This is going to be a reassuring post. You're going to look at it and think "shoot, I could do SO much better than that". It's a post about a project that went WRONG. Well, not too badly wrong. But it's not going to be a 'look at my perfect patchwork' post...
My new housemate has been looking for a document wallet for her passport, travel tickets and so on, and not finding what she wanted. We saw one that had little tabs that said "passport" etc, but it was hideously expensive. It was her birthday today, so I managed to sneak a couple of hours sewing and attempt to make her one, from scratch, without a pattern. It didn't go QUITE right...
- I put in a rounded zip. Pretty pleased with that.
- The purple zip was the only one I had long enough. I wouldn't have thought to put it with black and white and red and blue... but it worked. It adds a pop of extra colour and character.
- The slide in note document tabs - like the tops of hanging files - worked pretty well.
- The concertina sides to the internal pockets - woohoo!!! I can do concertina sides!
Things that didn't go right:
- I used a hard interfacing in combination with a soft batting ... it was not an easy shape to work hard interfacing into. It's kinda lumpy and buckled which is the best way I can describe how the outside feels. You can't really see it in the picture.
So it was only really the one booboo. I think I could do a better version, but the will to try has fled! What do you do when projects go wrong?
Well, it depends on my mood. Might just chuck it out and turn my back on the whole idea. Or, if I am totally determined to get it right, I will do it again...and again until I am happy. Mostly though, it would be a chuck out. :) I wouldn't even attempt something as complex as your passport wallet Laura without a pattern. I'm not half so adventurous as you are. x
ReplyDeleteLooks fabulous to me!!
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of small items that went wrong on only one way too - they are really fugly! The sewing is fine, embroidery fine, embellishment fine but the sum of the parts is not pleasing at all. they are rolled up & hidden at the bottom of my UFO box. Why they didn't go in the bin is anyone's guess.
ReplyDeleteWhack it with a hot iron for a while, that should sort it (not on the plastic, obviously!)
ReplyDeleteHi Laura, I know how you feel, even that looks great wallet for me. I feel bad when something doesn't work well and I hate to loose time like that. It can take all my energy and I can't make anything for a while. Then it's better to work with an enjoyable project and something that I know to do well. Have a lovely week! x Teje
ReplyDeleteI swear loudly, chuck a strop for a bit, then either unpick or ignore!
ReplyDeleteYour purse looks great though, so this would be an 'ignore'!
I would lean towards the "ignore it" too . (if I knew what "chuck a strop" was....I might do that too!)
ReplyDeleteIf you kind of work the fabric like massaging it, the interfacing might soften up a bit, but it really looks great from here. :)
I do what Hadley does and then ignore...very rarely unpick!
ReplyDeleteLooks fine to me :)
ReplyDeleteWhat do I do? Well, things usually go wring fairly early. And results in me have three failed attempts. Then ditching it in favour of something else but similar. Which goes worse. So I pick up the least failed previous attempt and hobble past the finish line
I agree with Katy. I hot iron my less than perfect projects until they shape up. If I'm really unhappy with it I'll unpick and resew or just set it aside for later (even MUCH later). ;)
ReplyDelete