Beach Bag Tutorial

I've had a pile of fabric and patterns just lying around, waiting for me to turn them into finished sewing projects.  And after posting a few of my finished dresses, I decided that it was time again to get back into a sewing project.  So, to help ease myself back into the swing of it, I made a simple cloth tote/beach bag via a pattern from Burda Style.  This project took me less than a few hours and can be made into so many variations and modifications, that I might just make another.  Below was my step by step journey through the making and completion of my bag.  You can find the original [and free!] pattern on Burda Style here.

My rendition of the Charlie Reusable Bag:

*All seam allowances included.  Use a 5/8" seam.

1.  Begin by downloading and printing out Burda Style's amazing and simple pattern.  Match each side accordingly and tape together the pieces.

2.  Lay out your fabric and find the straight grain.  Lay your pattern on top, making sure that your grain matches with the directions on the pattern.  (If you don't, you're bag will eventually become droopy and sad because of stretching!)  Begin to pin your pattern to the fabric and make sure to copy over any markers on the pattern to your fabric.  The fabric that I used for this project was purchased at Ikea.

3.  Cut out the fabric following the pattern.  You should end up with (1) small rectangular piece and (2) pieces of the larger piece.

3.  Burda Style then tells you to overcast all the edges, so that you won't have any fraying.  I don't own a surger but after looking over my stitches, I found one that worked similarly.

4.  Next you'll need to create the inside pocket.  You'll need to fold the piece according to the marks that you made transferred from the pattern.  Sew the sides together.

5.  Next you'll need to sew the handles together using a flat felled seam.  I actually didn't know how to do one so I quickly Google'd it and found this handy tutorial.

6.  Next you'll need to sew the bag sides together.  Attach the pocket to one of the sides and use the marks that you've transferred on your fabric as a guide.  Make sure that the opening of the pocket faces towards the inside of the bag.  After sewing the sides, you'll need to sew the bottom.  Burda Style directions weren't very clear on how they finished their bottom but I just sewed along the bottom twice for reinforcement.  I've seen other bag tutorials were you can tuck in the corners and sew the bottom but it's up to you!

Here's what the bag looks like when you fold it up into the pocket.  You can see the raw edges still and you'll also find that there are raw edges on the handles.  I didn't really like the "unfinished" look and ended up finishing all edges of the bag.

7.  To finish the edges, I double tucked them into wrong side of the fabric, pinned it all in place, ironed it and then used a bright color thread to sew it together.

Here is a view of the finished edge.  Much better!  Below are my finished looks at a simple and quick bag that you can take with you or fold it up for later.  All you need is about a yard of some nifty fabric and an afternoon's time.  Hope that helps any new sewers, good luck!

How I managed to save $22 and finish two dresses in two days.

Hello.
It's been a while.

And if you don't know/didn't realize, I now live in San Francisco, California.

Sooooo, that means a bigger city.  (Bigger than Rochester, New York!)  And that also means free days at things.  Free days at museums, free days at places/events, so on and so forth.  I love it.  Especially since I just moved to this city and it's the best way possible to see more of it, for absolutely nada.

Yesterday, the first Tuesday of the month, was a free day at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.  The Conservatory is a real gem in the city.  It's like stepping into another world once you enter the doors.  The temperature is at least 90 degrees and it's tropical and exotic.  Outside, there's beautiful flower gardens and people lounge around and have picnics.  They currently have a display on wicked and deadly plants.

Today, the first Wednesday of the month, is a free day at the San Francisco Zoo.  And, best of all, I live right outside the front gates.  Wonderful and weird.  Wonderful because I just need to step out and go to the zoo, it's convenient and easy.  Weird because sometimes, when I wait for the train (also by the zoo), I swear that I can hear the animals in there.  It's a bit off-settling.  But it's nice to walk around the zoo and view the animal feedings.  I think that the SF Zoo is a bit better than most zoo's that I've been to.  There's a great deal of conservation there and they make an effort for proper viewing for the viewers and comfort for the animals.

There are a lot more opportunities like these that happen around the city all the time, so I can say that living here is pretty opportunistic.

Lastly, I finally posted some finished projects on Burda Style.  Two dresses that I had finished but failed to photograph.  The first on the left, I created in response to a $200 Madewell dress.  I couldn't see buying something that I could easily sew.  The second is actually for a small photo project that I'm working on.  I'll post those when the project is finished.

A bit of a random post but I promise with the end of these next two weeks and final projects, things will settle down for a while and I'll be posting a lot more!

Muir Woods

Photos from a trip out to Muir Woods a week ago.  Thanks to my brother, I now have my car back and [hopefully] that means more roadtrips.

A ballerina from a dream

New images for a new project.  Shot all today.  And edited.  Because yeah, I'm crazy excited like that.  I suppose it's a study between grace and strength.  Between the known world and taboo all coexisting in one beautiful place.  Much like the lucid dreams that I've been having lately.  They're filled with weird events, things and people that don't necessarily belong all together but hell, it's a dream.  And yeah, I'll go with it.  Perhaps I shouldn't eat so close to bedtime but lately, ALL my dreams have been vibrant and extremely poignant contradictions. 

Anyway, let me get back to reality and say this:  If you see a ballerina on a train, you sure as hell ask her if you can take her photograph.

All images taken at the Legion of Honor Museum. 

Polaroid Emulsion Transfers

It's been a while since I last posted and that's probably due to my recent midterm schedule.  But now that they're over and I have some free time before jumping into my final projects, I wanted to take the time and do a tutorial on Polaroid emulsion transfers.

I've done Polaroid transfers in the past and when you go online, some of the tutorials are a bit complex and nonsensical.  So a lot of my image transfers have been a product of trail and error.  For my projects, I ended up shooting two boxes of Fujifilm FP-100C 3.25x4.25.  (Polaroid stopped making their instant film a few years ago and now instant film users turn to Fujifilm.  I've used Polaroid Type 55 and 59 when shooting 4x5 and I must admit my sadness over losing such great film.)

Remember that the FP-100C is pack film and meant for pack film backs.  So make sure you read the label before purchasing, don't confuse it for the 4x5 sheet film kind that Fuji also sells.  The camera I used was a lower model Polaroid 430 Land which consequently takes pack film.

To begin with, you'll need a few household items to assist you in the emulsion transfer process.  Try to find old pie plates or pans that aren't used for cooking and eating since you will be handling photo chemicals.

1.  Begin by boiling some water.  This water will be used in your "hot plate".  You'll also need to fill another plate full of room temperature water, otherwise known as your "cold plate".

2.  Once the water begins to bubble, not boil, pour it into your hot plate.  Check the temperature of the water with your thermometer.  Make sure it reads to around 150-160 degrees.  Any lower and the chemicals won't melt, allowing you to peel away the emulsion.  And any hotter, the emulsion will begin to "texturize".  (Kind of like film reticulation)

 3.  Place your polaroids into the hot plate using your tongs.  Be sure to fully submerge the polaroid into the bath and try not to agitate or touch the emulsion itself.  Allow the hot water to begin melting the chemicals behind the polaroid for about 4 minutes.  You'll notice small bubbles form on the surface and underneath the film.  You'll also see the edges begin to curl or wrinkle.  The water will begin to turn magenta.

4.  While the polaroids soak in the hot plate, spray mount the surface you want to place the polaroid on.  In my case, I experimented with vellum paper.  I've used other surfaces like rocks, wood and linen in the past.  Paper-wise, watercolor paper will hold it's shape the best after drying.

5.  After the polaroids have been sitting in the hot plate, take your tongs and lift the polaroid by the edges into the cold plate.

6.  In the cold plate you'll be lifting the emulsion.  Start at a corner and gently scrape away the emulsion with your finger.  Once you have a good grip on the corner, slowly peel the emulsion all the way to the opposite corner.  I recommend peeling with both hands starting from the top to the bottom of the polaroid to avoid ripping the emulsion. 

7.  With the emulsion lifted, place it on your prepared surface.  Mold and manipulate the image to your satisfaction.  I recommend spraying the image one more time with photo mount to secure the transfer in place.  Allow 24 hours of drying before any scanning.

Good luck and enjoy.  The possibilities are quite endless.

Cat

Today is our one year anniversary of adopting Connor.  He's probably 6 or 7 years old.  Yeah, I just did a cat post.  I am now that Cat Lady.

Want

Styling and Salvage by Rupert Blanchard