Made by Fitgirl: March 2016

I took my first sewing class of 2016! Through this project, I accomplished one of my 2016 sewing goals - inserting a zipper. We were working on a Simplicity 8028, View D, Messenger Bag. It was a 3.5 hour class. This was a neat little project. It was a very good thing that I took an in-person class at JoAnn's. I don't think I would have gotten the instructions that were included with the pattern. I really liked the instructor, Terri Tipps. I have taken 2 classes with her in the past, and she is a true gem.

However, it was the first time that I have sewn all year, so I was a little rusty. First of all, I had a hard time finding the pattern. I checked earlier in the week, but they were all out at Hancock's. Due to time constraints, I only about 2 hours before class to buy my supplies. As luck would have it, my local JoAnn's where the class was being held was also out of the pattern. So, I had to go to Hobby Lobby. Luckily, they had the pattern, and I bought some fashion (duck) fabric for the outside of the bag. I had to purchase the interfacing, strap, and hardware for the bag. I chose not to get interlining because the outer material was very heavy. I went into class flustered, stressed, and unprepared. At JoAnn's, the cutting table and checkout lines were horrible, so I spent 20 minutes of class time making purchases. However, Terri got of all us started. I didn't have time to read the instructions, so I was really relying on Terri (who was, of course, fantastic). The supply sheet that JoAnn's gave us was inaccurate. So, when I was about to cut my interfacing, I didn't have enough. So I spent another 15-20 minutes at the cutting table line and checkout line during class time.

Suffice it to say, I didn't completely finish my project during class time. However, but I was about 85% done when the class time ended. I was able to make my pockets, make my tabs, insert the D-rings into the tabs, insert my zipper, and attach the lining to the bag.

One more mishap happened during class: my needle broke as I was attaching my lining to the bag as I was going over the D-ring. The needle caught me in the thumb. I didn't want to bleed on my new bag, so I was essentially finished by that point. Terri pinned my material and strap for me to finish up at home.

Here are some images of my finished project. I made my strap a little bit longer than recommended.