Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Wednesday Sewing - Cowgirl(boy) Trick or Treat Bag


I'm back from Portland and delivering little c's cowgirl costume.  She's darn cute looking in it - I just about melted!!  I have a few hints on the pattern I used (Simplicity #3650) in case anyone's also using that one and a tutorial for a cowgirl (or boy) trick or treat bag to go with it.  Unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of the whole bag, so hopefully you can get the gist of it from the photo above!

Pattern hints: 
First, a comment on fabric - apparently there are two types of ultrasuede.  One frays very easily along the cut edges and the other does not.  The one that does not fray is more expensive, but get this type!  It would be impossible to cut fringes from the "easy fray" one. Luckily I bought the right type for the fringes.  I bought the wrong type for the shirt and had trouble with fraying edges.

Bandana - I rolled it differently than they suggest.  Instead of having a little triangle of an end that can easily come undone, I folded the triangle ends in and then rolled.  I finished it off by sewing the two sides together. 


The pattern shows you an ingenious way to put this bandana together so it doesn't have to be retied every time you put it on.


Shirt - This is not an easy beginner item!  There are a few instructions that were more difficult to understand, even with all my sewing experience.  I eventually figured out all but the instructions for putting on the velcro that closes up the back.  It looks to me like they want you to attach the velcro to a single layer of fabric that's not folded under - I'm not positive, though.  That hasn't ever worked for me with velcro - too floppy.  So I folded both sides of the back opening under, top stitched along the edges, and attached a smaller oval of velcro to each side.  This works fine for keeping the back closed.



The instructions call for scrapbooking brads for the "rivets."  I couldn't find any I liked, so I used iron-on studs.  See the bag tutorial below for instructions on how to use them.  They also suggest you use interfacing on the facings and collar.  Don't.  The ultrasuede is so thin, it makes those parts way too stiff - and I used featherweight!

Trick or Treat Bag:

1.  Cut five pieces of non-fraying ultrasuede:  two pieces 9 x 15 inches, one piece 18 x 5 inches, and two pieces 2.5 x 8 inches.


2.  Pin the two 9 x 15 inch pieces with right sides together and sew each long edge with a 1/2 inch seam.


3.  Turn one open end down 1 inch and pin in place.


4.  Sew about 1/4 inch from the cut edge.


5.  Turn bag right side out.  Take one of the 2.5 by 8 inch pieces and turn down 1/4 inch on the top edge.  Pin in place about 3/4 inch from the top of bag.


6.  Sew close to pinned edge.


7.  Cut into 1/4 inch fringes, stopping about 1/4 inch from the sewing.  Repeat with the other side.


8.  Draw a chalk line 3 inches up from the bottom of the bag (it's still open).  Sew on each side of the chalk line.


9.  Cut the fabric below the sewing into a 1/4 inch fringe.


10.  Fold the remaining piece of fabric in half, right side together, and sew the long open edge in a 1/2 inch seam.


11.  Turn right side out.  Attach each end to the bag at a side seam.  Sew as shown below.


12.  To attach iron-on studs, cut plastic apart and stick on the fabric.  I placed 5 across the top of each bag side.  Iron as directed (it varies with different brands).  Let cool and remove plastic.


Happy Creating!  Deborah


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