Simply Sewing Patterns, City Backpack

I had a trusty little backpack that served me well during my city break to Amsterdam last year. But as all good Primark items do, the backpack sadly gave up the ghost and the popper popped it's cloggs a couple of months ago. 

Unable to see the true size and quality of any of the 1million backpacks uploaded to Vinted, and after receiving vague replies back such as "It's fairly mini but big enough for all major stuff" (what?), I decided the logical thing to do would be to make my own. Cue jumping back on Vinted to try and find the perfect pattern. 

There were a lot of people listing free Simply Sewing magazine bags. I must say I never realised that they had such a huge bag-catalogue. Not fancying being encumbered by a satchel or lopsided with a tote, I was still on the look out for a good rucksack. There were a couple of good looking roll-top ones but I was looking for something a bit more chic. The City Backpack wasn't popping up as frequently as others seemed to be so I took that as a sign it was a good pattern. The size looked good and the colour blocking would allow me to use up some stash items, wehey. 

I have added things below in bold deviations from the instructions and things that I would do differently, or at least with more caution next time I make this bag (and possibly any other).

As this was my first bag project, naturally I asked around for any tips before getting started. Shauni @Magnificent Thread hit the nail on the head when she said the hardest part is getting all the supplies ready. Aside from fabrics and the usual interfacing (I was using leftovers) the patten also calls for:

- Fusible Wadding (Think fluffy interfacing to add structure and protection to the bag)
- x2 2.5cm D Rings
- x2 2.5cm Rectangular Rings
- x2 2.5cm Rectangular Rings with Sliders
- 7" Zip for the pocket in the lining
- 2.3m of Webbing (Think bag strap strips) for the straps and closure
- x2 Press Studs (had some in my stash, wehay!)

So as you can see, the inventory is quite bitty. It took me about 10 years in Abakhan to sort out the rings and sliders situation, as there was a real mish-mash of sizes and colours, with the only rectangular rings being the next size up... which would mean I needed wider straps.. but there was no wider strap!! Luckily I had Mark with me and he is unphased by fabric, shopping lists, or his girlfriend having a meltdown about hardware, and he calmly suggested buying another pair of sliders and just taking the middle bar off. Solved. I love him. 

The pattern includes the pieces that aren't a standad rectangle, then gives you dimensions for the main bag pieces to draw and cut out. I would recommend marking the centre points on the raw edges of these pieces so that its easier to match them up.

I used a fleece fabric for the lining of the flap, so I didn't cut wadding for this too (I was already pushing the bulk-boundaries!).

The two fabrics I combined were both intially bought and used for mini skirts. The gold is a leather from Matlock leather fair and the brown was from a sale in Abakhan last year. 

I used the leather to make the strips that help support the straps and back of the bag. The instructions call for folding over 0.5cm on the long edges and pressing... I knew turning this tiny amount over and then pressing leather wasn't going to necessarily work, espaecially as the leather is coated - I was nervous too much heat would lead to melting and a messy iron. Instead I used fray stop glue to hold under 0.5cm and this worked better than I imagined! 

I used the leather for the tab for the fastening which was pretty nerve wracking as the edges were SO thick. I used a leather needle and top stich thread for this. Somehow the machine behaved - I think the tab is one of the best features of the bag! Attaching this to the front flap would have been better if I'd marked out the mid point on the flap to ensure everything was lined up properly. I was worried the machine would push the tab off at an angle due to the bulkiness of it - especially as I couldn't tack anything due to using leather. I used clips to hold the raw edges together and somehow it stayed central! Woohoo! 

As this was my first foray into bagmaking, I had to check, double check, triple check, that the seam allowance for each seam was meant to be 0.5cm. I found this a bit annoying, as the bulk of sewing the front and back together with all the wadding and leather and seam allowances from the colour blocking made 0.5cm seem a bit scant, especially thinking that I could be stuffing all sorts of weighty items into the bag! I would definitely consider adding another cm to the seam allowances next time. 

The colour blocks are sewn with 0.5cm seam allowance, which is fine from a structural point of view as this area wasnt going to take much strain, but this meant that top stitching this area sent my machine into a bit of a tizz. Due to the lopsidedness of the bulk (small leather seam allowance impossible to press open as advised) the machine would not sew a proper top stitch close to the seam allowance. It was skipping stitches and just generally looking shit. This of course was the last thing I wanted, as each attempt was leaving incurable holes in the leather. Although I of course did a number of test strips, my machine was feeling contrary, and what worked well in a test environment decided not to play ball on the actual bag. 

I tried sewing the top stitch further away from the seam, which did help but of course meant the stitching would be purely decorative and no longer hold the seam allowance down. It was here I realised that using topstich thread on my bobbin wasn't required and was probably adding to the issues. I wondered if my leather needle was blunt, so I swapped this round but it didn't make much difference. I increased the tension, which seemed to help (despite something I read online saying thicker fabric = lower tension??). 

I tested the stitching on a piece of bulky non-leather fabric and it sewed fine! So was the leather the problem? I sandwiched it between tissue paper, interfacing - No difference. I tacked a piece of woven tape to the back of the stitching line to see if the bobbin thread just needed to 'catch' onto something woven? I changed the needle another few times and ended up with a 100 Denim needle that was starting to make stitching look like stitching should. I noticed the stiches were skipping when the needle lifted and it took the fabric up with it a bit. I added some pressure by gently pressing on the front of the foot as it stiched and SOMEHOW I had tentatively coaxed my machine into delivering a nice straight topstitch. I haven't read anywhere online about pressing on the presser foot, so I'm guessing this must be either illegal or undiscovered. Worked for me and my lil backpack tho. 

The bag flap topstich also proved trixy and as a result the stitches aren't beutifully even. I sort of feel with what I have learnt I could unpick and have better results, but I also don't want to fall victim to contrary topstitching so I will leave as is. There was no way the machine was going to go over 8 layers of leather, so I improvised with some faux topstitching by hand across the top of the tab. It is a shame though as this area could likely do with the extra reinforcement. 

The next tricky part was placing my bottom gold strip. I probably overthought it, but 'place the strip 5" up from the bottom of the bag' - Does this mean the centre of the strip? The top or the bottom? Where do you place the ends of the straps underneath this? In hindsight it would have been better to palace it lower to secure the straps underneath with both the top and bottom row of stitching. 

I couldn't pin the leather cross strips, and couldn't use clips as they are placed in the middle of the bag. Chalk and water soluble pen wouldn't show up on the leather to mark the placement, so instead I measured and used a straight-egde strip of masking tape to line the edge of the cross strip against. I then used little bits of masking tape to hold it in place, peeling away as I stitched. I held my breath the whole time, as one skipped stitch from my machine could ruin the whole effect. The machine did not like 'climbing' where the end of the straps added significant bulk. I found I had to stop and start stitching around the strap ends, which is annoying really as this area needed the most secure and consistent stitches. I was able to join up the stitching eventually though, though I am aware I darned in some ends by hand and am skeptical as to whether they will withstand the test of time. 

The pattern does not suggest tacking the bottom of the straps onto the bag before securing with the cross-strips. I did do a row of stitching, but if I made the bag again, I would secure this with three or four rows of stitching which would all be hidden under the cross strip. This would provide extra security as this area of the bag takes some of the most strain. I would repeat this with the top of the straps. Although the pattern does suggest tacking them in, I would tack in with several rows. Next time I would definitely secure the hand straps with X-stitching to help take the strain too.

Lining went well, I used left over lining fabric from my skirt made of the same fabric. I was worried it would be a little on the silky side and not as durable as the cotton suggested in the instruictions. I did remember this fabric being deceptively hardy when I made my mini skirt though, and I'm glad I used it. The sheen gives a bit of luxe which I think contrasts with the almost outdoorsy sheepskin lining the flap. 

This was my first time putting a zip in using the 'letterbox' zip method. It worked well, but I would lightly interface around the back of the letterbox next time. I guess this wasnt included in the instructions as the suggested cotton fabric was more stable than my satin. Interfacing the area would have allowed for a crisper edge where the letterbox is turned to the underside. The pocket is fully functional though, and I am pretty proud of it only taking one attempt. 

Lets talk about the straps. I think I picked a good colour and enjoyed using the webbing for the first time. The gold hardware really compliments the leather on the bag and the autumnal tones overall. Contruction was easy enough to get my head around, possibly from experience making bra straps. I did find however, that the straps are a little on the short side?? Please tell me someone else found this too? I'm CERTAIN I measured correctly, but I found I needed the sliders to be at full length and the bag is a little bit tricky to get on if I'm wearing a billion layers. I did have some strap left over after cutting the lengths instructed, I'm wondering if this should have been included in the strap length. Next time I would add at least 10cm to each strap, at the very least just to utilise those sliders I so lovingly created.

The bag is finished by inserting 2 poppers at the opening to stop it sagging when the bag isn't super full.I love the shape these create when in action, but (pickpocketers look away) I do still find it quite easy to just shove my hand in, and I do worry about stuff falling out. I think the poppers could be placed further apart to make the opening smaller, or alternatively, I could do away with poppers and insert some large eyelets and some kind of drawstring mechanism. 

I'm really glad I picked this pattern up. Although there are a few changes I would make, thanks to its easy to follow instructions, I wasn't too phased by my first bag making attempt. The fabrics were super fun to work with (aside from top stitching bulk!) and I'm really proud of myself doe persevering with the topstitching and finding a way to make it work. 

Matching skirt and bag combo? Yes please. 

x
Location: Ponderosa
Currently listening to: Goca Dünya, Altın Gün 

Clothes Clone, Spotty Skort (Instructions)

One of the great things about literally picking apart a garment step by step, was that it gave me a good insight to how I was going to assemble to garment once I had everything cut out. As I was essentially putting together the skort with nothing but the disassemblage process and my past knowledge as instructions. I decided to keep note of all the steps I followed so that when the time comes, I'll be able to make the next in my skort collection without too much head scratching. I wrote these out on the plane to Berlin to stop me overthinking about being 10000s miles in the sky, but hopefully they will make sense when I come to my next one! 

Seam allowance: 1cm throughout
Suggested fabric: Something with some body but also a slight bit of stretch
Fabric requirements: 1m fabric, small bit of interfacing
Notions: x1 7" zipper & thread to match fabric

1- Interface:

• Waistband front x1 back x2 (L&R)
• Seamline on fron x2 back x2 (use a 1.2cm strip of interfacing)
• Bottom edge of top flap and underflap (3.7cm strip of interfacing)

2- Stitch darts in back pieces and press

3- Stitch waistband front and backs at side seams

4- Press hem of flaps (2.5cm)

5- Overlock:

• Bottom of waistband  (optional- turn under the overlocked edge  on waistband and stitch a narrow hem)
• Centre back of waistband (L&R)
• Short edge of each flap hem
• (Fold up short edge) Overlock long edge of underflap hem ONLY)
• Raw edges of front / back leg hem
• Centre back of L&R back pieces down to the notch

6- Unfold upper flap hem, and stitch to the underflap. Overlock the seam. 

7- Stitch front pieces together along front rise, leaving a gap before reaching the the leg seams to allow room to stitch the inside legs together later.

8- Match notches at the front side seams to notches either side of the upper flap

9- Baste 0.5cm seam allowance, ensuring flap hems are folded under. Baste the top edge of the flap to front leg pieces, fitting the slight curve and stopping and restarting at the centre front, so the seam allowance can be overlocked later. 

10- Place back pieces overthe top RST and stitch seam. Match hem at front and back / top and the notches. Press the seam and overlock the side seams.

11- Stitch front to back at inside leg seams

12 - Overlock inside leg seams, press.

13- Overlock legholes

14- Match inside leg seams, pin and stitch back rise from the notch (end of the overlocking), to the front rise.

15- Overlock the rise seam allowances together, from the front to the back (to the beginning of the single overlocking at the zipper area)

16- Match centre front, side seams and centre back of the waistband to the top edge of the skort RST. Pin and sew.

17- Understitch the waistband to the waistband seam allowance and press.

18- Pin and tack invisible zipper to left side centre back. Ensure the top of the zipper sits at the top of the waistband opening. Stitch using invisible zipper foot as far as it will go.

19- Pin and tack zipper to right side, ensuring waistlines match at the top. Sew as far as possible

20- Change to a standard zip foot and secrure the top of the zipper area. Flip the end of the zip tag out of the way and stitch from the bottom of the zip to the backrise seam, backstitching for security

21- Flip facing RST at zipper opening and stitch from the lower edge towards the waistline seam - as close to the zip as possible to secure the zipper ends. Turn back out

22- Check waistline matches before clipping bulk from the inside of the top of the waistline opening. Turn out again and press

23- Turn up 2cm hem on each leg and press

24- Blind hem the leg hems by hand

25- Blind hem the lower flap hem

26- Blind hem the folded edge and hem on the upper flap

Finished!

x

Location: Bakers Hill, Sheffield

Currently listening to: The Moon is Full, Hindi Zahra

Clothes Clone, Spotty Skort

If you're a girl in a band, or if you're used to performing on any kind of stage, I imagine you will have a certain amount of familiarity with the term 'up-skirt'. You'll know that if you have a gorgeous skirt that you feel fantastic in, chances are- despite wantingt to show it offf to the world, you've put it back in the wardrobe when planning your gig-wear, or you've dug out a pair of lycra cycle shorts to wear underneath it, so that those front row 'toggers don't get a perfect shot of your knickers while you're performing. 

Or, if you're like me, you've turned to the trusty skort to create the chic vision of a mini skirt, but with all the practicality of a pair of modesty protecting shorts while you're towering above your audience. I love skorts. They seem to baffle men which I always find amusing, and they are so un-restrictive, which makes them ideal for wearing while you're playing guitar and having a dance. 

One of my favourite gig outfits from years gone by featured this Top Shop skort which I found in a charity shop the day before our show. It fit the brief perfectly- tease-y like a mini skirt, practical like cargo shorts (sorta), created a nice silhouette and fit perfectly on my waist. And it was houndstooth to boot! The Top Shop skort has made a few appearances on stage since, working both with and without tights. I have found however, that it's maroon tones doesn't go with every outfit, and I haven't wanted to present as a one-skort-pony , "Oh look, Angela's got the gig-skort out again" - cue eye roll. 

So that got me thinking, what I clearly need is another skort that I can wear for shows, the same style and shape but perhaps in a more versatile fabric. The seed was sewn to recreate the pattern - its only small, how hard could it be? Searching Top Shop Skort and scrolling through Vinted, I soon found what I was looking for - the same Top Shop skort on sale for £1.00 (!!), that I siftly ordered, unpacked and unpicked so that I could draw around the pieces and re-create the pattern. 

This is the first time I have completely disassembled a garment in order to recreate it. I found the whole process really quite cathartic. Essentially I was making somthing I already knew fit like a dream, so although I did make a toile to check my theories, I felt confident that the pattern was going to create a garment that I loved - and let's face it, sewing something from a paper pattern doesn't always provide that certainty. 

Carefully unpicking the seams allowed me to keep the seam allowances intact, so I could draw around the pieces without having to add any extra on. It was clear from the folded lines when unpicking the darts exactly where and how wide they needed to be, and taking time unpicking also allowed me to better understand the construction of the garment and what order I would have to piece together the front layers in order for the faux-wrap to work. 

I made the toile from calico, which I found didn't have as much give in it as the original, so this helped inform my fabric choice. I already had a stash of this black and white linen blend fabric from a previous project, the monochrome also hitting the mark in terms of the versatility I was looking for in design. 

Having seen the guts of the original, I felt much more assured in where to place my interfacing, how wide my strips should be and what areas required extra reinforcement. This attention to detail resulted in my finished skort having really crisp lines and angles which was integral to the design. 

I'm super pleased with the outcome, it was exactly what I wanted and I really feel like I learned from taking the skirt apart and recreating my own. We played over summer in the back of a truck, it was absolutely scorching so the legs out option was much appreciated. We keep talking about touring and I have visions of making another 6 in different colours so I have something different but equally reliable/sexy/versatile/practical/'me' to wear each night. 

What's more is I gained a lot of confidence and inspiration from the process, and now feel like I could take absolutely anything apart and recreate a pattern to make my own. Due to mass production and fast fashion, I have found it really easy to find a 'back up' version of garments I love on Vinted at really cheap prices. It's really exciting to think that clothes that I know fit and feel great that I have bought on the high street can be recreated by my own hands, adding that me-made element to an outfit that means so much to me. 

x
Location: Bakers Hill, Sheffield
Currently listening to: Midnight Sweat, Satllites

New Look 6843, Mini Skirt Hack

Yet another autumnal mini skirt using my heavily modified New Look 6843 patternm which features a slightly A-line cute, an inside facing band rather than a waistband, and is fully lined. 

I was on the hunt for the perfect autumn skirt fabric and I knew I'd found it with this. Upstairs in Abakhan Manchester I found this brown, almost felt-like fabric, which was half price!! The colour was perfect and with it being a bit felt-ier than other fabrics I have made skirts from it was already giving me winter-warmer vibes before I'd even laid the pattern pieces out. 

I was a little bit worried how heavy the fabric was would cause the skirt not to hang quite right, but I was already dreaming about matching it with a brown beret, and did I mention it was half price?! Already in my basket was a slightly textured plain black wool blend from downstairs, and the faun-flecked wool blend from my previous post. I knew all three would spice up my autumn wardrobe even more than a spooky-season Costa menu, and the wearability of a mini skirt in each fabric was high; suitable for work and play! So I felt no guilt in buying all three fabrics and the concealed zippers ot match. 

Knowing how much wear I would get out of these made me feel much less creative-guilt for deciding to make the same pattern a further three times (I already have two 🥲). 

Lining choices were a bit sparce in Abakhan that day, so I had to wait to sneak a trip into Hillsborough Fine Fabrics and get this, all linings were half price that day! Honestly this skirt was such a bargain make! 

In between securing the fabrics, I set-to cutting out the skirts in a kind of conveyour system, which I knew future me would be grateful for (who else hates sitting down to sew only to find, oh shit need to cut my interfacing😑). This was by far my most efficient cutting out and sewing together mission. I had piles of each pattern piece and sewed each step on each skirt before moving onto the next step. So you know that feeling you get after finsihing a garment (that fits super well!)?? Well I got that three-fold when I had finsihed sewing! 

This fabric was little harder to handle in places given the thicker nature of it. I used the overcast stitch on the normal sewing machine rather than overlocking as this just seemed to match the fabric really well (cough, overlocker fear on bulky fabric, cough). 

Despite it's qualities, the skirt does hang well, the body of the fabric making the shape definitive, creating a 60s silhouette. There isn't much give in the fabric and the facing adds a bit of bulk, particularly around the darts. This perhaps makes the skirt sit a little higher on my waist than the others do but that's not at the detriment to comfort or style. 

If you've ever spent time in my company, you'll know I'm a big fan of fast-walking (who has time to amble, really?), and the fit of these skirts allows for a wide stride, which is also great for the cooler seasons when you just gotta keep moving to keep warm! 

Something tells me these three skirts won't be the last I see of this pattern. These little mini skirts are already the best thing about autumn. Now, if only I could find a sewing pattern to salvage winter! 

x

Location: Ponderosa Park, Crookes Valley Park
Currently listening to: Man on a Mission, Black Keys

New Look 6197, Summer Shirt

I keep getting targeted ads for P&Co. clothing. Their American 50s style bowling shirts particularly keep catching my eye. Sadly for P&Co, instead of reaching for my wallet, I decided I'd rather have a bash at making my own. 

This Hawiian-style shirt pattern has been in my stash for ages - a classic fit for both men and women, however I hadn't actually made one for myself yet. I was tempted to have a go at hacking the pattern so that it had raglan sleeves, but there were some cool bowling shirts on the P&Co. website that didn't have raglan sleeves, so in the end I will admit I chickened out and stayed pretty try to the pattern. 

I did decided to make it 2 inches longer, as I wanted to created that oversized/throw it on at the beach look. This was definitely the right decision length wise, however I'm gonna skip to the conclusion here and say, I should have made the shirt wider as it got longer in order to accomodate the extra hip width. Luckily, the shirt tucks in really nicely AND it looks pretty good to wear open over a vest top, so no drama here really. 

I took a trip to Fabworks in Dewsbury for my birthday and bought these 2 crepêy drapey fabrics with shirts in mind, I wanted to used something a bit differnt to a classic Hawaiian shirt print, a) to make it more feminine, b) to at least pretend to be office appropriate, and c) well, just to looka bit less Hawaiian. I had trust in the cut of the pattern that it would still create the retro vibes I was looking for. 

Next came deciding on the colour blocks. I had plans for a sleeve band in white but it looked a bit naff (bordering some kind of uniform territory), I do wish I'd have planned a strip across the top of the pocket, or at very least some cream top-stitching, but I am hapy with it's placement and crisp corners so we'll not spend too long criticising the pocket thanks. 

I took a bit of a gamble, as I knew I wanted the contrast between the outside and the under collar, however I knew the black fabric was likely to show through the white. In order to try and minimise this, I interfaced the black fabric with white and did my overlocking in white, To be honest, when I'm wearing the shirt, the white isn't AS see through as I feared, but I'm definitely glad I used a pale interfacing for the neck and front opening pieces. 

I do wish I'd done the underside of the collar in black. I did cut the under collar smaller in hopes that the seam edge would roll around to the underside and you wouldnt be able to see any of the white fabric, but of course some bits still peek out 🙈 

Another learning curve was using cover-your-own buttons. I knew I wanted the buttons the same colour as the main fabric of the shirt (In Mark's words 'you don't want to look too checker-board'), and I thought I wanted them in the smallest size. Try as I might, however, I really really struggled with the smallest size cover-buttons. Either the backs didnt fix properly, the button bent, the edge of the fabric was baggy or fraying... Sure I was trying to do this with banding toothache - so maybe on a better more focussed day I'd achieve (or maybe when mI'm using a less frustrating fabric, hey?), but after attempts across 2 days, I considered it a twist of fate that I found slightly larger cover-buttons peeking out of a misc tray in a charity shop I'd popped into on a whim. For 20p it was meant to be. The larger size was much easier to cover and I love the effect. 

After 2 attempts hemming the sleeves on this wavy-wavy fabric, I unpicked, re-pressed and cut a strip of 5cm wide innterfacing for each. The result was a much better, structured sleeve that gives that holiday shirt pizzaz. 

The fabric was nice to press, the hem was hard to hem, and the colour-blocking did exactly what I wanted it to (why have I never made contrasting lapels before????). I think there is some really elegant sewing on here that wasn't always easy to achieve with due to the qualities of the fabric. 

I'm pleased with this one 🌴🌊🌺

x
Location: Sidney Street Car Park

Currently listening to: Cutthroat, Shame