Hi everyone, long time, no see…

Over the last couple of years, I’ve not really sewn very much – partly because life’s been a bit busy, and partly because I was a little worried about how this sweetheart would react to my sewing machine (she’s not really a fan of loud noises)…

This is Luna. She’s half Irish Wolfhound, quarter Great Dane, quarter Standard Poodle and 100% adorable, giant fluffball. She’s just about to turn three & I’ll admit that cuddling/playing with her and her “big” sister Lyra has taken priority over sewing.

However, last week I decided I wanted to get going again. So I started rummaging through my stash of sewing/craft stuff and looking for a good project to help remind how to actually use my sewing machine again.

After sifting through various patterns (almost all of them acquired through sewing magazines), I came across a pack of fat quarters I’d picked up from Aldi at some point in the past. Included in the set was instructions for making a patchwork tote bag, complete with lining. Stitching all the squares together would give me plenty of opportunity to practice with my machine again and I had everything I needed to get started. Perfect!

First job – I had to decided which fabrics to use for the outside of the bag and which to keep for the lining. I decided to use the two ginghams for the lining and the others for the outside.

Next job – cutting out. This took far longer than I expected. Who’d have thought 40 11cm squares would take so long..? The instructions included a template but I found it easier (and quicker) to just measure them out. Once everything was cut out, I laid out the squares to decide on a pattern for the sides (or at least one to aim for – more on that later…).



Then it was time for the squares. I decided to do the rows first, then sew the five rows together to make each side. Somehow, despite me laying them all out carefully, I’d managed to put the last row on the first side together wrong. By this point I’d done around four hours at my machine, I was tired, my back hurt & I decided I didn’t really care enough to unlock and re-sew that row – so I just went with it.


At this point I should point out that the sewing didn’t exactly go perfectly… To start off with I couldn’t remember how-to thread my machine or what any of the dials did. After a bit of googling I discovered that I’d actually done the top bobbin correctly and a YouTube video refreshed my memory on how to load my bottom bobbin (thank God for Google!). A bit of trial and error on offcuts and scraps helped me get to grips with the different settings and get my tension right, but that didn’t stop things from getting tangled – repeatedly… I can’t remember how many times I had to take the bottom bobbin out to detangle threads and remove loose threads. But at least rethreading is second nature to me now.

After I’d done both sides, it was time to tackle the straps. These were easy, until it came to turning them inside out. This was not fun. In lieu of knitting needles, I used a metal skewer to push the ends through – as long as I used the round end, this worked well.


Once I’d sewn the two patchwork sides together, and the two lining pieces, it was time to put everything together. When it came to the final construction, I decided not to follow the instructions. Technically, I was supposed to sew the bag & lining together, then attach the straps, I decided to do it all in one go so the ends of the straps would be hidden in the lining. It was fiddly getting everything lined up and pinned together, but I got there in the end.

Once I turned everything the right way out, I realised I’d not quite got the straps right, but I can live with it. I pressed everything and did some top stitching to strengthen the straps a little (some of which is neater than other bits).



Overall, I’m happy with my new bag. Yes it’s not perfect, but it’s all my own work. I’ve rediscovered how much I enjoy sewing and I’ve learnt a few lessons along the way:

• Preparing properly makes things a lot easier. I was a little relaxed when cutting out my squares so they’re not all exactly the same size.
• Pressing open seams takes long than you think, especially when there are so many of them!
• I need to practice sewing in straight lines and controlling my speed – it nearly got away from me a couple of times.

I’m already planning my next project and my machine’s not going anywhere. Plus sewing bee returns soon so watch this space…