazy project. So I just sewed it on the machine and I was like, “I’m gonna get what I get and it’s gonna be fine.”

Caroline: And it was just, like, one pass? Like you’re going…

Helen: No, I sewed it on in two passes. So it did take a while, ’cause you basically sew the whole bag together. So you’re sewing both the wavy, long wavy edges all the way around to sew the bag pieces together. And then you sew the binding on first, pass both sides all the way around, and then you do the final pass. So three passes on both sides. So it’s a lot of waves. I did kind of feel like I was getting dizzy at my machine ’cause they’re pretty tight. So you’re like, whoop, whoop, whoop. Like, and it starts to feel like you’re on a boat or something.

Caroline: Yeah. I feel like the red is so bright that it, like, distracts you from any imperfections.

Helen: Yeah. And the busy print, too. Yeah. Yeah. You can’t really see the imperfections and, like, I don’t think anyone would notice unless they were looking real up close, which at that point, someone’s stolen my bag.

Caroline: Yeah. Oh my goodness. Oh my gosh. No, it’s, it’s such a showstopper, like, it’s really, really special. This bag, what a cool bag.

Helen: Thank you. I know, I’m so excited about it. I was really inspired by the product listing for the Wavelength Bag ’cause she includes a lot of tester photos and a lot of people used a really bold binding colour, which helps the waves really pop. And there was one in particular by @anniepickle that had a really similar look to it. It was like a cream background with a bright floral and then a red binding. And it made me think of this fabric, which was deep in my stash, and I was like, oh, I have a fabric kind of like that. And I pulled it out and it just all came together. So thank you, Annie, for the inspiration.

Caroline: Amazing. Oh, awesome. Okay. It’s looking so good.

Helen: Thank you. Okay. How about you tell me about these Vs and sewing with this nylon.

Caroline: So, sewing with the nylon wasn’t really an issue. Like, it was a little bit lightweight. The fabric is only four ounces, so I have used a similar fabric, not this particular one, but I made a nylon Mia bag last summer, so I kind of had a bit of experience working with this style of fabric. And what I did with my Mia was underline all the pieces. So I, I repeated that process. I underlined all of the outer pieces with cotton muslin to give it a little bit more structure, and I’m really happy that I did that because it just added the perfect amount of heft to the fabric. But that is annoying. Like, to take some slippery nylon and, like, underline every single piece. Like, I used a lot of pins and I took my time and I tried not to be, like, too much of a perfectionist and it ended up being totally fine. I think the trickiest part with this bag is all of the corners and the Vs. So kicking it off, like, there’s little darts. If you look at the bottom part of the bag, like the, there’s like a little rectangle at the bottom and that has cardboard sandwiched in, which is really cool. I’ve never used cardboard in a bag. She just says to use, like, a scrap piece of cardboard. So I’m like, hopefully I don’t spill anything in this bag, ’cause I don’t know how this cardboard’s gonna hold up. But I thought it was kind of fun that I could just, like, pull something outta the recycling and use it.

Helen: Yeah. Yeah. You could do, like, a piece of plastic or something, too.

Caroline: I was gonna say, yeah, I bet you if you wanted something that was more guaranteed to last, like a, a piece of plastic would totally work. I can always replace it. But anyways, so you have this piece of cardboard in the base, but then you also have your outer part of the bag. There’s corner darts and you have to join, the four corner darts meet the corners of the rectangle, and you’re kind of, like, sewing this rectangle into a box. And those corners were really hard, especially when you’re dealing with this rigid cardboard. You can’t get in quite as far. And her instructions have you sew the darts all the way to the end, and then she’s just like, “It might be difficult to join the pieces, so, like, take it in several passes.” I think difficult is an understatement. It was impossible. I was like, this is not even, like, I don’t even know how to get this under my machine. So what I ended up doing was, I went back, I unpicked the seam allowance of the dart. So I basically sewed my darts up until half an inch from the end, not the dart end, but the seam allowance end.

Helen: Yeah, to open it up.

Caroline: To open it up. And I reinforced that line so that it wasn’t, wouldn’t, like, unravel or anything. And then that helped enormously, because it just gives you that freedom to pivot your pieces properly so that you can get things to lay flat under your sewing machine.

Helen: Ooh, hot tip. I love it.

Caroline: Yeah, so if you are able to leave that seam allowance open, I mean, I think it would be, depending on the fabric, it could be a little bit tricky. And you are risking, if things don’t line up perfectly in that corner, like, you know, ending up with, like, a little hole, almost, or like a part that looks unsewn. But for my purposes it worked out perfectly. Um, you just have to still take your time with it. But once I did that, that came together really well and I learned my lesson and did the exact same thing for the Vs. So again, she’s having you sew all the way to the edge, but if you sew only till the seam allowance, it gives you that freedom to take, like, two Vs, but you have to put them right sides together. So one stays in a V shape and the other one, the other V gets, like, inversed, right? To fit it together. So you need to be able to, like, pivot, but if it’s sewn all the way to the end, you can’t, like, get to the corner properly.

Helen: Yeah, without, like, snipping into it or something. You have to open it up.

Caroline: So I, I kind of left that part unsewn and it ended up working out perfectly. So that’s my hot tip. If you make this pattern, I think that could be tweaked. That process could be tweaked a little bit and it comes together a lot more smoothly, at least for me. I can’t speak to, like, the leather of it all. ‘Cause I know one of the fabric recommendations for this pattern is leather. And I feel like that changes the game a little bit. There were some tips throughout the instructions of, like, hammer your leather here, or, you know, a couple of extra little tidbits. But using fabric, I think made the process a little bit easier than working with leather.

Helen: How was lining it? Like, did you just bag the lining in?

Caroline: Yeah, the lining was basically, it wasn’t bagged. It was, once you construct the body of the bag and the body of the lining, you just put them together and then you’re attaching the, like, edging and the strap.

Helen: Oh, the strap, right?

Caroline: So, and yeah, there was, like, some tricky bits but, like, the bag itself is fairly simple, like, no zipper, no inner pockets, so you could really focus on the construction and getting your, like, edge stitching really nice. Obviously I used my edge stitch foot and it looks perfect. So.

Helen: Yeah, your favourite.

Caroline: Thank God for my, my baby, my edge stitch foot, my pride and joy. And yeah, no, it, so it came together really well. I’m really happy with it. The one, like, dramatic moment was, of course, Helen. This happens to me every time I sew with synthetics. But at the very end, I’m doing my final little flourish, my final little press, and all of a sudden my iron is too hot and it got a little shiny in one spot. And I felt it, like, as soon as I put the iron down. I didn’t even increase the heat. I think it must have just been…

Helen: Sitting for too long.

Caroline: Sitting for too long or something. As soon as I put the iron down, I was like, “No!” Because you, you can, like, feel it, like, stick a little bit, you know?

Helen: Yeah. Mmhmm. That’s the melting that’s happening.

Caroline: But luckily it was just a little spot and it’s kind of in a spot that, like, you don’t really see, so it, it’s fine, but I was a little bit like, “Curse the sewing gods!” Why does this always happen to me with synthetics? I’m too rushed.

Helen: Well, yeah, it sounds challenging. I think bag making in general always presents awkward corners, angles, wrangling the fabric, getting it under the machine, thick parts, zippers, like, there’s all sorts of things going on with bag making that makes it extra challenging. So there’s always something.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Yeah. Totally.

Helen: Did you modify your pattern at all, like make any changes to it?

Caroline: I didn’t, no. I think I would, I don’t know if this would be possible, but I think it would be really fun scaled up. I think, like, looking at the photos, I thought it would be slightly bigger. It’s like a medium-sized bag, I would say. So having something a little bit bigger might be fun. More of like that hobo style bag, you know?

Helen: Yeah, yeah. That could be a good beach bag. Yeah, I didn’t modify mine too much. She does include a little strap lengthening piece ’cause you can make the Wavelength Bag more of a, like, shoulder bag. And it does come in two sizes. I made the larger size, but you can also make, like, a really cute little mini wavy bag.

Caroline: Oh, cute.

Helen: And if you do that with a shorter strap, it’s kind of like a little evening bag. Like you just wear it on your shoulder. But I knew if I did that style, I would never use it. Like, it would be very rare. Maybe going out for dinner or something. But I wanted something I could potentially use more on a regular basis. So she includes these little strap lengthening pieces, which is basically like a couple of extra wavy bloops.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: And you just kind of, like, stick them onto the, stick them onto the handle until it’s the lengthy one. So I added two sections of wavy bloops.

Caroline: Okay. Great. Yeah.

Helen: To make it long enough to basically sit across my body and under my bust, ’cause that’s where I like my bags to sit.

Caroline: Perfect.

Helen: Yeah. But other than that, I didn’t change it. I did eliminate the outer pocket. There’s, like, an outer little zipper pocket and I just thought it was gonna break up my print too much and I didn’t wanna break it up, so I skipped that.

Caroline: Yeah, you have to preserve that special print. Are you happy that you finally used this, like, beloved fabric that you’ve been saving?

Helen: I really am. It just feels like the perfect project for it, and I’ve had it for so long and I’ve never really been able to figure out what to do with it. I was thinking about making a denim skirt at one point, but I don’t really wear denim skirts and there’s not enough of it to make a jacket or something like that. And it’s canvas, so the options felt really limited. And then a bag just felt like the perfect thing. I added some interfacing to it. I used the classic bag making Pel;on SF101, often recommended for bags. It works a treat. It’s got a good stiffness to it. You can iron it on. This fabric is like canvas weight, but not super heavy. So it really helped to have that added structure. So I interfaced everything, all the outer fabric, with the Pellon SF101, and that really worked well.

Caroline: Okay. Awesome. That’s great. Have you worn your bag out and about?

Helen: I did, I wore it out for my friend’s birthday dinner. It was actually right after the Holmes Dress launch in March. And the three of us all wore our Holmes Dresses.

Caroline: Aw!

Helen: It was really cute. We were celebrating the launch for me and it was my friend’s birthday and my other friend got a promotion at work, so the three of us, like, went out for dinner and we all wore matching dresses.

Caroline: Oh, nice.

Helen: And I brought my bag. So that’s the one time I’ve used it so far. I haven’t, like, rotated it into my everyday bag rotation. Like, I haven’t moved all my stuff over to it and been like, this is gonna be my bag for a bit. It does feel, like, a bit eye-catching for that.

Caroline: It’s quite a statement bag for, like, every day. Like how do you, how do you work that with your outfits every day, you know?

Helen: I know. It’s a good going out bag, for sure, especially if you want a larger size. And I do think, in the summertime, maybe the summertime is the time for it to be an everyday bag. ‘Cause it has summery vibes. I think it might make more sense with a summer-y outfit. Uh, so I might put it in regular rotation. I mean, my regular rotation Bestie Bag is also pretty, I don’t know. It’s black and white, but it’s, like, eye-catching in its own way. Yeah. So I feel like it’s not that much of a stretch for me. I just need to move all my stuff over to it, and then I’ll use it for six months, like I said.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. You just gotta make the switch.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. What about you? Do you plan to use this bag regularly?

Caroline: I immediately switched all my stuff over after I finished making it ’cause I was so excited about it. Okay. So my critique of the bag design, and this is just, like, personal preference, is that it’s so open. So, like, there’s no zipper and the way that it’s shaped, it’s sort of, like, flutes out, right? So even though it has a tie in the center, if you, like, put the bag down, the sides are just, like, an invitation to look in your bag, you know?

Helen: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Reach right in there.

Caroline: Yeah. My funny story is that I brought it to Costco. Me and Nat from the office go to Costco together a couple times a month and it’s always a fun outing. And I had my bag, like, in my cart. ‘Cause also, I’m so used to a crossbody bag, Helen, that a shoulder bag…

Helen: It feels weird.

Caroline: It feels weird. It’s, like, so much harder to just have it on you all the time. Like it’s, it’s kind of a distraction. So I was like, I’ll just set it in my cart. But I kept, like, getting distracted and, like, turning around or, like, walking away from my cart and then looking at my cart and seeing just, like, my bag, just, like…

Helen: Open.

Caroline: Open! My wallet, my keys, my phone, just like, woo, here I am, you know, like in the middle of busy Costco in downtown Vancouver. And I was just like, oh my gosh, I’m so silly. Like, why am I doing this? So I don’t know that it can be an everyday bag for me. But it’s really fun. It’s really special. Like, I would totally bring it out to dinner, like a day to the farmer’s market where I’m, like, kind of carrying it around and I wanna throw some veggies in there. Like, yeah, I will for sure use it. Practicality-wise, I think the openness of it makes me a little bit nervous. Also just, like, things falling out, I’m like, are things gonna fall out? Like, I don’t know. You know, I’m, I’m so used to my bags really containing everything quite securely.

Helen: It looks like the perfect kind of substitute for a tote bag, like just grabbing it to throw a jacket in, or if you’re bringing something over to your friend’s house, you need a bag to carry it. That kind of thing it looks like it would be perfect for.

Caroline: But it’s, like, also such a cool purse. Like, I love the vibe of it. I love the style and aesthetic of it, so I’m like, I wanna wear it with my outfits. I also am obsessed with this colour. Like I’m, like, picturing all the ways I can wear it, but on a, like, practical level, I’m like, I don’t know if I’m gonna love using this bag as much as I love looking at it, you know?

Helen: Lessons are learned. I mean, I feel similarly, just because mine is so flamboyant…

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah.

Helen: So out there, I’m not sure if I’m gonna use it a ton. But I have zero regrets about making it because it was so fun and it’s so beautiful. And sometimes you just gotta make something for fun, you know?

Caroline: A hundred percent. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Okay. Anything else you wanna talk about? Bag, related to your beautiful, beautiful bag?

Helen: I think the only other little piece of advice I have, if you’re gonna make this bag, with regards to the binding, and I’ve said this on the show before, but: make your own binding. The store-bought binding just does not follow curves the same way that making your own binding with, like, a cotton or cotton/linen blend. I really like a cotton/linen blend for binding. Or the Go-To Cotton/Linen Blend at Blackbird. That one’s really nice. I’ve used that before. I think just making your own out of a softer material makes a huge difference when it comes to being successful on all of these curves. But it does take extra effort, so it’s worth it, though. I do think, in the end, you’ll be glad you did. ‘Cause it’s harder to turn all these curves with that store-bought binding. Especially don’t do polyester binding.

Caroline: Oh gosh. Yeah. Don’t do that.

Helen: Yeah. But that was the hardest part of this bag and otherwise it was really easy to make and it’s so much fun. So I would highly recommend the pattern. It was well done, drafting, instructions, all that. Definitely, definitely a good make.

Caroline: Yeah. One of my favourite things about doing these episodes is getting to try different designers, different pattern designers, different styles, different instruction manuals. Like, it’s just, like, a fun stretch of our, like, creative muscles.

Helen: Yeah, bag making in general, I feel like, stretches my creative muscles. Like we were saying, it’s tricky at some points to do the actual sewing, but you also get to think about what you like in a bag and you can make your customizations and you can add pockets where you want them and you can do fun details like colourful zippers or really cool fancy webbing. There’s so many ways to add personality to a bag and so many ways to customize. So yeah, make a bag. I really loved it.

Caroline: Yeah, totally. And a bag, a handmade bag can look really professional and ready-to-wear and cool and it’s not, you know, just a quilting cotton tote anymore. Like, there are so many patterns out there.So.

Helen: So many. Yeah, I’m dying to make more. I even started working on a bag pattern, Caroline.

Caroline: Ooh. Oh my gosh.

Helen: This really inspired me. But I a hundred percent guarantee you, you will never, ever, ever guess the direction I’m going with this bag.

Caroline: It is in the shape of a dog.

Helen: Oh my gosh. You know…

Caroline: A wiener dog bag. That’s my guess.

Helen: You know, Caroline, you’re not far off. Can’t wait to share more!

Caroline: Oh my gosh. No, I can’t wait to hear more. We’re also thinking of doing another bag pattern next, as a little palate cleanser.

Helen: Love that. Yes.

Caroline: And yeah, I just, I love, I love making bag patterns. I love sewing bags. I hope that our listeners will join us this week and sew a bag, or at least dream about sewing a bag. And tag us in your me- made bag posts on Instagram if you already have one up. We’d love to see what you’ve made and we can share it in our stories. And let us know what you think of our bags. Go check them out. You gotta look at the pictures to go along with this episode.

Helen: Yes. They’ll be up on our website and then we’ll be posting videos on Instagram later this week. So check it out.

Caroline: Check it out. Thank you for listening. Everyone, go make a bag. Yay!

Helen: We will tote-ally catch you later.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Bye.

Helen: Bye. That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Helen, at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. and Caroline at Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns. We’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Caroline: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes. That’s over, honestly, a hundred hours of Love to Sew. We’ve been saying 75 for a while. I think we’ve broken a hundred. You can go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Helen: Head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures of our bags from this episode. If you’d like to get in touch with us, you can leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at hello@lovetosewpodcast.com.

Caroline: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We’ll talk to you next week.

Helen: Bye.

Caroline: Bye.

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