Drawstring bag

Lately I feel as though I've started a dozen things and not finished any of them. I have WIPs sitting all over the house. But today I started AND completed a little project.

Just to be clear, I did NOT make
this muslin for the fitted jacket!

Back in May I got a new sewing machine, but I haven't had a chance to even open the box, the summer and fall were so crazy. It's been years since I sewed anything, so I had nothing in particular driving me. But now... my youngest needs a costume in about three weeks' time, and I'm out of practice and unfamiliar with the machine. A very skilled sewer and wonderful person is doing the design work, but I'll have to take her model and use it to construct the costume, which is a sort of a steampunky Victorian-inspired dress. Petticoat, skirt, draped apron, fitted jacket.


I was watching a free mini-class at Craftsy which was about different sewing machine feet (a great refresher) and spotted another free mini-class on basic bag making. Whee!

I had some quilting cotton around, so...






...I made a
drawstring bag. It's lined, with a sturdy channel for the drawstrings.

The first attempt at making a drawstring in matching fabric was a failure - I think the pull cord made from folded bias tape was too wide, so I sewed too close to the edge. So instead, I used a couple of lengths of four-strand braided twine from a macrame disaster a few months ago for the drawstrings. That worked!

Later, I managed to make a drawstring anyway, by using a length of twine as the pull cord instead of the folded bias tape. Couldn't let the failure go. Re-learning sewing and learning this new machine have both been frustrating today, but finishing a simple little sewing project and succeeding on the drawstring felt good.

My skilled sewist friend set me some homework so that when I get to the fitted jacket bust curve, I don't screw it up. I am to sew spheres from felt, as it's a forgiving fabric. Since it's the winter holiday of course I feel more ambitious than that, and I'm going to make a snowman.