Any Knitty Girls out there who sew?

General Knitting
1

Hello crafty folks,

I’ve recently been interested in sewing (thinking about taking my first class) and was wondering if anyone has free patterns out there for making bags.

Or knitting blogs you enjoy…whatever :flirt:

2

I love sewing! I have made ballet bags for my girls using this basic pattern, and it has a nice tutorial as well. http://tinyhappy.typepad.com/tiny_happy/2006/06/shoulder_bag_tu.html

There’s one correction I don’t see mentioned on the site though- the width at the bottom is listed is 17", but the sides/strap widths at the top don’t add up to 17". You’ll see what I mean when you look at it, and some simple math will fix it for you. :slight_smile: I dressed mine up with some ruffles and things for my girls- you can do practically anything. :slight_smile:

3

[color=indigo]I bought my first sewing machine this weekend. Its out of the box but I don’t even have thread for it. :shrug:

I hope to take a class on how to use it this week. :cheering: [/color]

4

Don’t forget to check with the store where you bought it- or any store that sells that brand. They usually offer ‘get to know your machine’ classes, and usually will do it for free if you bought your machine there!

5

I just started sewing last fall with an extra machine from my mom.

Look in to Adult Education/ Community Education classes too offered by local school districts. I’ve taken Beginning sewing, Quilting and am starting Intermediate sewing on Wednesday - they were only $54 for a 5 week 2.5 hour per week class!!!

Sewing is a great way to compliment knitting - I put together linings for felted bags using the machine! :cheering:

6

[color=indigo]The Sewing Shop does offer free classes.

Do you know why I got this machine? Yep, I need to make a lining for an Aran Bag I knitted. So its turning into an expensive bag. :oops:

I don’t like to hand sew and I haven’t used a sewing machine since I was like nine. [/color]

7

here’s a few cute ones:

this is my favorite with tutorial- even I could follow it.
http://www.supereggplant.com/archives/000216.html

this makes a good shopping type bag
http://www.make-it-easy.com/opentot2.html

I love this one for the name (Booty Bag) and the recycling angle…

I’m signing up for some refresher courses at JoAnns. there’s one specifically for machine operation, and a bunch of beginner classes.

8

ohh lovely links thanks so much keep em coming hehehe.

Btw I looked at a few adult education a few came up but they involve more of a fashion illistration etc stuff. I’m going to try local fabric stores for lessons

9

Try the sewing part of Craftster for tips and tricks, patterns, etc. There’s a purses/bags/wallets section too.

Sarah

10

I sew on ocassion and have a sewing blog and forum. The forum isn’t very big though.

http://diysewright.blogspot.com

http://diysewright.forumup.com

I also have how to videos on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/humblestumble

11

I recently bought my first sewing machine. All I have done so far is hemmed my boyfriends pants, and I made a bag for when I go grocery shopping or to take my knitting along on road trips. I didn’t follow a pattern, mainly because I didn’t have one. I just used some scrap fabric I had around for some reason or other, and I think it turned out pretty well. My mother was very impressed that I put in a lining too! It wasn’t a real lining, like you see in most bags, just some darker colored scrap fabric. Anyhow, I bought mine at a Super Joann’s, where they offer free classes. (I call it Super, because the place was HUGE.) You should check with the store where you got your machine and see what they have to offer.

12

Not a girl, but I tried sewing on my aunt’s machine, and I didn’t like it. I can hand sew, though. (enough for seaming knits and basic purposes)

13

I’ve been sewing since I was 11 years old, so that’s 32 years. :?

I started out making simple dresses and skirts when I was a kid. My mother was always there to offer help, so that was good.

Now, I prefer to do things my own way, because I’m a slower, more careful seamstress than my mother was. She was always in a hurry to get it done quickly. But, she was able to sew a lot. (She made my first wedding dress, as well as most of the bridesmaids dresses.)

It takes me forever to finish each sewing project, but I don’t mind, because I enjoy the process.

Here’s my one tip: Keep an ironing board handy, so you can press seams as you go.

Here’s some of my recent sewing projects:




14

I can see I’m in trouble already. :!!!: I so totally didn’t want to get into sewing but I really really want to make a little sock knitting bag.

I am going this afternoon to learn how to turn on my machine and hopefully use it. :oops: I guess I’d better get some fabric to make a cute little bag. And I’m sure my DD will want to make one too. :fingerwag:

15

Here’s some more ammunition for your hobby:

Hobby Lobby has Simplicity patterns on sale for 99 cents each this week!

And I found a very nice pattern for a knitting bag!

16

Oh Boy, I have been a quilter for the last 8 years and have sewn since high school, Im 51, so that is a long time.
I just started knitting two months ago and I have been trying to clean out my quilter fabric stash (I have lots) to make room for a yarn stash. (I even tried swaping fabric for yarn, didn’t work!)

Sewing is fun and quilting is very creative, but knitting I can take with me. I have made knitted bags and sewen linings for them. Both are good hobbies.

Good luck
Marilynn

17

I learned over at craftster.org. They have many different forums for different sewing projects. If you go into the completed forum under bags, there are TONS of tutorials for all sorts of different bags and techniques.