Zakka Style sew along: Zigzag Tote

You may have noticed the button over there for the Zakka Style sew along, I’m joining in for week one (not committing to every week at this moment!).

I was browsing sewing and craft books for an anniversary gift (from him to me) and came across this book. I’d previously looked at ‘I love patchwork‘ by Rashida Coleman-Hale and saw it in the used category in ‘good condition’ for a good few pounds less than new.

So I promptly put that and Zakka Style in my basket and bought them.  The book that was described as in ‘good condition’ was in perfect condition, probably never even been opened, so that was a bargain.

So once I had the book in my hands there was no better incentive than a sew-along to actually use the book rather than just looking at it.

If you’re a regular reader you will know about my participation in the Sewing For Boys sew along and how I’ve been upcycling for each project so far.  Now all of the projects in this book use linen.  I have a little bit of linen in my stash but I’m not planing to use it just yet so needed to come up with an alternative.  The choice was obvious for this week the tote, denim, I have a bin liner full of old jeans.

Each week there is a different host for the sew along, pop on over and see what Terri made and read her tips for making the tote.

I’m in the final stages of the Oh My Stars quilt along, well ok I’m piecing the blocks together so still a way to go.  I’ve been using vintage sheets for this and still have a huge pile of them in the dining/sewing room, so continuing the spirit of upcycling I opted to use some sheet fabric for the patchwork part of the bag.

I also used sheet fabric for the straps and lining, I had fun choosing the fabrics, I remembered that I had a white version fo the yellow floral print I’d used for the patchwork and lining so decided to use this for the pocket to make it obvious to the eye:

(I used my last ‘interior’ label for this, must remember to order more quick).

I didn’t have any fusible batting, in fact I’ve never used it, it’s not widely available in fabric shops here so I’d have to order it online and have never bothered to do so. I used some scraps of quilt batting that I had and just pinned a lot for the quilting part of the front. I did interface the lining but again with scraps of interfacing that I had in the cupboard. So the whole bag was made with material I had in my stash/loft/pile on the floor.

The school is on Easter break here which means I have 3 rather than just 1 child at home during the day, but so far they have been behaving beautifully (incredible but true!) so I’ve had the chance to sew during the day.  Yesterday while I was quilting the front I had Bethan (7yrs) observing me, reading the instructions to me and asking about the different feet that I have for my machine (quote of the day ‘I can’t believe I’ve had my first sewing lesson and learnt about a walking foot’!).  This is possibly why my quilting is the reverse of the book instructions, or the wider panel is on the right rather than left, something like that, but anyway I love it!

So if you fancy giving this bag a go with a pair of jeans, I used less than one pair of mens jeans (thanks Owain), one knee had a hole in so I avoided that part of the leg and still had plenty for the bag.

The sew along will cover every project in the book, one a week so on for the next 24 weeks!  Plenty of time to join in.