The Edith Bag: A Tutorial

A preface to this 42-picture tutorial for The Edith Bag. First, thank you to those who commented in a previous post about wanting a tutorial for this cute bag designed by Edith Bieri of QuiltsUndMehr. Second, my apology for the color quality of the photos. The camera is top quality - a Canon S100 - so it's the lighting that's the problem. Most of these pictures were taken under a Reveal light bulb which casts a pink-ness on everything. (Perhaps that's appropriate! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a cancer for which I have a newfound understanding.) I have now scheduled the installation of overhead LED can lights with daylight illumination, which will make a big difference in the quality of future photos.

The Edith Bag Tutorial

Supplies

• 10" X 10" fabric for outside cover
• 10" X 10" fabric for lining
• 10-1/2" X 10-1/2" fusible fleece 
• 1-1/2" X 8" fabric for strap
• 12" zipper

Cut out lining, fleece and strap.

Note that fusible fleece has a soft side (on right) and a fusible side (on left). On the fusible side, look and feel for rough dots that melt when ironed.

Create your own cover. These are a few examples.

You might English paper-pieced hexagons or sew a patchwork square. Then lay your created fabric on top of the fusible - soft fusible fleece side facing up (rough dots facing down) - and machine quilt. Or, stitch-and-flip sew with selvages, or fabric strips.

Create the Outside Cover
This tutorial shows stitch and flip sewing with fabric strips.

Place a fabric strip, print side up, on the soft side of the 10-1/2" X 10-1/2" fusible fleece; fusible dots are face down.

Lay a second fabric strip, print side down, on top of the first strip, aligning edges. Sew along the raw edge using a quarter-inch seam. I like to use my machine's walking foot to ensure that nothing slips out of place as I'm sewing.

Flip over the second strip. Finger press. Place a third strip, print side down, on the second strip. Sew. Continue in this manner until the entire fusible fleece square is covered with fabric.

With the fusible fleece side facing up, use a large ruler to square-up the entire piece to measure 10" X 10".

This completes your outside cover.

Sew In the Zipper
Open the 12" zipper. Place the zipper face down aligning the edge of the zipper with the edge of the outside cover (on right). The zipper teeth should point toward the inside (left). Pin.

Place the 10" X 10" lining fabric, print side down on top of the zipper. Align raw edges with the outside cover and zipper edges. Pin.

Change your sewing machine foot to a zipper foot. If needed, move the sewing machine needle to the far left. Sew, aligning the right side of the zipper foot with the raw edges. Remove pins ahead of your sewing so as not to accidentally run over a pin and break a needle.

Pin the opposite zipper side to the opposite side of the outside cover, aligning the edges. Check to make sure the zipper remains face down. The zipper teeth should point toward the inside (right). Pin.

Lay the opposite side of the lining, print side down, on top of the zipper, again aligning the raw edges. Pin.

Sew, aligning the right side of the zipper foot with the raw edges.

This is how it looks after sewing both sides of the zipper.

Turn right side out. The lining will be against the fusible fleece dots. Press to secure the lining, making sure the lining and outside cover are pressed away from the zipper.

Still using the zipper foot, edge stitch along the fold.

Open the zipper at least half way.

Turn right side in; lining out.

Make the Strap
Press in half the 1-1/2" X 8" strip.

Open the strip. Turn each long raw edge toward the center. Press.

Press long edges together.

Switch to a regular sewing machine foot. Edge stitch the strap.

Fold the strap in half and pin raw edges together.

Place the folded strap inside the bag on top of the zipper at the zipper end. Match the strap raw edges to the raw edges of the outside cover/lining.

Center the zipper. Pin together both open ends of the outside cover/lining.

Using your regular sewing machine foot, align the side of the foot with the raw edges. Sew each end through all layers. Backstitch at the beginning of the seam, over the zipper, and at the end of the seam.

Cut to remove the tail end of the zipper.

On each of the four corners, draw a box 3/4" from each edge.

Cut to remove these corners.

Set your machine to a wide zig-zag and shorten the stitch length. Stitch to overcast the raw edges at both ends.

Reset your sewing machine to a regular stitch. Fold each cut-out corner to position the end seam in the middle. Aligning the side of your regular sewing machine foot with the raw edge, sew, being sure to push the end seam allowance away from the zipper. Sew over the seam again.

Set your machine to a wide zig-zag and shorten the stitch length. Stitch to overcast raw edges on all four corners.

Turn right side out to admire your finished bag. Add a decorative ribbon or tag to the zipper tab.

The Edith Bag was designed by my dear friend Edith Bieri (QuiltsUndMehr) of Neftenbach, Switzerland. This tutorial was created with her permission. Linda

Real Life

As much as I love all things sewing- and quilting-related, the reality is that I love my family even more. The depth of that hit me this week as we said farewell to our son, DIL and 3-1/2 year-old grandson who are moving from Tampa, Florida to Texas. They have lived in Florida for the past nine years, but only in the last 15 months have we been just 90 minutes apart from each other.

We have a special place in our hearts for Austin. Last week he visited the Magic Kingdom one more time. Being attracted to Jack Sparrow and all things pirate-y, he came to our house prepared to pillage and plunder.

After spending a couple nights here, we thought we'd say good-bye last weekend. But, we couldn't help ourselves and made one more visit to see them last Tuesday evening. Still. Good-byes are tough, and I wasn't the only one crying about it.

They will be so missed! How difficult it will be to not have them visit every few weekends - to enjoy golf cart rides, trips to the Farmer's Market, worshipping together, and evenings on the square.

Austin holding a Captain Hook figure

There isn't much that makes a Nana - or Bapa - prouder than holding a little hand whenever we go places together.

They're moving themselves, so that in itself is a big deal, especially with our sweet DIL six months pregnant with #4 grandson.

Not only are they facing the long trek of a multi-state move, but they're driving into this. Dear Ms. Karen, your timing couldn't be worse.

Already I'm missing them, and will dissolve into tears if I think about them too much. And now I'm concerned for the challenges they're driving into. Heavy rain, at the very least. It's another one of many times when a parent can only pray and trust that God will watch over them and keep them safe. And you Texans... there's a lovely new family headed your way. Please take good care of them. Linda

Third Quarter Finishes

Back on July 14 I joined Leanne's (SheCanQuilt) Finish-a-Long. I managed to complete three of the four I pledged to do. I was feeling sort of bad about not completing my pledge, but then found others didn't do all theirs either. It's comforting to be in good company. Here's my original 3Q Finish-a-Long list.

First to be completed was "Bloom." I ended up entering it in the Jacksonville (Florida) quilt show (QuiltFest) where it earned an honorable mention ribbon. Leanne links her finishes to a "Ta Da post," so here's my Ta Da post about Bloom.

Finish number two was "Happy Hexagons," a baby quilt for a great niece born in August. Ta Da post.

Third and last for this quarter was this big (85" X 98") finish: "Roll Roll Cotton Boll" that was given as a wedding gift a couple weeks ago. Ta Da Post.

I will say I did get a lot of free motion quilting done! Miles of thread used, I'm sure.

Here's where to go to see all the other finishes - hundreds of them! Linda

What I Did Yesterday

I taught Free Motion Quilting! Twelve enthusiastic quilters attended a 9 am to 4 pm workshop (with an hour-long break for lunch) in Spanish Springs, in The Villages, FL. We had a large, well-lit, open room in which to work.

We really appreciated and used the generous table space.

I especially liked the tilted-mirror table on which I could show everything that the group needed to see, including a picture of all of us. Hi friends! How handy is that?!

I always take along sewing machine cleaning supplies when I teach a workshop like this. 

1) a bristle brush, for removing lint in crevasses

2) a soft brush, for picking up lint

3) a square of an old t-shirt for wiping off everything, including covering my fingernail to wipe out grooves in the bobbin case base

4) canned air, for blowing out lint deeper in the machine

5) Tri-Flow, a three-in-one solvent, oil and lubricant.

Personally, I use these items to clean and oil my machine every time I have to wind a new bobbin. Years ago, a trusted Bernina tech told me to do the "every bobbin" thing, so I do it.

In room full of sewing machines, inevitably there's a particularly noisy machine, or one with tension problems. That's my opportunity to give a brief lesson about how to routinely care for your sewing machine. 

This is Joyce's old Singer. We all giggled and remarked about the lint she collected. Good-naturedly, she endured our ribbing, and then told us that bobbin area hasn't been cleaned out for 30 years! 

I did what I could to remove the obvious lint, but we concluded that her machine needs to be serviced. I take my machines in once a year. When was the last time you had your machine serviced?

After a long day of "work" (ha!) teaching quilting, I treated myself to a stop at our new local quilt shop - Simply Sew Boutique. I was tickled that owner Cathy listened to my request for Art Gallery Fabrics (designer Pat Bravo lives here in Florida). I found bolts of the new Angela Walters "Legacy" collection, and these are the favorites that I came home with. I love the colors in all of them, but that curved text brackets print on top spoke to the writer in me.

Could that teal color be a hint of things to come? Carolyn Friedlander (also a Floridian) has teal-colored prints in her new "Botanics" collection. Maybe teal will be the 2014 Pantone color. Linda