It’s finally finished ! The Stitch Story Bag has been part of my daily thoughts for a very long time and it’s great to say - it’s all done. Read back on the blog for lots more about this project. I can honestly say this has been one of the most rewarding projects I’ve ever done. I’ve rediscovered the pleasures of handsewing and have spent lots of lovely afternoons (parts of !) working on the bag.
For a very long time, the project was part of a series of Making Workshops (look back for more on these mini projects). We developed lots of different ways of making patches, including image transfer onto fabric, fabric printing, felting, appliqué and embroidery skills. All these techniques feature in some way on my bag. These mini projects focused the direction of my bag but I had lots of fun thinking about Miss Mitchell, my fictional Folk Art Doll. I love the red, blues and green colours of the bag and although I would possibly change some of my patches if I were starting again, I do love the whole piece as a collection.
I wanted the bag to be a useful thing rather than something which will sit in a box somewhere in my stash, so from the beginning, the bag was always going to be a knitting bag for socks. I will take it to my knit group and will take huge pleasure in using it.
My friendly professional photographer will take some good photos sometime soon so I’ll have a record of how it looks now, all pristine ! I’ll share the results next week sometime, I hope.
I was also thinking about the positives and negatives of the project. The positives hugely outweigh the negatives. Generally, I’ve learned how to enjoy taking time to work on something. Until the very last bit, top stitching the top edge of the bag, I didn’t want the bag making to end. The top edge was a little tricky because the machine was used and slightly messed up the bit on the back between the handles. Some of the mini gathered stitches looked a little untidy. I used this as an opportunity to add a few polymer heart beads (made by me) in the messy bits and make the back more interesting. I love the look and feel of the bag, I’ve taken lots of care to make the patches and the sewing neat and secure. The back is almost as tidy as the front, no one will see this ... but I know and that’s important. I also love the handles. The little messages are a delight and I’ll enjoy seeing the words every time I use the bag. The size is good, I like the shape. The only thing I would change is the bag construction. I would give the bag a base. At the moment, the bag won’t stand up by itself. I’m not sure I can change this without deconstruction. That’s not entirely out of the question ! For now, I’m going to enjoy my bag and keep thinking about what or if I need to improve my design - sometime in the future!
Thanks for calling in today.
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