Long n short handles - Quest #5

Making this bag aged me 10 years. It started with gorgeous grab bags at allpeoplequilt.com staring at me. (yes, i'm a member) I call it long n short handles bag, APQ calls it grab bags. The pattern which comes in a pdf file is HUGE. I had to downsize it a lot. After printing page after page, you have to glue the pieces together. All that took me 1 whole day to do. Just kidding. It only took me an hour.

Next, I suddenly really really wanted to do crazy patchwork again. Yes, my Lexapro isn't working anymore. It took me many days to complete the patchwork and I'm not even good at colour harmony. I suck at it. I could be the only person who could see colours and be colour blind.

Finally the patchwork was done. I spent the next few days sewing fagoting stitches between the seams. My sewing machine can do wonders! Just when I thought I could assemble the darn bag, I suddenly really really wanted to include a zippered pocket in the lining. Now? So off I went to visit u-handbag which had a zippered pocket tutorial. I love this tutorial. It's so clear and it works. My pocket turned out beautifully except I didn't use any interface which would have made it perfect.

The instructions for the grab bag which also comes in the pdf file is really good for newbies. For the topstitch I used perl cotton in a rustic gold. Okay I don't know what the colour is. I'm technically colour blind remember?

Finally it's done


Front or back


The other side


My first zippered pocket in a lining


I showed the bag to my husband and he said it looked like I was experimenting with the colours (and didn't work).

Long n short handles - Quest #4

In my continuing search for bags with one long and one short handle, I came across Purl of the orient which had to die for cute bags. There are no tutorials, just some pictures of the bags.

I figure the bags aren't very hard to make so I made one for myself. I did it like a regular tote. The position of the handles is important to facilitate the closure.





Inside out - i'm going thru a batik craze now

Long n short handles - Quest #3

I never thought I would try a project from a Martha Stewart show. I had heard of Martha Stewart and once tried to watch an episode of her show on TV. It was painful listening to her drone on and on about pastry and other exciting desserts. Being a fan of TV police shows, I kept waiting for a pay-off. Nothing exciting happens on Martha Stewart.

So during my current quest for long and short handles, I was quite um, embarrassed to use her TV tutorial for my next bag. There is a clip of Martha and her guest actually sewing the bag. But it being TV, everything was pre-sewn and the guest glossed over the difficult part of the bag - the handles. Grr! I used the cute template provided but I made the bag really small.

I think I managed to wing the handles pretty well and it's all machine sewn.


The clothes peg gives an idea of the size of the bag.

Long and short handles - Quest #2

I recently got this book bend-the-rules sewing by Amy Karol and one of the projects is surprise, surprise - a long and short handled tote.

One of the differences I noticed about Amy Karol's style is she left the opening for turning the bag right side out in the top of the bag. I've always done it the old-fashioned way through the lining.

She mentioned a website in the book and to my horror/shock/delight she is also Angry Chicken. I had seen stuff made by Angry Chicken before and for some queer reason I thought Angry Chicken was a very angry male farmer. I cannot understand my own thought process.

I made the longer handle really long as I thought it would look really nice.


I used different fabric for front and back.




A nice pink patch pocket for my coins.




Inside out.

Long and short handles - Quest #1

I'm currently fascinated by bag handles - the ones where the length of both handles don't match.I imagine this is how it happened. One brilliant but forgetful bag maker sewed the wrong length of handles onto a bag. Instead of reaching for the seam ripper, she experimented and voila - a new bag is born.

What I love about long and short handles is that no closure is required. By inserting the longer handle through the shorter handle, a natural closure is born. So clever. I wish I had come up with it.


Say Hello to my rocking horse. (I have a rocking horse?!!)

Helen's site offers a Japanese Knot Bag pattern(I guess this is what Japanese calls it) which I shrank in size as I thought large would be cumbersome for such a design.




Okay, here's the part I didn't like. I had to sew the handles together by hand. So raw!


This is what I look like inside out.