Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Banishing the UFO pile - Specimen One



I've seen quite a few crafty peeps confessing their *UFO sins in the past few days, and considering there was another day of hibernation from the heat on the cards yesterday, I thought I should join in.


But, I didn't want to just join in and show you what was unfinished, I wanted to take the opportunity to finish them!

I'm hereby introducing you to specimen one - a dodgy bag for my mum.

I think I started making this bag in about 2006. It was while I was still working full time, and trying to work out how things were constructed. I wasn't using any reference materials or patterns at all.

I made the outer shell from a skirt that I'd picked up at the oppy, and the lining is some fabric from the Spotty remnant bin.


At this point, I had zero clue about straight grain/bias grain, or fabrics that had some stretch, or how to join a bag outer shell and an inner lining together. So when I found it still lying in the UFO pile, it was a bag outer which was sort of cut on the bias, and an inner lining using a cotton fabric with a slight stretch, and I'd already attached a magnetic snap to the lining, after sewing a piece of vinyl to the back to add some strength. Can you tell that I was just making it up as I went along?

Notice that I didn't even bother changing the thread colour either!

When I found it yesterday, I could have just chosen to throw it in the bin, but I think it's a perfect lesson to illustrate that anyone can learn to sew, and with lots of practice and perserverance, you can only get better and better!


So after sewing together my mismatched outer shell and lining, and making a new adjustable strap with some lovely antique brass hardware, I can now pass along the dodgy *OFMM bag when I go to Colac tomorrow.

The best thing is that my mum won't take any notice of the dodgy bits, she'll love it anyway!

*Un-Finished Object.... thankfully not Unidentified Flying Object
*OFMM - Only for my mum

9 comments:

Copper Patch said...

Well done! I've almost finished one thing on my list of shame and have made big progress on two others. Yay us :-)

Anonymous said...

not dodgy at all!
If you ever see any of my work up close you'll see loads of dodgyness!

Wombat's Picnic said...

I have a box I keep my UFOs in. Every once in a while I look in, but I haven't taken anything out in a long time. I have one project that my son reminds me regularly about and I still haven't done it! Maybe once I get all the rooms sorted through this summer? Cyndy

PS wouldn't have known it was dodgy if you hadn't told me:)

trudi@maudeandme said...

Hilarious. Your ufo has just described all my sewing techniques!

Cat from Raspberry Rainbow said...

Of course your mum will love it :)
I need to confess my UFO's too....or just finish them.

Alison said...

I have so many to complete it's ridiculous, some are so sad they will need a complete overhaul. Well done you, I'm sure your mum will love it.

Lotti said...

Aren't mums great for that ... they just overlook the 'dodgy' bits and love it anyway. I know I would if one of my kids made something like that for me. Anyway I think it's a really nice bag.

Nikki said...

Gotta love a blast from the project past to remind us how much we've improved since then!! ANd good ol' OFMM's and the Mum's that they get given to!!

Megan said...

Good on you for skipping the trend of UFO and WIP listing and actually doing something about one of them! (I went with the trend...)

I think I am at about the stage of where you were in 2006. Some of that technical stuff made not much sense and I also make it up as I go. Lining always confounds me too. I'm sure it does it just to be difficult!