Mamma Made

Thoughts On The "Birdie Sling Bag" Designed By Amy Butler

Rachel — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:04:57 GMT

I can tell already that I am going to enjoy making this bag. It’s a pretty cute bag and there are two great things about doing projects like this:

Semi-instant gratification. It doesn’t take very long and voila…you have a bag!
NO FITTING!!!

Gotta love the no fitting one. I do.

So, I need to write down my initial thoughts before I actually construct this bag. I did have a chance to see it, feel it, try it on as it was meant to be sewn at a quilting shop and I know already that there are a couple things that I would like to change/alter. Sigh. Nothing is easy. Why can’t I just make the bag? Well, I know myself and I want to wear it.

First, there is one strap that you sling over your shoulder (thus the name “birdie sling”) and I really like the shape of the strap over your shoulder. It is narrow (but not too narrow) and fits perfectly in that shoulder nook but as it flares out to connect to the bag, I feel that it’s a bit too wide causing a buckle. It looks a bit strange, but more importantly, it encourages the mouth of the bag to flare open—which will bring me to #2. To fix this I am simply going to narrow the bottom of the strap on each side by 1 1/2”. Nothing too difficult.
There is no closure! This is a big problem for me. A bag this large invites many (many!) items to live in it. You really need to have a way to close it. I am going to buy a simple magnetic snap. That should be fine. If you wanted to get a bit more creative, you could alter the lining a bit and put in a zipper. (“Nah!” I hear most of you saying.)
This is a very large bag and they really have you use A LOT of interfacings. Interfacing is good, but I’m going to switch it up a bit. They have you interface the lining with a fusible fleece to give it a puffy feel, the outer shell with a good weight fusible interfacing, the inside pockets, band, and straps are also heavily interfaced. After feeling the bag I decided that I’m going to try the fusible fleece on the lining, but I’m going to use an extremely light-weight fusible for the outer shell and just a single layer of a stronger fusible interfacing (I believe they have you double the interfacing in some areas) for the band and the straps. I want body but I don’t want it to be so stiff that it crinkles as you wear it.
Pockets. There are some great big pockets inside this bag. Do you see how deep they are? I think I’m going to change two of the pockets to be a bit more shallow for a cell phone and keys. You could lose some stuff in those pockets as well! I guess they are a really good size if you are going to use it for a diaper bag—perfect for wipes and diapers. But I digress…

Photo courtesy of All Things Mum

So, I have cut my fabrics (Have you ever cut fabric with paper scissors because you can’t find your Ginghers packed away in some random box stacked in the garage? I highly do not recommend it!), interfaced my pieces and pinned in the pleats on the outer shell. I think that since I have thought out my plan of attack for this bag things are pretty much in a good place. I do have to buy that magnetic snap though.

In my next post, I will give the actual review of the pattern and how everything goes together. If you have any specific questions you would like me to answer, feel free to leave a comment. There are a lot of people who have sewn this bag and offer a lot of insightful ideas and remarks on making it. Don’t you just love the internet?

Love,

Going To Make A Bag

Rachel — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:38:51 GMT

In the midst of all the moving drama (yes, it’s still going on and no, I can’t share yet but I can tell you this, I’M SO OVER IT!) I am going to sew a bag for myself. All of my sewing equipment has been neatly packed away for months and I’m seriously creatively freaking out. Thus the bag—simple easy instant gratification.

Now, I have to confess that in general I stay away from Amy Butler products. Don’t get me wrong, I think she’s a great designer and has great ideas…but everyone loves her. Why is that a problem? Well, everyone is sewing with her fabrics and her patterns so because of that, the items become slightly less original. I’m am going to break my Amy Butler personal rules and make her “Birdie Sling” pattern.

I’m am using the popular Wonderland Fabric by MoMo in Tomato for the main fabric and a soft blue for the contrasting band and strap. See I’m breaking all the rules. I don’t care how popular this fabric is either! So there.

I’m going to make the pattern and give a review on it. I already see some things that I would change. Look at the picture of the pattern. See how the end of the strap is so wide that it buckles when you are carrying it? That bugs me. I actually saw one made up and had a chance to try it on and feel it out so it really did bug me.

Alright! Talk soon.

Love,

By the way, I know my site is screwed up and looks really ugly, but I’m at the mercy of Jon (ie. my love) to fix it.

It's All In The Fabric

Rachel — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:35:26 GMT

Cute little dress, right? I love it. It’s really sweet. You too can purchase this sweet little dress by Papo d’Anjo for only $224.00.

If you aren’t ready to dish out that much money for this sweet dress for your little one, feel free to re-create this dress. This dress is all about the amazing Liberty of London fabric. The lines are very simple and clean…nothing fancy at all. Add a little trim and voila!

I’m going to pick the Ros, B Liberty fabric for $32.15/metre (1.09 yards). Still expensive, but considering you only need about a yard for a small child and a 1 1/2 yard for a larger child, you are still WAY under the $224.00 mark.

Vogue 7593 would definitely do the trick. The cover looks pretty fancy and they have some fancy options you can make, but if you look at the under-dress for the pinafore, the lines are practically the same.

You have the puffed sleeves, scooped collar, bodice, buttons down the back, and a full skirt. This pattern has you gather the skirt, but it would not be difficult to make pleats instead. This skirt is a bit longer than the dress we are trying to duplicate, but it’s not very hard to just make it shorter. Add a contrast fabric belt with trim stitched to the bodice and you have a $224 dress plus international shipping ($15?) for around $50 ($32.15 + $8.97 + $10 (notions)). Add some non-working buttons to the front bodice to add an extra pop of color. (Please excuse the blocking of the print. I didn’t have time to make it tile properly!)

Like I said, it’s all in the fabric.

Love,

I Am Petitioning

Rachel — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:11:15 GMT

I Petition You, Lord by rachelgalloway

House stuff not going so well. There has been a lot of singing around here lately.

Love,

My Caterpillar Girl

Rachel — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:11:44 GMT

Eleanor, my 2 year old daughter, has become fascinated with caterpillars. I don’t get it. She just loves them. Because we are in the process of moving, we are being extra tight on finances and one of our favorite family outings is to go to the bookstore and just read and play for hours. On one such evening, Eleanor spied a pile of stuffed animal caterpillars (they are celebrating 40 years of Eric Carl books) and of course the caterpillar looks just like the hungry caterpillar.

She grabbed about 5 of these monsters and just walked around the store. I could barely see her face, but she was in caterpillar heaven. It was so sad when we had to leave; Jon held Ellie while I grabbed the caterpillars and ran. He held on tightly to her and ran the opposite way. Did you know that they cost $20? Sheesh. I was holding $100 worth of caterpillars!

My Mom and Dad came to California to visit for a couple of weeks and my Mom decided that it would be really special for my Father to give her the caterpillar as a gift. Oh, I forgot to tell you that I had printed out a picture of the stuffed caterpillar and she carried it around with her wherever she went. She even slept with the picture. So, my Dad (or Paka as my girls call him) gave her the stuffed caterpillar and I think that forever he will be her best friend.

One day I went to Etsy and just browsed the site. I love to do that and see all the handmade items. Just for fun, I typed in “caterpillar” to see what would come up. Ellie was hanging out in the room with me and when I browsed to this item, she refused to let me look at anything else.

This caterpillar hat is made by Pink Alligator Designs.

Sooo….I proceded to print out this picture of the little girl in the caterpillar hat and Ellie started dragging that around, along with her caterpillar of course. She is such a hoarder! Hmmm…wonder where she gets that from. (Jon!) Finally, I broke down and just bought her the little hat. It was so very reasonable for a handmade item! I really have no idea how she made any money at all. So, then we wait…and wait…and anxiously wait.

Today was the day that Ellie received her caterpillar hat. I love that when she smiles, her eyes smile too. The hat does look cuter with the brim down, but she had a hard time seeing so we flipped it up.

Here is my caterpillar girl!

Love,

More Lion Overalls

Rachel — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:45:29 GMT

I never get tired of seeing overalls (or anything for that matter!) made with this lion fabric. Mary Brewer of royalforest has made an adorable little pair for her nephew. Yay, Mary! Can’t wait to see them on him.

Here is my version on Peter Leo.

Love,

Fabric Design By Rosemary

Rachel — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:13:49 GMT

Rosemary Galloway, Age 8

Love,

Having Fun With Flowers

Rachel — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:14:26 GMT

Love,

I Love Alexander Henry

Rachel — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:21:03 GMT

Alexander Henry

Love,

Bruce Springsteen And Danielson

Rachel — Sat, 02 May 2009 00:43:30 GMT

I laughed so very hard while I was watching this. For those of you who don’t know, the band Danielson is my brother Daniel’s band and I have the privilege of being a part of it. Enjoy!

Love,